Category Archives: Wiltshire

Colleagues of soldier, 19, found dead criticise response to sexual assault claims

Posted on by

Jaysley Beck’s friends tell inquest she did not report her boss because her previous complaint was ‘squashed’

Colleagues of a 19-year-old soldier found dead in her barracks room after allegedly being sexually assaulted by an officer twice her age have strongly criticised how her complaint about the incident was dealt with.

One colleague of Gnr Jaysley Beck confirmed at her inquest he was “incensed” that WOI Michael Webber was only subject to a “minor sanction” after he allegedly pinned the teenager down and tried to kiss her during an adventure training exercise.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

Continue reading...

Paramedic gave Sergei Skripal novichok antidote by chance, inquiry hears

Posted on by

Knocked-over bag led to unintended use of drug to counter nerve agents, which may have saved former Russian spy

A paramedic has described the extraordinary moment he knocked over a drugs bag as he treated the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and then by chance gave him a nerve agent antidote that may have saved his life.

Emergency services workers who went to help Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, after they were poisoned with the nerve agent novichok, initially suspected they may have been experiencing the effects of a recreational drugs overdose.

Continue reading...

Police insisted second Salisbury novichok attack was drug overdose, inquiry told

Posted on by

Inspector dismissed emergency services’ concerns that incident was similar to Skripal poisonings, KC says

Police officers urged paramedics and firefighters to treat the second novichok incident in 2018 as a drug overdose despite warnings from the ambulance and fire services that it had similarities to the first poisoning four months earlier in Salisbury, a public inquiry has heard.

The UK government believes the novichok was brought into Britain by agents tasked by Vladimir Putin to target the former spy Sergei Skripal, who had been settled in Salisbury after a spy exchange, the inquiry heard earlier this week. Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned on 4 March 2018 and both survived.

Continue reading...

Missing emu Irwin found dead in Wiltshire river after weeklong search

Posted on by

Malmesbury sanctuary pays tribute to ‘jolly’ bird, which is thought to have drowned after falling into swollen river at night

The tale of Irwin the missing emu has ended sadly, with the “jolly” big bird’s body found in a river close to the sanctuary where he was last seen alive a week ago.

Staff at the Malmesbury animal sanctuary in Wiltshire believe Irwin slipped into the swollen river while playing with other emus and drowned.

Continue reading...

Stonehenge likely to be put on world heritage danger list over tunnel plan

Posted on by

Unesco officials recommend adding Wiltshire stone circle amid fears road scheme would compromise its integrity

Stonehenge is likely to be put on a list of world heritage sites that are in danger because of the plan to build a tunnel under the precious landscape.

Unesco officials have recommended adding the Wiltshire stone circle and the area around it to the list because of concerns that the tunnel would “compromise the integrity” of one of the Earth’s great prehistoric sites.

Continue reading...

Man in his 30s dies in custody at police station in Swindon

Posted on by

Police at Gablecross police station declared detainee dead early on Sunday and have referred incident to police watchdog

A man in his 30s has died while in custody at a police station in Swindon, Wiltshire police said. He had been in custody at Gablecross police station since Saturday morning, and became unwell on Sunday morning.

He was declared dead at about 9am on Sunday, the force added. The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Continue reading...

Figure on Led Zeppelin IV cover identified as Victorian Wiltshire thatcher

Posted on by

Fifty-year mystery solved as research suggests picture shows Lot Long, a widower from Mere

For Led Zeppelin fans it is an instantly recognisable image: that of a grey-bearded figure stooping, his leathery hands grasping the pole supporting a bundle of hazel on his back.

But the origin of the image, which forms the centrepiece of the eye-catching front cover of Led Zeppelin IV, has remained a mystery for more than half a century.

Continue reading...