Ploughs and tractors deployed to rescue cars and jackknifed lorry from A9 and surrounding roads
A major incident has been declared in parts of Scotland where drivers are stranded in blizzard conditions after the arrival of Storm Gerrit.
Six ploughs and three tractors have been deployed in an attempt to rescue cars and a jackknifed lorry from the A9 and surrounding roads in the Scottish Highlands.
Continue reading...Lee Parkin intervened in vain in 20-minute attack as he walked his dog near his home in Doncaster
Lee Parkin had been the proud owner of his terrier-spaniel cross Izzy for nearly 10 years when he stepped out for what would be his last walk with his beloved pet.
He was walking Izzy near his home in Doncaster when an XL bully pounced on her, mounting a 20-minute attack and ultimately killing the dog in front of Parkin, who desperately intervened in vain.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Officially commissioned research lays out effects of shelving anti-obesity pledges
Children in England are at risk of diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems because ministers have shelved anti-obesity policies until 2025, according to a damning report commissioned by the government.
The independent report says that ultra-processed foods (UPF) and products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) have become “normalised” in children’s diets, with poorer parents powerless to curb them.
Continue reading...Government has shelved policies that could have helped to change landscape weighted in favour of unhealthy food options
Less than three weeks into her new role as health secretary, Victoria Atkins left health campaigners aghast when she suggested her approach to tackling obesity would largely focus on dietary advice.
Obesity is a devastating public health problem harming millions of people in the UK that will never be resolved by tips on what to eat and what to avoid. Two in three adults are overweight or obese and the problem costs £100bn a year.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Orders should be done within a year of sentence as experts blame ‘chronic understaffing’ in probation service
More than 5,500 unpaid work orders that form part of community sentences have not been completed more than two years after being handed down, with experts blaming “chronic understaffing” in the probation service.
Ordinarily the orders, which can be for between 40 and 300 hours, should be completed within 12 months of sentence. Figures show there are more than 15,100 unpaid work orders not completed in that time in England and Wales,
Continue reading...There are 121,327 in short-term housing, while 261,189 homes are empty long-term, say Lib Dems
England has more than twice as many long-term empty homes this Christmas as there are children living in temporary accommodation, the Liberal Democrats have said, calling this a stark indication of a “broken” housing market.
The numbers of families without a permanent home and in short-term housing, whether hotels and B&Bs or temporary rental properties, has hit a record high this year, with the latest statistics showing it now affects 121,327 children, according to data collated by the House of Commons library.
Continue reading...Thomas Orchard died a week after a mental health crisis in which police put an ‘emergency response belt’ over his face
Prolonged use of a heavy webbing belt by police over the face of a vulnerable man during a mental health crisis may have contributed to his death, an inquest jury has concluded.
The way officers used the belt on church caretaker Thomas Orchard would have hampered his ability to breathe and increased his stress levels, the jury said.
Continue reading...NHS Employers writes to British Medical Association warning of dangers of proposed six-day stoppage
Patients have been harmed as a result of doctors striking this year, and others needing time-critical treatment will be at risk during next month’s walkout in England, hospital bosses have said.
Cancer patients and women having induced or caesarean section births will be in danger of damage to their health unless junior doctors in those areas of care abandon their plans to strike for six days in January, they said.
Continue reading...Murder-obsessed 16-year-olds convicted of killing girl who was stabbed 28 times in Warrington park
Two 16-year-olds have been found guilty of the “senseless” murder of Brianna Ghey, a “witty, funny and fearless” transgender girl who was stabbed 28 times in a Warrington park this year.
The murder-obsessed teenagers, known as Girl X and Boy Y to protect their identities, were found guilty unanimously by a jury at Manchester crown court on Wednesday after it deliberated for four hours and 40 minutes.
Continue reading...Matthew Taylor says there is a risk of health service becoming overwhelmed early in new year as pay row continues
Strikes by junior doctors increase the risk that the NHS will become overwhelmed by winter pressures early in the new year, a senior health service leader has warned.
Their walkouts, happening at the same time as hospitals are struggling with the usual surge in cold weather illness, could propel the NHS towards a tipping point, said Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation.
Continue reading...Transport for the North says service is deteriorating fast, with fewer than half of trains running on time
Northern political and transport leaders have called on the UK government to urgently review Avanti West Coast’s operations amid a renewed surge in intercity rail cancellations and delays.
The intervention came as it emerged that morale at the train operating company has plummeted to the point where only 3% of staff say they feel valued, according to an internal Avanti survey seen by the Guardian.
Continue reading...Housing secretary aims to bring end to delays, as weakening of housing targets is confirmed
Michael Gove will threaten to take action against councils that miss deadlines to submit their housing plans in a speech on Tuesday designed to highlight the government’s commitment to build new homes across England.
The housing secretary will say he will “call out” local authorities that fail to publish their future development plans with a threat to intervene if necessary.
Continue reading...Coin-like lead piece found near Oxburgh Hall thought to have been doled out by ‘boy bishop’ during Christmas period
They are the last resort for the most challenging of recipients, such as moody teenagers or the eccentric uncle you see once a year – but gift tokens also came in handy at Christmas in medieval times.
National Trust archaeologists have discovered a token dating from between 1470 and 1560 that was probably given by the church to poor people to be exchanged for food.
Continue reading...Vincent Nichols says shooting of mother and daughter did nothing to further Israel’s right to defend itself
The shooting of a mother and daughter allegedly by an Israeli military sniper in a church compound in Gaza City was a “cold–blooded killing”, the most senior Catholic cleric in England has said.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster, said the shooting did “nothing to further Israel’s right to defend itself”.
Continue reading...Teenager believed to have been abducted by mother in 2017 was found in France earlier this week
Alex Batty, the British teenager who has been missing for six years, will return to the UK on Saturday afternoon.
The 17-year-old is expected to be reunited with his grandmother, Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, who has not seen her grandson since he disappeared in 2017.
Continue reading...London boroughs among hardest hit due to falling birth rate and family struggles with Covid and rising costs
Primary schools are being closed, merged and shrunk as councils across England respond to falling numbers of pupils due to the falling birth rate as well as family upheaval triggered by rising costs, Brexit and Covid.
London boroughs are among the hardest hit, with thousands of school places being lost, but the closures and cuts extend to other cities and areas as they adjust to fewer children being born or moving into their catchment areas.
Continue reading...Report calls for immediate closure of Wethersfield as conditions causing irreparable harm to residents
Asylum seekers housed in the UK’s largest mass accommodation site have attempted to kill themselves and set themselves on fire because of conditions “no different from Libya”, according to a report.
The controversial Wethersfield site, on a remote military airbase near Braintree in Essex, is in the constituency of the home secretary, James Cleverly, who said earlier this year in a social media post that the site was not “appropriate”.
Continue reading...Alex Batty was 11 when allegedly abducted by mother and grandfather to give him ‘alternative lifestyle’
A British boy who has not been seen by his legal guardian since he went missing on a family holiday to Spain in 2017 has been found in France.
Alex Batty, from Oldham, was 11 and under the guardianship of his grandmother Susan Caruana when he was allegedly abducted by his mother, Melanie Batty, and grandfather, David Batty.
Continue reading...Local authority covering some of richest areas in England says it spent £11m preparing for rail line
A council in one of the wealthiest parts of the UK has warned it faces potential bankruptcy due to the “devastating” impact of cancelling the northern leg of HS2.
Leaders of Cheshire East council in north-west England said the authority had spent £11m preparing for the high-speed rail link, and this would now have to be written off. Most of this money – £8.6m – had been funded by borrowing and would now have to be funded from the council’s already stretched revenue budget.
Continue reading...Police working with officers who investigated disappearance of Nicola Bulley in January as search continues
Police have said there is a high probability that Gaynor Lord, who has been missing since last Friday, went into the river in Norwich, as detectives confirmed they are working with officers who investigated Nicola Bulley’s disappearance.
Lord, 55, disappeared after leaving work in Norwich city centre earlier than scheduled on Friday afternoon, and her belongings – including items of clothing, her mobile phone, glasses and jewellery – were found scattered through Wensum Park later that day.
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