Headlines: Houseboat fire and Frome trees vandalised
Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media on Monday 2 June.
Our pick of local website stories
A dramatic picture has been released of the residential houseboat which caught fire while cruising along the river in Lechlade.A young otter cub has made a "remarkable recovery" after being rushed to the RSPCA's West Hatch centre in Somerset with a respiratory infection.Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner has supported calls to make cannabis a Class A drug. Recategorizing it would align it with other illicit substances like heroin and cocaine.A key road in Bridgwater town centre will be shut for two months as the delivery of the town's 'Celebration Mile' continues.
Our top three from yesterday
What to watch on social media
A 'Welcome to Margate' sign has appeared on the road to nowhere in Yate, suggesting the deserted stretch is possibly being used as a filming location.Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service have issued a reminder that most vapes contain hidden lithium batteries, which can spark fires if crushed.'Mindless' vandals have chopped down two young trees in Victoria Park in Frome and littered the grass with charred book pages.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Palestine Action to be banned after vandalism of planes at RAF base
The Home Secretary is preparing to ban Palestine Action following the group's vandalism of two planes at an RAF base. Yvette Cooper has decided to proscribe the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action. The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine. The incident is being also investigated by counter terror police. A spokesperson for Palestine Action accused the UK of failing to meet its obligation to prevent or punish genocide. The spokesperson said: 'When our government fails to uphold their moral and legal obligations, it is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to take direct action. The terrorists are the ones committing a genocide, not those who break the tools used to commit it.' The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is 'concerned in terrorism'. Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers. Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company Wagner Group. Another 14 organisations connected with Northern Ireland are also banned under previous legislation, including the IRA and UDA. Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Friday's incident at Brize Norton, described by the Prime Minister as 'disgraceful', prompted calls for Palestine Action to be banned. The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) welcomed the news that Ms Cooper intended to proscribe the group, saying: 'Nobody should be surprised that those who vandalised Jewish premises with impunity have now been emboldened to sabotage RAF jets.' CAA chief executive Gideon Falter urged the Home Secretary to proscribe the Houthi rebel group and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, adding: 'This country needs to clamp down on the domestic and foreign terrorists running amok on our soil.' Former home secretary Suella Braverman said it was 'absolutely the correct decision'. But Tom Southerden, of Amnesty International UK, said the human rights organisation was 'deeply concerned at the use of counter terrorism powers to target protest groups'. Mr Southerden said: 'Terrorism powers should never have been used to aggravate criminal charges against Palestine Action activists and they certainly shouldn't be used to ban them. 'Instead of suppressing protest against the UK's military support for Israel, the UK should be taking urgent action to prevent Israel's genocide and end any risk of UK complicity in it.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Warning over 'two tier' support for ADHD sufferers amid 'significant' rise in the use of unregulated private providers
NHS waiting lists for ADHD diagnosis and support have led to a 'significant' rise in the use of unregulated private providers, a report has said. The ADHD Taskforce, commissioned by NHS England with the support of the Government, has published an interim report calling for the system of diagnosing and managing the neurological condition to be overhauled. ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is characterised by patterns of restlessness, impulsivity and difficulty concentrating on one thing, with assessment and treatment typically provided by highly specialised doctors. But the report warned: 'Inability to access NHS services has led to a significant growth in the use of private providers that are not regulated, resulting in two-tier access to services, diagnosis and treatment; one for those who can pay and another for those who cannot. 'This drives health inequalities and links to disproportionate impacts and outcomes in the education and justice systems, employment and health.' Experts said waiting times for NHS ADHD services 'have escalated and are unacceptably long', with demand on services 'very likely' to continue to rise. Professor Anita Thapar, chair of the ADHD Taskforce, said: 'We need to get this right – to make sure people get early diagnosis and support.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'The report into the state of the NHS laid out how severe the delays have become for people waiting for an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Lime bikes dumped in canals and rivers 'posing pollution risk'
Hundreds of Lime e-bikes have been dumped in rivers and canals since hire schemes were introduced across England - raising concerns about pollution and Canal and River Trust said it was a national problem and was having to spend thousands of pounds retrieving the bikes from waterways. The charity said Nottingham was a particular hotspot, with eight or nine Lime bikes pulled from the canal each the US company that runs the hire scheme in Nottingham and other cities, told the BBC it is working with various authorities to tackle the problem. According to the Environment Agency, electric bikes pose a pollution risk because the batteries contain substances that can enter a watercourse if they remain submerged in Canal and River Trust said the number of Lime bikes being dumped nationally "could be into the thousands"."Whilst the quantities are a concern, and this is a drain on our resources, it's worth remembering one bike alone can easily cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to a boat, tens of thousands of pounds of damage to canal infrastructure, and an incalculable value of damage to wildlife," said Dick Vincent, the charity's national towpath charity has asked Lime to cover the cost of retrieving the bikes, but an agreement has not been reached."If I'm being honest, I would like them to answer their emails and get back to us," said Mr Vincent."They seem to be ignoring this as a problem, and that's a real shame." Toni Robinson, founder of the Little Litter Pickers of Nottingham, said her group had retrieved 23 Lime bikes from just a short stretch of the River Leen, in the Bulwell area of the said she had written to Lime but the company had not responded to her."I would like them to stop them ending up in the river," said Ms Robinson."We're trying to keep the river clean from pollution and then we've got these bikes that are polluting the river more than probably any rubbish we've ever found was."Ms Robinson is particularly concerned because e-bikes are powered by lithium-ion batteries, and she is worried about substances entering the believes Lime should have docking bays to keep the bikes locked up unless people pay to ride them."I think young people get bored and think 'I'll throw it in the river'," said Ms Robinson."It's just been ongoing. We pick one out and there's another one in there." Ethan Radford, deputy leader of Nottingham City Council, is so concerned he has been putting on waders and entering the River Leen himself to retrieve the Lime said it started happening after the Lime scheme was introduced two years ago, in spring 2023."On one particular occasion I think we pulled out about five bikes in one day," said Radford, who has been helping Ms Robinson's group."There's obviously the environmental concerns. These things don't belong in the river. It's a natural habitat." The Environment Agency said it was in the process of setting up a meeting with Lime following "repeated attempts" to do so."The disposal of electric bikes or other waste into rivers can cause environmental damage, affect water quality, and harm aquatic life," a spokesperson said."Whilst we have pollution concerns, we primarily remove the Lime bikes from the River Leen in Nottinghamshire and other watercourses in the area such as Nethergate Brook and Ouse Dyke, to prevent blockages and reduce flood risk to local communities." Who is dumping the bikes? The consensus is Lime bikes are being dumped in water by people who steal them, rather than paying bikes do not need to be physically locked in place at parking locations, which makes it easier to steal bikes do have a pedal-locking mechanism, but this can be "hacked" so that people can ride them without Robinson said she had witnessed this herself."I know people can ride round with them with the alarm going off, so they can still use the bike without inputting any details," she said."There are often kids going past me on the street and it's going 'beep beep', and they're riding past as normal."In a statement, the city council's transport team said: "Evidence shows that it is exclusively non-customers who are causing issues, including abandoning bikes or dumping bikes in rivers and canals."Radford agreed. "It's not the people who are using the scheme that are causing the problem," he said."It's people who come along after that, see a row of bikes, take advantage and do something stupid." Can anything be done to prevent thefts? Radford believes the problem could be resolved if Lime required customers to lock the bikes in bays, as some hire bike operators do."There's nothing stopping you from pushing it around, putting it on the floor, putting it in the road, taking it over to the river, for example, if it's not locked into place," he Robinson added: "It would stop them being stolen and polluting our rivers."The BBC put this suggestion to Lime, and asked why it does not require customers to lock bikes up.A spokesperson said: "Lime has operated a mandatory parking scheme in Nottingham since the launch of our e-bike service here two years ago."This is enforced by accurate on-vehicle GPS technology and our new mandatory end trip photo process. Users that leave bikes outside of designated parking locations are warned and fined, with repeat offenders banned." How widespread are these problems? The Canal and River Trust, which manages waterways in England and Wales, said it was a problem wherever Lime had hire of the Lime bikes are concentrated around London, but there are also schemes in Greater Manchester, Nottingham and Milton previously ran a hire bike scheme in Derby, but pulled out due to what it described as "persistent issues with vandalism and antisocial behaviour".This included bikes being thrown into the River Environment Agency, which is responsible for managing large rivers in England, said it "regularly" pulled bikes out and took them to designated drop-off points. What has Lime said in response? Lime says it is "the largest provider of shared electric vehicles in the world", and it claims to provide a "sustainable" mode of transport by replacing car working with the agency and Canal and River Trust, Lime said: "We have engaged in ongoing conversations with the Environment Agency and Canal and River Trust and are eager to finalise a collaborative plan to address these issues."Lime says anyone who sees a submerged bike can report the location, and it will "recover it as soon as possible". "We always aim to promptly collect obstructive or misparked bikes reported to us via the 'report bad parking' function in our app within a matter of hours," a Lime spokesperson said."To improve our response time, we have significantly increased our on-street team by more than double in Nottingham."On pollution and environmental concerns, Lime said the deliberate dumping of bikes was "totally unacceptable"."It harms the environment and undermines our mission to create sustainable urban transport," the spokesperson added."We are committed to working with the local community, Environment Agency, and the Canal and River Trust to stop this behaviour."
