Latest news with #IslesOfScilly
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Cornish fisherman was killed by falling beam, investigation finds
A fisherman died at sea off the Cornish coast after a beam fell and struck him, an investigation has Spencer, 49, died on 6 February 2021 on fishing vessel The Cornishman about 44 nautical miles (81km) off the Isles of Scilly, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch investigation found the port trawl beam had been hoisted to facilitate a repair to the fishing gear but "fell and struck him".The report said: "It was found that a chain that was part of the trawl beam's quick-release gear had failed, causing the beam to fall." The report also highlighted several safety issues including risk assessments not being followed and ineffective mitigations, which put the crew at risk while working under a suspended chain type was also found to be "unsuited to marine operations", as salt water caused environmental also found the supplied chain had been unsuccessfully tempered during manufacture, which resulted in a high level of hardness and low installation of the chain caused it to be led over a fixed pin, which introduced bending stresses to the chain links that were affected by corrosion and cracking, the investigation found. Recommendations given The report said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency had been recommended to update the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment) Regulations 2006 guidance to state training and accreditation requirements of people inspecting lifting also recommended updating training and guidance given to surveyors to improve their ability to check compliance with the was recommended the owners of The Cornishman, W. Stevenson & Sons Limited, ensure compliance with the lifting equipment regulations by reviewing and updating risk assessments, as well as confirming with chain suppliers the selected chains were suitable for their intended manufacturer of the beam's chain, Capital Group FASING S.A, Poland, was recommended to review and amend its chain quenching and tempering process.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Cornwall 'leading the way in diabetes care'
Diabetes super clinics are being expanded across Cornwall to help educate patients and improve long term well-being, health bosses have said. NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly said it was "leading the way in good diabetes care" through its work with Three Harbours and Bosvena Primary Care Network (PCN).It said people living with diabetes were being supported through established support groups and socially prescribed health walks. Jennie Brown, a member of the walking group at Lanhydrock, said the walks and the people taking part "had been really supportive and really helpful". Ms Brown said: "After my husband died I had a year of not looking after myself and basically I was eating a diet of white carbs and sugar and got the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes."I was feeling incredibly unhealthy and unwell and I look back now and I've very grateful because it gave me the wake up call I needed to look after myself and to take my health in hand and fulfil my promise to my husband that I would live a good life."I got the diagnosis and decided I was going to turn this around within a year and I did - I lost almost 6st (38kg), was feeling really healthy and full of energy."NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB) said it had created a five-year diabetes transformation plan, working closely with local people with lived experience of the Chris Reid, chief medical officer for NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, said he was "so proud of the innovative work" being done across Cornwall. He said: "The diabetes health walk is a great example of how integrated care and community activity can go hand-in-hand to support healthier lives for people with diabetes in Cornwall." 'Diabetes is unique' Tracy Crossley, whose husband Les has diabetes, said the support had helped them both."While I had heard of type 1 diabetes, it wasn't until we attended the courses and meetings that we realised how serious it can be and the potential impact," she said. "Everyone's experience with diabetes is unique, and discussing it openly fosters understanding."The help we've had from the team has been invaluable, giving us knowledge to educate our whole family about how we can support Les – but this journey has also made me more mindful of my own eating habits and what foods I bring into our home.""Our daughter is getting married next year and the thought of Les being fit enough to walk her down the aisle and even dance is a truly wonderful motivation," she added.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Thousands of baby lobsters have been released in Cornwall and Scilly
Almost 5,000 baby lobsters have been released into the waters around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by a conservation releases were part of a challenge by The National Lobster Hatchery (NLH) to conduct 25 lobster releases in 25 locations over 25 consecutive days for its 25th "release-athon" began on 19 May on the Isles of Scilly, and finished with more than 1,000 baby lobsters being released last week near Penzance to mark the final NLH, a conservation and education charity for the European lobster, said it was "hugely rewarding" to collaborate with other organisations and "provide another generation of lobsters to Cornwall's coastal waters". The NLH raised the baby lobsters from when they were larvae until they were large enough to be baby lobsters are just two to three months old and barely an inch they are small they are large enough to burrow into sand or seaweed and avoid Johns, senior technician at NLH, told BBC Radio Cornwall it was the "perfect point" in time to release the baby Johns said: "It's at this stage in their life cycle that... they settle on the seabed and live in there [for 12 to 18 months]."European lobsters in the UK are classed as vulnerable and the NLH says their work ensures the UK's population is kept sustainable.
Times
05-06-2025
- Climate
- Times
A UK heatwave is coming — here's where to make a weekend of it
As we shiver our way into June, it's hard to believe that the Met Office thinks we're going to have a scorcher of a summer this year. Where the beaches of the Hebrides not only look like the Caribbean but you don't have to brace yourself not to be blown over. Where using a hotel's outdoor swimming pool can actually be followed by a stint on a sunlounger. We British are hardy types. We can swim in the rain, we can sip aperitifs in stiff winds, but this year it would be really nice to have some better weather in the peak summer months. One bonus for those wanting to go with the Met Office's forecast is that after two disappointing UK summers, at the moment there's plenty of availability — and even some special offers — in place for July and August bookings at hotels around Britain. • Revealed: 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK for 2025 This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue If the heatwave arrives at the very end of June, the coolest people in the UK will be those who have signed up to Swimquest's trip to the Isles of Scilly. Between June 27 and July 3, participants (who should, of course, be strong swimmers already) will crawl their way between St Mary's and its off-islands, including Tresco, Bryher and St Agnes. The trip is based at the Mincarlo hotel and comes with qualified guides and safety boat back-up. Details Six nights' half-board from £1,769pp ( • 15 of the most beautiful places in England Fritton Lake is part rewilding project, part (whisper it) posh holiday camp where humans share the surroundings with free-roaming cattle, deer and water buffaloes. Accommodation ranges from hotel rooms to Scandi-style cabins. There's a heated 22m swimming pool, while the lake, which is available for both swimming and water sports, offers a more refreshing experience. There's a restaurant serving locally sourced food, but Fritton can also provide hampers and the beaches of Great Yarmouth are a 15-minute drive away. Details Three nights' self-catering for six from £1,665 ( Spread out across 20,000 acres of the Yorkshire Dales, Swinton may be best known for its smart hotel, but there are also cottages and glamping stays dotted about the estate. The latter are the best value, sleeping between four and seven people in cabins, yurts and a loft. All guests get free access to the Swinton Country Club. As well as indoor and outdoor swimming pools, over the summer the estate runs raft-making courses on the lake, where you can also enjoy supervised swimming, with tow floats provided for safety. Fishing is available on the estate too. Details Three nights' self-catering for six (two adults and four children) from £440 ( • Read our guide to England Every year, Dru regulars give a sigh of relief when they return to find that this hotel continues to defy the urge to glam up. Instead, the same charming 1970s ethos remains, complete with hearty homemade meals, superb sunsets and regular 'feasts' and events. Not all the bedrooms are en suite, none of them have televisions, whether in the main house or one of the five cottages. On top of a cliff, where there's nearly always a breeze, take the winding path down to the sea (about five minutes down, slightly longer coming back) and you'll arrive at the rock pools and caves of Druidstone beach. Details B&B doubles from £180 ( Parched Londoners can board a train at St Pancras, check in and be on the beach in just under two hours. Cabü's 20 design-minded cabins have heating, proper plumbing and kitchens. To make socialising easy, there's also an open-air but roofed communal kitchen with a pizza oven and 'sitooterie' with a bar. An on-site shop stocks essentials, including Aperol, artisanal gelato and chorizo and there's direct access to the pebble beach. Fussy kids? There's also a heated outdoor swimming pool and it's all surrounded by the elemental landscape of Romney Marsh. Details Two nights' self-catering for two from £544 ( • 12 of the best places to visit in Cornwall and where to stay Yes, during a heatwave the capital's buses become barely moving saunas and the Underground will feel as if you're descending into Dante's Inferno, but nowhere in Britain has a better provision of outdoor swimming pools, many of them run by local councils. Options include the Hampstead Bathing Ponds, fed by spring water, and properly Olympic-sized lidos, including at Tooting Bec and London Fields. If you want something a bit more exclusive, the Soho House group popularised rooftop hotel swimming pools here. One of the biggest in London is at White City and rates are a relative bargain in July and August, plus you may not have to fight for a sunlounger. Details Room-only doubles from £260 ( On the reed-fringed banks of Lough Erne is this superb adults-only hot weather escape, where woodland paths lead through to spas, saunas and jetties with steps into the water. A 90-minute drive from Belfast, this low-impact resort sees guests bed down in 21 PVC bubbles or forest lodges. There's a full spa but also saunas that lead into the lough. On sunny days the Bay café is a scenic spot for toasties and burgers. Details B&B doubles from £303 ( Tucked away on a country lane near the Helford River is an estate that's been owned by the same family for 600 years. The latest generation have opened it up with holiday cottages ranging from 16th-century thatched beauties to 21st-century sustainability-minded billets. The houses all share a huge open-air (and heated) swimming pool, which is surrounded by lawns and sunloungers. The grounds include woodlands to explore, a folly and Iron Age fort, a tennis court and — should you not want to slave over a stove in soaring temperatures — Flora, a boho posh restaurant that uses estate-grown vegetables and fruit. Details Seven nights' self-catering for six from £2,250 ( Edwardian enough to still do afternoon tea in a big way — including a traditional high tea for children — and modern enough to be genuinely family-friendly, Watersmeet, to one side of Woolacombe Bay, has 29 rooms, two restaurants and views (on a good day) onto Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel (as well as a bit of a breeze during heatwaves). There's an outdoor swimming pool and best of all, the hotel has steps that lead onto Combesgate Beach, a small, sandy cove that's fantastic for rock-pooling and is usually quieter than B&B doubles from £360 ( This American-inspired, wilderness-style camp amid glorious Highland scenery will bring a sense of cool to any temperatures. With cabins and B&B rooms and a shop selling posh ready meals and snacks, there's a BYOB bar, jukeboxes and wood-fired saunas, plus axe-throwing and bushcraft as well as hikes to local swimming spots. This summer, weekends will also see the Seed Store providing restaurant-quality food, including trout smoked over birchwood and venison from the estate. Details B&B doubles from £200 ( Country house hotels that have outdoor swimming pools and lovely deep sunloungers to sink into tend to be eye-wateringly expensive but the Retreat, 40 minutes by train from Paddington, manages to make it a more affordable extravagance, especially if you can slope off midweek. Alongside the hot tub, there are also cold-plunge tubs, a tennis court and outdoor yoga in summer. The Retreat's two restaurants and Stores café spill out into the countryside, shaded by red striped awnings. Details B&B doubles from £160 ( • The Retreat at Elcot Park hotel review: playful design and fun food in the North Wessex Downs Grown-up Swallows and Amazons pleasures abound at this hotel on the banks of Ullswater. A thorough renovation of a stern Victorian hotel has put its Lake District setting at centre stage. Many of the activities, including kayaking, sailing and stand-up paddleboarding, start from the hotel's own jetty. Like its sibling in Cornwall, Watergate Bay, this is very much a place where you can pad back to your treehouse — or other accommodation — while still towelling off. Another Place even has its own open-water swimming guide who runs courses and excursions. Details B&B doubles from £295 ( An outdoor swimming pool has been at the centre of this town's life since 1936. The water at Hathersage is kept at about 27C and there are regular evening swimming sessions with live music (£8; But basing yourself here also allows you to dip into the other Peak District watery pursuits, including paddling down the River Derwent at Matlock (from £75; and a collection of hikes that let you cool off with dips in pools and waterfalls. The George, an old coaching inn with 24 rooms, is a five-minute walk from Hathersage's swimming pool. Details B&B doubles from £120 (
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Compulsory education 'costing Isles of Scilly families thousands'
"It's pretty inconvenient," says 18-year-old Jacob Mallon of the 19-hour journey between his home in the Isles of Scilly and the college he has been attending for the past two years. It is a trek he made up to 12 times a year, involving a plane, a bus, a hotel, a train and a taxi and it is not only inconvenient - it is also islands are one of only two local authority areas in England with no sixth-form provision and as a result, his family say they are now in £20,000 of debt after sending their son to a state-run boarding college in Winchester. The Isles of Scilly Council says other options are available, including cheaper host families but campaigners are concerned about the safety of children living in unregulated accommodation. In 2015 it became a legal requirement for young people in England to stay in education, training or employment until recent years, there have been between 15 to 32 Scilly children in each post-16 year group, with two year groups completing their sixth form education at any one time. Children in the City of London - the only other local authority with no post-16 provision - can get a bus or tube to a nearby provider but island children have no choice but to travel to the they live during this time is causing tensions between the council and parents - and it can also come as a culture shock to the young islanders."I have to get the boat or the plane, if I get the boat it gets in quite late so I have to stay the night in Penzance, then it's a six or seven hour train to Winchester," says Jacob, who has just finished his college studies. Before starting college, the longest time he had spent off Scilly was about two weeks: "I'm used to walking down the road and knowing everyone but on the mainland, I don't know anyone and it's a bit weird."Accommodation options include staying with host families, costing about £9,000 a year; boarding, with the nearest state boarding costing £16,500 per year - or imposing on mainland family and does not include travel or other incidentals and families say the sums have been increasing "exponentially" as the cost of living goes can get a grant - increasing this year to £9,635 - to help with travel and accommodation mother Samantha Mallon says: "Any raise in the money is welcome, but it's still so far short of what we need and it's not addressing the safeguarding issues." The grant is made up of £8,000 from the government, administered by the council, and a top-up from the council but parents say it does not cover any of the told the BBC they had spent their life savings on boarding fees, while others say they have taken two jobs to pay the Mallon says she worries about safety."You don't know who's coming in and out of the house," she says. "Some of the families are great and that's brilliant but most people will say they've been lucky and it shouldn't come down to luck with children."Jacob says he thinks it is "unfair" Scilly young people "have to come away and there isn't really any other opportunities for us"."We just don't get enough funding for what we need," he says."I've had conversations with mates who've had bad times and they've had to change host families because they've been kicked out."Most [young] people don't have to figure out where they're gonna live but obviously quite a lot of people from Scilly do." Child 'became very ill' The council says it supports host families by funding Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates but while several hosts have taken up the offer, it remains optional. In a March meeting, councillors heard how an anonymous child "became very ill with type 1 diabetes" while living in host family accommodation, but "nobody noticed [them] lose 10kg over the course of a six-week half term when [they were] away from home".The council says "there are no records" of any referrals to children's services about children living with host adds since Ofsted found its safeguarding practices to be inadequate, it has "improved significantly" and had changes of BBC can reveal an anonymous teenager brought a judicial review against the council but it has since been withdrawn after an agreement between the parties. In March, High Court judges approved the agreement, which included the council agreeing safeguarding concerns were a relevant consideration when determining the level of also agreed to pay the claimant's legal council says it offered a resolution at an earlier stage and it "regrets that such action was taken".For the campaigners the result is "disappointing" and they are looking at their next legal options. Mother-of-two Jenny Bhadha is preparing to send her 15-year-old to the mainland in September."I do not feel happy or safe moving him into a family home that we've never met and don't know from Adam," she says. Mrs Bhadha says she considered breaking up her family to move with her son to Devon – the fees for boarding accommodation simply out of the son will be staying with a family friend in Plymouth while attending college there. In January, former councillor Anita Bedford said she was resigning from the Isles of Scilly Council over the matter. "I felt that the number one goal was to protect the organisation [council] at any cost," she says."I actually listened to councillors and officers saying, 'this is just a few precious mums who want to send their children to private boarding at the cost of £30,000 a year paid for by the taxpayer' - that was being spun, not just in meetings, but it was being spun within the community."She adds her own time in host family accommodation "was not a good experience" and as a consequence, she funded her two children to go to state boarding. "We wanted that environment, not just for the education, but that 24-hour wraparound," she says. The council says it takes safeguarding of children and spending public money "very seriously", adding Ms Bedford's reasons for resigning were personal to her. When the BBC went to St Mary's, very few parents were willing to publicly comment on the matter, with some saying they fear losing their jobs with the council - one of the island's main employers. The council says staff with children can discuss their concerns with their management "without any fear of disciplinary action".The BBC understands September 2025 will be the second time the council has contributed to the grants away from the government funds, the first was the previous year. In 2022 the council asked the government for £15,715 per pupil per year, which campaigners say they feel would be fair. This was declined with the new government saying it would look again in its next spending review. Statistics show Scilly has one of the highest proportions of 16 and 17 year olds not in education, employment or training."If [the council] can't afford to fund it... then they should be going back to the government which has made education up until 18 compulsory," Mrs Mallon adds."Parents shouldn't be subsidising the council or the government for what is their statutory duty."The council says it will continue to make representations to central government to increase the level of funding and will write to the nearest state schools who offer boarding to ask for a discount for Isles of Scilly children in light of their "unique circumstances".It gave its full support to host families saying they provide a "warm, welcoming and supportive home environment".The Department for Education says it has increased funding to £8,000 for the coming year and adds: "This government is mission-driven to break down barriers to opportunity through our Plan for Change. "We are committed to ensuring our post-16 education system gives young people the best life chances, whatever their background or postcode."Additional reporting by Mark Edwards and David Dixon
