Latest news with #LiverpoolECHO
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Inconsiderate parkers slammed as families attend fun day
A local council has hit out at "inconsiderate" parkers after it issued more than 30 fines to cars parked around a family fun day. Sefton Council told the ECHO it issued 38 parking charges to vehicles near Botanic Gardens in Southport while people enjoyed a family fun day. People gathered in the park in the north of the town to celebrate its 150th birthday, with stalls and activities for children set up throughout the grounds. Despite hundreds enjoying the day at the park, a car was unable to leave due to illegal parking blocking them in. As a result, the council was called and found dozens of people had parked illegally on the roads surrounding the park. One of the cars involved had parked entirely on a footpath, impeding people coming and going. READ MORE: Mum and daughter, eight, found dead at home READ MORE: Ava White's murderer named for first time The parking charges were as follows: Balmoral Drive - four - all for parking on or adjacent to yellow lines Bankfield Lane - 18 - all for parking on or adjacent to yellow lines Botanic Road - six - five for parking on or adjacent to yellow lines, one for parking in a free space for longer than permitted Verulam Road - 10 - all for parking on or adjacent to yellow lines A spokesperson for Sefton Council said: 'While we are delighted that so many people enjoyed the recent Botanic Gardens Fun Day in Southport, there is no excuse for inconsiderate and illegal parking. 'While regular patrols take place in Churchtown as a matter of course, we were dismayed to note a distinct increase in drivers parking illegally throughout Sunday, June 15 resulting in 38 Penalty Charge Notices being issued. 'All but one of these notices were issued to motorists who had parked on or adjacent to double yellow lines, including parking fully on the footway. "This inconsiderate and illegal parking caused significant disruption not only to residents but to public transport, other visitors to the park and an emergency services vehicle. 'Furthermore while attempting to resolve this issue and carrying out their jobs, our Civil Enforcement Officers received significant abuse. This type of behaviour is completely unjust and uncalled for.' For the latest news and breaking news visit Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by signing up to our daily and breaking newsletter. Sign up to our breaking news newsletter here. Follow us on X @LivECHONews or on Bluesky @ - official Liverpool ECHO accounts - real news in real time. We're also on Facebook/theliverpoolecho - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Man thought he'd beaten TV licence system - then a letter turned up
A man from Kirkby is celebrating after a court case relating to his TV licence was dismissed at Sefton Magistrates Court. Lee Stuart applied for a TV licence when he moved into his property, but later decided to cancel it because he did not watch any live television and instead relied solely on online streaming platforms. According to guidance on the TV Licensing website, a licence is required to watch or record live TV on any channel or device, including live programming streamed online via services such as ITV Hub, All 4, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video. A licence is also necessary for using BBC iPlayer. A TV Licensing spokesperson told the Liverpool ECHO: 'If a property we believe should be licensed is unlicensed, letters are sent to that address advising of the requirement for a TV Licence if the occupant watches live TV or other licensable content. This stops for one year when the occupant declares they don't need a licence, when letters will resume to check if circumstances have changed.' READ MORE: Plumes of smoke seen after quad bikes go up in flames READ MORE: Liverpool man shot dead in Costa del Sol 'gun fight' named for first time In September last year, Mr Stuart was visited by a TV Licensing inspection officer. He described the visit as an opportunity to explain his viewing habits in person, adding: 'I told him I didn't pay for a TV licence because I didn't think I needed one because I don't watch live TV. 'I don't even have an aerial installed in my TV, and I invited him to do his checks. He was a bit apprehensive, but he looked at everything and asked me what I used the TV for. "So I told him I just watch Netflix and Amazon Prime through the PlayStation, and he asked me if I used BBC iPlayer and I said, 'no'.' Following the inspection, Mr Stuart said the officer confirmed he was not in breach of licensing requirements. Mr Stuart described how the officer documented their conversation and read back the main points, including that no live TV was being watched and no BBC iPlayer account was used. He added: 'It was official, and I agreed with what he had said, so when I was presented with the big white signature box, I just signed it, and then he left. To be honest, I was really made up with myself, thinking I'd beaten the system and proved I didn't need a license.' However, in January this year, Mr Stuart received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN), which covers those who are alleged to have watched TV without a license. Lee explained: 'It said if I pleaded not guilty, the fine would be larger and I may have to pay court costs. So I'm not sure what's going on at this point. 'I look through it all, and at the back was the inspector's statement. Straight away I clock the question, 'May I come in to inspect the TV receiver?' and it said 'no' in the answer box, so that was wrong because I did. 'The next point was saying I admitted to watching the news last week. So I've refused him entry and then admitted on the step I watched live news last week? It didn't make any sense.' Mr Stuart chose to contest the notice and represented himself in court. He said: 'I can see why people just accept it, but I knew I was innocent and I wasn't paying for a TV license that I didn't need so I fought it.' "I'll be totally honest, I was surprised by the outcome and I thought it might be good to share my experience.' The court dismissed the case due to insufficient evidence. A TV Licensing spokesperson said: 'This was reviewed by TV Licensing following the court hearing in April 2025 as is standard practice, and no failings were highlighted.' The spokesperson added that while both the officer and Mr Stuart gave credible in-person testimony, the magistrates could not find the case was proved beyond reasonable doubt. Mr Stuart, initially pleased with the outcome, later received a further letter from TV Licensing advising of the licence requirement. He has since submitted a formal complaint and a No Licence Needed (NLN) declaration. He added: 'The form asks at the end, 'What outcome do you want from this?' and I just put 'All I want is to be left alone, but an apology wouldn't go amiss'.' TV Licensing confirmed it has now received Mr Stuart's NLN declaration.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Daily Record
Man gunned down in Costa Del Sol weeks before Scot gang murders named
The brutal street shooting happened at around 8.15pm on Easter Monday in the popular British holiday resort of Calahonda, between Marbella and Fuengirola in Spain. A man who was gunned down in a gangland execution on the Costa Del Sol weeks before Scots hoods were killed there has been named for the first time. The brutal street shooting happened at around 8.15pm on Easter Monday in the popular British holiday resort of Calahonda, between Marbella and Fuengirola in Spain. The 32-year-old was reportedly shot dead after leaving a football match at the Finca Naundrup complex. Now, the Liverpool ECHO has confirmed the man to be Steven Gray from Merseyside. The gun slaying took place just weeks before Lyons crimelord's Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan were assassinated in Monaghan's pub, owned by Ross Monaghan, in Fuengirola on Saturday, May 31. The brutal double-murder of the Glasgow hoods coupled with the gunning down of Mr Gray has sparked fears of rising gun crime in the Costa Del Sol. The Times reported that there have been eight shootings in two months on the Spanish coast The Liverpool newspaper previously told how Mr Gray was approached after leaving a football match at the sport facility. Locals told police they heard between eight and 10 shots being fired with the incident described as a"gun fight". One local source previously said the victim from Liverpool"fired one shot back". Spanish cops locked down the area following the fatal shooting. Local newspaper Sur reported that a short time later a Seat Cupra, with foreign number plates, was found dumped and set ablaze a short distance from the crime scene. The same newspaper reported that police "found two pistols inside the car, which were allegedly the weapons used in the murder" - and officers were searching for"two hooded killers". Following the shooting, Pedro Fernández, the government delegate in Andalusia, told the press that police officers were "working on inspecting the surrounding cameras to see if they can provide any identification regarding the person who fired these shots". Since the shooting, no information has been released by the police. The investigation is currently being led by the Guardia Civil. The ECHO has approached the Guardia Civil for more information on multiple occasions. A spokesperson for the police force previously said it doesn't release information to the media while an investigation is ongoing. However, the ECHO understands from a source that this is not unusual for Spanish police A source told the ECHO that the shooting is believed to be linked to organised crime. However, they said no one from the expat community has been talking about the incident - and added: "There is a basic problem in the area that the Spanish aren't that bothered about expat violence until they have to be. "Perhaps more prescient [is] that the police authorities in the area are under-resourced." A spokesperson for the Foreign Office previously said it was "supporting the family of a British man who has died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities". The Costa del Sol - and the police's response to targeting organised crime - has recently come under the spotlight following a spate of shootings. The Times reported that there have been eight shootings in two months on the Spanish coast. According to local reports, a man fired several shots on a Malaga street in early April, injuring four people - including three who were hit by stray bullets. A different person was also shot in the leg following a confrontation between two families just days later - and then on May 31, Lyons Jnr,43 and Monaghan, 46, were shot dead in Fuengirola after watching the Champions League final. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The Record reported on Saturday that Michael Terrance Riley, 44, was arrested by Merseyside Police on Friday evening in connection with the shooting. Riley was detained on an international arrest warrant, which is a request issued by a judicial authority in one country to another to help locate someone for extradition. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court for a brief hearing to start the extradition proceedings to Spain. He will next appear before the same court on June 19. The investigation into the deaths of Lyons Jnr and Monaghan, who are linked to a crime group from the west of Scotland, is being led by a Spanish elite anti-drug and organised crime unit. Scottish police insisted in the days after the shooting that there was no information to suggest the shootings were in any way linked to an ongoing gang feud with another crime family. However, Spanish police told a press conference today that the suspected gunman was a member of the rival Daniel crime clan. A senior officer also revealed that the arrest of Riley was made as detectives discovered the alleged gunman was about to flee his UK bolthole for a "paradise island tax haven". The ECHO reports that it is not currently aware of any connection between the deaths of Mr Gray and Lyons Jnr and Monaghan. Southern Spain's Costa del Sol is colloquially referred to as the "Costa del Crime" due to the high number of organised crime groups who use its shores as a centre of operations. The coastal area, which was historically popular due to lax extradition laws, now sees British and Irish gangs battling with cartels from South America and Europe to gain a foothold. The recent shootings has resulted in local politicians asking for more help to tackle the firearms threat. The BBC reported that the mayor of Fuengirola said: "We live in a world and at a time where crime knows no borders" and asked for specialised police officers to be deployed to the area.
Wales Online
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Bruce Springsteen snubbed autograph hunters for 'chasing him all around town'
Bruce Springsteen snubbed autograph hunters for 'chasing him all around town' The Dancing In The Dark rock legend - who recently played the second of two gigs at the north-west of England city's Anfield stadium - appeared angry as he was seen admonishing some people in the rain and refusing to sign any autographs Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney performed together at Anfield on Saturday (Image: Liverpool ECHO ) Bruce Springsteen snubbed autograph hunters in Liverpool after they "chased" him through the city. The Dancing In The Dark rock legend - who recently played the second of two gigs at the north-west of England city's Anfield stadium - appeared angry as he was seen admonishing some people in the rain and refusing to sign any autographs. In a video which has been shared on X, Bruce said: "You guys chased me all around town! I'm signing nothing!" As he walks past them, someone out of view can be heard gasping in shock. Another person behind the camera responded: "Bruce, we love ya! We didn't, we've been here waiting for ya!" Bruce played his second gig in Liverpool on Saturday (07.06.25), and he'll be moving onto Berlin, Germany for a show at the Olympiastadion tomorrow (11.06.25) as his Land of Hope and Dreams tour keeps rolling. Article continues below Last month, the 75-year-old rock star played three packed concerts at Manchester's Co-op Live arena. At one point during the first of the shows, he described Donald Trump's administration in the US as "corrupt, incompetent and treasonous". He told the audience: "In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration. "Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!" The rocker – who has been a staunch critic of Trump – made another attack on the White House chief and his political ideology as he introduced City of Ruin. He said: "There's some very weird, strange and dangerous s*** going on out there right now. In America they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. "In America the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world's poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now. "In my country they're taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers. They're rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society." Trump responded with a lengthy rant via the social media platform Truth Social. Article continues below Describing The Boss as "dumb as a rock", he wrote: "This dried out 'prune' of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that's just 'standard fare'. Then we'll all see how it goes for him! He added: "Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he's not a talented guy - Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK."
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The mum and two kids living in a hotel room with beds pushed together
A mum has been left living in a hotel room with her son and baby due to the housing crisis. Abbie Coulthard, eight-year-old son Rocco and six-month-old Dollie, live in a hotel room with three beds pushed together. The main bed is for Abbie, a single bed for Rocco, and a unit for Dollie to sleep in between them. The family is one of many impacted by Liverpool's ongoing housing crisis. Their situation means that they have been forced to live in a hotel room for five weeks, the Liverpool ECHO reports. READ MORE: When UK weather will change as soaring temperatures of 28C set to hit READ MORE: Exact time the Red Arrows will fly over the North West this afternoon Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE In the hotel room they currently call home clothes hang from the curtain pole by a window which doesn't open. Next to the hotel TV are an air fryer and a kettle, which are their only way of heating up food. Behind the bed is a large, garish picture, a stark reminder that the room is usually aimed at people heading out on the town and not a family just trying to get by. Liverpool is currently in the midst of an acute homelessness and housing crisis. Sadly, Abbie and her family are one of around 1,250 families who need emergency temporary accommodation. The crisis is expensive as well, with Liverpool's council having to pay some £21 million to house desperate people in hotels and bed and breakfasts. This figure represents an astonishing 12,000 percent increase over five years. This year the bill is only set to rise further still, and could hit £30 million. Each of these figures represents a story just like that of Abbie and her family. "We lived in a normal house in Hunts Cross, but the landlord put the rent up and then said he wanted to sell the house," explains the 31-year-old mum. "We got a Section 21 eviction notice and we had to move out." Before this, Abbie had operated a café and considered herself to be doing fairly well, but like with many people who are forced out of their homes - things can quickly spiral. Cost of living pressures forced her to close the business and with nowhere for her and her children to live - she desperately contacted Liverpool City Council for help. At this point Abbie and her children joined the growing number of people living a transient existence in this city, being moved from temporary spot to temporary spot, wherever the council could find. Some locations were a very long way from home. "At first they put us near Warrington in a motel room at a service station full of trucks," explains Abbie. "There was nowhere to make food, we survived on meal deals from WH Smith, I had nowhere to sterilise the baby's bottles, it wasn't good at all." After this, the family were remarkably moved all the way to Manchester. The facilities were better but the distance made it almost impossible for Abbie to get 8-year-old Rocco to his school in south Liverpool. Eventually the family were brought back to Liverpool and are currently residing in a city centre hotel, which the ECHO has agreed not to reveal the location of. What has complicated an already very difficult situation is that Abbie has a debilitating health issue in the form of serious cluster headaches. She has been prescribed oxygen tank therapy to relieve the serious pain she faces from the condition, but says this has never been taken into account by those placing her in temporary accommodation. "I have been here for five weeks now," she explains. "When I first got here I was saying I need to get my oxygen delivered and they said I couldn't have that here. It was health and safety or something. But I really need it. I haven't been able to take it to the other places they put me either." "I am trying to just keep everything together," she adds. "I have got to, for these two. But my head kicks off every couple of hours if I am up all night, I struggle. It's not fit for purpose being here, especially with my health condition. Its just a nightmare. We can't stay here." While we are talking, Rocco, just in from school, jumps on the bed to grab a drink from a mini-fridge that is resting on the window ledge of the hotel room. "That's my mini fridge," he says proudly. "It's going to go in my new room when I get one." Abbie says she struggles with the impact her situation is having on her son. "He hates it, he can't play out with his mates or anything, we have no life here," she explains with a resigned expression. "I am trying to keep him happy. We went to Taskers the other day and I was asking him what he wants for his new room. And he was like 'have we got a house?' and I had to say 'not yet.' It's not easy." For anyone looking after a six-month baby and an eight-year-old son would be tough, but to do it in these cramped conditions is another matter. "We try and stay out of the room as much as possible," says Abbie. "We can't even cook a meal at home. All we can do is use the air fryer and the fridge." In today's precarious society, where rising rents, cost of living pressures and a lack of affordable housing have created a perfect storm of problems for families, Abbie's is a story that could happen to so many. "This could happen to anyone," she says. "I had my business, I had a house, I was driving around in a nice car. And then this happened to me overnight. "I have never depended on anyone before, I've worked all my life and the one time I am now struggling it feels like I am just getting fobbed off." "It's just scary how everything can spiral so quickly," she adds. "I just feel like I am drowning." The ECHO has made enquiries about Abbie's housing situation with the city council. It is understood she has just recently been offered a property in north Liverpool, but is concerned about accepting it because it is even further away from Rocco's school than her current base.
