Girl, 9, killed by speeding driver in Halifax 'was sacrificed to prove need for speed cameras'
V ideo report by Katie Oscroft.
The parents of a nine-year-old girl who was killed by a dangerous driver in Halifax believe their daughter's death enabled speed cameras to be installed where it happened.
Alice Williams was knocked down by a speeding motorist who drove through a red light on King Cross Road in July 2023.
Dashcam footage shows Qadeer Hussain driving almost 20mph over the limit in the outside lane and ignoring a red light.
Speed cameras have since been put up to monitor drivers as they approach the crossing.
Her mother Clare O'Neill said: "I do feel that Alice was sacrificed, to get the proof that those cameras were needed. And that doesn't feel good.
"The cameras were massively needed, it's a school crossing, a park on one side and the school on the other. Drivers would ramp up their speed to get on to the flyover."
Alice was crossing the road with Ms O'Neill and brother Joseph, then aged six, to go to the summer fair at St Mary's RC Primary School where she was a pupil.
Qadeer Hussain, 55 of Essex Street, Halifax pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison.
Ms O'Neill said she believed her daughter had to die to get the cameras installed.
She said: "They just appeared, we didn't have to do any campaigning. I know it's because of Alice.
"She was the light of our lives. She was my little best friend. She was so affectionate, always telling you she loved you. This feels like a nightmare we can't wake up from."
Alice's family have raised money for the road safety charity RoadPeace which helped them in the aftermath of the incident.
Her father Chris Williams said: "We don't want anyone else to go through what we have so we will do anything to help the charity to repay them for the support they gave to us."
Lucy Harrison, Justice and Outreach Manager for RoadPeace said: "This was a dangerous driver and no amount of changes would necessarily have stopped him from driving in that despicable way.
"But we shouldn't be waiting for tragedies to occur before we take action. We need funding putting into road policing and we need greater enforcement."
Ms O'Neill is now urging people to use dashcams in cars and to report near misses.
She said: "Dashcam evidence in this case made all the difference, we've since reported people for going through red lights. Three of them have received warnings and that's important, they need to know they're not invisible and can be held accountable.
"The man who killed Alice had a clean driving licence so he knew how to behave around cameras so if he knew he was being filmed then he wouldn't have done what he did. "
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "This is a tragic incident and our thoughts remain with Alice's friends and family. There's no excuse for those who risk the lives of others through speeding, which is why we are developing a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, to ensure the UK's roads remain the safest in the world, and recently relaunched our THINK Campaign with a focus on speeding."
Cllr Tim Swift, Calderdale Council's Cabinet Member for Public Health, said: 'We are deeply saddened by Alice's death, and offer our heartfelt sympathy to her family and friends who lost their loved one in such tragic circumstances.
"One life lost on our roads is one too many. We all want safer roads and as a Council we take our responsibility to prevent people being injured on our roads incredibly seriously.
"On King Cross Street we have installed speed and red light cameras. We're proud to be part of the West Yorkshire Vision Zero partnership, helping to deliver this important regional plan to eradicate all road deaths and serious injuries across West Yorkshire by 2040."
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Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
I've been caught by Britain's most prolific speed camera – it makes the road no safer
When careful motorist Norman Tate received a letter of intended prosecution for speeding, he could hardly believe it. It told the grandfather, who had had a clean driving licence for more than a quarter of a century before the incident last year, that he'd been caught doing 45mph in a 30mph zone in his Ford Mondeo by a speed camera on a busy junction on the A38 in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. 'I'm a straight-up person. My immediate thought was, 'I'm a senior citizen and don't do 45mph in a 30mph area',' says Tate, now 80. 'I might creep over the limit by a few miles an hour, but not by that much. So I thought I'd investigate.' The chartered civil engineer, with experience of road and bridge design, analysed the signage along that stretch of road. He's concluded that it is 'not fit for purpose' – and argues that motorists should be given better warnings that they are about to enter a 30mph area. It is a view that others who have been caught by that speed camera share – and there are plenty of them. In fact, the little yellow box mounted on a pole is so prolific that it is said to be the 'most lucrative' speed camera in the country, according to a Channel 5 documentary due to be broadcast tonight at 8pm. Speed Cameras: Are They Out to Get You? says that one camera caught 17,498 speeding offences in nine months from when it was installed in August 2023 – at an average rate of 72 per day and potentially costing motorists more than £1.6 million. So, what, you might well ask, is going on with this camera in a Nottinghamshire market town to make it ranked the most prolific – and some claim the sneakiest – in the country? And what happens to all the money it generates? When we visit Sutton-in-Ashfield to meet Tate, from nearby Chesterfield, Derbyshire, he explains how, as you approach the camera from junction 28 of the M1, first there is a 70mph speed limit that suddenly turns to 50mph – with an average-speed camera overhead – then it goes to 30mph about 100 yards from the crossroads where the camera is. There is a 30mph sign as you approach on the dual carriageway and a smaller sign warning of the camera ahead and reminding you it's 30mph. But, Tate says: 'When I started looking into the signage, it became apparent that if there's a high-sided vehicle on the inside lane, there's no way you can see the 30mph sign. There is nothing on the road itself to say it's 30mph. I think there should be. It's too easy to think you're still in the 50mph zone.' (When we stopped by at a busy 4pm, motorists appeared to be driving carefully, but it was hard to tell whether it was carefully enough – the camera uses infra-red light technology, which means it doesn't flash.) The figures in the documentary come from a survey by Legal Expert, a personal injury, compensation and accident claim solicitor company. To obtain them, the firm made a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to all 43 police forces in England and Wales asking for the number of speeding fines issued in the 12 months to April 5 2024, and the top 20 spots where drivers have been caught speeding. Only 23 replied. If the 17,498 figure for the camera on the A38 in Sutton-in-Ashfield is annualised, it would be 23,331, putting it ahead of the second-placed speed camera, which was on the M25 between junctions 7 and 16 in Surrey (21,989 offences, at a daily average of 60). With speeding offences resulting in a £100 fine and three points on your licence (if they result in a fixed penalty notice and are not contested), that would mean that £2,333,100 worth of fines would have been threatened in a year, using the annualised figure for the A38 camera. A separate FOI request, not mentioned in the documentary, about the A38 speed camera was later made to Nottinghamshire Police by Gary Eyre, a heating engineer from Huthwaite, near Sutton-in-Ashfield. He found the reply 'flabbergasting': it said 41,675 motorists were punished for travelling in excess of the 30mph limit in the camera's first 20 months. 'I go into about 10 houses every day and everybody knows someone who's been done,' he said, explaining what prompted him to make the FOI request. That means at least £4.1 million worth of fines will have been threatened during that period. Nottinghamshire Police has stressed to The Telegraph that 47 per cent of those offences were resolved with speed awareness courses as an alternative to prosecution, so no fines will have been paid for those. 'I don't disagree with having speed cameras,' Tate says, 'and this one is there doing the job it should be doing and is designed to do – if the signage was correct. This is a very dangerous junction and the camera is trying to save people's lives. But if there's 23,000 people a year going through there at the wrong speed, there's something wrong – and that's the signage.' His attempts to argue his case saw him locked in what he called a 'David and Goliath' battle with the authorities. In the end, after first electing to go to trial, he pleaded guilty to his speeding offence, committed at 11.09am on February 1 last year. He did not contest the 45mph recorded by the camera but argued that the advance warning signs from the 50mph to the 30mph zone are 'inadequate' and called for a review of those signs. Magistrates gave him four points, fined him £360, and ordered him to pay a surcharge to victim services of £144 and £150 costs to the Crown Prosecution Service. In the documentary, Tate is featured with his friend Brian Staples, 76, a retired auto electrician from Papplewick, Nottinghamshire, who runs a classic car club. Staples is more dubious of the camera's intent, telling the documentary: 'They're taking those motorists to court and making them look as if they're bad drivers, and they're not. Friends that I know have been caught there are in their 80s – they're not speeding, they've just been caught out.' Staples also claims that some speed cameras are there just to collect money rather than to slow people down. Patrica Harvey, 68, a retired office accounts manager from Pinxton, Derbyshire, told The Telegraph that she has been caught speeding by the Sutton-in-Ashfield camera twice in a year, the second time around a fortnight ago. Both times, she said her speed was in the mid-30s mph. 'I was specifically looking for the sign the second time but didn't see it,' she said. 'I'm really very cautious about my speed. But one minute you're in 50mph, then it's 30mph. There's not enough signs telling you what's happening.' Judy Gascoigne, 66, a PA from Matlock, Derbyshire, was warned by a passenger in her car of the camera ahead and was trying to slow down when she was caught doing 36mph. 'I didn't see the signage,' she said. 'I did a speed awareness course and there were four or five others on it caught at the same camera.' Another motorist said: 'I got caught twice in the same week. When there's tree branches in the way and large vehicles, the signs are difficult to see.' The documentary also raises the question of what happens to the money from speed camera fines, making the point that it is common misconception that it goes to the council. In fact, it goes directly to central government, to the Treasury, and is used towards general spending rather than ring-fenced for specific areas. Motoring journalist and transport campaigner Quentin Willson told the documentary: 'If the public saw that the revenue raised from speeding fines made a visible difference, then perhaps the public would be more behind them.' It is an issue that West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster is campaigning on. He wants the money raised from speeding fines in his region to be spent on road safety schemes there. During a consultation in 2023, 93 per cent of the public agreed that money raised from fixed penalty fines should stay in the region. So far, however, his calls – to both this and the previous government – have not resulted in a change of policy. One argument against allowing the income from speed cameras to be retained locally is that it might incentivise regions to install cameras to make money. Nottinghamshire Police said around 37,000 vehicles go through the junction where the Sutton-in-Ashfield camera is every day, so only a very small percentage are exceeding the speed limit. There had been at least one fatal collision and a number of serious injury collisions in the years before the camera was installed. But there have been no fatal or serious injury collisions since it was installed and the rate of offences have reduced to around 60 a day. The force also said work to cut back foliage to ensure all signage was visible was done before the camera went live, and the 'unusual step' was taken of putting out proactive communication to inform people of the new camera. Inspector Simon Allen, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: 'While the 30mph limit around this junction is not set by the police, it is in place for a very good reason – including the very large number of children who use the pedestrian crossings to get to and from school each day. 'Like all safety cameras in the UK, this unit is in place to reduce speed and prevent road traffic collisions – not to catch people speeding.' A Department for Transport spokesman said: 'Fines from speeding offences help fund essential public services including health care, transport and policing in the West Midlands and across the country. 'While we keep the motoring offences and their penalties under review, we don't currently have any plans to change this system.'
Belfast Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
First Minister condemns Ballymena rioting as ‘pure racism – there's no other way to dress it up'
The disorder followed an allegation of a sex attack on a teenage girl in Ballymena at the weekend. Two 14 year old boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, were arrested and have since been charged in relation to the allegations. First Minister Michelle O'Neill said that it's important to remember that violence against women in Northern Ireland and the recent violence in Ballymena are separate issues. 'We know there's a general societal problem here in terms of violence against women and girls. 'And it's male violence against women and girls. So we have to call it out and we have to work with our young boys about educating them as well, which is why a lot of the work we've done around campaigns like Power to Change, don't be a bystander whenever you see misogyny or you see attacks on young women. 'What I want is to separate out two things here. 'One is an attack on a young woman that needs to be investigated and fully dealt with in the criminal justice system. 'Separate to that is an issue of racism that we have now developed. And I would say, orchestrated by some of those people like Tommy Robinson to this point, orchestrating and trying to whip up fears and tensions, let's not allow that to take hold in our society,' she said. Ms O'Neill condemned the violent demonstrations as "pure racism – there's no other way to dress it up'. "We can't dress this up, this is racism in Ballymena, and we have to say that this is not tolerated in this society". "It's wrong – we have to say that it's wrong and all political leaders need to join together in calling for calm." Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said the violence in Ballymena is "serving no purpose whatsoever, but risks criminal convictions of young people". Ms Pengelly added that the family of the victim of the alleged sexual assault in Ballymena had been "very clear" that they did not want violence to follow a peaceful demonstration held on Monday night to support them. "At the heart of this initial protest was a victim, a young girl,' she said. "But then of course that [demonstration] turned into something very, very different. The family have been clear, they don't want that violence." Ms O'Neill said the Executive was united in its condemnation of the attacks. News Catch Up - Wednesday 11th June 2025 'I think it is important that political leaders are very clear in terms of the language that they use and the words that they use so that they don't inflate issues. 'The racism that we see being carried out over the last few nights in Ballymena is wrong, we have to say that it is wrong. 'That's why it was important that all of the Executive parties have come together to say that what's happening needs to stop. We will continue to provide that political leadership, work with communities, we want to engage with the PSNI, and continue to work with them in terms of the response.'
Belfast Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemns ‘mindless attacks' in Ballymena after second night of violence
PM condemns 'mindless attacks' Sir Keir Starmer has addressed the violence at Prime Minister's Questions. "I utterly condemn the violence that we've seen overnight in Ballymena and in other parts of Northern Ireland, including against PSNI officers. "It is absolutely vital that the PSNI are given the time they need to investigate the incidents concerned rather than face mindless attacks as they seek to bring peace and order to keep people safe. "The Northern Ireland Secretary is in touch with the PSNI and the Executive and I am being kept updated in relation to that." First Minister calls for an end to all 'racist and sectarian attacks' in Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill has said that "racist and sectarian attacks" on families in Northern Ireland and recent violence in Ballymena are "abhorrent and must stop immediately." "Those responsible for this violence bring nothing to our communities but hatred, fear and division," Ms O'Neill said in a statement. "No one, now or ever, should feel the need to place a sticker on their door to identify their ethnicity just to avoid being targeted." Last night some Filipino workers in the Ballymena area began putting stickers on their doors that declared their nationality, in an apparent bid to avoid attack. Some people also displayed Union flags, or hung them in windows. "We are a kind-hearted, caring, and compassionate people," Ms O'Neill added. "We stand united and strong, facing down those who seek to divide us through violence and intimidation." Ms O'Neill said that she had been in contact with the PSNI Chief Constable and "urged him to ensure those responsible for orchestrating and perpetuating these crimes are held fully to account." 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Today 10:37 AM Romanian couple's front door damaged in middle of night in Belfast Didii Georgian Daniel, 30, and Teclas Emanuela, 22, had the front door to their rented home damaged as they were in bed at around 1am last night. The Romanian couple have lived on Woodvale Avenue in the Shankill area of Belfast for two months after moving from the The Village on Donegall Road. The Belfast Telegraph spoke to the couple, who both work in a car wash in Lisburn, as their landlord replaced their front door this morning. Mr Daniel, who has lived in Northern Ireland for 12 years, said: 'We were in bed when we heard the noises. I went downstairs and saw them running away. Of course we were scared.' Asked how he feels about the future, he said: 'I don't know if it's getting better or worse. But [my girlfriend] is scared because she's a woman.' Mr Daniel said the incident had been reported to police. Today 10:25 AM Presbyterian Church Moderator says right to peaceful protest 'must be recognised' but called for an end to 'all illegal behaviour' Speaking from the Moderator's Chair, as he opened the second day of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland's General Assembly, Reverend Dr Richard Murray, condemned the recent riots. He called on 'those who engage in such mindless acts to stop all illegal behaviour.' Dr Murray said: 'Over the last two days, the first people who came out onto the streets of Ballymena were reacting peacefully in response to the alleged sexual assault on a young girl. "The right to peaceful protest must be recognised in a democratic society. 'However, what followed the original protest, was hijacked by elements intent on what the PSNI have described as 'racist, thuggery, and violence'. "This has now spread to other areas. This must be condemned and we call those who engage in such mindless acts to stop all illegal behaviour.' 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Ministers said they "strongly condemn the racially motivated violence" and made an appeal for "calm across society". Their statement added: "The alleged serious sexual assault reported on 7 June in Ballymena was appalling and our collective thoughts are with the victim and their loved ones at this deeply traumatic time. 'It is paramount that the justice process is now allowed to take its course so that this heinous crime can be robustly investigated. "Those weaponising the situation in order to sow racial tensions do not care about seeing justice and have nothing to offer their communities but division and disorder. 'While all of our citizens have the right to engage in peaceful protest, there can never be any justification for the violence that has taken place in recent days, during which residents have been terrorised and numerous PSNI officers injured.' Ministers also urged communities to "reject" the agenda being pursued by rioters. 'As an Executive, we work collectively every day to create a safe, prosperous and welcoming Northern Ireland for all," the statement added. "We are urging everyone in our communities to play their part in that effort and reject the divisive agenda being pursued by a minority of destructive, bad faith actors.' Today 09:01 AM Assistant Chief Constable says PSNI are prepared for further violence Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson says the force has asked for support from the National Police Operations Centre in an effort to fight violence in Northern Ireland. Speaking on the BBC's Nolan Show, he said: 'We've started that discussion with them [the National Police Operations Centre] to get that process rolling.' He condemned those taking part in violence over the past two nights as a 'hate-filled mob' and 'absolutely unacceptable'. 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I have been in constant contact throughout last night with PSNI and in contact with local elected representatives,' she said. "This disorder and violence must stop and justice be allowed to prevail.' Today 08:03 AM Homes attacked in north Belfast Sinn Féin MP John Finucane has condemned attacks on homes in north Belfast last night. 'I am horrified to learn that a number of homes were attacked near the Ballysillan area of north Belfast in suspected racist attacks. My thoughts are with the families affected by this abhorrent act. 'This kind of behaviour is deplorable and must be unequivocally condemned and called out by all political and community representatives. 'I will be contacting the families affected to ensure they receive the support they need, and to reassure them that the vast majority of people in our city warmly embrace the many positives that diversity brings." A car was also set alight in the area. Today 08:02 AM Alliance MLA condemns 'unacceptable' violence Alliance MLA Sian Mulholland has condemned last night's violence. Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster Programme, she described the incident as 'unacceptable'. "It's deeply shocking and very disappointing and I have to say it's entirely unacceptable. This violence doesn't speak for Ballymena. 'It distracts from the really serious issue at the heart of this which is violence against women and girls, and that's what we should be talking about, we should be talking about how to make our society safer for women, not how to manage the fallout of violence and intimidation. "It was just really disturbing, and deeply, deeply worrying.' Sian Mulholland Today 08:00 AM Six arrests made and 17 officers injured The PSNI has issued an update this morning confirming that six arrests have been made while 17 officers were injured following another night of violence. 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