Bus and digger collide near Colchester
Police are at the scene of a serious collision between a bus and a digger. Officers were called to Wivenhoe Road between Wivenhoe and Alresford, near Colchester, at around 10:35 BST. A road closure is in place and will remain in place for some time.Essex Police said: "We would thank the public for their patience while our response to this incident continues."
"Please plan your journeys where you can and avoid the area," the force added. Paramedics and firefighters have also been at the scene.
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The Sun
37 minutes ago
- The Sun
I went to see Lucy Connolly in prison and what she told me about her treatment proves there is a two-tier justice system
I HEARD shocking allegations last week that Lucy Connolly – the mother slung in prison for a tweet during the Southport riots – was being badly mistreated inside. As an MP with special privileges, I was able to make a hastily-arranged visit to HMP Peterborough to speak to her for myself. 4 4 What she told me was deeply sinister, and has left me genuinely concerned that someone, somewhere, is trying to keep her locked up for longer. It has been almost a year since Lucy, in a moment of madness, posted on X urging her followers to 'set fire' to migrant hotels. The mum from Northampton was summarily banged up for 31 months with a conviction for inciting racial hatred and has had subsequent appeals chucked out. The whole point of justice is it has to have the confidence of the people it serves — to be decent, fair and equally applied. But while those who upset the 'Keir brigade' are locked up in jail, drug-dealing illegal migrants claim they can't be deported for ludicrous reasons. Ludicrous reasons It is clear confidence is rapidly disappearing down the plug hole, replaced by a genuine fear that we have moved to a two-tier justice system. And so it seems, too, with Lucy's experience in prison. Until last Thursday, she told me she basically had no complaints about her treatment apart from a few niggles. She had been told very clearly all along that, because she was a model prisoner, she was going to what was essentially the 'good girls wing'. Then suddenly she was informed that she would actually be incarcerated in the 'naughty girls wing' for the more violent inmates. Naturally, she was pretty upset with this and challenged the decision — and it was as she was making her case in the adjudication room she noticed lots of wardens gathering around her. It was on seeing the nurse hovering outside that she clocked something bad was about to happen, because a medic is always present whenever officers are preparing to use force. And sure enough, they jumped on her, flattened her on the floor, pushed her arms right behind her back and slapped on very tight handcuffs. She then described to me being bent over and dragged three flights of stairs to the naughty girls wing, where she was thrown in the cell for the rest of the day with no lunch or tea. 4 4 Why would they go from using the lightest form of restraint to the most severe in the blink of an eye? It's so inexplicable that I genuinely believe you have to think the unthinkable: they are trying to provoke a reaction to say she has got violent tendencies and deny early release. Or have they put her on a wing riddled with drugs, to plant some in her cell? I have demanded the head of security reviews all the bodycam footage to get to the bottom of what happened. There's a very, very bad potential there. I told Lucy: 'You've got to stay calm — don't allow yourself to be provoked.' She assured me that she had not reacted. Staying in prison for a second longer than she has to is not an option. Her situation is horrendous. She's got a desperately worried husband and a distressed daughter. But she is resilient. Shaken up — and with visible bruises — but resilient, and over our chat, she was completely lucid, rational and intelligent. Massive mistake We didn't spend much time raking over her tweet — she obviously feels it was a massive mistake she regrets. But when the inmates in her new wing asked what she was in for — and she replied 'a tweet' — they literally fell about laughing. Imagine: Violent, drug-taking women collapsing into laughter being told that someone had joined them because she'd sent a nasty tweet. Judgments like this are why I proposed 'Lucy's Law', so a sentence is triple-checked by a review commission if enough people object via a petition. The quantity of emails and messages I have received supporting this has been incredible — we have captured the public mood. It seems many judges took Starmer's speech after the Southport riots — hitting out at 'far-right thugs' — as an order to hand down extremely harsh sentences. I am also deeply concerned that legal aid lawyers deliberately and wrongly advised them all to plead guilty, saying they would get lighter sentences. That has proved a deception. I think the legal system at best has let itself down. At worst, it has been conspiratorial with the Prime Minister.
The Sun
42 minutes ago
- The Sun
Police slammed over daft hate crimes including trans woman banned from ladies loo & man singing Scots song in England
COPS are still logging bizarre hate incidents — including the singing of anthem Flower of Scotland at an English railway station. An investigation by The Sun reveals how police — under fire for not catching shoplifters and burglars — are wasting vital time on the 'non-crime hate incidents'. 5 5 Former officers and MPs want the 'crackers' cases scrapped. Police stand accused of failing to tackle 'actual crimes' while instead investigating 'hate' complaints — including one about a pub landlord who stopped a transgender woman using his ladies' loo. Cops also logged a case after a caller put on an Indian accent to order a chicken tikka masala from a takeaway. Another force was contacted by a person whose new boss called their designer clothes 'fake' and told them of an intimate Where's Wally tattoo. The bizarre cases were among at least 6,300 non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) recorded in 2024. The true figure would be much higher as 15 of the 44 police forces in England and Wales did not disclose figures under a Freedom of Information request. MPs and top cops led calls to stop wasting time on NCHIs, which are recorded where no criminal offence has been committed but the 'victim' feels it was motivated by hate or prejudice. Shadow Justice Minister Robert Jenrick said: 'We have lost the plot. 'Practically everyone in the country will have at some point said something that would get them reported. 'This is crackers. Moment Met boss dodges question over two-tier policing of riots by grabbing reporters' mic & chucking it to floor 'We need to scrap NCHIs altogether.' Reform UK's Lee Anderson added: 'The majority of these incidents are reported by total snowflakes. 'These are the people who should be charged with wasting police time. 'Officers should be investigating proper crimes not hurt feelings. 'Those who complain should go and live on a remote island with some of our celebrities who make a living out of being offended.' The person in Bedfordshire upset by the Where's Wally tattoo also complained of the supervisor asking about their shoes and requests to remove their durag hair covering. The incident was recorded as 'sex-based and hate-motivated'. The police log obtained by The Sun says: 'The victim felt irritated for the rest of the shift as it was mean and uncalled for.' In Dunstable, Beds, a complainant said they heard a neighbour gossiping on their Ring doorbell, then point at their home and make an insult before walking off. Bedfordshire Police said: 'We record hate related incidents in line with national guidance set out by the College of Policing.' South Wales Police, which dealt with the trans row, recorded 40 NCHIs last year. It said one 'perpetrator' was aged nine, another 11. Humberside Police logged the case where a person put on an Indian accent to order a curry. West Yorkshire Police handled 175 complaints — one from a man who claimed his bins kept being moved because he was gay. Forces that did not provide their figures included London's Met — the UK's biggest — West Midlands, Essex and Devon and Cornwall. Ex-Met detective Peter Bleksley said: 'These examples are ludicrous and a total waste of police time. 'Waste of police time' 'It is not a policing matter if someone is singing Flower of Scotland. 'If it were, the whole of the Met would have to be deployed when Scotland play rugby at Twickenham. 'These are mostly juvenile situations and officers should not lower themselves to getting involved. 'It is a serious problem when a lot of actual crimes are not investigated.' NCHIs were introduced in 2014 and are meant to help forces develop intelligence on situations that could potentially escalate. In some cases, cops speak to those supposedly committing offences. An NCHI can remain on file for six years and, in some cases, be disclosed to a prospective employer. A report this week by think tank Civitas called for NCHIs to be abolished. Author Hardeep Singh said: 'Some activist groups continue to weaponise them against their political opponents. "We've seen the most absurd incidents being recorded over the years, and precious police resources should not be drained by policing online ideological disputes.' 5 5 In 2023, the Home Office issued guidance instructing officers to consider if there was genuine hostility in the incident or whether it could be considered freedom of speech. Earlier this month, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said the policy of recording NCHIs had 'passed its sell-by date'. Sir Andy Marsh, head of standards body the College of Policing, called on officers to use more 'common sense' and signalled that the recording of NCHIs needs to be scrapped. He said: 'What we've wrapped up that objective in doesn't stand up to scrutiny on many occasions under the common-sense test. 'We need to fix it. 'I don't want to be policing freedom of speech.'
Times
an hour ago
- Times
How I was duped by Jack Watkin, the luxury handbag fraudster
Jack Watkin was the last person Christine Colbert expected to walk into Dress Cheshire, her vintage clothing boutique, and inspect a black Hermès Birkin bag. 'I spoke to him by email and assumed he was in his forties,' she said. 'I was shocked when this 21-year-old came in wanting to buy a £35,000 bag in matt crocodile but he was very knowledgeable about the luxury industry. It was all, 'Darling, darling' … He was flamboyant and charming.' Within months of that meeting in October 2020, Watkin charmed Colbert into a business venture. He promised to source and resell Hermès bags while giving her 'a financial return plus a share of the profits'. She placed her trust in him. Watkin, who initially used the alias Jack Holding, pretended he was a millionaire and portrayed a glamorous life.
