Braintree crash leaves three women in hospital and man arrested
A man was arrested on suspicion of driving offences after a crash left three young women with serious injuries, police said.Officers and paramedics were called to Broad Road near Braintree, Essex, at about 03:38 BST on 26 April after a BMW crashed on a roundabout.One of the women's mums told the BBC her daughter was "lucky to be alive" and described the scene as "absolute carnage".Essex Police said an 18-year-old man from Halstead was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and failing to stop, failing to report a collision, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving without insurance.
He was bailed until July.The women all live in the Sudbury area in Suffolk, where the vehicle was being driven towards.The BMW was left in a crumpled heap on a grass verge, with extensive damage to its bodywork and its airbags deployed, images sent to the BBC showed.Three ambulances and an ambulance officer vehicle were sent to the scene, before transporting three people to Broomfield Hospital.
'Absolutely devastated'
The mother, who asked not to be named, added: "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."The sister of one of the victims believed her sibling's injuries were "life-changing"."We were just absolutely devastated," she said."I now have visions of the state my sister and her friends were in and I also see different outcomes of what could have been."The police said it was continuing to investigate the single-vehicle collision.
Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
23 minutes ago
- STV News
Bargain Hunt star jailed over art sales linked to suspected Hezbollah financier
A BBC Bargain Hunt art expert has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for failing to report high-value art sales to a man suspected of financing the militant group Hezbollah. Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, from Brent, north London, sold around £140,000 worth of artwork to Nazem Ahmad, a man designated by US authorities as a suspected financier for the Lebanese organisation, a court heard last month. Ojiri, from Brent, north London, previously pleaded guilty to eight offences under section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000. He is believed to be the first person to be charged under the specific offence. The art dealer, who also appeared on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip, was charged with failing to disclose information about transactions in the regulated art market on or before dates between October 2020 and December 2021. US prosecutors say Mr Ahmad was a 'major Hezbollah financial donor' who used high-value art and diamonds to launder money and fund the group. He is accused of helping to evade terrorism sanctions by using front companies to obtain more than $160 million (£120 million) worth of art and diamond services. After new money laundering rules brought the art market under HMRC supervision in January 2020, Ojiri reportedly discussed the changes with a colleague, indicating he was aware of the regulations. The court previously heard that the total value of the artwork sold was around £140,000. Ojiri was sentenced to two years and six months in prison at the Old Bailey on Friday, with a further year to be spent on licence. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Metro
41 minutes ago
- Metro
TV fans have days to binge BBC's 'best crime drama' before return
One of the BBC's best crime dramas is returning for a second season this weekend. The Gold is based on one of Britain's biggest ever real-life heists, the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery, in which six armed men stole £26million in gold from a security depot near Heathrow. The majority of the gold was never recovered and it's understood most gold jewellery bought in the UK from 1984 onwards contains traces of the stolen stuff. The brilliant ensemble cast is led by Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville as detective Brian Boyce, who sets up a police task force to route out the gold from the criminal underworld of south London. With all six episodes of the second season set to arrive on iPlayer this weekend, TV fans have just a couple of days to binge the first season if they missed it in 2023. The show defies the normal heist drama fare by plunging into that robbery in the first scene. The robbers only expected to find a small amount of currency, but chanced upon an amount of gold that would now be equivalent to around £100m. The rest of the first episode, and drama as a whole, then follows the hunt to find the gold before its melted down and vanishes – which most of it did. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Created by Neil Forsyth, the man behind Scottish crime series Guilt, the drama unwraps how the robbers quickly went ground as they sought to launder the gold. In the drama they do so with the help of gangster Kenneth Noye, played by Slow Horses' Jack Lowden, and a crooked solicitor, played by Dominic Cooper, who uses the cash to buy up land around the London Docklands. When the show first aired it was hailed as not only British TV at its best, but a modern crime classic and The Gold was nominated for a Best Drama Bafta in 2024. TV fans took to X – then Twitter – when the drama first aired to praise the the tremendous episodes and the show's knockout cast. @charlieray47 wrote that the show was an 8/10, tweeting: 'Stunningly shot, well-paced series that had me hooked. A gripping real story with a masterclass performance from Hugh Bonneville. 'One of the best British dramas I've seen in a long time. Only critique was a slightly rushed finale but thoroughly enjoyed.' More Trending @Cliff_Thompson1 added: 'The Gold is utterly brilliant – best drama I've seen in a long while.' @LW_Reviews said the show was a 4/5, adding: 'Riveting crime drama. May be one of the best performances I've seen from Hugh Bonneville & Dominic Cooper. 'While I thought Jack Lowden was very good I did feel at points his character was a bit too much of a anti-hero considering what happened in real life.' View More » The Gold season 1 is available to stream on BBC iPlayer, with season 2 dropping on Sunday (June 8). Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Casualty declares major incident as first look is revealed MORE: EastEnders confirms end of an era as huge change is confirmed MORE: Netflix is hours away from dropping all 6 episodes of 'traumatic' Australian thriller
Rhyl Journal
42 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
BBC art dealer from Bargain Hunt jailed for terror offence
The 53-year-old admitted to eight counts of failing to disclose during business under the Terrorism Act 2000. Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Ojiri was aware that he had sold art to Nazem Ahmad, who had been sanctioned in 2019 by the US authorities. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organisation in the UK (Image: Ben Whitley/PA) She stated: "These offences are so severe that only a custodial sentence can be justified." According to the BBC, the judge added: "You knew about Ahmad's suspected involvement in financing terrorism and the way the art market can be exploited by people like him. "Your hard work, talent and charisma has brought you a great deal of success... You knew you should not have been dealing with that man." She added that there was no evidence that Ojiri supported any form of extremism but that his conduct undermined he detection of terrorist financing. Representing the BBC Bargain Hunt star, Gavin Irwin said that the art expert's "humiliation is complete," adding that the star has lost "his good name" and the "work he loves." Mr Irwin added: "He'd like to apologise for undermining trust" in the art market. Discussing the case, Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, said: "Raising money for terrorism is a core part of how terrorist groups are then able to cause harm around the world." Bethan David, head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division, said Ojiri's motivation appeared "to be financial, along with a broader desire to boost his gallery's reputation within the art market by dealing with such a well-known collector." He added: "This prosecution is believed to be the first of its kind, and the CPS will not hesitate to bring criminal charges against individuals who flout the law in this way." According to the House of Lords Library, Hezbollah is an armed Shiite militia group that is backed by Iran, which largely operates in Lebanon. Giving the UK Government's reasoning for classifying it as a terrorist group in 2024, it added: "It has been proscribed in its entirety by the UK as a terrorist organisation since 2019. "The current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel continues. Hezbollah has fired rockets at Israeli territory whilst Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes—including that which saw the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah." It concluded by saying: "The UK has called for an immediate ceasefire to provide space for a diplomatic settlement."
