Gardener wrongly accused of making bomb threat to school over Welsh accent mix-up
BOMB FEAR Gardener wrongly accused of making bomb threat to school over Welsh accent mix-up
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A GARDENER was wrongly accused of making a bomb threat to a school — when the receptionist misunderstood his Welsh accent.
James Morgan asked if any of the primary children would be 'back home or in school' as he worked nearby.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
But owing to his quick speaking and thick accent, the receptionist thought he said 'bomb in school', a court heard.
She told the head, who called 999.
Police evacuated Badbury Park Primary in Swindon in February.
Staff and nearby residents were allowed back six hours later after the all-clear.
The city's crown court heard Morgan, 36, rang to ask if he had time to litter-pick in a nearby park before children left school.
Prosecutor Nicholas Mather said the receptionist heard Morgan say 'bomb in the school' before hanging up.
But Morgan said he ended the 31-second call after it became apparent that she could not make out what he was saying.
A jury took two hours to find Morgan, of Marlborough, Wilts, not guilty of intentionally communicating false information.
Hot air balloon crashes into UK primary school at international festival
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
23 minutes ago
- Metro
Gardener wrongly accused of school bomb threat after mix-up over Welsh accent
A Welsh gardener was misunderstood as making a bomb threat to a school because of his accent. James Morgan had phoned Badbury Park Primary school in Swindon, Wiltshire, to ask if he had time to pick up litter at a nearby park before the children finished classes for the day. He was looking to clean up the public space before 3pm, as he had done the previous week. However his query as to whether the pupils would be 'back home or in school' was heard as a 'bomb in school' by the receptionist. He asked: 'I want to do some litter-picking, can you tell me if the kids are on half term? Are the kids back home or in school?' Confused by Mr Morgan's Welsh accent, she alerted the school's head teacher to what she assumed was a threat, who phoned 999. Schoolchildren and staff were evacuated from the building on February 25 for six hours while police searched the premises, a court heard. More Trending Local residents were also told to leave their homes as a 200-metre cordon was erected around the school, the Telegraph reported. Mr Morgan, 36, said he had hung up after speaking for 31 seconds with the receptionist after it had become clear she couldn't understand what he was saying. The gardener, who works for Tony Benger Landscaping, was found not guilty of intentionally communicating false information following a two-hour trial. Defending Mr Morgan, Kate Lara said that the speed at which he was speaking coupled with his accent and the receptionist's shock at hearing what she thought was a security threat to the school, led to the mix-up. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Shopkeeper told by police to take down sign calling shoplifters 'scumbags' MORE: British girl, 13, died while snorkelling on family holiday at Florida theme park MORE: Woman died after falling on escalator inside WHSmith
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Russia is running ‘slave catalogue' of Ukrainian ‘orphans' with kidnapped children ‘treated like animals'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RUSSIA is allegedly running a grotesque online "slave catalogue" of abducted Ukrainian children in occupied territory. The profiles can be searched by hair colour, eye colour and even "personality" in the latest twisted move by Mad Vlad Putin's regime. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 9 Russia is reportedly running a twisted online 'slave catalogue' of abducted Ukrainian children Credit: Reuters 9 Children from an orphanage in the Donetsk region, eat a meal at a camp in Zolotaya Kosa, the settlement on the Sea of Azov, Rostov region, southwestern Russia Credit: AP 9 Ukrainian officials previously warned its children are being trained up to fight in Putin's army Credit: Bring Kids Back Ukraine According to the NGO Save Ukraine, it features almost 300 children labelled as "orphans" or "left without parental care". But campaigners insist many were forcibly taken from their families, re-registered under Russian documents and are now being "matched" with Russian families as if they were animals in a pet shop. Mykola Kuleba, head of Save Ukraine, described it as 'digital trafficking' and a 'slave catalogue'. He warned: "This is not adoption. This is not care. This is digital child trafficking, masked as bureaucracy. "These children are not 'war orphans'. They had names, families and Ukrainian citizenship." According to The Times, the depraved search tool reportedly allows users to filter children by age, gender, health and physical traits - even by whether they are "calm" or "active". The portal is run by Luhansk's so-called Ministry of Education and Science — part of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), a Russian-installed regime in territory internationally recognised as Ukrainian. While some of the children listed were born after Russia seized the area in 2014, Kuleba says most were born before occupation and held Ukrainian citizenship. Kyiv says the catalogue is just the latest stage in Moscow's mass child-snatching campaign — a programme that Ukrainian officials claim has seen tens of thousands of minors abducted since Putin's full-scale invasion in 2022. Yale researchers, UN experts and legal bodies have said the deportations could amount to war crimes. Nazi lies, Vlad's propaganda & troops on border… chilling signs Putin ready to invade ANOTHER European nation after Ukraine In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and his children's commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over the illegal transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children. Russia has long defended these relocations as "humanitarian" - but Ukrainian officials and returned captives tell a far darker story. Survivors have described being beaten, starved, locked in basements, forced to sing the Russian national anthem, and banned from speaking Ukrainian in re-education camps. Some say they were told their parents had abandoned them. 9 Pictures show children inside Russian 're-education' camps in a bid to rid them of their Ukrainian heritage Credit: Bring Kids Back Ukraine 9 A chamber in Kherson where Ukrainian children were allegedly abused Credit: Security Service of Ukraine 9 Vitaliy was held at a camp in Yevpatroia and spoke of horrors he saw after begging to be released from an isolation cell Credit: BRING KIDS BACK UKRAINE 9 One 11-year-old, Illia, was forced to have shrapnel removed without anaesthetic after he was snatched by Russian soldiers Credit: BRING KIDS BACK UKRAINE Earlier this year, Moscow announced plans to send 60,000 kidnapped Ukrainian children to remote summer camps in the wilderness - a move critics see as deepening indoctrination. Ukraine's presidential adviser Daria Zarivna has accused Putin of 'weaponising' these children, warning they are being groomed to fight for Russia in future wars. She told The Sun: 'It's a threat to global security, to Ukraine's security.' Lvova-Belova - dubbed "Putin's childcatcher" and sanctioned by Britain for her role in the abductions - has openly bragged about "adopting" a boy from Mariupol. 'I was snatched by Russian soldier' ILLIA, 11, was deported from Mariupol after a Russian missile strike killed his mother and left him with horror shrapnel wounds when he was nine. His neighbours buried his mum's body in their back garden before he was snatched by Vlad's soldiers and taken for surgery at a camp in Donestk. The shrapnel was removed without any anaesthetic and he was forced to write and speak Russian and repeat "Glory to Ukraine as part of Russia". He says Russian forces tried to turn him into a "propaganda tool" but that he is not "one to be duped so easily." Illia's grandmother had been searching for her grandson ever since losing contact with her daughter in March 2022. It wasn't until they spotted the young boy in a video from Russia that she realised he was alone and that her daughter had been killed. His grandmother never gave up hope and set about getting her injured grandson back home where he belonged. Months later, Illia returned home to Ukraine and had further surgery to remove more fragments from his leg, while 11 remain. His grandmother Olena said: "He had a school, he had a home, he had a mother and he lost all of that - his entire childhood. "He kept to himself, he was afraid of noise, he was afraid of sirens. He had no memory. He now has dreams of becoming a doctor so that he can help fighters on the frontline as a combat medic. She is accused of overseeing the heartless bureaucratic machinery that strips Ukrainian children of their identities before placing them in Russian homes. Kyiv's Bring Kids Back Ukraine initiative has so far rescued nearly 700 minors, but thousands remain missing. Officials say no peace deal will be struck with Moscow until every abducted child is returned. 'This is genocide,' said Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets. 'These children are not commodities. They are victims of a brutal campaign to erase our nation's future.' 9 Putin meets with Russia's Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova Credit: AFP
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
I was accused of cheating after my baby was born with a different skin colour – there's a perfectly reasonable reason
Belvana is often asked if her daughter was adopted OH BABY I was accused of cheating after my baby was born with a different skin colour – there's a perfectly reasonable reason Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MUM has revealed how strangers accused her of cheating on her husband after her daughter was born with a different skin colour to the rest of the family. Belvana Abeli's, daughter, Zayana Domingos, two, was born with albinism and has light skin, hair and eyes, while her parents and two other siblings are black. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Belvana Abeli was accused of cheating on her husband when she gave birth to her daughter Zayana Domingos (seen together) Credit: Caters 5 But the little girl was born with albinism which causes her to have light skin, hair and eyes Credit: Caters The 36-year-old explained how her daughter is regularly discriminated against for looking different, with strangers asking if she is adopted and have even accused Belvana of cheating on her husband due to how their daughter looks. Belvana, from Cape Town, South Africa, said: 'The reaction to her having albinism was really well within our family but externally, there were a lot of questions. 'People have questioned whether I cheated on my husband with a white person – it's a lot to deal with. 'People will ask things about why my one daughter is black and the other is white or ask if she's adopted. 'It's offensive, but people unconsciously do it.' After suffering with Covid-19 during her pregnancy, the mum had to have an emergency C-section at just 28 weeks. When she saw her newborn baby for the first time, Belvana was left questioning why her baby had a different skin colour and ginger hair. However, after genetic testing, doctors confirmed Zayana had been born with albinism, a life-long condition. Initially, the mum-of-three was unsure whether there was any family history of the condition and later learned that her grandmother's great-uncle had albinism and also suffered from discrimination. 'Giving birth to an albino baby was a surprise as albinism was not known to run in any of our families,' she says. Latino mum's albino baby with ivory skin and blonde hair made her doubt who the father was 'Doctors initially said her skin and hair would darken with time, but after a few days in hospital, we were informed that she had albinism. 'As time went by her skin and eyes got lighter and lighter. We already had a black daughter and weren't expecting an albino baby at all.' Zayana has two siblings, one older sister and one younger brother who are both black. Zivah Domingos, five, is the eldest of the trio whilst Zander Domingos, five months, is the youngest. People with albinism will often suffer from a lack of vision due to the reduced amount of melanin in the layer of cells in the eye as well as having a higher risk of sunburn and skin cancer. After falling pregnant with her third baby, Belvana was curious as to what colour skin her next child would have after having an albino baby. She consulted the doctor to see if there were any tests that could be done to determine the possible albinism. Although she didn't mind, Belvana wanted to minimise any possible shock. Speaking about her 'miracle' albino baby, Belvana adds: 'Having an albino child has been challenging at times due to the lack of education about albinism, for example, being told that our daughter needs a special school because albinism is a disability. 5 The couple hadn't realised that there had been a history of albinism on Belvana's side of the family Credit: Caters 5 Belvana says that people often ask if she is adopted which she does find offensive Credit: Caters 'But it has also been a great blessing to us because it has given us the opportunity to share our story and increase knowledge about albinism.' Her eldest daughter, Zivah, has started to ask questions about why her little sister looks different to the rest of the family. She added that Zayana is too young to question her looks, but her mum knows that the questions will be asked when she gets older. WHAT IS ALBINISM? Albinism is an inherited genetic condition where people are born without any kind of pigment in their body. Their body is unable to produce melanin (which gives you colour), and can affect the skin, eyes and hair. This causes those who are born an albino to have very pale skin, eyes and hair, and the condition can affect all races. There are two main kinds of albinism, which are oculocutaneous albinism and ocular albinism. Albinism affects around one person in every 20,000. 'When I was pregnant with my son, my daughter was asking me if he was going to be white or black,' she says. 'My eldest is coming to a point where she's starting to understand that Zayana is different to others in the family. 'But, she is our miracle baby, and we are super fortunate to have her in our lives.'
