
Woman appeals for return of pain relief gear stolen in Colchester
Mrs Waters, an artist, said: "It was very, very upsetting, and they would be of absolutely no use to anybody who stole them."She said she was mainly bedbound, so it was unusual for the devices to be out of the house.Her spinal implant is still activated but she is now without the remote and the serial number she would need to reprogramme it.She appealed to whoever stole her items to hand them in, saying: ""I don't understand your story or why you needed to do that and I'm sorry if life is hard for you."
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Sky News
36 minutes ago
- Sky News
Electronic tags and 'tougher' unpaid work will reduce prison overcrowding, govt claims
Increases in the use of electronic tagging and "toughening up" unpaid work will help reduce prison overcrowding, according to the Ministry of Justice. The independent review of the current sentencing framework published in February called for an increased focus on utilising punishment outside of prison to reduce reoffending, freeing up capacity in jails. In response, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood says she's determined to toughen community punishment - and make sure unpaid work truly pays back communities harmed by crime. The work done by offenders at the Nene Valley Railway near Peterborough is certainly tough. A group of low to medium-risk offenders have been sent to help re-lay track for the charity that runs the heritage railway, famous for being home to the engine that inspired Rev W Awdry's Thomas The Tank Engine. "We've been working with the probation service for over 20 years," says Michael Purcell, chair of the Nene Valley Railway. "Most of the work here is done by volunteers, and many of them are quite old. "So to have a team of younger workers that can come here and do the physical work under an experienced supervisor as a community service is massively helpful to us." Visually, there are echoes of the prison chain gangs of old. But the hard labour involved in this unpaid work is very much a part of contemporary plans to reduce reoffending. The Ministry of Justice says its analysis indicates that community-based sentences are more effective at reducing reoffending than custodial sentences lasting under a year. Supervising the work on the railway is Michael Barry, who believes the hard work gives the offenders on the programme a feeling of achievement. "You do notice that the men and women who come to work here don't tend to come back," Mr Berry explains. "I've been supervising groups here for 20 years, and many of the offenders who have worked here seem to have gone back to working. "So I do believe it helps people return to work after offending." The MoJ says being tough on crime means always having the prison capacity to incarcerate the most dangerous offenders. And it says that as well as "toughening up" unpaid work, probation funding will be increased by up to £700m (nearly 45%), allowing it to "substantially boost" the number of offenders on electronic monitoring. The MoJ has also said an increase in the use of curfews and exclusion zones, where offenders are prohibited from visiting certain areas, will help reduce prison overcrowding. A spokesperson added: "Offenders should be made to give back to the communities they've harmed. That is why we are toughening up unpaid work as a punishment so it can continue to act as a deterrent and make our streets safer.


Daily Mail
44 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'Double standards': Police tell anti-Semitic abuse victim 'to just stop posting' online
An antisemitism advocate abused online and called an 'ugly Zionist' has accused the police of double standards and victim blaming after officers said she had made herself 'a target' by posting about Gaza. Heidi Bachram, from Brighton, East Sussex, was bombarded with offensive terms, including 'scumbag' and 'genocidal Zionist pig' from an X account that has since been suspended. She claimed that Sussex Police seemed reluctant to investigate who was behind the racist posts and advised her to simply stop posting about 'politically sensitive subjects'. But Ms Bachram said this was in stark contrast to a recent post written by a far-Right troll - that the force had proactively alerted her to and asked her to report. She was contacted by police after she shared an image of a hostage memorial in Brighton that had been smeared with faeces. One user wrote: 'None of these people died in Brighton. F*** off, Jew'. Over the last two years, Ms Bachram has established herself on X as a voice against antisemitism with more than 42,000 followers. She was spurred on to grow her online presence after close relatives of her Israeli-Jewish husband were murdered and taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. Antisemitism advocate Heidi Bachram has accused the police of double standards and victim blaming after officers said she had made herself 'a target' by posting about Gaza Ms Bachram was especially distressed by posts referencing the Hamas hostages, because of her family connection. Tsachi Idan - the first cousin of Heidi's husband, Adam Ma'anit - and his daughter Mayan, 18, were both murdered by Hamas terrorists She was contacted by police after she shared this image of a hostage memorial in Brighton that had been smeared with faeces - and a far-Right troll made a racist comment In the latest case of abuse, Ms Bachram said she was trolled by another account and the antisemitism was 'relentless'. The troll created offensive posts referencing stereotypes about Jewish men and women with large noses. Another showed a photograph of released hostage Mia Shem, who was kidnapped at the Nova festival, accompanied by the caption: 'Check out the beak on this one.' Ms Bachram was especially distressed by posts referencing the Hamas hostages, because of her family connection. Tsachi Idan - the first cousin of Heidi's husband, Adam Ma'anit - alongside his wife and two children were held at gunpoint at their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Tsachi's daughter Mayan, 18, was murdered, while he was taken hostage into Gaza. In February, Tsachi's remains were among the four bodies of Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas. When Ms Bachram reported the abuse to a police officer she claimed that she was met by some resistance. She told The Telegraph: 'He said I was making myself a target.' Ms Bachram added that she believes the police had shown double standards in their treatment of the two offenders. She added: 'I feel like I've been victimised twice. Once by this cruel troll and secondly by the police.' Sussex Police said it was aware of concerns raised by Ms Bachram and confirmed the force had received a formal complaint.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Anti-abortion campaigner is being probed for praying outside a clinic... for the THIRD time
An anti-abortion campaigner is being investigated after taking part in a silent prayer outside an abortion clinic. Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Catholic pro-life advocate, has been arrested twice before by West Midlands Police for campaigning outside the Birmingham clinic. She received a payout and apology on both occasions and earlier this year lodged a complaint against the police force. The campaigner accused them of harassing her for standing too close to a clinic in and praying in silence. But now she is being investigated for a third time, the Telegraph reports. Ms Vaughan-Spruce was arrested in November 2022 for silently praying in a 'buffer zone' around an abortion clinic in the Kings Norton area of Birmingham. In February 2023, the charity-worker was acquitted of all charges at Birmingham magistrates' court when the prosecution was unable to offer evidence to support the charge. But just weeks later the director of anti-abortion group March for Life UK was arrested for a second time and was told her silent prayer was an offence. After a six-month investigation, the police dropped the charges and she received a payout of £13,000 and an apology. Last year, a new law was introduced making it an offence for anyone within a 'buffer zone' to do anything that could influence someone's decision to use abortion services. They could not intentionally or recklessly obstruct, harass, alarm or distress anyone visiting or working at the clinics. Despite the new law, Ms Vaughan-Spruce, who has won support from US politicians including vice president JD Vance, has continued to pray silently outside the Birmingham clinic every week. She insisted her actions did not break the law and instead brought a formal complaint against the force. Ms Vaughan-Spruce issued a claim for two wrongful arrests and false imprisonments; assault and battery in relation to an intrusive search of her person; and for a breach of her human rights in 2022 and 2023. Her complaint was rebuked by the police force's Department for Professional Standards because she was the subject of a live investigation. The force also said officers were liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), with an update expected next week. She told the publication: 'Despite being fully vindicated multiple times after being wrongfully arrested for my thoughts, it's unbelievable that two and a half years later, I am still being harassed by police for silently praying in that area, and yet again find myself under investigation for the same prayers I have said for twenty years. 'Silent prayer cannot possibly be a crime – everyone has the right to freedom of thought.' The anti-abortion campaigner is being supported by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, a charity committed to protecting freedom of expression that has campaigned against the buffer zones - areas around clinics cordoned off from anti-abortion campaigners. They claim to expand Christian religious stance through faith-based legal advocacy. The group claimed that the police were censoring Ms Vaughan-Spruce's beliefs. She has also met with lawyers from the US House Judiciary Committee to discuss restrictions being imposed on others silently pray outside clinics. The Daily Mail has approached ADF International and West Midlands Police for comment.