Cambridgeshire Police arrests 300 for drink- or drug-driving
The force fears people face "face greater temptations to drink-drive during the summer season, when there are traditionally more planned events"."Please consider a designated driver system or make sure to book taxis in advance, so there is no temptation to drive home while potentially over the limit," PC Boddington said."Before you get behind the wheel please think – is it really worth the risk?Other drink- or drug-drivers caught by Cambridgeshire Police this year included a driver in Peterborough who blew twice over the limit after drinking half a bottle of rum on a night out and a drink-driver who crashed into traffic lights in Huntingdon while twice over the limit. The police force added officers would be "proactively patrolling the county and conducting breathalyser tests this summer". Convicted drivers face a minimum 12-month driving ban and up to six months in prison. The confidential hotline number, available 24 hours a day, is 0800 032 0845.
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12 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Gaping hole' in DBS regulations let paedophile prey on children
A "gaping hole" in the law meant a convicted paedophile could lead activities for children where he used the access to abuse them, a charity has said. Nicholas Moxham ran parties in Manchester but did not need to have to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, a common test for people working with young people which would have revealed his previous conviction, because he was who was detained for four years in 1992 after wounding a woman and received a caution in 1997 for indecent exposure, was jailed for at least 19 years after being convicted of a series of sex offences against women and children in 2024, some of which took place at the charity Freedom from Abuse said the law should be changed to ensure "anyone" working with children underwent DBS checks. Moxham ran party experiences involving laser tag, zorbing, go-karting and science demonstrations through companies he owned in buildings, outdoor areas and woodland he had hired from Parrs Wood High discovered that in 2016 he had lured three children who were playing laser tag to a hidden area of the woodland being filmed by a camera he had hidden in leaves and exposed himself and acted indecently while their backs were also found that between 2018 and 2019, he hid a motion-activated camera in the toilets of an outbuilding that was used by both children and adults attending his of those filmed by Moxham have been identified by also kept devices containing indecent images of children and animals in a storage unit at the school. 'Children being harmed' Teachers and other employees who work with children and are unsupervised by senior staff must have an enhanced DBS, which looks for criminal records and ensures they have not been banned from working with children. However, anyone employing themselves through their own company is not legally required to have a DBS certificate, though self-employed people can obtain checks by applying through agencies, professional organisations or specialist parents were usually present at Moxham's events, but regulations mean that only the presence of senior staff negates the need for an enhanced DBS certificate in such circumstances for anyone not working for their own whose name has been changed to protect her identity, booked Moxham for one of her son's birthday said most parents "just assume that these people have been checked and that it is safe"."I'd trusted him, it was at a school, it was a registered company, I'd done the research, I'd looked at the reviews," she said."What more can you do?" For support and information around the issues raised in this piece, go to BBC Action Line Freedom from Abuse's Marilyn Hawes said "anyone" working with children should need to undergo checks for previous convictions or cautions."It's a gaping hole that children are falling down and being harmed," Ms Hawes Miller from law firm Farleys said DBS checks were "there for employers" and in circumstances where self-employed people had been booked, it was "essentially left to the parents or guardians" to make sure that those providing the service had been "appropriately checked".The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases but is understood to be looking at extending the scope of enhanced criminal records checks to self-employed people who work closely with children and vulnerable adults. When Moxham was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court in July 2024, Judge John Potter said he was a "determined and predatory sexual offender" who used his businesses "as a means to sexually exploit children".The judge also said his "random attack" in 1992 had been motivated by his "anger" towards women, because of their "disinterest" in him, and that Moxham had shown he had "a capacity to cause very serious harm".He added that the school should review whether "appropriate checks were made" before his business was allowed to operate teacher Mark McElwee said Moxham "ran an independent business that was not connected to our school beyond the fact that his business held events for the wider community when the school was closed on premises he hired out from us".He said "all correct procedures" were followed in relation to the site hire and "no concerns were raised with us in relation to this, either at the time or during a subsequent safeguarding review of our lettings procedures once the offending came to light".He added that the school had been "shocked and appalled by the offences committed" and "additional requirements for hire arrangements" had since been brought in. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
12 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Manvers asylum seeker hotel riot will not stain our town'
On 4 August 2024, TV screens across Britain were filled with violent scenes unfolding in Manvers, a usually quiet suburb of Wath upon Dearne, near Rotherham in South watched live as fires were set outside a hotel housing 200 asylum seekers, with a mob chanting "burn it down" as bricks and bottles were hurled at windows and police officers. One year on, barely any visible signs of damage remain at the Holiday Inn Express on Manvers Way. But last year's riot left behind more than scorched walls and shattered glass - it exposed deep fractures in public trust and a town's quiet determination to rise above fear and division."I live about a mile away," Patrick tells the BBC. "I could see it burning, I could see the smoke coming from it."Patrick is one of about 17,000 people who live in Wath. That day, he watched as riot police scrambled to the scene, sirens and shouts echoing through the streets. A police helicopter circled overhead, mounted officers lined Manvers town, nestled in the triangle between Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham, was once the beating heart of the region's coal many former mining communities, the area has a complex relationship with authority - including the police and media - a tension deepened in the wake of the Rotherham child abuse scandal. On the morning of 4 August, members of anti-immigration and pro-immigration organisations gathered outside the hotel in Manvers for a peaceful early afternoon, the atmosphere had turned volatile. Pro-immigration protesters were led to safety by who is from Wath but now lives in Batley, says: "I remember seeing the images and I know the place well."I was a bit shocked by it all."He does not support what happened in Manvers but says the country has "an immigration problem that needs to be solved"."I don't know how we go about that, to be honest," he says."We're too full." On the day, dozens of anti-immigration protesters wore balaclavas, while others had England flags and Union Jacks draped around their shoulders. Some stood topless, drinking from cans of beer, and some had even brought their children. Bins were set alight and pushed against fire exits, preventing those inside - including 25 hotel staff - from fence posts, furniture and rocks were thrown at hotel windows and police officers. Smaller groups tried to tip over an occupied police van, while others made repeated attempts to breach the building, eventually managing to get it was all over, the cost of the damage had mounted to an estimated £1m. More than 100 people - mostly men from Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham - have since been convicted in relation to the Manvers riot. More than a dozen youths, aged between 13 and 17, received referral 64 police officers were injured - several seriously - as well as three police horses and one police Kent, chair of the South Yorkshire Police Federation, says many officers are still dealing with the physical and psychological effects."Some of the cops were at the (2001) Bradford riots and the (2011) London riots and they've said they've never known anything like the level of aggression and just viciousness of some of the behaviour that was put towards them on the day," he says."We had a flurry of officers (coming to us) at the time, but it's also since officers have been triggered by going to other disorder events at football." Stand Up To Racism campaigner, Phil Turner, says his group was forced to retreat on the day for safety reasons."The level of violence on the day last year was such where I think they could and certainly would have wanted to kill people inside the hotel," Mr Turner, a former journalist, the shocking scenes, Mr Turner says the support and "outpouring of solidarity" that followed the riot was encouraging."Forty years ago this was the heart of the mining strike, a very solidly working-class area where people stuck together," he says."I think it's something that we can rebuild." The Manvers riot, described as one of the worst cases of civil disorder in the UK in recent history, was part of a wave of unrest across the UK last summer, which broke out following the mass stabbings in perpetrator, who could not be named initially due to his age, had targeted a Taylor Swift-themed dance class and murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, circulating on social media claimed the 17-year-old killer was Muslim; an asylum seeker who had recently arrived to the country by boat. In reality, he was born and raised in Wales to Rwandan Christian parents who had migrated to the UK in 2002. Terri, who runs The Little Curiosity Shoppe in Wath, says misinformation and a lack of transparency over who was housed in the Manvers hotel escalated already growing tensions."I think that causes unrest," she says. "I think if people don't know, they then jump to their own conclusions."The Holiday Inn Express in Manvers was contracted to provide accommodation for refugees on behalf of the government in 2022, prompting protests in February 2024, about 200 asylum seekers were being housed in the building. None of the people who the BBC spoke to condone the summer violence but say they "can understand why it happened"."We're all fed up with having nothing," Pam says."You work all your lives and you can't get in to see a doctor, you can't get in to see a dentist. These people are coming over - who are all men - are walking around Wath."According to the Home Office, 109,343 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending March 2025. 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With proposed benefit cuts and the cost of living crisis, she believes the UK can no longer afford to support asylum seekers in the way it once did."We've just got to look after our own and I feel very sorry that it's got to this, but this country needs to have a complete overhaul," she says."It's just continually 'you can't afford this, this has gone up, cost of living, your benefits are coming down' - and then they're walking round in new clothes and it's not right."South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard agrees more must be done to tackle "the immigration crisis", calling for greater government support for regions like his that have hosted asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. "I want those places to get support from the government to make sure that we have access equally in our communities, to opportunities, to jobs, to doctors' appointments, to school places," he says."We need a transport network that connects people up so that they can access opportunities outside of their community, and we need good homes, good houses for young people and education."To rebuild community trust, several grassroots initiatives received targeted funding, including Voluntary Action non-profit organisation's strategic cohesion coordinator, Jonathan Ellis, says the charity currently offers weekly walks to celebrate Rotherham's green spaces and is planning to host several celebrations over the next few months."I think people feel more connected now than perhaps they did 12 months ago and this project is about keeping that cohesion going, keeping those community links developing," Mr Ellis says. Saeed Sayed and Raja Khan, members of non-profit charity Rotherham Friends in Deed, say the riot was not a "real reflection" of the them, the true character of the town lies not in the headlines, but in the acts of people's kindness and their shared belief that Rotherham can - and will - move forward, together."I have been in this town for about 50 years and I found it very, very welcoming," Mr Sayed says."Where I live I am perhaps one of the only two Asian families and there's a lot of love, respect and care for each other."I feel very confidently that whatever the challenges we'll rise through them."Mr Khan, who was born in Kashmir, says that while he enjoys returning to his birthplace, Rotherham is where his heart is."My home is Rotherham and the home of my children and grandchildren and hopefully great-grandchildren is Rotherham," he says."We love Rotherham. It is a great town and it's not going to be stained by what happened at Manvers." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
12 minutes ago
- BBC News
Welshpool mother issues plea to parents after teen's river death
Michelle Guest knew something was seriously wrong when she heard sirens and saw a helicopter flying over her hometown of Welshpool, in her worst nightmares did she expect the emergency crews to be searching for her 15-year-old daughter, Holli receiving a phone call from a friend, Michelle ran across town to the River Severn and stood by the weir, praying that Holli had been carried downstream and was safely on the river bank, waiting to be a few hours later Holli was found 65ft (20m) from where she had entered the water. She was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was taken to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Shropshire. Holli's family and friends should have celebrated her 16th birthday in June, but instead they are having to gather on 9 August to mark the first anniversary of her death. "Nearly 12 months later and I still can't get my head around it," said Michelle, a mother of seven."I wish she'd never gone down there and I wish somebody would wake me up from this nightmare, but it's not going to happen."She was always happy and very much loved by her friends."Michelle said she had had conversations with Holli about water safety in the past and asked her the day before her death to play safely by the river.A full inquest is yet to be heard, but Michelle said Holli died after getting caught in the backwash of a weir. A friend tried to help her out but could not manage against the force of the water, she said."I don't want any other family to go through what we're going through based on poor choices, just because the water looks inviting."Michelle is now trying to raise awareness about water safety by sharing her own experience on social media and organising fundraising events for charities that educate children about the dangers. Holli's death was one of 193 accidental water-related fatalities in the UK last year, according to the National Water Safety figures suggest that inland waterways, such as rivers, canals and reservoirs, continue to be the leading locations for drownings, accounting for 61% of accidental fatalities in 2024.A dedicated water safety and drowning prevention strategy was brought in by the Welsh government in Safety Wales, a group which brings together organisations including the Welsh government, also aims to cut the number of drowning casualties by promoting "a consistent and common approach to water safety".Its figures show there were 54 water-related fatalities in Wales in 2024, with the figure remaining between 48 and 55 between 2020 and 2023."I plead with all parents to speak with their children so they understand the dangers of water," said Michelle. "It can take a life. It took my Holli and I really don't want another family to suffer."
