Demand for ‘super-max' prisons for worst inmates
Britain's most dangerous prisoners should be kept in US-style 'super-max' conditions with no contact with other inmates and no kettles or cooking facilities, according to the head of the prison officers' union.
The demand came after Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, is alleged to have thrown boiling water at a prison guard at HMP Belmarsh, southwest London, which is meant to be one of the country's most secure jails.
Rudakubana, 18, who murdered three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July, was jailed for a minimum of 52 years in January. He is suspected of boiling the water in a kettle in his cell and flinging it at the officer through the door's hatch. The guard was treated in hospital and discharged.
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BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Second boy dies after M4 slip road minibus crash near Reading
An 11-year-old boy has become the second child to die after a minibus overturned on a motorway slip Adoma, from Bracknell, Berkshire, died on Thursday, more than three weeks after the single-vehicle crash, said police.A white Ford Transit minibus overturned on the link road at junction 10 of the M4 to the A329(M) near Reading, Berkshire, at about 14:25 BST on 11 May.A six-year-old boy was also killed in the crash. Five other children injured in the incident have since been discharged from hospital, Thames Valley Police said. The force said its serious collision investigation unit was investigating the crash and confirmed no arrests had been Sgt Lyndsey Blackaby said: "My thoughts, and the thoughts of everyone at Thames Valley Police, are with the family and friends of Othniel Adoma."Othniel's family has released these beautiful pictures of Othniel in his memory." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The 'lawless' UK estate where residents claim they have been 'left to rot' and are terrorised by 'balaclava-clad wannabe gangsters causing carnage'
It is early evening on Bradford's notorious Holme Wood estate - and it feels like the frontline of a battlefield. The streets echo with the whine of revving mopeds and the screech of teenage yobs hurling foul-mouthed threats. Balaclava-clad gangs tear through the roads on scooters, pulling reckless wheelies and shouting abuse at terrified passers-by. Others - barely in their teens with acne-pocked faces - loiter on corners with hammers in hand and pockets full of eggs, ready to smash car windows or pelt shops just for the thrill of it. What was once a tight-knit, working-class community has become a lawless wasteland - where decent families say they've been left to fend for themselves against a new wave of 'wannabe gangsters'. Tracy Litherland, 42, has lived in Holme Wood for most of her life. She told MailOnline: 'The older lot are all right. It's the younger ones - the wannabe gangsters - that are causing carnage. It's like a new generation of troublemakers. 'They think nothing of smashing up a taxi or hanging around shops intimidating people or causing trouble. 'They just roam around, causing chaos and there's nothing really to stop them. 'A lot of it comes down to parenting. People are having kids, who shouldn't. They don't know how to raise them or discipline them.' She added: 'When we were kids, we had stuff to do. We had a youth centre where for 20p, you could get in, play pool, football, do art - it kept us off the streets. 'Now there's nothing. No youth clubs, no support. The funding's all been cut. The estate's just been forgotten about - just left to rot. There's no hope for a lot of the kids. 'I've lived here 30 years. No one's ever started on me, but I keep to myself. If you carry yourself right, you're usually okay. But it's intimidating for newcomers.' When MailOnline visited the estate at dusk, the chaos was already in full swing. Teenagers raced scooters across the estate, popping wheelies with their faces covered. One boy wielded a lump hammer, smashing it against the shutters of a local corner shop - before turning his attention to a nearby bin. The streets are strewn with fly-tipped rubbish - scorched mattresses, broken fridges, car parts and smashed glass. Burnt-out containers and graffitied shopfronts, near to where a 20-year-old man was stabbed in a suspected attempted murder, paint a bleak picture. Even CCTV hasn't deterred the criminals. In May, three cameras were installed by a housing association to crack down on antisocial behaviour. They didn't even last a day before all three were ripped down. One previous security camera, installed by the council, was cut down just 12 hours after being put up - after a thug used an angle grinder to bring the entire pole crashing into the road. One lifelong resident, in his 60s, told MailOnline: 'I've lived here all my life and it's got so much worse. 'You can't have anything nice around here, it just disappears.' His daughter, who grew up on the estate but was 'thankful' to have since moved away, added: 'The good news is burglaries and car thefts have come down. 'The bad news is you're more likely to be stabbed or murdered.' A building which appears to have been left abandoned projects the idea that the estate has been left to rot When MailOnline visited the area a smashed window was spotted with a seemingly broken chair left dumped on top of a building Myles Duffy, 57, has lived in Holme Wood all his life. He said: 'There's always something going on. 'It's mainly based around the shops. It's all the young ones - they've not grown up and there's nowt for them. 'I don't really get bothered but you still hear about a lot of carry-on. 'I feel a bit sorry for them because they've got nothing to do. 'That's when they turn to crime, or drugs, or whatever else. It's not right, but that's the reality. 'Loads of young girls end up getting pregnant just so they can get a flat and some benefits. It's not even about wanting a baby. 'That's a sad state of affairs.' Mr Duffy, with his friend Jack Miles, 64, blamed successive governments for failing the youth. He added: 'Back in the day, we had community programmes - government schemes that gave you opportunities. 'They paid you proper wages for 12-month work placements. If you didn't get a job after that, you could go again. 'That's how I got my first job - working with a housing caretaker. It gave me a start. 'But now, there's nothing. You need that first step on the ladder. If you can't even get that, how do you move forward?' In February, West Yorkshire Police revealed the results of a two-year crackdown on Holme Wood: nearly 400 arrests, 73 cannabis farms shut down and 151 vehicles seized. Eviction notices were handed to nearly 30 households linked to crime and antisocial behaviour. Yet despite the blitz, many say little has changed on the ground. One woman, in her 50s, said on condition of anonymity: ''It's not just antisocial – it's terrifying. 'You step outside and don't know if you'll get caught in some madness. 'Kids running around with knives, smashing up shops, setting bins on fire - it's like a jungle. 'I don't open my door after dark. You hear screaming, sirens, engines revving, and you just pray it's not outside your house.' Newcomer Sarah Dobson, 41, who moved to the estate last week from Scotland, admitted the area felt 'intimidating' — but insisted she wasn't fazed. 'First day I got here, I saw a couple chasing a lad down the street,' she said. 'People can find it intimidating, but I don't. 'I'm from somewhere rougher than this. I'm born and bred in Willenhall, Coventry - so this is nothing to me, mate.' A West Yorkshire Police Spokesperson said: 'We continue to work closely alongside our partner agencies to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in Holme Wood and to increase trust and confidence in the community. 'There have been significant positive results from the Operation Sweetgill team in the last 12 months. 166 people have been arrested and 129 of them have been dealt with positively. 'We know crime and anti-social behaviour is a concern for residents and I hope these results show we are committed to tacking them. 'We will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to tackle the problem and make Holme Wood a safer place to live.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Female cocaine dealer who enjoyed drugs-funded luxury life of Louis Vuitton handbags and holidays must pay back £100,000 she made from crime
A woman who ran a cannabis and cocaine dealing operation to fund her lavish has been ordered to pay back £100,000. Danielle Stafford, 31, from Hallgate, Cottingham, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in April 2023 after pleading guilty to three offences. Before Hull Crown Court, she admitted to being concerned in supplying heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis, and another of possessing cash as criminal property on dates spanning October 2017 and May 2020. The former University of Hull graduate made so much money from selling drugs that she splashed out on nine luxury watches, three Louis Vuitton handbags and even a second house. The case resurfaced this week as the court determined how much money Stafford made from criminal activities - and how much she would be ordered to pay back. With Stafford attending the hearing via a video link from prison, prosecutor Nadim Bashir confirmed a criminal benefit figure had been agreed at £96,263. She has been ordered to pay this amount within three months or face another year of prison time, to be served consecutively. During the original trial, it was revealed that Stafford was caught by pure chance when she was stopped for speeding and officers could smell cannabis coming from her silver Audi on May 12, 2020. When questioned about the stench, Stafford 'immediately lied', telling police: 'I'll be honest, I've got this' and handed over a small silver wrap containing two buds of cannabis skunk. Police went onto find more drugs on her including two food bags containing cannabis skunk. On the way to the police station, Stafford was seen 'fidgeting' with her jogging bottoms and she was asked if she had any more drugs hidden. She said: 'Yes, but it's not mine and I don't know what it is. I shoved it down my joggers when you pulled me.' Stafford pulled out a bag containing cocaine. There were 56 wraps of crack cocaine, valued at £2,800. An iPhone was also found with drug messages on it. 'From the moment of seizure of the drugs to the arrival in the police station custody suite, the mobile iPhone was constantly ringing and receiving messages from different people,' said Mr Bashir. 'Some 30 phone calls were received and 10 to 20 text messages.' After forcing entry, officers found £26,917 cash stashed around her three-bedroom home in Cottingham and drugs with a street value of £33,600. She also had luxury goods including nine watches and three expensive Louis Vuitton handbags, Hull Crown Court heard. A glass jar with plastic drugs bags inside it was found hidden behind a bag of coal bricks in the rear garden. There, officers found 270 wraps of crack cocaine, valued at £13,500, and 205 wraps of heroin, valued at £4,100, in the jar. Stafford denied knowledge of them. In the living room, herbal cannabis, valued at £2,500, was found in an open, empty banana box on a table. She denied that it belonged to her. Two glass jars were found to contain cannabis valued at £370. Police also found weighing scales, a large amount of cash and more food bags. She admitted that this belonged to her. In Stafford's bedroom, herbal cannabis and Ecstasy tablets were discovered alongside wads of cash Wads of cash. More cash, totalling £7,580, was found in a safe but she denied that it was hers. Three Louis Vuitton handbags and nine watches were uncovered. She admitted that these were hers but pretended the designer items were fake or had merely been given to her by family members from their holidays to places like Turkey and Spain. In an upstairs box room, cash bundles of £9,100, £1,668, £550, £700, £1,110, £165, £190 and £91 were found. Examination of Stafford's bank accounts revealed a string of luxury holidays had been taken. Mr Bashir said this was 'evidence of an additional stream of cash income' apart from her monthly wages from working for Swift Group. Stafford had bought her Cottingham home in March 2016 for £124,999 with a mortgage and a property in Hotham Road South in July 2018 without a mortgage for £68,500 in equal shares with her aunt. Stafford paid the 'lion's share' of £64,927 from cashing in premium bonds and she told police that she bought it to rent out. 'Even with rental or lodgings allowances, neither property was able to provide any significant source of income to justify the cash found in the house,' said Mr Bashir. During police interview, Stafford claimed that a Liverpudlian man had been staying with her on and off and that he had phoned her to say that he had left something at her address. When she got home, there was a large amount of cannabis and, when he asked her to take it to him, she said that she did not feel comfortable doing so. She claimed that he asked her to bring a bag of drugs and, in a panic, she grabbed it and was driving to meet him when she was stopped by police. Stafford denied that she or the lad were dealing drugs but later admitted that she would drive to Liverpool and bring him back to Hull. She denied knowledge of any of the large amounts of cash found around her home, claiming that she looked after it for the man, including keeping it for him in her own bedroom - apart from £2,350 which belonged to her. 'She said that the money in the safe had nothing to do with her and all the other cash belonged to the lad,' said Mr Bashir. The prosecutor told the court that Stafford was an 'enthusiastic' cannabis dealer and progressed to becoming a Class A cocaine dealer. 'She had somehow managed to avoid her drug dealing activities coming to the attention of the police for a substantial period of time,' said Mr Bashir. 'The natural result of this was that she was able to accumulate a substantial amount of wealth, including purchasing an investment property, a house to rent. Cash found in her home address amounted to £26,917. 'The contents of her home address in Hallgate, Cottingham, is strong evidence of the nature of her drugs business. The amount, type and value of drugs found at her home were substantial. The drugs alone were street valued at £33,600. This is sustained drug dealing.' During the 2023 hearing, Saleema Mahmood, mitigating, said that Stafford was dealing cannabis but claimed that her involvement in Class A dealing came about due to her association with a person from Liverpool. She argued that evidence of any Class A dealing was extremely limited and came from two sets of messages. The lawyer claimed there was an element of naivety and exploitation in Stafford's involvement and she had little influence on those above her in the chain. Stafford also said that her family was in the habit of keeping large amounts of cash at home, rather than in a bank, and that she was entrusted to look after it for others as she was seen as being a 'responsible' person who could be 'trusted' with money. The court were shown references from previous employers and told that Stafford had tried to get work and had volunteered.
