Cornwall seagull sips man's coffee before stealing his mug
A gull has taken revenge on a man who was installing anti-bird spikes in a Cornish town - by drinking his coffee and pinching his mug.Maintenance worker Darren Pardoe had been bird proofing houses in Porthleven when he stopped at a pub for a coffee on 3 June.He said he had been talking to someone before he turned around to find the gull helping himself to the hot brew. Before he could take action, the feathered thief flew off with the mug. "I think it had remembered me," he joked.
Recalling the coffee heist, Mr Pardoe said: "I turn round and sure enough a seagull's got its beak in my coffee... next minute the bird picks up the coffee cup by its handle and takes off across the harbour with it."It flew round the harbour and then landed on the water, put the cup down, and the cup just sank."Mr Pardoe captured a photo of the bird in flight with his coffee mug.
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The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
I'm a Met Police whistleblower – and these are the horror stories I've heard
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A Met Police officer also wrote to me that a fellow officer had been forbidden from being left on his own with any women because he was being investigated for two sexual assaults on colleagues at a separate force. The officer added that the colleague "regularly gets posted with female PCs, who feel uncomfortable being with him. He has made a number of comments to officers that make them feel uncomfortable, including details of his most recent sexual encounters with an officer who had only recently joined the team". The officer added that colleagues had spoken to superiors about their concerns but these have all been "widely ignored." An employee at Avon and Somerset Police wrote in about their experience reporting a senior officer from another force for drink-driving while armed: "I believed this was the right thing to do, but instead of being supported, I faced escalating reprisals,' they said. 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Speak Up Now UK is open to all emergency and public service employees – and I am seeing a steady stream of testimonies from beyond the police world. An NHS worker told me: 'I disclosed repeated sexist behaviour by my male manager to his boss, and she responded by using her position to make my working life intolerable. She weaponised the fact that I had taken leave for a health condition and shamed me for 'letting the whole team down' by being on sick leave. She yelled at me in meetings. The male manager showed up at my home address twice. HR enabled their behaviour. Eventually, I resigned.' A firefighter in the north of England submitted this: 'I have just learnt in the last week that a colleague I put in a grievance about who was sacked last year by North Yorkshire Fire service for bullying and harassment has been reinstated by the deputy mayor on appeal. I will have to leave my job if he returns.' By collecting these submissions and publishing them anonymously, I hope to create data showing that our services are not doing everything that they promise regarding work practices within the organisations, resulting in good staff leaving and bad ones staying. They acknowledge that toxic and harmful culture needs to be eradicated from public services and that reform will happen, but how long are we supposed to wait until something is done? Why are we settling for empty promises and 'targets' from these institutions and why is no one there, when they don't meet their promises, holding them to account? The Metropolitan Police officer who wrote to me about their new colleague not being allowed alone with women also said that, in the same week as colleagues were telling managers about their upset at working with the officer who was under investigation, they had to endure hours of "New Met for London" training, in which they were told to have the courage to speak up, "knowing that in reality their concerns go widely ignored". I believe that this platform will help give many who have been afraid to speak out the strength and support to talk further about their experiences, and not let misconduct go unchecked. They will see that they are not alone in their experiences which can have serious consequences. One Met Police worker told us that they were 'bullied because of my disability to the point I wanted to take my own life. It was all put down to 'banter' by senior officers.' 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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Bereaved and survivors call for justice on eighth anniversary of devastating Grenfell fire that killed 72 people ahead of tower block being pulled down
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Vice chairman of Grenfell United, Karim Mussilhy, who lost his uncle in the blaze, told the crowd: 'Eight years have passed, eight years since the fire - lit by negligence, greed and institutional failure - tore through our homes, our families and our hearts. 'And still no justice has come. The truth is, there's almost nothing new to say because nothing has changed. 'As we stand here eight years on, the only decision this Government has made is to tear down the tower - our home.' The crowd shouted 'shame' and Mr Mussilhy continued: 'Not because justice has been delivered, but despite the fact it hasn't - before a single person has been held accountable, to make what happened disappear. 'The tower has stood not just as a reminder of what happened, but of what must change - a symbol and a truth in the face of denial, of dignity in the face of power, of our resistance, of our 72 loved ones who can't fight for their own justice. 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Large green papier-mache hearts were held aloft, with words including 'hope', 'integrity', 'enough is enough' and 'justice' written across. Around a dozen fire fighters stood to attention on each side of the road outside Ladbroke Grove station, facing the passing crowd with their helmets at their feet. Some members of the Grenfell community walked up to hug them and shake hands. After an hour of walking in silence the crowd gathered for the speeches outside Notting Hill Methodist Church. The Government confirmed in February that engineering advice is that the tower 'is significantly damaged' and will get worse with time. Separately, the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission has been consulting on plans for a permanent memorial in the area of the tower, with recommendations including a 'sacred space', designed to be a 'peaceful place for remembering and reflecting'. It is expected a planning application for a memorial could be submitted in late 2026. According to the Government's latest figures, published last month, there were 5,052 residential buildings in England which are 11 metres or taller identified as having unsafe cladding as of the end of April. Fewer than half - 2,477 buildings or 49 per cent - had either started or completed remediation works, with just a third - 1,652 buildings or 33 per cent - having had remediation works finished. Labour unveiled its remediation acceleration plan last year, pledging that, by the end of 2029, all buildings more than 59ft (18 metres) tall with unsafe cladding that are on a Government scheme will have been remediated. Grenfell Tower was originally built with reinforced concrete in 1974. The refurbishment with external flammable cladding and insulation that caused the disaster was completed just a year before the fire. A structural engineer's report from December 2024 said the tower was 'stable' but it concluded the 'underlying structure will worsen over time' due to fire damage. Engineers advised it would 'not be practical to remediate all or part of the damaged structure', especially above the 10th floor.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Urgent search for missing girl, 14, who vanished on her own after night with pals in major UK city
POLICE are urgently searching for a 14-year-old girl who disappeared after spending the night with friends in a major UK city. Lucia, from Swansea, was last seen in Cardiff on June 14, just before midnight near Penylan Library, heading towards Wellfield Road. The teenager had been with friends but left the area on her own. She has been described as 5ft 6, with a slim build and long black hair. Lucia was wearing a white skirt, a cream puffer jacket, an orange top and possibly white Converse trainers at the time she went missing. Anyone with information about Lucia's whereabouts is urged to contact South Wales Police, quoting reference 2500188167.
