County Durham waste company fined after worker run over
The HSE said the man had been working on a waste pile near moving vehicles with no separation between the two. It also claimed there had been no risk assessment carried out or a system of work created to protect people from the vehicles.HSE guidance states pedestrians and vehicles should be segregated when waste is being manually sorted and by law, employers must ensure traffic routes can be used without risking the safety of workers nearby.At a hearing at Teesside Magistrates' Court, Farm XS (Northern) Limited pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations.
"This incident was easily avoidable by implementing control measures and safe practices to ensure that workers were not put at risk from moving vehicles, including clear segregation and safe refuges," Mr McMullen said."This should be a reminder to the waste industry of the need to consider workplace transport risks and to introduce appropriate control measures to separate vehicles and pedestrians."The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £4,285 in costs.
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BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Parents' plea for exam feedback change after girl's suicide
In a woodland glade, in dappled sunshine, Sharron and Glen Markey are arm-in-arm beside the tree they planted in memory of their beloved 17-year-old daughter, Helena, their only teenager, from Burton-on-Trent, loved performing arts, dazzling in the spotlight at her local theatre school, while helping younger children find confidence and their own she felt she was losing September 2015, Helena Markey took her own life shortly after a meeting at her school – The de Ferrers Academy - to discuss her future studies, following her A-Level results. Her parents say she had become distressed when discussing her options with teachers, particularly over suggestions she might need to change subjects to reach dad Glen Markey said: "The first thing was that there wasn't a breakout room for children if they became distressed, there was nobody there that had designated pastoral responsibility."So, they were all good senior teachers, but none of them had that sort of specific skill set."The De Ferrers Academy later implemented pastoral and safeguarding changes and told the BBC those approaches continued at the time of his daughter's distress, there was no such provision, said Mr Markey, who pointed to an issue that arose during Helena's inquest; a hearing that touched upon protocol, or lack thereof, in circumstances where pupils faced such struggles."The most important thing the coroner said was that in law, there was no process for calling parents," Mr Markey explained.A decade on from Helena's death, and as exam results loom for teens this month, the couple are now petitioning the government for change, asking for "specific statutory guidance" that requires schools, colleges and universities to notify parents if a pupil is distressed by results feedback. Helena's mum Sharron Markey said she and her husband would have gone straight to the school had they been made aware of their daughter's experience."It is really a simple thing, a phone call. Schools ring parents for example if a child turns up at school and hasn't got the correct uniform."It's just common sense – a duty of care", she said. The inquest into Helena's death, which recorded a verdict that she had taken her life, heard that staff at the school believed the teenager had calmed down after the meeting, and stated that positive aspects of Helena's school life were also staff member told the inquest that they believed Helena was heading home to discuss it further with her de Ferrer's Academy said Helena was "a bright, happy and talented pupil" and was regularly in their thoughts.A spokesperson said: "We support any initiative or conversation that helps raise awareness of the support that young people need – particularly at key milestones in their lives, such as the end of their exams."Following this tragedy, we further enhanced how we help students transition through different stages of their education…"In fact our last independent Safeguarding report concludes that "children and parents can feel assured that the wellbeing and safety of all pupils is taken extremely seriously [and] there are effective processes and policies in place to uphold this." The Markeys worry that not enough is happening nationwide to support Markey said: "There's a mental health crisis out there with young people, but a new national policy [is] something we think will benefit teachers."I think [young people are] under as much pressure these days as they've ever been. This is really important – it could save lives."Ahead of A-Level and GCSE results days this month, their campaign for statutory guidance is being backed by the Burton and Uttoxeter MP Jacob Collier, who attended The de Ferrers Academy in the year above Helena."I still remember the smile that Helena had, that lit any room that she was in. And I thank Glen and Sharron for the bravery that they're showing in wanting to make a difference for parents," the MP said."The key thing in this campaign is that we see action from the government, so I'll be taking this to the minister and raising the case of Helena and the campaign to hopefully bring about the change that we want to see." DfE statement A Department for Education spokesperson said in any circumstances, schools and colleges must carry out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children."Through our Plan for Change, we are rolling out access to a mental health professional in every school, as well as our new [Relationship, Sex and Health Education] curriculum, which has made clear that secondary schools should work closely with mental health professionals to discuss suicide prevention in an age-appropriate way."Pastoral support across most secondary schools has shifted considerably after the pandemic, with extra investment in mental wellbeing, and more support staff being employed in some the thought of a phone call home seems an obvious thing, Mrs Markey suggests."We don't want this to happen to other families," she said. "Helena was such a beautiful person. Caring, thoughtful, generous. Just perfect." Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Teacher banned for sending "sexual" messages to Bracknell student
A man has been banned indefinitely from teaching after a panel found he had sent "sexually motivated" messages to a Brown, 44, who taught at Garth Hill College in Bracknell, Berkshire, communicated with a pupil using social panel found that the aim of his messages "appeared to be the instigation of a sexual relationship" and constituted "serious sexual misconduct".Sarah Buxcey, from the Department for Education, said the seriousness of the proven allegations meant Mr Brown would not be able to apply to teach again. The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) heard he had been teaching science at the school since September was told Mr Brown initiated contact with the pupil on Instagram, and sent her a number of messages, including a topless photo of panel saw a message from Mr Brown where he wrote: "I'm not allowed to communicate with students whilst they're on roll. But as soon as you're not... you're in trouble."The panel also considered allegations from 2014 when he was employed at Waingels College in included asking students if they were going to have a bath or shower together, and saying words to the effect of "I heard you lost your virginity".Ms Buxcey said Mr Brown was "prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England". "In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession," she Brown was not present and was not represented at the hearing. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘I don't expect to live a normal life': how a Leeds teenager woke up with a Chinese bounty on her head
It was Christmas Eve 2024 and 19-year-old Chloe Cheung was lying in bed at home in Leeds when she found out the Chinese authorities had put a bounty on her head. As she scrolled through Instagram looking at festive songs, a stream of messages from old school friends started coming into her phone. Look at the news, they told her. Media outlets across east Asia were reporting that Cheung, who had just finished her A-levels, had been declared a threat to national security by officials in Hong Kong. There was an offer of HK$1m (£94,000) to anyone who could assist in her arrest or capture. News reports included a photograph of her aged 11, seemingly the only picture officials had of her before she and her family left to resettle in the UK in 2020. 'I couldn't even really recognise myself,' she says. Cheung says she was still in a state of shock as friends started jokingly congratulating her on her infamy. After finishing school, she had been working as a communications assistant for a campaign group in the UK that advocates for democracy in Hong Kong. She could barely believe that Chinese officials would care about a teenager living thousands of miles away. Yet, as friends started unfollowing her on social media, the life-changing consequences of what had just happened became clear. 'They were saying 'sorry, but you are a criminal in Hong Kong now so we can't be associated with you.' Even friends here in Leeds said they would have to stop seeing me as they wanted to be able to go back to Hong Kong,' she says. Cheung had dreamed of a gap year travelling the world and visiting friends in Hong Kong. Neither was possible now, after Chinese officials vowed to 'pursue for life' Cheung and others they accuse of promoting democracy. Beijing has a history of targeting critics in exile and pressuring countries to detain and deport them. 'The bounty will follow me for ever. It's a form of psychological warfare – telling the world that dissent has no safe haven. Even if you were just a teenager when you spoke out, you're not safe,' says Cheung. But if China's aim was to dissuade her from taking a public stance on Hong Kong or criticising it, it has not worked. Cheung says she has no intention of staying quiet. Growing up in Hong Kong, Cheung says she always felt patriotic and used to 'love running home for the flag-raising ceremony that happened on TV at 6.30pm'. But that all changed in 2019-20 when millions of people took to the streets of Hong Kong. The demonstrators were protesting against the increasingly autocratic authority of Beijing and the control it wanted to exert over the former British territory, which since 1997 has been classified as a 'special administrative region' – part of Chinese territory but governed under separate rules and laws to the mainland. Transnational repression is the state-led targeting of refugees, dissidents and ordinary citizens living in exile. It involves the use of electronic surveillance, physical assault, intimidation and threats against family members to silence criticism. The Guardian's Rights and freedom series is publishing a series of articles to highlight the dangers faced by citizens in countries including the UK. Until then, Hong Kong had been allowed a degree of autonomy from mainland China, including a partially democratically elected executive and an independent media. From 2020, after several years of pro-democracy protests known as the 'umbrella revolution', Beijing began to impose closer control over the territory, including changing election laws so that only pro-Beijing 'patriots' could run for office, and introducing extradition powers allowing it to transfer fugitives to the mainland. The constitutional principle of 'one country, two systems', agreed with the British before the handover in 1997, was abandoned, with Hong Kong's pro-democracy parties later disbanding as the possibility of peaceful political change receded. 'At the time I attended my first protest, I was expecting it to be completely peaceful because I was taught at school that we have freedom of speech and press in Hong Kong,' Cheung recalls. 'Then suddenly, the police started shooting teargas and rubber bullets at us and started arresting people really violently; dragging protesters and standing on their necks. I was just 14 and my worldview completely changed. 'I realised whatever we had been learning in school was a lie,' she says. 'I'd been brainwashed. I felt helpless and fooled.' Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Thousands of protesters and opponents of the new powers were arrested and charged in a brutal crackdown that led to condemnation from countries including the UK, which offered residents in Hong Kong the chance to resettle. Although her parents were not political, Cheung says they could see that it was better for her and her younger brother's future to move to the UK. Her family, says Cheung, 'knew I was someone who doesn't know how to shut up. They didn't want either of us to end up in prison for speaking our mind, because my mum said, 'You are kind of nobody. No one would know that you're in prison.'' The family arrived in Leeds in 2020, where Cheung, then 15, threw herself into studying for her GCSEs. With the UK going through Covid lockdowns, she spent most of her time at home catching up on the syllabus and practising past exam papers. After a successful first year, she went on to study maths, further maths and economics for A-level. Her first taste of activism outside Hong Kong came at 18 after she made a submission to the UN on the experiences of women during the 2019-20 protests in the city. She was later invited to the UN office in Geneva to join an NGO meeting on the topic. It was here that she met members of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong, which advocates for democracy. 'At that point I knew I could not afford to go to university yet [as she would have to pay the higher overseas tuition fees] so asked the committee if I could take a job working for them,' she says. 'I didn't imagine it would be a career and when I was hired it was just on a short-term contract, more or less as an intern,' says Cheung. 'I was happy just to save up money.' She soon began taking on a more public role at the committee, speaking to MPs and journalists while using her real name. She thinks it was this that irked Chinese officials. 'I spoke with a lot of media and my quotes were used as someone who was born and grew up in Hong Kong and so with a personal connection. The authorities saw that and intentionally want to target people who have got a profile.' After the bounty and warrant for her arrest were announced, Cheung says she did consider taking herself out of the public spotlight. 'But I thought if I do this now everyone will know it is because I am scared and giving up,' she says. 'They [China] want to stop others from speaking out publicly, but I know I am fortunate to have my family here in the UK.' However, it has not been easy. Cheung has faced an onslaught of sexual harassment and abuse via social media and was followed by two 'suspicious-looking' Chinese men to a restaurant after an event. She reported the incident to the police. She has had to change her address and is now cautious about meeting new people. In 2022, a pro-democracy protester demonstrating on the pavement was dragged into China's consulate in Manchester before being beaten up in a 'barbaric' attack. 'It was certainly because a UK police officer broke diplomatic protocol and stepped into the grounds of the consulate to save him that something worse didn't happen to that protester,' she says. 'He could have disappeared. It's just a matter of time before someone is kidnapped or killed, given how much China is escalating their overseas repression.' Aside from her personal safety, Cheung realises her public profile is now limiting her future choices in life. 'I have shut off a lot of job opportunities with any company that has business ties or trade with China. They won't hire me now. 'I don't expect to live a normal life, but compared with the people in prison back in Hong Kong, my sacrifice is nothing. I really want to see a free Hong Kong so if my public role can help the situation a little bit, it will be worthwhile.' A spokesperson for the government of the Hong Kong special administrative region said Cheung was an 'absconder hiding in the UK' and wanted for 'blatantly engaging in activities endangering national security'. They added that she would be 'pursued regardless of distance'.
