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On Tuesday, the first of two summer transfer windows will come to a close.So, do you expect business to be done at Aston Villa before the deadline? Do you want players to come in or exit? If so, what or who do you think is needed?Let us know
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Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Father of kickboxer, 15, breaks down in tears at inquest as he reveals how 'beautiful son' suddenly collapsed moments after unsanctioned fight and died three days later
A tearful father told an inquest how his 15-year-old 'beautiful son' suddenly collapsed after an unsanctioned kickboxing match. Stephen Eastwood, 40, from Liverpool, said he stayed with his son Alex Eastwood at his hospital bedside until he passed away three days after the fatal bout. He told Bolton Coroner's Court: 'I would just like people to remember him as a wonderful, beautiful son. He was just a lovely, lovely boy. He was a beautiful soul.' Alex collapsed after the third and final round of a 'light contact' kickboxing bout in a ring at a gym in Platt Bridge, Wigan on June 29, 2024. He was rushed to hospital but had suffered a serious head injury. Unusually, Michael Pemberton, assistant coroner for Manchester (West), ahead of Alex's inquest, which started on Monday, has already raised concerns with the government in March this year about the safety of children in combat sports. Alex took up kickboxing aged nine, trained five times a week at Hurricane Combat and Fitness club in Fazakerley, Liverpool and had a 'meteoric' rise in the sport, having competed at high levels. He had grown to 6ft 7ins, weighed 80kg and had just finished his GCSEs the week before the fight was arranged with another opponent at the gym in Wigan. A tearful father told an inquest how his 15-year-old 'beautiful son' suddenly collapsed after an unsanctioned kickboxing match. Stephen Eastwood, 40, from Liverpool, said he stayed with his son Alex Eastwood (pictured) at his hospital bedside until he passed away three days after the fatal bout The bout was to be the 'main event' but was an unofficial or unsanctioned event as it was a charity fundraiser, not a bout to win a title under the main governing body for the sport in the UK, Kickboxing GB. Alex, who was wearing a headguard, suddenly became unwell after the end of the third and final, two-minute round. Father-of-three Mr Eastwood said he noticed his son, 'not looking right' as he held on to the ropes to make his way back to his corner. He added: 'I have run, dived into the ring under the ropes landed on my back. I have grabbed hold of my son, holding on to him, laid him on the ring. 'At that point, it just turned into a chaotic scene. You had two first aiders in the ring, I was pacing around using profanities and swearing. 'My son's breathing was like a big bulldog on a sunny day, struggling. He did have what seemed like a seizure. It felt like a lifetime, sir.' Paramedics arrived and took the teenager first to hospital in Wigan and then on to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, where surgeons were waiting to operate. But it was discovered he had suffered catastrophic brain damage and bleeding. Mr Eastwood said he, Alex's step-mother Nikita, his two siblings and other family spent time with him at the hospital. His father stayed with him at his bedside until he died on July 2, last year. His organs were donated. Daniel Wigelsworth, one of Alex's coaches at Hurricane Combat and Fitness in Liverpool, said he was party to arrangements for the bout Alex took part in, along with Dale Bannister, owner of the TKMA gym in Wigan, which was setting up a charity event. They arranged the fight with Alex's opponent, who has not been named, as a 'good match up' in terms of weight, age and skill. The inquest also heard there did not appear to be any definitive rules on the length of rounds and Mr Wigelsworth said the rules are 'unclear' with different interpretations of 'light contact' rules during bouts, it being left to coaches and referees. Mr Wigelsworth said he believed Alex's opponent was a year older than him, but in fact was two years his senior. The inquest heard competitions, exhibition events and 'fight nights' can be put on by individual clubs and independent promoters, and the governing body does not sanction fundraising events. Gordon Mitchell, director at Kickboxing GB, said the sport has a number of governing bodies that sanction fights but Kickboxing GB is the only one in the UK recognised by Sport England, the body supporting grassroots sport, and the World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (WAKO) which is itself recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Mr Mitchell said Kickboxing GB would never sanction 'light contact' bouts in a boxing ring due to safety reasons and these only take place outside a ring on mats. He said this is because it is easier to stop a fight on mats, by stepping off the mat, for example, if there is a mismatch. But he said in a bout in a ring, 'you are stuck between the ropes' and reliant on the referee to step in to stop a fight. 'There's more rules about stopping the fight early, on mats,' Mr Mitchell said. Adam Korn, a solicitor representing the Eastwood family, said despite these rules, unsanctioned, exhibition or 'fight night' bouts are frequently held up and down the country. Mr Korn said: 'Is that a concern to you?' 'Yes,' Mr Mitchell said. Mr Mitchell said he was aware of one other combat-related child death in the UK. Earlier this year the coroner wrote a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the government about the lack of regulation of contact sports for children, with no minimum standards or risk management. The inquest continues on Tuesday morning.
BBC News
14 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Proud' night for teenage Miller
Scotland and Motherwell midfielder Lennon Miller told BBC Scotland: "It's a good night's work, a proud moment to make my first start and to pop up with an assist is always nice."It's always easier when you get that early goal, it calmed everyone down and we played some nice stuff out there."I thought we came here tonight and our application was second to none."On what's next, he added: "I've got a couple of weeks off to come, then it's back to it."
Telegraph
16 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Khan accuses Reeves of ‘levelling down London'
Sir Sadiq Khan has accused Rachel Reeves of 'levelling down' London after she refused to hand over billions for infrastructure projects. The Labour Mayor of London has been battling with the Treasury for funding to pay for the extension of the Bakerloo line and the Docklands Light Railway. He also wanted the Chancellor to give him the green light to impose a tourist tax on visitors to the capital, and to provide millions extra for the Metropolitan Police. But Ms Reeves's spending review, to be unveiled on Wednesday, is not expected to include most of Sir Sadiq's demands. A source close to the Mayor said he would continue 'battling' to get more money out of the Treasury even if he fails at the spending review. They said: 'Over the past nine years as Mayor, Sadiq has fought to deliver for London – in the best interests of Londoners and the whole country. 'We know that when London does well it means the whole country does well, and that it will simply not be possible to achieve national growth ambitions without the right investment and growth in our capital. 'We must not return to the damaging, anti-London approach of the last government, which would not only harm London's vital public services, but jobs and growth across the country.' The spokesman added: 'Sadiq will always stand up for London and has been clear it would be unacceptable if there are no major infrastructure projects for London announced in the spending review and the Met doesn't get the funding it needs… 'It's also important to recognise that parts of London still have some of the highest levels of poverty anywhere in the UK. 'Sadiq will always stand up for London and has been crystal clear that the way to level up other regions is not to level down London.' Reeves's policies A source at the Treasury pointed out that in the year since the Government came to power, Ms Reeves had come out in favour of a third runway at Heathrow and the expansion of Gatwick, Luton and City airports. The Treasury has also expanded late licencing in the capital, given approval to the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, allocated money so that HS2 will run to London Euston and provided money for free school meals. Last week, Ms Reeves announced £15 billion more to be spent on transport infrastructure outside London and the south-east, part of what was seen as a rebalancing of government priorities away from the capital Research released on Monday from IPPR North found that if the north of England had received the same per person spending as the capital in the past decade, it would have received £140 billion more – enough to build seven Elizabeth lines. Over the decade to 2022/23, each year London received £1,183 per person, while the north of England got £486 per person and the Midlands £455.
