Bowness welfare hub aims to keep girls safe on nights out
A welfare hub in a rural holiday hotspot will open throughout the summer in a bid to keep women and girls safe.Cumbria Police runs the facility at Bowness, in the Lake District, on Saturday evenings which have become busy nights for locals and visitors."It's not about frightening people, but we want to get that early message out to look out for each other, don't get separated from friends, be alert to the fact that spiking might happen," Sgt Becky Hunter said.The welfare hub hands out purse bells to prevent theft, personal attack alarms, portable torches and anti-spiking kits which are used to prevent people putting substances into another person's drink without their knowledge.
Sgt Hunter said there were benefits to the "buoyant" night-time economy - which boomed in the area when staycations became more popular during the Covid-19 pandemic - but there was also potential for issues when people consumed alcohol."Dealing with violence against women and girls, that's one of our priorities for Bowness and across Westmorland and Furness," she said.
The hub also looks out for potential victims of domestic violence.Sgt Hunter said: "This is a big tourist area, we attract couples and families from all around the country. "Some individuals will come along and under the influence of alcohol that can exacerbate problems they may be having at home and we see some of the fallout in Bowness."She added domestic violence could impact both men and women and the force was striving to look after any potential victims.
Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
Kickboxer, 15, had fought man, 34, week before fatal bout, inquest hears
A coroner has told an inquest he was 'shocked' that a 15-year-old kickboxer who died after a bout had fought a 34-year-old man the week before. Alex Eastwood, from Fazakerley, Liverpool, collapsed after the third and final two-minute round of a 'light contact' kickboxing match against a 17-year-old opponent 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 and died three days later. Unusually, Michael Pemberton, assistant coroner for Manchester (West), ahead of Alex's inquest, which started on Monday, had already raised concerns with the Government in March this year about the safety of children in combat sports and the apparent lack of regulation and safeguarding measures. Alex took up kickboxing aged nine, trained five times a week and had a 'meteoric' rise in the sport, having competed at high levels, Bolton Coroner's Court heard. He had grown to 6ft 7in, weighed 80kg and had just finished his GCSEs the week before the fight was arranged with another opponent at the gym in Wigan. The bout was to be the 'main event' but was an unofficial or unsanctioned event as it was a charity fundraiser, not a title fight under the main governing body for the sport in the UK, Kickboxing GB. Ian Hollett, who was Alex's coach and chief instructor at the gym where he trained, Hurricane Combat and Fitness in Liverpool, said his club was not affiliated to Kickboxing GB and there were no rules which stated clubs had to be recognised by governing bodies. Mr Hollett, who said he had more than 30 years' experience in martial arts and was a 16-times world champion, set up his gym in 2011 and currently has around 400 child members. He said they had only had a safeguarding officer in place since 2024 and this is carried out by a member of the club who happens to be a social worker. The coroner then asked about a tournament Alex took part in the previous weekend, where he fought a 34-year-old man in a 'light contact' competition. The event was run by the BCKA (British Chinese Kickboxing Association), a franchise, Mr Hollett said, where Alex fought eight or nine single elimination rounds. Coroner Mr Pemberton said: 'How do you have a situation where a 15-year-old child faces an adult in a contact sport?' Mr Hollett said 'discussions' about Alex competing against adults had started with his father and other coaches the previous year. He continued: 'He had not been beat for two years, he progressed rapidly, it is a customary thing that happens in our sport.' 'That's what worries me,' the coroner replied. 'You have a child fighting an adult. If that happened in the street it would be very serious. How is it acceptable?' Mr Hollett said: 'He was untouchable, pretty much. He was exceptionally developed physically, technically excellent.' He said Alex had fought adult opponents earlier in the year and although his own club and gym no longer allow such bouts, only one national body, the International Combat Organisation (ICO), has outlawed the practice. Mr Hollett added: 'Every other governing body would and has and does allow it.' The coroner replied: 'I'm quite shocked by that, I have to say. I'm not often shocked.' Mr Hollett said he was not present for any pre-bout meeting with the two fighters, referee and any other coaches to set the 'ground rules' for how much contact was to be allowed. The coroner said both Alex and his opponent had won world championship titles, it was the 'main event' of the night and the objective was to win. He continued: 'But no meeting before to put down ground rules, 'This is just an exhibition match, lads, keep that in mind?'' Mr Hollett said: 'At any competition they are trying to win. The framework is, they are not trying to knock each other out.' Dale Bannister, event organiser and owner of the TKMA gym where the bout took place, said the 'ground rules' for the match had been agreed between himself and Alex's other coach Daniel Wigelsworth as a 'light contact' fight. But as Mr Wigelsworth said 'Alex can bang' they agreed to 'let it go a bit' on the understanding neither boxer was allowed to win by a knock-out, or stoppage, that is by fighting the opponent into submission. Adam Korn, legal counsel representing the Eastwood family, suggested the fight was in a 'grey area' between light and heavier contact allowed. Mr Bannister said: 'Some are rougher than others. You can see if a fighter is trying to knock someone out.' 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 Wednesday.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Outrageous way mom says school responded to claim female teacher sent naked photo to boy, 14
A Florida mom says her child was suspended from school when he claimed his teacher had sent him a naked photo - but that she kept her job. Beverly Hernandez claims her son, 14, was left traumatized after he allegedly received a nude photo on Snapchat from his teacher, Oliver Fell, 28, at Haile Middle School in Bradenton, south of Tampa. Fell is also accused of writing 'I want to taste you'. But rather than protect the child, Hernandez says the school punished him and accused him of lying. 'Not only was I disappointed that a teacher that was put there to protect my child was grooming him … I'm more disappointed that they inflicted more trauma by calling him a liar,' the mother told ABC7. 'By him thinking he was doing the right thing and speaking up, they retaliated against him,' she added. The allegations came to light after Fell turned herself in to authorities on June 2, days after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She has since been charged with lewd contact with a student by an authority figure, a second-degree felony, and transmission of harmful material to a minor, a third-degree felony. The judge set a $20,000 bond on Tuesday. But despite the seriousness of the charges, school officials allegedly kept Fell employed while suspending the boy who came forward, according to Hernandez. A spokesperson for the school district told that they 'cannot comment on student disciplinary issues because they are private and protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).' The Manatee County Sheriff's Office said Fell started messaging the boy on Snapchat in December. He reported her to the school in March after she sent him a photo of her breast, they said. According to court documents Fell sent him three images including one of her in a bathing suit, one in a brown dress and an image of a bare breast. The school resource officer, Deputy Sadrac Augustin, confronted Fell about the images and she claimed someone was impersonating her. 'She denied the video of the breast being her. Oliver further explained that the two other photos were on her public Instagram account,' the documents said. 'It should be noted the Deputy Augustin didn't use the Snapchat application to navigate through the account and simply accepted her denial of the suspected lewd images.' Police continued to investigate and obtained a search warrant that confirmed the Snapchat account that sent the images belonged to Fell. Records show Fell and the victim became friends on Snapchat on December 10, and she deleted him on March 4, the same date she became aware of the investigation. However, the documents note that the nude photo was not located on her account because Snapchat does not save images. '[The victim] explained he originally obtained Oliver's Snapchat account from Oliver during school hours,' court documents said. The teacher was in a group with several others for the purpose of communicating with each other to open a secure door within the school during school hours. The student claimed he started the private chat with his teacher during Christmas break and the messages started to escalate. '[Fell] at some point stated, "I want to taste you" with a winking face emoji,'' the filings state. The boy told police that he asked his teacher if she had ever sent nude photos, which she replied yes, and then he asked her to send him one which she did. Haile Middle School Principal Irene Nikitopoulos sent a letter to parents after Fell was arrested. 'I am following up on a previous communication I sent about a staff member being investigated for alleged inappropriate posts on social media,' she wrote. 'The staff member, ESE Teacher Oliver Fell, turned herself into the Manatee County Sheriff's Office last night and was subsequently arrested and charged with a second-degree felony and a third-degree felony. Both felonies have to do with illegal social media communications with a student at our school. 'It took several weeks of investigation to confirm the allegations of the illegal communications,' she continued. 'Once law enforcement had sufficient confirmation, our school and district were informed and Ms Fell was immediately reassigned to a position away from our school where she had no contact with students.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
Habibur Masum trial: Man stabbed wife and 'casually walked off'
A husband "casually walked off down the street" after stabbing his wife to death in broad daylight and leaving their baby son behind, a court has heard.A witness described how Habibur Masum threw the knife away before "dusting his hands and calmly carrying on" as his wife lay fatally injured outside a shop in Westgate, Bradford, in April 2024. Jurors heard how Masum had tracked down 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter to a refuge in the city where she had been staying to escape his "violence, jealousy and controlling behaviour".Mr Masum, 26, of Leamington Avenue, Burnley, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a bladed article, but has denied a charge of murder. Bradford Crown Court was told on the day of the attack Ms Akter had left the hostel to go out with a friend believing her husband was in he later confronted her in the street as she was pushing their seven-month-old son in a trial heard statements from witnesses to the attack, including a man who described hearing Ms Akter "screaming in agony and pain".The witness said he saw what looked like a man trying to drag a woman off a pram and "punching her in the abdomen".He said: "I didn't see the knife or blood but I saw the stabbing motion which made it obvious he was stabbing her."He then overpowered her and threw her down in front of a car."The witness said afterwards the man "walked off down the street" and threw away what he assumed was a weapon. His statement added: "He then dusted his hands and calmly carried on walking." 'Threats to kill' Another woman said she was in a car when she heard screaming and saw a man stabbing a statement described how she saw the woman falling to the floor and the man "casually walking off down the street" before throwing the knife court heard Ms Akter had been moved from her home in Oldham to the refuge in January 2024 after telling police Mr Masum had assaulted her, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her over a "completely innocuous" message she received from a male colleague at a a statement to police, which was read in court, Ms Akter said: "I was very frightened when he was holding the knife as I believed what he was telling me and that he might kill me... I do not want to stay with him anymore."She told officers her relationship with her husband of 18 months was "usually good" but "recently he has been controlling me... taking my phone off me and not letting me contact anyone".A friend of Ms Akter's from the refuge said Mr Masum had tracked his wife through her phone location, which she had forgotten to turn off when she left their a short opening address to jurors, Frida Hussain KC, defending, said: "You will need to consider whether he attacked her because he was triggered by something that she said or did that caused him to lose his self-control."She told the jury they would also need to consider whether at the time he "was suffering from an abnormality of mental function".Mr Masum also denies two charges of assault, one count of making threats to kill and one charge of trial continues.
