Latest news with #Amesbury
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Police rescue 7-year-old Mass. boy lost in swamp
Merrimac and Amesbury first responders rescued a 7-year-old boy who became lost in a swamp over a mile away from his home Friday evening. Merrimac police and firefighters received a report about a 7-year-old boy who was missing from a home on East Main Street shortly before 7:40 p.m., authorities said in a press release. Several on and off-duty officers responded, including one K-9 officer and an Amesbury officer who offered to use a drone to aid in the search. After an intensive search, they found the boy 1.3 miles away from his home, authorities said. He was waist-deep in a swamp and unable to move. The officers freed the child and were led out of the woods with the help of some drones, authorities said. Merrimac firefighters treated the boy at the scene, but he was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. Merrimac Police Chief Eric Shears spoke with the boy's mother Saturday morning, authorities said. She said her son is doing well and that she is 'extremely grateful for everyone who helped out, and all the officers and everyone involved were absolutely amazing.' 'I have never been prouder of the department, our mutual aid partners and our community,' Shears said in the release. ' ... Had this child not been located this quickly, I fear our community might have faced a tragic outcome. The professionalism, dedication and overall excellence of the team led to the best possible result in a very difficult situation.' Springfield approves new 5,000-gallon tank to allow Peter Pan Bus to fuel vehicles Springfield men indicted on drug trafficking charges in Vermont Former President Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer Cape Cod high school senior killed in car crash Man chased victim, assaulted them with hatchet in Boston road rage incident Read the original article on MassLive.
CBS News
18-05-2025
- CBS News
Missing boy rescued from Massachusetts swamp by police, K9 named "Meatball"
Police officers and a K9 named Meatball helped track down a missing boy who was stuck in a Massachusetts swamp Friday night. The 7-year-old was reported missing from his Merrimac home on East Main Street just after 7:30 p.m., and that's when an "intensive search" began involving first responders from Merrimac and Amesbury, police said. Police said three officers and K9 Meatball found the boy 1.3 miles away from home "in a swampy marsh, waist-deep in water and unable to move out of the mud," authorities said. The officers were able to pull him out of the mud, and made their way out of the woods with the help of drone units. "Had this child not been located this quickly, I fear our community might have faced a tragic outcome," Merrimac Police Chief Eric Shears said in a statement. The boy was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and released, and his mother said he is doing well now. K9 Meatball helps track down missing Merrimac boy Amesbury Police Chief Craig Bailey praised the first responders and the K9 team for finding the boy quickly. "We train together for moments such as this hoping we would never need to answer this type of call," Bailey said. "Ultimately, Officer Nichols' track with K-9 Meatball and the support during the track by Officer Hewey and Officer Ryan DeVaney led to this positive outcome." K9 Meatball, who is partnered with officer Tommy Nichols, turned 5 years old in January. He joined the force in 2022 and is the offspring of Amesbury patrol K9 Achilles. On behalf of Chief Craig Bailey and the entire APD team, please help us in congratulating Officer Thomas Nichols and K-9... Posted by Amesbury Police Department (OFFICIAL) on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 Chief Bailey previously told The Newburyport News that it was Nichols' family that gave Meatball his unique name. "When we learned his name, it was a hit," Bailey told the newspaper. Last month, a police K9 in Milford jumped into a stream to rescue a missing 8-year-old boy who was found clinging to a tree.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
102-year-old Darlington veteran on memories of VE Day and poignant message for future
Sat in his chair in his room at Darlington Manor Residential Home, with a VE Day pin badge on his quarter-zip top, is 102-year-old Kenneth Johnson. Kenneth's story is an unbelievable one. He was in London for the declaration of victory in Europe, now known as VE Day. I arrive as Kenneth is being fussed over by nurses, with the staff at the residential home making sure he has everything he needs and looks his best. He says he doesn't like the fuss, but the look on his face says otherwise. I introduce myself, to which I get the reply: 'I have got a grandson called Adam'. I make a silly joke about what a great name it is. Ken laughs, before the nurses leave the two of us to our chat. The information and stories I hear over the next 40 minutes were astounding and poignant. We begin our chat about his memories of VE Day, as he was in London when victory over the Nazi's was declared. I barely finish asking the question before Ken jumps in and says: 'Oh, it was absolute chaos. The streets were full of people marching and dancing, people were climbing up lampposts. It was absolutely heaving; it was like a party!' ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement The veteran was a flight mechanic for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was stationed down south in Amesbury, near Salisbury. He and a group of friends made the trip to London after victory in Europe was declared. But Ken recalls that he did not know how he and his friends got to London, or how they got back. 'Because we were marching along the streets, we didn't know where we were. I had never been to London before, and it was absolutely crowded. Everywhere you went there were crowds of people. Then it came to the evening and needing to get some sleep. 'We had nowhere to stay, as you only got about a shilling a day. It came to bedtime, and we were looking for somewhere to kip down. There were people laying all over the place. We found this building and you went through a door in the side, down some stairs'. Ken gestures with his hand just how far down he and his friends went. 'Down and down, it just kept going', he continues. Kenneth pictured in his RAF uniform with his wife (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) 'I thought it was never going to end, it was almost like a cave. There were three-tier beds all over the place, and, do you know, I can't ever remember paying for it! We were that far underground that we could hear the underground trains going over our heads.' ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement I'll confess now, I am a massive history buff. I completed an undergraduate degree in English Literature and History, and in my final year did a module on France in the Second World War. The module included learning about what life was like for people in the country under Nazi-occupation and reading about the locals' stories. So, I was utterly engrossed in Ken's story that I nearly forgot to ask the next question. 'Why did you join the RAF?' The veteran explained how he and his friends were 'young and stupid', but they wanted to join up and enlist in the armed forces. He laughs as he recalls: 'When the war broke out, you either got in the Army, the Navy or the Royal Air Force, but nobody really wanted to be in the Army!' Initially, the grandad was too young to join the RAF, so his name was put on a reserve list for when he turned 18. When that time came, he made his way to the recruiting office in Darlington, where he was then told he needed to go to the recruiting office in Middlesbrough. On arrival in Middlesbrough, he was met by an officer in RAF uniform who asked Ken what he wanted to do. When Ken replied 'pilot', he smiles as he recalls what the recruiting officer responded. 'After I told him I wanted to be a pilot, he said 'Oh God, not another one. Everybody wants to be pilots'. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'He asked me what I would like to do if I had the choice, and I replied that I wanted to be a mechanic. And then the chap in the uniform suggested being a flight mechanic. It sounded exciting.' Kenneth's RAF service book (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) Throughout his service with the RAF, Ken saw much of the United Kingdom. He was first sent to Padgate with all the other new sign-ups, before he went to Blackpool where he learnt how to march. The veteran remembers: 'We marched up and down the promenade for about six weeks, and we even got some people watching sometimes.' From there it was a move to Squires Gate in Blackpool, where Ken trained to be a flight mechanic. He jokes: 'A lot of us did not have a clue what to do, so we did many classes'. After completing his classes, Ken was stationed to Boscombe Down, near Amesbury. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement It was there that Ken was part of a squadron that serviced aircrafts such as the Lancaster Bomber, Mosquito and Spitfire. He adds: 'The planes weren't going out to fight in the war. The pilots that were there were pilots who had been in the war, done their duty and come back to the squadron. They were testing the airplanes. I kept hoping I would get posted because being a young lad, you want a bit of excitement, but it wasn't like that at all.' Ken tells me how he wanted to be a pilot in the Second World War and take to the skies on his flights, but he jokes: 'I never even got to fly the planes and that's all I wanted to do!' However, Ken was lucky enough to still go up in a variety of planes. He says: 'When you had been working on the engines, you had to service them, so they were ready to fly at any time. Sometimes, if you got the opportunity, the pilots would say 'go and get a parachute and come with us'. Every so often you had a chance to fly as a passenger in the aircraft, just to experience it. 'I flew all over the south coast, but only once did I get hold of an aircraft. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement He tells me how he joined a pilot on a flyover, and after the pilot completed the flyover he turned to Ken and said: 'Right, now take hold of the aircraft'. Ken recreates his reaction he had when the pilot told him he would be flying the plane. He has a shocked look on his face, points at himself and says 'me?' Ken continues: 'The pilot told me to keep it straight. You were also not meant to smoke in the aircraft, but the pilot lit up a cigar. He was sat in the back smoking whilst I had control of the plane.' When Ken still lived at home on his own, he was finally able to get in the cockpit and pilot planes all over the world. 'When I lived at home, in the last ten years, I had a computer, and I could fly on it. You put these discs in the computer, and I bought the joysticks, and you could fly anywhere. It was very realistic. I would fly down to the coast and back, and all the places round here.' As well as seeing the planes fly over London to celebrate VE Day 80 years ago, Ken has also been fortunate enough to experience two other flyovers for his birthdays, although he did somehow manage to miss both. Kenneth also shared a poignant message for the future (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT) ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement He laughs as he tells me: 'A man from the RAF came to see me on my hundredth birthday and arranged for a Lancaster Bomber to fly over my house. I had lots of people round, some were in the garden, but I missed it. 'This last birthday, they sent an aircraft flying over the park near the home, and it had a banner behind it which read 'Happy birthday, Ken'. I missed that one too! They all told me about it though. I was sat in the lounge, and we were all sat round and someone said: 'Look there's the plane'. So, they saw it, I didn't, but they did fly over the park. The RAF have been absolutely brilliant with me.' Ahead of VE Day however, Ken gives a poignant and important message about what the day means for him. He says: 'VE Day should show all the important things that people did back then. VE Day should be a celebration, shouldn't it? But an old man like me doesn't see it like that. It's lovely that we haven't had a war, but the development that I have seen since VE Day, it has got worse, not better. Celebrations are meant to be a happy time, but I don't see it as a happy time. I think of all the people who lost their lives during the war. We should be celebrating that we have not been at war for 80 years.' He admits he is also worried about the future of the world. He adds: 'I am frightened. My sight isn't great anymore, but I can see the world is getting worse, not better. From what my daughter tells me about Trump; we might end up having another war. It only needs one of them to do something stupid and then the whole world could be changed.' ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Once those 40 minutes come to an end, and I say goodbye to an extraordinary man, I come away having learnt so much. I learnt what it was like to be in London for VE Day, essentially being transported to London in 1945 through Ken's description. But I also learnt how someone from Ken's generation views VE Day, perhaps differently from you and me. I will be forever grateful to Ken for allowing me to chat and learn so much from him, and will remember the day for many years to come. A huge thank you also needs to go to everyone at Darlington Manor Residential Home for allowing me in to interview Ken. I could have sat and listened to him for hours.
ITV News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Reform UK's new MP takes seat in House of Commons after by-election success in Runcorn and Helsby
Sarah Pochin, the new MP for Runcorn and Helsby taking her place in the House of Commons. Reform UK 's newest and only female MP has taken her seat in the House of Commons after her by-election success over Labour. Sarah Pochin, the new member of parliament for Runcorn and Helsby in Cheshire, was flanked by party leader Nigel Farage and chief whip Lee Anderson as she arrived in the Commons. She then took an oath of allegiance to the Crown, which all MPs are required to do before they can take their seat in the Houses of Parliament. Opening health questions, Health Secretary Wes Streeting welcomed Ms Pochin to the House. He said: 'Despite my best efforts, can I welcome the member for Runcorn and Helsby to her place? 'Being a Member of Parliament is a privilege, and I know how special it is to sit on these benches having been sent here by constituents and, regardless of political differences, wish her well personally.' In one of the closest parliamentary contests ever, Ms Pochin became the MP for Runcorn and Helsby after she defeated the Labour candidate by just six votes. Labour had won with a majority of almost 14,700 less than a year ago but a by-election was triggered when former MP Mike Amesbury quit after admitting punching a constituent. Mr Amesbury has said he's 'disappointed' but 'not surprised' by Reform's by-election victory adding that Labour's backbenchers should urge leaders to 'think again' on key issues. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Amesbury, who was first jailed and later given a suspended prison sentence after admitting the assault said he had never punched anyone before the incident in October. Amesbury said he was 'really disappointed' by the result but he was 'not surprised'. 'I want this government to succeed but if they carry on making political mistakes, winter fuel's an obvious one, but coming down the line is the personal independence payments", he said. 'I would say, listen people on those backbenches, that this is now the time to say, you know, you're not being disloyal. 'But say, 'look, come on now', to the leadership. 'Just think again on this. If we're serious about having two terms of a Labour government and transforming this country for the better, we've got to listen to the electorate and do the right thing.'' He said: 'Reform have been the beneficiaries, really, of some big political mistakes from the Labour government, and I sincerely hope that Keir (Starmer), the Labour Prime Minister and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, not only listen, but learn and respond.'
Spectator
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Mike Amesbury urges Labour MP rebellion
You'd have thought ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury would have tired of making headlines by now, but the former politician can't seem to keep his head below the parapet. Now the former Runcorn and Helsby parliamentarian – who prompted last week's by-election after he, er, punched a constituent – has called on Labour backbenchers to rebel against the leadership's 'big political mistakes'. And Amesbury knows all about mistakes, eh? Speaking to the Beeb's Today programme this morning, the ex-Labour man spoke to presenters about the future of Labour. Taking no responsibility for the part he played in handing Runcorn over to Reform, Amesbury lamented that while he was 'really disappointed' at Labour's loss in his former seat last week, he wasn't shocked given the 'big political mistakes from the Labour government' in recent months. Ouch. Going on, Amesbury took aim at Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, insisting: 'The constituents of Durham, or up and down the country, didn't vote because of my mistake.'
