Latest news with #Banstead
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
What are the punishments for catcalling? Police officers pose as runners to tackle harassment
Surrey police said one of their plainclothes officers was catcalled within 10 minutes of starting their run. Female police officers in Surrey have been jogging in plainclothes to catch out catcallers in part of a wider attempt to clamp down on violence against women. The Jog On campaign from Surrey sees the officers, who have volunteered to run, contact support teams if they are victims of catcalling. A support team will then try and talk to the perpetrators and advise them against such behaviour. They said the tactic has been used in Reigate and Banstead but is now being rolled out elsewhere. Inspector Jon Vale said their research shows catcalling is significantly underreported, with almost half of women not getting in touch with police when they were catcalled. He said: "To date, we have made a number of interventions following reports of harassment of our plainclothes runners. In these cases, it was deemed appropriate to provide education around anti-social behaviour. 'For repeat offenders or where the behaviour is more serious, we will robustly pursue all criminal justice outcomes." Vale told LBC: 'One of our officers was honked at within 10 minutes, then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later – that's how frequent it is." PC Abi Hayward, who was one of the officers taking part in the trial, said she was a keen runner said she felt "diminished" and "uncomfortable" whenever she was catcalled. She said: "It makes me feel uneasy, and then instantly it's just ruined my run." What is catcalling? Catcalling is the act of shouting something sexually suggestive to another person. It is usually done by a man directed at a woman. It is a form of harassment, and more often than not, the people involved have never interacted before in their lives. It can be extremely uncomfortable for someone to experience, especially when the catcaller is part of a wider group shouting at a woman on her own. The phrase was first used to describe people who jeered and made disapproving sounds towards theatre performers in the 1600s, but over time, it took on more sexual connotations. Is catcalling a crime? There is no direct law that makes catcalling illegal, but someone who catcalls may be charged with harassment under certain circumstances. In 2023, the government passed a bill that updated laws around harassment to include street harassment as a specific crime for the first time. The specific crime of street harassment was created to encourage more people report when they think they've been a victim of the crime. The new rules criminalised: Deliberately walking closely behind someone as they walk home at night Making obscene or aggressive comments towards a person Making obscene or offensive gestures towards a person Obstructing a person's path Driving or riding a vehicle slowly near to a person making a journey In the wake of the Sarah Everard murder, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) also tightened its guidance on street harassment in 2022. The CPS says in the specific instance of verbal harassment, rather than physical assault, people can be charged under two circumstances. If the intention is to cause (and thereby causing) harassment, alarm, or distress to a specific victim by words or behaviour. Or, a less serious incident of sexually threatening or abusive words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour directed towards a stranger in public. How widespread is the problem? A study published by the University of Manchester in 2024 found that two-thirds of women have experienced harassment while running. The survey, which focused on women in the north east of England, found just 5% of victims reported it to the police. And 68% of the survey respondents said they had experienced some form of abusive behaviour. The most common type was verbal abuse, with 58% of the women who responded reporting that they had experienced this. However, a substantial number of women also said they had been followed while out running (19%), flashed at (7%), or received other types of abuse from men in vehicles (13%). And 82% of them said they were worried about their personal safety when running. One of the women who took part in the survey told The Guardian that when she was on one run, she was followed by a group of "10-year-olds on bikes" who made extremely offensive sexual comments about her. The woman, who only identified as Lucy, said: "What shocked me was that these children had learned this behaviour and thought it was totally OK to do this. It was daytime. At the time, I thought I was OK, but I stopped running shortly after … it made me feel pretty unsafe." How many people have been arrested? Surrey police said they had not arrested anyone specifically in relation to the Jog On campaign, as it was being implemented as a "preventative measure". A spokesperson told Yahoo News UK: "We have used these interactions to educate individuals on how this behaviour can make a woman or girl feel and the consequences, in an effort to prevent future behaviour occurring." They said they had made 18 arrests overall in their increased efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, incorporating other tactics such as the use of plain clothes officers to tackle harassment in nighttime economy venues such as pubs and clubs. Exact figures on how many arrests specifically relating to street harassment are hard to come by. But in a Freedom of Information request in 2023, Dorset Police said they had made 138 arrests relating to the changes to the CPS's advice on street harassment in a 12-month period. Of these, 96 of the arrests related to "intentional Harassment, alarm or distress. What are the punishments? When the specific laws for street harassment were introduced, the punishments were increased from six months to two years' jail time. Stylist reported in 2022 that a man was issued a £100 fine for catcalling in Ilford, believed to be the first time someone was punished in the UK specifically for the offence.
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Godstone man's epic cycle ride after wife dies from sepsis
The husband of a woman who died from septic shock is to cycle the length of Britain in her Channevy Walsh, from Banstead in Surrey, died in September last year having recently undergone husband, Ben Chavveny Walsh, her brother-in-law, and a group of friends will set off from Lands End on Saturday and hope to reach John O'Groats on 6 team has already raised more than £27,000, which will be donated to the UK Sepsis Trust and Versus Arthritis. Sepsis is when a person's immune system "overreacts" to an infection and starts to damage the body's own tissues and organs, according to the affects roughly 245,000 people in the UK each year and leads to 48,000 deaths. Ben, Anne's husband, says: "To do this in Anne's honour, to remember her, doing something positive in such a terrible situation and to raise money for charities she either worked for or which raises awareness of the condition that took her life, I feel Anne would be proud of us and something she would have done if the roles were reversed." Help prevent tragedy Anne's sister, Veronique Channevy, said she was unaware of what sepsis was before her sister died from the condition."It's hard to believe that five people die in the UK every hour from the illness yet there is so little awareness," she said."With this in mind, we wanted to do something to raise awareness so that the same tragedy could be prevented for other families."The NHS states that adults experiencing the following symptoms should call 999 or go to A&E:acting confused, slurred speech or not making senseblue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue. These symptoms may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet on people with brown or black skina rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over itdifficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Surrey lavender farm finds weeding 'quite difficult' since Brexit
A Surrey lavender farmer says it has been "a bit touch and go" to weed crops in time for peak visitor season since new visa rules were introduced after Maye, owner of Mayfield Lavender Farm, says finding workers has been tricky since the United Kingdom left the European Union and sponsoring visas is from the EU, except Irish citizens, have needed visas to work in the UK since the post-Brexit immigration system came into force in January 2021, and EU immigration has decreased since freedom of movement Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been contacted for comment. Ms Maye says her farm in Banstead, which is open to visitors, grows its lavender organically, so relies on workers to manually weed its crops."We weed 140,000 plants by hand so that it's beautifully manicured, so that people do want to visit a lavender farm," the farmer told BBC Radio Surrey."Since Brexit, getting workers to come in has been quite difficult because of the visas that have been required now to bring people in."Ms Maye added that sponsoring visas was "hugely expensive" and there "aren't as many workers that want to come over".She said: "It's always a bit touch and go whether we manage to get everything weeded in time for the season starting." Mayfield Lavender Farm opened in Banstead in 2006 and has since seen a surge in international Maye said the site started off with local visitors who heard about the attraction through word of mouth, but "as social media started to increase, we saw lots of people who wanted to come and take photographs of themselves in the lavender".She added: "From 2011 it got really busy, then we put a telephone box in the middle of our lavender farm because we were getting lots of international tourism."The farm took on a second site in Epsom in 2011, which is now home to a shop, cafe, and a new "secret lavender garden".
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Deer gets stuck in garden gate railings in Surrey
A deer has been rescued after getting wedged between the metal railings of a garden gate. The animal got stuck after attempting to squeeze through the gate at a property in Banstead, Surrey, according to the RSPCA.A man living at the house called the charity when he found it trapped as he was leaving for inspector Jo Bowling said: "I tried freeing him myself with a car jack, but I couldn't lift the deer over the bottom bit of the gate on my own." Ms Bowling called Surrey Fire and Rescue Service for said: "We have no idea how it got there as their garden has 6ft high fence panels all the way round and the back gate into the fields was locked shut. "It seems he jumped into their garden and then tried to get out using the gate, but got himself stuck."The rescuers released the deer who fled "uninjured" into neighbouring fields. "Deer are particularly susceptible to stress and therefore in many cases they do not survive for very long after being trapped."It's wonderful on this occasion, after a careful assessment, that we were able to release the deer back to the wild."It's always the best part of the job to see such a beautiful, powerful animal finally free and released back into the wild."
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
South East prison garden heads to RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025
A garden inspired by a South East social enterprise project helping to train women in prisons will celebrate "strong beauty" and femininity when it goes on display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Glasshouse Garden will return to the show when it opens next week, showcasing the "healing power of nature", the project behind it garden, which is inspired by the work of The Glasshouse at East Sutton Park prison in Maidstone, will later be donated to women's prison HMP Downview in Banstead at the end of the Thompson, the designer behind the garden, said: "I said I would never do another Chelsea after my 10th show in 2019 but when the opportunity came up I couldn't say no." She added: "These women are determined to improve their lives by getting some kind of training and making the most of it so that when they get out of prison they can find a job."You are stripped of all self-worth in prison and deprived of nature and by putting these women in the spotlight is wonderful for them." Ms Thompson, who has creative studios in London and Eastbourne, said she wanted to use a colour palette of deeper reds, pinks and crimsons to portray the "strong beauty" that has inspired the garden garden centres around an elliptical pavilion made from recycled acrylic and is designed to offer a space of reflection and support which will eventually sit inside HMP is the second time The Glasshouse project had been able to take part in the Chelsea Flower Show after its garden, designed and built by women who were in prison or who had been recently released, won a gold medal in project provides horticultural training and support to women in prison, leading to a 0% reoffending RHS Chelsea Flower Show begins on Tuesday, 20 May and runs until Saturday, 24 May.
