Latest news with #DawnWatson
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Child road safety 'could be boosted by a Cumbria mayor'
Devolution for Cumbria, along with a mayor, could help children walk and cycle more safely, a former transport minister has Harrison, who now chairs the Bikeability Trust, said a new mayoral authority could employ an "active travel commissioner" to invest in walking and cycling Watson, headteacher of a primary school near Cockermouth which lies on a busy crossroads with a 60mph speed limit, said speeding motorists had "demolished" the perimeter wall three times in the thirteen years she had worked a pupil, said: "I would love to cycle into school, but the road doesn't feel safe." Mrs Harrison was speaking on a visit to the school, Eaglesfield Paddle CE Primary child there, Oskar, said some of the local roads were "really fast" with "a lot of blind corners".Cumbria has joined the government's priority devolution programme and is expected to have a mayor next year. Mrs Watson said staff did not encourage children to walk or cycle to school because the main road was "just not safe".An active travel commissioner could help provide more walkways and cycleways, she Harrison, who was the Conservative MP for Copeland until last year, said: "I think having that person whose sole job it is to enable more people to walk and cycle, especially children, will be so important."A final decision over whether Cumbria goes ahead with devolution will be made by local councils later this year, with a mayoral election expected next year. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What was the mysterious spiral spotted above south Essex? Here's all we know
A MYSTERIOUS glowing spiral witnessed above south Essex yesterday is believed to have been caused by a SpaceX rocket launch. Residents were left surprised on Monday evening after capturing a sight of the visual in the sky above Rochford and Southend. Many were left baffled by what the mystery light could have been, and were not alone with people from all over the UK sharing their images of the sighting. Spiral - Residents were surprised by the sight. (Image: Jessica Mannering) Sight - The visual seen above south Essex (Image: Dawn Watson) It has since been reported this could be the result of the launch of SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket. The Met Office confirmed the visual was likely caused by light reflecting off of frozen rocket fuel ejected from its exhaust. The plume was visible for several minutes above the country and other parts of Europe before dissipating. Sharing their verdict, a Met Office spokesman shared on X last night: "We've received many reports of an illuminated swirl in the sky this evening. This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today. The rocket's frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky." Glow - Residents reported the sight yesterday evening (Image: Jessica Mannering) Frozen fuel - The sight was likely a result of frozen rocket fuel according to the Met Office (Image: Jessica Mannering) SpaceX's rocket had launched at around 5.50pm on a classified US government mission. The fuel appeared to glow due to it being frozen upon its release at a high altitude, before forming a spiral patter due to the rocket's movement, with light subsequently reflecting off the fuel. One Echo reader, Jessica Mannering, was able to capture the extraordinary sight taking place over Rochford's skies, while Dawn Watson was also able to snap the sight at 8:05pm.
