Latest news with #DeMontfortUniversity
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Riverside Festival returns to Leicester for 2025
Leicester's free Riverside Festival is returning to the city on Saturday and family-friendly event will take place around the River Soar's mile straight and will include boat rides, kayaking, dragon boat races, live music and performances, craft markets, food and drink and a pop-up art will also take place at Bede Park, Castle Gardens, Western Boulevard, and De Montford University, as well as The Newarke Houses Museum, which will be part of the festival for the first Montford University's Cultural eXchanges Festival, which is organised by students, has also been merged into the festival for the first time and will include dance, performances and workshops. A dedicated family zone will be set up in a tipi in Bede park and will include mini discos, bubble parties and entertainment from noon to 14:00 BST on both days. Live music will also be performed by local artists across both days on the Piazza Stage, with acoustic sessions held in Castle Gardens nearby. A 17th Century living history camp will recreate the Siege of Leicester during the civil war in 1645, with a re-enactment at The Newarke from 14:00 to 15:00 on both Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor for leisure and culture, said: "Like all our festivals, the aim of the Riverside Festival is to bring people together."It's also a chance to showcase the diversity of our communities and enjoy the food, music, dance and arts that make Leicester so special."I hope that the weather will be kind to us and we can look forward to a fun-packed Riverside Festival that will offer something for everyone."The event will take place from noon until 18:00 on Saturday and noon until 17:00 on Sunday.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
De Montfort University to cut jobs as financial pressure mounts
Leicester's De Montfort University (DMU) is looking to make redundancies after admitting its current spending is greater than its university has made 94 positions at risk, with 80 roles set to be cut. Bosses say a fall in student numbers, little movement in tuition fee levels and the increase in employer National Insurance payments mean they needed to cut spending by £22m this year - and £5m is still to be found. A spokesman for the university told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "Like almost every university in the country, DMU is dealing with unprecedented financial challenges." 'Severe challenges' "We have acted early and responsibly to ensure DMU remains financially stable, able to continue its vital role as a critical driver of economic growth, productivity and opportunity," the spokesperson added."We are one of Leicester's largest employers and contribute hundreds of millions of pounds to the regional economy annually. "But the immediate challenges the sector faces are severe and fast-growing."In an effort to save money, the university set up a voluntary severance scheme last year, halted some projects and limited operational spending to "essential items only" but it has not closed the gap. Jobs under threat include 63 senior lecturer roles, 17 associate professor jobs, 11 lecturer roles, one research assistant job, one senior research fellow position and one reader, according to documents seen by the leaders have acknowledged part of the financial gap is due to the cost of setting up new campuses in Dubai and London, but have said the two campuses were needed to reduce reliance on undergraduate tuition fees and diversify an email to staff, vice chancellor Katie Normington said: "I can only reiterate how sorry I am that we are having to weather the national higher education storm like this and regret the impact it is having."
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Southport attack survivor campaigning for round-ended kitchen knives
The yoga teacher who survived the Southport attack is leading a campaign to move to round-ended kitchen knives. Leanne Lucas launched Let's Be Blunt to coincide with a national knife crime awareness week, during which the Government has also announced a new knife amnesty taking place in July. Ms Lucas said: 'The horrific events in Southport on July 29 2024 changed my life forever. The pain and heartbreak that the families involved have had to endure is unimaginable. 'If I can help to ensure this doesn't happen to another family again, I will. When people ask if there is anything they can do to help me, my answer is clear and comes from the heart: swap your pointed kitchen knives for rounded ones. 'Pointed knives, readily available in most kitchens, pose a very real risk of being tragically used as weapons on our streets. A simple yet effective change, replacing our kitchen knives with rounded ones, can remove this potential for danger. 'If we all make a small change in our homes, together we can play a powerful role in preventing future tragedies before they unfold.' Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were murdered and eight other children and two adults were injured in the attack in Southport in July last year, carried out with a knife bought on Amazon while the killer was under-age. The Let's Be Blunt campaign is set to be launched at a parliamentary reception on Wednesday evening. Actor Idris Elba has also called for a move away from pointed kitchen knives, and initial research by forensic scientist Leisa Nichols-Drew with a team at De Montfort University suggests that they may be safer. The researchers found that 10 different rounded knives did not cut everyday clothing such as cotton t-shirts and denim jeans in tests with 1,200 repeated stabbing motions, whereas two pointed blades did. News of the campaign came as the Home Office unveiled plans for knife crime activist Faron Paul to travel across the country in an amnesty van. The campaigner will tour London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester in July to help get rid of dangerous blades. The Home Office is also funding 37 new surrender bins, made by charity Word 4 Weapons, across the same locations where 45% of knife crime in England and Wales takes place. It comes as a ban on ninja swords campaigned for by the family of murdered teenager Ronan Kanda is set to come into force from August 1. It will be illegal to possess, sell, make or import the weapon as part of anti-knife crime measures introduced under Ronan's Law. Ronan's mother Pooja Kanda has campaigned for a law change since the death of her 16-year-old son, who was yards away from his Wolverhampton home when he was murdered with a ninja sword in 2022. Anyone handing in a ninja sword can claim compensation of £5 – the wholesale price of the weapon – if they return it to a designated police station. The new surrender bins have been purpose-built to cater for larger weapons such as ninja swords, and 33 will be placed across London, two in the West Midlands and two in Greater Manchester. Mr Paul's van is also specifically built for the task and will be supported by police officers on the move. The anti-knife crime campaigner and chief executive of FazAmnesty uses social media to raise awareness of the consequences of carrying knives after surviving two life-threatening attacks himself. Mr Paul said: 'The launch of the UK's first-ever amnesty van is a historic moment – not just for FazAmnesty, but for communities across the country. 'In partnership with the Home Office, this van allows us to take our mission directly to the people, giving them a safe, secure, and discreet way to hand in offensive weapons. 'It's more than just a vehicle – it's a symbol of hope, change, and second chances. 'This is about saving lives, protecting our communities, and breaking the cycle of violence.' It will be illegal to have a ninja sword after August 1, and anyone caught with one could face six months in prison, set to increase to two years under plans in the Crime and Policing Bill. Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: 'This Government is taking a different approach to tackling knife crime – one rooted in partnership with those who have first-hand experience of this devastating crime. 'We know that young people involved in crime can have complex pasts and often deep-rooted mistrust in authority, and I truly believe it's this kind of collaboration that will save young lives.'
The Star
12-05-2025
- Health
- The Star
Washing machines: An unexpected source of antimicrobial resistance
A malfunctioning washing machine can be the cause of annoyance and inconvenience if it stops mid-cycle or does not drain, meaning clothes do not get washed properly, or at best, take longer than usual to dry if the spin cycle is off-kilter. But ineffective machines could be having a more dangerous impact than just being unable to erase a food stain or coffee splash: they could be spreading antimicrobial resistance by failing to rid clothes of some bacteria. Among the germs surviving on laundry are Staphylococcus aureus (which causes a range of skin and respiratory infections) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (which, as the name suggests, can cause pneumonia). 'Our research shows that domestic washing machines often fail to disinfect textiles, allowing antibiotic-resistant bacteria to survive,' said Britain's De Montfort University professor of microbiology Dr Katie Laird, whose team's study was published in the medical journal PLOS One. 'If we're serious about transmission of infectious disease via textiles and tackling antimicrobial resistance, we must rethink how we launder what our healthcare workers wear,' she said, after her team tried out six home washing machine models to see if they could successfully decontaminate healthcare worker uniforms. The team found that when they washed contaminated fabric in hot water, three of the machines 'did not disinfect the clothing during a rapid cycle', while two 'failed to clean sufficiently during the standard cycle'. Worse still, the team found that bacteria can develop resistance to domestic detergents, which in turn can render certain antibiotics ineffective against them. Doctors and scientists have been warning in recent years that overuse and misuse of antibiotics, including as an ingredient in animal feed or as a default medication at the first sign of illness in babies or toddlers, could lead to an 'antibiotic apocalypse'. Between 1.2 million and 4.9 million people worldwide are killed each year by infections after antibiotics do not work, according to University of Oxford estimates published by The Lancet medical journal in 2022, which also published a paper last year (2024) suggesting that at least 700,000 of those deaths could be prevented by making clean water more widely available and improving sanitation. – dpa ALSO READ: Study: Superbugs expected to kill 39 million by 2050
ITV News
09-05-2025
- ITV News
Jail for Leicestershire special constable who accessed video of dying man and took photos of it
A grieving widow said a former Leicestershire Police volunteer who was jailed for 12 months after accessing video footage of her husband's body as he lay dying in the street and taking photos of it 'took his dignity' when he was at his most vulnerable. The former special constable volunteer William Heggs, 23, was said to have been an 'exemplary' officer until it was discovered he had taken photographs on his personal phone from body-worn footage of 28-year-old William Harty as he lay fatally injured in Bedale Drive, Leicester, on October 25 2021. Heggs, of Copeland Avenue, Leicester, had attended the scene then aged 20 and gave CPR to Mr Harty, but he died in hospital the next day having suffered head injuries. Mr Harty's brother-in-law Martin Casey was later convicted of his manslaughter. A police investigation was launched after he showed images he had taken from the body-worn footage of Mr Harty's body and stored on his Snapchat account to a colleague who said she did not like seeing blood. Leicester Crown Court heard Heggs, who was suspended from the force until he resigned in October last year, said: 'I know I shouldn't have', as he showed her the graphic pictures. The colleague reported him to his line manager, which led to an investigation that uncovered a number of other offences. Mr Harty's widow Mandy Casey was in court on Friday as Heggs was jailed for 12 months after admitting 11 computer misuse and data protection offences, including securing unauthorised access to data and recklessly obtaining or disclosing personal data. When Heggs's phone was seized by officers, they found he had 'repeatedly and flagrantly' breached policing rules of which he would have been fully aware due to extensive training, prosecutor Cathlyn Orchard told the court. Over a period of six months between July and December 2021, Heggs shared graphic details of the injuries suffered by a woman who had died in a road traffic collision to a Snapchat contact, had shared body-worn footage of a fellow police officer falling over with another colleague and laughed about it, and had taken photographs and videos which involved a knife seizure, use of a baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid. He had also taken a photograph showing details of a man who had been convicted of a sexual offence, including his date of birth, and 12 photographs of a police computer screen on his personal mobile phone, which showed details of various crimes and suspects, without consent. The former volunteer, who joined the force part-time in January 2021 as he studied for a policing degree at De Montfort University, kept the photos and videos in a Snapchat folder called 'My eyes only'. There is nothing to suggest he shared them with anyone on social media, but he did admit showing his mother one of the photographs. In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Casey said she had lost trust in the police and remained scared that she might see photographs of her husband's body appearing on social media. "He took my husband's dignity when he was most vulnerable." She said: 'You don't take someone's dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.' Ms Casey added: 'He took my husband's dignity when he was most vulnerable. When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. 'He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.' Judge Timothy Spencer said Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, was 'probably too immature to be working as a police officer' as he jailed him for 12 months. He said: 'It is clear you did not lack enthusiasm and your policing was, at times, of an exemplary standard, but you lacked maturity. 'You had received extensive training, you knew the importance of data protection and knew you should only share materials for a genuine policing purpose. 'You knew the lines were drawn and the lines were very clear.' He said Heggs, who appeared in the dock wearing a dark suit and white shirt with pink tie and looked ahead as he was sentenced, had carried out 'repeated and persistent breaches of well-understood boundaries'. Judge Spencer accepted that Heggs's actions were not out of 'wickedness', but said the defendant's claims that he accessed the material so he could learn from the experience and become a better officer were 'far-fetched'. He said Heggs's actions had 'significantly undermined' public trust and confidence in the police. The judge added: 'You have a raft of excellent references and your on-the-ground policing was, at times, absolutely exemplary. 'You could have been a huge asset to the police and to society. There is so much good in you and it is such a tragedy that you have thrown what could have been a really good career away.' Members of Heggs's family sobbed in the public gallery as he was led down to the cells. Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime Division, said after the sentencing: 'William Heggs abused the public's trust in the office he held as a special police constable. 'He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers. 'He repeatedly misused his authority to access police computers and flagrantly breached data protection law in disclosing personal data to members of the public. 'He was not authorised to take photographs of body-worn footage on his personal mobile phone nor share that footage with third parties. His actions were insensitive and illegal. 'The CPS will always seek to prosecute this type of offending, and it is only right that William Heggs is punished for his actions.'
