Latest news with #EastPark
BBC News
29-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Tettenhall Pool and East Park water play area open for summer
Two council water attractions in Wolverhampton have opened for the Pool and East Park water play are welcomed their first visitors at the weekend, reopening after the winter period and safety city council is encouraging users to enjoy the water safely and be considerate to local Bhupinder Gakhal said: "It's wonderful that we have two great water play facilities in the city and I'd like to remind people of the importance of wearing suitable clothes and shoes while enjoying the city's water attractions and do bring hats and sunscreen on sunny days." "Please also be considerate to local residents when you visit the pool or the water splash play and take your litter away with you," the cabinet member for resident services added."Remember, if you're bringing your dog, please make sure they are kept under control, on a lead and out of the water."The attractions traditionally reopen during the late May Bank Holiday weekend and remain open throughout the summer before closing again in September. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Glasgow Times
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
'The future of an essential service is under threat'
This is a school so often filled with joy, resilience, and promise, a place that serves children and young people with some of the most complex additional support needs in Scotland. But behind that warmth lies a deeply troubling reality: the very future of this essential service is under threat. East Park is one of just seven specialist schools in Scotland offering care and education to children whose needs cannot be met in mainstream settings. These schools are national assets. They are lifelines for families. Yet, despite the Scottish Government's constant rhetoric about children's rights, social justice, and closing the attainment gap, these schools appear to have been forgotten. East Park has delivered outstanding specialist education on the same Glasgow site for over 150 years. But it now faces a financial cliff edge. The school has historically received £1.3 million in core grant funding, part of a modest £11 million split between all seven schools. That grant will be withdrawn in 2028, with no plan to replace it. In any properly functioning education system, this would trigger urgent action. Instead, we are met with confusion and silence. When East Park staff raised the issue with the Cabinet Secretary for Education, they were not encouraged by her response. That's not just disappointing, it's deeply concerning. East Park, a charitable school, is already feeling the squeeze. Like many organisations, it faces rising costs from VAT, the Living Wage, and national insurance contributions. With grant funding disappearing, the school is being forced to pass costs onto already-stretched local authorities like Glasgow City Council by raising placement fees. It's a short-term fix that pushes the burden further down the chain and risks destabilising vital provision. The recent Audit Scotland report confirms what we already know: local authorities are struggling to deliver core services under mounting financial pressure. Against this backdrop, expecting a charity like East Park to fundraise just to keep running is unjust. Fundraising should be for enhancing pupil experiences like specialist trips, therapy, or learning tools - not to keep the heating on. There is a better way. Legal expert Iain Nisbet has argued persuasively that schools like East Park should be designated centres of national excellence and funded centrally, just like Jordanhill School. That model provides stability and reflects the national importance of this specialist provision. The Scottish Government's own strategy, The Right Help at the Right Time in the Right Place, sets an ambitious target: that by 2026, Scotland will be a world leader in educating children with complex additional support needs. Shaped by the 2012 Doran Review, the strategy promises inclusive, efficient, high-quality services delivered early, locally, and in national partnership. Yet East Park's reality is a world apart. If we are to take that vision seriously, abandoning East Park and its sister schools would be a betrayal of everything the strategy stands for. If the SNP Government is truly committed to equity and inclusion, it must act - and act now. East Park's future cannot depend on bake sales or council bailouts. It deserves stable, central funding and the dignity of a government that keeps its promises to the most vulnerable. I will be writing to the Minister and calling for a members' debate. But more than that, I will continue standing up for East Park and for every child across Scotland who deserves not to be forgotten.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Pair who murdered 26-year-old in 'appalling' arson attack are jailed for total of 70 years as victim's relatives condemn their 'pure evil'
Two men who murdered a 26-year-old 'beloved son' in an arson attack have been jailed for a total of 70 years. Daniel Tatters and Dale Francis were filmed by a security camera as they used petrol and a lighter to start a fire at the home of 26-year-old Akashdeep Singh. They began by smashing and removing a bay window before setting the living room alight. Tatters, 26 and Francis, 37, were handed respective minimum terms of 34 and 36 years for murder and three counts of attempted murder following a three-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. The pair were told during sentencing by Mr Justice Wall that their 'appalling criminality' had ended the life of Mr Singh and had a 'catastrophic' effect on his family. It comes after jurors were played footage in court of CCTV that showed Tatters, of no fixed address, setting the fire while Francis, of Basford, Stoke-on-Trent, acted as a driver and look-out at the scene. Both were unanimously convicted of murder, arson with intent to endanger life and attempted murder on Tuesday after jurors deliberated for more than nine hours. Jailing the pair today for life, the judge told them: 'The family are now all traumatised by the death of Akashdeep Singh. 'I am sure you intended to kill anyone who found themselves in the house at the time of the fire.' Mr Singh died in hospital hours on from the fire after being trapped upstairs at his home in East Park, Wolverhampton. As well as killing Mr Singh, the judge said the two defendants had caused injuries to his mother which saw her spend almost three months in intensive care and forced the amputation of part of her leg. A lighter discovered by fire crews near the bay window was found to have Tatters's DNA on it while phone records, an in-car tracking device and other CCTV footage linked Francis, of Basford, Stoke-on-Trent, to the attack. Tatters told jurors he had never been to Wolverhampton and had cut his hand on a glass pane while falling over in his garden. The judge told Tatters and Francis: 'She had to be given CPR for 35 minutes at the scene before she could be taken away to hospital.' After telling both men they had put other lives at risk, including those of neighbours and firefighters who entered the property to rescue family members, the judge said he had considered but decided against imposing whole life sentences. The judge added he could not say whether or not the men had 'identified the wrong house' and had instead intended to kill other people. Seconds later a huge flash of white light can be seen as the property goes up in flames In a victim impact statement read to the court prior to sentence, Mr Singh's family said the fire was an act of 'pure evil' meant for someone else which had left a normal family with 'unimaginable' pain and suffering. The statement, read to the court by prosecutor Mark Heywood KC, said: 'On the 25th of June 2024 our whole life changed as a family. 'Within minutes everything had turned to ashes.' Before going to bed, the statement said, family members had been talking about a forthcoming family trip to India but had woken to 'horrors that are unimaginable and difficult to describe'. The family could think of no reason why anyone would wish to harm them and regarded what had happened as 'pure evil' which had taken the life of a 'happy, loving and innocent' soul. Mr Singh's family added: 'He had a lot of dreams and goals for the future including marriage and children. 'But this has been snatched away from him and us because of the fire. 'Losing Akashdeep has left a void that will never be filled. We still can't believe he's gone - not in a humane way but by being murdered. 'We are just a normal family. This fire was meant for someone else. But we will have to live with the consequences of this fire forever.'
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Two men found guilty of murdering 'precious son', 26, in arson attack on family home which was caught on chilling CCTV
Two men who launched a 'horrific' arson attack on a family home which was caught on CCTV and left a 26-year-old man dead have been convicted of murder. A three-week trial was told Daniel Tatters was filmed by a security camera as he smashed and removed a bay window at the home of Akashdeep Singh, before using a flammable liquid to engulf the living room in flames. Mr Singh died in hospital hours later after being trapped upstairs by the blaze at his home in Plascom Road, East Park, Wolverhampton, which the court heard may have been targeted by mistake. Tatters and Dale Francis, who acted as a driver and look-out at the scene, were both unanimously convicted of murder, arson with intent to endanger life and attempted murder today after jurors deliberated for more than nine hours. CCTV played to the trial showed Tatters approaching the house carrying a container and hammering out the window before running away as a fireball, which also left Mr Singhs mother with life-changing injuries, filled the lounge. Tatters, 26, and 37-year-old Francis were alleged by prosecutors to have started the fire at about 1am on June 25 last year 'as the outcome of a considered agreement' following several previous journeys to familiarise themselves with the area. A lighter discovered by fire crews near the bay window was found to have Tatters's DNA on it, while phone records, an in-car tracking device and other CCTV footage linked Francis, of Basford, Stoke-on-Trent, to the attack. Tatters, who is also from Stoke-on-Trent but of no fixed address, told jurors he had never been to Wolverhampton and had cut his hand on a glass pane while falling over in his garden. Francis, whose barrister described the consequences of the fire as tragic and horrific, declined to give evidence, claiming in a written statement he thought his accomplice only intended to 'torch' a car. Opening the case at the start of the trial, prosecutor Mark Heywood KC said the defendants had travelled around 40 miles from Stoke-on-Trent in Francis's Volkswagen Golf. Tatters visited the Royal Stoke University Hospital around two-and-a-half hours after the fire for treatment for cuts to his fingers. CCTV proved Tatters, who was staying at an address in Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent, went on foot to Plascom Road after the Golf was parked around a third of a mile away. The footage also showed the driver's door of the Golf being opened minutes before two figures were seen entering East Park at a location said to be a six-minute walk to Plascom Road. Mr Heywood told at Wolverhampton Crown Court: 'Their actions make it clear that, whichever one of them actually started the fire, each of them shared the intention to murder all the occupants and each assisted and/or encouraged the other to carry that out as planned. 'As to why they went to that house on that night, and as to why they did what they did, these are not matters which the prosecution need to prove. It may never be possible to know why. Seconds later a huge flash of white light can be seen as theproperty goes up in flames 'Only the would-be killers or those involved in the enterprise may know that, and for obvious reasons, you may think, they would never reveal it.' The defendants were both remanded in custody and will be sentenced by Mr Justice Wall on Thursday. Following his death, Mr Singh's relatives paid tribute to a 'kind, helpful, and deeply religious person'. They added: A true hero, our precious son, whose boundless kindness, infectious laughter, and unwavering love filled our lives with immeasurable joy; his memory will forever be cherished, and the depth of his absence is profoundly felt every single day.'
The Independent
20-05-2025
- The Independent
Pair found guilty of murder after ‘horrific' arson attack caught on CCTV
Two men who launched a 'horrific' arson attack on a family home, killing a 26-year-old man and leaving his mother with life-changing injuries, have both been found guilty of murder. A three-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court was told Daniel Tatters was filmed by a security camera as he smashed and removed a bay window at the home of Akashdeep Singh, before using a flammable liquid to engulf the living room in flames. Mr Singh died in hospital hours later after being trapped upstairs by the blaze at his home in Plascom Road, East Park, Wolverhampton, which the court heard may have been targeted by mistake. Tatters and Dale Francis, who acted as a driver and look-out at the scene, were both unanimously convicted of murder, arson with intent to endanger life and attempted murder on Tuesday after jurors deliberated for more than nine hours. CCTV played to the trial showed Tatters, who is from Stoke-on-Trent but of no fixed address, approaching the house carrying a container and hammering out the window before running away as a fireball filled the lounge. Tatters, 26, and 37-year-old Francis were alleged by prosecutors to have started the fire at about 1am on June 25 last year 'as the outcome of a considered agreement' following several previous journeys to familiarise themselves with the area. A lighter discovered by fire crews near the bay window was found to have Tatters's DNA on it, while phone records, an in-car tracking device and other CCTV footage linked Francis, of Clare Street, Basford, Stoke-on-Trent, to the attack. Tatters told jurors he had never been to Wolverhampton and had cut his hand on a glass pane while falling over in his garden. Francis, whose barrister described the consequences of the fire as tragic and horrific, declined to give evidence, claiming in a written statement he thought his accomplice only intended to 'torch' a car. Opening the case at the start of the trial, prosecutor Mark Heywood KC said the defendants had travelled around 40 miles from Stoke-on-Trent in Francis's Volkswagen Golf. Tatters visited the Royal Stoke University Hospital around two-and-a-half hours after the fire for treatment for cuts to his fingers. CCTV proved Tatters, who was staying at an address in Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent, went on foot to Plascom Road after the Golf was parked in Sutherland Avenue, around a third of a mile away. The footage also showed the driver's door of the Golf being opened minutes before two figures were seen entering East Park at a location said to be a six-minute walk to Plascom Road. Mr Heywood told the court: 'Their actions make it clear that, whichever one of them actually started the fire, each of them shared the intention to murder all the occupants and each assisted and/or encouraged the other to carry that out as planned. 'As to why they went to that house on that night, and as to why they did what they did, these are not matters which the prosecution need to prove. It may never be possible to know why. 'Only the would-be killers or those involved in the enterprise may know that, and for obvious reasons, you may think, they would never reveal it.' The defendants were both remanded in custody and will be sentenced by Mr Justice Wall on Thursday.
