Latest news with #EastleighBoroughCouncil
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Park gate sliced toddler's finger ‘like guillotine', says mother
A three-year-old boy had had part of his finger amputated after a park gate sliced it off 'like a guillotine', his mother said. Tommy Warley was running ahead of his family when his limb got stuck in the entrance to Conduct Gardens in Eastleigh, Hampshire last Tuesday. Ms Warley said that the gate moved backwards 180 degrees, trapping the three-year-old's finger as his mother, Rose-Marie, looked on in horror. She said there was 'so much blood' and that her son began screaming as he realised what was happening. The 34-year-old mother took her son to Southampton General Hospital where more than half of his middle finger on his right hand had to be amputated. Now, Ms Warley is calling for Eastleigh Borough Council to change the gate to one with a 'safer closing mechanism'. She said: 'There was so much blood everywhere, and his finger was attached to the gate. 'A neighbour had to wrap it in a tea towel and give it to us so we could take it to the hospital. 'Tommy was screaming, and we took him to Southampton General Hospital. '[The gate] is a guillotine, and should have a stopping mechanism or a slow closure in place. 'I want the council to change the gates, and when they will do that, I don't know.' 'Things will be more difficult for him' The mother added that her son is currently struggling to carry out activities before the shocking accident and it will have a 'long-term impact' on the young child. 'He loves playing with cars, being in sand and water, and playing football, and those things will be more difficult for him especially as he is right-handed,' she said. 'Having all your fingers helps with co-ordination and grip, but that is restricted for him now. 'Tommy also has special educational needs (SEND), so this will impact him in the long-term.' 'Very upsetting' The council has since launched an investigation into the incident and said they were 'very sorry' to hear about the incident. A spokesperson said: 'We're very sorry to hear that a young child was hurt at Conduct Gardens and understand this must be very upsetting for the family. 'We're in touch with them and are looking into exactly what happened. 'Council staff visited the site straight away and have made sure that the area is safe.'
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
River Hamble visitors warned over toxic blue-green algae
Visitors are being advised to avoid contact with the water in a river over fears it could contain toxic blue-green bacteria, which can be harmful to humans, has been reported along the River Hamble in Hampshire, Eastleigh Borough Council said. The Environment Agency (EA) has warned that the algae can be fatal to animals if ingested, and people are being urged not to allow their dogs to enter the tends to appear after warm weather and can cause skin irritation, rashes, blisters, eye irritation, nausea and diarrhoea According to the EA areas where there is a bloom will have water that appears less clear and may look green, blue-green or greenish-brown. Scums can form during calm weather when several bloom forming species rise to the surface, which can look like paint, mousse or small advises people to contact the EA if they suspect an area to have blue-green algae. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'You just walked into the road'
"People who are fully sighted are actually blind to the needs of people with a visual impairment," says a Hampshire mayor, adding "that needs to change". The Mayor and Mayoress of Eastleigh have been shopping in the town's centre wearing goggles designed to impair their vision. They want to improve accessibility for those living with a visual impairment (VI) and raise awareness among other town councils. Dave and Jean Pragnell spent more than an hour shopping to try to understand what people living with VI experience. The goggles they wore were designed to mimic sight loss caused by Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic condition also described as pin-hole vision. Rob Hiley, who also accompanied the mayor on his shopping spree, was born with the condition but didn't notice his vision deteriorate until he was 45. Now 72, he says what he sees is similar to the tunnel-vision goggles worn by the mayor: "I think it's fantastic and long overdue that people in authority actually take an interest in people with a visual impairment." With the help of her grandchildren, the mayoress walked around town wearing goggles mimicking diabetic retinopathy; a complication of diabetes which damages the retina. She described the experience as having "very blurry vision with large dark floaters". "Eastleigh was not the easiest place for a person with a sight loss to move about as there are so many things on the pavements," she said. The goggles were supplied by local charity OpenSight which supports people in Hampshire with VI. CEO Chris Dixon, who joined the mayor on his experience, said people living with VI find accessing the community a real challenge: "It's really important for us to be able to demonstrate those challenges and to try and get that empathy and awareness for the community to try and help." During the walk Mr Pragnell highlighted areas of navigation he found difficult, such as the lack of tactile pavements, which indicate crossings, and floral planters: "They [planters] look great for people that can see, but unfortunately they're right in the way of people with sight impairment. We need to rethink that sort of thing." He added that all council officers needed to do put the goggles on and experience what he did. "Without it, they cannot do their jobs properly," he said. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Goggles 'give back' sight to Maisy Goggles help blind girl 'see' animals again Blind opera singer's concern over pothole danger Press Pack: How books are helping blind children experience stories through touch 'Learning guitar helped me cope with going blind' Eastleigh Borough Council Mayor of Eastleigh OpenSight
The Independent
08-04-2025
- General
- The Independent
Local authority pest control call-outs up 3% over a year
Local authority pest control services were called out to 291,132 homes across the UK last year, up 3% on the year before and an increase of 9% on 2022, figures show. Councils responded to an additional 52 rat or mouse-related call-outs per day last year compared with 2022, Freedom of Information (FoI) requests by Direct Line home insurance found. Bedbug infestations also soared by 35% between 2022 and 2024, while cockroach removal visits increased by 13% over the same period. East Suffolk Council experienced the largest rise in rat or mouse-related call-outs last year, increasing by 325% on the previous year, followed by Eastleigh Borough Council in Hampshire, which saw a rise of 134%. The analysis found the availability of council-operated pest control services remains a postcode lottery. Just 5% of councils which responded to the FoI request provide rat and mice removal services free of charge to residents. The majority require residents to pay a fee ranging from £10 to £283. Some 24% of councils do not offer a pest control service, or have discontinued them, leaving residents in those areas forced to seek alternative solutions. The average cost to a council of providing pest control services is more than £125,000, according to the study. Maria Lawrence, from Direct Line, said: 'Infestations can not only cause huge damage to people's homes, they also pose a huge health hazard. 'Householders should take precautions to avoid attracting pests and needing to bring in the council's version of the Pied Piper of Hamelin by storing rubbish in securely closed containers rather than plastic bags that provide easy access to rats and other pests.' Niall Gallagher, technical and compliance manager at the British Pest Control Association, said: 'The statistics show a significant uptick in call-outs, so it is increasingly important for residents to consider calling a professional at the first sign of pest activity. ' Rats and mice are a public health concern and have rapid breeding cycles, which means an infestation can quickly escalate. 'Bedbug infestations are tricky to deal with and horribly distressing for those that have to live alongside them, meaning a pest professional should always deal with them.'
