Latest news with #HMPPreston
Press and Journal
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Press and Journal
‘She died of a broken heart': Mum remembers Heather Aird a year after Skye Live tragedy
A year after the sudden death of her daughter at the Skye Live music festival, Heather Aird's mother has spoken of her family's enduring heartbreak. Heather, 49, collapsed at the event in Portree in May 2024. Despite the efforts of emergency crews, she died at the scene. Monica Aird, who lives in Poulton-le-Fylde near Blackpool, revealed that in the weeks leading up to her death, Heather had suffered another personal tragedy. As Monica explained, Heather may have died of a broken heart, having lost the love of her life shortly before making the trip to Skye. Heather lived in Preston with her partner, Darren, and held a job she loved, despite its challenges. She managed the prison library at HMP Preston, having previously worked in the city's Harris Library, and before that in administrative jobs. Monica said Heather put her 'heart and soul' into her work. Because her job was so all-consuming, she ensured that every moment outside of work was spent doing the things she loved. With a Scottish father from Ayrshire, Heather often felt the pull of heading north. On weekends, she would immerse herself in the company of musicians and traditional music fans. 'She was into traditional music,' Monica said. 'In fact, an up-and-coming group of musicians met up last Sunday in the Glad Cafe in Glasgow, and all these people sang a song for Heather.' Monica, Heather's brother Andrew and her uncle attended the event. Monica said: 'It was lovely, something very emotional and special. 'It was something that we had not really appreciated about Heather, that she had helped lots of musicians. 'She always bought their CDs and supported them.' Heather's list of favourite bands reads like a who's who of Scottish music: Skerryvore, Tide Lines, Stornoway rockers Peat and Diesel, and Blue Rose Code. Monica continued: 'Skerryvore were singing at the festival when Heather collapsed and died. We had a beautiful message from the band members of Skerryvore after it happened. 'That meant a lot to us.' Heather had lived with Crohn's disease and required regular injections, but she had no other known medical conditions. Therefore, her death came as a complete shock to her family. An inquest into her death at Skye Live, held in Inverness, revealed she had suffered an aortic dissection. Monica said: 'When she got to Broadford, she was in a lot of pain, which may have been a warning about her aorta, and that it was about to give way. 'It was sad and such a shock. She was staying in the hostel. This was her third time at Skye Live. 'She kept in touch with me all the time, and I hadn't heard from her. 'I phoned the hostel to ask if they had seen her, and they said, 'You'll have to contact the police; they have taken her things.' 'I really did not know what had happened. At the same time as I was phoning, a police lady arrived at my door.' Monica was told that at the time of her death, Heather had been standing with someone she had been talking to. This person was with Heather when she collapsed. 'They said she was having such fun.' Monica said she was glad to hear that her daughter was enjoying the festival, because in the weeks leading up to Skye Live, her life had been struck by tragedy. 'Her partner had died in the weeks leading up to Skye Live, and as she had booked all of her travel and accommodation in advance, she decided she would go. 'She tried to remain positive after Darren's death, and she would say, 'I am alive; I need to keep living.' 'But to me, it seems like she had a broken heart, and I think that is what she died of. She was heartbroken to lose Darren. 'The person she was talking to just before she collapsed said she was talking about Darren.' Monica continued: 'Grief hits you in waves. When it comes over me, I just have to let it pass. It has been a tough year, and it is desperate to think that it is not going to go away; it is going to be all the time. 'I have a lot of friends and a supportive family. But I miss the love she gave me and all the phone calls and outings. She was a very special daughter. 'When she found Darren a little bit later on in life, she found love. But that was cruelly taken away.'
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Minister does not rule out 'supermax' jails for most dangerous offenders following alleged Rudakubana attack on prison officer
"Supermax" jails could be built to house the most dangerous offenders following a spate of alleged attacks on staff, the prisons minister has said. James Timpson told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge that "we shouldn't rule anything out" when asked if the most dangerous criminals should be placed in top security prisons. It comes after Southport triple killer Axel Rudakubana allegedly at an officer at HMP Belmarsh on Thursday. Police are now that, three prison officers were also allegedly attacked by 28-year-old Hashem Abedi - the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi - with hot cooking oil and "improvised knives", potentially made from a baking tray. Speaking from HMP Preston for a special programme of the Politics Hub, Mr Timpson told Sophy Ridge: "We inherited a complete mess in the prison system. "Violence is up, assaults on staff is up. But for me, we shouldn't rule anything out." He added: "What we need to do is to speak to our staff. They're the experts at dealing with these offenders day in, day out. " Mr Timpson - who was the chief executive of Timpson Group before he was appointed prisons minister last year - said the violence in prisons was "too high". He continued: "The number of people when you have prisons are so full, and the people in there are not going to education or into purposeful activity. "You get more violence and that is totally unacceptable. Our staff turn up to work to help turn people. "They want to turn people's lives around. They didn't turn up to work to get assaulted. It's totally unacceptable." Read more: Reflecting on the crisis facing the UK prison system ahead of the Mr Timpson said a major problem was the high rate of reoffending, saying "80% of offending is reoffending". He said people were leaving places like HMP Preston "addicted to drugs, nowhere to live, mental health problems - and that's why they keep coming back". Asked whether every prison had a drugs issue, he replied: "100%." "If we want to keep the public safe, we need to do a lot more of the work in here and in the community. But also we need to build more prisons." Put to him that making more use of community sentences - thought to be one of the recommendations in the government's sentencing review - might be considered a "cushy option" compared to a custodial sentence, Mr Timpson said: "There are some people in this prison tonight who would prefer to be in prison than do a community sentence - but that's not everybody. "Community sentences need to be tough punishments outside of prison, not just to help them address their offending behaviour, but also the victims need to see punishments being done too and for me, technology has a big part to play in the future."
Sky News
12-05-2025
- Sky News
Politics latest: 'Supermax' jails not ruled out to tackle violence in prisons
'We release them and they come back': Officers acting as 'agony aunts' for inmates Prison officers act as "agony aunts" for inmates, with young offenders being returned to the same prison time and time again. That's according to Sophie Lynch, who has worked at HMP Preston for seven-and-a-half years. She tells Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge she has become "used to seeing some faces" as prisoners become trapped in a cycle of serving short sentences, being released, only to be convicted again going back to jail. She says: "The prisoners that we're releasing, they're coming back in weeks later, and we're having to start all over again to try to get things in place for them when they do get out." 'They've not got their wits about them' Sophie works in a department that aims to manage those at risk of self-harm or suicide, making her work less about "locking doors" and more about caring for inmates. She compares her work to that of an agony aunt. "I think there's a general misunderstanding of what a prison officer does," she adds. She also says that "nine out of 10" prisoners she sees are men aged 25 or younger, who have spent time in care. "They are kids", she says. "They're coming in at 18, [it's their] first time in custody, not really got their wits about them, and you'll see how they get almost ingratiated in those groups. "And then they come back, and then they're 19, then they're 20, and then they're 21. "And each time they're getting different, sometimes longer sentences." 'Overstretched and under-resourced' She also believes sometimes prison is "not a suitable environment" for these young men, as many have had "adverse childhood experiences or enduring mental illness". Pushed on what those behaviours are, Sophie says this can mean self-harm or violence. Sophie also tells us that some prisoners at HMP Preston are waiting for a bed at a secure unit or hospital, and were not supposed to be in a conventional prison at all. She believes "something needs to be done" and says her years of experience shows prisons are "overstretched, under-resourced, and people are constantly just coming back into custody".
Sky News
12-05-2025
- Sky News
Politics latest: 'Super-max' jails not ruled out to tackle violence in prisons
'We release them and they come back': Officers acting as 'agony aunts' for inmates Prison officers act as "agony aunts" for inmates, with young offenders being returned to the same prison time and time again. That's according to Sophie Lynch, who has worked at HMP Preston for seven-and-a-half years. She tells Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge she has become "used to seeing some faces" as prisoners become trapped in a cycle of serving short sentences, being released, only to be convicted again going back to jail. She says: "The prisoners that we're releasing, they're coming back in weeks later, and we're having to start all over again to try to get things in place for them when they do get out." 'They've not got their wits about them' Sophie works in a department that aims to manage those at risk of self-harm or suicide, making her work less about "locking doors" and more about caring for inmates. She compares her work to that of an agony aunt. "I think there's a general misunderstanding of what a prison officer does," she adds. She also says that "nine out of 10" prisoners she sees are men aged 25 or younger, who have spent time in care. "They are kids", she says. "They're coming in at 18, [it's their] first time in custody, not really got their wits about them, and you'll see how they get almost ingratiated in those groups. "And then they come back, and then they're 19, then they're 20, and then they're 21. "And each time they're getting different, sometimes longer sentences." 'Overstretched and under-resourced' She also believes sometimes prison is "not a suitable environment" for these young men, as many have had "adverse childhood experiences or enduring mental illness". Pushed on what those behaviours are, Sophie says this can mean self-harm or violence. Sophie also tells us that some prisoners at HMP Preston are waiting for a bed at a secure unit or hospital, and were not supposed to be in a conventional prison at all. She believes "something needs to be done" and says her years of experience shows prisons are "overstretched, under-resourced, and people are constantly just coming back into custody".
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Improvements at key Preston junction will likely take 6-8 weeks
Work to replace ageing traffic lights and make key junctions more accessible to all pedestrians is due to begin later in County Council said the improvements to the A6 Garstang Road's junction with Blackpool Road were expected to take six to eight weeks with "the most disruptive elements" initially taking place works at Garstang Road's junction with Moor Lane and the Stanley Street junction with Church Street, near HMP Preston, have been completed ahead of traffic lights have reached the end of their life and are becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, the council said. 'Continued patience' To minimise disruption, further traffic light replacement works will be carried out on Garstang Road, Black Bull Lane and Sharoe Green Lane during the school summer holidays in July and Townsend, director of highways and transport, said: "It is important for us to carefully plan these works and undertake replacements as the traffic lights age and begin to become worn out. "We're also going to bring the existing controlled pedestrian facilities at these locations up to modern standards and make them more accessible for blind and partially sighted users."We would like to thank people for their continued patience throughout these essential works." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
