Latest news with #Kensington
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Moment phone snatcher gets dose of instant karma after dramatic chase by armed police
A self-confessed 'stupid' phone snatcher got a dose of instant karma after a dramatic police chase led to his arrest. The thief was one of two spotted by officers travelling at around 60mph on high-speed e-bikes on a busy road in central London. Armed response cops were called out after receiving reports of phones being snatched - with suggestions the thief may have been carrying a weapon. Taking off after one of the thieves, officers equipped with Tasers followed him up Exhibition Road in Kensington - a thoroughfare often packed with tourists visiting the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. 'We have two Sur-Rons failing to stop as part of a declared firearms incident,' the officer radios in, seen in dramatic body-worn footage issued by the Met Police. Sur-Ron is a Chinese firm that produces electric dirt bikes that are hugely popular with bike thieves despite most of its models being illegal to use on UK roads unless properly registered. The thief leads police on a chase through west London - but a few minutes later, he crashes into the side of a car at a junction after riding through a red light on the wrong side of the road. The bike falls away from him as he tumbles to the ground, and he tries to run off as the armed cops warn him they're about to discharge a stun gun. He doesn't get far - toppling over as he's hit with 1,200 volts of electricity. The armed officers then move in to cuff him on suspicion of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon. Opening his bag, the cops find rolls of tin foil, which thieves will use to wrap up stolen phones in order to block their signals and prevent them from being traced. 'You could've killed us, you could've killed a member of the public, and you're out here robbing people,' the arresting officer yells at him. The thug, dressed in sportswear, a black balaclava and a cycling helmet, protests: 'I'm not robbing people!' 'Oh, shut up,' the officer responds. 'What's all the tinfoil for then?' 'To cook,' the thief claims to the unimpressed policeman. He then moans about his leg being sore after he rode straight into the side of a car. 'It's probably in pain because you've crashed your bike,' the police officer replies, to which the thief adds: 'I know, I'm stupid.' The dramatic arrest was one of two phone snatcher busts the police made in the space of an hour on March 16. A second thief was caught after crashing into a postbox on Brook Street in the heart of London's posh Mayfair district. Aerial footage captured by a police helicopter shows him stumbling to his feet after the crash, before surrendering as an officer runs into view and tackles him, while two other cops leap out of a response vehicle. 'He's just being searched,' radios in an officer on the ground. 'We've recovered multiple phones on him.' The Met says it was able to return the stolen phones to their owners. The thieves, Ellis Parkinson, 31, and Bradley McMillan, 30, were jailed for 33 and 30 months respectively. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan praised the actions of the officers on social media, warning would-be thieves: 'We're working hard to protect Londoners by tackling phone theft head-on.' But he has been criticised for allowing phone theft to flourish during his nine-year tenure in City Hall. More than 231,000 mobile phones were stolen in London in the last four years, a threefold increase on the previous four, according to Met Police data. The majority of thefts were reported in the West End, where 40,000 devices were stolen. And on average, 18 devices a day are stolen on Oxford Street alone. Police believe the figure could be even greater as not every theft is thought to be reported - with thieves being seen as untouchable and untraceable, an image of invulnerability the Met is trying to shatter. Earlier this month, former Met Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville urged the force to do more to fight phone crime after almost falling victim himself earlier this year. Mr Neville, who managed to hold onto his phone during the incident outside Charing Cross railway station, told The Standard: 'What are the Met doing? 'It's not difficult when you actually know which roads are being targeted. Officers need to be less concerned with the psychology of crime and catch more criminals. 'These snatchers must be laughing at the law because they know just one per cent of thefts are solved. Each of the 30 streets must have hundreds of CCTV cameras. 'So the second thing is to actually gather images. See if they are wearing distinctive clothing - even if you can't see their faces - and link offenders to multiple offences.' The phone theft epidemic threatens to undermine the capital's status on the world stage. It is now ranked as Europe's 15th most dangerous city for crime by Numbeo, a crowd-sourced quality of life index. Among the most high-profile phone theft victims is Bridgerton star Genevieve Chenneour, who recently revealed she had moved back in with her mother after her phone was grabbed by a teenage thief. The actress was targeted by 18-year-old Zacariah Boulares at a Joe & The Juice cafe in Kensington in February. The prolific criminal - who gave the middle finger to the public gallery in court - was jailed for just 22 months on Tuesday despite embarking on a 'ruthless' spree of thefts. He had earlier threatened to behead singer Aled Jones with a 20in machete as he stole his £17,000 Rolex Daytona in Chiswick, west London. She said: 'I don't feel comfortable living in London at the moment. Had this happened two years earlier, when I was just getting my career going, this could have been the end of my career.' Mr Khan has called on phone makers to make their devices less appealing to thieves by locking them out of essential services such as Google Play and the App Store if they are marked as stolen. A spokesperson said earlier this month: 'The Mayor has long been clear we need decisive and coordinated action to halt the burgeoning global trade of stolen phones which is driving criminality and violence across the world. 'Evidence shows the majority of phones stolen in London are being reconnected in other countries as far as China and Algeria – a large proportion of which are still able to access Play and Apple cloud services to download apps. 'The Mayor has repeatedly warned it is simply too easy and profitable for criminals to repurpose and sell on stolen phones. This must change.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Merseyside Police close Kensington house after crime complaints
A house at the centre of anti-social and criminal behaviour reports has been shut down, police have said. The property on Parton Street in the Kensington area of Liverpool will have to remain closed for three months following a hearing at South Sefton Magistrates' Police said the order had been made after neighbours suffered "alarm and distress"."We hope this closure order provides reassurance to the community that such behaviour will not be tolerated," said PC Ciaran Morrison, who added: "We hope that this also serves as a warning and deterrent to anyone who allows or partakes in activity at their address that damages the local community." Police said the order prevented anyone from entering or living in the property until 17 October. Those breaching the order face arrest and up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Cision Canada
2 days ago
- Science
- Cision Canada
The Trebek Initiative announces Recipients of 2025 Research and Storytelling Grants from deep-sea conservation to shifting polar bear habitats, this year's grantees examine critical issues impacting ecosystems and communities across Canada Français
Their work spans deep-sea ecosystems, climate impacts in the Bay of Fundy, salmon health under heat stress, wolf coexistence in Nuu-chah-nulth territory, road-related threats to freshwater turtles, and the southward shift of polar bear habitats, as well as the Cree community-led efforts to understand and respond to this change. "This is the kind of work the Trebek Initiative was created to support," said David Court, Chair of the Trebek Council, a group of donors supporting the Trebek Initiative. "Each project explores a critical issue and engages the public through powerful storytelling that aims to deepen our understanding and inspire action." The Trebek Initiative is generously supported by members of the Trebek Council and our corporate partner, Kensington. Since its launch in 2021, the Trebek Initiative has funded 45 projects nationwide. 2025 Grants Robert Masaki Hechler Investigating wild salmon health in relation to heat stress from logging Ecologist and National Geographic Explorer, Robert Masaki Hechler is working in partnership with the Musgamagw Dzawada'enuxw Fisheries Group and Salmon Coast Field Station to evaluate the health of wild salmon in relation to heat stress, while also developing a non-invasive genomic method to do so. Robert is testing whether environmental RNA (eRNA) naturally shed by wild salmon into surrounding waters can reveal their heat stress responses - offering a potential alternative to the conventional tissue sampling approach. His previous experimental research demonstrated that eRNA can detect species stress responses in the lab, and this new field study will test its effectiveness in natural settings. This will not only help us better understand the impact of heat stress resulting from pressures like logging and climate change on wild salmon, but also whether eRNA could serve as a non-invasive alternative for monitoring fish health in the wild. If successful, this innovative approach could pave the way for non-invasive health assessments across the food chain, as all animals shed eRNA into their environment. Sam Rose Phillips QʷAYAĆIIK In British Columbia, hundreds of wolves are dying at the hands of inhumane wolf culls, and the BC government estimates that more than 1,200 wolves are killed annually by recreational hunting and trapping. Additionally, habituated wolves are often euthanized after posing a serious threat to public safety. These losses are disruptive and have significantly negative implications for the rest of the pack. Co-produced by Seal Folk Films and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Sam Rose Phillips will develop QʷAYAĆIIK, a feature documentary and impact campaign about learning to coexist with wolves, among increased human-wolf conflicts in Nuu-chah-nulth territory. QʷAYAĆIIK follows Skookum and Marcie, who return to Skookum's ancestral home in Nuu-chah-nulth territory and realize they must protect their close neighbours —a pack of coastal wolves— from habituation. This project will call local, national, and international audiences to action for place-based and Indigenous-led protection of coastal wolves, while answering an age-old question: how do we live in harmony with other beings? Nicole Holman Deep-sea Guardians: Protecting Our Planet's Last Frontier Canada's west coast deep-sea ecosystems are some of the most biodiverse yet least-explored regions on Earth. These remote areas provide invaluable services, from carbon cycling that mitigates climate change to breakthroughs in medicine. They're also under threat of deep-sea mining, which is threatening some of our most biodiverse areas faster than our ability to understand and protect them. Working alongside representatives from four First Nations communities and DFO scientists aboard the J.P. Tully research vessel, National Geographic Explorer, Nicole Holman is developing a documentary to reveal the astonishing life that thrives in the deep and the severe impact of extractive industries on these fragile ecosystems. It explores how Canada is responding and how these insights and solutions could support the global ocean. Liam Brennan Tides of Change: using ecological modeling and photography to investigate climate impacts on the Bay of Fundy ecosystem With the highest tides in the world, local oceanographic conditions in the Bay of Fundy create summer and fall feeding habitat for numerous species of endangered marine mammals, fish, and birds. As migratory species, these animals rely upon the abundance of food in the region to fuel continent-wide voyages. The Bay of Fundy, however, has experienced intense warming associated with climate change and is subjected to a variety of human pressures, such as commercial fishing and marine transportation. Liam Brennan is leading a project that uses scientific and photographic techniques to better understand climate change impacts and support sustainable management of this unique ecosystem. Samantha Stephens Road to Recovery: Protecting Ontario's Freshwater Turtles From Car Strikes Stories about the impacts of roads on wildlife often focus on large mammals, like deer or bears, while smaller species, such as turtles, are overlooked. And yet, death by car strikes disproportionately affects turtle populations because they're long-lived animals that reproduce slowly. Losing just one breeding female can have an impact on the persistence and recovery of a turtle population. Today, all eight of Ontario's native turtle species are experiencing population declines. Samantha Stephens' photography project will document road mortality solutions being implemented by biologists, communities, and conservation organizations, as well as actions that individuals can take to protect turtles. Her work aims to raise awareness and inspire individual action, so that together we can protect the turtles who play a critical role in maintaining the health of our freshwater ecosystems. Mitch Bowmile Southern Bears In Eeyou Istchee, on the east coast of Wiinipaakw (James Bay), the world's southernmost subpopulation of polar bears just endured the species' longest ice-free season ever recorded. Changes in sea-ice coverage are driving polar bears and coastal Cree communities closer together than ever before. In the most dire situations, polar bears have been killed for human protection. Mitch Bowmile, the Cree Trappers' Association, the Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board, The Northern Wildlife Knowledges Lab and Coexistence Films, are developing a documentary that deepens our understanding of the future of polar bears and people amidst a changing climate by looking at the bears' and communities' responses to climate change in Wiinipaakw. The film will reveal unique footage of polar bears at the southern edge of their global range, give voice to those with lived-experience in polar bear territory, capture innovative community-led research that braids together different knowledge systems, delve into the nuance of critical decision-making and showcase how what we learn about the southernmost polar bears on Earth can inform our understanding of this beloved species' future in a changing Arctic.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I'm a celeb stylist - these are Europe's best places to find vintage clothes and the do's and don'ts when shopping
Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more When on holiday, it's always fun to see the main tourist attractions – but vintage shopping is a great way to take in a new destination too. But it can often be hard to know where to start. Fear not, as help is on hand from Sian Clarke, who has styled the likes of Lorraine Kelly and Sarah Pascoe. Taking me to London 's Covent Garden, as part of an Airbnb Experience, she exclusively reveals her top tips for vintage shopping – including where to go for the best finds. 'Covent Garden is the best central place in London for vintage shopping,' she says. 'Because there are loads of smaller boutiques, which feel less overwhelming, and they're all quite close together, whereas in other parts of London you have to sift through loads. 'It's nice being able to dip in and out here.' We first head to GOOD, a pre-loved clothes store, with a second branch in Kensington. Having told her I like bolder colours and fewer prints, Sian's first tip, as we step through the door, is to 'zone out of most of the clothes and only look at things that pop out to you'. But Sian's best advice, when it comes to vintage shopping, is to completely ignore the size written on the label. And she ends up being proven correct as, despite being a size 10, the first thing I try on is a 'size 16' shirt, and I love it so much I end up buying it. In our next stop, Wow Retro, there are rows and rows of denim waistcoats in many different shapes and sizes. Sian recommends trying a few different styles on – unbuttoned and buttoned up. She says: 'When you're trying stuff on, try a couple of different shapes of the same item on, and then you'll know when you find the right one.' I also pick up a leopard print skirt and crochet top – pairing them together. The only problem with the top? It's completely see-through! But Sian comes to the rescue with the nifty trick of using a silk scarf as a bandeau top underneath. Sian recommends trying a few different styles of a denim waistcoat on – unbuttoned and buttoned up. She says: 'When you're trying stuff on, try a couple of different shapes of the same item on, and then you'll know when you find the right one' The only problem with the crochet top? It's completely see-through! But Sian comes to the rescue with the nifty trick of using a silk scarf as a bandeau top underneath To my surprise, it doesn't even matter that all these clothes have completely mismatched prints – it somehow works. And that's another tip from Sian – 'don't be afraid to mix patterns or colours'. She says: 'Some people are so against mixing whites or neutrals, but you can do it. 'It's like that with loads of colours - people say you can't mix red and pink, or blue and green, but you absolutely can!' Another tip from Sian - which leads to me taking the leopard print skirt home with me - is to 'think about what two or three other things you've already got at home that it can work with'. 'If you go for a neutral colour, you know that you're going to be able to pair it as an essential,' she adds. Sian and my journey ends in Vintage Threads, which she describes as a 'more boujee, designer vintage store'. But, while she loves Covent Garden for vintage finds, Sian's favourite place for pre-loved shopping is Italy. 'Milan is the best place I've found for vintage shopping,' she says. 'It has a proper street of it, [Colonne di San Lorenzo and Corso di Porta Ticinese] which I really liked. 'Berlin is also just such a vibe.' And when it comes to the UK, the north is best for vintage shopping. 'Bristol is really good, and in Manchester, there's a huge shop called ReMarket as soon as you arrive at Manchester Picadilly station,' she says. But her parting words of wisdom? 'Nothing is worse than the vintage you don't buy. If you fall in love with something vintage, buy it, because you won't find it again. 'And if it's outrageous, definitely get it!' Sian's vintage shopping trip is just one of many Airbnb Experiences available on the app. 'Covent Garden is the best central place in London for vintage shopping,' she says. 'Because there are loads of smaller boutiques, which feel less overwhelming, and they're all quite close together, whereas in other parts of London you have to sift through loads. In London, there's also the opportunity to do things like go on a Wizarding World Walk with TikTok historian David Harry or dance with principal ballerina Francesca Hayward. Around the rest of the UK, you can do things like roam the Lake District by Land Rover with a local guide, or go alpaca trekking in the Scottish countryside. Further afield, you can master the art of ramen-making with Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded chef Saburo Ishigōka in Tokyo or take a personalised fragrance journey at a hidden perfumer's atelier in Milan. In Mexico, you can step into the ring with a real Mexican luchador, or there's even the chance to play beach volleyball with Olympian Carol Solberg on Rio de Janeiro's iconic Leblon Beach.
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Bystander shot during road rage incident in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, police say
Two people are currently in custody after shots were fired during a road rage incident and an innocent bystander was struck by a stray bullet in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, police said Friday afternoon. Officers arrived on the 600 block of East Indiana Street just before 10 a.m. for a report of a shooting. Police then secured a crime scene at the intersection of East and Indiana streets. A gray 2014 Nissan Altima was found within the crime scene intersection, and the owner/driver told police he was in a shootout with another person who pointed a gun at him and fired shots. The driver, who had a valid permit to carry a gun, surrendered his firearm and was taken in for further investigation, police said. A 27-year-old woman told officers she was walking on Indiana Avenue when she was shot. Police said they found the woman near B Street and Indiana Avenue with a gunshot wound to her stomach. Then, police said a driver of a black Honda Civic was stopped on the 600 block of East Tusculum Street by highway patrol officers. The distance from East Indiana Street to East Tusculum Street is about a three-minute drive. Police identified the driver as the offender from the shootout and brought them into custody. The incident remains under investigation.
