Latest news with #KirkbyStephen
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Upper Eden man fined for aggressive dog's attack on gardener
A man whose German Shepherd repeatedly bit a gardener working at his home has been Holroyd thought his pet Rebel was locked in his house, but it managed to push up a door latch and attack Jilly Sandams on 23 June 2024. Appearing at Carlisle Crown Court, the 60-year-old of Upper Eden, near Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, admitted having a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of Michael Fanning fined Holroyd £150 and made a contingent destruction order, meaning the dog must be kept under strict control including being locked away from visitors and wearing a muzzle in public. Holroyd was also ordered to pay £2,000 compensation to his victim. The court heard Ms Sandams had decided to accept the landscape work even though she knew the dog was aggressive, because she knew it was kept inside. However, the court heard that while she was working, the dog would throw itself against a patio Tim Evans said Ms Sandams became so concerned she texted the dog's owner saying it was "going to take the door out" with its "intense thrusting against it". 'Going to die' On the day of the attack, she let herself into the garden and could hear the dog "barking and being aggressive", but thought it was locked the dog escaped and attacked her as she lay on the ground, leaving her with six bite marks and 12 puncture wounds to her arm. Ms Sandams eventually managed to get up and escape through a gate. In an impact statement, she said she thought she was "going to die". 'Integral part of family' The court heard that Holroyd, a former highways worker, was left paralysed and a co-worker killed in 2016 when they were struck by a dangerous driver on the M6 near Smith, defending, said there had been no further incidents and a dog expert had concluded Rebel did not pose a threat if kept under control."The dog is an integral part of their family, notwithstanding what has happened," Mr Smith said. The judge told Holroyd: "You were badly injured in the course of your employment, helping the public. "The last thing you would want to do is cause harm to anybody else." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Kirkby Stephen garden opened in memory of councillor
A new public garden has been opened in memory of a councillor who championed her community for three memorial garden in Silver Street in Kirkby Stephen has been dedicated to former councillor Joan served on Kirkby Stephen Town Council for 30 years and worked as its chair for 11, and died in 2021 aged husband Stuart Johnstone officially opened the garden at a ribbon-cutting ceremony and said it was a "special place for a special lady". "What a wonderful way to remember her and for all the work she did to make this town so special," he said. "[It is] somewhere we and many others can always come and remember her and this beautiful place." The memorial garden project aimed to create an appealing green space in the heart of the garden's boundary wall was lowered to improve visibility and encourage people to use it. The park area was also extended and new sitting areas were is one of a number of projects made as part of the Kirkby Stephen Town Centre Improvement Scheme, which is being carried out by the town council in partnership with Westmorland and Furness Council. Councillor Adrian White said the garden was a "fitting tribute" to Mrs Johnstone."It will be a wonderful place for residents and visitors to visit and to enjoy," he Stephen Town Council chairman Paul Richardson said: "I am proud too that we have had the opportunity to remember my predecessor, Joan Johnstone, who made such a huge contribution to the life of the town by dedicating Silver Street Gardens to her." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Telegraph
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Human rights judgments that clash with the wider public interest
SIR – Might I suggest that judges give greater weight to the public interest when applying human rights law to individual cases ('Court gives Gazans right to settle in UK', Mike Mckone Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria SIR – It would appear that the courts, lawyers and Civil Service are not executing the will of the elected government – and, indeed, voters. Decisions made by elected bodies are challenged by the legal profession or the civil servants tasked with implementing them, and as a result nothing gets done. Is it any wonder the political pendulum is swinging to the Right in America and Europe? F Donald Billericay, Essex SIR – Britain's common law has served the nation brilliantly over centuries. It relies on the precise written word and precedent, and is non-political, transparent, predictable and fair.. British laws are enacted by our democratically elected Parliament, which can amend or repeal them. In contrast, international law is created by small groups of unelected, like-minded lawyers with particular outcomes in mind. It is often politically driven, and has outcomes that are unpredictable and, too often, conflict with natural justice. It is time to repeal Tony Blair's 1998 Human Rights Act, ending the jurisdiction of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)in the UK, and to close the Supreme Court, returning its judges to the House of Lords, where they belong. Gregory Shenkman London SW7 SIR – It is rather sickening to watch Conservatives indulging in histrionics about this immigration judgment. In the face of countless past judicial rulings citing Article 8 of the ECHR (the right to a family life) – which have permitted terrorists, drug traffickers, paedophiles, rapists, murderers and other violent criminals to remain in the UK – every Tory leader since 2010 has signally failed to take decisive action. Moreover, the waffle regarding the ECHR coming from Kemi Badenoch suggests that we can expect little in the way of change from her. It seems clear that if voters want real progress in tackling this problem, they don't have much choice but to look beyond the Conservatives. Terry Smith London NW11 SIR – Why is it that Britain has to accept responsibility for people fleeing war-torn Gaza? Where are the offers of homes and support from much closer Middle Eastern countries, which are more aligned in culture? Joanna Dakin Malpas, Cheshire EPC madness SIR – I couldn't agree more with David Williams ( We are trying to sell a Georgian maisonette, which we have spent a fortune modernising. It has the latest eco-electric heating, a new hot water system, roof insulation and other measures. Despite us pumping in £40,000, it's still the same grade as before it was modernised. When the EPC inspector visited, he refused to go into the attic to inspect the hot water system and insulation because he wasn't insured. Double-glazing the original beautiful sash windows would be hugely costly, impair their functionality and, in any case, be complicated due to the flat being in a conservation area. When will the EPC madness stop? Kate Graeme-Cook Brixham, Devon SIR – I am often frustrated dealing with EPCs in my role as a chartered surveyor. Too many assessments are the result of cursory surveys full of assumptions. One example is typical. Having agreed to meet an assessor at an isolated rural property, I was determined not to be influenced by her arriving an hour late. However, after opening the property and giving a brief tour and description, I was surprised that the inspection took no more than 10 minutes. She seemed to take pleasure in announcing that it had a poor rating, which would be confirmed in writing. I felt that a purchaser would likely not be concerned about the current rating, as the Victorian farmhouse required a total refurbishment. Among other things, there was no central heating, and hot water was supplied by an oil-fired Aga. During a brief discussion about EPCs, I suggested that the only reason we used them was because we were legally obliged to. In reply, the assessor said that purchasers, in her opinion, put more value in EPCs than off-street parking. As we were in rural North Yorkshire, at least half a mile from the nearest neighbour, and the property stood in 40 acres of its own land, I was not convinced. My scepticism about the importance of EPCs was reinforced by the fact that the assessor left her car engine running during the survey. Michael Cleary York Best of the BBC SIR – Christopher Learmont-Hughes ( Line of Duty , Planet Earth , the Olympics, Fleabag , Wolf Hall , Gavin and Stacey , Six Nations rugby and Sherwood . Ashley Franklin Milford, Derbyshire Running on empties SIR – Roger Marlow's description of buying bottled beer in Germany ( Beer was sold in crates, and to buy a crate of beer one first had to have a crate of empty bottles – though not necessarily beer bottles. Outside a beer shop sat a man with one crate of empty bottles for sale. You bought the crate, entered the shop, bought a crate of beer and left. The crate of empties then followed you out to be resold to the next customer. Michael Bacon Bordon, Hampshire Doctors from abroad SIR – Charlie Massey ( As a consultant paediatric anaesthetist, I served on behalf of the Royal College of Anaesthetists as an assessor on interview panels for career posts in anaesthetics. The job was to ascertain and verify that all shortlisted candidates were – on paper – suitably qualified to fulfil the professional requirements of a vacant post. The panel would consist of a lay chair and professional members of the hospital. One set of candidates for a permanent 'staff grade' position included a consultant anaesthetist from Eastern Europe who had been granted 'specialist registration' by the GMC – making them eligible to take up a role in the NHS – on the basis of the GMC's 'template of equivalence' system for assessing educational and professional achievements, without any in-person assessment. The candidate's English was adequate, but my questions about the various academic achievements listed on their CV were barely answered to my satisfaction. Yet the fact that the candidate was on the specialist register was sufficient to allow the interview to proceed, in spite of my disquiet. Further questions revealed a significant and very troubling lack of understanding in the basic conduct of safe general anaesthesia, such that even the lay secretary acting as the committee clerk was visibly shocked. The candidate was not appointed. I apologised to the committee for the evident gap between the GMC's approval and the basics required for such a post. I then spoke to a GMC officer and wrote to record my extreme distress that its 'template of equivalence' was not fit for purpose. The response emphasised the need for in-person interviews for clinical positions, ignoring the failings of the system. I can only hope that the systems are more robust today. Dr Roger Thornington Canterbury, Kent Proposal pie SIR – I wrote out my marriage proposal ( Unfortunately, I did so prior to putting the pie in the oven. Hoping for an romantic response, all I got was, 'this looks delicious', as she plunged in the serving spoon. Still, we've been married for more than 44 years. Peter Fineman Barrow Street, Wiltshire Red telephone boxes being put out to pasture SIR – You There had been a red telephone box on our village green since time immemorial, but it grew old, dusty and faded. I contacted the parish council and asked if it could be restored and turned into a library. Much to my surprise, it was removed and a brand new, very red and shiny telephone box was installed by BT. It worked for a fortnight. We have no mobile signal, 30 miles south of central London, so the telephone box is vital, especially for those playing cricket on the green beside it. I can only follow Sharrington and continue the fight. Deirdre Lay Cranleigh, Surrey SIR – As clerk to Wigginton Parish Council in York, I arranged for the purchase of a telephone box for £1 from BT. We refurbished it and installed a defibrillator in a heated cabinet, which continues to be of far greater benefit to our community than the underused telephone that BT removed. D W Geary York A gardener's advice for achieving straight oaks SIR – J A Crofts ( The Manner of Raising, Ordering, and Improving Forest Trees (1679). In a later edition, there is a chapter entitled 'Of raising and improving oaks', in which the author recommends not letting an oak grow crooked, since 'I wish all Oaks were fit for Timber'. He explains how, adding that 'by this Summer-pruning you may keep your Tree streight'. Cook was the head gardener for the Cassiobury estate of the Earl of Essex, in Watford. Robert Carnaghan Watford, Hertfordshire SIR – The old method of growing straight oak trees was to make the oak sapling the centre point of a quincunx (that is, in a square with four taller and faster-growing trees, such as conifers, at the corners). As the oak would always be striving to obtain light, it would be forced to grow taller and straighter than it would otherwise have done. David Alderman Liphook, Hampshire SIR – In the 1980s, a local farm was sold. It had acres of untouched woodland where oaks grew like cabbages: tightly spaced, single trunks, all searching for the light. We secured some to build our timber-framed house before the wood was cleared. Catherine Lewis Ware, Hertfordshire Letters to the Editor We accept letters by email and post. Please include name, address, work and home telephone numbers. ADDRESS: 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DT EMAIL: dtletters@ FOLLOW: Telegraph Letters @LettersDesk
