Latest news with #LauraHall
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Body found in reservoir during search for girl
A body has been found by police searching a West Yorkshire reservoir for a teenage girl reported to have fallen in. Emergency crews were called to the dam at Baitings Reservoir near Ripponden at about 13:15 BST on Wednesday following reports of a person in the water. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said five crews were initially sent to the scene, aided by one from Littleborough in Greater Manchester. Police underwater search teams and ambulance crews also attended. Det Insp Laura Hall, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "While formal identification is yet to take place, the girl's family have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Reservoir search after reports girl fell in water West Yorkshire Police
Sky News
29-05-2025
- General
- Sky News
Body found in search for missing teenage girl who fell into reservoir
A body has been found in the search for a missing teenage girl who fell into a reservoir, police have said. West Yorkshire Police confirmed they recovered a body from the Baitings Reservoir, near Ripponden, on Thursday afternoon. A formal identification is yet to take place, but police believe the body to be that of the missing teenage girl. The girl's family have been informed. Emergency services were called to the reservoir at 1.17pm on Wednesday following reports that a teenage girl had fallen into the water. Police, fire and ambulance crews, as well as an underwater search team, were deployed to the scene for the search, which continued on Thursday until a body was found. Detective Inspector Laura Hall of Calderdale's Safeguarding Team said: "While formal identification is yet to take place, the girl's family have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers. "My thoughts go out to her family and friends at this very sad time. "Our enquiries are continuing into the death in order to establish exactly what happened yesterday, but we do not believe it to be suspicious." Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
The Sun
29-05-2025
- General
- The Sun
Body found in search for missing girl, 13, who fell into water while ‘posing for photos with her dad on half-term walk'
A BODY has been discovered amid a major hunt for a schoolgirl who fell into the water whilst out on a walk with her dad. Emergency crews had been frantically searching for the 13-year-old who vanished under the water at Baitings Dam yesterday afternoon. 3 3 West Yorkshire Police confirmed they had discovered a body earlier this afternoon. It is believed to be the girl's body, but formal identification is yet to be completed. Detective Inspector Laura Hall, of Calderdale's Safeguarding Team, said: 'While formal identification is yet to take place, the girl's family have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers. 'My thoughts go out to her family and friends at this very sad time. 'Our enquiries are continuing into the death in order to establish exactly what happened yesterday, but we do not believe it to be suspicious.' A cordon was put in place at the reservoir in Ripponden, West Yorkshire, after cops were called at around 1.20pm on Wednesday. Underwater s earch teams worked around the clock in an attempt to find the youngster, with two RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) spotted at the site this morning. The teenager, from Halifax, had been posing for pictures with her dad when she tragically fell into the 140ft-deep water. It is understood she hit the water after falling roughly 30ft from the parapet of the dam. Local resident Sue Ferris helped comfort the girl's family, who told her that the youngster had a "bright future". The 80-year-old said: "She had just got into grammar school, they told me. "She wanted to walk round the reservoir with her dad because it was half term, but the rest of the family didn't want to go. "It was just dad and daughter at the reservoir when she fell in. The rest of the family came after the accident. "Dad had been taking photographs, according to a witness, and he also heard dad screaming and shouting her name after she fell in - but he did not go into the water. "He had some kind of heart problem and was clutching his chest soon afterwards and was taken away by ambulance. Major search underway after girl falls into huge dam lake as cops launch hunt "They were very proud of her. She had a really bright future." Mrs Ferris, who has lived in the same house overlooking the reservoir for 20 years, slammed officials for a buoyancy aids around the water. She added: "It is disgraceful that there are no life rings anywhere on the parapet. "Yorkshire Water added the white metal railings on top of the stone structure some years ago now. "But it only adds about half a foot to the barrier height and actually helps people to climb onto the wall. "It gives them something to grip on to. "All it is doing is helping people to stand on the wall." Four West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue crews were sent out to the dam on Wednesday, assisted by Littleborough crew. Yorkshire Ambulance Service also confirmed they sent officers from their Hazardous Area Response Team. Speaking on Wednesday, a West Yorkshire police spokesperson said: "Shortly after 1.17pm this afternoon police were called to a report a girl had fallen into water at Baitings Dam near Ripponden. "Emergency services are currently on the scene, with searches ongoing to locate the girl."
Business News Wales
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business News Wales
North Wales Business Leader Drives Campaign to Attract More Women into Automotive Industry
A business leader is driving forward a campaign to encourage more women to take up top roles in the automotive industry. Laura Hall, the managing director of Maverick Diagnostics, based in Holt, near Wrexham, is a member of The Automotive 30% Club which is battling for a better gender balance in the sector. She will be outlining her crusade at the next meeting of the Wrexham Business Professionals organisation at the Maesgwyn Hall in Wrexham on Friday, June 27. The influential group is made up of successful businesses and skilled professionals working together to promote regional prosperity and shine a light on the enterprise and expertise that exists in the region. Ms Hall will also be talking about how Maverick Diagnostics has invested in a training academy and the support it has received from the Development Bank of Wales. The firm last year received an investment of £100,000 from the bank to enable it to continue to grow the range of diagnostics tools and technical support it offers to vehicle workshops and garages throughout the UK. It was the second time that the company has had support from the Development Bank, having received a loan in April 2020 to help manage trading during the Covid-19 pandemic. The other guest speaker will be Clwyd South MS Ken Skates, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, who was instrumental in establishing the bank in Wrexham in 2017 when he was the Welsh Government's Economy Minister. Ms Hall leads a team of 14 staff at Maverick Diagnostics. Appointed as managing director in September 2023, her background is not in the automotive industry but as a linguist in the gas and oil industry – another traditionally male-dominated sector. She said: 'I studied Russian and German at university and worked in the oil and gas industry, so I went into a very technical, male-orientated environment. And then joining the automotive industry, I saw the gender imbalance almost immediately. 'Quite early on I had gone to some industry event and the gender imbalance was shocking, there were so few women. The aftermarket industry is particularly bad. I went to some trade events early on and I was horrified, not only because there were very few women, but there was no real diversity whatsoever – it was all middle-aged white men. 'There are a few women doing amazing things, especially in the bigger companies, but you realise quite quickly there is a huge imbalance.' It was encountering that imbalance which prompted Laura, a mum of two girls, to explore the work of The Automotive 30% Club. The club was founded in March 2016 with the aim of filling at least 30 per cent of key leadership positions with women by 2030. Laura said joining the club had led to changes at Maverick Diagnostics as it strives to create stronger diversity in its workforce. She said: 'One of the things we did was look at our recruitment process. Obviously we are very 'techy' and traditionally we only get men applying. So it's about looking at how you advertise jobs, thinking about why women would want to come and work with you. 'It is about how you appear, it's even down to the wording in your job description. There is a lot of research into this and we found women will apply for a job when they meet 100 per cent of the criteria whereas men will apply when they meet a third. 'It would seem men have the confidence whereas it would appear women tend to be less self-confident. Part of it is probably biological and part of it is probably because of society.' Laura was also particularly proud of a training academy Maverick Diagnostics has set up on Wrexham Industrial Estate to upskill local mechanics and technicians on the use of specialist diagnostic tools. She said: 'Cars now are becoming like computers on wheels and there are security gateways in place so you can't just replace a headlight for example without having access through that security gateway. 'Generic aftermarket diagnostic tools can do less and less these days so we offer the diagnostic tools specialist dealerships actually use. 'Vehicle manufacturers want to keep their cars in the dealer network, they don't really want the aftermarket to have easy access to their specialist diagnostic tools, their tooling or their technical data. 'The technology in cars now is so complex, it is beyond most of our capabilities because there is so much IT involved. All the brands are different, they all have different requirements. What we do is help guide the independent workshop or garage through that journey.' Ian Edwards from Wrexham Business Professionals said: 'Both Laura and Ken will be hugely interesting speakers at our forthcoming meeting. It will be fascinating to hear their views on the current economic challenges facing businesses.' Louise Harper from the organisation said: 'We would encourage businesses to attend the meeting and hear from Laura and Ken. Our meetings are always informative and present terrific networking opportunities.'
