Latest news with #LeightonBuzzard
BBC News
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Lost Boys county lines film shown to Bedfordshire pupils
A new virtual reality (VR) film about a boy who is groomed into drug running will be shown to secondary school Police is launching Lost Boys in the hope of "saving a generation" of young people from becoming county lines film tells the fictional story of Rhys, a 14-year-old boy from Bedfordshire, who ends up behind bars after being exploited by a drugs gang member Ben Sturge said the film was "pioneering work" and the "authenticity of the victims and families is high-impact – it should be a catalyst for change". Actor Max Potter, who plays Rhys, said: "If this film gets even one person to stop, think or speak out, it's done its job." Year 8 pupils in Luton and Leighton Buzzard are among the first to watch the film on VR by RIVR and local theatre company Next Generation Youth Theatre, it is believed to be the first virtual reality film of its kind to be created by a police the drama is a video of Ben, who describes how he "got into gang life at about the age of 15, 16".He added: "I felt very responsible for the financial pressure on my family." Ben said getting caught up with gangs did not "come out of fear – it's camouflaged in care, in friendship"."The first time you get approached, you don't recognise it as criminality. You just think some cool kids want to hang around with you, and they've got nice things," he said."It always starts with some small task, that you don't really think there's any wrong doing it. "But that's like the first step on the ladder, and then things start to progress. "You find yourself in situations or around certain levels of violence that your own nightmares would be scared of." The Violence & Exploitation Prevention Partnership, which is supporting the project, said county line gangs "in particular target young boys".Its head, Cara Gavin, said: "We know child exploitation can affect anyone, which is why we're also urging all parents to be alert to the signs and reach out to one of the many organisations across Bedfordshire who can offer advice and support." Bedfordshire Police said these can be signs someone is involved in county lines:repeatedly going missing from school or home and being found in other areashaving money, new clothes or electronic devices and they can't explain how they paid for themgetting high numbers of texts or phone calls, and being secretive about who they're speaking todecline in school or work performancesignificant changes in emotional or physical wellbeing Max said working on Lost Boys was "powerful" as it highlighted the "hidden dangers many young people are facing"."Playing Rhys, I saw how easily someone can be pulled in when they're vulnerable and looking for belonging," he said it was "a new take on a very old – too old – problem".He added: "There's been endless amounts of work done on the topic, but this puts stuff that's powerful and impactful out there."The addition of modern technology makes the information acceptable to the younger generation."Supt Alex House of Bedfordshire Police said: "These gangs are targeting young boys in towns and villages across our county, and we hope our Lost Boys campaign will shine a light on these issues and give people the confidence to speak up." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
The Government needs a new plan for stopping small boat crossings
SIR – Chloe Dalton's book, Raising Hare (Features, May 28), is undoubtedly a remarkable account of her relationship with an orphaned leveret, but her petition seeking a closed season for hares is unfortunately a distraction from better steps that can be taken to ensure the hare population flourishes. The 80 per cent decline in UK hare numbers in the past century was most marked following the world wars, as game shooting and the number of gamekeepers dwindled; fortunately, while population density varies widely across the UK, it has been largely stable since the 1990s, and the hare remains a common animal. In some areas, mostly in the east, it is very numerous indeed, and needs regulation. Elsewhere, smaller populations are largely cherished. Work by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust has identified the cornerstones to a thriving hare population – chiefly predator control and the provision of year-round food supply and shelter. Ensuring that government schemes continue to support the latter should be a far more pressing concern than a campaign for a close season, which may have the unintended consequence of encouraging pre-emptive culls where hare numbers might cause problems, removing the ability to address crop damage only as it arises. Matthew Higgs Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire SIR – Chloe Dalton's account of raising a new-born leveret is heart-warming, but she is not alone in having done this. Gilbert White, in his Natural History of Selborne (1789), records an extraordinary example of inter-species nurturing. A friend had 'a little helpless leveret' brought to him, which his servants began raising with spoonfuls of cow's milk. But it soon disappeared, and was assumed to have been 'killed by some cat or dog'. Not at all. At about the time of the leveret's disappearance, the same friend had 'dispatched' the latest litter of his pet cat, no doubt by drowning, and about a fortnight later, while sitting in his garden one evening, 'he observed the cat, with tail erect, trotting towards him, and calling with little short inward notes of complacency, such as they use towards their kittens, and something gamboling after, which proved to be the leveret that the cat had supported with her milk, and continued to support with great affection. Thus was a graminivorous animal nurtured by a carnivorous and predaceous one!' Hugh Keyte London SE1 SIR – I heard Chloe Dalton's book read on BBC Radio 4, and enjoyed it with friends in my book group. I now have items in my home and garden displaying hares, and would support any charity protecting them. Thank you, Chloe, for Raising Hare. Cathy Gooding
BBC News
27-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Bedfordshire MP wants "major overhaul" of daylight saving time
For many who dislike dark winter nights, this weekend will be one to savour as the clocks spring forward by an hour on Sunday 30 March from 01:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).This marks the end for some, of the gloom that can be caused by GMT, and the start of British Summer Time (BST) and lighter the Labour MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard, Alex Mayer, has called for a "major overhaul of time" and a conversation about "how best to use our nation's daylight hours" in a Parliamentary why do the clocks go back and forward in the UK each year? The process of moving the clocks forward by one hour in the summer was started during World War One in Germany in 1916 as a way to save energy resources during lighter later other countries followed suit, including the UK, where it was named British Summer Time. During World War Two in 1941, the Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill introduced a system where clocks were advanced by two meant that during winter, while clocks went back an hour, they were still one hour ahead of GMT to increase productivity during ended in 1945, but briefly returned two years later due to severe fuel shortages that summer. What does the debate involve? Mayer wants a return to how things were in World War Two and is hosting an adjournment debate in parliament. These debates are a chance for MPs to raise an issue and get a response from a Minister but don't include a vote has argued that a return to what is known as "Churchill Time" could help save a combined £485m in yearly electricity bills - and reduce carbon emissions by more than 400,000 called this "a low-cost, high-impact proposal" to "help meet climate goals, reduce energy bills, and boost our high streets by making better use of the daylight hours we already have".She is not the first MP to bring this discussion to Westminster. In 2012, a bid by Conservative MP Rebecca Harris to move UK clocks forward by an hour for a three-year trial period failed after the legislation ran out of time in the 1968, there was a three-year experiment to keep BST in place throughout the year. On average, there was a huge reduction in road casualties, but this has since been attributed to new drink-driving legislation in 1967. What are the arguments against the change? During that experiment in northern Scotland, there was a net increase in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads, as in the darkest days of December, sunrise would not take place until 10: 2012, when MPs voted against it, many objections focused on the impact of a change on road accidents. Critics argued it would make the lives of outdoor workers harder and increase road accidents due to the darker mornings - although those in favour of a change argue it would reduce evening sources have expressed concerns about the negative impact of extended daylight evenings to health and sleep patterns and recent studies suggested modern power consumption habits mean energy savings made by reducing evening lighting are now offset by increased energy consumption, in the warmer lighter parliament has the power to alter daylight saving times and there are currently no plans to do this in the UK. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Guardian
26-03-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
I tried to sell my car but was told it had been written off
Last summer I took my old Kia to a branch of the car broker webuyanycar to sell, only to discover that its database showed a car with my registration number had been 'written off' and an insurance claim paid out. This came as a shock. I have not been in an accident nor made any claims. I called up my insurer, which confirmed there was nothing on its records, and it told me to call the policy underwriter. Initially the underwriter said it had no record of a claim either. However, after it consulted a national database, it could see that in February 2024 one had been paid out on my car. It gave me the insurer's name – 1st Central – and the claim number. However, when I called up, the company told me it had never insured a car with that registration and did not have any record of the claim. I then contacted Bedfordshire police, who directed me to Action Fraud. However, their emailed reply told me that the matter 'cannot be classified as a police recorded crime' and said I needed to contact the DVLA. The DVLA told me to write them a formal letter and promised to get back to me in six to eight weeks. Obviously that did not happen, so I chased them and was eventually told by someone in the fraud team that my licence plate had been cloned and they were 'looking into it'. This all means that I'm left with a car I can't sell and no end in sight. At best I'll get scrap for it. I can't understand how someone can circumvent me and my insurer to fraudulently claim my car is a write-off and pocket the cash. Can you help? TL, Leighton Buzzard You have been round the houses trying to solve this mystery, and your dealings with the DVLA were frustrating to say the least. Initially I thought I was investigating car cloning (where criminals copy another car's registration plates) but the truth proved more mundane. When I contacted 1st Central, it sprang into action and soon discovered that a typo had resulted in your car being mistakenly consigned to the scrapheap. A 1st Central spokesperson told me that initially it had been unable to help because you had been given the wrong claims reference number. 'We have subsequently investigated and found that human error meant an incorrect vehicle registration number was inputted into the write-off database. This highly rare anomaly occurred because the make, model and registration were almost an exact match for another vehicle. We have now corrected this and offered TL compensation.' You have accepted the £560, which includes £110 to cover depreciation over the nine months it took to resolve this. We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions.
