Latest news with #Llanfairfechan
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Wildfires are ‘disaster waiting to happen', farmers warn
Farmers have warned that wildfires are a 'disaster waiting to happen' as a third heatwave looms. The Met Office has issued seven red 'very high' UV alerts ahead of the third heatwave in four weeks. Temperatures are expected to climb into the low 30s again from Wednesday into next week, following the UK's warmest spring on record and driest for more than 50 years. Gareth Wyn Jones, a sheep farmer and campaigner from Llanfairfechan, has sounded the alarm over the threat of wildfires on arid UK farmland. He told The Telegraph: 'Of course we are fearful, we've got mountains like tinder boxes and no one listens.' Mr Wyn Jones, whose family have farmed in Wales for over 370 years, said the incentivised removal of grazing sheep from upland areas was creating a dangerous build-up of dry vegetation. 'They don't understand that ruminants keep these areas from burning,' he said, adding: 'It's a disaster waiting to happen. 'Steve Reed [the Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs] wants to clear animals from the uplands and give more money to help wildfires.' Natural England, the Government's nature watchdog, has been incentivising farmers to remove animals to protect wildlife and prevent overgrazing, leading to sheep numbers in England falling by 7 per cent in the last two years. The Moorland Association has estimated that there are now 600,000 tons of extra vegetation being left on the land each year. Earlier this year, Andrew Gilruth, the association's chief executive, said that 'sooner or later there will be a strong wind blowing the wrong way with our northern cities most at risk', adding: 'It may happen under Angela Rayner's watch.' In March, fire crews tackling a moorland fire in Cumbria said that the 'fire loading' of dead vegetation was 'increasing the risk of wildfire'. By April, more than 29,200 hectares (292sq km) of land had been scorched by wildfires, according to satellite imagery from the Global Wildfire Information System. This was already higher than the total for any year since the researchers started recording data in 2012. Last week, a wildfire broke out in the Shropshire Hills, prompting homes and businesses to be evacuated while farmers tackled the blaze. In 2023 the cost of farm fires in the UK increased by 37 per cent to an estimated £110.3 million, according to NFU Mutual's latest data. Rachel Hallos, the NFU vice-president, said wildfires were 'a serious threat to the countryside'. She told The Telegraph: 'We can see how fast these fires can spread, putting both people and animals at risk and destroying valuable crops, grassland and infrastructure. 'Farmers are on the front line of this crisis, but we can't tackle this alone. It's vital that government and fire services work with us on prevention, education and response and urgently review whether some changes in land management – particularly in the uplands – could be increasing wildfire risk as hotter, drier summers become more frequent.' Ms Hallos urged all those enjoying the countryside this summer to do their part in abiding by the Countryside Code, avoiding open fires and reporting any signs of fire immediately. 'Protecting our farmland means protecting our food, our environment and our rural way of life,' she added. The Met Office's definition of a heatwave is three consecutive days of temperatures exceeding the 'heatwave threshold' for that part of the country. For most of the UK, this is 25C, with slightly higher numbers for the South and East, rising to 28C in London. Dan Holley, the deputy chief meteorologist, said that 'this heatwave is likely to last longer than previous ones so far this summer and affect a wider area'. He explained that high pressure from the Atlantic would 'gradually exert influence over the UK this week', with temperatures building from 28C on Wednesday, to 30C on Thursday to 32C on Friday. 'By this stage, heatwave criteria are likely to be met in parts of England and Wales, and in parts of Scotland over the weekend,' he said, adding: 'High temperatures are likely to persist into the weekend, especially away from coasts with onshore winds, reaching the low 30s in portions of England and Wales, and accompanied by rising humidity and warmer nights.' Waters to the south of the UK are also experiencing a significant marine heatwave, with the conditions expected to persist and intensify over the coming week. A spokesman for the National Fire Chiefs Council told The Telegraph: 'With the long, dry and warm conditions continuing, we will see an increased risk of wildfires. This is especially important in those areas where communities border the countryside and there is greater risk to life and property. 'Effective land management will reduce or at least mitigate some of that risk to those lives and property. This might be done on an individual or community level – for example, with projects like Firewise-UK which encourages communities to work together to reduce their wildfire risk by taking practical steps in the area around the home and garden – or by land managers on a larger scale.'
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Climate
- Telegraph
Wildfires are ‘disaster waiting to happen', farmers warn
Farmers have warned that wildfires are a 'disaster waiting to happen' as a third heatwave looms. The Met Office has issued seven red 'very high' UV alerts ahead of the third heatwave in four weeks. Temperatures are expected to climb into the low 30s again from Wednesday into next week, following the UK's warmest spring on record and driest for more than 50 years. Gareth Wyn Jones, a sheep farmer and campaigner from Llanfairfechan, has sounded the alarm over the threat of wildfires on arid UK farmland. He told The Telegraph: 'Of course we are fearful, we've got mountains like tinder boxes and no one listens.' Mr Wyn Jones, whose family have farmed in Wales for over 370 years, said the incentivised removal of grazing sheep from upland areas was creating a dangerous build-up of dry vegetation. 'They don't understand that ruminants keep these areas from burning,' he said, adding: 'It's a disaster waiting to happen. 'Steve Reed [the Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs] wants to clear animals from the uplands and give more money to help wildfires.' Natural England, the Government's nature watchdog, has been incentivising farmers to remove animals to protect wildlife and prevent overgrazing, leading to sheep numbers in England falling by 7 per cent in the last two years. The Moorland Association has estimated that there are now 600,000 tons of extra vegetation being left on the land each year. Earlier this year, Andrew Gilruth, the association's chief executive, said that 'sooner or later there will be a strong wind blowing the wrong way with our northern cities most at risk', adding: 'It may happen under Angela Rayner's watch.' In March, fire crews tackling a moorland fire in Cumbria said that the 'fire loading' of dead vegetation was 'increasing the risk of wildfire'. By April, more than 29,200 hectares (292sq km) of land had been scorched by wildfires, according to satellite imagery from the Global Wildfire Information System. This was already higher than the total for any year since the researchers started recording data in 2012. Last week, a wildfire broke out in the Shropshire Hills, prompting homes and businesses to be evacuated while farmers tackled the blaze. In 2023 the cost of farm fires in the UK increased by 37 per cent to an estimated £110.3 million, according to NFU Mutual's latest data. Rachel Hallos, the NFU vice-president, said wildfires were 'a serious threat to the countryside'. She told The Telegraph: 'We can see how fast these fires can spread, putting both people and animals at risk and destroying valuable crops, grassland and infrastructure. 'Farmers are on the front line of this crisis, but we can't tackle this alone. It's vital that government and fire services work with us on prevention, education and response and urgently review whether some changes in land management – particularly in the uplands – could be increasing wildfire risk as hotter, drier summers become more frequent.' Ms Hallos urged all those enjoying the countryside this summer to do their part in abiding by the Countryside Code, avoiding open fires and reporting any signs of fire immediately. 'Protecting our farmland means protecting our food, our environment and our rural way of life,' she added. The Met Office's definition of a heatwave is three consecutive days of temperatures exceeding the 'heatwave threshold' for that part of the country. For most of the UK, this is 25C, with slightly higher numbers for the South and East, rising to 28C in London. Dan Holley, the deputy chief meteorologist, said that 'this heatwave is likely to last longer than previous ones so far this summer and affect a wider area'. He explained that high pressure from the Atlantic would 'gradually exert influence over the UK this week', with temperatures building from 28C on Wednesday, to 30C on Thursday to 32C on Friday. 'By this stage, heatwave criteria are likely to be met in parts of England and Wales, and in parts of Scotland over the weekend,' he said, adding: 'High temperatures are likely to persist into the weekend, especially away from coasts with onshore winds, reaching the low 30s in portions of England and Wales, and accompanied by rising humidity and warmer nights.' Waters to the south of the UK are also experiencing a significant marine heatwave, with the conditions expected to persist and intensify over the coming week. A spokesman for the National Fire Chiefs Council told The Telegraph: 'With the long, dry and warm conditions continuing, we will see an increased risk of wildfires. This is especially important in those areas where communities border the countryside and there is greater risk to life and property. 'Effective land management will reduce or at least mitigate some of that risk to those lives and property. This might be done on an individual or community level – for example, with projects like Firewise-UK which encourages communities to work together to reduce their wildfire risk by taking practical steps in the area around the home and garden – or by land managers on a larger scale.'
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Kinmel Lodge care home resident dies after medication overdose
A care home resident was given an overdose of medication which contributed to his death, an inquest has chip shop owner John Collinson - known as Ricky - from Llanfairfechan in Conwy county died in August 2022, eight weeks after he was given 10 times more than his correct dose of medication over four 88-year-old lived at Kinmel Lodge in Kinmel Bay at the time, and had been mobile and physically active before the error was made, but afterwards became mostly confined to his bed, the hearing in Ruthin, Denbighshire, was told on Monday.A coroner concluded the medication error "more than minimally" contributed to his death. Mr Collinson died from bilateral pulmonary emboli - a blockage of the lungs - as a result of a deep vein thrombosis, a type of blood clot, the inquest was son, Kevin Collinson, described how the father-of-five had lived at Kinmel Lodge for about two years after developing dementia, and had been started on a low dose the drug risperidone in January 2022, to help calm his outbursts of added his dad had been physically mobile, even dancing at Elizabeth II's jubilee celebration just a few weeks before he suddenly became "wiped out" and confined to his bed, and he knew something was not right when he visited on 1 July Collinson said he was initially told that nothing was amiss with his father's dosage, but a few days later a manager at the care home realised that he was being given two 2.5ml doses of risperidone instead of the prescribed 0.25ml twice a day. The inquest heard the error had occurred as a result of a miscalculation after Mr Collinson's medication changed from being administered in pill form to being given in liquid Leuty, the manager of Kinmel Lodge, said that, though it was "no excuse", at the time Mr Collinson was one of the first residents to be given their medication in liquid added the measurements on the syringe provided with the medication had been "unclear", but that practices had since been changed at the care home, with a new digital system introduced for medicine Leuty said that as soon as the error was realised, they contacted the GP, who advised the medication be stopped, and informed the evidence to the inquest, Dr Abdul Karim Tuma, a psychiatrist with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said he had been involved in the treatment of John Collinson and had visited him a few weeks after the overdose, at another care home where he had been added his impression was that Mr Collinson was "ill, physically and mentally" and "very confused, acutely confused over and above his chronic confusion from his dementia", as well as being "not mobile at all". John Gittins, coroner for north Wales, east and central, said that following the dispensing errors between 1 and 4 July 2022, Mr Collinson became increasingly "sedated and immobile, and at no time did he return to base level of activity".Following the conclusion, Mr Collinson's daughter, Rhian Collinson, said the family was relieved that the coroner had made the link between the drug overdosing and her father's death, adding it had been a long three years to get to this Collinson described their father as a happy man and prankster who had enjoyed spending time with his family on walks by the added that his death was premature and they had been "greedy" for more time with him.
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Llandudno mental health patient's death partly due to neglect
Neglect contributed to the death of a man in a mental health unit, an inquest jury has Roberts-Pomeroy, 24, was found dead in his bed at the Tŷ Llewelyn unit in Bryn y Neuadd Hospital in Llanfairfechan, Conwy county, on 1 October complained of stomach aches the day before and was due to have medical checks every four hours during the night, but they did not happen and security nurse Geraint Jones, who claimed to have visually checked on him hourly, was found to have given "dishonest" a narrative conclusion contributed to by neglect, the Ruthin inquest jury recorded "gross absence of care" after Roberts-Pomeroy's death from sepsis. Roberts-Pomeroy, from Llandudno, was jailed for three years and four months for robbery in July 2018, but was transferred to Tŷ Llywelyn under the Mental Health was treated for schizophrenia and was being prescribed Clozapine, a "gold standard" treatment but known side effects include constipation. A pathologist found Roberts-Pomeroy died of sepsis caused by a toxic megacolon as a result of Clozapine-induced Brian Rogers, who carried out the post-mortem examination said he may have been dead for up to six hours before he was found at 09: first started complaining of stomach aches at lunchtime the day before his Laura Robbins said, when she checked about 13:00, she was not overly concerned about constipation because he had a bowel movement the previous night. Nurse Jayne Bayliss and ward manager James Butterworth did medical checks at 19:50, but a faulty blood pressure machine meant they were not meant Roberts-Pomeroy's care should have been escalated and screened for sepsis, but it was not. Checks were repeated at 21:00 by overnight ward manager Claire Leady and security nurse Geraint Jones said in a statement that Roberts-Pomeroy was asleep at 22:00 and he claimed to have done hourly visual Coroner John Gittins said CCTV footage proved this to be "untrue", adding that the health board had "taken action" and Mr Jones no longer worked there. Expert witness Abhiram Sharma said if Roberts-Pomeroy had been monitored as he should and treatment provided, he would probably have jury concluded staff failings included "an obvious failure to provide basic medical attention for Darren, insufficient monitoring... simple basic medical checks not carried out and inadequate communication of staff duties and responsibilities".Roberts-Pomeroy's father Peter Pomeroy said his son was improving at the hospital and "felt happy" there, adding that he was "astounded" to know his son was not checked a statement, the family said: "We finally feel as though we can start to move on having had some sort of closure for Darren's tragic and devastating passing."Teresa Owen of the health board said: "We fully accept the jury's conclusions and will reflect further on them over the coming days."She added that an independent investigation highlighted a number of recommendations that had been "accepted and actioned".
