Latest news with #Nokes
Metro
12-08-2025
- Automotive
- Metro
Learner drivers will soon be tested on CPR skills in theory update
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Learner drivers will soon have to prove they know CPR as part of the theory test upgrade. Would-be drivers will soon be quizzed on life-saving CPR skills as part of the latest addition to the DVSA test. The official learning materials for the car and motorcycle theory tests will cover questions about Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and how to use defibrillators (AED) after a push by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and campaigners, many of whom are bereaved parents. The new CPR questions will be included in the test from early 2026. The new questions are designed to boost drivers' skills and confidence as motorists are often the first on the scene when someone has had a heart attack or a crash. One of the people calling for the CPR update is professor Len Nokes, the chair of Save a Life Cymru, whose 24-year-old daughter Claire suffered a cardiac arrest just days after Christmas in 2016. Nokes, who is a doctor, told Metro of the 'sheer hell' when Claire fought for her life for nine months before passing away. During the critical first moments after the emergency, Claire's brain had been without oxygen for more than 20 minutes. Without successful CPR every minute, the person has a 10% less chance of survival, he said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Nokes told Metro: 'She's there every day of my life, I go to visit her grave every day of my life and I talk to her every day of my life. 'It's why I do it – I don't want anyone else go through what me, my wife and and my son went through. 'I'm not saying it definitely wouldn't have happened, but I'm saying there is a chance, and that is all I'm asking for.' He now wants to promote for young people to learn even the most basic CPR skills as even young people like his daughter can suffer a heart attack. Nokes, who has been spearheading the campaign, said he hopes the theory test change will then encourage learner drivers to learn further CPR skills. He warned that British drivers' CPR skills and confidence are 'very low' at the moment. 'People don't want to do it and they think it is a very complicated procedure,' he said. '2.4 million drivers get their licence each year, and they will be taught that you can put a defibrillator on somebody's chest – they are already dead, so you can't do any more damage, so shock them and see what happens. With a defibrillator, the chances of somebody surviving have significantly increased.' Meera Naran MBE, a road safety campaigner, lost her eight-year-old son Dev in a car crash. She said: 'I welcome this significant milestone in road safety. 'Raising awareness of this vital, life-saving skill could increase the chance of survival not only in the immediate aftermath of a road crash, but also in our everyday lives. 'This policy update meets core domains: road safety, education, and public health and will play an essential part in not only saving lives but also our NHS.' More Trending The DVSA has worked with Resuscitation Council UK, and the Save a Life groups in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the UK-wide change to help decrease road deaths and give people the confidence to perform CPR. DVSA Chief Driving Examiner, Mark Winn, said: 'Part of being a safe and responsible driver is knowing what to do in an emergency – how to step in and make a real, life-saving difference. 'Learning CPR and how to use a defibrillator is a very simple skill and adding this into the official learning resource is a great way for DVSA to support the drive to raise awareness.' More than 40,000 people suffer a heart attack out of a hospital. Fewer than 1 in 10 survive it, but if a defibrillator is used within 3-5 minutes of collapse, the rate of survival can be up to 70%. It is thought that around 80% of cardiac arrests happen at home. Next, the first aid campaigners want to see defibrillators being made mandatory in large buildings over certain size or occupancy like fire hydrants are. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Purple Lamborghinis seized in £7,000,000 supercar police raid MORE: Mum's killer failed an eye test – but kept on driving MORE: Martin Lewis explains what the car finance consultation means for you
Los Angeles Times
31-07-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Demolition planned for century-old cottage in Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach may soon lose one of the oldest structures in town, as a bungalow referred to as the 'Blue Cottage' is set to be demolished. The single-family house, located at 359 Third St., across from the Community and Susi Q Center, was built in 1914. Laguna Presbyterian Church, which owns the property, submitted an application for work that includes the demolition of the structure to put in more parking. The plan would provide for an additional seven spaces, bringing the total to 10 spaces on the lot. The Planning Commission unanimously approved the design review and coastal development permit for the project on May 21, but the item subsequently came before the City Council on July 22 at the request of Mayor Pro Tem Mark Orgill. Council members grappled with several questions, including the historicity of the house and whether records of agreements and entitlements pertaining to master-planned projects for the historic preservation of the church and its administration building required the retention of the cottage in perpetuity. A series of meetings that were held from 2007 to 2009, a period during which the house was also targeted for demolition or relocation, was at the core of the discussion. In the end, the panel upheld the Planning Commission's decision by a 3-2 vote, with Orgill and Councilmember Hallie Jones dissenting. Larry Nokes, representing the church, said that while the heritage committee may have wanted to preserve the blue house, the committee is not a decision-making body. Further, he contended that the future retention of the house was not a condition of approval for entitlements. 'We know the heritage committee was very keen on having the blue cottage remain,' Nokes said. 'But the issue that was considered by the Planning Commission, and by the City Council later, had to do with parking credits, and the incentive for those parking credits was to make the sanctuary and the administrative building an E-rated structure and place it on the [historic] register under a contract by the city and agree to maintain that.' Nokes noted that saving the structure was recommendation made by the heritage committee, but was obviously not binding. 'That recommendation made it into every single public hearing by every single decision-making body, and it was never made a condition of approval by any of those bodies,' Nokes said. 'Now, the needs of the church have changed, and they are requesting removal of that building,' Nokes continued. 'The building is not a historic resource, it was only listed on the [Laguna Beach Historic Resource] Inventory, and the inventory is no longer valid to create a presumption of historicity.' Orgill wondered whether it was made clear in past proceedings that the bungalow was not protected moving forward. 'I'll just say that I think that the conversation around this project in 2008 would have been different,' Orgill said. '... I think that it affected people's opinions and how they processed, proceeded with the whole application at the time.' City resident Ann Christoph spoke in opposition to the structure's demolition on behalf of Village Laguna, a group concerned with preserving the town's cultural heritage. She said the retention of the house was consistently part of the plans during the church's prior dealings with the city. 'Our position is it doesn't matter about whether it was on the register, it doesn't matter what it looks like or what characteristics it has in terms of historicity or its pedigree, the church agreed to keep the house as part of that package of plans,' Christoph said. 'They got everything they asked for from the city. They got their parking variance, the height variances, all the approvals, the [conditional use permits], the [coastal development permits] and all that. Keeping that house was part of the deal, and now they don't want to keep the deal.' Christoph suggested that the property could be used to provide housing or a studio for artists. Mayor Alex Rounaghi said it would be a 'fair compromise' if the the church was willing to give the structure to someone who wanted to move it off site and preserve it. 'But it's really unfair to just force the church to deal with a structure that's uninhabitable. If someone lived in this, the church would get sued under the tenant protection laws.' Councilwoman Sue Kempf said the church has a right to destroy the cottage. 'It's not historic,' Kempf said. 'It's not on the register. Even if it was in some agreement, the heritage committee is a committee. It's not a quasi-judicial body.' While documents showed that the cottage had been remodeled, Councilwoman Hallie Jones and Orgill both indicated they felt there was room to consider the property as a local historic resource. At one point in her comments, Christoph showed a George Brandriff painting from 1928, attempting to appeal to the local history and storytelling involved with preserving a relic of the seaside cottages among which the church was built. Laguna Presbyterian's main sanctuary was built in 1928, and the church bought the blue house in 1967. 'I've lived here since 1974, and there's a lot that was here then that's not here now,' Bob Borthwick said. 'It's kind of a death-by-a-thousand-cuts type of situation. Every time a little structure like this goes away, or a little house goes away, we've lost something of our character and our legacy.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MP visits leading agricultural business to learn about industry challenges
An MP visited an agricultural company to learn about its contribution to the industry. Caroline Nokes, MP for Romsey and Southampton North, visited T H WHITE Pro Agri in Stockbridge last week. The company has been supporting the agricultural community since 1832, providing farmers with machinery and servicing. During the visit, Ms Nokes met with T H WHITE's team to discuss the challenges facing the agricultural sector. The team explained how their staff help farmers select the right machinery, explore purchasing options and provide aftersales support. Ms Nokes said: "It was fantastic to visit T H WHITE Pro Agri in Stockbridge and see firsthand the crucial role they play in supporting British farming. "From providing cutting-edge machinery to offering expert servicing and support, businesses like T H WHITE are vital to ensuring the long-term success of our agricultural sector, especially during unprecedented challenges faced by farmers." Adrian Pipe, T H WHITE operations director, said: "Our specialty is service, and it's this commitment to supporting farmers far beyond the point of purchase that keeps their operations running smoothly year after year while strengthening our relationships with the farming community."
