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BBC News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Eileen Langsley: Pioneer sports snapper to keep working aged 81
For nearly five decades Eileen Langsle has photographed some of the world's biggest sporting events. From world championships in figure skating and gymnastics, to the inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup in 1991 along with 14 Olympics, she has enjoyed a stellar it has come with big 81-year-old, from Bakewell, Derbyshire, told the BBC she had faced sexism and misogyny throughout her career and regularly found herself as the only woman at sporting events when she started says her inspiration to start her photography career in 1976 was a lack of representation for women in sports coverage. Before her jet-setting job took her to all four corners of the globe, Eileen, a keen athlete and PE teacher at King Edward VII School in Sheffield, wanted to inspire her female students with pictures of other professional sports women. But she was stunned to find there were hardly any she could find to show them."Trying to find a woman participating in professional sport without a sexist slant to it was few and far between," she said. "I had a big wall in the changing room that I wanted to fill with pictures so the girls could be inspired."It was from that point Eileen decided to do it picked up a camera and learned the craft with some helpful pointers from her husband, admitting she knew "absolutely nothing" about photography. Eileen credits the Sheffield Star and Sheffield Telegraph newspapers for her big break into the industry, securing her first back-page lead with a photo of a city gymnast in late 1970s."It was refreshing to have them supporting me at that stage when I was coming up against so many obstacles," she recalled. With work rolling in, both across local newspapers and specialist magazines, she set up her own photo agency and swapped the classroom for the dark room to go being knocked back for accreditation for the Moscow Olympics in 1980, her work paid off and she became the official photographer for the International Gymnastics Federation in 1983 which saw her fly out to different parts of the was a founder member of the Women's Sports Foundation in the UK - now named Women in Sport - and was their photographer for a number of years as well as running the press and public relations said at this point she was working outside the UK more than she was back she still faced challenges in an industry dominated by men. "People in Britain were quite reluctant to employ a woman in my field at the time," she said."The reaction I got always was 'women don't know enough about sport' which was ironic really because I knew more about sport than I did about photography then."It wasn't easy, the men were split into two groups."One group were great and were very accepting of me from the work I produced but another larger group really resented women encroaching into what they saw as a man's world."I wanted to join an agency from the outset so I could have that support and I remember one telling me that they would never employ a woman."I went on my own and I did well but it was a lonely path to walk." Eileen recalls an athletics event she covered at Crystal Palace in London in the late 70s when she noticed a group of male photographers chatting away. When they spotted her, they went quiet and shunned her for the rest of the also set out to change the perception and the way female athletes were portrayed on camera - focusing on their talent and athleticism rather than how they she got requests from publications to take photos of female athletes "in a sexualised way"."I made quite a few enemies at the time for refusing to do that, they thought I was less of a professional," she said."I once said to a man what he would think if that was their 14-year-old daughter up on the [gymnast] beam? They wouldn't like it."Eileen also recalls a time in Dublin photographing the Women's Hockey World Cup in 1994 when the shutters from her colleagues began snapping away when a gust of wind revealed the underwear of the players in their pre-game the sexism and misogyny she faced, she carried on and won awards for her work. She earned a joint UK sports photo of the year award for her image, 'A Tight Squeeze', which depicts two rhythmic gymnasts going through a single hoop in 1983, a snap she is very proud also won an international award for her image of three boys playing rugby in the same there is a big sporting event, chances are Eileen was at the centre capturing it all. She was there for Torvill and Dean's historic figure skating gold in Sarajevo in had a lot of work from figure skating at the time and said it was "extra special" to capture the Nottingham pair's famous gold. But it was not all plain the scenes Eileen said getting around the Olympic site - in what is now the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina - was a "nightmare" and she still recalls the "aggressive security" in the former Yugoslav country."Nowadays, you get huge support from the British Olympic Association but back then, you were on your own," she said. She went on to cover another 13 summer and winter games and said Paris 2024 was "special" as she believes it will be the last Olympics she covers. "I can't see myself doing another one, this job is physical and with the air travel, I think Paris is my last one," she said."I look back and Super Saturday at London 2012 was a massive highlight and when I've captured winning moments with our gymnasts winning Olympic medals, they are great memories, amazing." However says she hs no plans to put down her camera just has her sights on the European Figure Skating Championships up the road in Sheffield and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, both in 2026."I aim to keep going as long as I can," she said."There's a lot locally I'm looking to do, retirement isn't something I'm looking at." Looking at the industry now, Eileen said it was a "completely different world" to when she started."It's been great in recent years to see so many women coming through in sports photography and working at the top level," she said."Their male counterparts respect them and admire the work that they do."There's such a huge crop of fantastic woman in sports photography."
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man Fined After Police Officers Discover a Pet Alligator Called Cliff Living in His Backyard
A man in England has been fined for keeping a pet alligator called Cliff in his backyard. According to BBC News, Ashley Betts, from Rotherham, kept the 4-foot reptile in a tank at the back of his home for a year before police discovered it in July 2024. Betts, 32, claimed he did not know a special license was needed to keep exotic creatures like Cliff. He pleaded guilty to breaching the Dangerous Wild Animals Act at Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, March 12, per the outlet. He was ordered to pay nearly $1,300 in fines. The U.K.'s Dangerous Wild Animals Act, which includes alligators, states that "no person shall keep any dangerous wild animal except under the authority of a license granted in accordance with the provisions of this Act by a local authority." According to BBC News, Cliff is now living in a temporary home in a park in Liverpool. The court heard that Betts hopes to get Cliff back by gaining the appropriate license required to keep the gator. Related: 8-Foot Alligator Caught on Camera Roaming Florida Neighborhood and Causing Chaos on Pizza Route Betts reportedly kept Cliff in a special outbuilding and tank, which police discovered after visiting Betts' house for a different reason. Local media outlet Sheffield Star reported that the 32-year-old said he got the alligator from a friend. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Betts was not charged with animal cruelty, and the court said there was "no suggestion" the animal was being kept in poor conditions or in a way that was unsafe for the public, per BBC News. PEOPLE reached out to South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield Magistrates' Court for comment. Related: Shop Shocked to Find a 'Massive' Python Digesting a Big Meal in the Middle of the Business This comes after authorities confiscated a deer that a Pennsylvania woman had been keeping as a pet earlier this year, as previously reported by PEOPLE. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission and CBS News affiliate KDKA News, Tammy Shiery said that she and several members of her neighborhood had raised the 2-year-old deer — whom they named Baby — ever since they found him as a fawn. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Shiery, 64, of Fayette County, said that she believed she had all of the necessary paperwork to legally keep Baby as a pet and that the animal has received all of the same vaccines that are required for deer on deer farms. However, Pennsylvania law states that deer can only be kept as domestic pets if they were born in captivity, which was not the case for Baby. Read the original article on People
The Independent
14-03-2025
- The Independent
UK man fined for keeping a pet alligator named Cliff in his back garden
A UK man who kept a pet alligator over a metre long in his back garden has been fined by a magistrate for keeping the exotic pet. Ashley Betts, 32, from Rotherham, pleaded guilty to breaching the Dangerous Wild Animals Act at Sheffield Magistrates Court on Wednesday. According to the BBC, he kept the alligator, called Cliff, in a tank in his back garden for a year. Betts was fined £333, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £132 and £468 in costs. The BBC has reported that Betts claimed he did not know he needed a special licence to keep exotic creatures, although he hoped to gain one to get Cliff back. Police discovered the large reptile at his Rotherham home in July 2024. He reportedly kept Cliff in a special outhouse and tank before the alligator was confiscated. The creature has been moved to a temporary home 70 miles away at a park in Liverpool. Betts was not prosecuted for any cruelty to the alligator. There was also 'no suggestion' the animal was kept in poor conditions or in a way that presented a danger to others, the BBC reported. When asked where he got the creature, Betts said he received it from a friend, according to the Sheffield Star. While a four-foot alligator may stick out in the UK, male American alligators can grow up to 4.6 metres in length and weigh up to 500kg. They typically live in marshes and swamps in south-eastern United States and north-eastern Mexico.
BBC News
13-03-2025
- BBC News
Rotherham man fined for keeping pet alligator called Cliff in garden
A man who kept a 4ft (1.2m) pet alligator called Cliff in a tank in his back garden for a year has been fined. Ashley Betts claimed he did not know a special licence was needed to keep exotic creatures after police discovered the large reptile at his Rotherham home. The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to breaching the Dangerous Wild Animals Act at Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Wednesday and was told to pay nearly £1,000 in fines. Betts, of Carlyle Court, Maltby, now hopes to get Cliff, who has been moved to a temporary home 70 miles away, back by gaining the appropriate licence, the court heard. He was not prosecuted for any cruelty to the American alligator and the court said there was "no suggestion" the animal was being kept poorly or in a way that was unsafe to other asked where he got the creature, Betts said he received it from a friend but declined to elaborate, according to the Sheffield Star. Male American alligators can grow to measure up to 15ft (4.6m) in length and weigh up to 1,100lb (500kg). They are considered apex predators and typically live in marshes and swamps in south-eastern United States and north-eastern Mexico and feed on fish, other reptiles, birds and reportedly kept Cliff in a special outhouse and tank but the confiscated creature is currently being housed at a park in Liverpool. Police discovered the beast in July 2024 after visiting Betts' house for a different matter, the court heard. Betts was fined £333, ordered to pay a £133 surcharge and £468 in to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
29-01-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Gossip: Owls make loan offer for Ipswich's Clarke
Sheffield Wednesday have submitted a loan offer for Ipswich Town's 23-year-old English defender Harry Clarke. (Sheffield Star, external)Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip columnFollow the gossip column on BBC Sport
