Latest news with #Thames Valley
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
£1.8m to tackle and prevent serious violence in Thames Valley
A total of £1.8 million will go towards tackling serious violence in the Thames Valley. The funding, from the Home Office, has been awarded by police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber to support a range of programmes. Mr Barber said: "There is no single solution to preventing serious violence. "Its impact on individuals and communities can be devastating and we continue to work collaboratively as part of the Violence Prevention Partnership to try to address root causes and support those most at risk. Thames Valley police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber (Image: OPCC) "The funding awarded to partners across the Thames Valley aims to deliver against our shared goal to reduce violence in our communities and stop our young people being drawn into offending. "Funding will extend the delivery of some existing projects as well as test new approaches. "I am pleased that the majority of councils have accepted funding to implement new focused diversion activity for young people in their areas, the output and learning from which will be shared across the Thames Valley to help inform future activity." The funding, which combines the Serious Violence Duty Grant and the Violence Reduction Unit Grant, will be managed by the police and crime commissioner and distributed to partner organisations across the region. A total of £500,000 will support focused diversion activities aimed at helping young people at risk of becoming involved in serious violence. This funding has been offered to all upper-tier councils in the Thames Valley, with five out of nine accepting the grant. Each of the participating councils will receive £100,000 to deliver the programme. The five councils are Slough Borough Council, Bracknell Forest Council, Wokingham Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, and Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Operation Deter, a youth-focused scheme delivered by Youth Justice Services, will receive £210,000 to continue operations until March 2026. The programme works within police custody suites to increase engagement with youth justice services, aiming to disrupt cycles of offending and improve safeguarding for vulnerable children. Thames Valley Police will also receive £225,000 to run a focused deterrence programme through harm reduction units. This scheme targets high-risk, habitual knife carriers and employs a range of interventions to encourage behavioural change. All nine upper-tier councils will each receive £42,000 to strengthen their capacity for coordinating serious violence prevention efforts in line with the Serious Violence Duty. Around £200,000 will support additional activities through the Violence Prevention Partnership, including training for young people, parents, and professionals, as well as community sports projects delivered in partnership with StreetGames UK. The remaining funds will be used to improve information sharing among partners and to evaluate the effectiveness of the funded programmes.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Oxfordshire air ambulance medics 'spent hours' trying to save Ozzy Osbourne
Oxfordshire air ambulance medics spent two hours trying to save Ozzy Osbourne's life at his multi-million-pound country home, according to national reports. The Thames Valley air ambulance landed in a field close to Welders House, the Black Sabbath singer's Grade II listed country mansion on Tuesday morning at around 10.30am, reports MailOnline. It is believed that calls from Welders House had led call handlers to believe that Mr Osbourne's life was uncertain. A helicopter was dispatched from Thames Valley ambulance base at RAF Benson in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, about 27 miles from the mansion which is situated close to the village of Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire. READ MORE: Range Rover driver, 75, killed in crash with recovery truck named According to MailOnline, crew were airborne for around 15 minutes before landing in the grounds of the mansion and were then with Mr Osbourne for around two hours, trying but failing to save his life, it's understood. This news is the first insight into the finer details of the singer's death. His death was announced by his family on Tuesday night in a statement which read: "It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love." Locals in the village of Jordans, which adjoins Mr Osbourne's home told MailOnline that they realised 'something serious' was taking place when they heard a helicopter hovering above Welders and then saw it land nearby. Locals also told MailOnline that after seeing it land, they saw it take off again and fly over Jordans at around 12.30pm. A spokesperson for Thames Valley Air Ambulance told MailOnline: 'We can confirm that our helicopter was dispatched to provide advanced critical care at an incident near Chalfont St Giles yesterday. Mr Osbourne's 125-year-old country pile is surrounded by a 350-acre estate which he and Sharon Osbourne bought in the summer of 1993 for an undisclosed sum. READ MORE: Red Arrows to fly over Oxfordshire this week - here's where and when to see them Lord mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal, said Mr Osbourne was a 'proud Brummie' who helped to put the city 'on the world map'. Mr Iqbal met the founding members of the heavy metal band – formed in the city in 1968 – when they were presented with the freedom of Birmingham in June. He said: 'He (Osbourne) was very important and he was a proud Brummie. He loved the city. He will be much missed, I think, and he was loved by so many people in the city. 'I think he put Birmingham, and especially Aston, on the world map. He's done so much for the city and we honoured him with the freedom of the city as well, which we were grateful that he came (to) and received about six weeks ago.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Air ambulance paramedics battled to save Ozzy Osbourne's life for up to two hours at his Buckinghamshire mansion
An air ambulance was called to Ozzy Osbourne 's multi-million-pound country home as paramedics battled to save his life, MailOnline can reveal. The Thames Valley air ambulance landed in a field close to Welders House, the singer's Grade II listed mansion on Tuesday morning at around 10.30am. It's believed that calls from Welders House had led call handlers to believe that the Black Sabbath singer's life was in the balance. A chopper was dispatched from Thames Valley ambulance base in Stokenchurch some seven miles to the mansion which is located close to the village of Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire. The crew were at the scene with Ozzie for around two hours, trying but failing to save his life, it's understood. News of the helicopter drama is the first insight into the finer details of the singer's death. It was announced by his family last night in a statement which read: 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.' Locals in the village of Jordans, which adjoins Osbourne's home told MailOnline that they realised 'something serious' was taking place when they heard a helicopter hovering above Welders and then saw it land nearby. It was seen taking off again at around 12.30pm. One resident, who did not wish to be named said: 'I went out to have a look and saw that it was landing close to Ozzy's house. 'All of us were talking about it and wondering what had happened. We immediately feared it may be for him as he was known to be in fragile health. 'When we heard later that night that he had died it confirmed our worst fears.' A spokesperson for Thames Valley Air Ambulance confirmed to MailOnline: 'We can confirm that our helicopter was dispatched to provide advanced critical care at an incident near Chalfont St Giles yesterday.' Ozzy's 125-year-old country pile is surrounded by a 350-acre estate which he and Sharon bought in the summer of 1993 for an undisclosed sum. Ahead of his arrival in the UK for his farewell concert in Birmingham three weeks ago it had undergone a major refurbishment which included a dedicated rehab wing, swimming pool and pond so that he could spend more time there as his health deteriorated. Another local, Jane, also saw the Air Ambulance. She told MailOnline: 'I was out walking when I saw the helicopter landing close to Welders and realised something serious was happening…. 'Ozzy Osbourne was quite a character and we'll miss him.'
