Latest news with #TomBradshaw
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Striker looking to put injury-hit first months in the past after solid pre-season
TOM Bradshaw is looking to put an injury-hit first few months at Oxford United behind him and build on the goalscoring rhythm he has enjoyed in pre-season. The 33-year-old striker joined the U's from Millwall for an undisclosed fee midway through the January transfer window, but fitness and injury concerns limited him to just 11 Sky Bet Championship appearances, with only four of those starts. Bradshaw didn't manage to find the net for United in the previous campaign, but has grabbed three goals in pre-season, including against CD Leganes on Tuesday night. READ ALSO: Summer signings impress, wingers catch eye & injuries testing depth The striker said: 'For me, it was about staying fit throughout pre-season and getting my body in the best condition possible to start the season. 'Scoring three goals is always good for confidence as a striker because it's all about getting into rhythms and getting into good habits. 'It's funny what putting the ball in the back of the net for a striker does to you. They're good habits to take into the season and hopefully I can carry it on. 'I feel really good. It's been a good solid pre-season. I haven't had any sort of setbacks and physically I feel really good. I feel confident. 'As a team, the numbers that we're putting up are higher than some of our games last year. 'I think that's a really positive sign and it shows we've put a real emphasis on fitness and drive this pre-season, and I think it's starting to show. 'At this point in pre-season, it's about fine-tuning how we are as a team on the ball and off the ball, and getting those details right so by the time Portsmouth comes, we should be all ready and hopefully we can pick up a win.' CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE OXFORD MAIL ONLINE (Image: Newsquest) The U's drew 1-1 with Leganes, who were relegated from La Liga after finishing 18th last season, on Tuesday night and complete their pre-season schedule with a home clash against Malaga this afternoon. Reflecting on the game against Leganes, Bradshaw said: 'It was a good test for us. Notoriously, Spanish teams like to pass the ball, and I think it tested us off the ball and it also gave us some transitions as well. 'I think we probably could've scored more on the day, but I think our performance in general was a positive and it's something we can take into the game on Saturday, and try and refine all the points that we want to make right for the start of the season.'
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
United striker enjoying connection forming with winger
TOM Bradshaw is enjoying the on-pitch connection he is forming with Siriki Dembele. The Oxford United duo linked up neatly to open the scoring in Tuesday night's pre-season draw at home against CD Leganes. Dembele won back possession down the left-hand side and then threaded a pass into the channel of the penalty area, allowing Bradshaw to run onto it and finish inside the near post. READ ALSO: Summer signings impress, wingers catch eye & injuries testing depth Bradshaw said: 'I think our strengths complement each other. The way Dems likes to get into pockets and really try and commit defences, and run at them, and that's perfect for me because I love playing off shoulders. 'I think Dems is very good at committing defenders and doing little sliding balls. I spoke about it to him all week. 'As soon as I drop my shoulder, he can slide me in, and it makes it really hard for the defence to either cut it out or tackle me, or he can cut inside and get a shot off. 'I think it's starting to build those bonds that I didn't necessarily get last season through injuries and stuff like that. It's been a real positive pre-season for me and hopefully I can keep going.' Dembele on the left-hand side was a threat for United against Los Pepineros, while Stan Mills was a willing crosser from the right wing. Bradshaw said: 'Teams need balance. Stan's strengths are final balls, hugging the touchline, stretching the defence, and Dems likes to cut inside. You need that balance in a team and I think they both did really well.'
Daily Mail
13-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Farmers are banned from watering their crops during Britain's sweltering heatwave as temperatures hit 33C
Farmers have been banned from watering their crops during Britain's sweltering heatwave as temperatures hit 33C. East Anglian growers have been slapped with the 'abstraction ban' until further notice - even though no other kinds of water usage in the area have been forbidden. It comes as parts of Britain sizzle in 30C heat again today, after a searing 33C was recorded yesterday, in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire. This year's red-hot summer has already seen reservoirs across England run dry, hitting their lowest levels in a decade. Meanwhile, hosepipe bans were implemented this week for around six million householders across Yorkshire and the South East. But while a week's notice was given for these bans, East Anglian farmers saw crop irrigation forbidden by the Environment Agency (EA) without any warning at all. They have erupted into fury, fearing the move poses a serious risk to food security - especially as East Anglia is one of the country's major farming regions. Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), blasted the ban's implementation 'with no prior engagement', The Telegraph reports. 'It seems ridiculous', he added, when no drought or hosepipe ban is otherwise in place. Some 240 farmers in the Ely Ouse catchment, which stretches across parts of Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, were hit by the ban unawares on July 3. This Environment Agency management zone includes the cities of Cambridge and Ely, as well as market towns Saffron Walden, Bury St Edmund's and Newmarket. The government department's own website notes the area contains 'high-grade agricultural land' and is 'predominantly rural'. It has said it will review the indefinite ban on a daily basis. Tim Young, who owns the 182-hectare Grange Farm near the market town of Thetford, Norfolk, said the ban is a 'huge knock' to profitability and food production. It is especially galling, he added, while 'gardens and grass keep getting water to look nice'. He had expected the ban might only be applied four nights a week - so was shocked to discover irrigation had been completely forbidden. 'Normally, the EA works with farmers and the NFU to give some heads-up. This came out of the blue', he said. Mr Young said he was especially worried about the onions he grows - which easily wilt, rot and decay without regular irritation to beat the fusarium fungal disease. The farmer, who also grows sugar beet, wheat and rye, was devastated at the thought of losing one of the best crops he has ever grown. NFU vice-president Rachel Hallos called for more flexible abstraction rules - and support for farmers in managing increasingly extreme weather, for the sake of preserving food supply. The EA imposes abstraction bans, also known as Section 57 restrictions, when severe drought coincides with irrigation windows. Abstraction is the process of taking water from the environment, such as rivers, streams or springs, for use in agriculture, industry or the home. Section 57 was heavily used in the nineties in the east of England and again during the severe droughts of 2006 - but has rarely been invoked in the last decade. Farmers are rarely prosecuted for breaking the orders - but in 2020, one farm in Cambridgeshire had to pay £8,000 for abstracting water to irrigate potatoes. The breach by Dennis (Haddenham) Limited, based out of Willow Farm Hall, near Ely, came during the ban implemented amid months of dry weather in 2018. The firm then broke restrictions again less than a year later, despite already being under investigation. While breaking abstraction bans can see farmers hit with huge fines, most water companies have never prosecuted customers for breaching hosepipe bans. They can, in theory, be prosecuted and ordered to pay up to £1,000. But most firms rely on homeowners' fear they will be reported by a neighbour, as well as awareness-raising about reducing water usage generally. Growers are allowed to abstract with an EA licence - but breaching its terms can also lead to fines, as one Norfolk farmer saw last year. Brian Rutterford, 77, whose farm is in the village of Hockwold-cum-Wilton, had pay £4,300 after pleading guilty to abstracting three times more water than he was licensed to. It came during the record high summer temperatures of 2022, when East Anglia was in an official drought and many local water sources had run dry. His actions, the EA said, had affected the local community's water supply. The abstraction bans in East Anglia come as Yorkshire Water introduced hosepipe bans this week after the area saw its driest spring in a whopping 132 years. More than a million customers in Kent and Sussex have also been slapped with a hosepipe ban, announced by South East Water on Friday. Thames Water revealed on Thursday is would impose restrictions after 'ongoing dry weather and increased customer demand' unless the situation 'changes significantly'. Customers were urged by the company to use water sparingly given the region it serves has seen just half of its expected rainfall over the last three months. The EA has declared a state of 'prolonged dry weather' in large parts of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey - meaning a heightened risk of drought. Daily demand in Swindon and Oxfordshire peaked during the UK's last heatwave on June 30 at a level not seen since in the 2022 drought, Thames Water said. People are being encouraged to take shorter showers, turn the tap off while brushing teeth and letting their lawn go dry to help reduce big increases in demand. Bosses also warned that the extended warm weather was bringing 'increased risks of leaks and bursts due to pipe stress and shifting foundations in the ground'. Water companies are often hesitant to put hosepipe bans in place, fearing tanking customer satisfaction ratings. But it comes as the latest figures show reservoirs nationwide were only 76 per cent full in June. This is even lower than in the raging hot summer of 2022, when they were at 77 per cent at the same time of year. The mercury hitting such high levels and thus driving up water use, plus a dry spring and summer, are primarily behind the dramatic decline in reservoir levels. Proposals to build nine more reservoirs by 2050 were announced by the government and water companies last year. None have been completed in England since 1992 - just after the privatisation of the water sector. The hot weather has shown no sign of stopping this weekend, with Scotland yesterday recording its warmest day of the year, as Aviemore in the Highlands hit 32C. The hot weather has shown no sign of stopping this weekend, with Scotland yesterday recording its warmest day of the year, as Aviemore (pictured) in the Highlands hit 32C Meanwhile, areas like Belfast in Northern Ireland were as hot as they had been in almost three years. By this afternoon, temperatures in cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester look set to smash the 30C mark again as the relentless heat continues. Amber health alerts are in place for the Midlands and the south and east of England until 9am on Monday. They warn of a potential rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. The risk of wildfires in London is also currently rated at 'severe' by the Natural Hazards Partnership. Fire chiefs have warned of the increased risk of drowning as people try to cool off in water. And National Rail has also warned train passengers that the hot weather may continue to cause disruption today. On top of the amber alerts, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has yellow warnings in place until Monday for the north east, north west and Yorkshire and Humber. A spokesperson for Water UK said: 'Water companies do everything possible to avoid restrictions on customers, including by moving water around their region and surging activity on leakage. 'However, when government-mandated trigger levels are reached, then unfortunately, a temporary use ban needs to be imposed.' A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'Rapid population growth, crumbling infrastructure and a warming climate mean that without urgent action, Britain could run out of drinking water. 'We have taken swift and decisive action to secure £104billion of private sector investment to build nine reservoirs and new pipes to cut leaks.' A Thames Water spokesman said: 'The ongoing dry weather and increased customer demand is impacting our water supplies across the Thames Valley. 'Unless the situation changes significantly, we will need to put usage restrictions, including a hosepipe ban, in place to ensure taps keep running for customers' essential use.'
Telegraph
12-07-2025
- Climate
- Telegraph
Farmers' fury over ban on watering crops
Farmers have been banned from watering their crops during the heatwave. Growers in East Anglia are facing an 'abstraction ban', which prevents them from irrigating crops despite no other water restrictions being imposed in the area. The move comes amid the country's third heatwave of the summer, which has left reservoir levels in England at their lowest levels in a decade. Hosepipe bans in Yorkshire and the South East have already been introduced, with millions of customers given a week's notice before restrictions come into force. However, the ban on crop irrigation in parts of Norfolk was implemented without warning, fuelling anger amongst farmers concerned about the impact on their harvests. Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), said such bans would be 'risking food production', particularly in East Anglia where many farms are based. He said: 'Abstraction bans have already been implemented in Norfolk with no prior engagement or warning. It seems ridiculous when there is no official drought or hosepipe ban.' Farmers have warned the ban, imposed by the Environment Agency on around 240 growers in the Ely Ouse catchment from July 3, threatens significant crop losses. Tim Young, who grows onions, sugar beet, wheat and rye on his 182-hectare Grange Farm, near Thetford, said: 'An abstraction ban imposed by the Environment Agency (EA) means a huge knock to our profitability and the country's food security whilst gardens and grass keep getting water to look nice.' He added: 'I thought the EA would reduce abstraction to four nights a week. It was a shock to have a complete ban, especially with no warning. 'Normally, the EA works with farmers and the NFU to give some heads-up. This came out of the blue.' Mr Young said that he is particularly concerned about his onion crop, which depends heavily on irrigation to prevent fusarium disease which leads to wilting and root rot and decay. 'I stand in front of what's probably the best crop I've grown, and to know it might just break even is devastating,' he said. 'We managed by spreading abstraction across more days, but now with a complete ban, the risk is very real. If the Government is serious about food security, reservoirs need to be built.' The ban is until further notice, with the Environment Agency saying it will be reviewed on a daily basis. Abstraction bans, known as Section 57 restrictions, are imposed by the Environment Agency during times when severe drought coincides with irrigation periods. Section 57 was widely used in the early 1990s in parts of the East of England and again in 2006, but has rarely been invoked in the last decade. Prosecutions for defying such orders are rare. But in 2020 a Cambridgeshire farm was ordered to pay nearly £8,000 for illegally abstracting water for its potato crop. Dennis (Haddenham) Limited, based at Willow Farm Hall, Ely, abstracted water when restrictions were in place following months of extremely dry weather in 2018. The firm repeated the offence less than a year later – despite knowing they were already under investigation. Farmers are allowed to extract water from a natural source, like a river or groundwater, if they are granted an abstraction licence by the Environment Agency. However, breaching these licences can also lead to fines. A Norfolk farmer was fined last year for taking more water than allowed by his abstraction licence, including during a summer drought. Brian Rutterford, 77, of Undley, Lakenheath, was ordered to pay £4,300 by magistrates after pleading guilty to taking three times the amount of water he was allowed to from a small channel next to his farm in Hockwold-cum-Wilton. The farmer had continued to take water during the record-breaking hot summer of 2022, when East Anglia was officially in drought and many local water courses were dry. The Environment Agency said Rutterford's actions had affected water supplies for the local community. NFU vice-president Rachel Hallos called for more flexible abstraction rules to help maintain food production as well as long-term investment in water resilience, including rainwater harvesting. 'To support a secure and sustainable food supply, it's essential that farmers and growers have the right tools to manage the weather extremes we are seeing more often,' she said. Farmers have already been hit by Labour's inheritance tax raid, under which assets above £1 million will be subject to a 20 per cent charge. While fines on farmers for breaching abstraction bans can be severe, the majority of water companies have never prosecuted any householders for breaching a hosepipe ban. While customers could theoretically be prosecuted and fined up to £1,000, most firms prefer to rely on the fear that neighbours will report them for continuing to use a hose, as well as educating and persuading customers to consume less water. Yorkshire Water has introduced restrictions this week after the region recorded its driest spring in 132 years. South East Water also announced a hosepipe ban for more than one million people in Kent and Sussex on Friday. Water companies are understood to be reluctant to implement hosepipe bans because it affects customer satisfaction ratings, with the firms said by industry sources to be waiting 'until the very last moment' to put bans in place. Meanwhile families are facing higher water bills during heatwaves as part of surge pricing trials for customers with smart water meters at 15 firms. Ofwat, the industry regulator, said that the trials, planned for the next five years, would increase prices 'when water is scarce' and could potentially be extended to all customers. Latest figures show that reservoirs across the country were 76 per cent full in June. This was below their level in the severe drought year of 2022, when they were at 77 per cent capacity at this time in the summer. Dr Jess Neumann, an associate professor in hydrology at the University of Reading, said: 'Water companies need to be proactive. Hosepipe bans can save three to seven per cent of daily water use as long as the public are onboard with the need to conserve water. Hosepipe bans have the additional advantage of increasing awareness of water scarcity and stress amongst communities, further encouraging mindful water use.' The prolonged dry spring and summer, along with the current hot weather driving up water use by consumers, has led to reservoir levels in the Midlands and the North to fall dramatically. Last year the Government and water companies announced proposals to build nine new reservoirs by 2050. No major reservoirs have been completed in England since 1992, shortly after the water sector was privatised. A Water UK spokesman said: 'Water companies do everything possible to avoid restrictions on customers, including by moving water around their region and surging activity on leakage. However, when government-mandated trigger levels are reached then unfortunately a temporary use ban needs to be imposed.' A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said: 'Rapid population growth, crumbling infrastructure and a warming climate mean without urgent action, Britain could run out of drinking water. We have taken swift and decisive action to secure £104 billion of private sector investment to build nine reservoirs and new pipes to cut leaks.'
Sky News
07-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News
UK farmers have 'nothing more to give' as they fear govt will compromise welfare in US-UK trade deal
UK farmers have "nothing more to give" as they fear the government will use agriculture to further reduce US tariffs in a trade deal with the White House. The UK is trying to reduce steel tariffs to zero, from a current reduced rate of 25%, but Downing Street refused to confirm if it was confident ahead of Donald Trump's deadline of 9 July. Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), said UK agriculture had already been used to reduce Trump-imposed tariffs on cars but any other concessions would have serious repercussions for farmers, food security and the UK's high animal welfare standards. He told Sky News: "It just feels like we, as the agricultural sector, had to shoulder the responsibility to reduce the tariffs on cars from 25%. "We can't do it anymore, we have nothing more to give. "It's clear the steel quotas and tariffs aren't sorted yet, so we just want to be very clear with the government: if they're sitting around the negotiating table - which we understand they are - they can't expect agriculture to give any more." 'Massively undermine our standards' Since 30 June, the US has been able to import 13,000 tonnes of hormone-free British beef without tariffs under a deal made earlier this year, which farmers feel was to reduce the car import levy Mr Trump imposed. The UK was also given tariff-free access to 1.4bn litres of US ethanol, which farmers say will put the UK's bioethanol and associated sectors under pressure. Allowing lower US food standards would "massively undermine our standards" and would mean fewer sales to the European Union where food standards are also high, Mr Bradshaw said. It would leave British farmers competing on a playing field that is "anything but fair", he said, because US food can be produced - and sold - much cheaper due to low welfare which could see a big reduction in investment in UK farms, food security and the environment. 5:08 'The US will push hard for more access' He said the US narrative has always suggested they want access to British agriculture products "as a start and they'll negotiate for more". "The narrative from the White House on 8 May, when a US-UK trade deal was announced, was all about further access to our agriculture products - it was very different to what our government was saying," he added. "So far, the UK has stood firm and upheld our higher welfare standards, but the US will push very hard to have further access. "No country in the world has proved they can reduce the 10% tariffs further." US 'will target poultry and pork' The Essex farmer said he expects the US to push "very hard" to get the UK to lower its standards on poultry and pork, specifically. US poultry is often washed with antimicrobials, including chlorine, in an attempt to wash off high levels of bacteria caused by poor hygiene, antibiotic use and low animal welfare conditions not allowed in UK farming. US pig rearing methods are also quite different, with intensive farming and the use of feed additive ractopamine legal, with both banned in the UK. A government spokesperson told Sky News: "We regularly speak to businesses across the UK to understand the impact of tariffs and will only ever act in the national interest. "Our Plan for Change has delivered a deal which will open up exclusive access for UK beef farmers to the US market for the first time ever and all agricultural imports coming to the UK will have to meet our high SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) standards."
