Environment
“Our children don’t deserve this”: Anti air pollution demonstrators set up roadblocks in London
Traffic momentarily ground to a halt this morning as anti-pollution demonstrators took to the streets of London. Protesters brandished signs with "Stop Killing Londoners" and "This is a Protest Against Air Pollution" as they staged a sit-down protest in the middle of London's busy roads. The demonstration took place following new research that revealed three quarters of the UK’s worst pollution hotspots are in London. Hyde Park Corner and Marylebone Road in central London have the most polluted postcodes in...
Elephants are scared of…bees
It is commonly believed the only thing that scares an elephant is the sight of a mouse. But scientists have now proved that it is the buzzing sound of bees that gives them the jitters. And this is true of both African and Asian elephants. Scientists from Oxford University played back the sound of disturbed Asian honey bees to elephants in Sri Lanka to see if their reaction was the same to their African counterparts. They found the elephants retreated...
Councillor angry at note left on a homeless persons belongings threatening to chuck them in the BIN
A councillor has slammed an anonymous note left on a rough sleeper's bedding - by someone threatening to throw it away. The mysterious letter said the homeless person's belongings would be 'disposed of' if they were left in a walkway. It was left on the bedding in a walkway in Kingston-upon-Thames, south west London, on January 10, and gave the homeless person just five days to move their things. It said: "To whom it may concern, "You are on private...
Homeless man snubbed at Starbucks says he’s overwhelmed by girl’s kindness
A homeless man who was given a sandwich by a schoolgirl said he was overwhelmed by her kindness -- despite staff allegedly telling her to 'let nature take its course'. Selfless teenager Amy McIlroy went to buy homeless lad Liam Anderson, 20, a sandwich from coffee chain Starbucks after she saw him shaking from the cold. Liam said he was "very thankful" to the 14-year-old for the food but "shocked" by the attitude of the Starbuck's staff member who he...
Wheelchair users fuming after a £6 million library refurbishment left them with a lift – too small to fit in
Wheelchair users are still unable to use one of Britain’s busiest libraries after a £6million revamp – because the lifts are too small. Oxfordshire County Council forked out millions in taxpayer cash upgrading its flagship library but failed to install new lifts which can fit standard sized wheelchairs. Mum-of-three wheelchair user Suzi Horsley, 34, said it is ‘ridiculous’ she is unable to use the library, which is inside Oxford’s Westgate Shopping Centre. The council has blamed ‘demand in the construction...
Calls for Government to intervene to protect Carillion workers rather than “prop up failing company bosses”
Tragic example of failures of privatisation and outsourcing requires Government to intervene to protect public sector work, says GMB. GMB, the UK’s general union, demands the Government intervene and protect Carillion workers’ jobs and pensions – rather than focussing on bailing out a failing private company. Carillion, one of the government's biggest contractors, is struggling under £1.5bn of debt, including a pension shortfall of £587m. The government is meeting Carillion and the Pensions Regulator today (Friday) to discuss the services...
Activist who camped in tree to protest hotel development faces huge legal bill to appeal court ruling
An activist who camped in a tree to protest a hotel development is facing a crippling legal bill of up to £50,000 after losing his appeal against a court ruling. Simon Byrom, 49, lived 20 feet above ground in a sycamore tree for a week to demonstrate against a 225-bedroom hotel being built in a historic part of town. The community councillor slept in a leaky tent which overhung wooden hoardings around the perimeter of the site in the Cowgate...
British beaches look like a ‘plastic war zone’ after Storm Eleanor
British beaches have been left looking like a 'plastic war zone' after the worst wave of pollution in four years was washed up in the wake of Storm Eleanor. The Cornish coast has been covered with plastic debris, broken fishing nets , pieces of Lego and everything from plastic straws and bottles to shredded bags and polystyrene. Piles of plastic debris and nurdles are seen littering the sand of Tregantle Beach in Cornwall, January 9 2018. The south west coast...
Bath could become the first city in the UK to introduce a ‘tourist tax’, in line with a model common in European cities
Bath could become the first city in the UK to introduce a tourist tax, in line with a model common in European cities. Tourists have flocked to the Georgian spa city for centuries in order to visit the Roman baths and famous abbey - but plans have been drawn up to charge visitors an extra £1 per night, which would be put back into the community. The plans, proposed by Bath and North East Somerset Council, will be put to...