'Suspected explosive' found on Winterton Road, Scunthorpe
Members of the public have been asked to avoid the area until the force is able to advise otherwise.Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
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BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
Spike in arson attacks on 5G masts 'impacting thousands'
Police are engaging in "proactive patrolling" at the locations of 5G network masts in order to "provide greater security" around these sites after a spate of arson attacks mostly in west Belfast. A sixth arson attack on 5G towers in three weeks was reported on June 2023, 16 arson attacks on 5G towers took place in west Belfast, with the most recent attack near the Rathcoole estate, in Newtownabbey, bringing the total to 17. Sinn Féin councillor, and lifelong west Belfast resident, Ronan McLaughlin said the attacks are being driven by "dangerous conspiracy theories online". McLaughlin has been critical of the police's response to the west Belfast said there had been a "spate of attacks" in the last three weeks and he had "not seen one arrest". The PSNI "need to do much better", he said."You can see the majority of the masts that have been burned have been in the Colin area, I would hope that this is a small minority of individuals."The PSNI said local neighbourhood policing teams are "actively engaging with communities in the area and have increased police visibility around the affected areas".It added that detectives were pursuing a number of lines of enquiry and were "committed to identifying those responsible and bringing them to justice".A recent survey carried out by Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey found that out of 2,602 people who responded, 87% described phone signal in west Belfast as poor or very poor, with only 3% saying it was good or excellent. Belfast's Deputy Lord Mayor Paul Doherty, from the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), said this type of digital infrastructure is "key to everyday life now" and is "impacting thousands of people". He told BBC News NI that the lack of phone signal in west Belfast in particular is having a serious impact on "elderly and vulnerable people", who could find themselves having a fall or becoming seriously ill but are "not able to pick up the phone to emergency services"."The fact that there is CCTV cameras, dashcam footage, Translink cameras up and down these stretches of road and we have seen no evidence and no arrests, people are very much frustrated as a result." Why are 5G masts being attacked? 5G masts or network towers carry signal for internet phone network connectivity. While the direct motive of the recent spate of attacks has not been identified by police, both McLaughlin and Doherty cite the spreading of "dangerous misinformation" and "conspiracy theories" online. Cornerstone, the firm responsible for maintaining the physical masts which provide signal for network providers, previously told BBC News NI it was aware that some people have concerns about mobile phone base stations."The strong consensus of expert groups and public health agencies, such as the World Health Organization, is that no health risks have been established from exposure to the low-level radio signals used by these base stations," Cornerstone said. Speaking to the Nolan Show on Tuesday, Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said "there is absolutely no evidence from any properly controlled study that the use of any mobile phone technology of any sort is a risk"."5G masts emit a low dose of radiation" but "simply isn't powerful enough to cause any problems", he added. PSNI Det Insp McAnee said the police were taking the issue in West Belfast very PSNI said it was important that the companies who own and operate the masts take "active steps to secure their infrastructure and commercial assets"."Hospitals that are affected are experiencing communication difficulties in contacting patients and managing critical on-call arrangements, and members of the public—particularly those who are vulnerable—are being left in a position where they are unable to make emergency calls or contact family."They are appealing to members of the public to help by coming forward with any information they may have.
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Essex Police to shut some front counters to reallocate funds
A police force has announced it will close front counters at a number of stations across a county to provide more funding for visible Police said the front counters in stations in Basildon, Braintree, Clacton and Harlow, and council-shared spaces in Maldon and Saffron Walden which are staffed by officers, will be closed from 11 July. Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper said out of the 6,703 people who used the force's front counters in January, only 203 reported new crimes or intelligence."Ninety per cent of people tell us that they want to see, or they find it reassuring to see, a visible policing presence in their neighbourhood," he added. As a result of the closures, nine members of staff have chosen not to take other roles and will be made Colchester, Grays and Southend front counters will remain open and unchanged, the force added. "Our three cities in our county have a front counter provision and actually we've looked at not only footfall but geographic spread within our county, so members of the public have got a choice of locations where to go to for wherever they live," ACC Hooper said. "The majority of people are coming in [to the stations] for appointments with the public to see officers and they can still do that," he added. Instead of talking to someone at the desk a person can use a yellow phone located at the entrance of a station to speak to the required officer, he said. "[The phone] is the same as a 101 and you can say 'please can I report a crime' and they'll take you through and report the crime online and if you need to see an officer they can make an appointment," he added. ACC Hooper explained that the public are using other channels to report crimes, such as online live chats, which has also recently become available 24/7 and were being answered within "about 10 to 20 seconds".He said these live chats are operated by humans rather than bots "unlike many organisations, at a rate of about 3,800 a month"."We are one of the lowest-funded forces in the UK, but actually make the best out of every pound of investment that's made either through the government or through the local police people." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
29 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wolverhampton 'to take stand' against anti-social behaviour
Wolverhampton City Council is joining a national campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) in a bid to keep residents Awareness Week, which began on Monday, aims to encourage communities to make a stand against such behaviour by reporting it via dedicated channels and not "suffer in silence".The council and its partners, including West Midlands Police and the Wolverhampton ASB Team, will be carrying out community engagement activities and Intervention Officers and Violence Reduction Partnership will be working with local schools to educate pupils about the issue. There were information pop-ups at Bilston Indoor Market on Monday and Warstones Library on pop-ups will take place at the Avion Centre in Whitmore Reans on Wednesday from 11:00 to 14:00 BST, the Civic Centre on Friday from 12:00 to 13:00 BST and Wolverhampton bus station on Friday from 14:30 to 16:00 Obaida Ahmed said: "We know that anti-social behaviour can cause a great deal of distress, and that's why we're committed to working with the public and other organisations across Wolverhampton to investigate and resolve issues as soon as possible."Statistics show that 56% of victims and witnesses don't report ASB, but nobody should suffer in silence. So, our message is clear – if you see something, make sure you report it."Incidents can be reported to the Wolverhampton ASB Team on 01902 556789, by email via asbu@ or police can also be called on 101 or 999 in an emergency. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
