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BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
South Yorkshire PC famed for bike chase named officer of the year
A police constable who caught a car thief after swapping his patrol car for a passer-by's bike has been named South Yorkshire's Officer of the Year. Footage of PC Paddy Connell chasing a man who had stolen a Range Rover Evoque in Rotherham was shared widely on social media in April last year. After the Range Rover crashed, the suspect ran off and a member of the public offered PC Connell his bike, allowing him to continue the chase and arrest the suspect. PC Connell, from the Roads Proactive Policing Team, also arrested a man who South Yorkshire Police said was their "most wanted burglar" after a pursuit in January this year. Deployed stinger During that incident PC Connell spotted a Suzuki Cross 4x4 in Penistone which failed to stop and resulted in a chase lasting almost half an hour. During the pursuit, which went in and out of West Yorkshire, the suspect threw items - including a fire extinguisher - from the car. PC Connell deployed a stinger just before a roundabout at junction 37 of the M1 as the suspect attempted to get onto the southbound carriageway of the managed to take the vehicle off the road before it reached the motorway and both men inside were detained, including the "most wanted" who is now facing a prison sentence. In what South Yorkshire Police called a "strange" pursuit last April, PC Connell asked a suspect in a Range Rover to stop on Dalton Lane but instead the driver reversed down several roads, driving at 80mph in a 30mph area before suspect got out of the car and ran off, with the officer in hot pursuit - and an observer offered him his 25-year-old suspect was eventually arrested in a garden on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. Chief Inspector of Roads Policing Peter Spratt said: "We are immensely proud of PC Connell and the recognition he has received."He is an integral member of the team and has had so many excellent results with colleagues, bringing offenders to justice and making South Yorkshire safer as a result."He added: "Our officers regularly put themselves at risk to protect the public, managing these incidents to a safe conclusion through tactics that require dynamic teamwork and skilful implementation of their training. "Well done PC Connell, you are a credit to the department." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
Spectator
3 days ago
- Spectator
How Trump helped Venezuela's Maduro bounce back
For someone widely believed to have lost a presidential election just a year ago, Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro is looking remarkably defiant – and still firmly in power. Maduro has just pulled off another patriotic spectacle – a choreographed homecoming of Venezuelan migrants with flags, cameras, and emotional reunions. This followed a deal with the Donald Trump administration that secured the return of 252 Venezuelans from CECOT, El Salvador's notorious mega-prison. Maduro cast himself as a protector, bringing his people home from what he called 'concentration camps,' with the regime launching an investigation into alleged abuses. For Maduro, the deal was a political win – and one delivered by his longtime adversary. But this wasn't a one-off victory. Despite Trump's bombastic rhetoric, the US president's policies – from hardline migration measures, deportation deals and even sanctions – have paradoxically given Maduro room to manoeuvre. They've breathed fresh political oxygen into a regime many thought was on the brink, helping him survive. In the lead-up to the Venezuelan presidential election on July 28 2024, Maduro faced his toughest challenge yet. After years of economic crisis and corruption, the country was desperate for change. Jubilant crowds packed opposition rallies across Venezuela, cheering María Corina Machado and her stand-in, Edmundo González, after the regime banned her from running. But hours after polls closed, the regime-controlled electoral council declared Maduro the winner — without releasing results. Opposition tallies from voting machines, later verified by independent experts, suggested González had won by a landslide. Although bruised by an election defeat – one he's never admitted – Maduro remained unbroken. He cracked down on protesters, journalists, politicians – seemingly anyone questioning his alleged 'win.' Masked agents entered homes or snatched people from the streets, accusing them of conspiracy and terrorism. When Donald Trump won the 2024 US presidential election in November, many Venezuelans hoped for renewed pressure on Maduro to accelerate regime change. Trump's first term had seen harsh sanctions and an antagonistic relationship, with the men sometimes trading insults. Trump called Maduro a 'Cuban puppet,' while Maduro dubbed Trump a 'racist cowboy.' Instead of adding salt to Maduro's electoral wounds, Trump's early policies have paradoxically helped soothe them. Over the past decade, around eight million Venezuelans have fled their country, driven largely by economic collapse. By the time Trump took office in 2025 there were 600,000 Venezuelans in the country – many who had risked crossing the treacherous Darien Gap gap jungle to get there – but some segments of the US population demanded stronger measures against incoming migrants. Trump pledged to deliver voters exactly what they wanted. Cracking down on the influx of Venezuelans was key to his strategy. He ramped up immigration enforcement, conducting raids that targeted undocumented Venezuelans in major US cities — and often citing efforts to dismantle the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He also announced plans to roll back Joe Biden-era protection, Temporary Protected Status (TPS,) which has given some Venezuelans the right to live and work temporarily in the country. Maduro has seized on Trump's crackdown and dealmaking to boost his regime. He's staged glossy propaganda around a visit to Venezuela by US envoy Richard Grenell and elaborate homecomings from those deported from the US – including the well-known case of a two-year-old girl separated from her parents at the US-Mexico border, later reunited with her mother at the presidential palace. These carefully-orchestrated displays feed into Maduro's long-standing effort to present himself as the nation's protector. So much so that there's even an action figure and cartoon based on him – 'Super Bigote'– a mustachioed superhero who battles imperial enemies. Maduro has been careful not to give up too many bargaining chips. While Maduro has just released ten Americans in the latest prisoner swap, as well as a reported 80 Venezuelans, within days, 20 new arrests of opposition figures were reported. More than 900 political prisoners remain behind bars. Human rights groups call it a 'revolving-door policy.' Maduro may have handed over a few playing pieces, but he's already replacing them. It hasn't all been plain sailing since Trump's return. The White House has recognised Edmundo González's 2024 victory and sees Maduro's rule as illegitimate. But the biggest blow – economically and symbolically – came when Trump reverted to his first-term favourite: sanctions. As well as individual sanctions against some regime members, by pulling Chevron's Venezuela license and imposing a 25 per cent tariff on imports from countries buying Venezuelan oil, Trump tightened the economic noose again. Yet in a twist, in the last few days it was reported that the US will allowed Chevron to resume limited operations, giving Maduro yet another lifeline. While some opposition figures and economists believe that sanctions are necessary to hasten Maduro's downfall, there are others who argue they have historically hit ordinary people harder than the regime. This has given him fresh ammunition for Maduro to bash the opposition with, portraying them as traitors to the nation for largely supporting sanctions. María Corina Machado recently called Trump 'an ally of democracy' and of the Venezuelan people. 'The measures he has recently taken, including increased sanctions, demonstrate this,' she said. While Maduro courts diplomacy with one hand and deploys revolutionary rhetoric with the other, the opposition lacks that luxury. It can't criticise Trump too harshly without risking key support, leaving it open to accusations of cosiness with the US administration, who many blame for the suffering of Venezuelans abroad. With Trump back on the scene, the road ahead remains anything but predictable. And while Maduro isn't thriving – he is surviving. Trump, his policies and his love of dealmaking are helping him do just that.
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Daily Record
Roofer broke 94-year-old woman's neck after ploughing Transit van into her car
Jamie Forrester crashed his Ford Transit head on to another car on the opposing carriageway in May 2022. A 94-year-old woman was left with broken neck and ribs after a self-employed roofer smashed his work van into the front of a car she was travelling in. Jamie Forrester, 32, had cannabis in his system when he ploughed his Ford Transit into the Volkswagen Tiguan which was on the opposite side of Lochlibo Road in Uplawmoor, on May 9, 2022. The van's back tyres were under-inflated and, on the day of the horror smash, it was raining and the road surface was wet. Procurator fiscal depute Dana Barclay yesterday told Paisley Sheriff Court: 'Around 2.10pm, Mr Wallace, aged 67 at the time, and Ms Wallace, now deceased, aged 94 at the time, was travelling west on Lochlibo Road near to Neilston Road. 'Mr Wallace was driving his Volkswagen Tiguan with his mother, Ms Wallace as the front passenger. At the same time, the accused was driving his white Ford Transit east on Lochlibo Road. 'As the accused crossed over the railway bridge, which is on a sharp right over a hillcrest onto a left turn, he lost control of the vehicle, crossing onto the opposite side of the road and head on into Mr Wallace's vehicle. 'Emergency services were contacted by people who came across the two crashed vehicles.' Ms Wallace was trapped within the vehicle and had suffered serious injuries. Forrester passed a roadside breath test but tested positive for cannabis and was arrested. Crash investigation officers attended the scene. Ms Barclay added: 'The accused was taken to Govan police office were he provided a specimen of blood for analysis. The blood results showed there was 5.4mg of delta-9tetrahdrocannabinol in the accused's system which is over the 2mg limit.' The court heard Forrester's work van was examined with both back tyres under-inflated meaning it was 'more likely for the tyre rubber to twist and not fully grip the road surface'. A collision investigation report said the collision occurred due to 'one or a combination of factors'. They were Forrester not maintaining his vehicle, allowing the rear tyre pressures to fall below the recommended values; low pressure in the rear tyres resulting in them being less efficient at maintaining adhesion with the road surface in wet conditions; and he was above the legal limit for cannabis. Ms Barclay explained the woman sustained broken bones to her neck and her ribs and was admitted to hospital for a number of weeks due to her age and frailty. She died some months after the incident in hospital. The male driver sustained whiplash, a burn to his head and bruises to his arm. He was treated at A&E and released that day. Defence agent Urfan Dar asked for reports and Forrester's bail to be continued. Mr Dar said his client knew the road and had been up since 6am to carry out sheeting and cladding work before calling it a day at lunchtime due to rain. He added: 'There is no suggestion of his impairment. He accepts he had a cannabis joint the night before.' The court heard Forrester's back tyres were around 18 PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) and 23 PSI, compared to the front tyres which were at 30 PSI. Sheriff Brian Mohan blasted: 'He drove dangerously here and he's had three years to admit it. 'This was a 94-year-old person who was seriously injured, he drove dangerously, had cannabis in his system and got up at 6am and done a day's work before this happened. 'Broken bones to the neck and ribs can't have helped at the age of 94.' Sentence was adjourned until next month for reports. Forrester, of Cedar Drive in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, had bail continued meantime.
