
A teenage girl dies after being pulled from the sea
Edie Smart, from the Monkseaton area, was rescued from the water near the south end of Whitley Bay beach in North Tyneside shortly before 5pm on Thursday, Northumbria Police said.
She was taken to hospital, where she died on Monday.
"This is an extremely tragic incident, and our deepest condolences go to Edie's family and friends," Northumbria Police said.
"Our specially trained officers will continue to provide them with the support they need at this time.
"We ask that their privacy be respected as they begin to come to terms with the loss of their loved one."
RNLI lifeguards and the Tynemouth RNLI lifeboat crew responded to the emergency at Whitley Bay Beach.
The RNLI said in a statement: "We would like to offer our heartfelt thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of the young girl who tragically lost her life during an incident on Whitley Bay beach.'
"This is a deeply upsetting incident, and our focus remains on supporting the agencies involved. We would respectfully ask that people avoid speculation while the circumstances are fully understood," it added.

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The Independent
a minute ago
- The Independent
Men charged in connection with alleged rape of 12-year-old
Two men have been charged in connection with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was arrested on 26 July and charged the next day with rape, Warwickshire Police said. He appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Monday and has been remanded in custody. Mohammad Kabir, 23, was arrested in Nuneaton on Thursday, the force said. He was charged with kidnap, strangulation, and aiding and abetting rape of a girl under 13. He appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Saturday and has also been remanded in custody. Both men will next appear at Warwick Crown Court on 26 August. Officers are appealing to anyone who was in the Cheveral Street area between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on 22 July and may have seen anything of interest to come forward. People can give information by calling 101 and quoting incident number 418 of 22 July. Warwickshire Police did not deny a Mail on Sunday report which said both Mulakhil and Kabir are asylum seekers. In a statement, the force said that once someone is charged with an offence, it follows national guidance, which 'does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status'. The force said: 'Our neighbourhood officers work every day with local community partners. 'When something significant happens, we brief these partners and local elected officials on the circumstances of the crime, the investigation, the work being undertaken to arrest those responsible and how local people and partners can help a concerned community. 'Where relevant, sensitive information around locations, details of the crime and policing activity to catch offenders can be shared, with a warning that this is sensitive or confidential information and disclosure by those being briefed could affect future court hearings. 'We work to hold offenders to account and will always do everything in our power to present a robust case to the courts and protect the integrity of court proceedings.'


Daily Mail
a minute ago
- Daily Mail
'Monster' who abused fiancée Kiena Dawes before she took her own life is arrested behind bars alongside mother and new lover on suspicion they 'coached him to give evidence'
A controlling 'monster' locked up for abusing his fiancée before she took her own life and blamed him 'from beyond the grave' was arrested alongside his mother and new girlfriend, the Daily Mail can reveal. Ryan Wellings, 31, was jailed for six-and-a-half years in January after he was convicted of subjecting new mother Kiena Dawes, 23, to years of sickening domestic abuse and brutal violence. Ms Dawes took her own life on July 22 2022 and wrote in her suicide note that she was 'murdered', adding: 'Ryan Wellings killed me... He ruined every bit of strength I had left. I didn't deserve it. I didn't ask for it.' In a case which sparked nationwide debate, Wellings became the first defendant in England to face trial for the unlawful killing of his partner after her suicide following domestic violence. Wellings, a landscape gardener from Bispham, Lancashire, was convicted of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour - but cleared of manslaughter. In a final insult to Ms Dawes and her family, the unrepentant abuser blew a kiss to his new girlfriend, Emma Croft, as the verdict was read out. The Daily Mail can reveal that Wellings, his mother Lisa Green, and Ms Croft were all arrested for allegedly perverting the course of justice. Ms Green and Ms Croft were released under investigation, while Wellings was hauled back behind bars while inquiries continue. The trial at Preston Crown Court heard how 28-year-old Ms Croft, from Blackpool, and 52-year-old Ms Green, from Bispham, had allegedly been 'coaching' Wellings to give evidence. Wellings made a series of 'calls' to the pair who had both attended the trial to support him from the public gallery. The abuser, while being held at HMP Preston, was entitled to speak to family and friends but was not legally permitted to discuss his case with them while giving evidence. But the prosecution said it was made aware of calls made where evidence was allegedly being discussed between them. Prosecutor Paul Greaney KC told the court in January: 'He has repeatedly discussed the content and nature of the evidence with Emma Croft and Lisa Green, during giving evidence and over the Christmas period. 'The assessment of the prosecution is that the defendant has misconducted himself, as has Lisa Green and Emma Croft. 'What has occurred here is effectively a scheme to coach the defendant in the evidence he's giving. 'There's going to be an investigation into this by the police because, on the face of it, there's been a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.' A spokesman for Lancashire Police has now confirmed to the Daily Mail: 'A 28-year-old woman from Blackpool, a 52-year-old woman from Bispham and a 31-year-old man of no fixed address were arrested on suspicion of committing an act / series of acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice. 'The women have been released under investigation while enquiries continue and the man has been released back into the custody of the prison service while enquiries continue.' The date of their arrests were not disclosed by police. We revealed in February how Wellings had proposed to Ms Croft in a letter he left with Ms Green before the jury's verdict. Following the trial, Ms Croft agreed to 'step down' from her job at a beauty salon in Blackpool after the owner found the controversy surrounding her alleged involvement in the case was harming business. But she stunned friends by telling them she will 'stick by' Wellings and has accepted his 'proposal', vowing to wait for him until his release. One friend told the Daily Mail: 'She keeps telling everyone they don't really know the real Ryan, but she's in complete denial. 'The idea that she would even consider walking down the aisle with someone like him, having heard what was said in court, is quite incredible.' Another former friend of Ms Croft's said that she was 'completely in thrall' to Wellings and 'in denial' about the nature of his personality. 'She's got this fairytale view of him, but it's caused so much bad feeling in Blackpool,' said the friend. 'The owner of the salon where she worked has had enough of the bad publicity and threatening messages, so she asked Emma to step down and she agreed.' In a Facebook post, The Powder Room salon announced in February: 'Please Read. In regards to recent media coverage, we would like to inform our client that Emma Croft no longer works at The Powder Room. 'We ask that others are kind and respectful towards all staff who work hard to make our salon an inviting place and have nothing to do with the situation that has arisen. 'Police are aware of recent media comments and are staying in close contact with the owners of the salon. Thank you.' Daily Mail approached Wellings's mother Ms Green but she denied that her son was engaged to Ms Croft in February. The trial heard how Wellings repeatedly lashed out at Ms Dawes, beating her while she was pregnant with his child, as well as threatening to drown her in a bath, drill her teeth and 'make her look like Katie Piper' by dousing her with acid. He also urged Ms Dawes to kill herself, boasted that 'hitting you is like hitting a man' and, on one occasion, forced her head underwater in a bath and said: 'Say goodbye to your baby'. In one incident just 11 days before Ms Dawes's death, on July 11 2022, he 'launched' her into a radiator with such force it broke the appliance off the wall, then slammed a door in her face - knocking her out and leaving her with blood pouring from her head. She called police at least five times reporting domestic problems with Wellings. While she frequently downplayed her abuse to officers - due to threats from her partner - she did make a statement about the assault on July 11. He was arrested for assault but bailed on condition he did not contact her, which he did. The hairdresser left her nine-month-old daughter with a friend alongside a note before taking her own life on railway tracks, near Garstang, Lancashire, on July 22 2022. The note, found on her phone, said: 'The end. I fought hard, I fought long. I went through pain no one could imagine. 'I was murdered. Ryan Wellings killed me. He ruined every bit of strength I had left. I didn't deserve it. 'I hope my life saves another by police services acting faster. Don't let bullies live free.' Addressing her daughter, she wrote: 'I'm sorry I let you go... I'm so sorry I had to go. 'The world turned their back on me. I was strong. I had dreams. I had a future at one point. That was taken away from me.'


Telegraph
a minute ago
- Telegraph
Vandalising Wes Streeting's office is not protest, it is violent criminal intimidation
It is a sight that is becoming more common as social justice warriors abandon old-fashioned ideas of legal protest: a prominent MP turns up for work at his constituency office only to find the windows smashed and offensive graffiti painted across the front of the building. The clean-up costs will be met by the tax-payer but the fear and intimidation that the attack was intended to generate will be felt most keenly by vulnerable staff members working in Wes Streeting's Ilford North headquarters, and even by the health secretary's constituents. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Trans Bash Back, a 'trans-led direct action project'. Sharing an image of the front of the office shortly after it had been vandalised, they wrote on social media: 'Don't want action? Don't kill kids.' That sinister threat was even echoed by a Scottish Green candidate standing at next year's Holyrood elections. Iris Duane took to Twitter in the aftermath of the attack to write: 'If you don't want 'child killer' sprayed onto your office, have you considered not killing children?' The accusation of infanticide comes from Streeting's acceptance of the recommendations of the extensive and authoritative Cass review of health care for adolescents questioning their gender identity, which led to a ban on new patients under 18 being prescribed puberty blockers. It's natural that people who feel strongly about this issue or the other two topics in the holy trinity of social justice causes – Palestine and climate change – should want to vent their fury at politicians who disagree with them. But the modern era has spawned a new type of activist who sees flagrant breaches of the law, including criminal damage, as an entirely legitimate form of protest. This seems to be based on a belief that their cause is special, even uniquely virtuous, and that because the injustice felt by the protesters when they don't get their own way is felt so intensely, the range of 'remedies' open to them is broadened beyond the limits of the law. Even when protesters are prosecuted and jailed, there is outrage from these same groups who seem to believe that violence, provided it is perpetrated for the 'right' cause, must be exempt from all consequences. Even our national broadcaster is partly culpable for encouraging, by its inaction, such dangerous exceptionalism. The attack on Streeting's office is but the latest incident by activists taking out their frustrations and sense of entitlement on the constituency bases of MPs who refuse to vote the way they demand. In November 2023, pro-Palestinian activists daubed Labour MP Jo Stevens's Cardiff office with red paint after she abstained on a parliamentary vote on Gaza. A year earlier former Tory MP Peter Bone's constituency office in Wellingborough was similarly vandalised, apparently in protest at recent sleaze allegations against his party. And earlier this year, the Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley, was forced to abandon her constituency office after it was targeted three times in as many weeks. These are all egregious attacks on our democratic process and democratic norms. And each of them was adequately covered on the BBC News website. But as of today, no word on the latest attack on Streeting's office has been reported by the BBC. Which is deeply odd, since the corporation even has a special designated section of its vast website devoted to trans issues, replete with preferred pronouns and tales of 'stunning and brave' gender transitions. And yet, when the darker side of trans activism is revealed in all its shoddy and unpleasant details, when public sector employees live in fear that the violence perpetrated on buildings will be targeted at them next, the BBC suddenly has nothing to say, and will not even report the facts. In an era where two MPs in the last decade have been murdered by violent extremists, the need to protect our elected representatives – and their staff – from all forms of violence and intimidation has never been more urgent. But such protection is not nearly enough. The media must be made to understand that for all the fears of a growth in the threat of the political 'far Right', fascism comes from both sides of the political spectrum, and so does the accompanying violence. Forcing others, by violence or intimidation, to parrot your own political opinions is a fundamental aspect of fascism. Those who cross the line separating legal from illegal protest demean the democratic process because they have demonstrated that they themselves believe it no longer has any value for them. Only by exposing every incident of vandalism, wanton damage, threatening behaviour or literal violence, whatever the motives of the perpetrators, can the foundations of civilisation be prevented from crumbling.