'We could've died on Carlton Road, now we want change'
Mr Chaplin said he has been left traumatised by the incident and has frequent nightmares.Mrs Chaplin said she has had to give up her driving licence because of the brain damage she suffered in the crash."It's just horrible, I've got no recollection of the accident, but living the aftermath every day it just feels like we're being punished all the time," she said."Nothing's been resolved for us and every time we hear of [another crash] my fear is that somebody else might not be as lucky, and die."The pair attended a meeting of residents last week to demand action from the local authorities and the police force.Attendees spoke in favour of potential changes including the installation of speed cameras, a lower speed limit overall, and improvements to the Porchester Road junction.
Katie Sarah Keating, who organised the meeting, said she has "personally witnessed and heard" many of the crashes on the road."The problem is we know there's a lot of speeding drivers that have evaded prosecution because there isn't the evidence to prosecute them," she saidShe has been campaigning to get improvements for two years, but laments that potential solutions are held up by their costs."Nothing seems to be happening because no-one's got any money," Ms Keating said."A fix is not going to happen overnight, I'm not an idiot, but if we'd started doing something two years ago, when I was banging the drum, we'd already be a little bit further to sorting it out."
City councillor David Mellen, whose ward covers part of Carlton Road, said he would work to see what was financially possible."We've recently had money for Mansfield Road and other roads in the city, there might be more coming out and when that happens I want to lobby for my ward," he said.However, he said the road was not statistically the most dangerous in the city so resources may need to be prioritised elsewhere.
Police 'thin on the ground'
County councillor Jim Vernon, whose ward covers a different part of the road, said there was a lot of "justifiable anger" from residents."At [the county council], this whole team has been working hard on issues around improving roads and highways issues that fall within the county," Mr Vernon said."[I've got] permission to support the organisers to manage an effective campaign, and advise and feedback any findings for consideration where [we] have responsibility."Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Nottingham Police at the meeting acknowledged that safety data could under-report crashes, because the force only records those in which people are injured.They advised residents to get involved in the community speed watch."I've been to a lot of RTCs on that road, it is a massive issue, and we'd encourage you to keep reporting things to us," the spokesperson said."We are very thin on the ground, and we'll get out if we can, but the community speed watch is probably the way forward."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
41 minutes ago
- BBC News
Newspaper headlines: 'PM to press Macron' and 'mushroom murders' trial
'PM to press Macron' and 'mushroom murders' trial 6 minutes ago Share Save Share Save BBC Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the UK is splashed across several of the front pages, with the French president due to arrive on Tuesday. The Times reports that Sir Keir Starmer will urge Macron to agree a "one in, one out" migrant returns deal, despite warnings that announcing it before it is ready will lead to a surge in crossings. Also featured is a poignant picture of the girls who died or are missing after floods in Texas swept through their summer camp. Macron's visit also leads the Daily Telegraph, with the paper reporting what King Charles III will tell Macron when the French president visits. There are "no borders" between us, the King will say, in a plea for co-operation as Sir Keir fights to save a migrant returns deal. The main image shows the moment a police officer is alleged to have been assaulted as CCTV footage of the incident at Manchester Airport was played to jurors. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, are said to have struck out after police were called to an incident at the Starbucks cafe in Terminal 2 arrivals on 23 July last year. Both men, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, deny the allegations. "Hand back out £771 million, Mr Macron ... s'il vous plait," says the Daily Mail ahead of the French president's visit. The paper says Macron will "face questions over his country's failure to make a dent in illegal Channel crossings - despite being handed more than three quarters of a billion pounds of British taxpayers money". Also splashed across the front page is the face of Erin Patterson, the Australian woman who was found guilty of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill another by serving wild mushrooms at a lunch. The Sun leads with the latest development in the Jeffrey Epstein case. The paper reports that a leaked memo reveals the FBI is closing its investigation into Prince Andrew over his links to Epstein, meaning Andrew is free to travel abroad without fearing arrest. Epstein died in a New York prison cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Prince Andrew has always denied any misconduct. The closure of the inquiry into Prince Andrew also leads the Daily Mirror, with a "furious victim" of the late financier saying they have been "silenced all over again". The US Department of Justice and FBI have concluded that sex offender Epstein did not have a so-called client list that could implicate high-profile associates, and that he did take his own life - contradicting long-held conspiracy theories about the infamous case. The Guardian reports that bosses in the UK will be banned from using non-disclosure agreements to silence employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination in the workplace if changes to the government's overhaul of workers' rights are approved. An amendment to the Employment Rights Bill, which is expected to become law later this year, will void any confidentiality agreements seeking to prevent workers from speaking about allegations of harassment or discrimination. Labour's planning legislation has been branded "hypocrisy on stilts", the Daily Express reports, with ministers pushing to build 1.5 million new homes - despite previously opposing developments in their own constituencies. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and housing minister Matthew Pennycook are leading the push for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which has sparked a widespread backlash for threatening protected habitats and wildlife. The pair are among half a dozen Labour MPs who have opposed similar developments in the past. Donald Trump's tariffs lead the Financial Times, with the US president extending his deadline for "reciprocal" levies. The US announced a new 25% tax on products entering the country from South Korea and Japan, which will come into force when the latest reprieve ends on 1 August. Trump began sharing a batch of letters to leaders of countries around the world outlining his tariff plans. The paper's main image centres on Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan and Sir Keir laying wreaths at the 7 July Memorial on the 20th anniversary of the London bombings. The i Paper reports that the Labour government's revised welfare bill, which came after a backbench rebellion in the Commons, will lift 50,000 children and 50,000 adults out of relative poverty. Before the government's climbdown last week, it was predicted that the bill would put 250,000 people into poverty. The guilty verdict of Erin Patterson in Australia leads the Metro's front page. It reports that the ex-husband of the "mushroom murderer" says she tried to poison him at least four times before the deadly dinner that killed his parents and aunt.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Drones are sending 'overwhelming amounts' of drugs into prisons - and could help inmates escape, report warns
Sophisticated drones sending "overwhelming amounts" of drugs and weapons into prisons represent a threat to national security, according to an annual inspection report by the prisons watchdog. HMP chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has warned criminal gangs are targeting jails and making huge profits selling contraband to a "vulnerable and bored" prison population. The watchdog boss reiterated his concerns about drones making regular deliveries to two Category A jails, HMP Long Lartin and HMP Manchester, which hold "the most dangerous men in the country", including terrorists. 2:28 Mr Taylor said "the police and prison service have in effect ceded the airspace" above these two high-security prisons, which he said was compromising the "safety of staff, prisoners, and ultimately that of the public". "The possibility now whereby we're seeing packages of up to 10kg brought in by serious organised crime means that in some prisons there is now a menu of drugs available," he said. "Anything from steroids to cannabis, to things like spice and cocaine." "Drone technology is moving fast... there is a level of risk that's posed by drones that I think is different from what we've seen in the past," warned the chief inspector - who also said there's a "theoretical risk" that a prisoner could escape by being carried out of a jail by a drone. He urged the prison service to "get a grip" of the issue, stating: "We'd like to see the government, security services, coming together, using technology, using intelligence, so that this risk doesn't materialise." The report makes clear that physical security - such as netting, windows and CCTV - is "inadequate" in some jails, including Manchester, with "inexperienced staff" being "manipulated". Mr Taylor said there are "basic" measures which could help prevent the use of drones, such as mowing the lawn, "so we don't get packages disguised as things like astro turf". Responding to the report, the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) said: "The ready access to drugs is deeply worrying and is undermining efforts to create places of rehabilitation." Mr Taylor's report found that overcrowding continues to be what he described as a "major issue", with increasing levels of violence against staff and between prisoners, combined with a lack of purposeful activity. Some 20% of adult men responding to prisoner surveys said they felt unsafe at the time of the inspection, increasing to 30% in the high security estate. Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "This report is a checklist for all the reasons the government must prioritise reducing prison numbers, urgently. "Sentencing reform is essential, and sensible steps to reduce the prison population would save lives." 0:51 The report comes after the government pledged to accept most of the recommendations proposed in the independent review of sentencing policy, with the aim of freeing up around 9,500 spaces. Those measures won't come into effect until spring 2026. Prisons Minister Lord Timpson said Mr Taylor's findings show "the scale of the crisis" the government "inherited", with "prisons dangerously full, rife with drugs and violence". He said: "After just 500 prison places added in 14 years, we're building 14,000 extra - with 2,400 already delivered - and reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Drugs smuggled into prisons 'destabilising' them, watchdog says
An overwhelming amount of drugs being smuggled into prisons in England and Wales is "destabilising" the system and hindering efforts to stop re-offending, a watchdog has are being targeted by criminal gangs using drones to fly in contraband to sell to bored inmates being kept in cramped conditions, according to the chief inspector of prisons' annual report."This meant in many jails, there were seemingly uncontrolled levels of criminality that hard-pressed and often inexperienced staff were unable to contain," Charlie Taylor Minister Lord Timpson said the report showed the "scale of the crisis we inherited" and that the government was working to end the "chaos". The damning report published on Tuesday found overcrowding and staffing shortages were contributing to a lack of purposeful activities for prisoners to do that would aid their rehabilitation, with many turning to drugs to keep themselves staff and prisoners have been saying for several years that far too little is being done to keep drugs out of prisons.A survey of 5,431 prisoners found 39% said it was easy to acquire drugs, while 30% of random drug tests came back positive. In one prison, HMP Hindley, this rate was almost double. An inspection of HMP Bedford found random drug testing had not been conducted for 12 months despite drugs being a "significant threat to safety".Drugs are smuggled into prisons by visitors or staff, thrown over fences or flown in using inmate serving time for a violent offence told the BBC that getting drugs inside was "super easy".Speaking from his cell on an illegal phone, he said: "If you want spice [synthetic cannabis] or weed or something stronger, you can get it in a jiffy. Everyone inside knows who's got some. You can smell it across the wings. "The boredom is too much and sometimes you just want something to take your mind off it so you'll get high."The report said drones were being used to make regular deliveries to HMP Manchester and Long Lartin - which hold "some of the most dangerous men in the country, including terrorists and organised crime bosses".It said that physical security measures were inadequate, while at HMP Manchester "inexperienced staff were being manipulated or simply ignored by prisoners".Mr Taylor said the failure to tackle these issues presented a threat to national security."The challenge for the prison service must be to work in conjunction with the police and security services to manage prisoners associated with organised crime," Mr Taylor said."This is a threat that needs to be taken seriously at the highest levels of government." The report also found: Prisoners were spending too long locked in cells, with limited opportunities to spend time in fresh air or take part in recreational activitiesPrisoners in full-time work or education missed out on other activitiesPrisoners released early to ease overcrowding had placed a "huge burden on already-overstretched" probation unitsThe population is growing "faster than new [prison] spaces can be made available"Lord Timpson said the report highlighted the "unacceptable pressures faced by our hardworking staff".Addressing the issue of overcrowding, he said the government was building 14,000 extra places, with 2,400 already delivered, and "reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again". He added that the government had pledged £40m to improve prison security, including enhanced CCTV, new windows and floodlighting. The Prison Service is also employing x-ray body scanners and detection dogs to combat government hopes reforms to sentencing will allow more prisoners to be released early, freeing up prison drugs in prison are nothing new, and as long as there is a demand, new ways are likely to be created to bring them drug dealers and addicts doing time, and a constant appetite to make cash, drugs are something that will continue to be an irresistible temptation to those inside.
