New safety features worth £250k installed at M1 service stations
Watford Gap Services opened in 1959 and became a meeting place for musicians in the 1960s, including The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.The 50th anniversary of the site inspired a musical in 2009.Northampton Services, formerly known as Rothersthorpe, was originally due to be the UK's first service station, but did not open until 1979.
A Crimestoppers campaign has been launched to publicise information via leaflets and display boards on how to secure vehicles and prevent them being targeted by criminals.The PFCC's office applied for the funding from the government's Safer Streets scheme.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone said: "This will make the venues more secure and help to deter criminal behaviour."This will then free up our police officers to spend more time being visible and accessible in their local communities."Darrell Wade, from Roadchef, said: "These upgrades are vital in creating safer, more secure environments for drivers."
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PR, Gregor puts their success down to a 'combination of their prolific output with its ceaseless ability to hypnotise toddlers'. He adds: 'Also, a less extreme version of the Royal Family 's 'never complain, never explain' approach. Instead of saying nothing, they say the bare minimum and carry on as if nothing happened. 'You rarely see naval-gazing and the consistency and popularity of their work keeps generations of kids coming back for more.' While there aren't many skeletons to rattle in The Wiggle cupboards, behind their happy faces and signature finger point, members have been dogged by setbacks. Controversies include the Hot Potato incident two years ago, when a council in Western Australia played their famous song on loop to deter anti-social behaviour at a homeless shelter. The Wiggles complained, saying their music should only be used to 'spread joy and happiness' but the damage was done. But the fact De Niro was happy to be pictured with The Wiggles is a massive endorsement. 'Robert De Niro seems increasingly like the kind of guy who considers how his every public appearance and utterance might affect his legacy, so it's a pretty major stamp of approval that he's happy to be publicly associated with the Wiggles. Fundamentally they are free of reputation risk,' says Gregor. 'The irony is that the Wiggles have had a few controversies which are fairly stereotypical of long-running bands – walkouts, inter-band marriages and divorces; allegations that a song is racially insensitive, accusations of going 'woke.' They've been ruthlessly parodied on 30 Rock and, of course, the Hot Potato incident was unpleasant.' For members of The Wiggles, the squeaky clean expectations can be tricky. 'During my time in The Wiggles, I was out at a gig one night and I was having a drink, and the next day a newspaper reported: 'The Wiggles member caught having a beer', and that was a shock. I am an adult!' says Murray. And doing 400 to 500 shows a year - cramming up to three gigs into a single day - took its toll on the original members, with Jeff, Murray and Greg retiring for health reasons in 2012. A mystery illness forced Greg to leave in 2006. He was replaced by Sam Morans, but came back in 2012. Then he suffered a heart attack on stage during a 2020 reunion show. That same year, Murray had open heart surgery. Revealing his own struggles, Anthony released a memoir Out Of The Blue last year, detailing the years of mental and physical health problems he's suffered, including depression, undiagnosed ADHD and chronic pain. Yet Field created a second generation of Wiggles with Simon Pryce (Red Wiggle), Lachlan Gillespie (Purple Wiggle) and the first female, Emma Watkins (Yellow Wiggle). 'We might be responsible for their first experience of music,' says Emma, speaking about their responsibility to their tiny fans Sadly, trouble soon upended their paradise, as shortly after Yellow Wiggle Emma married Purple Wiggle Lachie, they divorced and she left the group not long after. Another shake-up in 2021 saw 15-year-old Tsehay Hawkins becoming Yellow Wiggle. Now 62, Anthony is the only remaining original Wiggle, in a group of eight performers - Tsehay, Lachlan, and Simon, as well as Caterina Mete, Lucia Field, Simon Pryce, Evie Ferris, John Pearce - who are as gender-diverse and racially-diverse as their millions of fans. Costumed characters, played by the more junior Wiggles, include Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, Wags the Dog, and Captain Feathersword. While some of the newer members say their estimated £72,000 earnings are a fraction of the big bucks of the original members, they have given the group a bigger presence on social media, where the Tree of Wisdom (played by Anthony's nephew, Dominic Field) regularly goes viral on TikTok, with his exuberant dance moves. And, in recent years, they've been noticing something new – a generational crossover, as kids grow up, but remain fans. Dorothy the Dinosaur is also now a DJ, who remixes the original Wiggles classics for the older audience. And they've been getting down with the cool kids - covering songs by Fatboy Slim, White Stripes and Tame Impala's Elephant. 'We're bringing back happy memories,' says Anthony. 'And it's a real privilege to do that.' Altogether now, kids, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle! Classic kids TV groups down the years: The Monkees, 1960s – Four cute surfer boys Davy Jones, Mickey Donlenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith running around in zany plots to brilliant pop tracks, in a sitcom that captured the spirit of the era. The Banana Splits, 1970s – Four costumed animal characters who'd perform songs and comedy skits in a psychedelic world, was just as weird and fun as it sounds. The makers had clearly been on the wacky baccy. Rainbow, 1980s – Presenter Geoffrey and his camp puppets Zippy, George and Bungle and hippy singers Rod, Jane and Freddy took us 'Up above the streets and houses, Rainbow climbing high' every week. I still miss them. Teletubbies, 1990s – Some called it the most disturbing children's show on TV – but even now millions of babies are glued to repeats of these four tubby aliens, Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa-laa, and Po, with coat hangers on their heads living on a mini golf course. Zingzillas, 2000s – Puppet monkey band Zak, Tang, Panzee and Drum lived on a tropical island and made real music together and introduced tots to rock, soul, jazz and samba styles – along with some dodgy titles like Do You Didgeridoo?
