Latest news with #AphraBrandreth
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Cheshire farmer backs change to policing rural dog attacks
A farmer whose animals have been attacked by dogs twice said he hoped a change in the law would help bring more offenders to justice. Phil Latham, from Cheshire, said he collected DNA and video footage after one attack but was told by the police it could not be South and Eddisbury MP Aphra Brandreth's bill would give police more powers to use such evidence and extend the offence of livestock worrying to cover animals such as Latham said the impact of dog attacks was "not just the money, but the heartache". Brandreth told BBC Politics North West the bill was about "responsible dog ownership", and it had been prompted by her meeting Mr Latham last Conservative MP's bill, the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill, will reach the next stage of the process in Parliament on will add to police powers around the seizure of dogs and collection of evidence from both dogs and livestock, and increase the maximum penalty from £1,000 to an unlimited NFU said UK farm animals worth £1.8m were severely injured or killed in dog attacks last year. Mr Latham said the first attack at his farm in Chornley, near Nantwich, 18 out of 20 calves in a pen were severely injured. He said the second attack had two vets and three members of staff working for five hours to treat the animals."The first thing you want to do is look after your animals. It's what we try to do."We're trying to optimise the calf welfare because if they're happy they grow better, and we're happy."So when you find that they've been severely bitten, bits of skin hanging off or muscles detached, that is really distressing."He said he was "incredibly frustrated" to learn the evidence he had gathered after the second attack could not be used in a prosecution."Those tests are good enough to put people away for life, but they're not good enough - or weren't - to allow to determine whether a dog had attacked a calf or not."It's quite simply ridiculous," he said. Brandreth said: "Phil showed me photos of a horrific dog attack. It was really awful to see the damage that they had caused."I realised it was an opportunity for me to try and make a difference for farmers like Phil and also animal welfare because it's so vitally important."Ms Brandreth said the bill had been worked on with MPs across different parties and also Welsh MPs. Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.
ITV News
22-04-2025
- Health
- ITV News
Mum with terminal cancer calls for simplified system after 'wasting 14 months' applying for benefits
A mum with terminal bowel cancer who "wasted months of precious time" with her family applying for benefits is calling for the system to be simplified. Bells, 56, spent 14 months going through appeals for Personal Independent Payments (PIP) as she was unable to work during her cancer treatment. The mum-of-two claims during her 90-minute interview a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) medical assessor "did not know where her bowel was" before rejecting her application. She said: "I expected help because I have paid into the system all of my life. I've never lied. I've never cheated. I've never done anything wrong. "She asked me what my illness was and I said bowel cancer. She said 'which part of the body is that?' and I thought 'oh God.' They asked how far I can walk in the length of a double decker bus - it was ridiculous." Bells said with an uncertain future she wanted to spend precious time with family and friends, but was forced to waste months trying to navigate the complicated benefit paperwork "It took me three gos to go through the door. I chatted to the benefits girls at Maggie's and you get a huge form in the post", she said. With the help of cancer charity Maggie's and her local MP, Aphra Brandreth, Bells, from Chester, is calling for a special cancer benefit to simplify the process. The Conservative MP for Chester South and Eddisbury said: "I want to see the right people getting help. There is limited money - we know that - but it doesn't mean the system should be completely unfair." Bells said she was made to feel like she was cheating the system, and says simpler, bespoke benefits would make a world of difference to families like hers. She added: "The irony is if they gave us the support quicker - we would be back in the economy quicker. We would be off their books faster." A Department for Work and Pensions said: 'We support millions of people through our welfare system every year and it is a priority people receive the benefits they are entitled to as quickly as possible. 'We have hired more staff to respond to an increased volume of claims and have special rules in place so that people nearing the end of their life are guaranteed a fast-tracked PIP award. "On the rare occasion this does not happen, we will investigate to understand what went wrong.'
