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BBC News
02-05-2025
- BBC News
Essex Police commissioner's concern after ex-officer sex abuse
A police commissioner has said he will ask his chief constable whether the force is "doing enough" following the sentencing of a former Essex Ling, 39, was jailed for four years and six months after tricking girls into sending him explicit images by posing as a teenager on Snapchat and Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, Roger Hirst, said he would meet with Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington has said Ling "does not represent" the thousands of hard-working officers in the county. Ling, from Ipswich, admitted 13 sexual offences involving children and was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on force said it was told of allegations about offences that happened between March 2021 and February was sacked from the force following an accelerated misconduct hearing in December 2024. Mr Hirst said 143 people were rejected from roles at Essex Police last year following the vetting 2023, inspectors rated its vetting and counter-corruption measures as "good"."It is good to know that bar is being kept high and it is something I review with the chief constable on a regular basis," he told BBC Essex."We are looking at what the history is here, but frankly one case is too many."This is something that is really disgusting behaviour. I will now be sitting with the chief constable again asking are we doing enough? What more can we do?"Mr Hirst also revealed about 40% of the Essex force had been hired in the last five joined the force as a police constable in 2010 and later served in one of its operational support Hirst continued: "Public trust and confidence in policing is undermined by every single case that we get like this and it is a huge frustration to the overwhelming majority of police officers we have who go out and do a job and protect the public and keep them safe."I'm very pleased that he is gone but the question is how can we be sure that it won't happen again?"Mr Harrington has said tackling violence against women and girls is an "absolute priority" for the force."This is not something where women and girls are alone, we men have to stand up and make sure that this sort of behaviour is eradicated," added Mr Hirst. Mr Harrington said: "[Ling] does not represent the thousands of hardworking, professional, and dedicated officers, staff, and volunteers who work tirelessly each day to keep you safe."I know they are as disgusted at Ling's actions as the public will be." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
18-04-2025
- BBC News
Essex Police warns drivers after road deaths increase
A startling increase in fatal road collisions recorded in Essex has prompted police to issue a warning ahead of the Easter far this year, there have been 22 road deaths in the county, compared with 12 during the same time period in Pipe, the head of roads policing for Essex Police, said he had "never seen this level of trauma and death" in his 25 years at the said there had been an enormous increase in drug driving offences recorded this year - with 375 arrests made up until the end of March. "Drug driving is an enormous problem for society and policing," he told BBC Essex."I don't think people fully appreciate the legislation."The force was called to two fatal collisions on the A120 near Braintree on students died after their car collided with a building in Colchester on 1 February, and on the same day, a nine-year-old girl and her 16-year-old brother died after a crash in Basildon involving the e-scooter they were on. "There is no other part of public life where we would tolerate this level of death and injury."Essex Police wants to achieve zero road deaths over the course of a year by force has signed up to a month-long campaign called Operation Spotlight, coordinated by the National Police Chiefs' Council. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
06-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Braintree roadside litter-picker unearths pieces of history
A litter-picker has amassed a collection of historical finds including a magazine from 1950 and a political campaign poster from the turn of the "Chip" Thorogood, 63, spends his evenings and weekends filling up to 20 bin bags of rubbish from the embankments of busy roads in and around Braintree, said the amount of litter beside busy roads such as the A120 was "absolutely ridiculous".But while Braintree District Council said Mr Thorogood's actions were "commendable", it did not endorse unregulated litter-picking on major highways. The council has asked him to join its litter-picking group, Green Heart Champions, on several occasions, but he said he refused to be "limited" by their health and safety a result, the authority stopped providing him with plastic bags."I love what [Green Heart Champions] are doing, but the rubbish I see is on the sides of the roads and the embankments," Mr Thorogood told BBC Essex."They're dangerous areas, I know they are, but they're just not getting done."Among the rubbish he has made some interesting finds.A Save the Pound poster – from former Conservative leader William Hague's doomed general election campaign in 2001 – was unearthed next to Coggeshall Road, and a Meccano magazine from 1950 was found on the A120 has also found a 1990s cassette tape and an old group Thorogood used to collect rubbish several years ago and has been inspired to litter-pick again in the past year since the birth of his granddaughter."I don't want her growing up in a world with all this litter," he said. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Hughes wants another 'big fight' after world title loss
Former world champion Nina Hughes has confirmed she wants to carry on fighting despite failing in her bid to regain the WBA bantamweight 42-year-old's corner threw in the towel in the seventh round of her fight against Cherneka Johnson in Sydney last had suffered a broken nose earlier in the fight and promoter Eddie Hearn afterwards said it "could be the end of the road for her"."I still believe I've got one or two fights left in me. I'm going to keep training and if the opportunity comes for a big fight this year, I'll take it," she told BBC Essex."The question goes round in your head all the time, should I (retire), shouldn't I, and I'm in that position where if a big fight comes, I'll take it, if it doesn't, that's the end, it obviously wasn't meant to be - but I'm still open this year to a big fight." Hughes, from Billericay in Essex, won the title in 2022 in only her fifth professional bout, having first taken up the sport at the age of she lost it in controversial fashion in Perth in May last year when she was initially announced as the winner on points, only for the ring announcer to correct himself and name Johnson as champion by a majority points again had to travel to Australia for the re-match, having been named as mandatory challenger by the governing body, but her hopes of victory were undermined by the nose injury, suffered in the second round."I took a big headbutt in the second round and a massive one in the third. It definitely didn't help in the fight because I couldn't breathe properly for a couple of rounds," said Hughes."It's just one of those things. It's a fight - you're not allowed to headbutt but the referee wasn't jumping in and doing anything, he didn't seem to want to intervene, so you just have to get on with it."It was the first time Hughes had suffered such a serious injury, which meant surgery was needed. "It's always been my worst fear, breaking my nose, and I've always got away it (before). At the time, I knew I'd taken a big headbutt and it hurt a lot, but you're so focused on someone throwing punches and doing what you've got to do that your mind goes elsewhere."I had it realigned and re-set on Tuesday - if you get it done in the first two weeks before the bone sets, it's a much more minor operation." Despite the injury, and being deducted a point in the fifth round for holding, Hughes said failing to "stick to the game plan" had been the chief reason for her Kevin Tilley, though, said: "The first couple of rounds were very close, I think one of the two judges had her winning both the first two anyway, but as soon as the head clash came, it completely changed the fight."Then everything we'd worked on to do in the fight just went out the window and they were just swinging."The referee was completely against Nina. We're not taking anything away from Cherneka, the better woman won, but this is Queensberry Rules, it's not street fighting."Asked about his decision to call the fight off in the seventh, Tilley added: "I've had to do it many times with fighters, some with worse injuries, some with less."You just have to weigh up the fight and look at the health of the fighter because boxing is dangerous and one punch can change your life. "You always think 'did I throw in the towel too early? Could she have pulled a punch out of the gods and knocked her out?' "It's very hard but you have to look at the facts, she's getting hit with illegal shots constantly, the ref's not doing anything, her nose is busted, she's never going to win on points, are you just going to let her keep taking punishment for the next four rounds?" Nina Hughes and Kevin Tilley were speaking to BBC Essex's Sonia Watson
