Latest news with #ForestofDean
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Pedestrian dies and man arrested after Forest of Dean crash
A pedestrian has died after being hit by a car on an A-road in services were called to the A4136 near Staunton in the Forest of Dean just before 23:00 BST on Friday, Gloucestershire Police said.A man in his 50s was declared dead at the scene, while the driver of the vehicle was taken to hospital and has since been discharged.A man, aged in his 20s, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and has been bailed while enquiries continue, police said. Road closures that were in place around the scene of the crash have now been are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has relevant dashcam footage to contact them.
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- The Guardian
Woman jailed for 15 years for shaking her four-month-old baby to death
A woman has been jailed for 15 years for killing her four-month-old daughter, who died after being violently shaken. Melissa Wilband, 28, was found guilty of the manslaughter of her daughter, Lexi, who collapsed at the family home in Newent in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, during the first Covid lockdown. Tests showed Lexi suffered bleeding on her brain, which was probably caused by being violently shaken shortly before she collapsed and on at least one earlier occasion. Bristol crown court heard Wilband became pregnant with Lexi while separated from her then-partner, Jack Wheeler, and tried to deceive him into believing he was the father by presenting him with a fake paternity test. Passing sentence, Mr Justice Saini said Lexi had been a healthy baby and he was satisfied Wilband had shaken her on two occasions. He said: 'After the evening meal you were bathing Lexi and you shook Lexi, and immediately after this she went floppy. Your shaking of Lexi led to severe bleeding in her brain. 'I am sure on the evidence that Lexi had been shaken by you in another, less violent, incident before that Easter Sunday. 'Only you will know why you acted in the way you did. It is hard to imagine the pain that Lexi must have suffered both from the past violence and the violence that led to her death. She would have cried out in anguish.' Wheeler, 31, had also been accused of manslaughter but the charge was dropped during the trial. The jury found him not guilty of causing or allowing Lexi's death in April 2020. Giving evidence in court, Wilband described how she had been in a relationship with Wheeler for about three years but Lexi was conceived with another man when they had separated. The court heard she faked a DNA test during her pregnancy, stating Wheeler was '100%' the 'farther' [sic] of her then unborn child. He became suspicious because of the misspelling. After Lexi was born, a genuine DNA test found Wheeler was not biologically related to the baby. In court, Wilband admitted faking the document, telling the jury: 'I wanted him to be Lexi's dad.' Lexi died at Bristol children's hospital, with a nurse holding her hand, on 18 April – six days after she collapsed. The court heard Wilband was aware that her baby might die through the night but did not stay at her bedside.
The Sun
21-07-2025
- The Sun
Evil mum who violently shook four-month-old baby daughter to death in horrific campaign of abuse is jailed
AN EVIL mum who violently shook her four-month-old baby daughter to death in a horrific campaign of abuse has been jailed for 15 years. Melissa Wilband, 28, had denied killing little Lexi Wilband, who died from a bleed on the brain. 4 4 Bristol Crown Court was told the baby collapsed at home in Newent in the Forest of Dean and died six days later. Lexi had suffered a bleed on the brain that was likely caused by someone "shaking her violently" on more than one occasion. Wilband was convicted of manslaughter in April following a trial before being sentenced today. Her boyfriend at the time, Jack Wheeler, was also charged with manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child. But the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence for the manslaughter charge and he was cleared of the second count. The court heard Lexi was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where Wilband claimed she was in her bouncer chair when she cried, went floppy then stopped breathing. The baby was then transferred to Bristol Children's Hospital where the decision was made to switch off her life support. Jane Osborne KC, prosecuting, said: "Ms Wilband knew that Lexi might die during the night but she didn't stay by her bedside. "A staff nurse held Lexi's hand through the night and remained with her. "On the morning of April 18, Lexi seemed to have longer pauses in her breathing. Ms Wilband was told to attend the ward. "She arrived just after Lexi had ceased to show any signs of life and had stopped breathing." The court was told Wilband had told Wheeler, 31, throughout her pregnancy that he was Lexi's biological dad. But she had actually conceived the baby in early 2019 when she and Wheeler were not together. Ms Osborne said: "When Melissa Wilband was still pregnant with Lexi, following some queries about the paternity, she presented a document which purported to be a paternity test. "It declared that Jack Wheeler was the father of the unborn baby. This was obviously not a genuine document. "The most obvious fact was the fact that the word 'father' was spelt 'farther' which would have been obvious to anybody who knew how to spell it properly. "Looking at that document exacerbated concerns of Jack Wheeler and his parents. Very soon after Lexi was born, Jack Wheeler ensured that Melissa Wilband submitted samples for a proper test. "The genuine test showed that he was not the father of Lexi. After the results of this, Mr Wheeler and Ms Wilband nearly split up but Ms Wilband persuaded Mr Wheeler that he should stay with her." Jurors heard Wheeler moved in with Wilband during the Covid lockdown in February 2020. The couple, described as regular cocaine users, lived in squalor with every kitchen surface covered in food and utensils. On April 12, 2020, Wilband phoned emergency crews, with paramedics finding Lexi unresponsive on the floor when they arrived. While paramedics asked her questions, the mum rolled cigarettes and used her mobile. When she was asked if she would like to hold her daughter before she was intubated, Wilband declined, the court heard. In a prepared statement, Wheeler told police that Lexi "suddenly stopped crying and went floppy in his arms". A post-mortem gave Lexi's cause of death as bleeding to the brain, caused by a non-accidental traumatic event such as someone "shaking her violently". Further tests found the areas of bleeding in Lexi's eyes were "too numerous to count", jurors heard. Detective Inspector Adam Stacey said: 'Lexi was four-and-a-half months old when she died. "Melissa Wilband inflicted such serious injuries that were sadly to prove fatal and tragically Lexi passed away six days later, despite the best efforts of all the medical staff who tried to save her. "Further medical evidence showed that Lexi had suffered at least one other episode of shaking at some point before this one. "Wilband told lie after lie after lie - right from Lexi's conception, and all the way throughout the pregnancy. These lies continued and were made to medical professionals trying to save Lexi's life, to the police, and all the way through to her giving evidence in court. "The jury saw those lies for what they were. "Lexi should be five years old now with her whole future ahead of her. She was shaken by someone who should have been protecting her. "Someone who should have put her safety and wellbeing above everything else, her mother. Wilband did not do those things and in fact did the exact opposite. She now faces the consequences of her actions." 4 4
BBC News
21-07-2025
- BBC News
Mother, 28, jailed for violently shaking baby daughter to death
A mother has been jailed for 15 years after causing the death of her baby daughter by violently shaking Wilband, from Gloucestershire, was found guilty of the manslaughter of Lexi Wilband, who was four months old when she died in April 28-year-old, from Newent in the Forest of Dean, had denied killing her daughter, but jurors found her guilty following a four-week trial at Bristol Crown Court in revealed Lexi suffered bleeding on her brain, likely caused by being violently shaken, both recently and on at least one earlier occasion. Lexi died at Bristol Children's Hospital on 18 April, six days after collapsing at ex-partner Jack Wheeler, who was not Lexi's biological father, said in court she went floppy in his arms and stopped Wheeler, 31, was previously acquitted of causing or allowing the death of a child.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Bathurst Pool could lose £2k during 'forced closure'
An outdoor pool will lose "vital income" after being forced to close for a day, volunteers have work on the power network in Lydney, Forest of Dean, will cut electricity to Gloucestershire's Bathurst Pool on Wednesday, resulting in the facility's closure and leaving hundreds of swimmers unable to Grid bosses said they have scheduled the work outside of the school holidays to minimise disruption to the Bob Berryman, chair of trustees and site manager, said they "rely on good days to counteract the bad days" and they could lose more than £2,000. Mr Berryman said he urged the National Grid to delay the work until the end of the season."They said they gave us plenty of warning and could give us some details if we wanted to hire generators ourselves. Generators are just too costly," he said. "We have to reply on the weather when we get it and at the moment we're making our expenses, so it's annoying to lose one day," he Berryman said they had already experienced some busy days during the hot weather."We've got a maximum of 350 on site at any one time and we've had to operate a one-in, one-out policy. "We've been up to capacity on three occasions over the past few days," he added. National Grid is replacing an electrical asset at a nearby industrial estate and the work must be completed by August.A spokesperson said: "While we know it's not ideal, planned outages are sometimes necessary when we are replacing assets on the electricity network. "We scheduled this work outside of the school holidays to minimise disruption to the pool, but we're sorry for the inconvenience caused by the closure."
