Latest news with #RibbleValley
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Abandoned pregnant dog has puppies after rescue
A heavily pregnant dog left to fend for herself on a remote Lancashire forest fell has been rescued and given birth to seven puppies. Exhausted, starving and shivering, all the Alsatian cross, christened Elsa by one of her rescuers, wanted to do was a find a safe and warm place to give birth. While initial attempts to catch her had failed, a determined small band of animal lovers tracked her down on Longridge Fell in the Ribble Valley. She was taken to the warm safety of Edencroft kennels in Chipping, near Clitheroe, where she gave birth to healthy puppies two days later, and rescuers say they are all "thriving". The week-long drama began with Ribble Valley Council dog warden Jonathan Higham receiving a report of a stray dog on Longridge Fell. He searched the fell and three days later spotted Elsa but was unable to catch her, so he called in support from volunteers at Greater Manchester Lost Dog Search and Rescue. Together they set up a large secure humane trap with food and a resting place, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. A remote camera was set up and monitored for several days and eventually Elsa "took the bait" and she was taken to Edencroft kennels. Mum and pups were then transferred to the Dogs Trust in Merseyside and homes will be found for them once the pups are weaned. Mr Higham said: "It was heartbreaking to see a dog in such a distressed and vulnerable state alone like that. "She's a beautiful dog and very mild-mannered but she wasn't microchipped and had no ID tag or anything to identify who she belonged to." He said her rescue "shows what can be achieved through different organisations working together". He added he was "pleased and proud" things had turned out all right for Elsa and her pups. Michelle Newns-Peers, from Greater Manchester Lost Dog Search and Rescue, said: "So many dogs are being abandoned. "To find out that a dog we were asked to help was heavily pregnant was absolutely shocking. "I am so relieved she didn't end up giving birth out there." She added she has been receiving updates on Elsa and her pups and they were "thriving". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Rescue dog moved 100 miles in search for new home Rail workers adopt dog found starving near tracks Dog walker's dramatic sea rescue caught on camera Greater Manchester Lost Dog Search and Rescue The Dogs Trust Merseyside Ribble Valley Borough Council
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Dumped pregnant dog rescued from Ribble Valley fell has puppies
A heavily pregnant dog left to fend for herself on a remote Lancashire forest fell has been rescued and given birth to seven starving and shivering, all the Alsatian cross, christened Elsa by one of her rescuers, wanted to do was a find a safe and warm place to give initial attempts to catch her had failed, a determined small band of animal lovers tracked her down on Longridge Fell in the Ribble was taken to the warm safety of Edencroft kennels in Chipping, near Clitheroe, where she gave birth to healthy puppies two days later, and rescuers say they are all "thriving". The week-long drama began with Ribble Valley Council dog warden Jonathan Higham receiving a report of a stray dog on Longridge searched the fell and three days later spotted Elsa but was unable to catch her, so he called in support from volunteers at Greater Manchester Lost Dog Search and they set up a large secure humane trap with food and a resting place, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.A remote camera was set up and monitored for several days and eventually Elsa "took the bait" and she was taken to Edencroft kennels. Mum and pups were then transferred to the Dogs Trust in Merseyside and homes will be found for them once the pups are Higham said: "It was heartbreaking to see a dog in such a distressed and vulnerable state alone like that."She's a beautiful dog and very mild-mannered but she wasn't microchipped and had no ID tag or anything to identify who she belonged to."He said her rescue "shows what can be achieved through different organisations working together".He added he was "pleased and proud" things had turned out all right for Elsa and her Newns-Peers, from Greater Manchester Lost Dog Search and Rescue, said: "So many dogs are being abandoned."To find out that a dog we were asked to help was heavily pregnant was absolutely shocking."I am so relieved she didn't end up giving birth out there."She added she has been receiving updates on Elsa and her pups and they were "thriving". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Thousands of families can get free meal vouchers worth £500 over school holidays – check if you need to apply
THOUSANDS of families can get free meal and food vouchers worth £500 over the school holidays. The help comes via the whopping £742million Household Support Fund (HSF) which has been shared between councils in England. 1 Local authorities are currently in the process of deciding who to distribute help to and what form it will take. Support is usually offered to those on a low income, benefits or classed as vulnerable. Some councils are paying money directly into eligible households' bank accounts while others are issuing energy vouchers. But some are giving hard-up families free meal or food vouchers over the summer holidays. Here are all the councils distributing help. Bristol City Council Bristol City Council has confirmed it will give vouchers to free school meal and Pupil Premium children during all school holidays until at least March 2026. The local authority says vouchers will be sent from the school by email. Anyone who doesn't receive them should contact their school directly to find out when they will be sent. The council has not revealed how much the vouchers are worth. However, £30 vouchers were issued over the two-week Christmas break so are likely to be worth more over the summer holidays. You can find out more information via Ribble Valley Borough Council Ribble Valley Borough Council has opened its latest round of HSF and is offering households payments worth hundreds of pounds. Households with a combined income of less than £35,000 per year can apply for food vouchers ranging from £200 to £500. Vouchers are being distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis with only one application allowed per household. Priority is being given to new applicants, with households who received a voucher through the HSF round that ran between April and September 2024 only able to apply through this round from October. You can find out more via Hartlepool Borough Council Hartlepool Borough Council is awarding £100 food vouchers to hard-up households. The vouchers are being distributed to families where a child is aged between two and 19 and eligible for free school meals. You can find out more about the latest round of HSF on the council's website Tameside Council Tameside Council is spending around 60% of its HSF allocation on school holiday meal vouchers worth £15 a week. Pupils in post-16 education at Tameside College or Ashton Sixth Form won't be eligible for vouchers. Further details are yet to be revealed by the council, however any updates will be posted on its website. Visit for further information. Bracknell Forest Council Bracknell Forest Council is taking applications for cost of living vouchers for families with children on free school meals. Supermarket vouchers are being issued automatically through schools. The council has not said how much the vouchers are worth. Kent County Council Kent County Council is running a "summer food voucher scheme", worth £90 to eligible households. The scheme will stay open until August but may close earlier if all available funds are allocated. You can refer yourself to the scheme or be referred by someone else. You have to meet certain criteria to qualify for help through the scheme. This includes being aged 16 or over, living in Kent, receiving means-tested benefits or having a household income of £33,000 or less a year. You also cannot apply if you have a child on free school meals. Further details can be found via Can I get help if I live outside these areas? Put simply, yes. However, it will depend on your circumstances and where you live. The Household Support Fund was set up to help households cover essentials such as energy or water bills and food costs. But, each council can set its own eligibility criteria meaning whether you qualify for help is a postcode lottery. That said, funding is aimed at anyone who's vulnerable or struggling to pay for essentials. So, if you are financially hard-up or on benefits, it is likely you will be able to get help. It's worth bearing in mind, any help you receive via the Household Support Fund won't affect your benefit payments. Some councils are allocating their share of the fund to community groups and charities who you have to get in touch with. If you're on benefits, have limited savings, or are struggling to cover food and energy bills, it's worth seeing if you're eligible for help. You can find out more via Household Support Fund explained Sun Savers Editor Lana Clements explains what you need to know about the Household Support Fund. If you're battling to afford energy and water bills, food or other essential items and services, the Household Support Fund can act as a vital lifeline. The financial support is a little-known way for struggling families to get extra help with the cost of living. Every council in England has been given a share of £742million cash by the government to distribute to local low income households. Each local authority chooses how to pass on the support. Some offer vouchers whereas others give direct cash payments. In many instances, the value of support is worth hundreds of pounds to individual families. Just as the support varies between councils, so does the criteria for qualifying. Many councils offer the help to households on selected benefits or they may base help on the level of household income. The key is to get in touch with your local authority to see exactly what support is on offer. The current round runs until the end of March 2026.
The Sun
23-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Hard-up households can apply for food vouchers worth up to £500 now – check if you qualify
SELECT UK households will be eligable for free food vouchers worth up to £500. The financial aid is part of the latest round of a Government scheme, and is designed to help hard-up families. 1 The fund will help residents of Ribble Valley who are deemed eligible, with applications now open. This latest round (HSF7) of the Government's Household Support Fund will see thousands of pounds given to those who need it. Ribble Valley Borough Council has received £158,983 to issue to local residents who meet the funding criteria. Households who need financial help and have a combined household income of less than £35,000 per year can apply for a food voucher. These vouchers will range in value from £200 to £500, depending on circumstances. Nicola Hopkins, the council's director of economic development and planning, spoke about the latest round of the iniative, which is designed to help with the rising cost of living. 'This latest round of funding will provide further much-needed support to local vulnerable residents who are most in need of help with the cost of essentials," she said. The scheme will run while funding is available and vouchers will be distributed on a first-come basis. So if you're a resident of Ribble Valley, check now to see if you qualify for this financial assistance. Only one application can be made per household. Priority is being given to new applicants, with households who received a voucher through HSF5 (April 2024-September 2024) only being eligible for HSF7 from October 1. Meanwhile, anyone who received a voucher as part of the HSF6 round (October 2024-March 2025) will not be eligible to apply for this latest round of vouchers. A series of vouchers are available as part of the scheme, depending on your household set-up. Vouchers worth £200 will be alotted to single households, while £300 will be given to households with two or more adults. Household with children, including any person under the age of 19 at the time of the award or a person aged 19 or over who is the subject of a child-related benefit, will receive a voucher worth £500. Cost of living payments: what you need to know HSF was introduced in October 2021 and there have been several rounds of funding since then. In October 2024, the Government announced that HSF would be extended nationwide for a further 12 months, from April 2025. Under HSF6, almost 300 households in Ribble Valley were issued supermarket vouchers totalling nearly £100,000.
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
MP and Preston Bus boss call for urgent action on M6 safety
The boss of a Preston bus operator has called for urgent safety improvements on the M6 after repeated closures have caused "severe disruption".Thomas Calderbank from Preston Bus has written to the transport secretary and the Ribble Valley MP Maya Ellis, to explain how crashes on parts of the motorway in Lancashire have been causing chaos for drivers and raised the issue in the Commons, where she told MPs that collisions and closures had become "a monthly, if not weekly, occurrence".The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment. Mr Calderbank said he was deeply concerned about the long-term effects the traffic problems would have on "public confidence in our services".He said the motorway closures "have directly impacted our bus services, our drivers, and most importantly, our passengers".Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Transport Lillian Greenwood agreed to meet Ellis to discuss the issues after she raised her concerns in the House of Commons. There was a serious collision between a van and a lorry on the motorway on 15 May between junction 31a and junction M6 was also closed due to a lorry fire on 22 May near junction 31 causing delays and congestion as commuters tried to find a way Calderbank said the knock-on effect meant the private bus company experienced a month's worth of cancellations on one open letter said following the lorry fire "severe disruption" included:70 individual bus journeys, amounting to over 350 miles, had to be cancelled By 16:00 BST not a single Preston Bus service in Preston was running on timeBuses were taking well over an hour to travel between Royal Preston Hospital and the city Ellis told MPs "economic growth requires people to be able to get to work".She said: "Yet another road traffic accident has had a hugely disruptive impact on the mainly small roads around it in my constituency."Yet again, my residents in Longridge, Grimsargh and all the surrounding areas woke up to the prospect of another journey to work that takes two hours instead of 20 minutes, and this is becoming a monthly, if not weekly, occurrence." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
