Latest news with #Sands


Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Kelsey Parker shares sweet message to daughter after tragic loss of third child
Kelsey Parker has returned to social media to celebrate the birthday of her daughter, just a week after confirming the devastating loss of her third child Kelsey Parker has paid tribute to her daughter Aurelia on her sixth birthday, just days after revealing the heartbreaking loss of her unborn baby boy. The mum-of-two, who lost her husband Tom Parker in 2022, returned to Instagram with a touching montage of Aurelia's first six years, including a moment of her as a baby being cradled by her late dad. 'Aurelia means 'The Golden One', and that's what you are,' she wrote. 'You've been through so much, my darling daughter, but you're the most precious little girl any mummy could wish for.' She added: "I'm so happy we got to spend this weekend celebrating your birthday and turning another year older. I'm beyond proud of you and the amazing young woman you're growing up to be." Kelsey's upload was flooded with sweet comments about Aurelia, with one user writing: "The most gorgeous little girl with a heart of gold." "Happy birthday, gorgeous girl," said a second. Danny Jones' wife, Georgia Jones, responded: "Happy birthday to the cutest little diva I know." "Happy birthday to the most special little girl. Sending all my love to you all," added another. The video came after Kelsey shared that her third child, a baby boy named Phoenix, was sadly stillborn just a week before his due date. In a moving poem, she wrote: 'The world grew quiet as you arrived, so loved, so longed for, yet not alive… Born with wings, took silent flight.' The poem was shared alongside a photo of a memory box, continued 'No breath you drew, no eyes to see, still, you mean everything to me… You'll journey with us, softly near, in every sigh, in every tear.' Kelsey later told followers she was stepping back from social media to process the grief privately, thanking them in advance for their love and support. Messages of love poured in, with Kate Ferdinand writing: 'Oh Kelsey, I'm so sorry. You've been through so much as a family already, this feels so unfair.' Since losing Tom, who was just 33 when he died from brain cancer, Kelsey has spoken openly about grief, healing, and the difficult path forward, including finding love again with new partner Will Lindsay. But the road hasn't been easy. In March, Kelsey appeared on Lorraine and admitted she's been trolled for moving on, despite three years having passed since Tom's death. 'I'm always going to have guilt,' she said. 'But what's so hard is that Tom's not here anymore; so what do people want me to do?' She added: 'Our house was full of so much sadness, but now it's full of happiness. The kids deserve that more than anything.' If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Sands (stillbirth and neonatal death charity). You can call them on 0808 164 3332 or email helpline@


eNCA
23-06-2025
- Health
- eNCA
UK probes maternity services after scandals
UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Monday announced a "rapid national investigation" into English maternity services after a string of scandals over 15 years. Streeting said he ordered the probe after hearing many "deeply painful stories of trauma, loss and a lack of basic compassion –- caused by failures in NHS (National Health Service) maternity care that should never have happened". A series of reports into state-funded maternity units in recent years have laid bare failings in the care of women and babies. A damning 2022 report into one found failures at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust in central England had contributed to the deaths of 201 babies and nine mothers over a 20-year period. Streeting said it was clear from his meetings with bereaved families and others who had suffered avoidable harm that "something is going wrong" with England's maternity and neonatal services. "That's why I've ordered a rapid national investigation to make sure these families get the truth and the accountability they deserve, and ensure no parent or baby is ever let down again," he said. The investigation will be broken into two parts, a health ministry statement said. The first will "urgently investigate up to 10 of the most concerning" maternity and neonatal units. The second will be a nation-wide look at services "bringing together lessons from past inquiries to create one clear, national set of actions to improve care across every NHS maternity service". Baby loss charity Sands welcomed the investigation calling it "much needed and long overdue". - 'Line in the sand' - Jim Mackey, chief executive at NHS England, said the investigation would mark "a line in the sand for maternity care -- setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high quality care for all". The last Conservative government's health secretary, Sajid Javid, apologised in parliament after the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital probe was published in March 2022. Report author Donna Ockenden listed repeated failings from 2000 to 2019 that resulted in babies being stillborn, dying shortly after birth or being left severely brain damaged. Seven months later another report published more damning findings on services run by hospitals in east Kent in southeast England. Some 45 babies who died at two hospitals there might have survived if their care had been up to standard, the report by Bill Kirkup found. Kirkup, who seven years previously had published similar findings after probing baby deaths at another group of hospitals -- Morecambe Bay NHS Trust -- in northwestern England, said that once again, lessons had not been learned. "On at least eight separate occasions over a 10-year period, the trust board (at East Kent) was presented with what should have been inescapable signals that there were serious problems. "They could have put it right... but they didn't. In every single case they found a way to deny that there were problems," he said, adding: "This cannot go on." Ockenden is currently carrying out a review of maternity services at hospitals in Nottingham in central England after serious concerns about standards. - 'Critical condition' - A study published in January 2024 found the number of women in Britain dying during pregnancy or soon afterwards has reached its highest level in almost two decades. The findings from MBRRACE-UK, which monitors maternal deaths, stillbirths and infant deaths, and their causes, found that the maternal death rate for the period 2020-2022, was 11.54 per 100,000. This is up from 8.79 per 100,000 in 2017-2019 and the highest since 2003-2005. The NHS was a major issue at last year's general election. In September an independent report described it as being in a "critical condition" following years of underfunding and ineffective reorganisation. Others, however, argue that many of its problems are driven by poor practice and inefficiency, not lack of funding. By Helen Rowe


France 24
23-06-2025
- Health
- France 24
UK probes maternity services after scandals
Streeting said he ordered the probe after hearing many "deeply painful stories of trauma, loss and a lack of basic compassion –- caused by failures in NHS (National Health Service) maternity care that should never have happened". A series of reports into state-funded maternity units in recent years have laid bare failings in the care of women and babies. A damning 2022 report into one found failures at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust in central England had contributed to the deaths of 201 babies and nine mothers over a 20-year period. Streeting said it was clear from his meetings with bereaved families and others who had suffered avoidable harm that "something is going wrong" with England's maternity and neonatal services. "That's why I've ordered a rapid national investigation to make sure these families get the truth and the accountability they deserve, and ensure no parent or baby is ever let down again," he said. The investigation will be broken into two parts, a health ministry statement said. The first will "urgently investigate up to 10 of the most concerning" maternity and neonatal units. The second will be a nation-wide look at services "bringing together lessons from past inquiries to create one clear, national set of actions to improve care across every NHS maternity service". Baby loss charity Sands welcomed the investigation calling it "much needed and long overdue". 'Line in the sand' Jim Mackey, chief executive at NHS England, said the investigation would mark "a line in the sand for maternity care -- setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high quality care for all". The last Conservative government's health secretary, Sajid Javid, apologised in parliament after the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital probe was published in March 2022. Report author Donna Ockenden listed repeated failings from 2000 to 2019 that resulted in babies being stillborn, dying shortly after birth or being left severely brain damaged. Seven months later another report published more damning findings on services run by hospitals in east Kent in southeast England. Some 45 babies who died at two hospitals there might have survived if their care had been up to standard, the report by Bill Kirkup found. Kirkup, who seven years previously had published similar findings after probing baby deaths at another group of hospitals -- Morecambe Bay NHS Trust -- in northwestern England, said that once again, lessons had not been learned. "On at least eight separate occasions over a 10-year period, the trust board (at East Kent) was presented with what should have been inescapable signals that there were serious problems. "They could have put it right... but they didn't. In every single case they found a way to deny that there were problems," he said, adding: "This cannot go on." Ockenden is currently carrying out a review of maternity services at hospitals in Nottingham in central England after serious concerns about standards. 'Critical condition' A study published in January 2024 found the number of women in Britain dying during pregnancy or soon afterwards has reached its highest level in almost two decades. The findings from MBRRACE-UK, which monitors maternal deaths, stillbirths and infant deaths, and their causes, found that the maternal death rate for the period 2020-2022, was 11.54 per 100,000. This is up from 8.79 per 100,000 in 2017-2019 and the highest since 2003-2005. The NHS was a major issue at last year's general election. In September an independent report described it as being in a "critical condition" following years of underfunding and ineffective reorganisation. Others, however, argue that many of its problems are driven by poor practice and inefficiency, not lack of funding. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Family-run business opens new ice cream parlour in town centre store
A NEW ice cream parlour is set to open in Penrith today [Saturday], just in time for the heatwave set to hit the county this weekend. The store, which has been popular family-run business in the town since 1977, has decided on an ice cream parlour as the latest edition to its in-store improvements. Lauren Siddle, who is a director at Sands in Penrith, has been working hard to bring new elements into the business in recent years, with the opening of a balloon service in store last year and an ear piercing and bracelet welding service earlier this year. Lauren's latest idea has been to open an ice cream parlour at the back of the store in an underutilised part of the shop. Speaking about the additions to the shop, she said: "Footfall was down, in general retail isn't great at the moment and the High Street is quiet, so I am bringing in services to the store. "I have tried to think of services we can offer that you can't buy online. "It's just been kind of a dead area, so I thought, 'you know what, why don't I trial and build an ice cream parlour at the back of the shop?' So we have put an ice cream parlour in there. "I was going to open it up next weekend, but we have decided to push it forward to this weekend, just because of the heat, its been a bit of mad rush to do it." The team have brough in a counter and will be serving 'luxury Lakes ice cream' from the kiosk. Lauren said: "It looks really lovely actually, it has transformed the back entrance of the shop and looks really inviting." When asked about the reaction from people in Penrith, she said: "It's been very positive actually, people are very excited and saying 'this is great'. "You can go into the Spar for instance and buy a Calypso, but there's not actually anywhere that has a proper freezer where you can go and pick your flavours. It's a bit of a gap in the market. "I think that people appreciate we are really trying to bring every service into store."


Daily Mirror
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Forum of hate' founder unmasked as couple win libel case against gossip site
Neil and Donna Sands embarked on their two-year case against toxic gossip site Tattle Life, finally winning £300,000 and exposing the person behind the site as Sebastian Bond Online gossip site, Tattle Life, known for the vicious trolling of influencers and celebrities alike could finally be shut down. The site describes itself as a platform for 'commentary and critiques of people that choose to monetise their personal life as a business and release it into the public domain' Like many social media platforms, Tattle Life allows users to post discussion threads, but these often took a nasty turn, resulting in toxic and hurtful conversations which targeted a selection of celebrities and influencers, from TikTok star GK Barry to TV host Stacey Solomon. Despite its nature, the site accumulated 12 million readers per month. 'I thought someone was going to kill me and my unborn baby' Since the site opened in 2018, Tattle Life has had a notorious reputation for going a step too far. Victims of the site have reported that their partners and children were all 'fair game' to Tattle Life's trolling, which often targeted people's weight and disabilities. Tattle Life trolls even went as far as exposing the GDPR details such as the addresses of their family homes, reports MailOnline. A female creator feared for her life and her pregnancy after her home address was shared on the website. The anonymous mother told Cosmopolitan: "I had such paranoia that someone was going to break in and kill me, and my unborn baby, that I was signed off work for a week". A site 'making profit out of people's misery' Now, after years of celebrity complaints against the site, a couple has finally won their libel case against Tattle Life. Neil Sands, 43, and his wife Donna, 34, sued over posts made in February 2021. They claimed they were subject to a campaign of harassment, invasion of privacy, defamation and breach of data rights. The legal battle lasted two years and was undertaken at the cost of Mr and Mrs Sands. The plaintiffs were originally awarded £300,000 in damages against the then unknown operators of Tattle Life in late 2023. On June 13, the defendant companies and suspected operator of the site, Sebastian Bond, was revealed after reporting restrictions were lifted at Belfast's High Court. Ruling in their favour, Belfast's High Court judge said the website was 'solely aimed at making profit out of people's misery', according to The Guardian. The court case was funded by the Sands and included a list of freezing orders made that were worth more than £1 million as a global forensic investigation operated to identify both the defendants and their assets. The cessation figure the defendant has to pay was revealed to be a huge sum of £1,077,173 to have the frozen assets order lifted. Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! Who is Sebastian Bond? At Belfast's High Court in 2023, it was revealed that Sebastian Bond, a 41-year-old Brit, was the man behind the gossip forum. He also goes under the alias of Bastian Durwud. Bond was unveiled as a vegan influencer and the author behind the plant-based recipe Instagram account Nest and Glow, which has 135,000 followers. MailOnline reports that Tattle Life's six-month revenue is estimated at £276,770 in Google Ads, according to figures from 2021. 'The internet is not an anonymous place' Mr Sands has said that the case had been done for all those who had suffered severe professional and personal distress from the anonymous virtual attacks. Though the thread about Neil and Donna was successfully removed in May 2025, thousands of others persist online. The couple posted a statement on Instagram, writing: "'We are very grateful for your support, and hope that this serves as a reminder to those who want to attack others from behind a screen - that the internet is not an anonymous place. We will share more soon, but for today, we hope that this news will provide some peace to those affected by online hate and harassment, and that the internet can be a safer space for us all. Onward". Tattle Life remains live and running, with the next case review scheduled for June 26 at Belfast's High Court.