Latest news with #Staffordshire
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
‘Nightmare neighbour' arrested for posting smoke bombs and throwing eggs is found with sick pictures of children
A MAN dubbed a "nightmare neighbour" by police for posting smoke bombs and throwing eggs was found with sick pictures of children after being arrested. Andrew Wilson, 53, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, was jailed for multiple offences on June 19 at Stafford Crown Court. 1 Wilson was jailed after cutting off his neighbour's internet access and throwing smoke bombs and eggs. Staffordshire Police said Wilson had taken a dislike to his neighbour merely because they had a dog who they would play with in the garden. When officers arrested him he was then found with indecent images of children on his device. Police said he put smoke bombs through his neighbour's letterbox, threatened them with a baseball bat and cut off their internet access as part of the dispute. Wilson was jailed for two years and four months after admitting multiple offences. This included two counts of stalking involving alarm and distress which involved him throwing stones, smoke bombs and eggs at a neighbour. This is in addition to threatening them with the baseball bat and interfering with their wi-fi and CCTV cameras. Wilson also admitted to three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child relating to category A, B and C images. As part of his sentence, Wilson was handed a sexual harm prevention order and a notification order for ten years. He was made the subject of a restraining order indefinitely. Wilson was ordered to forfeit the internet tampering device and mobile phone to police as well as pay a victim surcharge of £228. An officer who lead the case from Lichfield local policing team, said: 'Wilson's conviction and sentence sends a clear message that those who engage in such disturbing and harmful behaviour will be prosecuted and brought to justice. "The safety and wellbeing of our community is our absolute priority, and we remain committed to protecting residents from those who pose a threat - whether through stalking or any other form of abuse. "We continue to work closely with partner agencies to support victims and ensure Lichfield remains a safe place for everyone.'
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
Inside the new spa woodland pods that have opened in the UK that make you feel like you are abroad
I HAVE been on more spa breaks than I care to admit – and I may have found a new favourite. Moddershall Oaks, a luxury spa set in glorious Staffordshire woodland, was just a ten-minute drive from Stoke-on-Trent. 2 But as we pulled up to this leafy, quiet spot, I knew the boutique size would mean fewer people and more peace, all for me. Family-owned, this spa hotel has just ten rooms in the main building, as well as 14 newly-added, luxury woodland pods dotted around the site. When staying in an overnight spa suite, you're greeted with a welcome drink on arrival and have access to facilities from 3pm until 4.30pm on your day of departure. First things first, we settle in our room, which has a patio looking out onto the stunning hills – and, lucky us, brilliant sunshine, too. My treatment is booked for 4pm and I get to try the new Golden Glow spa facial package. For 25 minutes, my skin is blessed with scrubs, a wild honey mask and calming oils, as well as a gentle head and shoulder massage, all to wash away life's stresses. I then rejoin my partner in the main spa area, where there is a hydrotherapy pool with heated tiled loungers, reflexology footbaths, a 10m pool and a steam room. The hydrotherapy pool certainly packs a punch, which makes a change from other spas I've been to where the pressure can be quite weak. What I love most is that it's not busy at all. I finish the indoor experience off with the toasty relaxation room where phones are not allowed, which I wholeheartedly welcome, so I'm forced to switch off. Colcot & Spa is great for families with playbarn and pools But there's lots more to explore outside, including a more bustling spa pool, access to a Kelo sauna and a gym. What made this retreat extra-special was the private outdoor heated spa pool. You get a 30-minute slot to yourselves, and there's even a button to request service. It's blissfully refreshing to sink into the warm bubbles as the spring air hits your freshly-treated face, with the evening sun slowly setting behind the distant trees. For a moment, I don't feel like I'm in the UK at all. The spa breaks at Moddershall Oaks also come with a two-course dinner – and it's not like any old set menu either. There's a huge selection of familiar favourites like beer battered fish and chips, but I've gone for the slow braised Staffordshire beef – the meat is so succulent and you can't go wrong with a massive Yorkshire pudding. We retire to our suite and the treats continue. Rooms feature plush furnishings with king-size or twin beds, a separate lounge or seating area and a private deck or patio so you can soak up the woodland and gardens. And the unique, hobbit-style woodland pods feature a circular design and round windows, with eco-friendly bubble spa showers and freestanding roll-top baths. After the best kip I've had in ages on the comfy bed, it's off to the restaurant for a hearty cooked breakfast. I've gone for eggs Benedict, which were done to perfection, while the other half stuck with a trusty full English, which didn't disappoint. Moddershall proved just the right combination of boutique luxury and peaceful retreat.
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
As Rayner and McSweeney sealed £3bn U-turn, Reeves looked at tractors 140 miles away
Rachel Reeves was looking at tractors when a new £3 billion black hole was blown in the public finances. Thursday was a hi-vis day for the Chancellor, who sported a fluorescent green waistcoat for her visits first to a nursery supplier and then JCB World Headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire. The business tour was an attempt to drum up interest in the Government's new trade strategy. However, 140 miles south, a huge about-turn on a welfare cuts package that Ms Reeves had personally demanded was being bartered away in her absence. Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff who masterminded Labour's huge general election victory, was one of the three figures present to negotiate the new terms. That was notable – the softly-spoken Irishman had been the target of vicious briefings from rebels, some of whom darkly muttered about ousting him in a 'regime change'. Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, was the most senior elected figure in the room. As the most prominent Left-winger in the Cabinet, and privately a critic of the welfare cuts when they were first adopted, she was deemed best placed to win rebels over. The third member of the Government's negotiating team was Sir Alan Campbell, a Labour MP since Tony Blair's 1997 victory, who is now Sir Keir's number-cruncher as Chief Whip. Ms Reeves's absence was eye-catching. Would it not have been wise to have the person in charge of the nation's finances in the negotiations as billions of pounds were being bandied around? Apparently not. Treasury sources have waved away the idea that she was out of the loop. Ms Reeves was kept abreast of negotiations by Mr McSweeney personally, taking calls and texts as she toured the nursery manufacturers and construction companies of Middle England. Negotiations between the rebel leaders, who threatened to vote down flagship welfare legislation next Tuesday, and the three Government figures hand-picked to offer concessions did not happen in Downing Street. Instead, it took place in the Palace of Westminster to avoid drawing attention to what had snowballed into the biggest rebellion of Sir Keir Starmer's year-old premiership. 'It was somewhere on the parliamentary estate where you would not expect it to happen,' said a source tapped into rebel strategy. But the location had symbolism, too. This was the home turf not of ministers, but MPs. A total of 127 Labour backbenchers had publicly attached their names to an amendment to effectively kill off the cuts to disability benefit payments. It was enough to comfortably overturn Sir Keir's vast Commons majority, and No 10 knew it. So it was the Government that came, cap in hand, to the rebels – and not the other way round. The rebels were headed by three Labour MPs – Dame Meg Hillier, Debbie Abrahams and Helen Hayes. Each of them leads a Commons select committee, respectively scrutinising the Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education. These were not your usual Left-wing parliamentary agitators but moderate, highly respected Labour MPs. The profiles of the masterminds behind the amendment reflected the core strength of the rebellion, and how widely across the Labour backbenches it reached. Meetings had taken place on Wednesday too, but came to a head around lunchtime on Thursday. Critics were said to be pushing for moderate tweaks – perhaps a change in exactly how the new points system would work for recipients of the personal independence payments (Pip). Cuts to Pip, which gives money to people with disabilities to cover the extra costs brought about by their condition, was at the heart of the stand-off. However, the rebels went much further. The rebels insisted central parts of the package, which the Prime Minister had defended as recently as Wednesday and dismissed criticisms as 'noises off', had to go. The Government team, so exposed by the size of a rebellion that had caught them off guard, was left with little power to argue back. And so there was celebration from the three committee heads, whose actions were driven by a sincere concern about the 800,000 disabled people who would lose out under the initial plan. 'Major concessions' had been won, a senior rebel source told The Telegraph on Thursday evening, adding: 'We wanted to unite around something better. We are getting there.' As news of the victory spread, the full scale of the concessions began to leak. Gone was the plan to cut Pip from existing claimants, meaning 370,000 disabled people would keep their payments in full. Those currently receiving the health top-up to Universal Credit would also be spared. The U-turn also allowed the rebels to reassure constituents that current claimants would not lose out, after MP inboxes had flooded with concerns from residents. There were other concessions too, such as speeding up the new £1 billion fund to help people get back into work and a promise to properly consult with disability charities before the new system kicks in. In a sign of how scrambled negotiations had been, Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary who put the initial package together, sent a letter out to Labour MPs explaining the new deal at 12.27am. Formal government communications issued after midnight are usually a tell-tale sign that all is not going to plan. The rebels had won. The Iron Chancellor's tab But Ms Reeves now has to pick up a tab. The promise that current Pip and Universal Credit recipients will remain untouched is a costly one. The rollback of the benefits cuts has created an estimated £3 billion dent in original savings of £4.6 billion savings from the original package. Given it was Ms Reeves herself who insisted that the cuts were announced before her spring statement in March to help balance the books, it is hard to not read the climbdown as a Treasury defeat. The Chancellor is already facing an incredibly tough autumn Budget. Worsening economic forecasts and increased government debt interest payments mean she is at risk of missing her promises to control borrowing. But No 10's newly-found penchant for U-turns is making her task much harder. The recent reversal on the winter fuel payment cut lost her £1.5 billion. Sir Keir has also hinted at lifting the two-child benefit cap, which would cost another £3.5 billion. The 'Iron Chancellor' has staked her credibility by sticking to her fiscal rules. A determination not to break them could well mean substantial tax rises are coming, clashing with another of her past positions – that she would not impose more tax rises before the general election. Reeves in 'deep trouble' Those in the Chancellor's inner circle insist there are still a 'huge number of moving pieces' between now and the autumn Budget, including new growth and productivity forecasts, energy price changes and interest rate decisions from the Bank of England. Officials widely expect the Bank to cut rates in the coming weeks, in line with external forecasts, which would reduce the cost of borrowing for the Treasury. The Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) latest forecast predicts that debt interest payments will exceed £100 billion in this financial year – accounting for more than eight per cent of total public spending. But polling shows that two thirds of Labour MPs oppose the party's fiscal rules, and see breaking them and borrowing more as the best solution to the Chancellor's dilemma. 'It's hard to forgive her for where we are now,' said one MP. 'She chose to target the poorest.' There are few MPs now openly discussing Ms Reeves leaving the Government, but most are calling for a 'reset' in Downing Street, and for Sir Keir to consider his political strategy more carefully. One rebel said simply that based on the economic statistics alone, the Chancellor is in 'deep trouble'. Dr Simon Opher, another of the rebels, said: 'The changes do not tackle the eligibility issues that are at the heart of many of the problems with Pip. 'The Bill should be scrapped and we should start again and put the needs of disabled people at the centre of the process.' On Friday, some rebels were vowing to continue the fight. Members of the Socialist Campaign Group, made up of a few dozen Left-wingers, plan to vote against the welfare legislation on Tuesday. Exact numbers remain to be seen. But government insiders and decisive rebel leaders are confident enough critics will support the new package that the legislation will comfortably pass. The Chancellor is left to clean up the mess. She could yet still dig herself out of this growing fiscal hole come autumn – but it may well be the public that ends up paying.
BBC News
13 hours ago
- BBC News
Man arrested in crackdown on masked Stoke-on-Trent bike gangs
A man has been arrested as part of a police crackdown on masked bike gangs causing anti-social behaviour and stealing followed a moped being ridden by two people wearing balaclavas on Clarence Road, Stoke-on-Trent, on Thursday, and the rider was stopped after a foot chase, Staffordshire Police moped was believed to have been stolen from the Middleport area, the force said, and an angle-grinder was found under the 18-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, going equipped for theft of a motor vehicle and driving without a licence and insurance. It came after Staffordshire Police received reports of incidents of theft and anti-social behaviour in the city, involving suspects described as white men with balaclavas, dark tracksuits and riding Sur-Ron electric were spotted on Parliament Row in Hanley at about 21:00 BST on Friday after robbing a driver of his food delivery, police were also seen trying to steal a motorbike on nearby Cheapside before fleeing, while a motorbike was also reported stolen.A police spokesperson said officers were reviewing CCTV footage and were urging anyone with information to get in Rebecca Price said: "We will continue to do all we can to disrupt those who blight our communities with this criminality." Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Canal bridge crash near Wolverhampton to cost charity £80k
Repairs costing £80,000 are going to be carried out on a canal bridge after it was hit by a crash was the fifth in 14 years at the crossing near Dimmingsdale, Staffordshire, the Canal and River Trust said - and left a parapet on the bridge badly bridge is near Wolverhampton, on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, between Dimmingsdale Lock and Wightwick repeated crashes have taken a serious toll on the bridge's original masonry, a spokesperson for the charity said and they have called on drivers to slow down and take extra care when going over the region's canals. Paul Ardill, from the trust, said each crash chipped away a piece of history and, in the latest case, had caused "significant structural damage" which would take weeks to bridge is one of about 2,800 canal bridges maintained by the charity, most of which were built in the 18th and 19th charity urged all drivers to follow signs, cut their speed and take extra care when approaching humpbacked or narrow canal bridges."Vehicle strikes cost us, a charity, over £1m per year with many incidents going unreported," Mr Ardill added."On this occasion we do have the driver's details so we can claim some of our costs back from their insurance company but often our bridges are damaged in hit-and-run incidents, leaving us to pay the repair bill."The road, canal and towpath are currently closed while debris is removed and the bridge made safe. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
