Tech

Theatre pantomime production wins top award

by Riley
written by Riley

An East Sussex theatre has been honoured at the UK Pantomime Awards.

The production of Snow White at the Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne won the prize for Best Direction at the ceremony at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking on Sunday.

Pantomimes at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells, Central Theatre in Chatham, Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks and Pavilion Theatre in Worthing also received nominations.

Winning director Chris Jordan said he was "very pleased" to have picked up an award.

The Eastbourne production was nominated in four categories at the ceremony.

Mr Jordan told BBC Radio Sussex: "The whole evening was a huge celebration of the genre.

"There were productions from all over the UK and it was wonderful to have a bit of a panto reunion in April."

The director said the whole production process for his pantomime took 13 months and that 12,000 tickets had already been sold for this year's production.

Eastbourne Theatres said on social media: "Oh yes he did! Congratulations to Chris Jordan."

Eastbourne Theatres
The production of Snow White in Eastbourne was nominated for four awards

A total of 52 judges collectively visited 216 venues to watch 496 performances across the UK.

The awards for Best Pantomime went to:

  • Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield (more than 900 seats)
  • Loughborough Town Hall (500 to 900 seats)
  • Greenwich Theatre (under 500 seats)
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Innovation

Station escalator repairs took nearly two years

by Riley
written by Riley

Anti-social behaviour and misuse led to escalators at a Liverpool railway station being out of action for nearly two years, a city council report has revealed.

The escalators outside Moorfields station on the Merseyrail line were only initially meant to be out of action for a month in 2023 to allow for repairs.

But a series of delays, caused by additional damage and water ingress, meant they were only brought back into use in February.

Maintenance of the escalators, which lead to the station's entrance, has been the responsibility of Liverpool City Council since 1971.

A £37,202 contract was initially awarded to KONE Ltd – an escalator and lift company – in September 2023 on the basis that a number of components had failed, leaving one escalator out of service.

A canopy above the escalators then encountered a leak and had to be replaced.

Following further investigation, engineers also advised additional work was required due to "significant damage" to the main chains that move the escalators, as well as the electrics.

New chains had to be procured from Germany, being built to an exact specification for each escalator.

The station and its surrounding area is managed in parts by the local authority, Network Rail, Merseytravel and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

Phil James, route managing director for Network Rail, previously said escalators serving the Wirral Line at the station would not be fully functional until May 2026.

Network Rail has pledged to invest £12.5m to replace all 14 escalators across the central Merseyrail network over the next three years.

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Economy

Cardiac arrest survivor calls for more CPR training

by Nathan
written by Nathan

A West Sussex student who survived a cardiac arrest while in class has backed a campaign calling for more monitoring of CPR training at schools.

More than a third (38%) of students said they left school without receiving CPR training, according to research commissioned by charity Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK).

Goring resident Sam Mangoro, who had a cardiac arrest at school in 2014, said he found the results "shocking".

The Department for Education (DfE) said: "Nothing is more important than the safety of our children, which is why schools are required to teach first aid as part of the curriculum, and we have provided a defibrillator to every school in England."

Mr Mangoro, who is now 27, received CPR during the PE lesson and was shocked by a defibrillator four times.

He said the current lack of CPR training was disappointing.

"I just don't understand the justification for not doing it to be honest, it's so easy to arrange," he said.

"If you attempt it then you can only improve the situation."

In 2019, policies were introduced to ensure CPR was taught in secondary schools, but RCUK said there was no structured way to keep track of training.

"Without proper monitoring and support, too many students are leaving school without learning how to save a life," a charity spokesperson said.

Research by RCUK, which said early CPR could double the chances of survival from a cardiac arrest, also found that 70% of those trained felt confident to use it in an emergency.

The government's statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidance is under review and the DfE said it would carefully consider consultation responses.

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Global Trade

Golfer gets two holes in one in the same round

by Hazel
written by Hazel

A 77-year-old golfer has achieved an extraordinary feat by hitting two holes in one during the same round.

Kevin Popplewell beat odds of 67 million to one during a Stableford competition at Rotherham Golf Club on Sunday.

He was stunned to land a 172-yard shot early in the round before repeating his achievement on the 14th hole.

Mr Popplewell, the club's former captain, described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime" success and said: "It felt unbelievable."

He added: "It took me quite a little while to settle down and stop shaking."

Mr Popplewell joined Rotherham from Pontefract Golf Club in 1995 with a handicap of one.

His feat has never been recorded before at the course in an individual competition.

The keen golfer has hit a hole in one on eight previous occasions, but never on the same day.

"There has to be a degree of luck, they were both decent shots but I'm sure luck plays its part," he said.

"Apparently you've got more chance of winning the lottery."

Mr Popplewell finished the game on 76 strokes.

As is tradition, he celebrated his win by buying a round of drinks for everyone at the club bar.

Asked about his technique, he quipped: "In my case the method was playing a wonderful, fantastic shot."

South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds

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Tech

Change urged after pregnant porpoise dies in nets

by Madison
written by Madison

A pregnant porpoise found stranded in Cornwall died after being caught up in commercial fishing nets, a post-mortem examination has found.

James Barnett, veterinary investigator for Cornwall Marine Pathology Team, described the examination as the "most distressing he has ever seen".

"In nearly 20 years of undertaking this work, I have rarely seen a female so close to term. It was quite emotional for all of us," said Mr Barnett.

Campaigners called on the government to provide access to acoustic deterrent devices, known as "pingers", which emit sounds to alert porpoises to fishing nets. The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) said vessels over 12m (39ft) were required to use acoustic devices.

Cornwall Wildlife Trust
The post-mortem found evidence of bycatch damage

The porpoise was found by trust volunteers on Good Friday after they were called to Pentewan Beach near St Austell.

A post-mortem found the animal had been heavily pregnant with a near-term calf.

Mr Barnett said the porpoise displayed "clear signs of entanglement" in monofilament fishing net, also known as gillnets – "a strong indicator of bycatch".

Bycatch describes marine creatures trapped by commercial fishing nets during fishing for a different species.

The post-mortem was carried out as part of the government-funded Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme.

Volunteer Chris Trew was among those to attend the stranded porpoise

Cornwall Wildlife Trust said increased sightings of small cetaceans, which are marine mammals including dolphins and porpoises, over the last nine years had coincided with more interactions with fishing activities.

Bycatch was estimated to kill more than 1,000 harbour porpoises every year in UK waters alone, it said.

Rebecca Allen, marine conservation officer at the trust, said: "It's an agonising death for the individuals, and this level of loss is not sustainable for these populations."

"Urgent" government action was needed to work with fishers, many of whom were "ready" to use the devices, she said.

However, the trust said fishers had reported difficulties obtaining licences to use the deterrent devices.

A spokesman from the MMO said vessels over 12m (39ft) were required to use acoustic devices, and those outside that requirement must obtain a marine wildlife licence.

With regard to fishers' difficulties obtaining licences, it said many applications came to the department anonymously without the required details, so they were unable to process them.

It said bycatch of porpoise was a concern and new management measures were being explored.

'Campaigned endlessly'

Nick West, chairman of the Mevagissey Fisherman's Association, said a trial of the pingers had proven "undeniably effective", with no bycatch recorded on cameras installed on vessels using them daily.

Mr West added said they had "campaigned endlessly" for the devices, which they had offered to fund.

The MMO said options to manage bycatch could include expanding the use of the acoustic deterrent devices, spatial closures or voluntary options, but no decisions had been made.

It said it was discussing the options with experts and planned to involve industry leaders later this year to develop a formal proposal for consultation.

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Economy

DNA marking kits handed out to tackle tool theft

by Anna
written by Anna

Hundreds of tool marking kits which use DNA tracking technology will be handed out to tradespeople in Sussex to help tackle tool thefts.

About 500 kits, which use an invisible DNA solution to mark tools and machinery, will be given out to people in Brighton in a bid to reduce the prolific rural crime.

The scheme had previously been used to protect farm machinery but will now be rolled out after tradespeople across the South East called for tougher penalties after a spate of reported crimes.

Katy Bourne, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), said the kits were an "extra layer of protection acting as a powerful deterrent against theft".

Ms Bourne added: "The kits make stolen tools traceable and harder for criminals to profit in re-seller markets.

"For traders, their tools can be their livelihoods, they often cost thousands of pounds to replace and theft of equipment can leave people out of work."

Kits used in the scheme work by providing an invisible DNA gel which can be used to mark property such as tools and machinery.

The gel dries clear and then can only be identified through ultraviolet light and specialist microscopes, a PCC spokesperson added.

When analysed, the gel marking can then be used to help return the tools to their rightful owners if they are stolen.

In total, 500 of the kits have been funded by the PCC's office in partnership with tradespeople website Checkatrade.

A report by trade publication On The Tools found four in five tradespeople in the UK that were surveyed in the report had experienced tool theft.

Tools often worth thousands of pounds can be stolen from the back of tradespeople's vans, wreaking havoc on traders who are then out of pocket and unable to work.

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Global Trade

Man who murdered partner jailed for 20 years

by Kristen
written by Kristen

A man has been jailed for life after he was found guilty of "brutally" murdering his partner.

Alcwyn Thomas, 44, claimed that Victoria Thomas, 45, died during "make up sex" in a spare bedroom where she had asked to be choked.

Thomas admitted manslaughter but denied murder at their home in Caerphilly Road, Cardiff.

He will serve a minimum of 19 years and 121 days.

It took a jury at Cardiff Crown Court four and a half hours to convict him after a trial lasting almost two weeks.

After drinking heavily and taking cocaine, Thomas strangled his partner in a spare bedroom at the home they shared.

The pair had been in a relationship for four years but were not married.

Family photo
Victoria Thomas was found dead at her home in the Heath area of Cardiff

Victoria Thomas' son Cole told the court her ex-partner had, "reduced an incredible woman to a box of ashes".

Wearing a suit and a pink flower, Cole stared at the defendant and told the court he was 15 when he moved in.

He said Thomas made "no effort to share his life".

He said he "felt that we lost mum very quickly to Alcwyn – and felt helpless".

He said he would have "no mum to guide me through success or failure, marriage" and added he would never be able to call her or send her videos that she would enjoy.

"My mum was my best friend and our connection was beyond words," he said.

Cole said the "disgusting" way in which Thomas "chose to take my mother's life has left images in my head that will never leave me".

Cole said he slept at night with his mother's ashes next to him.

Victoria Thomas' other son Shane, 18, said he was reading the statement less than a month after his 18th birthday.

He said he felt an "overwhelming feeling of absence".

He had passed his driving test the day before his mother's funeral and said his mother would never see him get married, have a kid or buy his first home.

Her father Robert said in a statement his life and that of Victoria's mother "fell apart" following the murder.

He said it was, "so painful and beyond words".

Robert Thomas said he had suffered a heart attack in January because of the distress of what had happened.

Her mother, Gillian Thomas said Victoria was her "precious baby girl".

She said: "What gave you the right to stop her heart from beating?"

She said she had an "ache in my heart from missing her that will never go away".

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said on Thursday: "You have caused immeasurable and overwhelming grief to Ms Thomas' family".

She said it was clear that something had happened to cause Victoria Thomas to be "frightened" of him.

She said he followed Ms Thomas upstairs, "and on her son's bed you strangled her to death".

"At no time did you express any sorrow or remorse for your actions", she said.

Mandy Wintle of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Everyone should feel safe in their own home, and any allegation of domestic abuse is taken very seriously."

'I've done something bad'

During the trial, the jury heard that the defendant had been out with Ms Thomas during the day of 20 August 2024.

They had visited pubs before going to a bingo hall. He had drunk around 16 pints of lager and taken cocaine.

One witness told the court he was "not really himself and looked through me" whilst at the bingo, said he was "angry and hot headed".

The defendant had admitted that he and Ms Thomas were "bickering" whilst out, but said that was "nothing unusual. We never had a screaming match".

The court heard that on the night, Ms Thomas had sent expletive ridden messages to other family members complaining about how he was behaving.

The couple went home by taxi. Ms Thomas sat in the front whilst Thomas sat in the back.

The taxi driver told the court he was complaining he had lost money and was "rude, drunk and unsteady".

Around an hour and a half after arriving home, Thomas sent a message to his sister saying: "I'm sorry I've done something really bad."

Following 45-year-old Ms Thomas' death, her family described her as "much-loved", adding that they were "broken" by her loss and "will miss her forever".

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Economy

Road markers aim to encourage exercise

by Nathan
written by Nathan

Markers have been installed along pavements and cycle paths on a stretch of the east coast of Guernsey to encourage islanders to exercise more.

The Health Improvement Commission and CMC Wellbeing have added blue concentric circles every 1,640ft (500m) on the pavements and cycle paths between North Beach and Bulwer Avenue, a distance of 1.5 miles (2.5km).

Coined the East Coast Runway, the organisations said they hoped the markings would motivate commuters to run, cycle or walk to work and residents to exercise more in their lunch breaks.

Director at CMC Wellbeing Guthrie Steer said there was "real potential" to expand the idea to other parts of the island.

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