Hereford Voice

A local man comes to Hereford city centre along with his dog, which makes trips to the bin with litter to the delight of passers by.

We just love this! 😍

I & JL Brown Ltd unit at Whitestone 

St Michael's Hospice submit plans for a 'Proposed mixed use of site as light industrial, storage and distribution, retail, offices and complementary uses'

The hospice 'Income Generation, Marketing and Communication Director' Rachel Jones said;

"Our vision is for the site to be a donation centre, warehouse and distribution centre for pre-loved goods on the ground floor. We will retain the offices, meeting/training rooms and retail space on the upper floor and add a customer information area with a small coffee and snack area. Our key themes will be around sustainability with a focus on recycling and upcycling, as well as providing a space for affordable shopping"

David Teague (Chair of Trustees) wrote the following covering letter in support of their planning application;

"I am writing on behalf of the Trustees of St Michael's Hospice to highlight theimportance for St Michael's Hospice to secure this planning application.

The Trustees are responsible for ensuring that the charity delivers on its purpose, it has the funds to do so and that it conducts itself as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The Trustees take care to ensure every penny given to the charity is used wisely and in such a way a s to not only deliver services today but also secure the charity for future beneficiaries.

The Trustees are very proud of what St Michael's has achieved in its first 40 years and how ti has responded to the various challenges along the way. The Trustees want everyone in Herefordshire and the surrounding areas to have access to the very best palliative care and support at the time and the place they need it, a need that will only increase over time. The service is provided by way of our inpatient and outpatient units at Bartestree and Hospice at Home. We also educate and look to inspire other health and social care professionals to improve the delivery and quality of palliative care in all the settings where patients might find themselves.

The ongoing challenge for St Michael's is to secure the money to support these services. Despite continually finding ways to innovate and be more efficient, the increasing requirement for our services and inflation increase the amount of income required year on year. St Michael's' funds come from a variety of sources, and these continue to evolve into new ways to engage with our supporters. Our community is a tremendous supporter of St Michael's, not just in terms of finance but also with their volunteering. We will never take this for granted.

The contribution from our retail sites is a major part of our fund raising. The majority of our retail sites are occupied through leases. The Whitestone site gives us the opportunity that will provide longterm security.

The use proposed for the Whitestone building will seek to complement and build upon our retail strategy. It will provide new job opportunities and a hub for volunteering and learning new skills. You will note from the application that this is an opportunity to allow the people of Herefordshire to shop sustainably and recycle responsibly. We see this as a great new addition to Hereford, and as an established charity we look forward to continuing to give back to the economy and the county"

Planning Application P232066/F

 

Stacy from Divine Donuts got in touch with us last night and told us the good news! 

New signage has gone up and Hereford Voice can exclusively reveal that the 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟵𝘁𝗵, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘆'𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗮𝘆!!🥳🎂🥂

We can also reveal that Divine Donuts will be open 7 days a week!! 

• Sunday - Thursday 10-4
• Friday & Saturday 9.30 - 4

We spoke at length with Stacy who told us;

"We will still be keeping the shop at their unit which is on Imperial Business Centre Mortimer Road HR4 9SP as we know people liked the convenience of collecting from there although hours will change there. 

We will have some opening offers which will be announced on our page next week. We are also thinking of opening on some later evenings at weekends, but that’s still to be confirmed"

📣 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 | Hereford Voice can also exclusively reveal this evening that this shop will also be home to 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗿, a new smashed burger take out!! 🍔

They will be operating from the kitchen downstairs, the owner is Ben Dennehy, so support local and visit Hereford's latest double eatery! 

The Patty Parlour will be operating from the kitchen in the basement, Divine Donuts from ground floor shop.

They are separate businesses both opening on Saturday 29th July at 9.30am! 

Hereford Voice - Good luck to Stacy and Ben with their new businesses, a welcome addition to Bewell Square in Hereford 🤞

Britain's Dan Pembroke won a gold medal last night and gave himself an early birthday present by adding the world javelin title to his Paralympic crown at the Para Athletics World Championships in Paris.

Dan, set an F13 European record of 70.50m. It's a double celebration as it's Dan's 32nd birthday today 🥳🥇

📷 British Athletics wrote;

Dan Pembroke. Throwing in just his fourth competition of the year, the reigning Paralympic and European champion lined up in against stiff competition in the F13 javelin, with six of the thirteen in the field holding personal bests in excess of 60m.

Showing no signs of competition rust, however, Pembroke produced a season’s best of 65.97m with his opener to immediately put the rest of the field under pressure in needing to chase.

He went even bigger with his second throw, knowing he’d done so as he turned away arms aloft, with the throw registering as a huge European record of 70.50m. Truly a cut above on the day, Pembroke went out to 66.85m in round three, with his lead established as close to ten metres at the half-way stage of the competition.

Finding 66.27m before opting to pass his fifth attempt, Pembroke finished up with 63.54m, his winning margin come the end of the competition some seven metres.

Coming as something of an early birthday present ahead of turning 32 tomorrow (Sunday 16th), Pembroke spoke on the medal and record, saying: 

“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 – 𝑰’𝒎 𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒙𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

“𝑰’𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐, 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒆: 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 – 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔, 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉. 𝑰 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒇 70.50𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒓 – 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒔𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚, 𝒔𝒐 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅. 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒔𝒐 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓,” 𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝑷𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅: “𝑴𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒚𝒆 – 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕, 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒏 – 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒖𝒏-𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕. 𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝑳𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 – 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉.”

Hereford Voice - Congratulations Dan well deserved, Happy birthday! Relax and enjoy this double celebration 🥳🥇

Police officers in Leominster yesterday arrested a wanted male on behalf of Police in Scotland.

He thought hiding in a locked storage cupboard would deter us but luckily we’re experts at playing hide and seek He was quickly arrested and remains in custody.

The arrested male was later convicted of a variety of adult and child sex offences including rape and indecent assault. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment

A 15-year-old boy has been charged in connection with an incident at Tewkesbury Academy which left a male teacher with a single stab wound.

The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged this evening (Tuesday 11 July) with section 18 attempt wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article on school premises.

He will remain in police custody tonight before appearing at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court tomorrow (Wednesday 12 July).

Officers were called about the incident by the ambulance service at around 9.10am yesterday (Monday 10 July). The school was locked down while officers carried out searches for the suspect. He was arrested in the Stoke Orchard area at around 11am.

The victim suffered a single stab wound and was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. He was later discharged.

Police and the Crown Prosecution Service would like to remind everyone that active proceedings are now taking place. It is extremely important that there is no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could prejudice these proceedings in any way.

Farmer John Price was released from prison after serving less than 3 months

Photo: SWNS

The farmer John Price, from Kingsland was sentenced to 12 months in jail by a district judge in April following the destruction of 1.5km of the protected River Lugg in 2020.

Read our original article 👉 https://hfd.news/dbrd

Appeal Court

At the appeal court in May Judge Nicholas Cole at Worcester Crown Court slammed the farmer for his 'outrageous behaviour' but reduced his sentence by 2 months down to 10 months.

This week Mr Price was authorised for a 'Home Detention Curfew' with stringent guidelines, a Prison Service official stated. The 68-year-old would be sent back to jail if those regulations were breached, they added.

The school wrote to families at 9.30am: "Tewkesbury Academy has gone into lockdown this morning. Please do not attend the site or ring. We will make more information available shortly."

A teenage boy has now been arrested said Gloucestershire Constabulary.

Gloucester Constabulary - "An adult has been taken to hospital with a suspected stab wound following an incident at Tewkesbury School. We were called around 9.10am today (Monday) with a report a pupil had stabbed a teacher. A teenage boy has been arrested in connection with the incident."

A school in Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire is currently in complete lockdown following reports that a student has stabbed a teacher and has gone on the rampage.

There is a huge Police presence at Alderman Knight School next door to 𝗧𝗲𝘄𝗸𝘀𝗯𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲.

📷 Urban Pictures

A message on the Tirlebrook Primary School Facebook page as follows;

"An incident has occurred this morning at Tewkesbury Academy (Tewkesbury School) and we have been advised by Tewkesbury Police to put in place a lock down.

"We have a police presence at school and are being fully supported at this time. We would like to reassure all families that children at Tirlebrook and Little Oaks are safe and well.

"We must ask that families do not come to school during this time as this could compromise the police operation currently underway and also compromise the safety of the children.

"During this situation all school staff will be supporting the children and liaising with the police so we would ask that you do not attempt to communicate with the school office"

We thought we would re-visit our topic about the poor state of the railing and repairs required on the Greyfriars Bridge in Hereford.

It appears we've again ignited something with our topic of road and bridge repairs because within the hour...

Strange that.

As we say Hereford Voice 'Leading The Way For Others To Follow' 

We published an article about a live incident spotted on our LIVE camera at 18:09

Soon followed with Breaking News 🤔 

In a message on their Facebook page they wrote;

"We’re delighted to have been selected through an ITT process to deliver the Southside project in Hereford. This is a groundbreaking project that will transform 35 acres of green space south of the river, for community groups Growing Local CIC local and Belmont Wanderers FC

The new building will be environmentally friendly and accessible to all, offering sporting growing and cooking facilities, as well as education and community spaces.

We can’t wait to get started!"

Hereford Voice - Congratulations and good luck to the team at Arbor Architects with this wonderful StrongerHereford project.

Details on the project can be found on the Stronger Hereford website HERE

A 32-year-old man has been arrested following a rape in Hereford in the early hours of this morning.

At 4.20am this morning (Saturday 8 July) we received a report of a rape on Grandstand Road.  The suspect, a 32-year-old man, was quickly located and arrested on suspicion of rape.  He remains in police custody.

A cordon is currently in place at the scene on Grandstand Road while forensic investigations continue.

Detective Inspector Mel Reynolds, said “I understand that it can be concerning to see a police cordon in such a prominent area of the city, but would like to reassure the community that we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident and that the suspect remains in custody.

“I would also like to commend the victim on her bravery in reporting this to us so quickly, allowing us to quickly locate and arrest the suspect.

“There will be an increased police presence in the area today while our investigations continue, and if you have any concerns then please do feel free to speak to our officers.” 

Hereford Cops (South Wye SNT) have been handing out gift vouchers to the 4 amazing children who handed in a knife they found to the local Police station. An amazing act of bravery and a well deserved reward!

Our original article 👉 https://hfd.news/Jlhr

Talbot Hotel in Leominster Has Been Leased By Government To House Asylum Seekers.

According to Herefordshire Council, the government proposes to use the Talbot Hotel in Leominster as '𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻' for asylum seekers.

The Home Office has stated that this would be in addition to the present usage of the Three Counties Hotel in Hereford for this purpose.

West Mercia Police Press Release;

A 25-year-old man who died in a hot air balloon accident has been named as Peter Gregory, from the Cotswolds.

Yesterday, his family have paid tribute to a loved one whose passion for flying was something others could only admire.

In a tribute they said:

“Peter Gregory

25 years of living life to the full.

On the morning of Sunday 25th June, our Pilot Pete took one last flight, doing what he loved.

Be it in a hot air balloon or as an Airline Pilot, Peter’s passion for flying was something his family and friends could only admire and support him towards.

When he set his heart to something, he’d never give up, he was driven and determined, and one could only watch on in awe.

We will fly together again soon Pete.

We love you

Dan, Mummy, Daddy & Emma

During this difficult time, please respect the privacy of friends and family.”

Police were called after a hot air balloon fell to the ground in a field off Holt Fleet Road, near the A449 at Ombersley on Sunday (25 June).

The circumstances surrounding the incident are being invested by the Air Accident Investigation Branch; and while specialist family liaison officers are supporting the family there is no other police involvement.

UPDATE

A young mother has been sentenced to serve a minimum term of 12 years detention for killing her newborn son in Ross-on-Wye.

Paris Mayo, 19, of Ruardean, Gloucestershire, was sentenced yesterday (26 June 2023) at Worcester Crown Court for the murder of Stanley Mayo.

A CPS spokesperson said: “This is a tragic and complex case. Stanley Mayo's short life was filled with pain and suffering when he should have been nurtured and loved

Glastonbury 2023

His set was a triumph of resilience and courage. Very emotional and the absolute highlight of Glastonbury yesterday.

Can we just take a minute and acknowledge the bravery of Lewis Capaldi. He has been diagnosed with Tourettes which he has been very open about and his ticks are severe at times but through his determination he perseveres and to have the entire crowd of over 100,00 people singing your song is an absolute statement.

Honest and beautiful, this man is wonderful, good luck Lewis take as much time out for rest as you need, you are a true inspiration and you brought a tear to our eyes as we watched your performance - Hereford Voice

🎥 Video BBC

Herefordshire Council has successfully secured £20,000 of grant money, funded by the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) John Campion

The funding will kick-start a fly-tipping prevention and awareness campaign which will be driven by Herefordshire’s Council’s Community Protection Team and will seek to reduce fly tipping, increase enforcement and improve outcomes for victims, aligning with the PCC’s Safer West Mercia Plan.

As part of this plan and in order to prevent crime, undercover surveillance cameras have been sourced using the grant money and are now in place at hot spot areas across Herefordshire.

Residents can also expect to see an increase in signage reminding fly tippers that they are being watched. Furthermore, adverts will be visible on bin Lorries and targeted advertising will be in place on social media.

As well as the PCC’s aim to build a more secure West Mercia, working with Herefordshire Council the campaign builds on their zero tolerance approach to anyone caught fly-tipping and at a time where recent prosecutions by Herefordshire Council saw their longest ever prison sentences.

Councillor Barry Durkin Cabinet Member for Roads and Regulatory Services, said: “Recent figures show a 6% increase in fly tipping across the region. Generally speaking, around half of such incidents occur on council land, and around 30% on the public highway. Our enforcement team will take action against any resident or business who illegally disposes of their waste or fails to ensure that their waste is collected by a registered waste carrier.

“We are urging people to be wary of illegal ‘waste clearing’ or ‘man with a van’ services, many of which are advertised on social media. Many people do not realise that giving your waste to an unlicensed carrier is an offence, and the waste they are paid to remove is often dumped at illegal sites, costing thousands of pounds to clear. Only use licensed waste carriers or you may be prosecuted.

“Figures also show that only a fraction of fly tipping incidents on private property are reported. Not only is this hazardous and damaging to the environment, it has allowed those responsible to evade justice and continue dumping waste elsewhere. Please always report suspected incidents of fly tipping.”

Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said:“Residents have told me time and time again that fly-tipping is blighting their communities and I whole heartedly agree. It is costly on our landowners, a nuisance for the community and is hazardous on our natural environment. 

“I am pleased to be funding this initiative which will reduce fly-tipping, increase enforcement and improve outcomes for victims – supporting my Safer West Mercia Plan, to build a more secure West Mercia.

“It is through this partnership, and by communities working together, that we can tackle fly-tipping in Herefordshire.”

Herefordshire is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its system of CCTV cameras and control room.

Prior to the launch of the new system, which is a collaboration between the Council and West Mercia Police, the county had fewer than 50 CCTV cameras in public spaces. Following various new installations, and thanks to the Safer Streets 3 and 4 bids there are now 179 cameras in operation. This figure will increase further by the end of the year when new IP cameras in the Cathedral Close are installed, replacing the old analogue cameras.

Herefordshire’s CCTV control room was officially launched in September 2003 by television’s Fiona Bruce, along with then-Leader of Herefordshire Council, Cllr Roger Phillips. It was the first time a control facility in the county was fitted with fully digital equipment to record the images from the network of CCTV cameras across the county 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.

Since becoming operational, the system has dealt with 64,571 incidents.

A typical day for the CCTV operators includes monitoring and providing evidence for allegations of theft or public disorder, assisting and ensuring the safety of Civil Enforcement Officers and Blue Light Emergency services, and supporting licensees and door staff with the night time economy. The system is also used to identify and locate vulnerable individuals, support the policing of football matches, and has even been used to assist a number of high profile murder cases.

Cllr Barry Durkin, Cabinet Member Roads and Regulatory Services, said: “The network of CCTV cameras in the county, coupled with the dedicated control room staff, are a huge asset and allow us to work collaboratively to help prevent and resolve so many issues, from tackling crime and finding lost children to supporting Trading Standards operations. The fact that the system has dealt with over 64,000 incidents over the past two decades is testament to its effectiveness, and we are committed to maintaining, improving and continuing to address safety with the system further in the months and years ahead.”

Inspector Julie Watson, West Mercia Police, added: “The Hereford Safer Streets programme has doubled the CCTV capacity within Hereford City, expanding the area of coverage and providing high quality digital images to help prevent crime and make our communities feel safer utilising public spaces.  One of the new cameras helped an investigation into an unexplained death initially treated as homicide, quickly allowing investigators to establish that the male died of natural causes.

“The increased CCTV capacity has been enhanced by improved Street lighting; as well as landscaping of our overgrown green spaces, to provide more natural surveillance and light penetration making these spaces feel less hostile, particularly during hours of darkness.

“The fantastic team at Hereford CCTV control assist Police every day with an array of investigations, are a great asset who play a huge part in keeping our communities safe.”

Source | Herefordshire Council 

A woman has been found guilty of the murder of her new-born baby in Ross-on-Wye.

Stanley Mayo was found dead on Sunday 24 March in 2019, the day after he was born on Saturday 23 March.

Today, a jury found Paris Mayo, 19 from Ruardean, Gloucestershire, guilty of his murder.

Senior Investigating Officer for the case, Detective Inspector Julie Taylor, said: “Paris Mayo, who was 15 years old at the time, claimed Stanley was born cold, did not make any noise and hit his head on the floor when he was born.

“She did not alert anyone to the birth of Stanley, or the fact he had died. She claimed she did not know she was pregnant at the time.

“Today, following a six-week trial at Worcester Crown Court a jury found Mayo was in fact responsible for his death; and attempted to conceal her pregnancy from those who could’ve, and would’ve, supported her.

“The death of a new-born baby is utterly heart-breaking, even more so when the person who is responsible is the baby’s own mother.

“This has been a devastating case for the investigative team to deal with and I would like to thank those involved for their outstanding efforts to ensure justice has been done today.”

The refurbished Castle Green Pavilion will have a beautiful riverside cafe and Friends of Castle Green has put a call-out to anyone who might be interested in getting involved.

Due to open in summer 2024, the cafe is intended to be a local enterprise with opportunities for people who are community-minded.

There are a wide range of people who may be interested, from a caterer looking to take the first step in having their own premises through to investor looking to back a new business or someone with experience of the hospitality sector who would like to help guide the process.

If you are a fabulous cook & live locally then they definitely want to hear from you! There is no obligation at this stage, they just want to know who might be interested.

If this sounds like something you want to be part of then please drop a message to operations@friendsofcastlegreen.org.uk with a bit of background info on why you’re interested and your experience.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱!

We are so excited about this positive StrongerHereford project!

After some research it was discovered the some local companies are on a list published by the Government for not paying their staff the minimum wage..

Just 5 minutes later..

The Bank of England desperately trying to slow the economy 

12 minutes later someone had a similar headline..

Over 200 employers are this week (21 June 2023) being named by government for failing to pay their lowest paid staff the minimum wage.

𝟲𝟵. 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗼𝗻-𝗪𝘆𝗲, 𝗛𝗥𝟵, 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆 £𝟱,𝟮𝟮𝟭.𝟮𝟳 𝘁𝗼 𝟭𝟬𝟲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀.

• 202 businesses named for failing to pay the minimum wage to lowest paid workers.
• Employers ordered to repay workers and face penalties of nearly £7 million after breaches left 63,000 workers out of pocket.
• Follows on from 9.7% increase in National Living Wage and Minimum Wage paid to almost 3 million workers.

Over 200 employers are today (21 June 2023) being named by government for failing to pay their lowest paid staff the minimum wage.

The 202 employers were found to have failed to pay their workers almost £5 million in a clear breach of National Minimum Wage (NMW) law, leaving around 63,000 workers out of pocket.

Companies being named today range from major high street brands to small businesses and sole traders, in a clear message from government that no employer is exempt from paying their workers the statutory minimum wage.

Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business Kevin Hollinrake said:

Paying the legal minimum wage is non-negotiable and all businesses, whatever their size, should know better than to short-change hard-working staff.

Most businesses do the right thing and look after their employees, but we’re sending a clear message to the minority who ignore the law: pay your staff properly or you’ll face the consequences.

The businesses named in today’s list have since paid back what they owe to their staff and have also faced financial penalties. The investigations by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs concluded between 2017 and 2019.

The employers named today previously underpaid workers in the following ways:

• 39% of employers deducted pay from workers’ wages.
• 39% of employers failed to pay workers correctly for their working time.
• 21% of employers paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate.

Whilst not all minimum wage underpayments are intentional, there is no excuse for underpaying workers.

Guidance for employers on pay is available on GOV.UK, and today the government has published additional advice about breaches and the steps employers should take to make sure they pay their workers correctly.

Bryan Sanderson Chair of the Low Pay Commission said:

The minimum wage acts as a guarantee to ensure all workers without exception receive a decent minimum standard of pay. Where employers break the law, they not only do a disservice to their staff but also undermine fair competition between businesses.

Regular naming rounds should be a useful tool in raising awareness of underpayment and helping to protect minimum wage workers.

The government has been clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it, and that robust enforcement action will be taken against employers who do not pay their staff correctly.

National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme R19 Educational Bulletin (PDF, 210 KB, 8 pages)

Since 2015, the budget for minimum wage enforcement has doubled with the government having ordered employers to repay over £100 million to 1 million workers.

The government is determined to ensure workers are paid for their hard work, having increased the National Living Wage by a record amount in April 2023. This led to the lowest paid workers in the UK seeing a rise of 9.7%, keeping the government on track to achieve its manifesto commitment for the National Living Wage to equal two-thirds of median earnings by 2024, provided economic conditions allow.

List of employers named in Round 19

This is the full list of employers being named and shamed for failing to pay the National Minimum Wage, with fuller detail provided in the attached spreadsheet:

List of named employers (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 48.4 KB)

Final_Publication_Spreadsheet_of_Named_Employers_in_R19__1_.xlsx