Zombie-style blades discovered by police at Carlton property

Emily Sanchez
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Zombie-style blades discovered by police at Carlton property

Two suspected ‘zombie-style’ blades have been discovered by police during a house visit in Carlton.

A sword and dagger with serrated edges were among a collection of weapons found in the property by police.

Both were believed to be so-called ‘zombie-style’ blades, which are set to become illegal in the UK later next month.  

These weapons are over eight inches long and have either a serrated edge, multiple holes in the blade, spikes, or more than two sharp points.

Response officers discovered the weapons – along with a samurai sword – while attending a house in Corsham Gardens around 5am on Thursday (29).

Police also seized a samurai sword from the same address which they were visiting in connection with reports of criminal damage.

Samurai swords are on the existing list of weapons that are illegal to be kept in private, under the Offensive Weapons Act.

The knives were found during a police visit to a property in Carlton (PHOTO: Adobe Stock)

Following the sword’s discovery, a 47-year-old man was subsequently charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a private place.

He was also charged with assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage, and using abusive language.  

The suspect is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on September 13.

Under the Offensive Weapons Act, zombie-style weapons will soon become illegal for anyone to keep in their homes or in another private place in the UK.

Amnesty

Ahead of the September 24 law change, a national initiative is currently underway to encourage people to hand these weapons in to the police.

Under the scheme, owners of these blades could receive financial compensation if they hand them in at one of five chosen police stations in Nottinghamshire.

After uncovering two weapons that could potentially qualify, police have now urged owners to take advantage of the initiative ahead of the law change.

Sergeant Joe Hunt, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “While they’re not currently illegal, it is now only a matter of time before some of the weapons we found in this incident are outlawed.  

“It is really important that owners of these ‘zombie-style’ knives and machetes know that it will be a criminal offence to store them in private from 24 September.

“We would therefore encourage anyone who has these weapons to hand them in and make the most of the national scheme that is currently ongoing.

“As well as avoiding getting into trouble with the law, there is also the opportunity to be financially compensated in the process, so it really does seem like a no-brainer.

“Anyone wanting to take advantage of the initiative and hand these weapons over to the police should rest assured that this isn’t a trick, and they won’t get into trouble if they do so.”

‘God-send’ pavement dining licenses for bars and cafés to be made permanent across Gedling borough

Joe Locker (LDR Reporter)
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‘God-send’ pavement dining licenses for bars and cafés to be made permanent across Gedling borough

A Mapperley bar manager says pavement dining has been a “God-send” after the Government made it a permanent feature for high street businesses.

In July 2020 a law was created by the Government so businesses selling food and drink could apply to local councils for pavement licences.

The permission was originally granted to allow customers to safely dine outdoors at the height of the Covid pandemic.

The temporary measures were made under Business and Planning Act and were extended annually aftrer 2020 to continue to support food and drink businesses affected by the pandemic and later to help them diversify during the cost of living crisis.

These measures were made permanent as of March this year, under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.

Gedling Borough Council has now drawn up a policy under the law to make sure bars and cafés can effectively use pavements for al fresco dining and do so in a safe way.

Thomas Kitchingman, bar manager at the Wine Room and Nine Six Two in Mapperley, said the company had used a large area of the pavement in Woodborough Road for outdoor dining during the pandemic.

While the area they can use has since decreased in size, owing to nearby businesses also using the pavement, he described the rule as a “God-send”.

PICTURED: Gedling Borough Council civic centre in Arnot Hill Park

“It definitely helped,” Mr Kitchingman added.

“In the summer especially up in Mapperley it was a God-send to have that presence. Having that extra space was a good thing.”

Under the new law and Gedling Borough Council’s new policy, businesses may now be given permission to use pavements for al fresco (outdoor) dining for up to two years at a time.

Councils also have new powers to enforce any unlicensed or unsafe use.

At an Environment and Licensing Committee meeting on September 3 the council will approve the pavement licence policy, setting out charges for licences and how it will enforce breaches.

“Local authorities have been given new powers of enforcement and guidance as to how to implement these powers was published by the Government on April 2, 2024,” council documents say.

“These powers include revoking a licence for breach of conditions or the terms of the licence, misleading statements in an application or if it comes to light that there was a failure to display a notice of application on the premises.

“They also include amending licence conditions where there have been changes to the highway around the licensed area or if any health and safety issues have been raised during the period of the licence.

“The council can also refuse a licence if the area is not considered a suitable
area for a pavement licence for reasons such as accessibility and health and safety.”

The policy states the council will give a notice requiring any problem businesses to remove the furniture within a time frame, and if this is not complied with it can remove and store the furniture.

Any costs from storage will be charged to the business, and the council can refuse to return the furniture until the costs are paid.

If within three months the costs are not paid the council can dispose of the
furniture and retain the proceeds.

A new two-year licence will cost a business £290, a one-year licence will cost £260 and a renewal for two years will cost £118.

There will be a 14-day consultation period on any new licence, followed by a further 14-day determination period.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says: “This will provide much needed income for businesses and protect as many hospitality jobs as possible, particularly during times of increasing living costs.”

Stores buying stolen goods from serial shoplifters who ‘thieve to order’, say retail groups

Gedling Eye
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Stores buying stolen goods from serial shoplifters who ‘thieve to order’, say retail groups

Retail groups have claimed that UK stores are purchasing stolen goods from professional shop thieves who are stealing “to feed their addiction problems.”

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) said its members were reporting a ‘high volume’ and ‘very brazen’ incidents of shoplifting over recent months.

The said it was mainly meat, cheese and alcohol items being taken from shelves.

Retailers have reported seeing their stolen products being sold via Facebook or Whatsapp groups, or locally.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said that other businesses, particularly smaller stores, were purchasing stolen items, and that shoplifters were stealing to order, with buyers turning a blind eye as to the origin of the goods.

He said: “What we are seeing is a higher volume of theft from the same people who are professional shop thieves, often doing it to feed addiction problems.

“What we are seeing is a higher volume of theft from the same people who are professional shop thieves, often doing it to feed addiction problems. “

“And how do they do that? Well, they re-sell the products. And so we think there probably is a stronger market for those resold products.

“And that is something that we have been observing and talking about for the last couple of years.”

Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) said he is aware of criminal gangs getting involved in improving shoplifters ability to steal and dispose of the goods.

He also described hearing more cases in the past year of other stores buying the goods once they are stolen.

The ACS said 5.6 million incidents of shop theft were reported by its members over the past year, with half of the shoplifters being repeat offenders.

In the last year, convenience stores spent £339 million on crime prevention, such as CCTV, alarms and tagging, the ACS told PA.

A British Retail Consortium (BRC) spokesman said stolen goods were ending up in “unscrupulous” restaurants, on market stalls and online marketplaces.

They said: “It’s tough for retailers because they do report these crimes and there are processes they go through.

“But the police response is so low at the moment that unfortunately these crimes, aren’t treated with enough seriousness at the moment.

“These gangs realise they can get away with it.”

Stephanie Karte from Retailers Against Crime, added: “You’ll have your local offender who, unfortunately, nine times out of 10 has an addiction, whether that be alcohol, drugs and, at the end of the day, they’re stealing to feed their habit.

“Basically the items that they do steal, they’re getting money from that and then where’s the money going? It’s going to the drug dealer.

“So at the end of the day, when you think about it and all of these little things, it’s all really funding a more serious crime.”

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service share dramatic photos showing them tackling Colwick waste plant blaze

Gedling Eye
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Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service share dramatic photos showing them tackling Colwick waste plant blaze

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has shared a number of dramatic pictures showing them tackling a blaze at a waste management plant on Colwick Industrial Estate.

Crews were called to the Enva site, off Private Road Four, on the Colwick Industrial Estate at around 2am on Friday, August 30.

The incident has since been scaled down, with some crews having left the scene.

A firefighter damps down the blaze at the Enva site on Colwick Industrial Estate (PIC: Notts Fire & Rescue)
(PIC: Notts Fire & Rescue)
(PIC: Notts Fire & Rescue)
The Enva site on Colwick Industrial Estate was engulfed in flames overnight (IMAGE: Google)

Fire crews have been on the scene at the Enva site since 5 am.

A spokesman said: We have now scaled down this incident. A couple of appliances remain at the scene damping down and they will continue to do so for the next couple of hours.

Thank you for your patience whilst we have been dealing with this incident over night.’

MATCH REPORT: Garforth Town 3-1 Carlton Town

Gedling Eye
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MATCH REPORT: Garforth Town 3-1 Carlton Town

Report by JONATHAN HAND

A goal from Nat Watson was a mere consolation as Carlton Town went down 3-1 at Garforth Town.

As bad omens go – crashing the coach before you’ve left for the match is probably up there with the best or worst of them.  Carlton’s match day coach was involved in a minor collision with a very expensive looking range rover as the driver reversed into the Millers Barn car park to collect the players on Bank Holiday Monday.  Thankfully, no one was hurt and the rest of the sixty-eight-mile journey up to Yorkshire passed without further incident.

Carlton went into the game on the back of a thumping  5-1 home win on Saturday against Bishop Auckland while Garforth were boasting an unbeaten start to their league season.  Tommy Brookbanks and Mark Harvey made one change to the team that thrashed the Bishops with Alex Howes replacing Niall Hylton who was unavailable.  The ever-popular Greg Tempest made an unexpected return to the match day squad, much to the delight of the Millers Faithful.

This was Carlton’s first trip to Garforth since Dean Gent’s last gasp winner on the final day of the season secured promotion to step 4 back in 2007.  But the second bad omen of the day came within a minute of kick off when the versatile Khyle Sargent limped off with a hamstring strain following an innocuous challenge.  Jonny Gilbert was the early replacement.

Carlton probably had the better of the early exchanges and had a decent chance when Lamin Manneh poked the ball through for Jack Newall but the covering defender did well to clear the ball for a corner as the on-loan striker bared down on goal. Unfortunately, no one could get on the end of Manneh’s dangerous delivery from the resultant corner.

As the first half progressed it became apparent that Garforth’s game plan was to get the ball out wide left whenever possible to Mo Fadera and both Dean Freeman and Michael Ford were booked in close succession for fouls on the tricky winger.

The home side took the lead in the 20th minute in fortuitous circumstances. An attempted clearance by Lewis Durow struck the midriff of an opposition player and fell perfectly for Charlie Marshall who tucked his goal away confidently despite the best efforts of the on-rushing Felix Annan.  While the Millers may have felt unfortunate to find themselves a goal behind at that point in the game they probably went in at half-time glad that they were only one nil down. The home side were clearly buoyed to have taken the lead and could have scored more had it not been for a number of decent defensive blocks by the Carlton Town rearguard.

Carlton found themselves 2-0 down soon after the restart and predictably Fadera was at the heart of things. The youngster picked the ball up on the wide left and produced a pinpoint ball into the centre of the Millers box for Marshall to tuck away his second goal of the day.

Carlton continued to work hard but struggled to create any chances of note with stray passing being a theme of the day.

The home side extended their lead on the 75th minute when another excellent delivery from Fadera found substitute James Burgess on the edge of the box. The striker took a touch before placing the ball into the bottom right-hand post just out of reach of Annan.

Carlton pulled a goal back almost immediately when a long throw into the box by Durow was flicked on by Freeman. Watson scored with the outside of his boot when a Garforth defender failed to make contact with an attempted clearance.  Unfortunately, hopes of a dramatic comeback were all but dashed moments later when Lewis Durow was deservedly red carded for wildly kicking out at Garforth substitute Rinor Ejupi.  While the left back was clearly aggrieved that the referee failed to spot that he had been struck by a stray elbow from the opposition player there is absolutely no excuse for his impetuous behaviour.

Carlton’s 10 men did manage to create another great chance in injury time when substitute Zac Hill put Newall through one on one with the keeper.  However, the young striker’s effort struck the outside of the post before going safely behind.

If this is to be the last time that the Carlton fans get the opportunity to watch Newall representing the Millers all involved with the club would want to thank him for his efforts over the last four weeks.  His three goals in four starts have been invaluable and he looks like a natural goal scorer. Jack is a lovely lad from a lovely family and if he does return to Burton Albion, I’m sure that the Carlton faithful will be keeping a close eye on his career as he makes his way through the football world.

In truth Carlton were well beaten on the day having struggled to deal with the pace, trickery and delivery of Fadera. It therefore came as a surprise to no one that the recipient of the Garforth Town sponsor’s man of the match award was the left back. The Millers will be looking to bounce back on Saturday when they host Stamford in the FA Cup at Stoke Lane.

Carlton Town: F Annan, M Ford (S Thompson-Harris 52), L Durow, D Brown, D Freeman, K Sargent (J Gilbert 4 (L Marfo 60)), N Davie (G Tempest 59), N Watson, J Newall, A Howes (Z Hill 70), L Manneh.

Goals: Nat Watson 77; Charlie Marshall 20, 50, James Burgess 75

Carlton Town Supporters Club MOM – Nat Watson

Attendance: 321

Health bosses call for regional crackdown on illegal sale of vapes to under 18s

Gedling Eye
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Health bosses call for regional crackdown on illegal sale of vapes to under 18s

Public health officials from across the East Midlands want a regional crackdown on the “concerning” and “inappropriate” illegal sale and marketing of vapes to under 18s.

An official joint statement on vaping, endorsed by the Association of Directors of Public Health for the East Midlands (including Derby and Derbyshire), along with each council’s tobacco control lead, is clear: “For people who smoke, vaping is much safer; if you don’t smoke, don’t vape.”

The statement, which is now in the process of being endorsed by each of the East Midlands councils, with Derby City Council to discuss it next week, details: “Though not risk free, vaping is considerably safer than smoking. As such, smokers across the East Midlands are encouraged to switch to vaping to reduce the harm from combustible tobacco. 

“E-cigarettes are an effective stop smoking aid, especially when combined with behavioural support. 

“Smokers who want to switch to vaping (to quit) are encouraged to do so with the help of their local stop smoking service.

“E-cigarettes are an age restricted product, and we are against inappropriate marketing practices that promote them to under 18’s. 

vaper
Health chiefs said Trading Standards should be given the tools necessary to undertake enforcement work and other measures to protect children and young people across the East Midlands

“Trading Standards should be given the tools necessary to undertake enforcement work and other measures to protect children and young people across the East Midlands.

“E-cigarettes are not for children, and their use should be reserved exclusively for adult smokers. 

“The increase in youth vaping is concerning, and public health teams across the East Midlands should continue to monitor the situation. 

“Furthermore, those working in trading standards, and education settings, should be supported in addressing this issue.

“There is currently insufficient evidence to assess whether vaping is safe during pregnancy, however, the harms of tobacco smoking are well known and all pregnant women who smoke should be supported to quit. 

“The current consensus is that pregnant women who want to switch to vaping (to quit) should not be discouraged from doing so providing they understand that e-cigarettes are not medically licensed.”

Dr Robyn Dewis, director of public health at Derby City Council, had said: “It is illegal to sell vapes to children and marketing vapes to young people is totally unacceptable.

“I am very concerned that current disposable vape products, with bright colours and sweet-like flavours, are particularly attractive to young people.

The Association of Directors of Public Health for the East Midlands includes: Derby, Derbyshire, Leicester, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Rutland and West Northamptonshire.

Papplewick and Ravenshead to feature in national TV coverage of Tour of Britain bike race

Emily Sanchez
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Papplewick and Ravenshead to feature in national TV coverage of Tour of Britain bike race

ITV4 will broadcast live coverage of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain when it visits Gedling borough on September 6th.

All the action from this year’s Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men will once again be broadcast live on ITV4, with flag-to-flag coverage of all six stages of Britain’s national tour for the seventh consecutive year.

Joining presenter Matt Barbet will be ITV’s commentary duo of Ned Boulting and David Millar, as ITV4 broadcasts live coverage of the UK’s biggest professional cycle race for the 12th year, and the 16th edition in total that has been televised by the channel.

Coverage gets underway with stage one in Kelso and the Scottish Borders on Tuesday 3 September, going live at 10:15, with the likes of double Olympic gold medallist Remco Evenepoel, double world road race champion Julian Alaphilippe (both Soudal Quick-Step) and Olympic mountain biking star Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) all confirmed to participate.

Stage four of the event sees the cyclists race from Derby to Newark-on-Trent on Friday September 6th with a route that passes through Papplewick and Ravenshead.

In addition to the free-to-air live coverage on ITV4, viewers will also be able to catch a one-hour highlights programme each evening on the same channel, with live coverage and highlights also available on demand via ITVX.

Commenting on the news, Jonathan Day, managing director of British Cycling Events, said: “Bringing the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men to as many people as possible whether at the roadside or at home on television, is of huge importance to us.

“We’re delighted to once again have full live free to air coverage of every stage, and with the riders announced so far we know it will be one to remember so fans can look forward to six exciting days of action.”

The Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men begins in the Scottish Borders on Tuesday 3 September followed by stages in the Tees Valley, South Yorkshire, the East Midlands and West Northamptonshire, before concluding in Suffolk on Sunday 8 September after six stages of action-packed racing.

Gedling borough breaking news plus weather and traffic updates (Thursday, August 29)

Gedling Eye
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Gedling borough breaking news plus weather and traffic updates (Thursday, August 29)

Hello, and welcome to Gedling Eye’s live blog for Thursday, August 29.

We will be bringing you all of the latest news from across Gedling borough – whether you’re on the move, at home or at work – as well as the latest traffic and travel.

We will also be keeping you informed of major news stories from the UK and overseas. Contribute to the live blog and share the news that’s breaking in your area by posting your comments below.

Mental health first aiders to be introduced at Gedling Borough Council to help staff

Joe Locker (LDR Reporter)
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Mental health first aiders to be introduced at Gedling Borough Council to help staff

Mental health first aiders are to be introduced at Gedling Borough Council to help staff members who may be going through difficult times.

The Labour-run authority is looking to create the positions later in the year.

Staff members who seek help from the first aiders will be signposted to the relevant support they need.

The new roles were announced during a Joint Consultative and Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday (August 27).

David Archer, the head of HR, performance and service planning, said: “The measures we have taken and continue to take to support people at work, sometimes to return to work, I am really proud of.

“There is provision later in the year to hopefully take on mental health first aiders in the workforce as well. It will be a signposting role to help support people who are perhaps having more difficult times and need support.”

Concerns over staff well-being were raised by committee chairman Cllr Jim Creamer (Lab), as two roles will be merged into one to save money.

Two occupied job roles, customer insight and performance management, have been merged into a single full-time role.

The two roles had together equated to over 44 hours’ work in a single week, prompting concern from Cllr Creamer over work load.

“None of us should work in ways that are damaging to us,” Mr Archer added.

“We would need to perhaps look at some of the things we do and do them differently and cut out some things as well.”

During the meeting a potential pay rise for all staff members – other than chief officers – was discussed.

In February unions including GMB, Unite and Unison asked for an increase of at least £3,000, or 10 per cent, as well as a two-hour reduction in the working week, an additional day of annual leave for personal or well-being purposes and a phased approach to reaching a minimum pay rate of £15 an hour in a maximum of two years.

National Employers, which represents local authorities, has made a full and final offer to increase most pay by £1,290.

Providing an update Mr Archer said: “There has been some progress.

“The [National] Employers have made a full and final offer to increase most pay by £1,290 per year, or 2.5 per cent.

“If you look at the pay awards that have happened over the last three years, from April 2021 to the current rate of pay, the people in the bottom rate of pay will have had an increase of 29 per cent, in the middle of the pay bands nearly 19 per cent, and nearly 11 per cent at the top.

“The cost of the pay award as is proposed nationally is about 4.03 per cent, for us about 4.05 per cent, on the pay bill. So there is an effect.

“Where we are at in terms of that national negotiation is GMB have now balloted members who say they are prepared to accept the national pay award.

“That said Unite, who we don’t recognise locally but for the purposes of national pay bargaining we do, so Unite and Unison both are now going out to ballot for industrial action.

“For Unison the ballot runs until October 16 and to October 15 for Unite. I think we won’t get into a position until at least November and possibly later. It depends on the outcome of the ballot. There is potential for industrial action, strike action, [but] it may be there’s an agreed settlement.”

‘Inadequate’ Carlton care home placed into special measures over safety concerns

Emily Sanchez
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‘Inadequate’ Carlton care home placed into special measures over safety concerns

A Carlton care home has been rated ‘inadequate’ and placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Braywood Gardens will now be been prevented from admitting new residents without CQC’s permission, following an inspection carried out in May.

The residential care home on Millbrook Drive is operated by Runwood Homes Limited, and provides accommodation and personal care to older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of this inspection there were 88 people living the home.

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns CQC had received around people’s safety and personal care being provided to people.

Following this inspection, the home’s overall rating has dropped from requires improvement to inadequate. Its ratings for being effective and caring dropped from good to inadequate. It has again been rated requires improvement for being safe and well-led. On this occasion, CQC partially inspected how responsive the service was, focusing on areas where they received concerns. Therefore, it remains rated as good from their previous inspection.

CQC have placed conditions on the service to prevent more people from being admitted without CQC’s permission, until significant improvements have been made. The service has also been placed in special measures, which means it will be kept under close review by CQC to keep people already living there safe whilst improvements are made. If CQC doesn’t see rapid and widespread improvement, further action will be taken.

Greg Rielly, CQC deputy director of operations in the midlands, said:  “When we inspected Braywood Gardens, it was concerning to see a lack of strong leadership. Our experience tells us that when a service isn’t well-led, it is less likely they’re able to meet people’s needs in the other areas we inspect, which is what we found here. 

“The main issue was that leaders didn’t ensure there were enough staff to support the people living at the home which impacted the quality of care people were receiving.  

Runwood Homes said an immediate and robust action plan was put in place following the inspection undertaken by CQC

“For example, we saw one person try to stand but was unsteady on their feet. As there wasn’t any staff around to help, our inspector had to help them to sit back down, or they would have likely fallen over. When we brought this up with staff, they said they were too busy to help.

“We heard people often having to shout for staff to support them which didn’t always happen. One person told us they had complained that staff weren’t quick enough when they needed support to use the toilet. The staff member responded by telling them to use their incontinence pad and they would have to wait in their used pad until the morning when staff could support them. This shows staff didn’t always treat people with kindness or dignity.

“During our visit, people also told us they were worried about their safety. We found staff had recorded incidents where residents had been in altercations with each other, which hadn’t been referred to the local authority safeguarding team. This means these incidents hadn’t been investigated thoroughly and people were at risk of having them happen again as a result.

“Vulnerable people were relying on all staff members to act as their advocates, to help them live their best lives and it is unacceptable the people they relied on were treating them this way.

“We have told Braywood Gardens where we expect to see rapid and widespread improvements and will continue to monitor them closely to keep people safe while this happens. We’ve also told them they can’t admit any new residents until these improvements are made. We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to take further action if people are not receiving the care they have a right to expect.”

A spokesperson for Braywood Gardens told the BBC’s Local Democray Service: “We can confirm that an immediate and robust action plan was put in place following the inspection undertaken by CQC. These findings were also identified by the provider and a managerial change was made which has instantly brought the service back to the high standard we have seen previously at Braywood Gardens.

“Co-working with Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) has been very productive and they too recognise the service is now providing the high level of care formerly seen.

“We are actively encouraging a return inspection visit from CQC where we expect the service to return to an overall Good rating.

“We take on board all findings raised by CQC and have worked tirelessly to instantly put these areas right. We are pleased to say the home is now in a very good position with exceptional leadership and staff.

“We thank our staff and the home manager for their efficient and professional response to see the service back to the expected standard and will work with all key stakeholders to see this maintained.”

The full report can be found HERE

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