WARNING: Disturbing images which some readers might find distressing are published below.
The RSPCA is appealing for information after the decomposed body of a dead puppy was found with a fabric pet carrier and a white dog teddy bear in Arnold.
The body was found on July 6 on a footpath on the old railway line off Arnold Road.
The body of the puppy was so decomposed it is thought it may have been dead for a number of days if not weeks.
RSPCA inspector Teresa Potter said: “It is upsetting to find the body of an animal disposed of in this way. The dog’s body is so decomposed that we can not establish what breed, age or sex they might have been and it is not possible to see a possible cause of death.
PICTURED: The decomposed puppy discovered in Arnold
“It’s also not known if the puppy had originally been inside the bag, which was a black fabric pet carrier. Also at the scene was a white towel and a white dog teddy bear.
“There were no obvious signs of injuries to the body and the puppy had not been microchipped.
“I am keen to find out more about this dog including how the body came to be dumped here. Anyone with information can contact me in complete confidence on our inspector appeal line by calling 0300 123 8018.”
The RSPCA has this summer launched it’s Cancel Out Cruelty campaign, to find out more and help us continue to rescue animals in need, visit www.rspca.org.uk/stopcruelty.
It comes after the Government rejected calls by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) select committee to review the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.
The agreement, which was privatised in 1994, promised miners that their pensions would be secured for the future.
This would have been achieved by the Government taking out an agreed £2 billion to protect it, with a 50:50 surplus arrangement acting to guarantee pensions would not decrease.
However, campaigners have long called for changes to the agreement after it emerged more than £4.5 billion has been taken out by successive governments.
Campaigners believed money should be handed back to former miners and their families, while also saying the arrangement should be altered to 70:30 in their favour.
These were recommendations supported by the BEIS committee following a review of the scheme in April.
Its report found many miners were struggling to make ends meet, and the committee recommended the Government redistribute £1.2 billion in reserve funds as an “immediate cash boost” to mineworkers.
However, the Government rejected the idea earlier this month.
This led to a backlash among local politicians and campaigners, some describing the decision as a “slap in the face”.
Conservative-led Nottinghamshire County Council has now backed calls for a “fairer deal”, agreeing on Thursday (July 22) to write a letter to the Government and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
A motion put forward by the Ashfield Independents and given cross-party support will call for the recommendations to be reconsidered.
Councillor Jason Zadrozny (Ash Ind), who put forward the motion, described the scheme as a “historical injustice”.
He added: “This motion has the opportunity to give some of our communities their dignity back.
“They were proud communities, proud people, and they absolutely deserve this.”
Councillor Maureen Dobson (Ind), represents Collingham and spoke in favour of the move.
“There shouldn’t even be a debate about this,” she said.
“It’s about helping the miners, how many of us have even thought about being a miner?
“We should get on and give these people and their families what they deserve.”
Councillor Chris Barnfather (Con), who represents Newstead, also backed the move.
He said: “This is about rectifying an injustice, it may be an unintentional injustice but it does exist.
“[Mining] was a community atmosphere that has unfortunately left us.
“What we have to do is not forget those people who worked hard in our coalfields and kept this country alive in some very difficult times.”
The motion, which was given unanimous support, will call for a “fairer arrangement” for former miners.
A letter will also be sent to all Nottinghamshire MPs calling for their support.
Children and staff at Killisick Junior School in Arnold welcomed Gem 106 stars Jo and Sparky into school to see their new radio station.
Killisick Junior School had been using various fundraising activities to raise money for a professional radio station for children, and with a final £1000 to be found, business manager, Kathryn Carlyle-Butlin sent out a hopeful application to Gem’s ‘Cash for Kids’ fund.
Kathryn said: “We had raised funding for the radio station in numerous ways like school fairs, tuck shops, Giving Lottery, and we are very grateful to the parents/carers who supported us in raising the money.
“The final £1000 we needed came from the bid to ‘Gem & Greatest Hits Radio’s Cash for Kids’, and we were delighted to hear that they chose to support us, -especially given the number of applications they receive.
“Now our children have a professional standard radio station, a fully functioning desk complete with microphones and mixing desk! We have a group of four ‘Killisick Radio Leaders’ who have learned how to use the equipment and are going to produce radio shows and teach others how to use the equipment too.”
Kathryn said the school wanted children to have the opportunity to use the radio station, called ‘Killisick Rockin Radio’ to develop confidence and new transferrable skills.
“We purchased the radio station as we knew it would be beneficial to all our children. It will be run by the children for the children.
“School radio stations have been shown to benefit children in many ways including developing confidence, improving speaking and listening skills, developing teamwork, inclusion, empowerment and supporting the school curriculum across all subjects. Many of our children lack confidence with public speaking and having our own radio station is a way to enhance confidence in this area of development.”
PICTURED: Children at Killisick Junior School with presenters Jo and Sparky
Kathryn said that in future the school want to use the radio station to support the local community, researching and creating radio shows to present to residents of local care homes and members of the local community.
Pupil Bethany Charlton Year 5 said of Jo and Sparky’s visit: “I’m very excited to meet Jo and Sparky from Gem and to show them our station. We have made lots of recordings with children from Year 3 & 4 and we have been teaching them how to use the radio station. In future I would like to host all kinds of music, in particular pop music, as it makes you feel happy and energised. My DJ name will be BCDJ!’
Rock and pop fan, Fletcher Marshall, Year 5, said the radio station was a fun addition to school life.
“I love to use the new radio station, it’s fun to teach other children how to use it,” he said.
“We have recorded introductions and have had fun learning to use the equipment. My DJ name will be DJ Fletch and it’s my dream to work in TV or radio when I’m older.”
Thomas Hayes is a Year 5 pupil and said: “It’s really fun to have a radio station in school as most schools don’t have this equipment. We are very lucky to have it. I would like to be a sports reporter; my favourite sport is football.” Thomas said the children are finding new ways to use the station. “We played a game with the children from Year 3 & 4. We asked them to turn around, we played an introduction to a song, they had to guess what the song was!” Hollie Woodward also in Year 5 has received training to be on the mixing desk, ‘I am one of the radio station leaders, I love doing it because we get to have loads of fun!’
Speaking of their visit the radio stars said how much they had enjoyed meeting the children.
Jo said: “These children listen to our show with their families, and at a time when they are busy getting ready for school. So, for us, visiting schools is a way for us to say thank you for their support and the time that they give to us. It means a lot to us to be able to come and meet the children and get to know them. This school radio is such a positive thing. These children now have an outlet where they can be positive about their school and its community, be creative and work together. The children’s enthusiasm has been fantastic.”
Sparky said they were impressed with the radio station set up.
He said: “I thought it was amazing, it’s a great thing for children and not something that I had access to when I was growing up. I knew I always wanted to channel this inner presenter in me and until I eventually got into radio there was no place for me to practice. It’s great that the children at this school will have the opportunity to learn those skills and the children’s enthusiasm for learning is amazing.
“The life skills, including the confidence to speak publicly will be invaluable to these children no matter what profession they choose. It’s a fantastic creative outlet that builds solid skills they will be able to call on in their future.” Sparky said that the school had a family feel to it. “The relationship between pupils and the teachers here seems amazing and we have really enjoyed our visit.”
A warning has been issued to Facebook users in Gedling borough over fake pages offering getaways worth more than £2,000.
Which? has found social media ads for fake Facebook competitions collecting hundreds of interactions from users in the borough.
The fake ‘Alton Towers Breaks’ and ‘Center Parcs Resorts’ pages claim to offer the chance to win getaways worth more than £2,000.
The Alton Towers page was set up on July 13 and has already amassed 74,000 likes. The Center Parcs Resorts page was set up in 2020 and has 33,000 likes.
Posts from the pages both follow the same format, telling users that all they need to do is ‘like’, ‘comment’ and ‘sign up’ in order to be entered into the giveaway. These sophisticated scams use images and branding taken from official websites to create the illusion of authenticity.
Users who click the sign-up option at the top of the page are taken to a broken website with no competition details. It’s unclear if the pages ask for more personal details after users interact with the posts.
These fake competition ‘sign up’ pages could be tracking users who click through to its website, priming them to receive spam ads from the people running the pages.
Users who have interacted with these pages can be caught in a vicious cycle where ‘likes’ inflate the popularity of the page, adding to the illusion of authenticity and further promoting it so it’s seen by more people.
A Facebook spokesperson told Which? that “Fraudulent and deceptive activity is not allowed on our platforms, and we have removed the Pages brought to our attention.
“Our team of over 35,000 safety and security experts disable billions of fake accounts every year and remove millions of fraudulent posts.
“We have donated £3 million to Citizens Advice to deliver a UK Scam Action Programme to raise awareness of online scams and help victims.”
A Center Parcs spokesman said about the page: “Like a lot of well-known brands, our brand name has been used without permission by unauthorised Facebook pages on a number of occasions.
“We have reported this post to Facebook and we would like to remind people not to enter their details or share the page. If ever in doubt about a post, please visit our official Facebook page to check if it is genuine.”
Alton Towers said, “We continually monitor social channels for imitation accounts created by unauthorised persons. While we take immediate steps to have these removed, we ask that social media users remain vigilant and check the authenticity of any accounts offering information and competitions relating to Alton Towers Resort.
“Any legitimate competitions and giveaways being run by Alton Towers Resort and approved third-parties will always be listed on our website altontowers.com.”
Follow these steps to help protect yourself from social media scams:
Is the deal ‘too good to be true’? If the deal or competition is too good to be true, it probably is.
A quick Google search will tell you if the legitimate company is promoting the giveaway. Check the URL If you’ve followed a link, does the URL look suspicious? If it does, leave the site.
Check your social timeline Is there a high number of people posting or sharing the same thing? They may have been scammed.
Check the branding Scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated but there might be telltale signs, such as inconsistencies in the branding, that could give them away.
Send a message If someone you know has posted or shared something suspicious, ask them. Send them a message to make sure, as it may have been intentional.
Contact the company directly Reach out to the company on social media, via email or over the phone to check whether the competition or giveaway is real.
An outside consultant will be brought in to help Nottinghamshire County Council work out how best to repair the county’s broken roads.
Nottinghamshire has some of the most potholed roads in the country.
So it has asked a private consultant and the Local Government Association to help it work out how it could do more to mend them.
The authority has set up a new cross-party highways panel to review the state of Nottinghamshire’s roads and pavements.
Figures between 2017 and 2019 showed more than 250,000 potholes were reported to the council, higher than any other area nationally. It led to calls for a different approach to road maintenance and for new technologies to be explored.
Councillor Neil Clarke (Con), chairman of the new highways panel, told full council on Thursday (July 19): “At this stage, it is more of fact-finding and information-gathering.
“But then we will gradually move into seeing what actions can actually be taken. We have agreed we will be having an outside consultancy, WSP, who will be assisting us.
“We have asked the Local Government Association to help us with a peer review, that will be a critical friend, helping us to look in the mirror at how we perform.
“We will also be arranging to meet other county councils as well, to assess and compare how they do things.”
WSP is a global engineering and professional services company.
The new committee will be visiting Via East Midlands’ depot in Bilsthorpe on Friday (July 23) to view current methods used for road maintenance.
The meeting, Councillor Clarke says, will explore how the council-owned operator of the highway can improve.
He added: “[We will be] looking and exploring at the latest technology, information and different ways of working, on the basis that all options are open at the moment.
“We want this to be a thorough and comprehensive review, and to explore whatever questions possible.
“We want to make sure the way we maintain roads is the most effective way.”
His update came following a question from Councillor David Martin (Ash Ind), who represents Selston.
Cllr Martin asked for information on whether new technologies are being considered as part of the review.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service following the update, Cllr Martin said: “I’d like to thank Councillor Clarke for seemingly taking the concerns raised by independent councillors seriously.
“The state of our broken roads and pavements is still a massive concern for all residents in Nottinghamshire.
“I will be shortly providing a dossier to the council of priority roads that need sorting in Jacksdale, Selston, New Selston and Underwood.”
Here’s his latest update on progress his team made over recent weeks…
Priority Updates
The main policing priorities for the Gedling Borough continue to be residential burglary, anti-social behaviour (ASB) and drug supply.
I recently met with colleagues from Gedling Borough Council where we agreed to continue our focus on the agreed priorities for the next three months. The most recent #Whatmatters survey outlined that drug supply and ASB are of increasing concern in our communities and therefore we will continue to work closely with our partners to address these issues.
Burglary
There has been a continued focus on residential burglary in the last four weeks following an increase in offending in Woodthorpe, Calverton and Carlton.
On June 24 a male forced entry to a residential property on Gardenia Grove, Carlton before taking a television from the address. The investigation has now resulted in a 20-year-old male being charged with a burglary. He has been remanded in custody and will appear at Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing next month.
Over in the Gedling North area we have recorded burglary offences on Walsingham Road and Breck Hill in Woodthorpe where garages have been broken into and bikes stolen overnight. Along with this an offender was disturbed at a residential property on Coronation Road, Woodthorpe as the victim returned home.
Officers also responded to a report of a burglary on Rothbury Close in Arnold whereby a car was stolen after the offenders gained entry to the house and located the keys. The vehicle has now been recovered and the investigation is ongoing.
In Calverton two offences have been reported with a burglary on Main Street and Moor Road.
I know that burglary has a huge effect on victims and in response to this increase we have ensured that appropriate patrols are in place overnight with support from response officers and operational support colleagues. This will ensure that officers on patrol in the right places and at the right time.
I would always ask that home security isconsidered as part of making itextremely difficult for would be offenders. The key crime prevention points are follows and there is more information on our website at www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/advice
Lock your doors and windows every time you leave the house, even when you’rejust out in the garden, remembering to double-lock UPVC doors
Hide all keys, including car keys, out of sight and away from the letterbox (remember a device could be used to hook keys through the letterbox)
Install a visual burglar alarm (as part of a suite of prevention measures)
Consider installing CCTV to cover your property and put up a sign to declare that you have CCTV for your neighbours and potential intruders to see.
Install good outside lighting and make sure your security lights are in good working order
Get a trusted neighbour to keep an eye on your property
Leave radios or lightsin your house on a timer to make the property appear occupied
Make sure the fences around your garden are in good condition, especially rear fencing
Keep ladders and tools stored away; don’t leave them outside where they could be used to break into your home
Ensure side gates are locked to prevent access to the rear of the property
Improve natural surveillance at the front of your property i.e. trim high hedges
Consider joining or forming a Neighbourhood Watch scheme
Remove valuables from view of ground floor windows
Store any high value items (i.e. jewellery, passports) in a properly secured safe
Drug Supply
The Operation Reacher team and colleagues from the neighbourhood policing teams have kept the pressure on drug dealing offenders over the last month. The first warrant was at an address on Oakdale Road, Carlton. Officers made two arrests at the location before seizing around £7k in suspected criminal cash, along with Class A and B drugs. The Operation Reacher team are continuing the investigation.
Over in Arnold, the Reacher team were on patrol in Arnold town centre on June 29 when they recognised a male believed to be involved in drug dealing. Following a search of this male they recovered a large amount of cash. The male was arrested on suspicion of drugs supply offences and the cash was seized for further investigation. Another excellent result by the Reacher team who are investigating a number of individuals involved in drug supply offences and I look forward to sharing the results once these cases have been heard at court.
Finally we had a visit from the forces knife crime team during June with patrols focused around Killisick and Arnold this time round.
The team quickly spotted a male who parked his car before trying to make off. In the process he discarded drugs over a garden wall and was in possession of cash believed to be from drug dealing offences.The male was arrested on suspicion of drug supply offences. Another great arrest and I am determined that we will keep the pressure on these individuals over the coming months.
Drug dealing is linked to other more serious crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities. We are continuing to listen to our communities and will develop intelligence with a view to taking action where required. There is definitely more to come and I look forward to providing you with more updates as we move on through this year.
Anti-social behaviour
The numbers of ASB reports in the last month has remained mostly in line with May this year which is encouraging considering the football, warmer weather and easing of the COVID19 restrictions.
Year-to-date ASB is showing a reduction of around 39% which is due to the relaxation of the COVID19 regulations.
ASB is clearly a priority for all our partners and this month PC Chris Whild and PCSO Kirsty Szeluk have continued to lead on reported issues in Ravenshead as a hotspot area. Following damage to a residential garden they identified the offenders and agreed with the victim that the offenders would do something to support the local community. PC Whilst organised a litter pick with the focus on looking after the Ravenshead leisure centre. Our hope is that this will encourage some ownership of the area and have a lasting effect on the offenders. This is a great use of the ‘Community Resolution’ and I hope that we will use this approach more often to deal with community issues. The offenders will always be recorded on our systems and it is unlikely that they would be offered the same opportunity if they were to offend again.
ASB is unfortunately linked to criminal offences such as damage and public order. We are working closely with the council wardens, CCTV colleagues and housing partners to do deal with repeat issues in the community. We meet regularly to review our problem-solving approach and this has resulted in a number of civil injunctions being obtained recently to deal with repeated anti-social behaviour.
Autocrime
Autocrime has increased in recent weeks with a particular spike around the Arnold area.
The offenders have entered vehicles overnight and have managed to take wallets, handbags etc and have subsequently been able to use stolen bank cards in local shops. The Operation Reacher team have been working on this issue along with the Arnold neighbourhood team. We have managed to make three arrests now and as result of our intervention a male has now been returned to prison.
We continue to investigate a number of offences and officers are reviewing CCTV footage and speaking to witnesses. As always I’d ask that valuables are removed from cars overnight as the offenders have targeted vehicles where items of value have been left on display and the vehicles have been left unlocked. We do have advice available for vehicle security
Summer drink/drug drive campaign
As you would expect we are very much invested in the summer drink-drive campaign. We will be carrying out a number of Fatal 5 operations across Gedling over the coming month and this is also linked to our work around speeding enforcement across the Gedling Borough.
Please remember that drink/drug driving costs lives and with the pubs now open and the football on I have already seen an increase in arrests for this type of offence in Gedling which is clearly unacceptable.
This month the Reacher team have also spent some time policing in Calverton in relation to speeding complaints. The team visited the area and issued 4 x Traffic offence reports on Main Street. The speed camera vans will also be visiting Calverton to support this work and we will be visiting our other villages during July. We are publishing the results of the operations on our Facebook pages so please give us a follow if you would like to know more. I know the Reacher team have asked for feedback from the community and we have identified some other locations to visit so thank you for the all of the feedback.
Plastic bags, cardboard, disposable barbecues and a Sainsbury’s supermarket trolley have been left behind at a Netherfield beauty spot – and locals are fuming.
The dumping was spotted at Netherfield Lagoons, a local beauty spot based off Teal Close, earlier today.
A group of volunteers who run the site say the rubbish will be removed ‘as soon as possible’ and are urging visitors to respect the site and take all their rubbish home with them.
Neil Slack, a local photographer from Netherfield who often visits the Lagoons, said: “It’s disgusting. People work really hard to try and make it a nice place for people to enjoy the wildlife and then you get scum bringing the rubbish down.”
Paul Ashdown lives in Colwick and walks his dog at the site. He said the dumping showed ‘ a lack of respect’.
The Trust’s chairman Mark Glover said the dumping could endanger wildlife at the site.
He said: “It’s hugely disappointing to see extreme examples of littering like this at the Netherfield Lagoons and we will ensure that it is removed as soon as possible.
“We have noticed that there is now also a day-to-day increase in the level of litter on the site as more people visit. This is not just unsightly but litter is a direct danger to wildlife as small mammals and birds are often killed by getting trapped or tangled up in discarded bottles, cans and plastics.
He added: “We already have some fantastic volunteers who help clean up and maintain the nature reserve but more are always welcome and needed.”
THE Met Office has issued its first ever extreme heat warning for the UK – leaving many of us across the borough sweltering.
Areas of Arnold, Gedling and Netherfield have this week been hotter than Canary Islands, Mexico City and Lisbon – with temperatures reaching up to 32C.
This extreme heat can be especially unbearable for people in their working environment so Gedling Eye asked Laura Kearsley, a partner and solicitor in the employment team at East Midlands-based Nelsons, to explain what the law says on employee rights during hot weather.
Here’s what the law has to say:
Can I leave my workplace if it becomes too hot?
Not unless you feel unwell and you need to take sick leave. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 places a legal obligation on employers to provide a “reasonable” working temperature in the office. Your employer has a duty to determine what reasonable comfort will be in the particular circumstances.
Are there any other regulations that protect workers during hot weather?
In addition, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires employers to make a suitable assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees. The temperature of the workplace is one of the potential hazards that employers should consider when doing risk assessments.
Does my boss have to legally provide air conditioning in the office?
No, they do not. Where working temperatures are uncomfortable, employers should consider:
Using fans or air conditioning if available
Providing cool water in the workplace and encouraging workers to drink it to prevent dehydration
Modifying the dress code requirements if appropriate.
However, sensible employers will use mobile air conditioning units and fans to keep workers cool. If you have other suggestions for how your employer could make working in the warm weather more comfortable, you should pass these on.
Is it acceptable for me to wear shorts and flip flops in the office during warm weather? What will happen if I defy my employer?
Your employer may change dress code requirements in warmer weather if this is appropriate. However, they are still entitled to insist on certain standards of appearance – particularly for customer-facing roles and for shoes and clothing to be sensible for health and safety reasons.
Are there any other regulations that protect workers during hot weather?
The general duties for employers to treat employees with trust and confidence apply throughout the employment relationship. At times of hot weather and uncomfortable working conditions, employers will need to be considerate to employees – after all, if staff are too hot, they won’t be at their most productive.
Residents in Gedling borough are being asked for their views to help shape the future of bus services in the area.
Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council are running a consultation in partnership with local bus operators which will help to improve bus services and encourage more people to use them.
The survey, which is open until August 13, is open to all residents regardless of whether they use bus services or not.
Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, chairman of the transport and environment committee, said: “This is a great opportunity for residents to have their say on what they like about bus services, what they think could be improved, and what would make them more likely to use them.
“These views will help us to draft a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BISP) for Nottinghamshire and Nottingham, and we will be working with local bus operators to put this together.”
Councillor Rosemary Healy, portfolio holder for transport at Nottingham City Council, added, “The Government has pledged £3 billion in funding across the country to help improve bus services, and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are aiming to secure a fair share of this funding.
“Whether you use the bus or not, your views will be instrumental in shaping the future, so don’t forget to have your say before Friday, August 13.”
For more information, contact Natalie Robinson, Communications and Marketing Officer by emailing natalie.robinson@nottscc.gov.uk or by calling 0115 977 3409.
A company based in Arnold has recalled a chocolate bar after a customer suffered an allergic reaction.
Trading Standards said traces of milk were found in The Skinny Food Co bar after it was alerted to the issue.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) then issued a warning over the Skinny High Protein Low Sugar Duo Bars “because they contain milk which is not correctly declared on the label”.
A spokesperson for The Skinny Food Co said the bars were bought in and not manufactured by the company.
The salted caramel, chocolate brownie and cookies and cream bars were recalled.
Mark Walker, Group Manager for Trading Standards and Communities at Nottinghamshire County Council, told the authority’s Communities Committee meeting on July 19: “The service recently received a complaint about an allergic reaction to a chocolate bar that was being produced in Nottinghamshire.
“Formal samples were taken by Trading Standards officers to submit for testing and substantial quantities of milk were found.
“Officers then worked with the Food Standards Agency to assess the potential risk to consumers and agree the follow up actions.
“In this instance, a product recall was implemented and that puts a duty on the producer to do as much as they can to ensure the products supplied to other businesses or consumers is destroyed or returned to the manufacturer.
“At the moment we are monitoring the recall process [and] working with the business to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We’ll be looking at in the longer term what sort of action might come about by virtue of the fact that this product was on the market.”
A spokesperson for Skinny Food Co said: “The Skinny Food Co were notified by Nottinghamshire County Council that they had received a complaint about one of our bars. These bars are bought in by The Skinny Food Co and not manufactured at our site nor in Nottingham.
“The bars were found to have an elevated milk level which was higher than the allowed limit.”
Other tests and certifications before they were sold had suggested they could be sold as milk free, they said.
“However, once the issue was identified, The Skinny Food Co worked closely with the FSA to ensure that our customers were communicated to directly by us before the FSA notice was published.
“We have now sourced a new supplier so that our customers can continue to enjoy the product and the quality we, and they have become accustomed to.”
