The Environment Agency is preparing for more heavy rain and potential flooding problems in West Sussex.
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for heavy rain for today with up to 20mm expected in the area from midday Friday.
-
More rain is forecast in West Sussex over the weekend
Crews are using pumps to lower river water levels to provide capacity for even more rain that is expected over the next 48 hours.
A flood warning remains in force in various locations in Bersted. Eight flood alerts were in place earlier in the week and though this has been reduced, the Environment Agency said that more could be issued if there is further significant rain.
West Sussex saw major flooding problems earlier in the week, in particular at Littlehampton and Bognor and the surrounding areas. 250 homes in the village of Elmer were flooded by around six foot of water and residents had to be rescued by boat and taken to temporary accommodation.
Other areas that saw floods were Worthing Hospital, Havens' Church Farm holiday camp, near Chichester and access to Butlins in Bognor Regis was prohibited. Several schools and colleges in the area were also shut.
Peter Quarmby, South East flood and coastal risk manager, said: "We are focusing all efforts in working in areas that have been affected by flooding over the past few days to lower river levels and will continue to work alongside our emergency partners to assist flooded communities with immediate response and recovery.
"Latest forecasts indicate that heavy rainfall is again expected to cross the South East on Friday and into the weekend. We urge everyone to remain vigilant."
Frank Saunders, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: "We are working closely with colleagues in the Environment Agency and other agencies to ensure that we are all aware of the latest weather forecast."
Arun District Council is holding information days for communities in areas that have experienced the worst of the flooding. They are being held at Felpham, Elmer, Littlehampton, Barnham, Wick and South Bersted, from Friday until Wednesday, visiting one location each day.
Source: www.thisissussex.co.uk
Bogus traders warning to West Sussex flood victims - BBC News
People affected by severe flooding in West Sussex are being warned against falling victim to rogue traders.
West Sussex County Council said trading standards had received reports of cold callers offering to carry out repairs to damaged properties in Littlehampton.
"Whenever an emergency of this nature occurs, it seems to bring unscrupulous traders out of the woodwork," said Councillor Christine Field.
The council said it had a list of approved and reputable builders.
"If you do need emergency work done to your property, ignore the claims of bogus callers if they turn up at your door," said Ms Field.
On Saturday, only two flood alerts remained across the whole of South East England, with six flood warnings and alerts lifted by the Environment Agency (EA) in the last 24 hours.
However, it said further rain could lead to more flooding in areas already vulnerable.
Butlins blockedThe EA set up an incident command centre at Bracklesham Lane car park in Bracklesham Bay to co-ordinate its response after many hundreds of people were affected by flooding.
About 250 homes in Elmer were flooded, with residents rescued by boat and taken to rest centres and temporary accommodation.
More than 20 people, including several children, were rescued from flooded caravans at two holiday parks in Bracklesham Bay and flood waters also reached the Manorfield care home in Earnley.
Havens' Church Farm holiday camp, near Chichester, was also flooded and access roads to Butlins in Bognor Regis were closed.
Worthing Hospital's basement and lift shaft was flooded, several schools and one college were shut and many roads were impassable.
An emergency channel had to be dug through sea defences to release flood waters and firefighters used pumps to lower river levels.
Arun District Council officers are continuing to staff a flood recovery vehicle to give advice to residents.
It is stationed in Elmer's shopping area on Saturday until 21:00 BST.
It will be in South Terrace, Littlehampton on Sunday, in Barnham near the railway station on Monday, Wick on Tuesday and South Bersted on Wednesday.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Waving all the flags! London's Regents Street bedecked in national colours ahead of Olympics after ditching the Jubilee Union Flags - Daily Mail
Flying the flag: (Front row, left to right) Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, North Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, (second row) Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, (third row) Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, (fourth row) Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, (fifth row) Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, (sixth row) Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, (seventh row) Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Macau, Madagascar, (eighth row) Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Who's going to be our police chief? Sussex voters just don't care - The Guardian
Peter Jones has little doubt what Sussex needs to reduce crime. "We need to give a boot up the backside of the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and get more people before the courts – they can be so risk-averse it's mind-boggling. It infuriates the public and infuriates the coppers who work their backsides off that the CPS sometimes cannot be bothered to push forward cases."
Jones, the leader of East Sussex county council, hopes he is not merely engaged in wishful thinking. The Birmingham-born politician is outlining what he wants to do if he becomes the county's first police and crime commissioner.
Jones is one of the Conservative hopefuls running for a position that some insist is significantly more powerful than that of MPs and most ministers. In as little as 120 days the Sussex electorate will join the rest of the country and vote for an individual who will acquire a mandate to organise the police budget, prioritise resources and hire and fire chief constables. Jones, from Hastings, is particularly excited about the position's co-ordinating role and is presiding over a slick campaign – "Vote PJ" – to ensure he fulfils his crime-fighting ambitions. Sussex is likely to see more offenders in prison should Vote PJ gain traction.
The one sticking point that worries even those going for the job is the apparent loss of interest by the government in what was touted as one of David Cameron's flagship policies and one of the most important police reforms of recent years.
In Haywards Heath, close to the geographic centre of Sussex, public apathy towards the role of commissioner is overwhelming. "I haven't heard of any of them," said Brenda Griffin, 65, when shown a list of the candidates on the Sussex shortlist. Not one of 30 people asked on the town's main artery, South Road, recognised a single candidate. Nine out of 10 people were unfamiliar with the profound changes to policing that will shortly take place.
Anthony Kimber, a 65-year-old retired army officer from Rye, is also in the running, but perturbed by the apparent lack of government input. "The problem is that the government has become involved in other policing issues, this has slipped onto the back burner.
"The government has not allocated any money upfront. It's offered a website and I do tweeting [118 followers at the time of writing] but there is not a lot of publicity. I know party members who have not been officially told of my candidacy, which is disappointing."
Nonetheless Kimber has set out a detailed manifesto for his plans as commissioner. Anyone in Sussex guilty of antisocial behaviour should, he warns, watch out. His priority is creating an intelligence base of all incidents and people involved in low-level crime and disturbances.
"I would take the sort of approach seen in New York and California, really focus effort and intelligence on the problem, work out whether it's troublesome families the government is talking about or if it's mobile groups of youngsters. I believe that with serious effort and a targeted approach we would get to the bottom of it: who the culprits are, where they do it, and why they do it."
Kimber talks enthusiastically about landing the £85,000-a-year job and working with the current chief constable and community partnerships to eradicate antisocial behaviour throughout the county's 4,000 square kilometres.
There are at least 10 candidates vying for the role. Sussex has produced more Tory candidates than almost anywhere else (six) and a Conservative commissioner is favourite to prevail as voting patterns are predicted to reflect party lines. All must outline how they will revolutionise a police service that must lay off 1,050 staff and make savings of £50m over the next three years.
Another Tory candidate is a successful Arundel businessman and local councillor, Paul Dendle, who perhaps controversially seeks a moratorium on the government's steps towards privatising police roles. "You should delay privatisation until you reform and reduce inefficiency, otherwise you are locking in inefficiency for the length of the contract, which is a waste of public money. A lot of private companies are rubbing their hands because they know how inefficient it is," says Dendle, whose website features police minister Nick Herbert on the streets of Sussex.
Dendle's big idea is "lean systems thinking" based on the Toyota car production model in Japan, which involves asking frontline workers for their input to boost morale and improve efficiency.
Other Tory candidates include the director of a funeral firm, a former Metropolitan police chief inspector whose attempt to become Britain's first Chinese MP failed during the last elections, and the only woman candidate – district councillor and entrepreneur Katy Bourne, who chairs the Conservative Women's Organisation.
Labour is fielding two hopefuls, with the preferred candidate unveiled on Monday following a ballot by party members. Hastings councillor Godfrey Daniel is pledging to tackle antisocial behaviour, hate crime and domestic violence.
He, too, is worried that the process could be undermined by apathy. "Low public engagement is a worry. It's important that people know what they are going to vote for, otherwise the elected candidate could be quite scary."
Daniel is competing against Paul Richards, 44, of Eastbourne, a special adviser to two Labour cabinet ministers who has twice unsuccessfully stood for parliament and is the author of How to Win an Election. All have their work cut out if they want to fire the imagination of the Sussex public.
"I'll vote for anyone who lowers my council tax," said one Haywards Heath mother, unaware that tax is one of the powers that will elude the incumbent. Nicola Smith, 74, who has lived in the town for 35 years, wanted to see a detailed CV of all hopefuls before she even considered choosing.
Next month, Sussex Conservative party members will meet to choose their preferred candidate. They must hope the electorate match their enthusiasm.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
London 2012 Olympics: IOC launch investigation into 'black market tickets' - Daily Telegraph
After being alerted to the latest allegations, the IOC called an emergency meeting of its executive board and said it would investigate.
The committee will also consider a complete shake-up of how Olympic tickets are distributed among member countries.
A spokesman said: “On being informed of the allegations, the IOC immediately convened an extraordinary meeting of its executive board and determined a number of actions - the convening of the ethics commission and asking for any evidence of wrongdoing to be provided to the Commission without delay.
“The IOC takes these allegations very seriously and has immediately taken the first steps to investigate. Should any irregularities be proven, the organisation will deal with those involved in an appropriate manner. The NOCs are autonomous organisations, but if any of the cases are confirmed the IOC will not hesitate to impose the strongest sanctions.
“The IOC has also determined that it will take on board any recommendations coming out of the inquiry to improve the way that tickets are allocated and sold internationally in the future.”
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Mark Wright's Hollywood Tights! Ex-TOWIE star makes a splash in a very tight pair of Speedos - Daily Mail
|
He may have spent weeks partying during his trip to Los Angeles, but Mark Wright certainly didn't let his gym routine slip.
Pictured having fun in his swimming pool at his rented Hollywood villa, the former Only Way Is Essex star showed off his impressive physique.
Rather than wearing typically British longer trunks, he opted for a pair of eye-wateringly tight pair of Calvin Klein swimming bottoms.
What a poser: Mark Wright shows off his six pack in a tiny pair of speedos as he showers at his rented villa in Los Angeles
The posed shots were taken at his rented villa when he was filming his ITV2 show Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights.
Despite finding fame on The Only Way Is Essex, Mark claimed he was surprised to be recognised by some Americans while he was in LA.
He said: 'The UK people over here know us, and even some Americans as they get The Only Way Is Essex on one of their websites.
Is it a bird, is it a plane? Mark is distracted as he emerges out of the pool
'We was in a bar one night and some girls said, "Oh, it's Mark!"'
But although he's famous now himself, Mark finds himself starstruck.
He recalled: 'I had lunch next to Pink the other day. And we saw Arnold Schwarzenegger on a bike next to us with his son and bodyguard. It's been amazing.'
During his stay in LA, he also met up with footballer-turned-actor Vinnie Jones, who runs a local football team.
Scary: Mark jumped off the staircase above the swimming pool
Mark enthused: 'Vinnie is an absolute gent, he was so polite and lovely to me.
'He had a chat with me, telling me about his Hollywood lifestyle, and gave me man of the match. I didn't go to his house but he said next time I should go over and play poker.'
Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights continues on ITV2 tonight at 10pm.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Southend woman's face gouged during mugging - BBC News
A 22-year-old woman had her face gouged during a mugging by a gang in a park in Southend.
It happened at 12:30 BST on Tuesday in Southchurch Hall Park.
A female attacker scratched the victim's face while four men kicked her in the legs and waist and stole £62, store cards and a gold chain.
Det Con Rory Scarlett said: "This was an absolutely terrifying attack on a woman who was left severely distressed and covered in blood."
Police said one line of inquiry is that an organised gang may be responsible for a number of muggings in the area.
The victim, who asked to be named only as Leanne, has agreed to the police releasing a photo of her injuries.
Forced to groundShe told the police she was grabbed from behind and had her hair pulled back by the female who led the attack.
The four men helped force her to the ground and the gang stole her bag which contained the items.
Leanne was comforted by passersby until the police and paramedics arrived.
Essex Police said the female attacker is thought to be in her 20s, of mixed race and has dark hair in a pony tail.
Three of the men were black, wearing black or red hooded tops and thought to be in their early 30s.
The fourth man is described as white, in his 20s, of skinny build and wearing a black jumper.
Det Con Scarlett said: "We want to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident or from anyone who saw the attackers lurking in the park before the incident or running away afterwards."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment