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Blackburn at risk of replacing Leicester as COVID-19 hotspot

As infection rates soar in the town, mass testing has been introduced with residents required to wear face coverings in all public places.

The Manc The Manc - 20th July 2020
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Blackburn is at risk of becoming the new coronavirus hotspot in Britain, new data reveals.

According to Public Health England, the number of positive cases in the town have doubled during the past week, with 79.2 COVID-19 infections recorded per 100,000 people overall.

These figures suggest that Blackburn may have the highest infection rate in the country.

Mass testing has already been introduced in the region, with residents required to wear face coverings in all enclosed public places.

People are also being urged to avoid handshakes and have been advised to reduce contact with other households.

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Leicester / Wikipedia

The new measures were brought in last week in an attempt to prevent Blackburn being forced to enter a local lockdown.

Currently, only the city of Leicester has unable to open up in the same way as the rest of England, with all non-essential premises forced to remain closed.

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This includes pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, outdoor gyms, playgrounds, cinemas, museums, galleries, theme parks, arcades, libraries, social clubs, places of worship and community centres.

Recent statistics have shown that the local lockdown in the East Midlands region is proving effective, with cases falling to a rate of 77.7 per 100,000 people.

New cases have also dropped from 429 to 276 in the space of a week.

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The Government has now granted local councils extra power to enforce local lockdowns if necessary.

However, Prof Dominic Harrison, Public Health Director of Blackburn with Darwen Council, has commented that they would only execute these measures as a “very, very last resort” and would be “very reluctant” to do so.

He also said these recent results were “expected” and that cases were likely to rise further in the coming days.

The UK recorded 726 new cases on July 19, with 27 new deaths.

More than 290,000 people in the country have tested positive since the outbreak began.

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Environment Agency officially declares a drought in north west England

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Low reservoir

The Environment Agency has officially declared a drought in the north west of England following the driest start to spring in 69 years.

It comes after river flows and groundwater levels have been declining due to the dry March, April, and start of May, and now reservoir storage levels in the region are also receding too, meaning at this moment in time, they’re currently lower than they were during the famous drought years of 1984, 1995, and 2022.

According to the Environment Agency (EA), a decision to declare drought is taken based on reservoir levels, river flows, and moisture in the soil, along with taking into consideration weather forecasts on a long-term basis.

Declaring drought status enables the EA to ‘plan, deliver, and manage’ actions in drought plans.

Drought
The Environment Agency has officially declared a drought in north west England / Credit: Pxhere

However, there is no single definition for drought, the EA admits, so while it’s a given that it’s caused by a period of low rainfall, the nature, timing, and impacts on people, the environment, agriculture, or business will vary.

Some droughts are short and intense, while others are long and take time to develop over multiple seasons.

Although there has been some welcome rain across the North West in recent days, the EA says this is ‘not enough to reverse the dry start to the year’ and is definitely not enough to cover the expected hotter weather in the coming weeks, which it believes is only set to ‘exacerbate’ the situation.

The decision by the EA to move the region into drought status means the regulator will increase its operational response throughout the summer.

Low reservoir
It follows what has been the driest start to spring for the region in 69 years / Credit: David Dixon (via Geograph)

This will be all while ensuring that water company United Utilities steps up the actions agreed in its drought plans – including fixing leaks, communicating with customers and supporting them to reduce demand, and submitting drought permits to take more water, as and where needed.

According to the EA, if these actions are taken in a ‘timely manner’ will help preserve supplies for people and the environment.

“Drought is a naturally occurring phenomenon,” explained Andy Brown, who is the Water Regulation Manager at the Environment Agency. “As we see more impacts from climate change, heavier rainfall and drier summers will become more frequent and this poses an enormous challenge over the next few decades.

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“Despite the rain over the weekend levels remain low and we are encouraging people to be aware of the impacts of drought as we enter the summer period.

“With further unsettled periods and rainfall over the coming weeks we will continue to closely monitor the situation and implement our Drought Plan.”

Featured Image – Stuart Herbert (via Flickr)

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Trafford gymnastics coach jailed for 18 years after raping and sexually assaulting young girls

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Michael Haynes

A gymnastics coach from Trafford has been jailed after being found guilty of non-recent rape and sexual assault against young girls he taught.

It comes after a woman bravely came forward to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) back in September 2020 to disclose the prolonged abuse she suffered at the hands of a sports coach during her youth – with the years of offending spanning from the late 1980s to the early 90s.

That coach was Michael Haynes, from the Urmston area of Trafford.

Mr Haynes, who is now 77 years old, appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced this week after a four-week trial.

During the trial, the court heard how in the late 80s, one of the victims – who was 11 at the time – joined Trafford School of Gymnastics, and it was here where Haynes first sexually assaulted her by inappropriately touching her through her clothing as he was appearing to ‘help’ her with stretching exercises.

This progressed over time, and eventually turned from sexual touching to rape – with offences occurring in his vehicle whilst he was assisting the victim’s family to transport her to and from the gymnastics club.

Following these discoveries, then in December 2023, another woman learned that Haynes was to stand trial for sexual offences and bravely came forward to the police to report what happened to her when she was around 12 years old and had already been at the gymnastics school for years with Haynes.

Michael Haynes
Michael Haynes / Credit: GMP

The court learned how Haynes began inappropriately asking her about relationships with other boys her age, before proceeding to touch her leg and sexually assault her.

“Michael Haynes violated boundaries I hadn’t yet learned how to name,” the first victim tragically explained in a victim impact statement.

“I didn’t understand what had happened, or how I felt about it. I just knew something had shifted in me. Something had been taken by someone I trusted, and I carried confusion and shame for many years. I still live with the effects of what happened, but I also live with pride in who I’ve become. All you have left now is shame.”

Michael Haynes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was found guilty of nine counts of rape and 11 counts of sexual assault against two girls.

Following the sentencing this week, Detective Inspector Rick Lees, of Trafford’s CID, said: “This was a harrowing investigation, and I would like to thank the survivors for their bravery in coming forward after all these years and reporting what happened to them.

“I cannot imagine the psychological effect that this abuse had on them over the years, and I hope today’s sentencing brings some form of closure and a sense of justice.”

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Following the investigation, GMP said it believes there may be further victims of Haynes’ from the same time period who may have previously felt unable to come forward.

“We would like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who has been a victim of any form of sexual abuse, whether it be recent or non-recent to please get in touch with us, no matter how long ago it was, we will listen to you, and we can help,” DI Lees concluded.

Featured Image – GMP

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