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.
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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Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
“Help us be a lifeline to organisations on the frontline,” Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity urged in it’s public appeal for donations.
You can help make sure ‘A Bed Every Night’ is a reality for all by donating here.
Featured Image – EthelRedThePetrolHead (via Flickr)
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Former Manchester police officer jailed after sexually assaulting a child while on duty
Emily Sergeant
A former Manchester police officer has been jailed after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a child while he was on duty.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that, on 29 December 2023, Dean Dempster was one of three officers responding to a domestic incident involving an adult and children, and it was while he was taking an account from a six-year-old girl, away from his colleagues, that he sexually abused her when he should have been there to protect her.
After GMP investigated a complaint received later that evening in relation to the incident, Dempster was immediately confronted by his supervisor when he returned to duty the next morning.
The 35-year-old was arrested that day by officers in Oldham, and then “relentlessly pursued” by GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate to “explore any further evidence of offending” in an investigation directed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
A former officer has been jailed for sexually abusing a child on duty last year.
Swift action from local officers made sure Dean Dempster never stepped foot in the community again.
Our unit for professional standards has brought Dempster to justice for his despicable crimes. pic.twitter.com/IN2HQOHQEw
A review of Dempster’s electronic devices revealed “further serious offending”, GMP revealed, including the making of indecent images of children.
Sadly, the police investigation also found images on Dempster’s mobile phone taken from his body-worn video camera at the incident in December 2023 of a second clothed child, and of another clothed child at a separate incident dating back to 2022 – with the victims of both families having been made aware, and kept updated throughout the investigation
Dempster was convicted and sacked “at the earliest legal opportunity” by the Chief Constable at an accelerated misconduct hearing in May this year, and he has since admitted six counts of making indecent images, and two counts of Misconduct in Public Office.
After pleading guilty, the former officer has now been jailed for nine years, and has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.
Deputy Chief Constable, Terry Woods, said Dempster “represents the very worst of society”.
“He is not a police officer, he is a child sex offender, a criminal, and he has no right to be near police uniform or serve the public,” DCC added. “Dempster was rightfully arrested and charged before he could ever work in our communities again.”
The Manc -
20th July 2020 
