A man who has spent the past two years separated from his beloved dog has been reunited with his companion after moving to a new home in Wigan.
After 73-year-old Lawrence Knight was diagnosed with dementia, he was admitted to a care home in 2019 – but as dogs were not allowed in that home, his yellow Labrador, Millie, was put into a shelter.
Mr Knight had objected to the first home he was placed in, but had been assessed as lacking capacity to make decisions in respect of his residence and care.
But legal firm Irwin Mitchell were instructed to represent him, and after several hearings at the Court of Protection, secured new accommodation for him at Lakeside Nursing Home in Standish, where Millie could live with him once again.
Not only that, his legal team also ensured he has the use of a wheelchair again too, after he was mostly bed bound in his former care home.
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73-year-old Lawrence Knight has been reunited with his beloved companion after two years / Credit: Facebook (Lakeside Nursing Home)
Elizabeth Ridley – the specialist solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, who represented Mr Knight – said: “When Lawrence was admitted to the care home two years ago, he was extremely upset that he couldn’t bring Millie with him [and] after his wife passed away, he didn’t have many family or friends to visit him either
“So Millie was understandably of great importance to him.”
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She continued: “Due to the pandemic, contact between Lawrence and Millie was sadly stopped, but now she and Lawrence are living right next to a lake where she can run about as much as she wants.
“We are absolutely delighted to have been able to reunite them in such a lovely new setting.
Lawrence and Millie now live together at Lakeside Nursing Home in Standish / Credit: Lakeside Nursing Home & carehome.co.uk
“It was heart-warming to bring them back together and nice to have some positive news during such difficult times for all.”
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Gail Howard – the manager of Lakeside Nursing Home in Standish – added: “Millie has become part of the Lakeside family since coming here, and brings happiness to all the residents in the home.”
Featured Image – Irwin Mitchell
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Rules around booking driving tests in UK change from today to make system ‘fairer’
Emily Sergeant
The rules around booking driving tests in the UK are officially set to change from today in a bid to make the system ‘fairer’.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has now introduced new rules for car driving test bookings, putting learners ‘firmly in control’ of their own booking, as it is now against the law for third parties – including unofficial test booking and cancellation finder services, as well as driving instructors – to make bookings for someone else.
It will also be a breach of DVSA’s terms and conditions for the booking service for third parties to change, swap, or cancel a driving test for someone else.
Learners should only ever pay the official DVSA fee – which is £62 on weekdays and £75 on evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
The Government says the new rules aim to make booking driving tests ‘fairer’ for learner drivers.
While driving instructors will no longer be able to book tests on behalf of of learners, they will still be able to advise learners on when they are ready to take a test, as well as set their available times to prevent learners from booking tests at times that do not work for them.
Following on from changes to test alterations which were introduced at the end of March, from 9 June 2026, further restrictions will come into force limiting learners to moving their test only to one of the three nearest driving test centres.
The DVSA has also pledged to continue increasing driving examiner capacity to help provide more tests for learners to book.
“Our priority is to stop learners being exploited by third parties, put them in control of their driving test, and make the process fairer by clamping down on businesses that resell tests at inflated prices,” commented Beverley Warmington, who is the DVSA Chief Executive.
“These new measures help bring a halt to a system where the use of bots and third parties increases the amount some learners pay for a test and blocks test availability for many others.
“These measures will help free up appointments for genuine learners who are ready to take their test.”
Featured Image – Pxfuel
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Canal Street cordoned off after ‘suspicious chemicals’ reported at hotel
Daisy Jackson
Canal Street and several other streets in the Gay Village in Manchester have been cordoned off this afternoon.
Greater Manchester Police are attending reported of a smell that’s believed to be chemicals coming from a hotel room in the area.
There’s a huge emergency services presence in the area, including vehicles from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, and the North West Ambulance Service.
Police have confirmed that they have detained a man who is believed to have been the occupant of the hotel room.
The hotel itself has been evacuated while the material is examined.
Thankfully, no one has been injured in the incident that has shut down part of Canal Street today.
Emergency services vehicles at the scene on Canal StreetThe cordon in place on Canal Street
GMP said in a statement: “We are currently searching a hotel room at a premises on Canal Street, Manchester. This follows a report of a smell – currently believed to be chemicals – causing suspicion.
“A man, believed to be the occupant of the room, has been detained and is currently in custody.
“As a precautionary measure, the hotel has been evacuated while specialist resources examine the material and conduct further enquiries.
“No-one has been injured and we are working to establish the full circumstances. We thank people for their patience as we continue with our work.”
Emily Sergeant -
7th October 2021 
