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The list of emergency service workers who can get Christmas discounts at Asda this year
"We really want to say thank you to our members for doing everything they can to help protect the most vulnerable this year, and every year."
Asda has announced that it will be offering emergency workers a 10% discount on their shopping throughout the festive season.
The retailer’s new dedicated discount is redeemable to anyone who holds a Blue Light Card – which is a nationally-recognised scheme giving discounts to certain key workers and armed forces personnel – and can be taken advantage of in all of Asda’s 633 stores up and down the UK until Sunday 2 January 2022.
The 10% discount is available on all food and drink, George at Asda clothing and homeware, as well as toys, gifts, and optical.
Blue Light card holders just need to show their card at the checkout to redeem the discount.
Asda said it has launched this Christmas discount to recognise the valued work these individuals do each day to keep everyone safe.
Speaking on the launch of the discount, Derek Lawlor – Chief Merchandising Officer at Asda – said: “Blue Light cardholders work in difficult and dangerous situations every day of the year to provide support to people across the UK who need it the most [and] we wanted to recognise this and thank them for everything they do by offering a discount in our stores this Christmas.
“We really want to say thank you to our members for doing everything they can to help protect the most vulnerable this year, and every year.”
Who can get the Asda 10% Christmas discount?
All those who hold a Blue Light Card are eligible for the 10% discount on food and drink, George at Asda clothing and homeware, toys, gifts, and optical.
These are:
- 4×4 Response
- Ambulance Service
- Blood Bikes
- Border Force
- British Army
- Cave Rescue
- Community First Responders
- Fire Service
- Highways England Traffic Officer
- HM Armed Forces Veterans
- HM Coastguard
- HM Prison Service
- Immigration Enforcement
- Lowland Search and Rescue
- MoD Fire Service
- MoD Police
- Mountain Rescue
- NHS
- Police
- Red Cross
- Reserve Armed Forces
- RNLI
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Marines
- Royal Navy
- Search and Rescue
- Social Care Workers
- St Andrews Ambulance
- St John Ambulance
- UK Visas and Immigration
The 10% discount is valid in stores only, and the terms and conditions are available on the Asda website here.
You can find more information on Blue Light Card eligibility here.
Featured Image – Geograph
News
TfGM apologises after two weeks of major tram disruption across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Trams have finally resumed running in Greater Manchester following two weeks of major disruption across the Metrolink network.
Tram services have resumed across the Altrincham, Eccles, and Trafford Park lines this morning (Monday 2 November) following the completion of major track replacement work between Trafford Bar and Deansgate-Castlefield, while maintenance and renewal work also took place on the Eccles line and in the city centre during the planned closure.
Engineers replaced around 4km of track on what is said to be one of the ‘busiest and most complex’ sections of the Metrolink network.
The new track will allow further speed restrictions to be lifted, as according to TfGM, around 100,000 journeys are already benefiting from journey time improvements delivered through previous phases of work every day.
It all forms part of the next phase of the ongoing £150m investment into Greater Manchester’s tram network in a bid to make it ‘safer’ and ‘more resilient and reliable’ for years to come.
With services now back up and running, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has issued a statement apologising for disruption.
Ian Davies, who is the Network Director for Metrolink at TfGM, commented: “This was an essential piece of engineering work on one of the busiest parts of our tram network and will help keep services safe, reliable and fit for the future.
“We’re sorry for the disruption and I’d like to thank passengers, residents, and businesses for their patience while we got on with the job.
“The upgrades mean customers will benefit from smoother journeys and allow us to lift further speed restrictions on this section of the network. It will help speed up our journeys and improve reliability for everyone who uses our network.
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“Completing work of this scale on time is a significant achievement and I’d like to thank everyone involved for getting it done safely and efficiently.”
Featured Image – TfGM
News
Only two arrested after day of ‘peaceful’ protests in Manchester city centre over the weekend
Emily Sergeant
Only two arrests were made following a day of far-right protests and counter demonstrations in Manchester city centre over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the day passed ‘peacefully’, with smaller numbers of people arriving than expected.
‘Significant’ police resources were in place throughout the day (Saturday 31 October) in order to safely facilitate the demonstrations – which saw an estimated 400 protestors and counter protestors gather around the Albert Square area of the city centre.
The police say they ‘attempted’ to work closely with organisers to ensure people could protest safely, all while wider disruption was kept to a minimum.
Increased ‘stop and search’ powers under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 were put in place in the city centre to help keep the public safe, but the vast majority of people both sides caused no issues for officers.
Only two people were arrested, but they were later released without charge.
One man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon, and one male counter-protester was arrested on suspicion of robbery following an incident unrelated to the events.
“Our policing operation was designed to balance the right to peaceful protest with the need to keep the city centre safe and moving for everyone else,” commented Assistant Chief Constable, Mark Dexter.
“We also have had to ensure our plans were flexible and resilient so that any ‘flash protests’ in other areas of the city could be dealt with quickly, to minimise disruption and risks to safety in our communities. This plan continues into the remainder of the evening.
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“As a result of extensive preparation and the work of officers and partner agencies throughout the day, both groups of demonstrators were able to exercise their rights safely, and we saw no significant disorder.”
Featured Image – GMP
Emily Sergeant -
7th December 2021 
