Connect with us

NewsBeat

‘Our teenage son won’t walk again after horror accident, but he’s positive about his future’

Published

on

Belfast Live

A family has spoken out about how their son’s positive attitude is helping them all cope after his life-changing motorcycle accident.

Jack Watts, 19, spent five days in intensive care where he fought for his life, and underwent an eight-hour surgery where two metal plates were fitted to stabilise his back.

His Parents were told that he was paralysed from the chest down, and they faced an incredibly long road to recovery, including seven weeks at the Royal Victoria Hospital and seven weeks at Musgrave Park Hospital.

Speaking to Belfast Live, Jack’s father, Norman, explained how the tragedy unfolded.

Advertisement

He said, “Jack has autism and ADHD. On his 18th birthday, Jack wanted a motorbike, and because of his autism, he loved the bike as it allowed him to be independent. He could take himself away and meet people.

“The bike was his lifeline; he really loved it. He used to take himself down to Newcastle where the bikers meet up and he would go there three of four times a week. We got a phone call on 6th November to say Jack had been involved in an accident.

Even at the site of the crash he told me that he thought he was paralysed because he couldn’t feel anything, he thought his lungs had collapsed and his ribs had broken and he was right about that as well.

“He spent 8 hours in surgery, they told us straight away that evening he was paralysed, the spinal damage was that bad that nothing could be done. The surgeries really were about keeping Jack alive. It was a success, thank god.

Advertisement

“It was hard to ask the doctor or surgeon if Jack will ever walk again. They told us never say never but we know that he more than likely won’t.

“He was holding out hope that he might and I eventually had to tell him that he won’t be able to walk again. Once I told him everything felt better because I think he knew himself and it allowed him to focus on what he can do rather than what he can’t.”

Since the accident, Norman says that Jack’s positive attitude has allowed him to move forward with his life.

He said: “I think his autism has helped him deal with it. He just accepted it and deals with it and picks himself up every day. He has a girlfriend who has autism as well and they meet up or he’ll meet up with his friends to Rushmere Shopping Centre. Everyone knows him now and keeps an eye out for him and supports him.

If you were to talk to him, you wouldn’t feel one bit sorry for him. He is only a young lad and he knows he’s in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and he just accepts it and focuses on what he will be able to do.

“He still says that it was the best few months of his life when he had the bike and if he was to do it all again he wouldn’t change it.”

Advertisement

While Jack has maintained a positive attitude, things have been hard for his family, coping with caring for Jack in a way they never imagined they would need to.

Norman said: “For us, it has been hard. To watch your child struggle to get in and out of bed, to help them get dressed, it is hard. He’s 19 and he’s in a nappy. Some people think that he’s just lost his mobility but everything has to be retrained.

“We are still in the early stages of working through it and it is hard but his positivity is what is getting us through it. Other people would struggle even to get out of bed but he perseveres and gets himself out and chats to the people in the shops. He is dealing with it as well as anyone would if not better.

Advertisement

“We are still very positive, I have been off work for four months now, I will be going back in a couple of months and my wife is going to basically become Jack’s carer.

“She is amazing and we are taking a lot of the recovery on ourselves. We are happy and we are together as a family. Jack is the same boy that he was before the accident, he just doesn’t have the same body.”

A family friend, Stephanie Devlin, set up a GoFundMe to help Norman and his family give Jack an even better quality of life.

Advertisement

Norman said, “It was amazing that the GoFundMe was set up; it was not something we would have done personally.

“We would have gotten him everything he needed eventually but it is so nice that people are donating to help us get those things quicker.

“For all the bad things going on in the world, this is such a positive thing and it just gives me such a warm feeling. It is the best thing that could have happened from it, it is unbelievable.

“The money is all going towards getting Jack his independence. We are looking for an attachment for his wheelchair and then in the future a lighter wheelchair. The standard ones are around 20 kilos, the lighter ones are 7 kilos and would be so much easier for Jack to get around in. It is all about making life easier for Jack.

Advertisement

“I find it amazing that people who don’t even know us are willing to donate to help us.

“Thank you to everybody, the kindness and generosity that people have shown us is overwhelming. It just shows you that there is still so much good in the world.”

Donations can be made here.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

NewsBeat

Police investigate ‘death to IDF’ chants led by Bobby Vylan at al-Quds rally as twelve arrested

Published

on

Police investigate 'death to IDF' chants led by Bobby Vylan at al-Quds rally as twelve arrested

Addressing the crowd on Sunday, Bobby Vylan said: “Here we are today as a community in an attempt to remain human and let this Government know that despite all of their scare tactics, for every doctor they harass with repeated arrests; for every musician they attempt to ban from playing shows; for every pensioner with a placard they bundle into a police van; for every political prisoner they hope starves to death; we are here unbreakable and human standing always with the people of Gaza.

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Rich House, Poor House mum from Cambridgeshire emotional over millionaire’s help

Published

on

Cambridgeshire Live

A Cambridgeshire single mum featured on the Channel 5 show with her daughters

A single mother was moved to tears when she was presented with a family holiday and a significant career boost on TV programme, Rich House, Poor House.

Advertisement

Katie participated in the show alongside her two daughters, as they swapped homes – and lives – with an affluent Norfolk family for a week.

The family, who had been facing financial difficulties and occasionally relied on a food bank when funds were low, vacated their three-bedroom Cambridgeshire home to reside in Matt and Danni’s £1.2 million Norfolk residence.

The families exchanged budgets, with Matt and Danni, parents of three who operate a luxury mattress and bedding business, subsisting on Katie’s weekly budget of £82.61 after bills. Meanwhile, Katie and her daughters Shelby and Dixie were given £1,900 spending money for the week.

During the poignant episode, which aired on Sunday (March 15), Katie revealed that she was juggling four part-time jobs, including caring for her father Ted, who suffers from heart failure and is both deaf and diabetic, reports Wales Online.

Advertisement

READ MORE: The B&B praised for its breakfast and ‘fat pillows’ on Channel 4 show Four in a BedREAD MORE: The Cambridgeshire-born actor starring in raunchy Rivals series two

She also had plans to establish her own second-hand clothing business, specialising in plus-size attire, with the assistance of her mother Rosemary.

“It’s hard work trying to juggle earning a living and being a mum at the same time,” she said. “I’ve been using a food bank just to top up some shopping when I can’t afford it,” she added.

Advertisement

The programme showed Katie’s family experiencing the high life, being able to spend freely on takeaways and designer clothing. In contrast, Matt and Danni found themselves staying in and enjoying board games with their children as they lacked the funds to venture out.

The pair also carried out some maintenance work at Katie’s home, hanging a curtain at her bedroom window and painting the wooden staircase, which had remained unfinished as Katie couldn’t afford to decorate.

When the life swap concluded, the families met face to face for the first time. Following a discussion about their experiences, Matt and Danni expressed their desire to support Katie and her daughters Shelby and Dixie.

Katie appeared visibly moved as Danni told her: “So we thought that it would be nice to pay for a family holiday for you guys on the Norfolk Broads on a boat for a week. You guys, and Ted and Rosemary as well, so that you can all be together.”

Matt added: “And also something that we’d like to do as well is help you with the business since you’ve already made such a great start. We would like to put £500 in for initial stock just to get up and running and going. And what you do need to do is focus your attention. So we’ve basically drawn a five year plan. And I think within a year, you can certainly be giving all the other jobs up, you know, except you sort of care for your dad and stuff. But I think the business, if it all goes to plan on here, you could probably generate a £77,000 profit out of the business every year.”

Katie appeared emotional as she expressed her delight that Matt could recognise the promise in her concept.

“I’m really excited about my business now,” she said. “Matt’s given me lots of ideas. I can’t believe he has worked out a five-year plan.”

Advertisement

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website

Rich House, Poor House airs on Channel 5

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Detectives investigating Portstewart burglary after cash and jewellery taken

Published

on

Belfast Live

PSNI said: “Two bedrooms were ransacked”

Detectives are appealing for information following a reported burglary in the Downing Park area of Portstewart last week.

Several items including an amount of cash were taken.

Advertisement

Detective Sergeant McKernan said: “The burglary is believed to have occurred at some point between 6pm and 10pm on Friday 13th March, when the property was unoccupied.

READ MORE: Ulster hospital paediatric team celebrate mother’s day with crafts, hearts and hugsREAD MORE: Co Antrim ‘suspected arson’ being investigated by police after car set alight

“A pane in a rear door had been smashed to gain entry. Two bedrooms were ransacked and cash and jewellery stolen. “Our enquiries are ongoing and we would appeal to anyone who noticed anything suspicious in the area to contact us on 101, quoting reference 1646 13/03/26. We would also ask local residents to check their CCTV or doorbell footage.”“Alternatively, you can submit a report online. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online here.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

how a feisty Glasgow neighbourhood beat a ‘secret’ immigration raid

Published

on

how a feisty Glasgow neighbourhood beat a ‘secret’ immigration raid

The kind of protests that loom large in the collective imagination tend to be compact and dramatic. Everybody to Kenmure Street, Felipe Bustos Sierra’s energising and inspiring film about a spontaneous act of collective civil disobedience in Glasgow, documents just such an event.

At a time when mobile phone footage shared by citizen activists is proving increasingly vital in holding authority to account, it also feels extraordinarily prescient. Most obviously in the US, where the film recently won the world cinema documentary special jury award for civil resistance at the Sundance Film Festival.

Bustos Sierra’s debut was the 2018 documentary Nae Pasaran, about a group of Scottish Rolls-Royce workers who, in 1974, refused to repair jet engines for the Chilean air force in protest against the violent Pinochet regime. It won a Bafta for best feature film. Unsurprisingly, Bustos Sierra handles his material with confidence.

Everybody to Kenmure Street begins with a black and white montage. Children play in the back courts of tenement slums. Suffragettes demand the right to vote. The intense heat of the Glasgow’s blast furnaces sends sparks flying. Crowds march against the installation of a nuclear deterrent on the Clyde. Riveters raise their hammers in synchronised rhythm in the city’s famous ship yards. Glasgow’s industrial heritage and its proud history of protest are established as the film’s backdrop.

Advertisement

As the film moves from black and white to colour, we find ourselves on a tenement-lined street in the Pollokshields area of the city. It is early morning on May 13 2021. An immigration enforcement vehicle has just pulled up on Kenmure Street, and two Indian men have been arrested for possible infringements.

Priti Patel, the UK home secretary, had been aggressively doubling down on the hostile environment promoted by her predecessor Theresa May. The dawn raid had been approved without the knowledge of the Scottish government in Holyrood because immigration legislation and policy are reserved to Westminster. Among other things, then, Everybody to Kenmure Street exposes some of the tensions in the devolution settlement.

This intrusion into one of Scotland’s most ethnically diverse areas, with a large Muslim population, on what also happened to be Eid al-Fitr – the feast day that celebrates the end of Ramadan – was understandably experienced by many as a deliberate provocation.

Advertisement

As Bustos Sierra’s evocative film documents, it quickly becomes the trigger for an extraordinary act of communal resistance. A kind of social media-enabled mass sit down, it results in an eight-hour stand-off with immigration officials and the police, and the eventual release, without charge, of the two men.

Making extensive use of donated mobile phone footage, Bustos Sierra documents the heartwarming combination of improvised tactics and community-based solidarity that won the day from the level of the street itself.

As the day progressed, the number of protestors grew from a handful to dozens, to hundreds and eventually a couple of thousand. Word spread and a number of well-known figures arrived on the scene, perhaps most significantly, the activist and human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar who eventually negotiated the men’s release.

Advertisement

The power of ordinary people

At its most affecting though, Everybody to Kenmure Street is a film about the decency and moral courage of ordinary Glaswegians. Having looked out of their windows and spotted the immigration van, a small number of residents decided to act.

They came out into the street, challenged the officials present, created an obstruction by sitting down, and began texting and posting on social media. Crucially, just after 9am an activist, known only as “Van Man”, crawled under the police vehicle and attached himself to the axle preventing the immigration officers from driving away.

His timely action allowed others to gather, and he was described by many as the hero of the day. Because he wishes to remain anonymous, his words are spoken, here, by the film’s executive producer, the actor and activist Emma Thompson, who looks directly to the camera while adopting a position that echoes the cramped conditions Van Man endured for eight hours.

The Scottish actor Kate Dickie similarly gives voice to the off-duty NHS worker who tended him for most of the day. “The fact that I’m a nurse,” she explains, “gives me a level of protection that other people wouldn’t experience”. It’s difficult to hear her words without thinking of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old intensive care nurse shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, in January of this year.

Advertisement

The absolute horror of events in that city make the dénouement of Bustos Sierra’s film all the more remarkable. Police Scotland, who by the end of the day were in attendance in high numbers, simply agreed to let the men go in order to avert any kind of violent confrontation.

If all this sounds wildly utopian, Bustos Sierra is careful not to allow his adopted home town to become too pleased with itself. Picking up on some of the threads laid down in the opening montage, he uses the middle section to stress Glasgow’s mixed legacies.

While the city’s radical tradition is certainly honoured, from its early opposition to apartheid to its proud history of trades unionism, the film also stresses that its mercantile and industrial wealth, like that of Bristol, Liverpool and London, was built on the labour of enslaved people.

Advertisement

In this way a connection is made between the brown men held in the van, who are victims of an aggressive immigration policy, and the historical victims of colonialism who were also predominantly people of colour.

Given that our news feeds are currently full of images reinforcing the reality that black and brown lives are less grievable than white ones, this connection seems an especially vital one to make. An important film, everybody should see Everybody to Kenmure Street.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Psychiatrists warn of ‘workforce crisis’ facing NI mental health services

Published

on

Belfast Live

“Behind these numbers are people – some of them vulnerable – who are waiting far too long for the support they so desperately need.”

Psychiatrists have warned of a “workforce crisis” facing mental health services in Northern Ireland.

Advertisement

A survey carried out by the Royal College of Psychiatrists from all five health trusts found that 29% of consultant posts in the region were either vacant or covered by locum doctors in 2025, up from 25% in 2023.

The census also highlighted pressures among speciality and specialist (SAS) psychiatrists, senior doctors who work alongside consultants.

READ MORE: Wife dedicating herself to helping struggling local artists in memory of late Belfast musicianREAD MORE: The Belfast workshop teaching women to ‘repair for themselves’

It found there were 79 SAS psychiatrist posts across Northern Ireland in March 2025, with 52 filled by permanent doctors.

Advertisement

The remaining posts were either vacant or filled by temporary staff, meaning 34% of SAS roles were not permanently staffed, up from around 29% in 2023.

The college said the staffing pressures “come at a time when demand for mental health care is increasing”.

It also warned that Northern Ireland receives less funding per person for mental health services than other parts of the UK.

Dr Julie Anderson, chairwoman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland, said: “These figures show the true scale of the workforce pressures facing mental health services in Northern Ireland.

Advertisement

“They also highlight how increasingly difficult it is for mental health services to provide consistent, high-quality care for our patients, especially at a time when we’re being asked to do more and more with less, as a result of various initiatives.

“Behind these numbers are people – some of them vulnerable – who are waiting far too long for the support they so desperately need.”

She said early intervention “improves outcomes for individuals and can reduce future pressure on health services”.

Dr Anderson added: “Northern Ireland has historically faced years of chronic underfunding and despite having a greater mental health need, we continue to receive less funding than other parts of the UK.

Advertisement

“At the same time, we still don’t have comprehensive regional data on mental health waiting lists, meaning the true scale of unmet need remains very unclear.

“It’s clear things need to change – everyone should be working together to secure solutions to this continuing workforce crisis.”

The census was conducted by the Training and Workforce Unit of the Royal College of Psychiatrists between May and October 2025. All five health trusts participated in the survey.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

BBC viewers emotional as they spot familiar face in The Other Bennet Sister

Published

on

Wales Online

The new period drama is a reimagining of the world of Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of Mary Bennet

BBC viewers were thrilled to see a star from 1995 hit Pride and Prejudice in new period drama The Other Bennet Sister.

The series – which reimagines the world of Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of frequently overlooked middle daughter Mary Bennet – stars Call The Midwife‘s Ella Bruccoleri in the titular part. However, as the programme began, viewers realised that Mary’s ally Mrs Hill was portrayed by Lucy Briers, who played Mary in the 1995 BBC version of Jane Austen’s novel.

Several viewers shared comments on social media praising the “brilliant” casting choice, with one admitting it moved them to tears, reports the Mirror.

Advertisement

“Is Hill the original Mary? Please say she is – champagne casting!” one person posted on X when the series launched on Sunday (March 15).

“Ella Bruccoleri is fantastic as Mary and I love the link to the BBC adaptation of P&P with Lucy Briers as Mrs Hill (OG Mary),” another wrote on the platform, previously known as Twitter.

READ MORE: Inside The Other Bennet Sister episode release schedule in fullREAD MORE: ‘Beautiful’ period drama with all-star cast is perfect for Jane Austen fans

Advertisement

“Ah wow, Hill is played by Lucy Briers, who played Mary in THE Pride and Prejudice,” remarked a third, whilst someone else observed: “What a lovely Easter egg.”

“Loving that Lucy Briers is the maid,” wrote one fan, as another commented: “I love that the original 1995 Mary is the lovely Hill in this show. Chapeau on the casting.”

“Welling up here,” confessed another viewer.

“Brilliant casting Lucy Briers (the original Mary) as Hill, the long suffering servant,” said a further viewer.

Advertisement

The Other Bennet Sister draws from Janice Hadlow’s novel and spans 10 episodes.

A synopsis reads: “Her journey sees her leave her family home for the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love, and reinvention.”

“The series follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows in search of her own identity and purpose, finding herself in the middle of an epic love story along the way,” it continues.

Advertisement

The supporting cast features Richard E Grant and Ruth Jones portraying Mr and Mrs Bennet, alongside Indira Varma and Richard Coyle as Mr and Mrs Gardiner. Laurie Davidson and Dónal Finn appear as Mary’s prospective romantic interests, Mr Ryder and Mr Hayward.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

The Other Bennet Sister airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

More than 60 dead after severe flooding in Kenya, with Nairobi worst hit | World News

Published

on

Volunteers carry the body of a person killed by flooding following heavy rainfall in in downtown Nairobi, Kenya. Pic: Reuters

A total of 62 people, including eight children, have died after floods hit Kenya last week.

The capital Nairobi was the worst hit with 33 deaths, police said on Saturday.

It is up since the tally issued last week, which put the death toll at 42.

More than 2,000 families have been displaced across the country after days of intense rain.

Advertisement
Image:
People stand around destroyed vehicles following flash floods in the Grogan area, popular for automotive workshops and secondhand spare parts. Pic: Reuters

Footage online shows cars being swept away in waist deep flash floods.

It has also forced disruption to flights from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, the biggest airport in East Africa.

Kenya is not the only country in the region to be affected.

Advertisement

Three days of mourning have been declared in neighbouring Ethiopia after 80 people died in landslides triggered by flooding.

Another 3,461 people have been displaced by the landslides, according to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission.

Previous rain seasons have seen flooding, landslides and mudslides that have left hundreds of people dead and seen thousands of others displaced.

Advertisement

Read more from Sky News:
US name four men and two women killed in refuelling crash
Bahrain and Saudi F1 races scrapped

The region is expected to see more rain and governments have urged residents to exercise caution.

Last month, the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre said the March-April-May rainy season has a 45% chance of above-average rainfall across most countries in the region, including Ethiopia and Kenya, as well as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, South Sudan, Northern Somalia, and Djibouti.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Rich House, Poor House mum emotional as she admits ‘I can’t believe it’

Published

on

Wales Online

A single mum from Cambridgeshire took part in a one-week life swap on the Channel 5 show

A single mum was emotional as she was gifted a family holiday and a big career boost in Rich House, Poor House.

Advertisement

Katie took part in the Channel 5 show with her two daughters, with the trio swapping homes – and lives – with a wealthy family from Norfolk for the week.

The family, who had been struggling financially and sometimes used a food bank when money was short, moved out of their three-bedroom home in Cambridgeshire and went to stay at Matt and Danni’s £1.2 million pad in Norfolk.

The families traded budgets, with parents-of-three Matt and Danni, who run a luxury mattress and bedding business, living on Katie’s £82.61 a week after bills, and Katie and her daughters Shelby and Dixie given £1,900 spending money for the week.

READ MORE: Rich House Poor House mum overwhelmed as Cardiff entrepreneur gives her cash to open cafeREAD MORE: Channel 5 Rich House, Poor House mum in tears as millionaire clears her debt

During the moving episode, which aired on Sunday (March 15), Katie told how she was working four part-time jobs, including being a carer for her dad Ted, who had heart failure and is deaf and diabetic.

She also had an idea to build her own second hand clothes business, specialising in plus size outfits, with the help of mum Rosemary.

“It’s hard work trying to juggle earning a living and being a mum at the same time,” she said. “I’ve been using a food bank just to top up some shopping when I can’t afford it,” she added.

Advertisement

The show followed as Katie’s family had a taste of the high life, getting to splash out on takeaways and expensive clothes. Meanwhile Matt and Danni enjoyed staying in and playing board games with their children as they didn’t have the money to go out.

The couple also set about doing some repairs at Katie’s house, putting up a curtain in her bedroom window and painting the wooden staircase, which had been bare as Katie could not afford to decorate.

As the life swap came to an end, the families met for the first time. After discussing their experiences, Matt and Danni said they wanted to help Katie and her daughters Shelby and Dixie.

Advertisement

Katie looked emotional as Danni told her: “So we thought that it would be nice to pay for a family holiday for you guys on the Norfolk Broads on a boat for a week. You guys, and Ted and Rosemary as well, so that you can all be together.”

Matt added: “And also something that we’d like to do as well is help you with the business since you’ve already made such a great start. We would like to put £500 in for initial stock just to get up and running and going. And what you do need to do is focus your attention. So we’ve basically drawn a five year plan. And I think within a year, you can certainly be giving all the other jobs up, you know, except you sort of care for your dad and stuff. But I think the business, if it all goes to plan on here, you could probably generate a £77,000 profit out of the business every year.”

Katie looked tearful as she said she was pleased Matt could see the potential in her idea.

Advertisement

“I’m really excited about my business now,” she said. “Matt’s given me lots of ideas. I can’t believe he has worked out a five-year plan.”

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website

Rich House, Poor House airs on Channel 5

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Anyone with oak tree in garden given warning as ‘disaster’ hits

Published

on

Wales Online

The UK’s two native oak species, sessile oaks and pedunculate oaks, support more wildlife than any other native tree

British oaks are facing multiple threats which could spell “disaster” for the UK’s most important tree and the wider natural world, experts warn. The head of the Action Oak partnership of charities, landowners, research organisations and government bodies, says the UK must pay attention to the “warning signs” about the state of oaks, as the organisation releases a new report on the situation.

Advertisement

Action Oak’s director Annabel Narayanan said the emblematic trees were facing a litany of pressures including acute oak decline which can kill a tree in three to six years and “we cannot allow what has happened with Dutch elm disease and ash dieback to happen” to oaks.

The UK’s two native oak species, sessile oaks and pedunculate oaks, support more wildlife than any other native tree in the UK, playing host to more than 2,300 species, including 326 species that depend entirely on them for their survival.

The country’s 170 million oak trees also store carbon, provide an important hardwood resource and are a key natural icon in British culture.

The UK has more than 250,000 hectares (600,000 acres) of oak woodlands, much of it in England, as well as in hedgerows, parkland and standing sentinel in fields as remnants of old hedges and wood pasture.

Advertisement

Hundreds of thousands of oaks are found in London, while tens of thousands grow in cities such as Belfast and Cardiff. But, a new report from Action Oak warns, the country’s oaks are facing pressures from climate change bringing higher temperatures and extremes such as drought, diseases and pests including invasive and non-native species, damage from deer browsing and grey squirrels bark stripping.

Some woodlands are also under threat from infrastructure, housing and business developments, with large areas of oak woodlands set to be destroyed by the HS2 rail route.

The most prominent threat is acute oak decline, an interaction of several native bacteria and a native beetle, against a backdrop of environmental stress such as drought.

The condition, which can be seen with weeping lesions and cracks in the bark with dark fluid seeping out, can kill trees that would live for a thousand years in a handful of years making it a “serious condition that threatens the long term resilience” of oaks, says chief plant health officer Nicola Spence.

Advertisement

As of 2023, there were 394 sites recorded with acute oak decline in the UK. While oaks appear to cope relatively well under climate change scenarios as a species, research suggests, individual trees and woodlands may be stressed by drought – making them susceptible to disease – while rising temperatures will reduce growth and increase the risk of wildfires, the report said.

Other threats include oak powdery mildew, the knopper gall wasp which was introduced to Britain in the 1960s and the oak processionary moth which was introduced into the UK about 20 years ago and has spread through London and the South East.

And new threats such as the oak lace bug could be coming to the UK, the report says.

Ms Narayanan said: “What we are seeing with oak is not a single threat, but a convergence of pressures acting at the same time.

Advertisement

“Ageing trees, failed regeneration, climate stress, pests and disease.

“Each one on its own might be manageable, but together they are pushing the UK’s most important tree towards a tipping point, this is a slow-burn ecological disaster.”

And Geraint Richards, head forester to the King and Duchy of Cornwall, said the failure of a species that supports more wildlife than any other in Britain and stores 31 million tonnes of carbon would have national consequences.

“Long term surveys show fewer young oaks establishing, while mature trees dominate the landscape,” he warned.

Advertisement

“Without regeneration, today’s ageing oak population becomes tomorrow’s ecological cliff edge.”

Ms Narayanan also pointed to the presence of nearly 50,000 ancient and veteran oaks in the UK – more than the whole of the rest of Europe combined.

“It’s a really significant ecological resource that we have and so we do need to look to the future and make sure that in the future, we have protected the space that the new ones are coming into,” she said.

Conservationists also want to see better protection for ancient and veteran trees – with Ms Narayanan pointing to the illegal destruction of the Sycamore Gap tree, the felling of the centuries-old Whitewebbs Park oak and the threat to the 550-year-old Darwin oak in Shropshire to make way for a road.

Advertisement

Action Oak also says it is important to do more research into the threats facing oaks, and to keep watch on the emerging pests and diseases to prevent them taking hold.

People who are concerned about the fate of the country’s oak trees can get involved in citizen science projects, or report anything that does not look right to the authorities through schemes such as Observatree, Ms Narayanan added.

Professor Spence said: “Oak trees are a cornerstone of the UK’s landscapes, supporting a wide range of species and enriching our cultural and natural heritage.

“Yet our native oaks are increasingly under pressure, including from Acute Oak Decline – a complex and serious condition that threatens the long‑term resilience of this iconic species.”

Advertisement

“The ‘State of the UK’s Oaks’ provides an important evidence base to help us understand these challenges and focus our collective efforts to ensure that future generations continue to enjoy the immense environmental and societal benefits that healthy oak trees bring.”

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Catterick Village Fisheries “perfect dinner pit stop” from A1(M)

Published

on

Catterick Village Fisheries "perfect dinner pit stop" from A1(M)

Catterick Village Fisheries, based at Thornton Court, Catterick, is rated 4.5 out of 5 on TripAdvisor, placing it among the top quick-bite options in the area.

Reviewers regularly highlight the quality of the fish, with several praising the crispness of the batter and the way the food is cooked to order, while others describe it as “the best dinner pit stop” from the A1(M), which is nearby.

Catterick Village Fisheries (Image: TRIPADVISOR)

One customer described the meal as “excellent fish and chips”, adding that the fish was “very tasty with a superb crispy batter” and the chips were “cooked to perfection”.

They also praised the “lovely staff” and noted there was “parking right outside”.

Advertisement

Another reviewer called it “fish and chips how they should be”, describing “superb” food, “generous portions at a very fair price” and mushy peas that weren’t “green gloop”.

They added: “If you’re hungry, then definitely worth calling in off the motorway.”

A strong theme across the reviews is the service, with customers repeatedly describing staff as “welcoming and efficient”, particularly for pre-orders.

Advertisement

One visitor said they phoned an order through while shopping nearby and found it “wrapped and ready” on arrival.

“I was warmly greeted by all three staff members,” they wrote, before adding: “Our food was absolutely delicious.”

There are also frequent mentions of value for money, with reviewers describing large portions and good prices.

“Huge thick fish, extremely tasty,” wrote one visitor in September 2023, while another customer said the takeaway was “a proper chippy” with “really large portions at affordable prices”.

Advertisement

Open Monday to Saturday, Catterick Village Fisheries continues to draw customers looking for classic fish and chips served fresh, with many reviewers making it clear they plan to return, and others saying it’s the “perfect pitstop” off the A1(M) for fish and chips.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025