Over 630,000 customers and employees had their data leaked onto the dark web – and the company has since been fined nearly £1 million

The owners of a Cambridge water company have been fined nearly £1 million after thousands of customers and employees had their data leaked. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined South Cambridgeshire Staffordshire Plc £963,900.

The company owns Cambridge Water. The fine follows a serious cyber attack that led to the information of 633,887 customers and employees, including those in the Cambridge Water area, having their data leaked on the dark web.

In its Monetary Penalty Notice, the ICO confirmed the cyber attack traced back to September 2020. It mostly took place between May and July 2022.

Elena Karpathakis, managing director at Cambridge Water said: “We are sorry for the worry and disruption this cyber attack caused. We know that customers place their trust in us to protect their information. As soon as we became aware, we worked to contain the cyber attack, support those affected and put additional protections in place.

“Since 2022, we have continued to invest significantly in our cyber security, including strengthening governance and monitoring, and we will continue this focus as threats continue to evolve. We remain focused on doing the right thing for our customers and learning from what happened.”

The cyber attack on South Staffordshire Water began with a phishing email. The recipient of the email opened an attachment which allowed the scammer to install software onto the company’s system.

This remained undetected for nearly two years. In May 2022, the hacker then moved through the IT network. The breach was identified in July 2022 when IT issues prompted an internal investigation.

The company discovered a ransom note that the hacker had unsuccessfully tried to send to members of staff. Between August and November 2022, the company detected that more than 4.1 terabytes of stolen data had been released on the dark web.

This included: personal details including full name and email addresses, HR information from employees, and customer account information. The ICO investigation found South Staffordshire failed to implement a range of UK controls.

These included:

• Inadequate controls that led to the hacker being able to escalate to administrator privileges;
• Inadequate monitoring and logging;
• Use of obsolete and unsupported software on some devices;
• Inadequate vulnerability management, including unpatched critical systems and the absence of regular internal or external security scans.

Law firm Leigh Day is now representing around 6,500 people impacted by the data breach. Sean Humber, Leigh Day partner and group claims data breach specialist, said: “This significant fine recognises South Staffordshire’s serious failures that resulted in the personal information of hundreds of thousands of its own customers being stolen, leaving them at a huge risk of being targeted by fraudsters.”

Gene Matthews, Leigh Day partner and group claims data breach specialist, added: “Those personally affected by the data breach are likely to have strong claims for compensation for the distress caused by the breach, as well as any financial losses suffered.

“While the amounts are likely to vary from individual to individual, given the sensitivity of the information, many of the claims for compensation are likely to be substantial.”

Falling on Channel 4 is Adolescence creator Jack Thorne’s “first ever love story”.

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Falling premieres on Channel 4 tonight with fans eager to know where the romantic drama was shot.

Channel 4’s Falling delves into the forbidden love story of nun Anna (played by Keeley Hawes) and Catholic priest David (Paapa Essiedu), forcing them to wrestle with their vows and relationship with God.

The six-part series is not only brought to life by an all-star cast but by its award-winning creator Jack Thorne, famed for writing Adolescence on Netflix.

Channel 4 Falling filming locations

Filming for Falling on Channel 4 primarily took place in Bristol, Wales, specifically Cardiff, and the wider South Wales region.

Shooting for the new series reportedly began in April 2025 and continued throughout the year.

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Bristol served as a key location as much of David’s storyline within the local community meant Falling was shot across residential districts and inner city areas.

4Filming reported that community centres and neighbourhood streets were used to portray his work in different environments.

Channel 4’s official production also talks about his connection to the “Bristol community that surrounds it”.

On the other hand, Cardiff and the surrounding parts of South Wales were also heavily used during filming, particularly to do with Anna’s life in the convent.

4Filming adds: “Several historic properties and quiet religious-style locations around the city reportedly doubled as the secluded convent where Anna has spent most of her adult life.”

Production also took place at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol, one of the largest film and television studios in England.

It’s been reported that interior sets for the convent, rectory and other indoor scenes were shot here.

The Bottle Yard Studios is no stranger when it comes to hit series either with other popular shows like Poldark, Sherlock, The Buccaneers and Wolf Hall, also filmed at this location.

Talking about Falling ahead of its premiere, Thorne said: “I never thought I’d write a love story, but I am very excited to be making one with the brilliant Peter Hoar.

“We feel so lucky we have persuaded the mighty (and lovely) Keeley Hawes, the brilliant (and also lovely) Paapa Essiedu and the most amazing company of (lovely) actors to come make this with us, The Forge and Channel 4.”

Falling premieres on Tuesday, May 19, at 9pm on Channel 4.

‘You think this is hard? Try being waterboarded, that’s hard.’

It’s the utterly bonkers – and yet somehow pitch-perfect – opening line to the pilot episode of Ryan Murphy’s magnum opus: Glee season one (yes, even over American Horror Story, argue with the wall)

Jane Lynch’s acerbic Sue Sylvester’s megaphone-touting declaration to her cheer squad kicks off 50 minutes of television so absurd and yet so compelling that it’s a masterclass in how to open a TV show with a bang.

If you were living under a rock in May 2009 and somehow missed the launch of this cultural phenomenon, then let me catch you up.

Much like Marc Jacobs-clad teen Kurt (Chris Colfer) is unceremoniously chucked into a bin by high school jocks Finn (Corey Monteith) and Puck (Mark Salling) in the first minutes of the episode, we viewers are plunged into the cutthroat world of American high school in the late 00s.

Enter Mr Schue (Matthew Morrison), a Spanish teacher who can’t speak Spanish with a passion for show choir and a hankering for his own high school glory days, where he no doubt peaked in life.

After the current choir teacher, Sandy, is kicked out over child predator accusations from the ambitious and slightly unhinged Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), Mr Schue launches his bid to set up the brand spanking new Glee Club.

Oh, and this is all in the first four minutes.

Then, we get the auditions – the perfect vehicle to introduce us to our main players. There’s Kurt with his baffingly deadpan delivery of Mr Cellophane, the birth of Tina Cohen-Chang’s (Jenna Ushkowitz) ‘stutter’ and Mercedes’s (Amber Riley) overlooked powerhouse vocals.

Then we have the aforementioned Rachel, whose musically infused monologue about being a star holds up as some of the best character exposition in TV history.

It includes the show’s first of many slushee throws, her dramatic fake crying, and the revelation she isn’t homophobic as she has ‘two gay dads’ – it’s a fever dream.

And just when you think the show can’t possibly go even more leftfield, Mr Schue threatens to expose high school heartthrob Finn’s non-existent drug stash unless he agrees to join the club.

What’s perhaps most impressive is that Ryan manages to plant the seeds for so many wild dynamics fromMr Schue and Sue’s ever-escalating rivalry to his wife Terri’s ‘pregnancy’ and flirtation with fellow teacher Emma.

That’s not even to mention the students’ own plethora of problems. One thing is for sure: there’s trouble in paradise for the school’s power couple, cheerleader Quinn and our plucky protagonist Finn.

You would think the episode would feel ridiculously overstuffed, but somehow every thread seamlessly merges into a glorious hotpot of high camp nonsense you can’t stop watching.

This all culminates in the final number of the show, Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing with Rachel and Finn leading the powerful cover that is now synonymous with the show.

I’m not afraid to admit that to this day, hearing those opening notes makes me misty-eyed with nostalgia (and remains a karaoke staple for my sister and I).

And I’m far from alone.

The splash this made at the time cannot be overstated. As one Reddit user, LiveFromNewYork95, put it: ‘It’s hard to explain just how much that pilot episode of Glee moved the needle.’

This was the show to watch; it changed the game for LGBTQ+ TV in the years leading up to same-sex marriage being legalised in the US and reinvented the wheel when it came to meta coming-of-age shows that haven’t quite been replicated since.

Only Glee could get away with the storylines and whiplash-inducing dialogue it puts on screen.

‘One of the best pieces of television ever aired,’ Metro reporter Danni rightfully declared.

‘Somehow the most progressive yet the most offensive show at the same time. There’ll never be another one like it,’ Ana shared on X.

‘Made me who I am and I’m so serious,’ martymauser echoed. ’17 years ago herstory was made,’ Brooke agreed.

The bold humour, perfectly tempered satire and genuine levels of musical talent exuding from this show created the perfect storm and, even 17 years on, it’s a standout pilot episode and is showrunner Ryan at his very best.

Since that shining first episode, the show has taken a more sour turn, tainted by the real-life loss of cast members, behind-the-scenes controversy and a truly terrible final three seasons.

But none of what came after can take away from the brilliance of the pilot.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a Glee rewatch I’ve accidentally started.

Glee is available to stream on Disney Plus now.

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LONDON (AP) — Police in the UK say they are investigating two allegations of decades-old child sex abuse after looking into potential crimes revealed in documents from the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Police in Surrey, the county immediately southwest of London, said in a statement Tuesday that they are investigating two separate allegations. One relates to locations in Surrey and Berkshire in the mid-1990s to 2000. The other relates to the mid- to late 1980s in West Surrey.

No arrests have been made.

“We take all reports of sexual offending seriously and will work to identify any reasonable lines of enquiry to verify information or establish corroborating evidence,’’ police said in a statement.

Surrey is among several U.K. police forces that have worked together to assess potential crimes revealed in documents linked to the late financier and sex offender. The National Police Chiefs’ Council, which brings together police leaders from across the U.K., said in February that it had set up a national coordination group to support forces looking into issues arising from the more than 3 million pages of documents released earlier this year.

While the council didn’t specify the police forces involved in the effort, at least eight have said they are “assessing” information in the files. They are looking into issues ranging from concerns that Epstein’s private jet may have been used in sex trafficking to allegations that the former Prince Andrew sent confidential reports to the financier when he was Britain’s international trade envoy.

The Epstein scandal has rocked the royal family and British politics in recent months because of his links to Peter Mandelson, the U.K.’s former ambassador to Washington, and to the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

King Charles III in October stripped his younger brother of his royal titles, including the right to be called a prince, in an effort to insulate the royal family from the continuing revelations about his friendship with Epstein.

Plans approved by City of York Council are set to see the borehole drilled at Wigginton Playing Fields, in Mill Lane.

The Wigginton Sports and Playing Fields Association has applied to drill the hole to get water to irrigate football pitches during droughts.

Council planning officers stated it was an appropriate and modest development on green belt land.

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The hole is set to be drilled to the west of the playing fields’ pavilion building, towards the back of the site.

It is set to be 1m-wide and would look similar to a manhole cover at the top.

The pitches are used and managed by the Wigginton Grasshoppers grassroots football club.

Plans stated they aimed to create a supply of water to football pitches during summer droughts.

They added the works would be carried out by an experienced borehole drilling contractor in line with best practice guidance to avoid contaminating ground water.

Plans stated: “The borehole and headworks will be covered by a lockable housing to prevent access to the borehole by unauthorised personnel, the pump controls will be located in a locked, steel container.

“The water, which will only be used for watering the WSPFA’s playing
field, will only be abstracted under the control of the Wigginton Grasshoppers Personnel.

“The borehole and associated works will be maintained in good working
order by the WSPFA.

“If and when the borehole is to be abandoned the borehole will be capped off in accordance with good practice at the time.”

Council planning officers stated groundwater and neighbouring residents would not be negatively affected by the plans.

They stated: “The proposal constitutes appropriate development within the green belt, being the provision of appropriate facilities for outdoor sport.

“The development, given its modest nature would not result in harm to the openness of the green belt.”

Photographer Kieran Delaney had his camera handy to capture the towering dark clouds as they gathered above the city, with one or two flashes of lightning cutting through the gloom to the backdrop of rumbling thunder.

Storm closes in on York in dramatic photo by Kieran Delaney – pictured. (Image: Kieran Delaney)

Kieran, 27, is a member of The Press Camera Club and lives in Heworth. He studied photography at sixth form at All Saints RC School and works as a photographer and at Tommy Hilfiger at York Designer Outlet.

Kieran shoots on a Nikon D5500, with a 35mm lens, a standard kit lens 18-55mm and a 55-200mm lens and he also has a drone.

Garry Hornby captured this scene slightly earlier at the ‘Coppergate Brolly walk’. (Image: Garry Hornby)

According to the Met Office, unsettled weather is expected to continue across North Yorkshire over the coming days.

Forecasters suggest a mix of sunshine and scattered showers, with a risk of further thunderstorms, particularly in the afternoons. Temperatures are likely to remain around the mid-teens, with occasional gusty winds accompanying heavier bursts of rain.

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More than 3,000 readers have joined The Press Camera Club, which launched in June 2017 and brings together talented photographers from across York and North and East Yorkshire to share their work, swap tips and take part in themed monthly prize competitions.

To join the free club, simply search for ‘The Press Camera Club’ on Facebook – we’d love to see what our region looks like through your lens.

We will feature pictures from our camera club in The Press and online regularly.

If you like seeing photos of York, please follow us on Instagram too @york.press.

The teenager was so concerned that Michael Cullen would make good on his threat that he fled from his home

A man not long out of prison threatened to chop off a teenager’s fingers with an axe, a court has heard. The teenager was so concerned by the menacing phone call that he fled his home shortly before the defendant turned up at the property armed with a hammer.

Swansea Crown Court heard that the background to the threat was money owed for damage done to a borrowed car, with Cullen volunteering to take the role of debt enforcer.

The defendant’s advocate said his client had been “trying to secure compensation for a friend” but accepted he shouldn’t have acted in the way he did.

Brian Simpson, prosecuting, told the court that the victim in the case borrowed a car from a woman known to Cullen, and then let a friend of his drive it. The friend subsequently crashed the car and the two men abandoned the damaged vehicle.

The court heard the woman asked the Swansea teenager – who cannot be named due to his age – for compensation for the damage done but none was forthcoming. The woman later mentioned the incident to Cullen who took matters into his own hands.

The prosecutor said on the night of April 13 this year the defendant called the teenager, telling him to pay compensation to the woman and telling him he had recently been released from prison.

Cullen then told the teenager that he would be attending his home that night, and would cut off his fingers with an axe.

The court heard the complainant ended the call before ringing the police, and that he then left the house as he was concerned Cullen would make good on his threat. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter

The prosecutor said that at 2.30am the following morning Cullen and the owner of the damaged car arrived at the teenager’s house in a taxi. He said the defendant knocked on the front door, and after getting no answer produced a hammer from the pocket of his hoodie.

The court heard Cullen then broke the video doorbell on the property before walking into the rear garden and taking a children’s motorbike. The 44-year-old defendant was riding off on the stolen bike when police arrived on the scene, and officers tracked him down and arrested him a short time later.

In a statement read to the court by the prosecution barrister, the victim said he was concerned for the safety of his family.

Michael Cullen, of Clyne Court, Sketty Park, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to sending threatening communications, criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon, and driving while disqualified when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 11 previous convictions for 41 offences including “serious violence”, dangerous driving, and aggravated vehicle taking.

Andrew Evans, for Cullen, said his client had been “trying to secure compensation for a friend” but accepted he shouldn’t have taken matters into his own hands in the way he did, and shouldn’t have made unlawful threats – though he said in his submissions the threats had been “empty” ones.

The advocate said the defendant had come out of prison drug free shortly before the incident and was disappointed in his behaviour and the position he had now put himself in.

Judge Huw Rees said he suspected that in the cold light of day the defendant now realises he went about things in the wrong way and now understands he should not have got involved in the dispute.

With a one-quarter discount for his guilty pleas Cullen was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He will serve 40 per cent of the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

The final pieces are falling into place for one of the most consequential by-elections in modern British history.

Next month, the people of Makerfield – a constituency covering the area south of Wigan in Greater Manchester – will choose who they want to be their new MP.

The contest was triggered by the resignation of Josh Simons, who said explicitly he wanted to give Andy Burnham an opportunity to win a seat in the Commons and possibly launch a leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer.

This afternoon, it was confirmed that the Mayor of Greater Manchester will indeed be running as the Labour candidate.

We also now know the identity of the man likely to be his biggest threat: Robert Kenyon, a local plumber who is running for the second time as the candidate for Reform UK.

Both men have emphasised their community credentials. Burnham grew up a 20-minute drive away in the town of Culcheth, while Kenyon says he was born and bred within the constituency boundaries.

In a speech yesterday, Burnham apologised to the area for ‘the circus that’s about to arrive in town and the inconvenience that will result’.

But he added: ‘I hope you feel it’s a good thing as well that the places that make up this constituency, long forgotten by national politics, finally are at the centre of the national debate.’

What you should know about Makersfield

The first thing is that ‘Makersfield’ is not a town, and never has been.

It is an area containing several settlements large and small – including a few that incorporate the name, such as Ashton-in-Makersfield and Ince-in-Makerfield.

If you were to draw a line on a map connecting Manchester and Liverpool city centres, Makersfield would be almost exactly in the middle and a little to the north.

At the time of the last general election, just over 100,000 people lived in the constituency and they were almost 97% white.

The child poverty rate was more than 5% lower than that for the broader north-west of England, but house prices were also lower than the average for the region.

Like many other places in this part of England, Makerfield was once dominated by two industries: cotton and especially coal.

Burnham has focused heavily on the impact of deindustrialisation in the area, saying Margaret Thatcher’s government in the 1980s drained away ‘economic, social and political power’.

What are Makerfield’s politics?

This is a seat with strong, historic links to the Labour Party.

In fact, its residents voted Labour at the first opportunity in 1906, when the constituency was called Ince and the party was called the Labour Representation Committee.

They continued voting for the red rosette until 1983, when the constituency’s boundaries and name were changed. From then on, it was Makerfield rather than Ince that kept choosing Labour MPs.

There was never much of a threat to the party’s dominance until 2019, when Boris Johnson’s Conservatives came within 5,000 votes of taking the seat. This counted as a close call.

In summer 2024, it was Reform UK that posed a threat to new Labour candidate Josh Simons. More people voted for Nigel Farage’s party in Makersfield than any other seat won by Labour.

As Sir Keir Starmer’s government has grown ever more unpopular, it has looked more like a dead cert that Reform would bag the constituency at the next election.

But Andy Burnham’s candidacy changes the calculations. Not only is he a popular mayor, he is also positioning himself in opposition to the Prime Minister.

His unspoken message to voters is: ‘Vote for me, and you’ll make sure Starmer is replaced by a strong northern voice.’

For Robert Kenyon and Reform, the spoils of victory are irresistible – demonstrating they can beat Labour’s most popular figure in the country on his doorstep, while also keeping an unpopular PM in power.

They might be buoyed by the fact Makerfield voted 65% leave in the Brexit referendum, which took place almost exactly ten years before the constituency will go to the polls in June.

Luke Tryl, the boss of pollster More in Common, says attitudes have shifted to the extent it would likely now narrowly vote to remain. However, the landscape that led to that high percentage – such as concern over levels of immigration – remains.

He said: ‘Andy Burnham definitely wants it to be Andy Burnham versus Reform, rather than Labour versus Reform.

‘If it’s Labour versus Reform, Reform win. If it’s Andy Burnham versus Reform, it’s much closer.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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Cambridgeshire County Council is facing calls to sort recycling locally but says the process is not straightforward

A council faces calls for a new recycling centre to end a “ridiculous” agreement to send waste 400 miles away for sorting. Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council’s recycling waste has been transported to Newry in Northern Ireland since March 2025.

Susie Williams, a member of the public, asked Cambridgeshire County Council how likely it is that a recycling centre could be built in Cambridgeshire and when this could happen. She said: “The trucks generate considerable amounts of carbon emissions and particulates, which is not really acceptable for two councils who are aiming to become net-zero.”

Cllr Ros Hathorn, chair of the county council’s environment and green investment committee, said that the waste market and providers “do not serve the East of England particularly well” and don’t have “sufficient capacity” to take their recycling.

The Liberal Democrat councillor said the waste partnership, Recycling in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (RECAP) which includes all local authorities in Cambridgeshire, is starting to look at other solutions.

She said: “It is not as straightforward as just building an industrial unit, putting some kit in there and switching it on – it’s a long, expensive process. It requires a licence from the Environment Agency, which is not straightforward to get.

“It needs to get planning permission and, as a new facility would create significant traffic in its area, there is likely to be objections to it.”

Cllr Hathorn said that the upcoming local government reorganisation “has slowed down the prospects of any big project being started in the near future”.

The council was asked to approve a new strategy document for RECAP. Cllr Darren Green said he was “very encouraged” to see it recommended recycling take place locally.

The Green Party councillor said: “I think this council must do everything it can to change this. Other counties can process their blue bin recycling locally – why can’t Cambridgeshire?”

Cllr Mike Black said that “everyone can see that this looks ridiculous”. He called it an example of market failure and “privatisation not working”.

The Labour councillor said: “I don’t like hearing local government review as an excuse for doing nothing or delaying things. We have a new government after 15 years of the same, we have a vast need for change – and we need to change quickly.

“I don’t think we should be saying that local government review stops councils from being innovative and planning for the future. Indeed, I think on these sorts of issues, we should be trying to get things done as quickly as possible.”

Cllr Steve Tierney disagreed, saying “things aren’t always as simple as they appear”. The Conservative councillor said: “It’s not market failure when markets don’t deliver the outcome you want – that’s market reality – it would only be failure if they simply couldn’t do it.

“It’s not ideal to send things to Northern Ireland, I accept that. I would like to see a change that changes that, but only if it’s cost-effective for the taxpayer.

“If this works out to be the cheapest way to do it for the taxpayer, then I’d carry on supporting doing it – for the simple reason I don’t think we need to be layering costs upon the tax payer for virtue projects.”

Surrey Police are investigating two separate allegations of historic child sexual abuse following the release of the Epstein files.

The force said that one relates to locations in Surrey and Berkshire in the mid 1990s to 2000, while the other report relates to west Surrey in the mid to late 1980s.

In a statement, the force said: “Following the release of files relating to Jeffery Epstein by the US Department of Justice, we are investigating two separate allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse.”

It said that no arrests had been made in relation to the allegations.

“We take all reports of sexual offending seriously and will work to identify any reasonable lines of enquiry to verify information or establish corroborating evidence,” the force added.

“There is no further information at this time.”

In February, Surrey Police called for witnesses to come forward after a redacted report released by the US Department of Justice in December, set out allegations of human trafficking and sexual assault which allegedly took place in Virginia Water between 1994 and 1996.

Multiple UK police forces have been reviewing information contained within the millions of pages of files released earlier this year.

Surrey Police have followed separate investigations by Thames Valley Police and the Metropolitan Police, who have arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Peter Mandelson respectively for alleged misconduct in public office.

Epstein, a convicted paedophile, was arrested in 2019 and was found dead in his cell months later while awaiting trial on human trafficking and sexual abuse charges.

His case continues to be in the public eye for his alleged ties to the famous – and names that are found in his alleged contact book, including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson and former Prince Andrew.

Those named in the book have not been accused of any wrongdoing.