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Millions of Britons would find it hard or impossible to cover an extra £20 in monthly expenditure | UK News

More than a third of adults in the UK would find it difficult or impossible to cover a £20 increase in their monthly expenditure, according to new research.

Citizens Advice commissioned a survey of 2,000 adults between 5 and 9 December and found that one in four would find it somewhat difficult to cover the increase, 7% would find it very difficult and 4% would find it impossible.

Also among those who would find the extra cost difficult or impossible were 58% of those on benefits, 57% of those using pre-payment meters for their energy supply, and 47% of people of colour.

Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: “Millions of households are at financial breaking point: running down savings, going without bare essentials and turning to food banks to get by.

“We’re already seeing record numbers of people coming to us for crisis support and this research shows people simply cannot cut back any further.

“Current government support is a sticking plaster which is quickly being exhausted due to the increased pressures people are facing.

“Without further targeted intervention, we risk another year of despair for millions of people.”

The survey also found that a third of people have had to dip into their savings in the last three months to get by, and more than half of them had either run out of savings or expect to do so in the next three months.

Read more:
Ed Conway: Inflation, gas prices, cost of living crisis and a plummeting pound – 2022 in charts
Cost of living crisis to deepen in 2023 with falling pay and rising bills, warns think tank
Inflation may have peaked but you should still be prepared for a bleak winter ahead

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Britain is witnessing the worst squeeze on incomes in a generation, as struggling households are hit by soaring energy costs and rocketing inflation.

Citizens Advice said it helped a record number of people in December, assisting them in getting emergency grants and referring them to food banks.

Almost three in 10 of those surveyed said they are losing sleep at least once a week because they are worried about their finances.

UK weather: Met Office issues ice warnings, plummeting temperatures and rain to hit Britain | UK News

Plummeting temperatures and icy conditions are set to sweep parts of Britain overnight after the country endured a cold snap and consistent downpours at the end of 2022.

Yellow weather warnings for ice are in place for the North of England and across Northern Ireland from midnight on Monday until 11am on Tuesday.

The Met Office has also issued yellow weather warnings for ice in Scotland from 6pm on New Year’s Day until 11am on Monday, with temperatures expected to drop to -8C in the Highlands.

Pic: Met Office
Image:
Pic: Met Office

The forecaster warned of the risk of injuries from slips and falls, along with icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.

While rainfall is easing for many, it will remain cold in the North and West of the country, with the Met Office adding: “Rain in northeast and southeast is clearing during the evening, though lingering over the Northern Isles.

“A few showers elsewhere, but plenty of dry weather with easing winds. Cold in the north and west with some frost. Icy stretches in the north.”

It added that “ice remains the main hazard”.

A snow warning across central and northern Scotland was in place until midday on Sunday.

The Met Office predicts a “much better day than of late” on Monday with most areas expecting fine, dry and bright weather after a chilly start through showers in the southeast during the morning, though it will remain showery in northwest Scotland.

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “We’re expecting temperatures to drop quite quickly, quite widely – actually below zero – with some rural spots getting down to -7C, -8C tonight in the Highlands.”

He added: “The rest of the UK, certainly a colder night than the night just gone… a few showers moving off of the north and west around Liverpool Bay area across the Lake District, and those will leave behind wet surfaces during the course of the afternoon and into the evening.”

After a cold and dry day on Monday, forecasters say the first week of 2023 looks unsettled with wet and windy weather for most, before turning milder.

Fourteen flood warnings are in place for the next five days, with local flooding from rivers and surface water possible on Tuesday and Wednesday for parts of North West England.

Land, roads and some properties could also flood, and there may be travel disruption.

For most of Tuesday and Wednesday, the Met Office predicts it will be unsettled and windy for most parts of the country, with showers or longer spells of rain.

It is expected to turn mild after a chilly start on Tuesday morning, with further rain in mainly central and southern areas forecast later on Thursday.

‘Up to 500 people could be dying each week’ due to emergency care delays | UK News

About 500 people could be dying each week due to emergency care delays, a senior healthcare official has warned.

Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said he thinks waiting times for December will be the worst he has ever seen.

More than a dozen NHS trusts and ambulance services declared critical incidents over the festive period as a severe flu outbreak and rising COVID cases are adding pressure to the system.

Read more: Number of flu cases in hospital seven times higher than November

Dr Boyle told Times Radio: “We went into this December with the worst-ever performance against our target and the highest-ever occupancy levels in hospital.

“We don’t know about the waiting time figures because they don’t come out for a couple of weeks; I’d be amazed if they’re not the worst ever that we’ve seen over this December.

“What we’re seeing now in terms of these long waits is being associated with increased mortality, and we think somewhere between 300-500 people are dying as a consequence of delays and problems with urgent and emergency care each week. We need to actually get a grip of this.”

In November, 37,837 patients waited more than 12 hours in A&E for a decision to be admitted, NHS England figures show.

This is an almost 355% increase on the previous November, when about 10,646 patients waited longer than 12 hours.

Dr Boyle added: “If you look at the graphs, they all are going the wrong way, and I think there needs to be a real reset. We need to be in a situation where we cannot just shrug our shoulders and say ‘This winter was terrible, let’s do nothing until next winter’.

“We need to increase our capacity within our hospitals, we need to make sure that there are alternative ways so that people aren’t all just funnelled into the ambulance service and emergency department.

“We cannot continue like this – it is unsafe and it is undignified.”

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Half of Staffordshire ambulances queuing outside hospital

Patients have been reportedly waiting hours for a bed and ambulances carrying patients have been stuck outside hospitals for hours as they wait to hand them over.

Sky News revealed on New Year’s Eve that more than half of Staffordshire’s ambulances were queuing outside Royal Stoke Hospital, with a paramedic and UNISON representative saying it was the “worst we’ve ever seen”.

Last week, one in five ambulance patients in England waited more than an hour to be handed over to A&E teams.

Dr Boyle added it is “absolutely never too late” to get a flu vaccination and said those who are eligible should do so to reduce pressure on hospitals.

Lionesses, Emma Raducanu and the Premier League: Who and what to look out for in 2023 | UK News

What chance the Lionesses dominating the sporting reviews this time next year, as they have been in the last week or so?

Every chance.

Transformational coach Sarina Wiegman has persuaded the FA to fly her Euros winners business class to the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand – and they have the ability, and crucially the mentality, to do the business again – even though the USA, above all, will strengthen the opposition.

Soccer Football - Women's Euro 2022 - England Victory Celebrations - Trafalgar Square, London, Britain - August 1, 2022 England players on stage during the celebrations REUTERS/Molly Darlington
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The Lionesses celebrating their victory in London

Backheel goalscoring Euros heroine Alessia Russo could be part of another double – at club level. Both the men and women of Manchester United have that deliver-on-the-day quality that can win an FA Cup.

Forgive a boring notion, but Manchester City’s men and Chelsea’s women remain the likeliest league champions, despite strengthening challenges.

In the Scottish Premiership, Celtic’s nine-point league is too great for new Rangers coach Michael Beale to bridge.

And in Europe? Will goal machine Erling Haaland deliver a long-awaited first Champions League for Manchester City. With a problem or two dogging most of their strongest rivals, this is surely the time for boss Pep Guardiola.

In the year’s first big global event, Novak Djokovic is rightly hot favourite to win the Australian Open tennis and equal Rafael Nadal’s record 22 Grand Slam wins.

British fans have reason to hope Emma Raducanu starts a sharp climb from 80th in the world rankings, if she hits it off with new coach Sebastian Sachs and – importantly – fitness guru Jez Green.

Pic: AP
Image:
Will Emma Raducanu return to winning form? Pic: AP

The Six Nations kicks off the international rugby union year – France’s men and England’s women to win – but the autumn men’s World Cup will dominate.

New coaches for Wales and England add to the fascination, but if Ireland are ever going to win it, this is the year.

Also going for World Cup glory are England’s male and female cricketers in the 50-over and 20-over versions respectively. The men can retain the trophy they won dramatically in 2019; the women may find Australia too strong.

In this summer’s Ashes, will Australia provide a rude awakening for Ben Stokes’s new-look all-conquering swashbuckling England? Instinct says the Stokes bandwagon will roll on for a bit yet.

There are British world championship gold medals in prospect in athletics (Jake Wightman and Keely Hodgkinson on the up), gymnastics (likewise the Gadirova twins, Jessica and Jennifer) and swimming (Adam Peaty against the rest again, but can he still do it at 27? Maybe just.)

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Will Lewis Hamilton be world champion again?

In F1, as ever, so much depends on the cars and the rules, but Mercedes British pair Lewis Hamilton and rising star George Russell may find World Champion Max Verstappen still too tough a nut to crack, though they should get closer than in 2022.

And two individuals to finish with – 6ft 9 Tyson Fury and 5ft 9 Rory McIlroy.

Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk will be a tougher test than anyone Fury boxed in 2022, but the “Gypsy King” hits as hard as he talks and should prevail again.

And back McIlroy finally to win his first major golf tournament since 2014, help Europe regain the Ryder Cup from the USA in Rome, and be a big part of sporting reviews this time next year.

Two serious offenders escape from mental health facility in Northamptonshire | UK News

Police are searching for two men who have escaped from a mental health facility in Northampton.

Nicholas Courtney is a 43-year-old convicted sex offender who is serving a hospital order.

He left the grounds of St Andrew’s Healthcare in Billing Road at about 6pm on Saturday 31 December while on an escorted walk with members of staff.

He is white, 5ft 8, slim, with a bald shaven head and distinctive tattoos on his neck.

When he was last seen, he was wearing black trainers, blue jeans, a black jacket with a red stripe across the chest and a waterproof jacket on top.

The other escapee is Johnny Brady, a 19-year-old who is also serving a hospital order but for a serious assault in Derby.

He escaped the hospital at about 3.30pm on Saturday 31 December, although his escape is not thought to have been related to Courtney’s.

Brady is white, 5ft 9 and slim. He was last seen wearing black Adidas tracksuit bottoms, a black hoodie, and black trainers.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson said: “We would like to appeal directly to Johnny to reassure him that he is not in trouble but to please return to St Andrew’s or make yourself known to the police.

“We need to make sure you are safe and receive the care that you need.”

Northamptonshire Police said members of the public should not approach the men under any circumstances but should instead phone police to report sightings.

The force control room can be contacted on 999, and people can quote incident number 359 of 31/12/22 for a sighting of Courtney and 275 of 31/12/22 for Brady.

Climber dies and another injured after avalanche on Ben Nevis | UK News

A climber has died and another was injured after an avalanche on the north face of Ben Nevis.

Police Scotland said they were made aware of the avalanche at around 3.35pm on Friday.

The Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team and a helicopter were dispatched to help two climbers, amid challenging weather conditions.

A 48-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene and a 40-year-old was taken to hospital for treatment.

A spokesperson for the rescue team said they were called out after being alerted to the avalanche and located the two casualties.

They added: “Sadly one had sustained fatal injuries and the other was seriously injured after a slide of 600 metres (approximately).

“With the weather creating some challenging conditions the helicopter was limited to the assistance it could offer.”

It took eight hours to transfer the casualties to hospital amid the tough conditions, the spokesperson said.

Julian Assange to apply for prison leave to attend Vivienne Westwood’s funeral, says wife | World News

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to request leave from prison to attend the funeral of his friend Dame Vivienne Westwood, according to his wife.

Dame Vivienne, known as the Godmother of Punk, died aged 81 on Thursday surrounded by her family in south London, prompting Mr Assange to search for a way to say goodbye, despite being behind bars in London’s Belmarsh prison as he fights extradition to the US.

His wife Stella Assange told Australia’s Nine Media of the funeral: “Julian’s going to put in a request to be able to attend.”

Mr Assange and Dame Vivienne had been friends for more than a decade, with the designer a vocal supporter throughout his time in the Ecuadorian embassy and prison.

FILE - Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood sits suspended in a giant bird cage in protest against the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the U.S., outside the Old Bailey court, in London on July 21, 2020. Westwood, an influential fashion maverick who played a key role in the punk movement, died Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, at 81. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
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Vivienne Westwood outside the Old Bailey, ahead of Julian Assange’s court battle against extradition to the US. Pic: AP

She even dressed as a canary and suspended herself inside a giant birdcage outside The Old Bailey in July 2020 to protest his potential extradition.

The designer’s death prompted the WikiLeaks founder to issue his first statement since being imprisoned in 2019.

Released by Mrs Assange, it said: “Vivienne was a Dame and a pillar of the anti-establishment. Bold, creative, thoughtful and a good friend. The best of Britain. She will be missed terribly by me and many others.”

Mrs Assange wore a dress designed by Dame Vivienne and her husband Andreas Kronthaler when she married the 51-year-old at the prison in a small ceremony in March.

Stella Moris, partner of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at HMP Belmarsh prison before her wedding to Assange, in London, Britain, March 23, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
Image:
Stella Assange before her wedding to Julian, in March this year

Mrs Assange said following the death: “Vivienne was a rebel at heart. Julian and I loved her company.

“Her gift to us took our wedding to the next level, so there was a lot of attention, and she just had this incredible talent for visuals and for messaging.”

She added: “Our wonderful friend Vivienne Westwood has left us. A fierce campaigner and a true altruist, she fought to #FreeAssange and for humanity’s future.

“Vivienne, you remain an inspiration. Your greatness will live on.”

Eccentric creations

Dame Vivienne, who was born in Cheshire in 1941, is largely accepted as being responsible for bringing punk and new wave fashion into the mainstream with her eccentric creations.

Her designs were regularly worn by high-profile individuals including Dita Von Teese, who wore a purple Westwood wedding gown to marry Marilyn Manson, and Princess Eugenie, who wore three Westwood designs for various elements of the wedding of the then Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Details of her funeral are not yet known.

Misuse of party drug laughing gas ‘is no joke’, neurologist warns | UK News

Misusing nitrous oxide can lead to life-threatening risks, a leading neurologist has warned, as Britain gears up to celebrate the new year.

The party drug, commonly known as laughing gas, is second to cannabis as the most commonly misused substance among 16 to 24-year-olds in England.

“I think it’s wrong to call it laughing gas because that makes it seem like it’s a joke,” Dr David Nicholl, clinical lead for neurology at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, told Sky News.

“It is a drug that is used as an anaesthetic, but that’s with 50% oxygen in a supervised environment with health professionals who understand doses.”

Laughing gas
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Pic: Associated Press

Acute exposure to the gas can lead to anaemia and nerve damage, and it has also been linked to fertility issues.

Dr Nicholl said misuse of the substance is currently the most common cause for emergency admissions to the neurology ward.

“People come into hospital off their legs, difficulty walking, presenting with tingling in the hands and feet, slurred speech and more rarely seizures.

“I’ve even spoken to one ophthalmologist colleague who has seen a patient who went blind, but that was secondary to hypoxia caused by inhaling nitrous oxide,” he warned.

Dr David Nicholl, clinical lead for neurology at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust demonstrating laughing gas cannisters
Image:
Dr David Nicholl with some of the newer, larger nitrous oxide canisters popular with addicts

He said he had seen some users take canisters that are up to 3.9kgs in weight.

“If you took this in one sitting, it would kill you,” he said.

Read more:
Laughing gas sparks ‘epidemic’ of youngsters being hospitalised
Possession could become a criminal offence following ‘concerning’ rise in use

Football coach Liam Cullen, 33, says he was addicted to nitrous oxide when he was in his 20s
Image:
Liam Cullen

Football coach Liam Cullen, 33, says he was addicted to nitrous oxide when he was in his 20s.

“I could go from anywhere between 12 and 18 hours a day, constantly doing balloons,” he told Sky News.

“It changed my personality – I would be very snappy. I’m usually outgoing and a person that people like to be around. But when I was using nitrous oxide, I wasn’t a nice person to be around.”

‘I couldn’t feel my legs’

Liam would get through 600 canisters a day and says it left him in and out of hospital seeking medical help.

“I would have days that I had pins and needles and I just couldn’t go into work, it was that painful. I couldn’t feel my legs, couldn’t feel the toes on my feet.”

New data from N2O Know The Risks, a research project led by Queen Mary University, showed that while 91% of people had seen nitrous oxide canisters before, only 41% knew what they were.

And, 97% of those surveyed said they did not know inhaling nitrous oxide could damage the spinal cord.

Almost 30 pregnant sheep killed in one of ‘worst livestock attacks’ in Kent | UK News

More than two dozen pregnant sheep have died after “possibly the worst livestock attack we have ever had”, police in Kent say.

The 27 ewes, some of which were pregnant with twins or triplets, were attacked between Christmas Eve and 1pm on Boxing Day.

A Kent Police spokesman said they believe the attack was carried out by one dog but “cannot rule out” that more dogs may have been involved.

PC Marc Pennicott of the Kent Police rural task force said: “This is a distressing incident which is possibly the worst livestock attack we have ever had.

“The farmer has not only suffered a financial loss due to this incident but animals have needlessly lost their lives.

“These dogs would have been covered in mud and returned home exhausted and we are committed to identifying their owners.

“The remaining livestock have also been left vulnerable to a further attack, so it is extremely important that we find who is responsible for these dogs as quickly as possible.”

The attack happened in a field in Teynham, near Sittingbourne and barking was heard in the area between 4pm and 5pm on Christmas Day, police say.

Nearly 2,000 offenders made to wear alcohol-detecting tags this Christmas | Politics News

Nearly 2,000 offenders have been made to wear tags that detect if they have drunk alcohol this Christmas.

New statistics have revealed about 1,800 offenders have been made to wear sobriety tags over the Christmas and New Year period to tackle alcohol-related crime.

The tags, introduced in 2020, monitor the alcohol content in an individual’s sweat and can indicate whether offenders banned from alcohol are breaching their no-alcohol orders, which could mean returning to court for further punishment, including prison.

They are accurate enough to distinguish between foods that contain low levels of alcohol, such as brandy butter and Christmas pudding, and alcoholic drinks.

This Christmas there have been more than double the number of offenders wearing the alcohol tags than last year, when about 800 had them.

The Ministry of Justice said those banned from drinking alcohol by the courts have managed to stay sober on 97% of the days they were tagged.

But the festive period is particularly important as 39% of all violent crimes in the UK involve alcohol, including domestic abuse, which can rise over Christmas and New Year.

Read more: Sobriety tags launched for offenders committing alcohol-related crimes

About 20% of those supervised by probation are classed as having an alcohol problem, with drink-fuelled crime estimated to cost the UK £21bn a year.

The tags monitor offenders on community sentences who are banned from drinking and can also be used as a licence condition for those leaving prison.

Prisons and Probation Minister Damian Hinds said: “Alcohol-fuelled crime such as domestic abuse is known to spike over the festive period, but our new alcohol tags can help stop that – protecting victims and tackling the causes of offending.

“We’re investing £183 million in electronic monitoring and the increased use of sobriety tags is already helping to keep our communities safer.”

The government has said it is investing £183m over the next three years into tagging technology to tackle crime.