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Assaults are sadly common in the later evening, especially on alcohol fuelled nights out. So, I, like many of you, I assume, feel a great deal safer with a police presence on the streets ready to deal with any incidents that arise. But who is there to protect us when it’s the police that cause the trouble… ?

Unbelievably, this next story from the Daily Mail (source) is a real example of police brutality! Now, I am in no way having a dig at the police in general here – which is something many people like to do – but the footage on the website is as clear as it can be. According to the report, a police officer is facing jail after he assaulted an off-duty solider, and then lied under oath to cover up his wrongdoing!

Forty year old Special Constable Peter Lightfoot may have got away with it if it wasn’t for that pesky CCTV camera! The footage on the site clearly shows the officer striking 24 year old Mark Aspinall whilst rubbing his face on the concrete in the road. Take a look for yourself – the camera never lies; even if the police do!
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In recent news it has been reported that Manchester United Football player, Anderson, has had an almighty shock after he was pulled out of an Audi R8 sports car. It is unknown who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident as a man and women were also pulled from the burning vehicle along with a “lifeless” Anderson, moments before the car exploded into a ball of flames.

It’s reported that Anderson was unconscious when he was retrieved from the vehicle but is now recovering from “concussion, whiplash and shock” it is said that he spent several hours in hospital following the accident. The 22 year old International Brazilian player was recovered from the £125,000.00 Audi after it hit a brick wall in Portugal. Anderson had been recovering from a knee injury which he had received treatment for.

The incident happened in the Geres area of Braga and is currently being investigated by Police in the area. A spokesman for the Football star said that Anderson suffered “an almighty scare”.
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British double Olympic champion rower, James Cracknell OBE, has been seriously injured after a bicycle accident in Arizona, USA.

The accident happened whilst 38 year old Cracknell, who won gold medals for rowing in the Olympics in Sydney 200 and Athens 2004, was filming a new TV series for the Discovery Channel and the BBC called ‘Cracknell’s Race Across America’ which involves him running, cycling and rowing across the United States when . Cracknell was cycling along a 2,500-mile stretch of Route 66 at around 5.30am on 20th July when he was hit from behind by a truck causing him to be flung off his bicycle. He was rushed to a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona where he was treated for a fractured skull and bruising to his brain in the neuro-trauma ward and he is now out of intensive care and believed to be making a good recovery.
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The BBC News Website has recently featured a story involving a 45 year old man being injured after he was crushed on a passenger ferry.

The 45 year old man from Poland has not yet been named, however it is understood that he was a crew member on the ‘Julia’ Swansea to Cork passenger ferry and that he was crushed by a water tight hydraulic door during his hours of work at approximately 11:45pm on Monday 12th July.

When the accident happened the ferry was approximately 10 miles south of St Anne’s Head, Milford Haven. The man was given first aid and medical treatment by on board nurses and members of the Milford Haven Coastguard who were called by other crew members and he was then airlifted to hospital by a helicopter from RMB Chivenor at around 2:40am the next morning. He is now being treated in North Devon District Hospital for a suspected broken pelvis.
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Drink driving is a topic I have often covered in the past; primarily because I am strongly against the idea of anyone thinking it is safe to get behind the wheel of a car whilst over the legal limit. We all know the dangers, and it’s no secret that consuming alcohol impairs your judgement, and you simply are not capable to drive safely when you are over the limit. The law is there for this very good reason!

So not only does it continue to astound me when I hear about stories of drink driving related incidents, but is vexes me even more when the story is just utterly ridiculous – with potential consequences for disaster…

According to sources from The Mirror (source), a father with his three children in the back of the car failed to notice his vehicle was on fire because he was drunk behind the wheel! It’s absolutely crazy! Why a person would get behind the wheel whilst intoxicated is a conundrum enough; but when your three children are in the car with you, it’s nothing but shameful.
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We all love to go to the fairground; the thrill of the fast rides and the party atmosphere; it’s a lot of fun! Rides are scary enough, but when they become life threatening, it’s no longer a laughing matter.

Rides must undergo stringent testing and inspection to ensure they are safe to use, given the dangers they could potentially cause. So it’s never nice to hear when a child is injured on a ride where negligence could be involved.

According to sources from The Mirror (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/07/22/tot-thrown-from-ride-in-fair-horror-115875-22431048/), a young boy was thrown from a fairground ride after a flying shoe knocked him unconscious, resulting in him slipping from his safety restraints, plummeting to the ground.
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Road accidents are common enough, and accidents involving motorcycles are also very common. Drivers must ensure they are careful on the roads, taking extra care to look out for motorcycles as they can be hard to spot. And sadly, given that a rider does not have the protection a motor car offers, motorcycle accidents can often be tragic.

Just last night an accident occurred in my local area involving a motorcycle with a pillion passenger and another vehicle; the full circumstances of which are currently unknown. The accident occurred on the A6 connecting road between Alfreton and Shirland yesterday evening, with police blocking off access ways leading to the road; one of which was where I was driving when I became aware of the accident. Sources from www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk have confirmed that the rider was tragically killed, and his pillion passenger sustained a broken leg, after a collision with a Mazda on the A61 Chesterfield Road at around 19:15 last night.
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Sky News reports that workers that were on the Deepwater Horizon rig raised concerns about the safety of some of the equipment just weeks before the explosion which caused the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A survey was done by Transocean reveals that the staff on the oil rig raised awareness with the employees and management that they were concerned that some of their equipment was unsafe and felt they needed this to be looked into. I bet the management are wishing they had taken more of an active approach to these statements made by their employers and maybe then this disaster, and the millions of pounds recovery, could have been avoided.

Even more shockingly to say, it is reported that a separate 112 page equipment assessment had not been fully inspected since the year 2000!! Guidelines state that this should be done every 3 to 5 years. This company failed to check this for over 10 years. This is appalling to hear considering how much damage this oil spill has done, not only to the wildlife and natural inhabitants of the Gulf of Mexico but also the millions of pounds it is costing to get this problem resolved.
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A story in recent news reports of a teenage girl who has sadly died after being sent home from the hospital after her full symptoms weren’t fully diagnosed. (source)

Amy Carter, 15, begged Doctors at Worcester Royal Hospital not to send her home as she said “I’m dying”.  Amy was diagnosed with Glandular Fever and was sent home by Doctors who told her to take paracetamol and get plenty of rest. Amy sadly died three days later after suffering from four heart attacks and multiple organ failure.

A Post-mortem examination showed that Amy had died from Glandular Fever and Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome, a very lethal combination of illnesses which has never been seen in a patient before. Amy developed Septicemia after being released by Doctors. Amy hadn’t been able to eat for nineteen days and weighed only six stones.
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It has been reported in recent news that three young men have been beaten up by a gang of youths whilst training for a charity walk raising funds for Cancer Research UK. Gareth Cottrell, Fraser Cottrell and their friend John Fitzpatrick were training for the 125 mile walk they planed to do to try and raise £1,000.00 for their chosen charity.

The three men were out walking a four mile circuit in Stalybridge near Manchester when a group of ten youths, who were drinking and fishing, started shouted abuse at the three walkers and started pelting stones at them. The three walkers tried to hastily walk away from the gang when they were followed and a violent attack started. Reportedly, Gareth saw a man of around 40 years of age approach, Gareth hoped that the man would put a stop to the attack but instead the man joined in and slashed Gareth’s face with a key. Fraser and John were left badly bruised from being repeatedly kicked and punched in the face and body.

The hate–filled attack left the walkers feeling depressed that a good deed could result in such violence.
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