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A fire at a factory in the West Midlands may have caused asbestos to be released in to the surrounding environment. The fire occurred at Monty’s Tropical Rags factory and the surrounding roads have been shut in an attempt to prevent any potential spread.

According to the BBC, as many as 200 fire fighters have been tackling the blaze, which was described by onlookers as “massive”.  No casualties have been reported but local residents living near the Hawthorns Trading Estate in Cornwall Road, Smethwick have been urged to shut windows and stay indoors.
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A young girl suffered serious injury when she fell over 20 feet in to a concrete- lined storage area in County Durham. According to the BBC, the girl, a teenager who has not been named, suffered neck and spinal injuries in the fall. Firefighters had to use specialist equipment to rescue her from the disused quarry where the accident occurred but fortunately no-one else was hurt in the incident.
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Three British tourists have been killed in a motorcycling accident and another injured in Italy. The crash was a head-on collision with a truck and occurred as they were exiting a tunnel in Mezzolombardo, Trento.

The indication from early investigations seems to indicate that the Brits were on the wrong side of the road when the accident occurred and, as a result, police have indicated that they feel the motorcyclists may not have realised that it was a one way system.
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The coronary care unit in Bristol’s Princess Royal hospital’s new £60million Heart Institute has been closed for six weeks due to an infestation of flies. The specialist ward will hopefully reopen in early October.

Experts have identified that the ward may have been susceptible due to a blocked drain and are continuing to investigate the problem. This is terrible news for patients, with the facility scheduled to treat more than 15,000 people annually, carrying out five operations daily.
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Taxi checks in Leicestershire have found several drivers to be in breach of their licences. In a random check operation by police, Department for Transport inspectors and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council officials, of the 17 vehicles which were inspected, 7 were found to be in breach of licence safety conditions. One of these taxis had a mechanical fault which led to the immediate suspension of the vehicle licence and another was issued with a notice to get faults rectified.
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A man had to jump into the River Thames for more than an hour on Tuesday to escape injury, after being chased by a herd of cows. According to the BBC, the gentleman, who was walking his dog, had to call police for assistance on how to disperse the animals.

It appears the individual escaped injury in this incident however, while such attacks are rare, Health and Safety Executive figures show that 18 people have been killed and 481 injured by cows in the past eight years, so it could certainly have been a lot worse.
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The Trade Union Congress (or TUC) has today called for women to be allowed to wear sensible footwear in the workplace. According to The Times, The TUC stated that in order to preserve health and safety, risk assessments should be drawn up regarding professional footwear, claiming that some women were forced to wear heels as part of their professional dress code.
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A cyclist has been killed following a collision in Teesside on Saturday. The individual was involved in an accident with a Ford Focus on the A174 in Middlesbrough. Travelling Westbound, the 58 year old cyclist was struck from behind by the vehicle and died at the scene. Police are appealing for any witnesses to the incident, which happened close to the Marton and Stokesley slipway at around midday. Road Traffic Accidents are commonplace and often result in serious injury. While the majority are associated with car on car impacts, accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists are also common and without the protection from impact being cushioned by a car then the injuries are often worse as a result.
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The Health Minister Edwina Hart has condemned as ‘highly inappropriate’ NHS leaflets which feature advertisements offering help to claim compensation through personal injury lawyers. According to the BBC, the leaflets were still being used at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, leading the Cardiff and Vale NHS trust to claim the leaflets were distributed by mistake.
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Three men have been imprisoned after they beat a man into a coma over a cigarette. Mr Martin Brammall was attacked in Stockport in August 2008 after he was asked if he had a cigarette, as he was about to get in to a taxi. According to the court prosecutor, Mr Brammall stated that he did not smoke, to which one of the defendants responded that he was lying and shoved him. Following this all three men began to repeatedly punch and kick the victim, leaving him near to death.
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