To a lot of us out there, a dog is a man’s best friend – they wait anxiously for us coming home from work, and seem rather excited to see us when we do. We walk them, talk to them, and feed them. If a stranger knocks at the front door our dog will bark to warn us that they do not recognise that person.

In the UK, a dog is one of the most popular animals kept as a pet, along with cats, rabbits, and hamsters. We have dogs as pets for a number of reasons – some of us have them as family pets, others have them to protect them if need be. Whatever the reason we have them, they say a dog is a companion for life.

There has been an increase in the number of dog attack stories in the news recently, which makes parents fear for their children’s safety. Most of the news stories have reported dog attacks on toddlers and young children. Some of the attacks on the children were by a family pet, and now animal groups such as the RSPCA are urging parents not to leave their child unsupervised with a dog.
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It’s that time of year again that seems to come around faster and faster each and every time. I can barely remember Summer; it seemed to go so fast. Yesterday, the North East of England saw the first fall of snow for the coming winter. The Met Office are warning that this could be just a taster of the first falls of snow due to make an appearance this week. They say that temperatures could go as low as -10c on Friday night.

This will be good news for those of us who love to see snow falling on the ground – for those of us who don’t, it may be the worst news we’ve heard since we found out Wagner was not voted out once again on this week’s X-factor.

With Christmas approaching, the cold weather and winter snow really gets us in the mood for all things festive. It also makes us want to avoid roads at all costs. Snow and ice creates some of the worst driving conditions, making it more likely for us to become involved in a road traffic accident.
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If you are unfortunate enough to become involved in an accident at a supermarket that wasn’t your fault then you might be able to make an injury compensation claim. Unfortunately, accidents like this occur more often than we’d think – in fact, supermarket accidents are on the increase as one of the more common injury compensation claims. Although health and safety regulations state that all facilities must ensure they show a duty of care to customers, accidents still happen on a regular basis.

All supermarkets have a number of checks they must complete throughout the day. They must ensure that spillages are cleaned up as soon as they happen to prevent anyone from injuring themselves. They must also check that any other hazards, such as displays that have been knocked over, are rectified immediately.

Supermarkets can get extremely busy, especially during the evenings and weekends. This means the likeliness of you becoming involved in an accident increases. People in supermarkets can be careless when pushing their shopping trolleys, and often push them into people or over people’s toes without realising.
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Road traffic accidents are something we are all aware of, we read about them in the news every day and some of us have either been involved in them or witnessed them. Anybody who becomes involved in a road traffic accident is likely to suffer some kind of injury, whether it is a minor or fatal injury.

Pedestrians are extremely vulnerable when using the road, and if they become involved in a road traffic accident, the side effects can be fatal. When on the road, pedestrians have no protection. That is why it is extremely important that motorists maintain the duty of care they have towards all road users and pay attention to pedestrians on the highways.

A nine-year-old boy was badly injured when he was hit by a car on his way home from school on a busy Sheffield road – slammed as dangerous by residents.

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People of all ages can enjoy going swimming; it is a fun way to keep fit and makes for a great family day out. Whether it is leisure swimming you are taking part in, a swimming class or lane swimming, it is a more fun and relaxing way to keep fit. A lot of local swimming pools offer a range of swimming activities for people of all ages to take part in.

When you visit your local swimming pool there should be life guards on duty in the unfortunate event that an accident does happen. They should always be alert and nearby the pool keeping watch. It is also the lifeguard’s responsibility to make sure that those using the pool are doing so in safe manner.

There should also be signs around your local pool warning that you should not run around the pool, as it is wet and slippery, which could cause you injury. There should also be signs warning where non swimmers are allowed to go to, how deep the water is, and whether or not people are allowed to dive in the pool.
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For some aspiring cyclists, the ride to and from work in a morning is the best way for them to begin their day. It fills their body with fresh air, and contributes to their healthy lifestyle. Cyclists are fully aware of the dangers of cycling to work, which is why they follow guidelines in place, such as wearing protective gear and high visibility clothing.

The government and local councils have worked together in building cycling lanes across the U.K which provide cyclists with a safe place to ride that should have no interference from other road users. Although the government is building more and more cycle lanes to make cycling safer yet, accidents still happen.

A report in the Daily Mail reveals how a lorry driver has been banned from driving for life and received a 7-year jail sentence after he was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. A court heard he was over the drink-drive limit and had consumed almost a gallon of Guinness the night before the accident. He was said to have been suffering from the ‘most God-awful hangover’.
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Thousands of us travel in our vehicles everyday; a lot of us say we wouldn’t be able to cope without them. We use them for both work and social use. We are all fully aware that the slightest mistake when driving can cause an accident, and in the most unfortunate circumstances, it can even result in fatalities.

The Sheffield Star revealed a court report of a woman whom has been cleared of causing the death of a motorist who swerved to avoid a bed base which fell from the roof of her car. Liza Brothers, aged 41, tried to secure the bed base with an old washing line, jurors at Sheffield Crown Court heard.

The seamstress, who was driving to a tip on Greaves Lane, High Green, with her aunt Diane Foxton, told the court she heard a “whooshing” noise as the base slid off her Vauxhall Vectra. Another motorist, Helen Denton, also 41, of Walders Avenue, Hillsborough, Sheffield, was killed instantly after she lost control of her Peugeot trying to avoid the bed base on the A61 Westwood New Road, near Tankersley, and ploughed into an oncoming vehicle.
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The health of our children and loved ones is extremely important to us, and at the slightest hint of illness, we do everything possible to get them better. This may mean a visit to our local GP, or that we visit the pharmacy and get them some medicine.

An inquest is currently taking place into the death of a schoolboy, aged 10, who died from an asthma attack just hours after attending his doctor’s surgery. Dante Kamara visited his local Medical Centre with his mum Claire Humberstone and saw the practice nurse.

The Sheffield Star reported the inquest where the coroner was told he did not appear particularly unwell at that stage, although his pulse rate was 140 beats per minute, compared to an average of 80-120. But his chest was not wheezing, and Dr Gillian North, a senior partner at the GP surgery, said he was not showing other signs that would have suggested he was suffering a serious attack.
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The most common cause of a whiplash injury is a car accident; however there are lots of other ways they can be caused. A one on one collision in sporting accidents can cause them, trips and fall accidents, they can even be caused whilst riding on a rollercoaster at a theme park. Any thing that causes the neck to jolt backwards, forwards or sideways can cause such an injury.

There are two types of whiplash injury. There is acute whiplash; this is when there is a sudden jolt to the neck that causes a person pain or other symptoms. This type of whiplash lasts no longer than six months. There is also chronic whiplash, this is where the symptoms of whiplash last longer than six months, and can have a long term effect on the patient.

Some people pass whiplash injuries off and don’t think to seek medical attention because they assume it’ll just get better on its own, or the symptoms will just disappear. However with some cases of whiplash it is essential that you seek medical attention, especially if the symptoms are persistent.
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Like with any other injury compensation claim, when making a cycling accident claim, there are two things that you must be able to prove. Firstly, you must be able to prove that the other party was at fault. Secondly, you must be able to prove that the injury or damage you suffered was caused due to that negligence of the other party.

Due to the recent environment concerns about global warming and the emissions that are constantly being released from motor vehicles, some of us have opted for the much cheaper, more efficient way of getting to work via bicycle. Not only is cycling to work better for the environment, it is a much cheaper way of travelling to and from work, and means that we don’t spend endless hours stuck in traffic jams.

In 2007 more than 3.5 million cycles were sold, which is a huge increase compared to the 2.8 million sold in the year 2000. With the increase of the cycle lanes in the U.K, cycling to work is appealing to more and more people.
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