News 21/07/25

A double decker bus has crashed into a railway bridge in Eccles, Greater Manchester.

The North West Ambulance Service initially declared a major incident after 15 people were taken to hospital from the scene on Barton Lane. One person is said to be in a critical condition, while two others are seriously injured. The service has since stood down the major incident, but investigations are continuing into how the crash happened.

People smugglers face having their assets frozen and being banned from the UK under new powers announced by the Foreign Secretary.

David Lammy says the government will now be able to impose sanctions on anyone involved in smuggling illegal migrants, including freezing their assets and blocking travel to Britain. The first wave of sanctions against smuggling gangs and their enablers is expected to come into force on Wednesday.

A talented Scottish ice hockey player has died after a suspected fall from a hotel balcony in Ibiza.

Nineteen-year-old Gary Kelly, who played for the Dundee Stars, died at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in San Antonio on Monday. His death comes just weeks after another Scottish tourist, 26-year-old Evan Thomson, also died in a fall at the same hotel on July 7th. The venue has paused its events programme in response to the tragedies.

Slough’s adult social care services have been rated as ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission, despite being below the national average.

Inspectors visited in March and released their findings this week. The report praised Slough Borough Council for prioritising adult care and boosting investment, despite major financial pressures since 2021. James Bullion, the CQC’s chief inspector, said the council was meeting its responsibilities under the Care Act to ensure access to support.

A double decker bus has crashed into a bridge in Manchester.

North West Ambulance Service initially declared a major incident, with 15 people taken to hospital. One person is reported to be in a critical condition and two others seriously hurt. Photos on social media show the bus with its roof sheared off as emergency crews worked on the upper deck. The incident no longer meets the threshold for a major incident, but investigations are ongoing.

An inquest has heard that a mother who died alongside her disabled daughter in Nottingham had called 999 months earlier pleading for help.

Alphonsine Djiako Leuga and 18-year-old Loraine Choulla were found dead in their Radford home in May after concerns for their welfare. The inquest was told Alphonsine phoned for an ambulance in February, saying she was cold and unable to move, but no crew attended. Their bodies were believed to have lain undiscovered for weeks or even months.

A man who murdered three people in a Slough flat has died in prison.

Alan Hobbs was jailed for life in 1999 after killing Gillian Harvey, her boyfriend Ian Brown and former partner Peter Smith. The attacks were carried out using an axe and a chisel during a 24-hour drug-fuelled rampage. Hobbs died at HMP Full Sutton in September last year while still serving his sentence.

A 10-year-old boy who died in a coach crash near Minehead has been named as Oliver Price.

The collision happened on Thursday when a coach carrying pupils and teachers from Minehead Middle School left the A396 just before 3pm. Two children and three adults remain in hospital. Several others were discharged over the weekend. Police say their Serious Collision Investigation Team is continuing to examine the circumstances around the crash.

Police Scotland could face legal action from its own officers over plans for US President Donald Trump’s visit this Friday.

The Scottish Police Federation, which represents frontline officers, claims the force has breached workforce agreements around health and safety. The SPF says those protections are in place for a reason and have been ignored in the run-up to what’s expected to be a high-profile visit. It says legal advice is now being sought over the force’s conduct.

A Colombian man has been found guilty of murdering two men and transporting their bodies in suitcases to Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Yostin Andres Mosquera, aged 35, was convicted of killing 62-year-old Albert Alfonso and his 71-year-old civil partner Paul Longworth in west London in July last year. Mosquera, who worked in the adult film industry and had shared explicit content online for over a decade, is believed to have first met Mr Alfonso via the internet. The victims’ remains were discovered near the iconic landmark in what police described as a deeply disturbing case.

A body has been found in the search for missing Cheshire woman Rachel Booth.

The 38-year-old from Northwich was last seen at a petrol station in Sandiway in the early hours of Saturday morning. She’d earlier been reported missing by family after last being seen in the Barnton area of the town.

Cheshire Police believe she may have travelled towards Oakmere, near Delamere, where specialist teams, including underwater search units, were carrying out enquiries.

Formal identification is yet to take place.

At least 19 people have died and more than 160 have been injured after a Bangladeshi air force jet crashed into a school in Dhaka.

The F-7 training aircraft slammed into a two-storey building at Milestone School and College in the Uttara district of the capital, sparking a large fire. The country’s armed forces say the pilot was among the dead. The jet had taken off shortly after 1pm local time but reported mechanical failure minutes into the flight.

Dozens of children and adults were taken to hospital with serious burns.

Police are investigating an attempted burglary in Langley after two men targeted a home on Market Lane.

It happened at around 7:08pm on Saturday evening. One suspect opened a kitchen window while the other smashed a glass panel in the front door with an object. But the pair fled empty-handed after being seen by someone in the area.

No arrests have been made so far.

A driver who was inhaling nitrous oxide before and after hitting and killing an 81-year-old cyclist has been jailed for over 11 years.

Cain Byrne, who is 20 and from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, struck Graham Slinn on the A57 near Todwick in South Yorkshire. The court heard Mr Slinn had dismounted and was crossing the road when Byrne’s Volkswagen Golf hit him at high speed, throwing him at least 15 feet into the air. Byrne, who had never held a driving licence, was reportedly doing around 80 miles per hour in a 50 zone and failed to stop after the crash.

Fire crews from both Buckinghamshire and Berkshire were called to a blaze at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath.

Four teams from Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, Langley and Slough tackled the fire at a single-storey workshop on Pinewood Road. Roughly a quarter of the building was damaged by fire, with around half affected by smoke.

Firefighters used three main jets, a hose reel jet and thermal imaging to bring the fire under control.

Ukrainian drone attacks have reportedly caused widespread disruption at Russian airports.

Russia’s defence ministry claims it intercepted 117 drones overnight, including 30 near Moscow. Civil aviation authorities imposed temporary flight restrictions at all four of Moscow’s major airports.

Footage shared by Russian media showed travellers sleeping on floors at Sheremetyevo Airport.

A woman who killed her four-month-old daughter by violently shaking her has been jailed for 15 years.

Melissa Wilband, who is 28, was convicted of the manslaughter of baby Lexi Wilband, who collapsed at the family’s home in Newent, Gloucestershire. A jury heard the infant suffered bleeding on the brain, consistent with having been shaken forcefully—both shortly before her collapse and on at least one earlier occasion.

Lexi died at Bristol Children’s Hospital on the 18th of April 2020, six days after being admitted.

The government has launched an early review of the state pension age, currently set at 66.

Although reviews are required every six years, the last one only concluded in 2023. Speaking in west London, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall also confirmed plans to revive the Pension Commission. It will look at why future retirees are likely to be worse off than today’s pensioners. She said the system must be fair and sustainable for generations to come.

Football legend Paul Gascoigne is recovering in hospital after collapsing at his home in Dorset.

The 58-year-old was reportedly found semi-conscious in his bedroom in Poole and taken to an acute medical ward, where he remains in a stable condition. It’s understood he’ll stay in hospital for several more days while doctors carry out further treatment. Former Brighton defender Steve Foster, who reportedly discovered Gascoigne, said the outpouring of support from friends and fans has been overwhelming.

Commuters are being urged not to travel this morning following a major signalling failure at London Waterloo.

South Western Railway says the issue means it can’t use platforms 1 to 14, severely limiting capacity at one of the country’s busiest stations.

The disruption is affecting services across the entire network, with widespread cancellations, last-minute platform changes and major service alterations.

The company has apologised and is advising passengers to check before they travel, while National Rail says disruption is likely to continue until the end of the day.

A single password may have been all it took for a ransomware gang to bring down a 158-year-old haulage company, and leave 700 people without jobs.

KNP, based in Northamptonshire, collapsed after cybercriminals breached its systems, encrypted data and locked staff out, crippling operations.

It’s just one of tens of thousands of UK businesses hit by ransomware attacks in recent months.

Major retailers including M&S, Harrods and Co-op have also fallen victim. Co-op’s chief executive revealed last week that personal data belonging to all 6.5 million of its members had been stolen.

There’s been a dramatic shift on the western approach to the besieged Syrian city of Sweida, with tensions high and military activity increasing.

In just 12 hours, a bulldozer has been used to build sand berms, creating a barrier around 25 kilometres from the city centre.

Dozens of Syrian security forces have now formed lines in front of the barricades, while other units have been stopping vehicles from moving any closer.

Arab tribal fighters, who were seen engaged in heavy combat in the city just a day earlier, are now stationed along the roadside. Many have been seen resting or sleeping on the backs of their pick-up trucks.

Consumers are set to receive stronger protections under plans to introduce a new water watchdog, as public trust in water companies hits a record low.

The government will today confirm it’s creating a legally empowered water ombudsman to handle customer complaints — replacing the current voluntary system.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed will outline the move, which expands the role of the Consumer Council for Water and brings the industry in line with other utilities that already have binding consumer watchdogs.

The new system will also give customers a single, clear point of contact when raising concerns or seeking redress.

People retiring in 2050 could be worse off than today’s pensioners unless urgent action is taken to improve retirement savings, the government has warned.

The Department for Work and Pensions is relaunching the Pensions Commission — almost two decades after its first report — to address the growing savings gap.

Almost half of working-age adults are not contributing to a private pension at all, with low earners and the self-employed the least likely to be saving, according to the DWP.

The figures also show a wider divide, with women and some ethnic groups facing deeper shortfalls — just one in four people of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage are saving into a private pension.