All posts tagged: Bristol

Massive sculpture at Bristol Harbour has a grim meaning

Massive sculpture at Bristol Harbour has a grim meaning

Published by Sam Flores

A giant inflatable model of the E-coli bacteria joined dozens of campaigners in Bristol protesting about the cleanliness of rivers and seas around the West Country today. The huge model, created by Bristol artist Luke Jerram, was installed at Baltic Wharf as crowds took to the water to call on the authorities to do more to prevent sewage pollution in the UK. It was part of nationwide protests across the country from Cornwall to Scotland. Surfers Against Sewage organised the Paddle-Out Protests, encouraging people to turn up on paddleboards, kayaks and canoes. Surfers Against Sewage’s Bristol spokesperson Anna Steele-Perkins said is was growing public anger over sewage dumping, environmental damage and rising water bills in Britain. “Profit always comes before people and nature. It’s inhumane and I’ve had enough,” she said. “Whether you’re a surfer, paddle-boarder, wild swimmer, or are simply sick of rising water bills, we gathered to demand an end to sewage being dumped into our precious waterways,” she added. Surfers Against Sewage’s research found that more than 1,200 people reported illness after …

Judge bans reporting on trial of six men accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls in Bristol

Judge bans reporting on trial of six men accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls in Bristol

Published by Sam Flores

Six men have gone on trial at Bristol crown court accused of grooming and sexually assaulting vulnerable teenage girls in the city. They were allegedly part of a large group of men who abused girls over several years. All six men deny the charges against them, which involved “multiple complainants”. The trial is expected to last 12 weeks but reporting restrictions mean full details, including the defendant’s names, cannot be revealed. After a challenge to the restrictions by media organisations including the Guardian, Judge Macmillan, who is overseeing the trial, allowed some information about the case and the nature of the charges to be reported, acknowledging there was a public concern about “grooming gangs”. She said: “There is a particular public interest at the present in information about serious sexual offending carried out by ‘grooming gangs’ and in issues of transparency about such matters. These issues are, quite properly, subjects of significant public comment and concern.” Earlier this year, the prosecution applied for a postponement of all reporting of the trial until all verdicts had …

Baffled Bristol neighbours mock ‘ridiculous’ fence across living room window | UK | News

Baffled Bristol neighbours mock ‘ridiculous’ fence across living room window | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Neighbours have been left bewildered after an enormous garden fence was erected directly across a living room window. Substantial wooden panels have entirely blocked the outlook from inside after being positioned just 14 inches from the property. The residence in Bristol is presently vacant but workers were spotted undertaking construction at the dwelling this week. It is believed the fencing was put in place to safeguard and divide the house from a parking space. However, one neighbour said: “When I initially saw the fence I thought just the same as everyone else who’s seen it really – I mean what were they thinking? “It totally blocks the living room window of any light and view. “Someone described it as daylight robbery, which did make me laugh!” The property with the substantial fence constructed outside its living room window is located in Lockleaze, Bristol. The neighbour added: “The house is currently empty. “A fence was then put up in front of the window as there’s a gap between the house and driveway that maybe a small …

‘Where will they go?’ question as eviction clears Downs van dwellers

‘Where will they go?’ question as eviction clears Downs van dwellers

Published by Sam Flores

Bristol Live readers are sad to see that the city’s so called ‘caravan city’ has been left in decline following the enforcement of an eviction order issued yesterday. While many van dwellers have now moved on in search of alternative accommodation, a number of older, unroadworthy vehicles have been left abandoned on surrounding roads near the Downs. The site at Clifton has been occupied for several years, reaching around 150 vehicles at its peak before falling to about 45 after Bristol City Council began legal action earlier this year. At a hearing on Wednesday, Judge John Napier granted an antisocial behaviour injunction preventing people living in vehicles from setting up on roads around the Downs. He said the evidence showed a risk to public safety, citing littering and pollution as a health concern, and ruled the injunction necessary to protect the public. The council was also granted a possession order on 16 April, allowing enforcement action once it came into effect on May 7. Some remaining residents have described feeling anxious and uncertain about where …

Woman, 35, killed in Bristol house explosion after ex-partner ‘forced entry’ | UK News

Woman, 35, killed in Bristol house explosion after ex-partner ‘forced entry’ | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

A man forced his way into a house armed with a device minutes before an explosion which killed both him and his ex-partner, with the woman’s death being treated as a homicide, police said. Officers were called to a “domestic-related incident” in Sternourt Road, Bristol, at 6.17am on Sunday. At around 6.30am, police were told a man was believed to have an explosive device at the property, then around two minutes later an explosion occurred. Police named 35-year-old Jo Shaw and her 41-year-old former partner, Ryan Kelly, who both suffered fatal injuries. Three other people, including a child, were treated for minor injuries. Image: Emergency services at the scene in Bristol. Pic: PA Superintendent Matt Ebbs, investigating, said: “Jo’s death has been officially recorded as a homicide based on the information known to us at this time. We are not looking for anyone else in connection with her death.” Avon and Somerset Police said a referral would be made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previously reported domestic-related incidents. Image: Forensic team …

The mystery of the car dealer found in concrete under floorboards of Bristol home

The mystery of the car dealer found in concrete under floorboards of Bristol home

Published by Sam Flores

The unsolved murder of Wayne Lomas, who was found in a concrete slab under the floorboards of a living room, is as horrifying as it is puzzling. No-one has been brought to justice for the killing despite it being nearly 40 years since he went missing from his house in South Bristol. Lomas disappeared from his three-bedroom semi-detached house in unusual circumstances on August 30, 1988. Relatives got into his house via an open back window and found the tumble-drier still switched on, his alarm was switched off and his two King Charles Spaniels, Bengy and Roly, in the back garden without food or drink. Lomas, who was a car dealer, had a criminal record going back years and police had linked him to drug dealing, loan sharking and protection rackets. His sudden disappearance led to a police investigation with officers alleging he had been abducted and suspecting he had been murdered by gangland rivals. Following an anonymous call to police five years later, officers swarmed a property in Southville and would find his human …

MP’s Bristol school visit postponed for safeguarding, review finds

MP’s Bristol school visit postponed for safeguarding, review finds

Published by skeptic

A school which postponed a local MP’s visit due to planned pro-Palestine protests made the decision based on “safeguarding concerns” and there is no evidence of antisemitism, a review has found. Labour MP Damien Egan, who is Jewish, planned to visit Bristol Brunel Academy, part of the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF), in his Bristol North East constituency in September. But the visit was postponed following opposition by local campaigners and school staff who are members of the National Education Union. The school said the visit was postponed due to safety concerns about a protest planned at the school site on the same day. Events prompted an unusual Ofsted ungraded inspection to investigate concerns of political bias. However, the inspection found “no evidence” to substantiate these concerns. CLF appointed Joan McVittie, former headteacher and past-president of ASCL school leaders’ union, to carry out an independent review. Her review, released today, concluded “the decision to postpone was based not on the MP’s religious beliefs or links to Israel but on a desire to protect him from potential …

‘Sexist advert at Bristol Airport made me roll my eyes – but the comments made my jaw drop’

‘Sexist advert at Bristol Airport made me roll my eyes – but the comments made my jaw drop’

Published by Sam Flores

If you flew from or to Bristol Airport over the Easter holidays, you may have seen a new advert from a local tech company, promoting its new agentic AI communications team. The advert, launched by the Bristol-based Narwhal Labs, declares the AI employee “outworks everyone. And she’ll never ask for a pay rise.” The blandly pretty blonde woman, with a generic, Sims 4-smile is described as “always on, never sick and no HR required”. Ah yes, the perfect woman – she’ll never get tired, she’ll never take time off and she’ll never complain about it. Meanwhile, ads for the same company but featuring a male AI face declares his productivity and efficiency with the tagline: “He’ll find them, call them, and follow up. While you sleep.” If I received a phonecall from an AI voice in the middle of the night, I think I’d most likely smash my phone to a million pieces. Social media is in an uproar about these ads, which have been branded misogynistic over the subservience associated with the advert featuring …