Connect with us

Published

on

Which rail services will be impacted?

Avanti West Coast – One train per hour will run in both directions between London Euston and each of Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston. A limited service will operate to and from Glasgow.

Chiltern Railways – No trains will run north of Banbury. There will be one train per hour in both directions between London Marylebone and each of Aylesbury/Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Banbury and Oxford.

CrossCountry – No direct services will run to and from Birmingham New Street and locations such as Cambridge, Cardiff, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth and Stansted Airport.

East Midlands Railway – One train per hour will run in each direction between Leicester and each of Lincoln, Nottingham and Sheffield, and between London St Pancras and both Kettering and Corby. There will be the same frequency between Derby and Matlock; and between Nottingham and each of Derby, Sheffield, Mansfield Woodhouse and Grantham.

Elizabeth line – Services will start later than normal.

Gatwick Express – There will be no services but Southern will run trains between Gatwick Airport and London Bridge.

Great Northern – There will be very few trains, with no services east of Ely to King’s Lynn.

Great Western Railway – Trains will run between London Paddington and each of Bristol Parkway, Cardiff, Exeter via Bristol Temple Meads, Newbury and Oxford. The only other routes open will be between West Ealing and Greenford, Slough and Windsor, Maidenhead and Marlow, Twyford and Henley, Reading and Basingstoke, Cardiff and Westbury, and Plymouth and Newton Abbot.

Greater Anglia – Some routes will have a reduced frequency, but many will have a normal or near-normal service.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) – A limited timetable will be in operation. This includes the London King’s Cross-Edinburgh route having a total of 16 trains across both directions.

Northern – Trains will only run between Leeds and each of York, Hebden Bridge, Ilkley, Skipton, Sheffield and Bradford Forster Square, and between Darlington and Saltburn, and Liverpool and Manchester Airport.

South Western Railway – There will be a significantly reduced service and only between London Waterloo and both Hounslow and Woking, and between Basingstoke and Southampton, Guildford and Woking, and Salisbury and Basingstoke.

Southeastern – No trains will run on the vast majority of the network in Kent and East Sussex. There will be two trains per hour in each direction for most of Saturday on these lines: Bexleyheath, Bromley North, Bromley South, Sidcup and Woolwich. On the high speed line there will be two trains per hour to and from Ashford International and four per hour to and from Ebbsfleet International. On the Sevenoaks line there will be two trains per hour to and from Sevenoaks and four per hour to and from Orpington.

Southern – Due to engineering work there will be very few local stopping services in south London. No trains will serve Clapham Junction or Victoria, with most diverted to London Bridge.

Stansted Express – Services will run between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport from 7am to 11pm.

Thameslink – Services will be split north and south, with nothing running between London St Pancras and London Bridge.

TransPennine Express – A reduced timetable will operate and only on these routes: between Huddersfield and York, Manchester Airport and Preston, and Cleethorpes and Sheffield.

West Midlands Railway – A limited timetable will operate only on these routes: between Lichfield Trent Valley and Redditch/Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street, and between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton via local stations.

Continue Reading

UK

13-year-old girl charged with attempted murder after two teachers and pupil stabbed at Carmarthenshire school

Published

on

By

13-year-old girl charged with attempted murder after two teachers and pupil stabbed at Carmarthenshire school

A 13-year-old girl has been charged with three counts of attempted murder after two teachers and a pupil were stabbed at a school.

The three people were treated in hospital for stab wounds but have now been released.

Pupils at Amman Valley School, also known as Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, went into lockdown just after 11.20am on Wednesday following the attack at the end of morning break in Carmarthenshire.

Amman Valley School, which is in the town of Ammanford, is a comprehensive with around 1,500 students aged between 11 and 18.

In a statement on the school’s website, headteacher James Durbridge said on Wednesday it had been a “very difficult day” for the school.

“It goes without saying that my thoughts are with the three individuals and their families, who have been affected by today’s incident,” he said.

“I wish to commend all staff and pupils for their calm and mature response during today’s lockdown.

More on Wales

“We are proud to have witnessed pupils embodying the school’s core values while supporting their peers and staff.”

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy has been arrested and remains in custody on suspicion of making threats referencing the school attack, Dyfed-Powys Police has said.

Superintendent Ross Evans said: “Following [the stabbing incident], yesterday evening our control room received a number of calls reporting concerns about messages being shared on social media which had references to the incident here at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.

“Officers swiftly carried out a warrant at the home of the person believed to be responsible for this content and a 15-year-old male has been arrested.

“He also remains in police custody while we investigate these allegations.”

Continue Reading

UK

Two horses which bolted through central London in a ‘serious condition’

Published

on

By

Two horses which bolted through central London in a 'serious condition'

Two horses which bolted and charged through central London are in a “serious condition”, a minister has said.

The Household Cavalry said the animals – which were taking part in what the Army called a “routine exercise” in the Belgravia area on Wednesday – were spooked by builders dropping rubble from a height “right next to them”.

Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych.
Pic : PA
Image:
Two horses bolted through the streets of London. Pic : PA

Defence minister James Cartlidge told Sky News on Thursday morning: “There were five horses. They have all been recovered.

“Three of them are fine, two of them are unfortunately in a relatively serious condition and obviously we will be monitoring that condition.”

He added: “They are in a serious condition, but as I understand, still alive.”

The minister also confirmed the names of the two animals, Vida and Quaker.

He stressed while the footage that emerged of the horses running through the capital was “dramatic”, it was “a very exceptional event”.

“This is extremely unlikely, this scenario,” he told LBC.

“Unfortunately we have seen what has happened, but all I can say is the crucial thing… no serious injuries to the public as far as we aware, and of course we will be keeping an eye on the situation.”

A map of where the horses travelled
Image:
A map of where the horses travelled

Four service personnel were thrown from their horses and the animals that ran loose smashed into vehicles, including a taxi and a tour bus.

Paramedics treated four people in three separate incidents in Buckingham Palace Road, Belgrave Square, and at the junction of Chancery Lane and Fleet Street, in the space of just 10 minutes.

Some of the soldiers were taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries, which were not thought to be serious.

Pic: Alice Porter
Image:
Pic: Alice Porter

Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych. 
Pic PA
Image:
Pic. PA

One witness got off a bus and described seeing two horses, one black and the other white, “flying past”.

“The white one was drenched in blood from the chest down and they were galloping through the traffic at speed,” she said.

“People were stopping in the street shocked. The horses were running into fast-moving traffic and seemed terrified. Some unmarked police cars were chasing after them, which didn’t seem to be helping.

“I felt shocked. It was pretty gruesome. Felt like a weird dream.”

The horses were eventually recaptured by City of London Police and taken away to be assessed by Army vets.

The animals are all receiving care from vets at Hyde Park barracks.

Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Matt Woodward said in a video statement posted on X the unit exercises around 150 horses on the roads and in parks every morning, partly to help desensitise them to city noise.

He said the “shock” of building materials being dropped from a height near them caused the horses to bolt and unseat some riders

He added: “Thankfully, considering the frequency of exercise and numbers of horses involved, this type of incident is extremely rare, we continue to strive to minimise the risk of this recurring.

“As ever we are grateful for due consideration given by the members of the public to not making loud noises around our horses.”

Continue Reading

UK

UK weather: Why is it suddenly cold and when is it forecast to get warmer?

Published

on

By

UK weather: Why is it suddenly cold and when is it forecast to get warmer?

When temperatures hit nearly 22C in parts of England earlier this month, people might have thought that spring had finally sprung.

But with May fast approaching, temperatures have suddenly dropped, forcing some back into their winter coats and others to switch the heating on once again.

So what has caused the mercury to drop to near-freezing in some parts?

According to Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler, an area of high pressure to the west of the UK is behind it.

UK weather: The latest Sky News forecast

thurs0600
Image:
Temperatures were as low as 3C this morning in parts of the UK

“High pressure to the west of the UK and Ireland gave hopes for a few days of settled weather, even though it was forecast to be a ‘cloudy high’,” she says.

“And that is pretty much what we have seen, although the positioning of the high brought cold northerly winds – and eastern counties can vouch for this.

“The high was also weak enough to allow frontal systems (a collision of cold and warm air) to move through it, so we didn’t see entirely dry weather either.

“And, winds were strong enough to give a significant wind chill along the North Sea coasts, which was pretty bitter.”

Get the five-day forecast where you are here

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

That, she says, has resulted in temperatures dropping a few degrees below the April average, though, according to Ms Wheeler “not by much”.

So when will temperatures rise again?

“We’re just a few days from May now, and a change is on the way,” she adds.

“Low pressure, spreading from the south at the weekend, will bring milder conditions but also some rain and fresher winds.”

Read more UK news from Sky News:
Shetlands spaceport given safety licence
Labour promises publicly owned rail

However, the next few days could still be relatively cold, particularly overnight on Friday and potentially Saturday, when temperatures in parts of northern and eastern England could drop to near or even below freezing, according to the Met Office.

And while they say temperatures are likely to “trend upwards” from Sunday, rain and cloudier weather is set to dominate next week, particularly in the south.

According to the Met Office’s forecast for next week, there will be drier weather in northern parts of the UK and a chance of rain or even thundery showers for a time in the east.

“Temperatures [are] likely to trend upwards, with the chance of a warm to very warm spell in some southern and eastern parts, before conditions probably turn drier, cooler and more settled from the west towards the end of the period,” they say.

Continue Reading

Trending