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A total solar eclipse will dazzle people tonight in what’s been described as “our planet’s greatest spectacle”.

The perfect alignment of Earth, the sun and the moon will be seen later – meaning people in North America will experience a total solar eclipse, which will plunge much of the continent into darkness.

Here in the UK, there’s a chance we’ll see a partial eclipse – and unfortunately, that’s the best we’ll get in a while – because our next total eclipse isn’t due for another 57 years.

So where can you see it, why is this one so special and is there anything you need to be aware of? Here’s everything to know.

In the UK

Although North America will enjoy the full spectacle of a total eclipse, people in parts of the UK will get to see a partial eclipse.

Dr Edward Bloomer, senior astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said the UK is only going to get “a small grazing” of the eclipse in the West and North of the country.

A map showing parts of the UK that will be able to see a partial eclipse
Image:
A map showing parts of the UK that will be able to see a partial eclipse

The start of the partial eclipse will be at 7.52pm (BST) and it will end by 8.51pm.

Here’s where you might see it – weather permitting:

In Glasgow, about 12% of the sun will be obscured at around 8pm (BST).

Edinburgh could see a 6% obscuration.

Liverpool will only see a maximum of 3.1% coverage at 7.57pm when the sun is right on the horizon – the window is very small as the start and end times are 7.55pm and 8pm.

Belfast will be treated to more of an eclipse with a maximum of 28.1% coverage at 8.10pm – the full window in which people might see it here is 7.55pm until 8.14pm.

Stornoway in Scotland will see 33.7% maximum coverage at 8.13pm. Here it will start at 7.53pm and end at 8.23pm.

It may also be slightly visible in parts of Wales – mainly in the northern city of Bangor, where there will be a 3.95% obscuration from 7.55pm until 8.01pm. There will also be 2.19% obscuration in Aberystwyth from 7.56pm to 7.59pm.

Anything in London?

Sadly, no.

Dr Bloomer said: “I’m afraid the South and the East are out of luck this time around.

“We won’t ourselves get to see anything from the observatory, which we’re a bit sad about.”

However, you can watch our live coverage of the total eclipse on the Sky News channel, the Sky News app or on our YouTube channel.

NASA will also be providing a live stream of the celestial event, providing telescope views from several sites along the eclipse path.

You’ll be able to watch that on NASA’s official YouTube channel or on its site here.

In Ireland

As well as Belfast and Derry in Northern Ireland, people in the Republic of Ireland will have a chance to see the partial eclipse.

The best opportunities will be in the West. The town of Belmullet, in County Mayo on Ireland’s west coast, could be treated to an eclipse which covers 44% of the sun, according to UK Weather Updates on X.

The account also says Galway will be a good spot to catch the partial eclipse, where it’s estimated more than 35% of the sun will be covered.

It will also be possible to watch in Ireland’s capital, Dublin. But here it’s thought only around 15% of the sun will be covered.

Even if you’re in a prime viewing location, the weather may put an end to hopes of seeing anything but a cloudy sky.

Check your local forecast by putting your postcode in here.

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In the US, Mexico and Canada

The US, Mexico and Canada will be in the totality path of the eclipse, meaning more than 31 million people across 15 states will be treated to the mesmerising sight of the sun being obscured by the moon.

A total solar eclipse April 8 will enter over Mexico's Pacific coast, dash up through Texas and Oklahoma, crisscross the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England, before exiting over eastern Canada into the Atlantic. (AP Photo, File)
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A map showing how long the total eclipse will last in each area on the path of totality. Pic: AP

The time it will last in each area varies from just under four-and-a-half minutes in Zaragoza in Mexico to around a minute in Montreal, Canada.

According to NASA, the first location in North America where people will be able to view the eclipse in totality will be Mexico’s Pacific coast at around 11.07am PDT.

Map showing when the eclipse will happen across the United States
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A map of the path of the eclipse across the United States

The eclipse’s path will then enter the United States in Texas and travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total eclipse, before the path moves on to Canada in Southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breto. Its last sighting will be in Newfoundland.

What exactly do people see during a full solar eclipse?

The event will see the sky fall dark as if it were dawn or dusk, and a halo form around the sun as its light is blocked out by the moon.

If there is clear weather, people along the eclipse’s path will see the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, which is usually obscured by the bright face of the sun, according to NASA.

NASA urges viewers to wear specialised eye protection during the eclipse, as it’s not safe to look at the sun apart from at the very brief moment when it’s completely blocked by the moon.

An American stares at the sun during the 2017 eclipse. Pic: AP
Image:
An American man stares at the sun during the 2017 eclipse. Pic: AP

“A total solar eclipse is one of the grandest sights in nature – and may be very rare anywhere in the galaxy,” Chris Lintott, professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford, told Sky News.

“I get a shiver down my spine every time,” he added.

Partial solar eclipses are known to make the sun appear to have had a bite taken out of it, because the moon only covers part of the sun rather than the entire thing.

A partial solar eclipse seen from Argentina in December 2020. Pic: AP
Image:
A partial solar eclipse seen from Argentina in December 2020. Pic: AP

Why is this one so special?

This one’s a bit of an anomaly because total solar eclipses are only meant to happen once every 375 years in any one place in the world – yet people in the US state of Illinois will see it for the second time in seven years.

The 21,000-strong city of Carbondale in Illinois saw a total solar eclipse in August 2017 and the fact people there will now see one again so soon afterwards is incredibly rare.

Spectators watch the 2017 eclipse in Illinois. Pic: AP
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Spectators watch the 2017 eclipse in Illinois. Pic: AP

It’s earned the state a new nickname – the ‘eclipse crossroads of America’.

“Southern Illinois is considered the eclipse crossroads of America because it was in the centreline for the path of totality in 2017 and will be again in 2024,” the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said.

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Why scientists are excited too

Both professional and amateur scientists plan to carry out experiments and observations as Earth falls dark.

NASA’s deputy chief Pam Melroy says it will give an “entirely different” opportunity to study the interaction between the Earth, moon and sun.

The US space agency and others will focus much of their work on observing the corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere, which can’t normally be seen because the sun is too bright.

Guests watch the sun re-emerge after a total eclipse at the football stadium at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 2017. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

During an eclipse, though, the corona’s white halo can be seen bursting out from behind the shadow. It’s hundreds of times hotter than the sun’s surface and it’s the source of solar wind.

It’s also a complete enigma. Scientists still don’t know how the corona is heated to such extreme temperatures.

NASA’s scientists will be hoping to get more data on it, as well as answers to other questions when they send research planes as high as 50,000ft (9.5 miles) to conduct a series of experiments on 8 April.

Some of the things they’re hoping to observe include:

  • How fast particles are moving when they are flung out into space
  • Photographing in both infrared and visible light to try to identify new details in the middle and lower corona
  • Using a spectrometer to study light from the corona, hopefully learning more about the temperature and chemical composition of the corona and the particles it emits
  • Studying a dust ring around the sun. Dust is the leftover remnants from when the solar system was forming
  • Searching for asteroids orbiting nearby.

Hundreds of citizen scientists are also expected to get involved in Monday’s eclipse, looking at things like the quietening of birds and other wildlife, the dip in temperature as the sun is blocked, and what effect there is on communications.

US university students will be releasing hundreds of weather balloons to monitor atmospheric changes.

Are there any health warnings?

Yes. You could permanently damage your eyes if you try to watch the eclipse with normal sunglasses.

If you are planning on looking directly at it, you need proper eclipse glasses, which are “thousands of times darker” than sunglasses, according to NASA.

But you need to make sure they work, as bogus retailers capitalise when an eclipse is due and you may be duped into buying a counterfeit pair.

The American Astronomical Society advises these three steps to check if your glasses are safe.

1. “Put them on indoors and look around. You shouldn’t be able to see anything through them, except perhaps very bright lights, which should appear very faint through the glasses. If you can see anything else, such as household furnishings or pictures on the wall, your glasses aren’t dark enough for solar viewing.”

2. “If your glasses pass the indoor test, take them outside on a sunny day, put them on, and look around again. You still shouldn’t see anything through them, except perhaps the Sun’s reflection off a shiny surface or a puddle, which again should appear very faint.”

3. “If your glasses pass that test too, glance at the Sun through them for less than a second. You should see a sharp-edged, round disk (the Sun’s visible “face”) that’s comfortably bright. Depending on the type of filter in the glasses, the Sun may appear white, bluish-white, yellow, or orange.”

If you feel your glasses pass all these tests, they are “probably safe”, says the AAS.

When will a full solar eclipse next be seen in the UK?

A partial eclipse will be viewed across 90% of the country in 2026, but it won’t be a total one until 2081 in the Channel Islands or 2090 in the South West.

The last full solar eclipse seen in the UK came in 1999, which was spotted over Cornwall and parts of Devon. Unfortunately, clouds covered it from view in most other areas it should have been spotted over.

Total solar eclipses generally occur every 18 months or so, but whether or not you can see one depends on where you are in the world and, of course, the weather. Partial ones take place between two and five times a year – with the same caveats.

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Detective who helped catch ‘sadistic’ serial killer Peter Tobin believes there are more victims out there

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Detective who helped catch 'sadistic' serial killer Peter Tobin believes there are more victims out there

What started as a missing person case led to the capture of an “evil” serial killer who “got sadistic sexual pleasure” from murdering women.

Peter Tobin died in October 2022 at the age of 76 while serving three life sentences for the murders of Angelika Kluk, Vicky Hamilton and Dinah McNicol.

Former detective superintendent David Swindle helped to unmask the murderer and has always believed there are more victims out there.

Undated handout photo of Peter Tobin, who is due to go on trial today accused of murdering a teenager who disappeared 18 years ago.
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Peter Tobin. Pic: PA

Mr Swindle told Sky News: “Peter Tobin was evil. And, you know, there’s a lot of speculation – nature, nurture or born evil. He’s evil. This is someone that got sadistic sexual pleasure from killing people.

“And when we look back at his life, we see that he cut the head off a dog. He tortured animals – a trait that featured with Ian Brady killing a cat.

“This kind of stuff – he was progressing, he had all the traits early on. And then we traced various partners that he had, and they describe horrific, violent domestic abuse.

“This is someone progressing towards it. And Tobin is evil. He’s killed other people, but we don’t know how many else he’s killed.

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“And the reason we don’t know it, is because he targeted vulnerable people and he was forensically aware. So, there could be others, there will be other cases.”

Former detective superintendent David Swindle
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Former detective superintendent David Swindle

Tobin’s secret reign of terror was unveiled following the disappearance of Polish student Angelika Kluk in September 2006.

The 23-year-old had been enjoying her second summer at St Patrick’s Church in Glasgow, where she was living and working as a cleaner to help finance her Scandinavian studies course at the University of Gdansk.

She was reported missing after failing to turn up to work and was last seen alive in the company of the church’s handyman, “Patrick McLaughlin”.

A portrait of murdered Angelika Kluk is displayed during a memorial mass for the Polish student held at the St Peter's Church in Glasgow.
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Angelika Kluk. Pic: PA

The caretaker initially spoke to police before sparking suspicion by disappearing himself.

Following a public appeal, the force discovered “McLaughlin” was instead registered sex offender Tobin.

In 1993, Tobin attacked two 14-year-old girls while living in Havant, Hampshire.

He attempted to evade justice for the horrific sex assaults but was jailed the following year and spent a decade behind bars before returning to his home county of Renfrewshire in 2004.

In 2005, he fled Paisley after being accused of attacking a woman and managed to avoid detection until Angelika’s case.

A policeman stands outside St Patrick's Church in Glasgow, where a body was found last night. Police hunting for missing student Angelika Kl
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St Patrick’s Church in Glasgow. Pic: PA

Mr Swindle said he can still remember the day he was brought onto the case after Tobin’s true identity was discovered.

Angelika instantly became a high-risk missing person as she was last seen in the company of a registered sex offender.

Officers were sent back to search the church, where Angelika’s body was thereafter discovered under the floorboards.

Undated handout showing a general view of St Patrick's Church, Glasgow, including the hatch (centre right) leading to the under floor passag
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A picture of a hatch at St Patrick’s Church, which led to the underfloor passage where Angelika’s body was hidden. Pic: PA

Forensic scientist Carol Rogers ordered for the body not to be moved and crawled under the floorboards to collect vital DNA evidence from the bloody crime scene.

Angelika suffered a violent death in the sexually motivated murder. A post-mortem examination revealed she had been bound and gagged, raped, beaten with a piece of wood, and stabbed 16 times in the chest.

Undated handout showing an under floor passage at St Patrick's Church, Glasgow, where the body of 23-year-old Polish student Angelika Kluk w
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The underfloor passage where Angelika’s body was found. Pic: PA

Mr Swindle said the “ferocity” of what had happened to Angelika was “absolutely horrendous”.

He said: “I’ve worked on hundreds of murder investigations in my long time in the police, mostly in the CID. This was horrendous, absolutely horrendous, and it was organised.

“The way he had put poor Angelika under the floor and concealed her remains and stayed at the scene – this is someone that’s cool, calculating, someone that knew what he was about.”

A manhunt was launched for Tobin, who had absconded to London.

He was eventually captured after admitting himself to a hospital under the name “James Kelly”. His deception was foiled after a staff member recognised Tobin from the media coverage.

Tobin was initially brought back to Scotland for failing to comply with his sex offender requirements.

Mr Swindle said: “So, you’ve got the person, you’ve got the individual, but you need to work round it all.

“Meanwhile, it’s very fast moving. There was huge media interest, rightly so, and you’re always thinking, ‘okay, it’s him, we’ve got to prove this’.

“And you have to prove it beyond reasonable doubt, and that was the issue. And then later on that week, we got the DNA. It was Tobin’s DNA. That is a significant development.”

Tobin denied any wrongdoing and went to trial despite the DNA evidence stacked against him.

Dorothy Bain KC, Scotland’s now lord advocate, was the prosecutor in the case.

Jurors heard how semen recovered from Angelika’s body linked back to Tobin, as did fingerprints on tarpaulin left at the scene of the crime. The victim’s blood was also found on a wooden table leg and on Tobin’s watch.

The defence, led by Donald Findlay KC, claimed any sex was consensual.

Suspicions were instead cast on to the parish priest at the time, who claimed he’d had a sexual relationship with Angelika, as well as a married man the victim was having an affair with.

Aneta Kluk and Wladyslaw Kluk, sister and father of murdered of Polish student Angelika Kluk, arrive at Edinburgh High Court, where Peter To
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Aneta and Wladyslaw Kluk, Angelika’s sister and father, at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2007. Pic: PA

Mr Swindle said: “What happened very early on with the murder of Angelika Kluk was what you see so many times in cases – victim blaming and victim shaming.”

Jurors saw through Tobin’s lies and found him guilty.

Judge Lord Menzies described the rapist and murderer as an “evil man” as he handed down a life sentence with at least 21 years behind bars in May 2007.

The killer kicked a press photographer to the ground as he was led from the High Court in Edinburgh.

Peter Tobin is lead into Edinburgh High Court in 2007.
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Tobin at the High Court in Edinburgh in May 2007. Pic: PA

Following Tobin’s conviction, what was then Strathclyde Police launched Operation Anagram to investigate his life.

Mr Swindle said: “As soon as I saw what Peter Tobin had done to poor Angelika – how organised he was, how methodical he was, the fact that he was using a false name, the fact that he gave a statement to the police in a false name before the heat was on him.

“He was 60 years of age. He’s done this before.”

Mr Swindle said “fortunately” there aren’t many serial killers in the UK.

He added: “Serial killers – they’re cunning, they’re controlling, they’re conniving, they can be charming, and that’s what we actually found out about Tobin, and they can be clever.”

Mr Swindle likened Tobin’s traits to that of Moors murderer Ian Brady and fellow Scot Dennis Nilsen, who admitted murdering at least 15 young men between 1978 and 1983.

Mr Swindle said: “And that’s when I thought we have to look at his whole life.”

As officers mapped the thrice-married Tobin’s movements over the years, it was discovered he was living in Bathgate at the time of Vicky Hamilton’s disappearance in February 1991.

File photo of Vicky Hamilton.
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Vicky Hamilton. Pic: PA

Vicky was just 15 when she went missing from a bus stop in the West Lothian town.

The teenager had been staying with her older sister in Livingston and vanished during a cold weather snap while making her way home to Redding, near Falkirk.

She was last seen alive eating from a bag of chips while waiting for her connecting bus.

The case was one of Scotland’s most high-profile missing person enquiries.

Sadly, Vicky’s heartbroken mother, Janette, died in 1993 without knowing what happened to her daughter.

Police Officers outside the former house of Peter Tobin on Robertson Avenue, Bathgate.
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Police searching Tobin’s former home in Bathgate in June 2007. Pic: PA

Furniture is removed from the a house police are searching in connection with the disappearance of schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton who went missin
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Furniture was removed from the property. Pic: PA

In June 2007, police searched Tobin’s old Bathgate home and recovered a dagger hidden in the loft space. A piece of Vicky’s skin was recovered from the weapon.

Vicky’s purse, which had been discarded in Edinburgh following her disappearance in an attempt to fool police she had run away, was submitted for testing and found to contain traces of saliva linking back to Tobin’s then young son.

It is believed the toddler may have put the purse in his mouth while playing with it.

Police investigating the disappearance of schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton who went missing 16 years ago search nearby the former house of convicte
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Police conducting a search in June 2007 near to Tobin’s former Bathgate home. Pic: PA

There was no sign of Vicky, but the mystery would soon unravel nearly 500 miles away.

In October 2007, a search was conducted at Tobin’s old home in Margate, Kent, where he had moved to a few months after Vicky went missing.

Essex Police handout showing an aerial view of the house on Irvine Drive, Margate, Kent (third from left) once occupied by Peter Tobin and w
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Aerial view of Tobin’s old home in Margate, third from left. Pic: PA

Police from both Essex and Kent forces continue searching the back garden of a house in Margate, Kent where accused killer Peter Tobin previ
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A major search was conducted at Tobin’s former Margate home. Pic: PA

Officers believed he may have been involved in the disappearance of 18-year-old Dinah McNicol.

The Essex teenager vanished in August 1991 after accepting a ride while hitchhiking home from a music festival in Hampshire.

Dinah McNicol, victim of serial killer Peter Tobin
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Dinah McNicol. Pic: PA

Her male friend was dropped off by the man, but she was never seen again.

Following Dinah’s disappearance, large sums of money were withdrawn from her bank account along the south coast. The location of the ATMs linked back to places Tobin had lived.

Police from both Essex and Kent forces continue searching the back garden of a house in Margate, Kent where accused killer Peter Tobin previ
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Police searching Tobin’s former Margate home. Pic: PA

Police search in the garden of a house in Irvine Drive, in Margate, Kent, formerly owned by Peter Tobin.
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Police recovered Vicky and Dinah’s remains from the back garden of Tobin’s former Margate home. Pic: PA

After 16 years, the mystery surrounding the disappearance of both Vicky and Dinah came to a close with the discovery of their bodies in the back garden of Tobin’s old Margate home.

Vicky had been dismembered.

Floral tributes laid in the garden in Margate where the remains of 15-year-old Vicky Hamilton were found nearly three weeks ago - more than
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Flowers placed on the ground where Vicky and Dinah’s remains were found in the garden of Tobin’s former Margate home. Pic: PA

File photo dated 19/11/2007 of Ian McNicol, the father of Dinah McNicol, who has welcomed news that detectives investigating the murder of t
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Ian McNicol, Dinah’s father, visiting the Margate home after his daughter’s remains were recovered. Pic: PA

Prosecutors argued Tobin drugged the teenagers with amitriptyline, which he was prescribed at the time, before raping and murdering them.

Tobin once again denied any wrongdoing – despite his fingerprints being found on the refuse bags used to wrap the bodies – but was found guilty of both murders.

In December 2008, he was sentenced to at least 30 years in jail for killing Vicky. The following year he received a whole life order for the death of Dinah.

Left to right: Lindsay and Sharon Brown, sisters of murdered schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton, make a statement outside Dundee Sheriff's Court foll
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Lindsay and Sharon Brown, Vicky’s sisters, making a statement outside the High Court in Dundee following Tobin’s conviction in 2008. Pic: PA


Michael Hamilton (left), father of murder victim Vicky Hamilton, and Ian McNicol, father of murder victim Dinah McNicol, outside The High Co
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Michael Hamilton and Ian McNicol, the fathers of Vicky and Dinah, outside the High Court in Edinburgh in 2010. Tobin failed to appear and would later drop an appeal case. Pic: PA

Tobin died on 8 October 2022.

The HMP Edinburgh inmate had been receiving palliative care at the city’s royal infirmary following a fall in his cell the previous month.

A fatal accident inquiry was held last year, which revealed Tobin was suffering from bronchial pneumonia, vascular disease and prostate cancer at the time of his death.

The serial killer’s ashes were later scattered at sea as no one came forward to claim them.

Tobin has long been suspected by police of murdering other women due to the sheer amount of aliases, cars, and homes he held over his lifetime.

Mr Swindle said: “Tobin’s killed other people – there’s no doubt about it.”

However, Tobin took his secrets to the grave.

Mr Swindle said: “Police Scotland were at his bedside when he was dying and asked him to do the right thing. He didn’t.

“It’s the ultimate control. It’s like Ian Brady – a narcissist. They lack empathy, it’s all about them.”

Specialist officers from Sussex Police continue to search the garden of a house in Station Road, Portslade, where Peter Tobin once lived.
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In 2010, Sussex Police searched an old home of Tobin’s in Portslade. Pic: PA

Tobin’s name was linked to the disappearance of Louise Kay, 18, from Beachy Head in Eastbourne in 1988.

The murder of Jessie Earl, 22, in 1980 was also reinvestigated as part of Operation Anagram.

Her remains were recovered in 1989 in thick undergrowth on Beachy Head, a place she would often take walks and the same area Louise disappeared.

Detective Superintendent David Swindle and Detective Sergeant Graham MacKellar (right) of Strathclyde Police join specialist officers from S
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Mr Swindle, left, at the police search in Portslade in 2010. Pic: PA

Mystery continues to surround dozens of pieces of jewellery recovered from Tobin’s possessions in Glasgow after he fled the church following Angelika’s murder.

Mr Swindle believes Tobin’s plan was to move Angelika’s body away from the crime scene – as what he did with Vicky – but police arrived before he could dispose of the evidence.

Mr Swindle said: “That phrase that’s used quite a lot – trophies. I don’t like that phrase. I think the word trophy sounds like a victory. I call it souvenirs from a horrible act.

“And Tobin, I thought, ‘he’s kept them, they’re souvenirs from a terrible act’.

“And to take it further, the jewellery is examined and there’s DNA profiles on that jewellery. Profiles of women, which we’ve never identified. Trophies is a horrible word.”

Read more from Sky News:
Man who had leg amputated after hit-and-run criticises sentence given to driver
Man stabbed to death by girl, 14, was ‘failed by state’, his parents say

File photo dated 2/4/2007 of serial killer Peter Tobin
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Tobin at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2007. Pic: PA

Tobin has also been mentioned in connection with the Bible John killings, a series of murders that brought terror to Glasgow in the late 1960s.

The deaths of the three young women – who met their killer at the city’s renowned Barrowland Ballroom – remain unsolved.

Mr Swindle said: “I’m not convinced the same person was involved in these three murders.

“And there’s no evidence, I don’t think professionally and evidentially, that Peter Tobin killed these women either.”

Police pictured outside Linlithgow Sheriff Court in West Lothian where Peter Tobin, 61, was due to appear this morning charged with murderin
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Police outside Linlithgow Sheriff Court in 2007. Tobin was unable to attend the hearing linked to Vicky’s case due to an attack by a fellow inmate

Police Scotland has since scaled back Operation Anagram.

Mr Swindle retired from the force in 2011 but went on to set up David Swindle Crime Solutions.

As well as offering expert crime advice and spearheading independent case reviews, he can also be found on tour with his latest stage show, Murder: A Search For The Truth.

Mr Swindle additionally established Victims Abroad to help support families who lose a loved one in a foreign country due to homicide or suspicious death and are faced with confusing updates and legal processes in different languages.

Speaking of Operation Anagram, Mr Swindle said: “Throughout my long police career, I’ve worked in some big, big investigations.

“This, for me, is a career defining moment and also a personal and professional defining moment in my life.

“I’ve never worked on anything like it, and I hope never ever to experience it again. And I hope no other serving officers have to experience such horrendous things.”

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‘I think it’s appalling’: Man who had leg amputated after hit-and-run criticises sentence given to driver

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'I think it's appalling': Man who had leg amputated after hit-and-run criticises sentence given to driver

A man who had his leg amputated after a hit-and-run has criticised the “appalling” sentence given to the motorist – as he backed a campaign to increase the “shoddy” penalties for uninsured drivers.

Ieuan Parry also suffered a fractured skull when he was struck by the driver of a white Mitsubishi fleeing police at high speed near Ebbw Vale, South Wales.

The uninsured motorist fled the scene and Mr Parry – who had been working on the roadside of a closed lane – was left with devastating injuries and the “agony” of “phantom pain” following his amputation.

The driver – who had reached speeds of more than 130mph during the police chase – later tried to blame the incident on his ex-partner by calling 999 and falsely claiming she had stolen his vehicle, according to reports.

He was jailed for three years and four months in February 2024 after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice. It is understood he has since been released from prison.

The car involved in the collision. Pic: Motor Insurers' Bureau
Image:
The car involved in the collision. Pic: Motor Insurers’ Bureau

Mr Parry – who asked Sky News not to name the motorist – said he felt “extremely frustrated” and “angry” about the driver’s actions and believes he should have received a longer prison term.

“I think it’s appalling to be honest with you,” the 27-year-old told Sky News.

“(The sentence was) not harsh enough for the seriousness of his crime.”

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), which has been supporting Mr Parry, is now calling for fines for uninsured drivers to increase from £300 to £1,200, saying the current penalty “simply isn’t enough of a deterrent”.

Mr Parry was 24 when he was struck by the car while working by the A465 Heads of the Valleys road near Ebbw Vale in November 2021.

Describing the incident, he said he was using a leaf blower on the roadside shortly after noon when he heard a “droning noise” and looked up to see the vehicle coming towards him at speed.

“Before I had chance to do anything or move, I was struck – hit off my feet,” he said.

“That’s where the nightmare started.”

Ieuan Parry had his leg amputated after the collision. Pic: Ieuan Parry
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Mr Parry underwent five surgeries following the collision. Pic: Ieuan Parry

‘Excruciating pain’

Mr Parry suffered a fractured skull and a badly broken left leg that later had to be amputated below the knee.

“(I was in) excruciating pain on the side of the road,” he said.

“I remember asking: ‘Is my leg okay? Will I lose my leg?'”

Despite the severity of his injuries, Mr Parry tried to reach for his phone to contact work colleagues while lying in the road.

“I was more concerned about how it had happened – because I was in a coned-off lane,” he said.

“I wondered, ‘would there be more cars coming behind this car?'”

Some of the damage to the car following the hit-and-run. Pic: MIB
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Some of the damage to the car following the hit-and-run. Pic: MIB

Describing his feelings towards the driver, Mr Parry said: “Obviously extremely frustrated… angry.

“God forbid it never happens, but if I ever found myself in a situation where I’d injured someone, the last thing I’d be doing is thinking about fleeing from the accident.”

Leg amputated

Mr Parry spent 17 days at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where he underwent surgery on five occasions.

Recalling the moment he was told his leg would have to be amputated, he said: “A lot of things went through my mind in terms of work, the relationship with my girlfriend… how everything in my life that I’ve worked towards thus far was going to be flipped round on its head.

“I did find that very difficult to deal with… losing your independence, not being able to go to the toilet on your own, not being able to wash yourself, not being able to do even the simplest of tasks.”

Ieuan Parry had his leg amputated after the collision. Pic: Ieuan Parry
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Mr Parry said his life ‘flipped’ following the hit-and-run. Pic: Ieuan Parry

Since the amputation, Mr Parry said he has dealt with the “weird sensation” of “phantom pain”, which he continues to face to this day.

“It’s basically the nerves that still reside in my amputated leg sending signals to the brain,” he said.

“It’s almost like you feel as if your amputated limb is still there and you can get various sensations, from pins and needles and numbness…. through to quite severe pain.

“It almost feels like someone’s got a set of pliers on your toe and is squeezing it.

“Those sorts of pains, although they are getting better now, are still fairly frequent and they can immobilise you with agony.”

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‘My life is never going to go back to normal’

Mr Parry has also faced feelings of anxiety over the “massive change” in his appearance and his inability to do tasks he once found “very straightforward”.

He said he was “eternally grateful” for the support of his close family – particularly his partner Sophie who he married in June last year.

“There’s no way on this I’d have been able to cope with it on my own,” he added.

Since the collision, Mr Parry has started his own fencing and groundwork company but said: “I’ve come to the realisation that my life is never going to go back to normal as it was before.”

Ieuan Parry had his leg amputated after the collision. Pic: Ieuan Parry
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Mr Parry said he was ‘eternally grateful’ for the support of his wife Sophie. Pic: Ieuan Parry

He added: “I’m always going to have disadvantages and issues with mobility and completing tasks, where I would not even have thought twice about it before.”

Campaign to increase uninsured driving penalties

The MIB is calling on the government to increase the current £300 fine for driving uninsured to £1,200 as part of its new five-year strategy, called Accelerating To Zero, which aims to end uninsured driving for good.

What are the penalties for driving without insurance?

Police can issue a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points to anyone caught driving a vehicle they are not insured to drive.

If the case goes to court, the penalties can increase to an unlimited fine and the culprit can be disqualified from driving.

Police also have the power to seize and, in some cases, destroy a vehicle that has been driven uninsured.

A YouGov poll of more than 2,000 people found 78% did not think a £300 fine was enough of a deterrent and three-quarters supported increasing the fine to £1,200, according to the MIB.

The MIB’s chief executive Angus Eaton said uninsured drivers “wreck lives”, adding: “We believe that the current penalty of £300, which hasn’t changed in over 10 years, simply isn’t enough of a deterrent.

“We’re calling for the penalty to be raised so that it is double the average premium, to help eradicate the issue.”

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Mr Parry has backed the campaign, saying a fine for uninsured driving “definitely needs to be a lot more than £300”.

“For the fine to be less than an average insurance premium for the year, I think it’s a bit shoddy,” he added.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We take uninsured driving very seriously – it is dangerous and unacceptable.

“That is why the department is considering policy options on the motoring offences as part of the Road Safety Strategy.”

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Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

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Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

The child who died in a school coach crash in Somerset on Thursday was a 10-year-old boy, Avon and Somerset Police have said.

A specially trained officer is supporting the child’s family, the force said, adding that two children taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children by air ambulance remain there as of Friday.

Four children and three adults also remain in hospital in Somerset.

There were between 60 to 70 people on board when the incident happened near Minehead, just before 3pm on Thursday.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School when it crashed on the A396 between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe.

Flowers outside school
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Pic: PA

Police said that 21 people were taken to hospital, including two children who were taken via air ambulance.

Gavin Ellis, chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said the road where it happened is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

“You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side,” she told Sky’s Anna Botting.

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Tearful MP reacts to coach crash

It comes after a teacher at Minehead Middle School praised the “incredibly brave” pupils for supporting each other after the coach crash.

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“You have looked after each [other] in what was a life-changing event, we will get through this together,” they wrote on Facebook.

“I feel so lucky to be your teacher. I am so grateful to my wonderful colleagues during this time who were also fighting to help as many people as we could.”

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