A major incident had been declared in Shropshire after a sinkhole breached a canal in the Chemistry area of Whitchurch.

Fire Control received reports at 4.22am that a canal bank had collapsed with large volumes of water escaping into the surrounding land.

Firefighters had to use barge boards and water gates to mitigate water flow to establish upstream and downstream safety sectors.

Three narrowboats have been affected by the incident, with at least two swallowed by the sinkhole, which is approximately 50m by 50m in size.

There are currently no reports of any casualties, but around a dozen residents have been evacuated from nearby moored boats and are being relocated to a welfare centre at the former Whitchurch Police Station.

An area of land next to the canal has been flooded as a result of the breach.

Emergency services are currently on the scene, and a multi-agency response has been set up, co-ordinated through the Shropshire Tactical Co-ordination Group (TCG).

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said on X: “Shropshire FRS is responding to a landslip affecting the canal in the Whitchurch area.

“For everyone’s safety, members of the public are kindly asked to remain away from the affected area, including Whitchurch Marina, while crews and partners manage the incident.”

Puppy farms, trail hunting and snare traps are all set to be banned under animal welfare reforms being introduced by the government.

Ministers have today unveiled the government’s Animal Welfare Strategy, which also takes aim at other measures seen as cruel, such as shock collars, as well as cages and crates for farm animals.

But while proposals to improve animals’ lives have been welcomed, Labour have been accused of acting like “authoritarian control freaks” for plans to ban trail hunting by 2029.

This is the practice that sees an animal scent laid through the countryside, which then allows riders and dogs to ‘hunt’ the smell.

Labour banned fox hunting outright in 2004, but Sir Keir Starmer’s government has suggested trail hunting is now “being used as a smokescreen for hunting” foxes.

Announcing the reforms, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “This government is delivering the most ambitious animal welfare strategy in a generation.

“Our strategy will raise welfare standards for animals in the home, on the farm and in the wild.”

Under the proposals, puppy farms – large-scale sites where dogs are bred intensively – will be banned.

This is because these farms can see breeding dogs kept in “appalling conditions” and “denied proper care”, resulting in “long-term health issues”, according to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The strategy has also launched a consultation on banning shock collars, which use electricity to sting pets and prevent them from escaping.

Other proposals include introducing new licences for rescue and rehoming organisations, promoting “responsible” dog ownership and bringing in new restrictions for farms to improve animal welfare.

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These will see bans on “confinement systems” such as colony cages for hens and pig-farrowing crates, while requirements will be brought in to spare farmed fish “avoidable pain”.

The use of carbon dioxide to stun pigs will also be addressed, while farmers will be encouraged to choose to rear slower-growing meat chicken breeds.

In order to protect wild animals, snare traps will be banned alongside trail hunting, while restrictions on when hares can be shot will be introduced.

The reforms have been publicly welcomed by multiple animal charities, including the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, and World Farming UK, as well as by the supermarket Waitrose.

Thomas Schultz-Jagow, from the RSPCA, called the proposals a “significant step forward” and said they have the potential to improve millions of lives.

He added: “People in the UK love animals, and they want to see governments leading the way to outlaw cruel practices which cause suffering. This strategy leads the way by showing a strong commitment to animal welfare.”

Meanwhile, the Greens have also welcomed it but warned the strategy must have “real teeth”, “clear timescales” and “properly support farmers through the transition and not allow imports that don’t meet UK standards”.

Adrian Ramsay said: “Puppy legislation must end breeding for extreme, unhealthy traits in dogs. The strategy could go further for animals, particularly by ending greyhound racing, as the Welsh Government is doing.”

But the Conservatives have hit out at the strategy, saying it shows Labour “simply doesn’t care about rural Britain”.

Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, said: “While it is good to see the government taking forward Conservative policies to tackle puppy smuggling and livestock worrying, Labour is yet again favouring foreign farmers over British farmers by allowing substandard foreign imports to undercut our already-high welfare standards.”

She also accused Labour of announcing the strategy on the Monday before Christmas “to avoid scrutiny” as “they know that this will be another hammer blow to farming profitability”.

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Hundreds of tractors are heading to Westminster to protest over changes to inheritance tax rules.

Challenged on whether the government will make meat import standards the same as those for UK farmers, a spokesperson for the PM said: “We will always consider whether overseas products have an unfair advantage, and we are prepared to use the full range of powers of disposal to ensure produce made here in the UK by our farmers is always the most viable option.

“The farming road map due in 2026 will set out our long-term vision.”

They pointed to the 57 recommendations put forward by former NFU boss Baroness Minette Batters last week, following the completion of the Farm Profitability Review. The spokesperson said that ministers are “considering them carefully”.

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‘The Met have scored an own goal here and created carnage… we need to exercise our right to protest,’ said organiser Dan Willis.

But responding to the strategy, Nigel Farage said: “So now Labour wants to ban trail hunting. You might as well ban walking dogs in the countryside as they chase rabbits, hares, deer and foxes. Labour are authoritarian control freaks.”

Meanwhile, the Countryside Alliance, an organisation that promotes rural sport, said: “Why does the government want a war with the countryside?

“Trail hunting supports hundreds of jobs and is central to many rural communities. After its attack on family farms, the government should be focusing on addressing issues that actually help rural communities thrive, rather than pursuing divisive policies that hinder them.”

Two men have been jailed for raping a teenage girl in Rotherham more than two decades ago.

Kessur Ajaib, 44, received eight-and-a-half years for one count of rape and one count of indecent assault. Mohammed Makhmood, 43, got a seven-year sentence for one count of rape.

Their convictions relate to the same victim, who was aged between 14 to 16 at the time.

Sheffield Crown Court heard in July that after Makhmood raped the girl, he called her demeaning names, spat at her and laughed at her.

The pair were sentenced at the same court on Monday after being found guilty alongside another man, Sageer Hussain, in the summer.

Hussain was convicted of raping a different victim, who the National Crime Agency (NCA) said was aged “about 14” at the time. Last month he received a three year jail sentence at Sheffield Crown Court for the crime, committed when he was also 14.

The NCA investigated the men as part of Operation Stovewood, the investigation into grooming and child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

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