Connect with us

Published

on

The Post Office has announced that more than a hundred larger crown branches – those owned by the company directly – could close with the possible loss of hundreds of jobs.

The Communication Workers Union has signalled a fight ahead as the Post Office confirmed details of its transformation plan.

The affected branches collectively employ close to 1,000 people and are said to be significantly loss-making.

The full list of at-threat branches is as follows:

Bangor – 143 Main Street, BT20 4AQ
Belfast City – 12-16 Bridge Street, BT1 1LT
Edinburgh City – Waverley Mall, Waverley Bridge, EH1 1BQ
Glasgow – 136 West Nile Street, G1 2RD
Haddington – 50 Court Street, EH41 3UU
Inverness – 14-16 Queensgate, IV1 1AX
Kirkwall – 15 Junction Road, KW15 1DD
Londonderry – 3 Custom House Street, BT48 6AA
Newtownards – 8 Frances Street, BT23 4FA
Saltcoats – Chapelwell Street, KA21 5EX
Springburn Way – 230 Springburn Way, Glasgow, G21 1BU
Stornoway – 16 Francis Street, HS1 2AD
Wester Hailes – 14A Westside Plaza, EH14 2SW
Barnes Green – Lee Road, Manchester, M9 4DL
Bransholme – 51A Goodhart Road, Bransholme, Hull, HU7 4JF
Bridlington – 15-17 Quay Road, YO15 2AA
Chester Le Street – 137 Front Street, Chester-le-Street, DH3 3AA
Crossgates – 9 Austhorpe Road, Crossgates, Leeds, LS15 8QS
Eccles – 63 Church Street, Manchester, M30 0NS
Furness House – 5-7 Dalton Road, LA14 1LE
Grimsby – 67-71 Victoria Street, DN31 1AA
Hyde – 30-32 Market Place, SK14 2QU
Kendal – 75 Stricklandgate, LA9 4AA
Manchester – 26 Spring Gardens, M2 1BB
Morecambe – 2-6 Victoria Street, LA4 4AA
Morley – 129A Queens Street, Leeds, LS27 8TB
Poulton Le Fylde – Teanlowe Centre, FY6 7BB
Prestwich – 2 Kingswood Road, Manchester, M25 3NS
Rotherham – 3-5 Bridgegate, S60 1PJ
Salford City – 112 Rossall Way, M6 5DS
Sheffield City – (unclear which branch)
South Shields – 8 King Street, NE33 1HT
St Johns – (unclear)
Sunderland City – 45-47 Fawcett Street, SR1 1RR
The Markets – 6-16 New York Street, Leeds, LS2 7DZ
Birmingham – 1 Pinfold Street, B2 4AA
Breck Road – 11 The Mall, Liverpool, L5 6SW
Caernarfon – Castle Square, LL55 2ND
Didsbury Village – Albert Hill Street, Manchester, M20 6RJ
Harlesden – 2 Wendover Road, London, NW10 4RU
Kettering – 17 Lower Street, NN16 8AA
Kingsbury – 439-441 Kingsbury Road, London, NW9 9DU
Leigh – 17 Silk Street, WN7 1AA
Leighton Buzzard – 7-9 Church Square, LU7 1AA
Matlock – 14 Bank Road, DE4 3AA
Milton Keynes – Unit N1 802 Midsummer Boulevard, MK9 3QA
Northolt – 46 Mandeville Road, UB5 5AA
Old Swan – 489 Prescot Road, Liverpool, L13 3BU
Oswestry – 17 Willow Street, SY11 1AG
Oxford – 102-104 St Aldates, OX1 1ZZ
Redditch – Threadneedle House, Alcester Street, B98 8AB
Southall – 38 The Broadway, UB1 1PY
St Peters Street – 14 St Peters Street, St Albans, AL1 3AA
Stamford – All Saints Place, Stamford, PE9 2EY
Stockport – 36-40 Great Underbank, SK1 1QF
Wealdstone – 4-12 Headstone Drive, Harrow, HA3 5QL
Barnet – 63-65 High Street, EN5 5UU
Cambridge City – 57-58 St Andrew Street, CB2 3BZ
Canning Town – 22 Barking Road, London, E16 1HF
Cricklewood – 193 Cricklewood Broadway, London, NW2 3HR
Dereham – Quebec Street, Dereham, NR19 2AA
Golders Green – 879 Finchley Road, London, NW11 8RT
Hampstead – 79-81A Hampstead High Street, London, NW3 1QL
Harold Hill – 17 Farnham Road, Romford, RM3 8EJ
Kilburn – 79A Kilburn High Road, London, NW6 6JG
Kingsland – 118-120 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2NX
Lower Edmonton – 1-7 South Mall, Edmonton Green, London, N9 0TX
Roman Road – 138 Roman Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0RX
South Ockendon – 8 Derwent Parade, RM15 5EB
Stamford Hill – (unclear, two possible locations)
Bideford – The Quay, EX39 2EX
Dunraven Place – 4-5 Wyndham Street, Bridgend, CF31 1AB
Gloucester – Kings Square, GL1 1AD
Liskeard – The Parade, PL14 6AA
Merthyr Tydfil – 3 John Street, CF47 0AB
Mutley – 38 Mutley Plain, Plymouth, PL4 6LL
Nailsea – Crown Glass Place, Bristol, BS48 1RA
Newquay – 31-33 East Street, TR7 1BU
Paignton – 34 Torquay Road, TQ3 3EX
Port Talbot – 139 Station Road, SA13 1NG
Stroud – 16-17 Russell Street, GL5 3AA
Teignmouth – Den Road, TQ14 8AA
Yate Sodbury – 1 South Parade, Bristol, BS37 4BB
Baker Street – 111 Baker Street, London, W1U 6SG
Bexhill On Sea – Devonshire Square, TN40 1AA
Cosham – 13 High Street, Portsmouth, PO6 3EH
Great Portland Street – 173 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PH
High Street (10) – (unclear, multiple locations)
Kensington – 208-212 Kensington High Street, London, W8 7RG
Knightsbridge – 6 Raphael Street, London, SW7 1DL
Melville Road – 20 Melville Road, Hove, BN3 1UB
Paddington Quay – 4 Praed Street, London, W2 1JX
Portsmouth – Slindon Street, PO1 1AB
Raynes Park – 1a Amity Grove, London, SW20 0LL
Romsey – 15-25 Church Street, SO51 8WA
Westbourne – 10-12 Seamoor Road, Bournemouth, BH4 9AW
Windsor – 38-39 Peascod Street, SL4 1AA
Worlds End – 351-353 Kings Road, London, SW3 5EX
Aldwych – 95 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4JN
Brixton – 242 Ferndale Road, London, SW9 8FR
Broadway – 1 Broadway, London, SW1H 0AX
City of London – 12 Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1AJ
East Dulwich – 74-76 Lordship Lane, London, SE22 8HH
Eccleston Street – 6 Eccleston St, London SW1W 9LS
High Holborn – 181 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7RL
Houndsditch – 11 White Kennet Street, London, E1 7BS
Islington – 160-161 Upper Street, London, N1 1US
Kennington Park – 410 Kennington Road, London, SE11 4QA
London Bridge – 19A Borough High Street, London, SE1 9SF
Lupus Street – 121-125 Lupus Street, London, SW1V 3EW
Mount Pleasant – Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4SQ
Vauxhall Bridge Road – 167 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 2ST

Continue Reading

UK

Teenage boy jailed for seven years for killing 80-year-old dog walker – as 13-year-old girl escapes jail sentence

Published

on

By

Teenage boy jailed for seven years for killing 80-year-old dog walker - as 13-year-old girl escapes jail sentence

The family of an 80-year-old man say they have “no sympathy” for the children who killed their loved one, as a 15-year-old boy was jailed for seven years and a 13-year-old girl escaped a custodial sentence.

Bhim Kohli was found lying on the ground in Franklin Park in Braunstone Town, near Leicester, on 1 September last year and died the next evening of a spinal cord injury.

He had been following a familiar routine, walking his beloved dog Rocky to the local park, just yards away from his home. But when he arrived at the park, he was approached by teens who attacked him.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

CCTV shows 80-year-old before attack

The jury at Leicester Crown Court heard a girl, aged 12 at the time, had pointed Mr Kohli out to a boy, who was 14 at the time, and who then subjected Mr Kohli to a brutally violent attack.

The 80-year-old grandfather was slapped about the face with a slider shoe and racially abused, before being punched and kicked while on the floor.

Mr Kohli suffered a broken neck and fractured ribs as a result of the attack.

Mr Kohli's daughter, Susan Kohli
Image:
Mr Kohli’s daughter, Susan Kohli

His daughter, Susan Kohli, who found her father lying on the ground following the attack, says it’s hard to find forgiveness for her father’s killers, regardless of their ages.

“Why should they be given grace for what they have done?” asks Ms Kohli. “They chose to attack a defenceless pensioner and for that I cannot give them any of my sympathy.”

Bhim Sen Kohli

Initially, the boy, now 15, told the jury he walked over to Mr Kohli, wearing a balaclava because the girl, now 13, had said Mr Kohli “carries a knife”.

But this was disputed in court, and the attack on Mr Kohli was described by the prosecution as “gratuitous violence against a man who was defenceless”.

While the girl involved never physically touched Mr Kohli, the court heard she had taken a photograph of him in Franklin Park just a week before he was killed.

Kelly Matthews, a senior district crown prosecutor
Image:
Kelly Matthews, a senior district crown prosecutor

“If it wasn’t for her, things might have been very different,” said Kelly Matthews, a senior district crown prosecutor, who explained why the girl was also convicted of manslaughter.

“She was the one [who] pointed him out to the boy. Whilst the boy was attacking Mr Kohli, she filmed it. She encouraged him. She laughed, when violence was taking place,” said Ms Matthews.

Police community support officers at the scene in Franklin Park last September. Pic: PA
Image:
Police community support officers at the scene in Franklin Park last September. Pic: PA

Ms Kohli says she still cannot understand why anyone, but especially “children of that age”, would want to attack an “old age pensioner”.

“You can see from his physique that he’s a very gentle, frail man. What was going through their heads?” she asks.

“That’s what I cannot get my head around.”

However, she believes the glorification of violence on social media played an element, and says “parents also have a part to play in it” to ensure their children’s social activity is being monitored.

The 15-year-old boy was ordered to serve seven years’ detention, and the 13-year-old girl was handed a three-year youth rehabilitation order by a High Court judge at Leicester Crown Court.

Mr Justice Turner called it a “cowardly and violent attack” on an elderly man who did “nothing to deserve” what happened to him.

He told the boy: “What you did was not one single attack which you immediately regretted, but two separate violent outbursts.”

He added: “I’m sure you regret he died because of what you did to Mr Kohli, but you still say it wasn’t your fault.

“It was your fault and the sooner you realise this, the better.”

He accepted, while the girl had encouraged the boy’s behaviour, she did not know he would use “anything like the level of violence he did”.

Speaking outside Leicester Crown Court after the sentencing, Ms Kohli said she is “angry and disappointed” the teenagers’ sentence does not reflect the severity of the crime.

“The death of my dad has left a hole in our family, a hole that can never be filled because of the actions of two teenagers on that Sunday evening last September,” she said.

“I believe on that day the two teenagers made a choice. The teenage boy chose to attack my dad and the girl chose to film him being attacked. They knew what they were doing.”

She added: “When they are released, they still have their full lives ahead of them. They can rebuild their lives. We can’t.”

Continue Reading

UK

Murder arrest after electric bike, pedestrian and car collision leaves teen dead in Sheffield

Published

on

By

Murder arrest after electric bike, pedestrian and car collision leaves teen dead in Sheffield

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 16-year-old boy died following a collision between an electric bike, a pedestrian and a car in Sheffield, police have said.

Emergency services responded shortly after 4.50pm on Wednesday to reports of an accident in Staniforth Road in the Darnall area of Sheffield.

South Yorkshire Police said it is understood that a grey Audi drove towards three electric bikes, colliding with one rider.

The car continued to travel following the crash with the electric bike and was further involved in a collision with a pedestrian.

The driver of the Audi failed to stop at the scene.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Witness recalls giving CPR

Graphic CCTV footage of the incident appears to show the car veer into the opposite carriageway before hitting the 16-year-old pedestrian at speed.

Pic: YappApp
Image:
Forensics officers at the scene. Pic: YappApp

Pic: YappApp
Image:
Pic: YappApp

The boy was taken to hospital. Despite emergency treatment, he died as a result of his injuries. The boy’s family has been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

An 18-year-old man, who was the rider of the electric bike, remains in hospital with serious injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening.

A 20-year-old man in Kent has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He remains in police custody.

Three people, a 45-year-old woman and two men aged 26 and 46, have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. All three remain in custody.

Read more from Sky News:
Weight loss jab warning
Trump signs travel bans

Senior Investigating Officer in the case, Detective Chief Inspector Benjamin Wood, said: “This is a tragic incident in which an entirely innocent bystander, who was going about his daily business, has sadly lost his life. Our thoughts are with the boy’s loved ones, and we remain focused on securing justice for them.

“We know that this incident will have caused concern in the local community, and we have a team of detectives working at pace to piece together the circumstances which unfolded.

“We’re aware of footage being shared online and I’d like to reiterate our message to the public to withhold from speculating or circulating videos which may cause distress to the boy’s family.

“If you have any footage, imagery or information that may help our investigation then please share this directly with us – it may form an important part of our enquiries. We are also keen to hear from the riders of two electric bikes who were in the area at the time of the incident.”

Continue Reading

UK

Mum who abused son so badly he had to have his legs amputated to be freed early from prison

Published

on

By

Mum who abused son so badly he had to have his legs amputated to be freed early from prison

A mother who abused her child so badly he had to have his legs amputated is to be released early from prison.

Jody Simpson and Anthony Smith were both jailed for 10 years in 2018 for torturing their son, Tony Hudgell, who is now 10.

Anthony Smith and Jody Simpson were jailed for abusing Tony
Image:
Anthony Smith and Jody Simpson were jailed for abusing Tony

He was just 41 days old when he was assaulted by the pair and left untreated and in agony for 10 days.

The attack caused multiple fractures, dislocations and blunt trauma to the face, leading to organ failure, toxic shock and sepsis.

The damage meant both his legs had to be amputated.

Simpson was due to be released on licence at the halfway point of her prison sentence in August 2022.

However, then justice secretary Dominic Raab referred her case to the Parole Board and her release was put on hold.

A spokesperson for the Parole Board on Wednesday confirmed Simpson was set to be released.

Paula Hudgell, Tony’s adoptive mother, criticised the decision in a social media post.

“Tony has life long injuries every day he suffers due to her hands,” she wrote on X.

Tony’s case led to a public outcry and calls for child abusers to be given life behind bars.

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, who led a campaign for the changes, which are also known as Tony’s Law, said on X: “I’m backing Tony as he faces the early release of his abuser – his birth mum.

“Tony lives every day with the pain caused by her crimes as a baby. We must do more to protect children like him.”

Tony has since gone on to be a successful fundraiser for charity – for which he has been honoured by the Royal Family.

Read more:
Royals invite double amputee to Buckingham Palace
Tony Hudgell is youngest person to receive British Empire Medal

The Prince of Wales meets Tony Hudgell during a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, London. Picture date: Tuesday May 20, 2025.
Image:
The Prince of Wales with Tony, who has raised millions for charity, during a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in May. Pic: PA

A statement from the Parole Board said: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Jody Simpson following an oral hearing.

“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.

“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.”

It added: “Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”

Read more from Sky News:
Weight loss jab warning
Trump signs travel bans

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This was a horrific crime that saw Tony Hudgell mercilessly tortured by his birth parents and our thoughts remain with him and his loved ones.

“Now that the independent Parole Board has directed her release, Jody Simpson will be subject to strict supervision and licence conditions. She faces an immediate return to prison if she breaks the rules.”

Smith was due for automatic release in early September 2022, but his early release was blocked at the time.

Continue Reading

Trending