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A secondary school teacher was forced to stop working after developing an incurable ear condition he believes was caused by surfing in sewage-polluted water.

Reuben Santer told Sky News he has had “an awful nine months” after contracting Meniere’s disease, which has caused him to have severe dizzy spells and hearing loss.

Politics Live: Migration figures ‘too high’, Tory minister says

His case has been highlighted by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) who say reports to them of being sick after entering the water have nearly tripled in the last year.

Their concerns come as the chair of the water regulator Ofwat is to face a grilling from MPs om Monday on how water companies plan to invest in crumbling infrastructure that has led to sewage regularly being spilled in UK waterways.

SAS says that as well as being an environmental problem, the sewage scandal is increasingly a public health one too.

‘Traumatic experience’

Reuben’s problems started last November when the 33-year-old developed an infection in his middle ear after a surf at Saunton Beach in Devon.

“I had this really loud, intense ringing in one side the day after a surf,” he told Sky News.

“I thought I was having a haemorrhage; I had no idea what was going on. I went to the doctor and they said it was a middle ear infection likely caused by dirty water but it’s impossible to prove.”

Reuben Santer (L) has suffered from ear infections linked to sewage pollution
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Reuben Santer (L) has suffered from ear infections linked to sewage pollution

Reuben’s symptoms went away with antibiotics but he fell ill a month later after going back in the water for the first time. He only realised afterwards that a sewage pollution warning had been in place and a day later he was “throwing up, having intense rotational vertigo, I completely lost my balance”. It emerged he had labyrinthitis in his inner ear.

“You can normally recover from that but somehow it triggered Meniere’s disease which is the same symptoms but chronically. It doesn’t have a known cure.

“I’ve had a really awful nine months, the worst thing is I lost my job.

“Being a teacher is stressful, I could not handle being in a classroom and having unpredictable attacks of vertigo…when everything around you is spinning. It was pretty traumatic.

“I haven’t been going out on my own, I haven’t been driving when I was previously an independent person so that’s been pretty tough. I also have hearing loss in my left ear and roaring tinnitus and sound sensitivity.”

Reports of sickness up by nearly a third

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What caused Britain’s sewage crisis?

While the definite cause of Reuben’s condition is not provable, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is concerned about a rise in people getting sick from dirty water.

In its annual Water Quality Report released this week, the campaign group said between October 2022 and September 2023 1,924 people reported getting ill after entering the water – up from 720 the year previously.

Of those who visited a doctor, three out of four people said the doctor attributed their illness to exposure to sewage-polluted waters.

The illnesses caused an estimated five years worth of sick days and the majority of cases happened at bathing sites considered to be “excellent” quality, the SAS report said.

Surfer ‘horrified’ to contract parasite

Naomi Jenkin, 37, was ill for three weeks after she contracted the parasite cryptosporidium following a surf in Newquay in the spring.

“It’s something that you get from water that’s contaminated with sewage,” she said. “I was horrified.”

She said her symptoms included being “doubled up in pain and feeling nauseous”.

“I had to just stop work and basically take myself to bed. I had a really bad stomach upset, and it basically went on for three weeks in total, so it really affected my life quite a lot.

“It’s also knocked my confidence to go back into the water.”

Naomi Jenkin
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Naomi Jenkin was ill for three weeks after contracting a parasite


In some cases, sicknesses caused by suspected sewage pollution have been so severe people had to be hospitalised.

Robbie Bowman fell ill a few hours after going for a swim with a scrape on his leg in Cardiff and was found by his son “lying on the floor, waving my arms about, not making any sense”.

In hospital he was diagnosed with the bacterial infection cellulitis and kept on intravenous antibiotics for a week as doctors feared he had sepsis.

He told Sky News that he spent most of August “with my leg up trying to encourage the healing of my skin and the blisters on the back of my calf” and his skin is still red. A possible cause was given as Golden Staph, which can be caused by swimming in dirty water.

“It has quite massively impacted me,” he said. “I don’t trust the water anymore. That for me is the biggest shame.”

General Election ‘tipping point for change’

Giles Bristow, the CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, said the rise in sickness reports could be due to more people being aware of the sewage scandal and linking their health issues to that.

But he said more people are using water for recreational activities at the same time as rampant sewage dumping so “it’s bound to be that more people are getting ill”.

While firms are allowed to discharge sewage overflow when there is too much rainfall, this is only meant to happen in exceptional circumstances – yet several investigations over the past few years have found it is regularly happening illegally.

The SAS’s report found that untreated sewage was discharged across waterways in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales more than 399,864 times – over 1,000 times a day.

Mr Bristow said the report “reveals the complacency and disregard of governments, water companies and regulators towards the health of rivers and coastlines in the UK – and by extension people’s health”.

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Huge sewage spill captured in cornwall

With a general election looming, he called on all parties to adopt the SAS’s End Sewage Pollution Manifesto – a five point plan that includes cracking down on the profits made by water companies and ensuing regulators have resources to enforce pollution laws.

“This is an absolutely key issue for the public and we’ve got a mandate for change like never before,” he said.

“You wouldn’t put up with a Victorian health system where you turn up to your doctors and they give you a leech. So why should we put up with turning up to use our rivers and sees and finding it’s a Victorian system that discharges pollution into our waterways?”

Read More:
Why is sewage pumped into rivers and the sea?
Water firms apologise for sewage discharges

Government admits sewage dumping ‘unacceptable’

A Defra spokesperson admitted the levels of sewage dumping in UK waterways is “unacceptable” but insisted action was being taken to address it.

They pointed to the Plan for Water which will see firms face unlimited fines for sewage dumping.

“This plan includes targets so strict they are leading to the largest infrastructure programme in water company history – £60bn over 25 years – which in turn will result in hundreds of thousands fewer sewage discharges,” the spokesperson said.

Industry body Water UK has said it is prepared to almost double that spending to pay for upgrades and cut sewage discharges.

However, there is anger at the suggestion to increase consumer bills to fund itgiven the large bonuses and dividends made by water company bosses in recent years.

The issue looks set to become a key battleground when voters next go to the polls, especially in rural and coastal areas traditionally represented by Conservative MPs – but which the Lib Dems are looking to take.

Tim Farron, the Lib Dems’ environmental spokesperson, called the SAS report an “insult” to people “who want to swim in their local river or sea without getting sick”, and called on the Conservatives to “ban bonuses for water company bosses until this filthy practice is brought to an end”.

Labour’s shadow environment secretary Steve Reed said the water industry “is broken after 13 years of Tory government” and Labour “will give Ofwat the powers to ban the payment of bonuses to water bosses until they have cleared up their filth”.

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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.”

Read more:
Worst areas for uninsured drivers revealed
Nurse describes ‘horrific’ fatal crash after suffering life-changing injuries

‘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
Image:
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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