Category: Bedford

Olly Murs has completed the penultimate day of his “brutal” endurance challenge to raise money for charity.The singer-songwriter and TV personality is running, cycling and rowing 249 miles (400km) between Manchester and London to raise money for children’s charity Unicef.On Thursday, which was Murs’ 42nd birthday, he travelled from Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, to St Albans, Hertfordshire.The presenter, from Witham in Essex, said: “It’s been brutal today. My quad is so sore… I can’t believe this is how I’m celebrating my 42nd birthday – something I’ll never forget!”

Cranfield said it had briefed the University and Colleges Union (UCU) on the merger.A spokesperson for UCU said: “Staff and students from both institutions will rightly be concerned about future provision, and the universities now need to provide guarantees that no jobs or courses will be cut.”The BBC also spoke to Frances Miles, regional organiser with union UNISON, shortly after the merger was announced.She said staff were “worried” about what it would mean for them.”Generally, there are risks in any merger that staffing will be cut to save money, and we need reassurance that this isn’t a smokescreen for more cuts and that the jobs are secure,” she added.However, Holford said that staff and unions did not need to be alarmed.”We don’t anticipate job losses – the merger is not predicated on job losses, so people should feel secure in that,” she said.Holford pointed out that the university had previously made a series of staffing cuts.She added: “Cranfield has already been through an exercise where we focused on our core strengths. We cut some courses, and we did have to have some job losses along with that.”We’re hoping to recruit more people, and actually, the five-year plan is for growth in the number of people, not for shrinkage.”

The move follows the merger of the universities of Kent and Greenwich in 2025.As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield will benefit from the interdisciplinary breadth and scale of King’s. King’s, in turn, will be strengthened by Cranfield’s world-renowned expertise in technology, engineering and management, alongside its deep and long-standing partnerships with industry and government. Prof Dame Karen Holford, chief executive and vice-chancellor at Cranfield University, said the merger would “create a global university” delivering excellence with “purpose, drive and scale”.She added that they would continue their mission to tackle real-world issues with “Cranfield University’s outstanding applied research… and long-standing industry links to King’s”.Lord Patrick Vallance, science minister, said the merger “creates an extraordinarily powerful university”.”It holds huge potential for the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor” and gives “King’s a place at the heart of one of our most important regions for science and technology”, he said.

A man has told councillors to a spend a day in a wheelchair so they can understand what it is like for his disabled mother to navigate potholes.Frazer Merritt, 44, said he was left “shocked” when he returned to Cambridge after five years to reportedly see the same potholes that were present before he had left.His 82-year-old mother, Chris Merritt, meanwhile, added that the state of the roads and pavements made it difficult for her to get around and her complaints go unanswered.Cambridgeshire County Council said that safe travel was a “key priority” and it was spending more than £78m on “delivering highways maintenance”.

Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, was woken up at 05:30 by the sound of a fire engine.Throughout the morning, she said, the police presence had grown and she had been told to stay inside.”This person was shouting out the window, and it turns out, allegedly, he was going to blow something up with gas or whatever,” she said.”Eventually they went to the house. They had them big metal heavy things and stormed the door and next thing you hear they’re in the house and… shot, shot, shot.”She said she had been left “very upset” by the death of her neighbour, who she said had “mental health issues”. “It was just tragic. It’s just terrible to see,” she said.The man’s identity has not yet been formally confirmed.

A man has been shot dead by armed police after “barricading himself” inside a house on a leafy British street.The man in his 40s barricaded himself in the property whilst making threats with a weapon during an 11-hour stand-off with the police. Officers were called to Aylesbury Road in Bedford shortly after 10.40pm on Monday following reports of vehicles being damaged in the area.When police arrived, they found the man had locked himself inside a nearby property and was making threats.Specialist firearms officers, negotiators and other emergency services were all drafted in as the stand-off stretched through the night and into the following morning, The Sun reports. Bedfordshire Police said sustained attempts were made over a number of hours to engage with the man and bring the incident to a safe resolution, but the situation could not be resolved peacefully.Shortly after 9.30am today, the man presented a weapon and armed officers opened fire.Officers and medical professionals immediately provided advanced first aid at the scene, but the man was pronounced dead shortly before 10.30am.Aylesbury Road in Bedford where the fatal stand-off took place | GOOGLE STREET VIEWHis next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.As well as Bedfordshire Police, crews from East of England Ambulance Service attended, including two critical care teams from Magpas Air Ambulance, alongside Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.Nearby homes were evacuated during the incident, although residents have since been allowed to return and police confirmed there is no wider risk to the public.A neighbour of the man who died, Mark Swales, said his friend had been struggling with the loss of his father and ongoing disputes over parking in the street, according to the BBC. One person took to social media to say they have ‘not seen this many police in one place in Bedford’ | GETTYMr Swales said he called 101 before the incident to alert police that his neighbour needed help.He also said during the standoff he heard the man shout that he had turned the gas on and was threatening to blow the house up before police disconnected the supply.Shocked locals took to social media to describe the scenes unfolding on what is normally a quiet residential street.One resident commented on a local community Facebook post: “A number of shots were fired during the actual capture and shouts for ambulance were almost immediate. “Whatever the official line will be it was a terrible event and probably a very sad one too.”Another wrote: “I could not believe what I was seeing outside my front door at 7.20am.”In line with standard procedure following a police shooting, Bedfordshire Police made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which has since launched an investigation into the circumstances of the death.A cordon remains in place at the scene while inquiries continue.

Congratulations to Kristie Robinson, Play Specialist on Riverbank Ward, who has received a ROSE Award!
“I met Kristie for the first time in Critical Care, where she attended to support a husband who had two young children, whose wife was dying. Kristie was kind, supportive and extremely sensitive to the needs of the family, and instantly developed a great rapport with them in such a difficult situation. She went above and beyond for the family, and the following day supported the Dad in letting the children know their Mum was dying. I have no doubt that the opportunity for them to create memory boxes, write letters to their Mum and share any worries will have a positive impact on their bereavement. Kristie is a shining example of a committed, dedicated and compassionate Play Specialist.”

24 Hours in Police Custody has proven to be a fan-favourite for Channel 4 viewers.Hayley Anderson Screen Time TV Reporter09:30, 11 May 202624 Hours in Police Custody is available to watch on Channel 4 and stream on All4.(Image: CHANNEL 4)Crime documentary fans have their next must-watch series lined up, with a brand new “fly on the wall” programme making its debut tonight.24 Hours in Police Custody has proved a massive hit with audiences, shadowing Bedfordshire Police and the “intense pressure detectives face to secure charges” within a single day.Sadly, the Channel 4 favourite is temporarily disappearing from our screens, but a fresh alternative is set to premiere this evening, Monday, May 11.Arriving on Channel 5 is crime docu-series Major Crimes Unit, which shines a spotlight on the specialist department within West Midlands Police, covering Birmingham and the surrounding areas.The unit is responsible for tackling serious offences including attempted murder, firearms offences, kidnapping and County Lines drug dealing.24 Hours in Police Custody: Daniel featured in the series as he was one of two people to report anonymous online messages.(Image: CHANNEL 4)According to the West Midlands Police website, the Major Crimes Unit (MCU) is dedicated to “bringing dangerous suspects to justice with 110 offenders sentenced in 2025”.Channel 5’s Major Crimes Unit is set to follow investigators from West Midlands Police’s elite crime-fighting division as they pursue suspects, uncover the truth and deliver justice for victims and their families.Each instalment of the crime docu-series will run for 90 minutes, with a teaser for the opening episode already released.It reads: “In the first edition, the team is called in when nine men ambush five men in a car on a quiet residential side street, with a gun being fired into the vehicle.24 Hours in Police Custody is available to watch on Channel 4 and All4.(Image: CHANNEL 4)”The officers’ instincts tell them this wasn’t random, but was planned and executed with precision. Could this be a violent conflict driven by territory, drugs and status?”Viewers have also been given a glimpse of what to expect from the second episode, which will air the following week on Monday, May 18.On this occasion, the case centres on a Dudley woman who is shot at her home, with the team charged with uncovering who could be responsible for the attack.Major Crimes Unit premieres tonight, Monday, May 11, at 9pm on Channel 5.