Category: Cambridgeshire

The wife was unable to sleep for the rest of the night after a stranger entered their roomCambridge Orchard Park Travelodge(Image: Google)A grieving couple was left shocked when an “intruder” entered their hotel room late at night. Gary and Alison Yates, both from North Yorkshire, travelled to Milton on Bank Holiday Monday (May 4), for Alison’s father’s funeral.The couple got stuck in seven-hour traffic after a crash, meaning they missed the funeral. As the pair needed to clear out Alison’s father’s house in Milton, they stayed at a Travelodge in Orchard Park, Cambridge.After a long and “emotional” day of cleaning out Alison’s father’s house on May 5, the pair “crashed out” in their hotel room, Gary said. While both were asleep in bed, the pair were woken up at 11.30pm.“We were in a deep sleep and at 11.30pm, a man walked into our room,” said Gary. He added: “We sat up in bed and I shouted, as you would. The man said ‘I’m really sorry‘ and said ‘they’ve given me the wrong door key‘.”Alison was unable to sleep for the rest of the night. Gary went down to reception the following morning and told a staff member. He said he was told that staff were “aware of the incident”, and the manager who was due to be in at 12pm would be in contact with him. The couple left on May 6 and made their way home. They did not hear from the hotel manager until May 8.“The manager sent his apologies, but we feel like we’ve been fobbed off,“ Gary said. “I’m not expecting them to roll out the red carpet for us, but we just want some closure. Alison is still upset about what happened. She didn’t get to see her dad off, then there was clearing the house and with everything else that happened, this was the icing on the cake.”A Travelodge spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for this customer’s experience. Any case of an unauthorised person entering a guest’s room is a significant cause for concern and we want to be clear that this should not have happened – our room access security policy was not correctly followed, which is not acceptable. We would like to apologise again to the customer for their experience with us.“The Yates’ experience follows recent media reporting about a 2022 incident in Maidenhead which saw a man pretend to be a woman’s girlfriend to get a key card for her room. Kyran Smith, 29, raped the woman and was later sentenced to more than seven years in prison for the offence.Travelodge says the company has commissioned an independent review to examine its policies and procedures led by Paul Greaney KC. A spokesperson said that Travelodge is also working on an internal review to ensure guests’ safety.Gary believes security needs to be improved at the hotels. He added: “People need to be aware of what’s going on. What I don’t understand is they don’t have chains on the doors. The little lock [on the doors] is just a waste of time. I feel sorry for the poor bloke [who entered the room], he was an innocent party in this.”The Travelodge spokesperson added that the hotel chain has made recent changes to strengthen room access security policies, including retraining customer-facing colleagues on upgraded policies. They said staff at the Cambridge Orchard Park hotel will receive additional training on room access security and check-in procedures.

She has been struck off The Nursing and Midwifery Council registerFile image of a nurse conducting a test on a patient(Image: Getty Images)A nurse who was found to have administered medication “incorrectly” to a patient has been ordered to be struck off the nursing register. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said Natalie Smith’s fitness to practise as a nurse was impaired by reason of “lack of competence”.An NMC panel upheld several charges against the nurse who worked at North West Anglia NHS Trust at a hearing on May 1. The panel heard that in December 2018, Miss Smith administered inhaler medication “incorrectly” in that she “did not count at least 8 seconds per puff.” On February 8, 2019, it was determined that Ms Smith did not administer medication as prescribed to a patient.The panel also found Ms Smith inserted a nasal bridle and cannulated a patient without the required training to safely do so in two separate incidents.It was also determined that Ms Smith “failed to demonstrate the standards of knowledge, skill and judgment in patient care required to practise without supervision as a registered nurse” by not completing vital signs for a patient when it “would have been clinically appropriate to do so” on January 4, 2019.She also failed to sign a drug chart for a patient, didn’t sign a patient’s prescription chart to confirm IV medication had been administered and signed to indicate she had administered ibuprofen to a patient when she had not done so between December 2018 and November 2019.The report said: “The panel considered that Miss Smith’s actions in relation to the charges found proved, namely not monitoring a patient post-procedure who had been sedated, not replacing tracheostomy tube packs, and poor record keeping related to medications administration, put patients at real risk of harm. The panel therefore decided that a finding of continuing impairment is necessary on the ground of public protection.”The report added: “The panel also considered that Miss Smith has not practised for a considerable period of time, which is likely to have had a detrimental impact on her clinical skills.”There is no evidence before the panel of any efforts to maintain or develop her competence during this period. The continued lack of engagement and absence of material demonstrating insight or remediation indicate that no progress has been made towards safe practice.”The striking off order is due to come into effect upon the expiry of the current suspension order, at the end of June 28, 2026.A spokesperson for North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust said Ms Smith had been suspended from work pending the decision from the NMC Fitness to Practice Committee.

Residents feel young people need more to do in the Cambridgeshire villageCottenham in Cambridgeshire(Image: Cambridgeshire Live)Residents have raised concerns about anti-social behaviour amongst young people in a “quiet” Cambridgeshire village. People who live in Cottenham, near Cambridge, hardly have a bad word to say about the village, with some describing it as a “peaceful” place to live.However, some people feel there is a problem with anti-social behaviour. Resident Maggie, who wished for her surname to not be included, thinks this is an issue.She said: “We have some trouble with youths, however I think they need more to do.” Other residents who feel there is a problem with ASB agree that younger people need more to do.Patricia, who didn’t wish for her surname to be included, said: “There is a lot of ASB with younger people, especially up the allotments.“Sheds are broken into, but nothing is taken. It’s more vandalism. But, I don’t think there is a lot for younger people to do. There needs to be things to keep them off the streets.”Paul Whitcombe agreed that there “wasn’t much going on for kids”. He added: “If they are not into a team sport like football, then you have to think about, what is there actually to do for kids?”One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, is a mother to teenagers and wants the village to have more on offer for younger people. She said: “Sometimes you do just see young people hanging about on the street looking bored.“Then they go and cause trouble. But, what are they supposed to do around here? As someone with teenagers, I want them to have more to do in Cottenham. It feels like they are forgotten about.”ASB is a priority for Cambridgeshire Police. A police spokesperson said: “Anti-social behaviour is a priority for many of our neighbourhood policing teams across Cambridgeshire, and we know it’s something residents want us to focus on.”While we don’t believe Cottenham has higher levels of anti-social behaviour than similar villages, we are aware of a small number of recent reports involving damage to local facilities, including the cricket club, play equipment and a shed. We’re in contact with the parish clerk about these incidents and have increased patrols in the area.”If you experience anti-social behaviour where you live, please report it to us – either by calling 101 or reporting online. This helps us build an accurate picture of what’s happening locally and take appropriate action. More information about anti-social behaviour, including how to report it, is available online.”