6 The Scene

News

1948

Thursday, November 4, 2010

News in brief

The year in which Essex County Fire and Rescue Service began www.scene rst.co.uk

Mum faces child cruelty charges A

mother accused of leaving her 14-year-old daughter to live alone at their rubbishstrewn home for six months, eating junk food and washing in cold water, has gone on trial for child cruelty. Hushed jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court were shown a DVD of the squalor in the four-bedroom property in Harlow, where the Bishops Stortford schoolgirl was said to have been left by her mother. The mother and daughter cannot be identi ied for legal reasons. Prosecutor Andrew Jackson said: Its a compelling case of wilful neglect - she left her in conditions almost beyond comprehension. The 54-year-old woman denies cruelty between November 1, 2008, and July 25, 2009. Police visited the house on July 24 2009, over welfare concerns. The house was in a poor state of repair, said Mr Jackson. They knocked, lifted the letter box, and it produced a pretty disgusting smell. The mother arrived in a car. Counsel said she smelled of body odour and her car appeared to have been lived or slept in. Mr Jackson said the sitting room was covered in mess and a plant from outside was growing inside. He continued: The fridge didnt NOT many of you will be aware, but in May this year, Google confessed that their Street View cars harvested fragmentary data belonging to UK citizens. Then a few days ago, they suddenly admitted to harvesting millions of emails, passwords and wii addresses too. Tens of thousands of people will have been affected in Harlow alone. Their civil liberties were infringed, without their knowledge. Many MPs joined me last Thursday in condemning the irm and the lamentable response of our Information Commissioner. Google claims that it was an innocent mistake. But I ind it hard to believe that a company with its creative genius and originality could map the personal wi- i details, computer passwords and e-mail addresses of millions of people and

Radiology area to be redesigned

A LARGE-SCALE project is under way to redesign the radiology department at Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) in a bid to improve facilities and offer greater privacy to patients. The trust is carrying out the 20-week project to provide single sex waiting areas for in-patients and out-patients who require an x-ray. The first phase will be to replace the medical secretaries portable building with a permanent structure over the stores loading bay. The new construction will provide extra capacity for additional recovery beds and a new radiology out-patient waiting area. The second stage will be the completion of the internal refurbishment of part of the existing radiology department with an inpatient waiting area, toilets and the final compliment of recovery beds. Julie Matthews, radiology operational manager, said: The larger recovery area will increase our capacity for day cases, as well as offer a more suitably dignified environment for our patients. The majority of the work will not affect patients and when possible will be carried out when the unit is closed in the evening or at weekends.

Teenager was left to fend for herself at home in squallor

work, work surfaces were piled high with rubbish and food and the washing machine didnt work a cooker was inaccessible. On the landing, things were piled to light switch level, and a dirty toilet contained items. The woman said she had gone to the house three days before and given her daughter money for food and for her school bus fares. The girl, who has since left the Bishops Stortford school, said she had lived in the conditions for six months. She said she got a sandwich at school lunchtime but would get takeaway or go to a friends house in the evening. The case continues.

Rescue at glass plant

We need a bill to protect us from Google

ROBERT HALFON MP for Harlow
www.roberthalfon.com

not know what it was doing. In my book, stealing emails from Harlow people is the same as stealing letters or parcels. Whether it was a mistake or not, it was immoral. But even if Google had not harvested all this data illegally, when did private companies acquire the right to photograph what goes on in peoples gardens? That is a dangerous shift, because if no-one has a right to privacy, we will soon be living with a privatised version of Big Brother run by internet companies. That is the scenario slowly creeping upon us. The truth is, I have no problem with Google photographing me in my garden or house, and putting those

images on the web for their Street View project, but the point is that I want to give Google permission to do so. They need to ask me irst. Some people will respond that anyone might walk up a Harlow street, taking pictures of peoples houses. Of course that is true, but there is a difference of scale and of commercial interest. Google was not sightseeing; it was creating a product to sell advertising on a mass scale. I believe that the Government must set up a serious commission of inquiry. We need a new Internet Bill of Rights, to protect the privacy of ordinary people. Following the debate, the Government has announced it will take some steps to address this problem, such as setting up a mediation service for people whose privacy has been seriously infringed.

A MAN was rescued by firefighters last Wednesday after he was taken ill at work. Crews from Harlow, an aerial ladder platform from Chelmsford and an Urban Search and Rescue crew were all called to the Key Glass Works, on Edinburgh Way, at 11.40am. A spokesman for Harlow Fire Station said: The man had been working on the fifth floor of the building which is only accessible by a ladder-type staircase. Fire crews worked together with the HART (Ambulance Services Hazardous Area Response Team) rescue team and paramedics to bring the man down several floors. Crews carried out a complex rescue and the man was lowered by a harness. Once he was rescued the casualty was then placed in the care of the ambulance service.

Weekend burglaries
DETECTIVES are appealing for witnesses following several burglaries in Harlow last weekend. The burglaries occurred in Ladyshot, Waterhouse Moor, Pennymead, Little Brays, Little Pynchons, Tunnmeade and Westfield overnight on Saturday October 23 in the early hours of Sunday October 24. Various electrical items, jewellery, documents and vehicles were stolen. Crime reduction officer Graham Anthony said: Residents are urged to take greater care in securing their homes, especially when going out or retiring to bed. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Harlow Police Station on 0300 333 4444 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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