Debenhams Recalls Steam Irons Over 'Fire Risk'

Debenhams is recalling thousands of steam irons as a "precautionary measure" after one of the products caught fire.

The department store said one of its customers reported an electrical fault when using the iron, which caused the power cable to ignite.

"A flame came from the cord area where it enters the iron," a company spokesman said.

The potentially dangerous fault involves Debenhams' Best Buy Value Steam Iron Model S13WH.

More than 4,200 of the £12 irons were sold in stores in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland or online between June 2011 and April 2013.

People who bought one are urged to check the batch number on the rating plate, which is located on the heel at the back of the iron.

Products with batch numbers MIC161031/0411, MIC161103/1111 and MIC161174/1212 should not be used but returned to store for a full refund.

"If you cannot reach a Debenhams store, please contact our customer services department and dispose of the iron by taking it to a recycling dump or placing it in your domestic recycling bin," the spokesman added.

It is the second major recall issued by Debenhams in the last six weeks.

Last month, the store asked customers who bought some of its electric blankets to return them after it found a possible electrical fault.

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Margate: Water Firm Fined For Sewage Discharge

A water company has been fined for allowing raw sewage to pour into the sea at a famous coastal resort several times over a six month period.

Southern Water has been ordered to pay £200,000 for allowing the untreated effluent to go into the sea off Margate, the Environment Agency (EA) said.

Defective pumps at the town's pumping station in Kent led to several discharges of untreated sewage between January and June 2011.

Canterbury Crown Court, which heard the case against Southern, was also told that the firm failed to inform the EA or the local food authority about the discharges.

Last month the company, which serves Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, pleaded guilty to breaching its strict environmental permit.

It also admitted causing avoidable releases of untreated sewage to enter the sea.

A map showing Margate and the counties covered by Southern Water

Following sentencing, Andy Stamp, the EA's environment officer, said: "We take these types of incidents very seriously and will do everything within our powers to safeguard the environment and people affected, and that includes bringing those who harm the environment to account for their actions."

Southern Water "unreservedly apologised" and said it had spent £1.7m addressing "complex engineering issues" at the pumping station which caused the problems.

Another £400,000 is earmarked and plans for another pumping station are being drawn up, the firm added.

It said it has supported the local tourist industry with a series of promotional projects.

Margate is regarded as one of the best sandy beaches in south east England. The town relies heavily on its tourist industry.

Southern Water director Geoff Loader said that, although the company had failed to operate within its environmental permit, Margate's beaches had continued to meet European quality standards.

He said: "Importantly, the majority of beaches in the Margate area continue to have water quality sufficient to meet the Blue Flag standards and all meet European standards.

"Therefore, although we have breached our permit, we have not caused any deterioration in the water quality of Margate's beaches and, overall, our current treatment system has delivered improvements leading to Blue Flag water quality.

"However, failures with our plant are not acceptable.

"We fully understand the importance of water quality to the reputation of Thanet as a leading tourist resort in the UK and we will always work to protect and enhance that."

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NY Cabbie Sets Up Fund For Crash Victim

A New York taxi driver involved in a crash which left a British woman with part of her leg amputated has denied the accident was his fault.

Sian Green has been recovering from surgery at Bellevue Hospital after she was hit by a yellow cab at the start of a city break on Tuesday.

Mohammed Fasyal Himon blamed the crash on a cyclist, who he claimed pounded on his car and yelled at him.

Mr Himon said he was "very sorry" about the accident as he launched a charity fund for Ms Green with the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers

It has so far raised $3,000 (£1,900).

Mr Himon said: "I am praying for her and her family. But it is not my fault. It is just an accident.

Mr Himon's cab mounted the pavement

"This is what cab drivers have to deal with every day. It could have happened to any of us."

New York police said the cyclist has not been charged.

Ms Green has been praised for her fighting spirit by surgeons, who had to amputate her left foot, while she has undergone treatment to wounds on her other leg as a result of the accident.

Dr Spiros Frangos, a senior trauma surgeon at the hospital, said: "Ms Green had her left leg amputated below the knee as a result of the accident.

"Given the condition of the lower leg, replantation was not an option.

"Her right leg sustained multiple deep lacerations which were also cleaned and repaired and will likely regain most functionality with time and physical therapy."

Ms Green's parents Jason and Sonia, who made a mercy dash to be at their daughter's bedside earlier this week, released a statement through the hospital praising the aid and care their daughter had received.

They said: "There are not enough words to express our gratitude to everyone who has helped our family during this difficult time."

Ms Green was at the start of her holiday when she was hit

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Legal Highs: Ban At Reading Leeds Festival

By Frazer Maude, North of England Correspondent

The parents of a man who died after taking a "legal high" drug have welcomed a decision by the organisers of a music festival to ban the products from their sites.

Christopher Scott, 23, from Swindon, died at the Great Western Hospital in July after taking the chemical marketed as AMT (alpha-Methyltryptamine).

His father Michael says the family are "so pleased" that promoters of the Leeds and Reading Festivals have banned the sale or use of legal highs at the events this weekend.

"Everybody knows illegal drugs - there's a big risk behind them - but as soon as you start saying 'oh it's a legal high' you get the misconception that it's okay," said Michael.

"They think it's not dangerous, it's legal, so it must be fine. And then they get the impression they can take as many as they want."

A photo of Christopher Scott at home of his family

Christopher was a father of three and only after his death did his family find out that his partner was pregnant with his fourth child.

The Government finds it hard to legislate against the drugs, as whenever one is banned the manufacturers only have to make slight changes to the chemical formula in order for the new compound to be legal again.

Former legal highs Mexxy and Black Mamba are now classified as Class B drugs, and are therefore illegal.

Sky News bought a number of the legal highs from a shop in the North of England, including AMT which Mr Scott took.

They are also freely available on the internet.

The websites, sales staff and the packaging of the chemicals all warn that these items are not for human consumption, but are for research purposes.

The drug has been banned at Leeds and Reading Festivals

Melvin Benn, organiser of the Leeds and Reading Festivals, said: "We were happy to fall in line with the Home Office request and not allow these legal highs to be sold on site.

"No one really knows what effects these things have, and of course people are still going to take them. But they won't be buying them from retailers at any of my festivals."

Mr Scott and his family used to make annual visits to the Reading Festival.

Although delighted that the festival has banned the drugs, Mr Scott's father believes more needs to be done.

"The Government needs to really seriously rethink what it's doing with this concept of legal highs. Just the word 'legal' is making everyone think it's ok to do it, that it's fine. It's not," he said.

"I'm never going get my son back. I only had one son and I'm never going to get him back."

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Countryside Fears Over Solar Energy Growth

By Emma Birchley, East of England Correspondent

Rural campaigners say the push to generate green energy through giant solar farms is having an unacceptable impact on Britain's rural landscape.

Developments like Burntstalks Solar Farm in Norfolk, which has nearly 50,000 photovoltaic panels and captures enough of the sun's rays to power nearly 4,000 homes, are heralded as a sensible solution to the UK's energy needs.

However, some claim the sites are yet another blot on the landscape and are ruining the countryside.

David Hook, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, told Sky News: "I think that if policy is not changed ... the industrialisation through solar farms and extra wind turbines is going to have a dramatic effect on the countryside, and a very negative effect."

It is only two years since the UK's first large scale sun park began generating electricity in Lincolnshire.

There are now nearly 160, mostly in rural areas, with a further 229 under construction or awaiting approval.

David Hook wants policy to change

Lightsource Renewable Energy owns and operates dozens of solar farms, including Burntstalks, near King's Lynn.

Mark Turner, the company's operations director, said: "The balance we have to strike is between a solar farm that can generally only be seen by people very close up to it and usually by fleeting glimpses through hedgerows as you are driving along, versus potential wind farms or the other alternatives of non-renewables including nuclear power stations and coal-fired power stations.

"The amount of ground taken up by the farm is minimal and what we then try to do, as far as possible, is to use the land for dual use.

"We graze sheep or plant wild flowers, so the land is used for the kind of purpose it would be used for before the panels were here."

The Government has made it clear it backs the production of solar energy, which it hopes will eventually produce 20GW of energy every year - eight times more than at present and enough to power around six million homes.

Its priority is for panels to be put on brownfield sites and the roofs of factories, hospitals and houses but according to Mr Turner, that is not always possible.

"Finding roof tops that are owned by companies we can rely on to be there in the 25 years we need to return the investment is extremely difficult," he said.

"And finding brownfield sites that are sufficiently far enough south to generate enough electricity, are close enough to the grid and aren't dedicated to other purposes, is extremely difficult."

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Post Office Staff In Fresh Wave Of Strikes

Workers at Crown post offices are staging a fresh wave of strikes in a five-month row over jobs, pay and closures.

A UK-wide stoppage is being held today, staff in Scotland will strike on Monday, and union members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will stop work on Tuesday.

The Communication Workers Union said the dispute involves up to 4,000 staff and shows no sign of being resolved.

The industrial action is linked to plans to franchise or close more than 70 Crown sites - the larger branches usually found on high streets.

The 373 Crown offices, which are usually the larger ones, represent just 3% of the total post office network.

But the CWU says its staff deal with a fifth of all customers and handle 40% of financial transactions involving things like banking and credit cards.

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: "This is the first time we have announced two days of strikes at the same time and the first time we have announced back-to-back days of strike action.

"Coupled with the 90% yes vote by members for industrial action short of strike, the message can't be much stronger to Post Office management.

"Crown post office workers do not agree with management's slash-and-burn approach and are prepared to take prolonged industrial action to defend jobs and services and win a fair pay rise.

"This is a company which made £94m profit last year and paid out £15.4m in bonuses to senior managers.

"It's a clear case of double standards and trampling those at the bottom for the benefit of those at the top. Enough is enough. It's time to resolve this."

Kevin Gilliland, network and sales director at the Post Office, said he was "extremely disappointed" at the CWU's decision to call further strike action.

"This action can only cause disruption to customers, cost our people money and place further pressure on the Crown network which is currently losing £37m a year.

"We must continue with our plans to turn around the Crown network to ensure we keep these branches on high streets and in city centres across the UK.

"We remain open to discussions with the CWU on pay options which do not add to the current loss of public money."

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Gibraltar Row: Spanish Divers Inspect Reef

The diplomatic row between Britain and Spain has intensified after footage emerged of Spanish police divers inspecting a controversial concrete reef off Gibraltar.

Spanish police published the footage showing one of its divers during an inspection of the artificial reef, which was built by the British overseas territory.

Gibraltar's government has dropped 74 concrete blocks onto the sea floor to create the reef, which it says will boost marine life.

Madrid has reacted furiously to the construction, with Spain claiming that its fishing industry has been damaged as a result.  

Fishermen say there are iron bars protruding from the blocks which tangle and break their fishing nets.

A Spanish police diver approaches the concrete blocks on the sea floor

But the Rock's Governor, Sir Adrian Johns, says the actions of the police divers - as revealed in the footage - mark a "serious violation of British sovereignty".

In a statement, the Government of Gibraltar said: "Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar notes the incident of executive action taken by the Guardia Civil in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters in the area of the new artificial reef.

"The matter of this serious incursion will not assist in de-escalating the present tensions."

Tensions between Spain and the British territory have been described as at their worst in 40 years.

Spain has imposed tighter controls at its border with Gibraltar amid the continuing row, causing long tailbacks at the crossing.

HMS Westminster sails into Gibraltar on Monday

The move has prompted angry words from British officials.

But Gibraltar's chief Minister Fabian Picardo has said the waters could be re-opened to Spanish fishermen again by October, potentially offering a means to resolve the spat.

Mr Picardo said Gibraltar would not remove the concrete blocks, as Spain demands, and rejected four-way talks with Spain, Britain and Andalusia.

On Monday, HMS Westminster arrived in Gibraltar a day after Spanish fishermen were involved in a stand-off with UK military and police boats.

The type 23 frigate was due to spend three days on the Rock, before joining several other vessels taking part in a pre-planned international training exercise in the Mediterranean and Gulf.

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Ajmol Alom: Fourth Arrest In Murder Probe

A fourth person has been arrested by police investigating the murder of 16-year-old Ajmol Alom.

The man, age 21, was arrested at an address in Tower Hamlets, east London on suspicion of murder, police said in a statement.

He has been taken to a local police station where he remains in custody.

Ajmol died after being stabbed in the leg when he and his friends were confronted by a gang wearing hoods and bandanas in Poplar, east London on August 12.

He was badly wounded in the thigh, while his friend of the same age, Azime Rob, was stabbed through the cheek.

Both were taken to an east London hospital, where Ajmol died.

Aminur Nazir Khan, 19, has already been charged with the teenager's murder.

Ajmol died after being stabbed in the thigh

Two other men, age 19 and 21, were also arrested two weeks ago and released on bail until September.

Ajmol, a promising student who was interested in studying medicine, achieved 11 GCSEs, it was revealed this week.

Talking to Sky News, Chris Dunne, headmaster of Langdon Park School, said: "He got 11 GCSEs, eight at grade A and three at grade B.

"Significantly, he got As in maths and the sciences, which was important as he was interested in going on to study medicine at university."

Ajmol had also recently taken part in a conflict resolution project with young people from Northern Ireland, in which he was "hugely active".

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Helicopter Crash: Four Dead In North Sea

Police have named the four oil workers who died after a helicopter ditched into the sea on its way to Shetland.

The victims are: Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland; Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin; Gary McCrossan , 59, from Inverness; and George Allison, 57, from Winchester.

The Super Puma L2 went down at approximately 6.27pm on Friday, around two miles west of Sumburgh airport as it was returning to Shetland from the Borgsten Dolphin platform.

The helicopter was carrying 16 workers and two crew.

"The bodies of three people have been recovered and work is underway to recover the body of the fourth person," Police Scotland said in a statement.

At least three of the dead had trouble escaping the upturned helicopter

The body of the fourth victim is understood to be in the wreckage of the aircraft.

All the families have been informed.

A search operation involving coastguard, police, RAF and local lifeboats was able to rescue 14 people from the sea, including the two crew. They were taken to Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick.

"Five were discharged and nine detained overnight either for observation or suffering from exposure," the police statement said.

The helicopter is reported to be in several pieces but the wreckage has now been secured by the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).

One of the rescued workers is moved on a stretcher

Helicopter operator CHC, which operates in 30 countries, said on its website that it was temporarily suspending all Super Puma L2 flights worldwide as a precaution.

It has also suspended flights in Aberdeen "as a mark of respect".

Amanda Smith, the mother of one of the workers, Sam Smith, said that her son had telephoned her from hospital after suffering cuts in the crash.

She told Sky News: "He said it seemed to lose power and there was no time to brace, they just dropped into the sea.

"He was by the window so he was able to escape that way as it rolled over.

"He said he had come off better than a lot of people. It didn't seem real, I would say two hours later it's just beginning to sink in."

CHC said it was flying for French oil company Total and that the aircraft had lost communication as it approached the airport on the southern tip of Shetland's main island.

Some of those rescued were able to walk unaided after the rescue

The four people who died were working for Total through contractor organisations.

A CHC spokesman said: "The aircraft was on approach to Sumburgh Airport at approximately 6.20pm when contact was lost with air traffic control."

Mark Abbey, regional director for CHC, expressed his "heartfelt sympathies to all those involved" but said the company would not be speculating about the cause of the crash.

Investigators from the Department for Transport's Air Accidents Investigation Branch are looking into the incident.

The helicopter was upside down in the water when rescuers arrived, said Sky's James Matthews in Aberdeen.

"At least three of the four who died had trouble getting out of the wreckage. One body remains in there this morning," said Matthews.

The survivors were aided by waterproof immersion suits that helped keep them afloat and warm in the North Sea.

The tide - which was heading towards the land - also helped survivors.

Jim Nicholson, RNLI rescue co-ordinator, said: "There appears to have been a catastrophic loss of power which meant the helicopter suddenly dropped into the sea without any opportunity to make a controlled landing."

Last year, two Super Puma helicopters ditched in the North Sea only six months apart.

All passengers and crew were rescued in both incidents, which were found to be caused by gearbox problems.

Several helicopters have been involved in the search operation

However, the latest incident marks the fourth in four years involving Super Puma aircraft.

In April 2009, 16 people died when a helicopter returning from BP's Miller platform crashed 11 miles from Peterhead after a "catastrophic failure" in part of its main gearbox.

The Unite union's Scottish Secretary, Pat Rafferty, said the safety record was "unacceptable" and called on the oil and gas industry to use "every means at their disposal to demonstrate that its fleet is fit for purpose".

Bob Crow, head of the RMT union, said he expected an "outpouring of  anger" after the latest incident.

"The entire Super Puma fleet must remain grounded until the causes of this latest event are established," said Mr Crow.

:: CHC has set up a helpline for concerned relatives on 01224 296 866.

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Double Shooting: Woman Killed On Birthday

A woman who was killed in a double shooting in north-west London had been out celebrating her 24th birthday with friends.

Police and the ambulance service found the victim, Sabrina Moss, and another woman, also aged 24, with gunshot injuries in Kilburn.

The pair are believed to have been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, according to detectives.

Officers had been called at 4.12am to reports of shots being fired in the street in Kilburn High Road, at the junction with Messina Avenue.

Both women were taken to hospitals and Ms Moss, of Neasden, north-west London, was pronounced dead later. A post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course.

Police investigate the double shooting in the capital

Ms Moss, thought to be the mother of one son, was attacked outside Woody Grill.

She was talking to other people when two black males approached, opened fire and then ran off.

The other woman who was shot remains in hospital and her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Tributes to Ms Moss have been left on the social networking site Twitter.

Officers were called to the scene after reports of gunshots

Adjei Adu wrote: "My heart goes out to her family and the lil one she's left behind, sleep well Sabrina Moss."

Leila Hassan tweeted: "My Thoughts Are With Your Family... A Beautiful Young Woman, Mother and Daughter!"

Another tweet read: "Lost the cousin I was close with when I was a child.. R.I.P Sabrina Moss."

A murder inquiry has been launched by detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command and police are appealing for witnesses to the double shooting.

Detective Chief Inspector John Sandlin of the Metropolitan Police said: "Enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances of this tragic incident.

The other woman's injuries are not thought to be life-threatening

"At this early stage, I believe the two women were innocent parties who were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I am appealing for anyone who witnessed the shooting, or who saw anything suspicion in the Kilburn area early this morning, to call police.

"In particular, I need to hear from anyone who saw two males who came into the High Road from Messina Avenue and, after the shooting, made off on foot back along Messina Avenue."

One man has been arrested in connection with the investigation.

Anyone with information that may assist the inquiry should call the incident room at Hendon on 020 8358 0300 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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