Met Office Scrapping Seasonal Weather Forecasts

The Met Office has decided to scrap its seasonal weather forecasts after coming under criticism for failing to predict the UK's coldest winter for decades.

This comes following false hopes of a "BBQ Summer" last year which turned out to be very wet and cool!

In a bid to restore faith the Met Office will now be issuing 30 day forecasts which they claim will be more useful to the public anyway after admitting that seasonal forecasts can never be as accurate as short-term forecasts.

If you want to check the weather forecast for Darwen over the next 14 days please visit metcheck.com

BBC set to cancel two digital radio stations

The BBC has revealed plans to axe two of its digital radio stations as they aim to reduce online spending by 20%.

6 Music and Asian Network have been confirmed as the digital stations to be cut, despite protests on Facebook to keep the stations going.

One Facebook group, SAVE 6 MUSIC, was approaching 20,000 fans as listeners tried to plead with BBC bosses to keep it going but director general, Mark Thompson defends his decision to axe the show.

Wayne Bridge pulls out of England World Cup selection

Wayne Bridge has made himself unavailable for selection by England as he feels his position in the squad is 'untenable and potentially divisive' following recent events.

Many England fans now feel that Wayne Bridge has been backed into a corner through no fault of his own and although the majority respect the full backs decision they feel John Terry has potentially cost the England team dearly in pursuit of personal gain.

Fabio Capello stripped former captain Terry of the armband for the forthcoming World Cup, yet despite Terry being one of the best centre backs the country has produced for years, some fans would be prepared to see him dropped from the squad completely.

Read the full story at Sky Sports

Drug addict sends Heroin warning from beyond the grave

The tragic story of a teenage drug addict who died from a heroin overdose has been making national news today as her mother has released a letter she wrote just weeks before her death entitled DEAR HEROIN.

Hannah Meredith, just 17, first started taking the drug when she was 15 and vowed to kick the drug. Hannah thought she had finally put it behind her when she penned the moving letter in her diary but was killed by an overdose shortly before her 18th birthday.

Her family are now setting up a charity in her name and offering support to other addicts in her hometown of Llanelli, South Wales. They have also decided to release the personal diary entry in a hope that it will warn other kids to stay away from heroin and alert them to the related dangers.

The letter explain how heroin can take over you, it's not just the risk of overdose that people should consider - it's the effect it has on your life and how ashamed you can become of your actions as the addiction forces you to do things out of character.

Read the letter in full:

Dear Heroin, I never want to touch you ever again, you've ruined my life, made me steal from my family, on probation 'cause of you, why I choose you I don't know?

You're the worst thing that ever came into my life. Yes, I did love you but now it's time to say goodbye.

I'm so ashamed of myself 'cause of you. I OD three times, you're a big risk to anyone that does it and to me.

So I'm going to be strong and stay away from you and never touch you again.

My family have supported me all the way but I just kick them up the backside taking advantage of them.

Stole off my mother, grandad, Mam Iscoed. I borrowed money off her and didn't give it back. She's getting old now, and look what you've made me do, my nan £120 stolen off her, once again 'cause of you.

I love my family from the bottom of my heart, it's not nice being called a junkie or smack 'ed.

It feels horrible, you feel so small. Well I feel small, you made me feel like I'm worth nothing, just a dirty junkie sticking needles in my arms.

You're out of my life now, don't need you no more.

Yeah, you've messed me up nearly 2½ years of my life but I've still got my whole life ahead of me and I'm going to prove to everyone that I can stay away from you, going to college, getting a job and a car.

Then get on with my life and get my family's trust back. Stop offending, that's the only reason I was doing all that 'cause of your dirty addiction. You make me sick, to be honest with you.

I did love the buzz of you but you're not worth it. By losing my family, thinking about you pi***s me off.

But not any more, I'll make sure you stay away from me, and I'll stay away from you.

I was brought up by a good family not a bad one, yeah I've had a lot of problems in my life, been quite bad actually, all because of you (heroin) (gear), (smack)!!

You're a killer, you've killed a lot of people and really they are good people.

I'm lucky that you haven't put me in a box cemetery.

Lost loads of my mates and it hurts me, they sometimes blank me 'cause they know I've been on you (gear) it's not nice when I've got pin holes in my arms and marks, track marks.

The illness that I go through when I use you and the after effects, cold turkey, clucking, withdrawals, it's the worst feeling that you've put me through, being bad off you.

Wanted to kill myself a few times 'cause I couldn't go through it.

Well guess what (heroin) I can and did do it. I can beat you any time. I can control you, you don't control me.

I've got enough will power to get you out of my life for good. I'm strong and much stronger than you can ever be.

I'm not losing anything over you. Goodbye heroin.

Never again. Family comes first.

Hannah Meredith

Children in care to benefit from ground-breaking pilot scheme

A pioneering pilot scheme to boost the long-term outcomes of children in care is being launched in Blackburn with Darwen.

One of the borough’s children’s homes will welcome two social pedagogues – specially trained children’s specialists who work with and support the children and their all-round development – in September.

The experts from Germany are currently being recruited to start in their roles. In January the pilot home was judged to be outstanding in every area by Ofsted.

This is the first full-scale research on this issue by the government and is part of a pilot by The Department for Children, Schools and Families for eight children’s homes in the country as part of the Care Matters agenda, which aims to improve the lives of children in care.

The children’s home, which cannot be named, was selected from a huge number of interested local authorities to take part in the pilot.

It aims to see if the scheme improves outcomes for children in residential care homes.

The title social pedagogue, which roughly translates as a teacher or instructor, describes the work done by youth and residential workers. They use creative and practical skills with groups and on an individual basis to support children.

Social pedagogues are well known in Europe and are often trained to graduate level but it is relatively new in the UK.

By encouraging young people in residential care to take what might seem small steps - such as developing a routine to get out of bed and go to school - the social pedagogue can help them to make great strides in terms of developing life skills.

Gladys Rhodes, deputy director of children’s services, said: “There has never been a full government supported scheme on this scale into the work done by social pedagogues before and we are hoping that this approach will help us even further in improving outcomes for children in residential care in Blackburn with Darwen.

“We are really pleased that Blackburn with Darwen has been chosen to pilot this extremely successful way of delivering residential care which is established in other parts of Europe and has proved very beneficial for children.”

Darwen bank holiday weather

Despite a promising start the weather is expected to turn cooler and more showery as we progress through the bank holiday weekend according to Metcheck.

On Saturday we experienced sunny spells throughout the day, however we are more likely to see increasing rain showers across Darwen during Sunday and Monday. Despite some sunny spells, we aren't forecast to see temparatures rise much above double figures.

The good news is that after two wet and cool summers we are being told to prepare for a hot, dry summer by the Met Office this year!

So with prolonged spells of warm weather between June and August maybe we can finally dust down those barbecues. Despite the "confident" announcement by the Met Office they believe the chances of another wetsummer is very low.

Our advice - make the most of it whenever possible. Quite often it seems to be raining in Darwen even if TV forecasts said it would be fine and dry - much like this bank holiday!

Is the swine flu 'crisis' being blown out of proportion?

Swine flu is everywhere you look - everywhere in the news that is! There is no doubting that with it being confirmed on 3 continents it deserves press coverage but is it as life threatening as some are making out?

Reporting worrying statistics like as many as 4 in 10 could be infected by the virus if it becomes a pandemic has created panic with UK residents. Actor Stephen Fry has urged people to 'be sensible and not to earn Twitter a bad reputation.' in a bid to stem the false rumours about the outbreak via the popular social networking site.

As the WHO (World Health Organisation) raised the alert level to phase five, one short announcing it as a pandemic, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson said he was "concerned but not alarmed".

The Government's Chief Medical Officer explained that while he expects to see many more cases of the virus in the UK, most will make a full recovery.

Some of the press coverage has frightened some people, especially those with children or elderly parents, however, the fact remains that to date the number of confirmed deaths is less than 10. While the UK now has 5 confirmed cases of swine flu, it has been suggested that the number of new hospital admissions in Mexico, where the spread of the virus started, is declining.

Sir Liam Donaldson explained to BBC Breakfast "Most people who get flu, even a new strain of flu, will make a good recovery. It's a nasty illness but it's short and they will recover."

He added: "To put things in proportion, in any flu, even the seasonal flu, there are some deaths, often of elderly people and the very frail. What we will see is many more cases, but on the whole most people make a good recovery from flu."

The two honeymooners with the first confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK are said to be "recovering well" in hospital while the all clear has been given to all but one of the people who came into contact with Iain and Dawn Askham after they arrived home from Mexico. Results for the remaining person have still to be confirmed but it is expected that they, too, will be given the all clear.

So, while the virus does appear to be spreading quickly throughout the world the number of confirmed cases remains quite low considering the world population. Closer to home we've had 5 confirmed cases out of a population of nearly 61 million.

You can follow an interactive timeline map of the virus on the BBC website which is updated regularly with new information.

So the advice seems to be not to panic. Only a very small percentage of the world is infected, and of those, the majority appear to be making a full recovery - much like the seasonal flu. People are, however, advised to take precautions to protect yourself.

Wash your hands regularly and catch a cough or sneeze in a tissue and throw it in the bin, much as you would to prevent the spread of the common cold.

Dealing with the spread of swine flu

According to reports every household in Britain is due to receive informational leaflets providing advice on preventing the spread of swine flu. In addition the Government are said to be ordering over 30 million paper face masks.

The big question is - do these face masks work? It is believed that they don't prevent the wearer from catching the flu but they do prevent people from spreading it to others around them.

Would you start wearing a face mask if given one? Will you be going one better by purchasing your own face mask rather than waiting for free hand-outs?

With deaths attributed to the flu restricted to Mexico do you think the media are over-reacting or do you believe we are past the point of no return and it is now inevitable that there will be a death in the UK due to the spread of swine flu? With officials in the US saying deaths are 'expected' and deaths in the UK are 'likely 'it would certainly appear to be a serious threat, although so far only 7 of the reported 159 related deaths have been confirmed as being caused by the virus.

What is worrying is how easily the virus seems to be spreading around the world with Germany the latest county to confirm its first case on the virus.

So will the virus eventually become classed as a pandemic? If it does it would be the first pandemic since 1968 when the "Hong Kong" flu killed over 1 million people worldwide, which itself was 50 years after the Spanish flu killed over 40 million in 1916 according to World Health Organization statistics.

Ever wondered where all your recycling goes?

Blue Peter becomes ‘Green Peter’ next Tuesday when the show visits the new high tech recycling plant in Birmingham where Blackburn with Darwen’s recycling goes for sorting.

The Greenstar ‘Super MRF’ – a large scale materials recycling facility - utilises cutting-edge technology and equipment to separate and sort all the Borough's recycling including paper, cardboard, cans, plastics and glass.

The new facility is the first in the country to be able to offer this service.

It can process up to 250,000 tonnes of recyclables every year.

Blackburn with Darwen Council was one of the first local authorities to give its residents the opportunity to put all their recycling into just one bin, in spring last year. Previously residents had to sort their recycling into different containers.

With help from the Greenstar plant those recyclables are collected, separated and sold on to UK companies for reuse.

Blue Peter will show that process when it airs at 4.35pm, on Tuesday, March 24.

Councillor Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration and environment, said: “This is a brilliant opportunity for all of our residents to tune in and see just what happens to their recycling.

“I visited the plant myself recently and to say it’s impressive is an understatement. With its help we have been able to offer our residents a simple and extremely convenient way to dispose of their recyclables.

“Around 85 per cent of the recycling that goes there is sold on to companies in the UK for reuse.

“Residents can be assured it doesn’t end up in landfill.”

UK Recession - It's Official

Official figures released today have confirmed the UK is in a recession following the sharpest quarter on quarter shrinkage of GP in almost 20 years.

The GDP (gross domestic product) for the UK shrank for the second successive quarter when figures showed a decline of 1.5% between October and December 2008.

The fact that the UK is now in a confirmed recession comes as no surprise but the actual figures are actually worse than predicted and many experts now believe the recession could extend into 2010 making it the worst economic situation since World War II.

Price of stamps set to rise

Royal Mail has announced the price of first and second class stamps is set to rise again in April.

From 6 April 2009 a first-class stamp will cost 39p while second-class will be priced at 30p

Royal Mail issued a statement defending the price increase claiming that stamped mail remains very affordable.

Meanwhile Dutch firm TNT confirmed it would be interested in a stake in Royal Mail following the governments initial backing of a report suggesting it should be part-privatised.

Many local residents were shocked to find they had to pay fees at the post office to accept Christmas cards last year which were posted by friends & relatives with insufficient postage.

This was following changes made to how mail was charged, basing prices on size in addition to the weight. If you are ever in any doubt, take your mail/parcel to the post office or pickup a size chart before applying stamps to your post.

FSA - Helping People Stay In Control Of Their Money

The Financial Services Authority are using a website and offline advertising to spearhead a campaign to help consumers keep a better grip on their money in the current economic climate.

The "Moneymadeclear" campaign has been backed by the government to the tune of £2m as they try to fund consumer help initiatives.

Tools available on the website, www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk, include a comparison table on various financial products, hints and tips to budget your money effectively and help with life events such as buying a house or starting a family and advice on saving for retirement.


You can also request a number of FREE printed guides through their online order form. Other useful tools include:

Debt Test - find out if you have potential problems with your borrowing.
Budget Calculator - discover if you have enough money to cover your spending
Loan Calculator - work out how much repayments would be on a range of loans
Pension Calculator - how much will you get when you retire?

If you're not sure where to start on the website simply visit the FINANCIAL HEALTH CHECK section to get started.

During this uncertain economic climate it's important to look after your money and ensure you don't fall into too much debt. If you prefer to use the phone to get help you can ring the FSA consumer helpline on 0845 606 1234.

Proposed Changes To Consumer Law

The Department for Business is looking at a proposed new consumer rights directives.

The new laws will replace existing rules in several areas to help offer more protection to shoppers within the EU, especially in relation to Internet shopping and door-to-door selling.

If the proposals become are passed consumers within the EU will benefit from:

• A 14 day cooling off period for anything purchased online or from doorstep sellers
• Consistent protection when goods are not delivered
• Clearer rules outlining the reposnibilities of traders and consumers in returning goods
• Stronger protection for consumers buying at home from doorstep sellers.
  

The directive also proposes a change to the rules surrounding faulty goods. At the moment UK consumers can reject faulty goods and ask for a refund, but the proposed change would allow retailers the opportunity to provide a repair or replacement first.

Other recent changes for online shoppers include a change in duty payments on goods purchased from outside the EU.

Previously consumers had to pay duty on any purchase valued over £18, however, since 1 December this has been raised to £105.

VAT is not affected by the change and is still payable on goods over £18 but you could see a saving next time you buy something like a DVD Box Set from America for example.

LloydsTSB & Halifax workers facing job cuts?

Lloyds TSB believes it can save more money than originally expected following the take over of rivals HBOS. They now expect to save approximately £1.5bn by the end of 2011 prompting fear that they may be planning job cuts once the deal goes through.

Banking experts have suggested that job cuts are inevitable with bosses choosing to make the most of any possible savings and without closures banks may find themselves with two or three branches in the same vicinity.

There are currently 140,000 people employed by the two banks in the UK and Darwen itself has both Lloyds TSB and Halifax (HBOS) branches. It is worried that upto 40,000 people could lose their jobs if the takeover goes ahead.

After the Government dismissed competition concerns raised by the Office of Fair Trading it is now up to shareholders to approve the takeover. It has been revealed that the company would be called "Lloyds Banking Group" following the proposed merger.

What are your thoughts on the merger?

UK is halfway to an official recession

Figures have revealed that the UK economy shrunk by 0.5% in the previous 3 months and although the statistics don't come as a major shock, the UK still isn't in an official recession.

A downturn in the economy actually becomes a recession following TWO or more consecutive negative quarters. There is no doubt in many peoples minds that we are already in a recession and just need the figures to prove it. Growth of the economy is measured by the GDP (gross domestic product) which measures national income and output.

These latest figure for the third quarter of 2008 are the worst since 1990 and although we're not technically in a recession the second quarter of 2008 showed zero growth which first indicated to many that we were heading for a recession.

Rising unemployment figures and ever rising food and fuel prices have only made the recession an ever increasing possibility since the second quarter. Together with the bank crisis, recession fears have caused the FTSE to fall to it's lowest level in 5 years. The British Pound has also fallen to a 5 year low against the US Dollar.

How is the "credit crunch" affecting you?

Are we heading for street light switch off?

Councils in the UK are undergoing trial schemes to turn off up to 2/3 of their street lights between midnight and 5.30am.

The move is being considered by UK councils to help save money and reduce their CO2. Last month Powys in Wales turnoed off over 9,000 of its street lights, potentially saving an estimated £213,000 per year.

If the move proves a success then other councils could follow suit, so you might find that your own streetlight is switched off in the future. However, there are concerns about safety and crime in the affected areas and some people believe the money saved will be spent on police time and paying compensation claims.

Lights in key areas such as town centres and pedestrian crossings will not be affected by the changes.

The move has been made in Powys to help combat rising energy costs which have affected local councils.

Do you think Blackburn with Darwen council should consider this move?

FTSE100 heading for worst day since Black Monday?

The FTSE100 has dived over 10% this morning spreading fear throughout global markets and taking it below 4,000 points for the first time in four years.

The crash of 1987, known as Black Monday, was also in the month of October and saw worldwide markets decline substatially. The FTSE100 index lost 10.8% on that infamous day but worse was to come the following day when it lost a further 12.2%.

To add to UK misery the pound fell to a 5 year low against the dollar to 1.68 against the dollar - its lowest level since November 2003.

Although it's too early in the day to guess where the FTSE will close, there is no doubt that we are living through tough financial times and it's possible that people will be talking about this day for years to come along with Black Monday (1987) and the infamous Wall Street crash if 1929.

Hopefully the index will see a recovery by the close of trading, otherwise if it continues to fall at this alarming rate today may be known forever as Black Friday.

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House prices fall at record rate

It has been revealed that house prices fell at record levels over the past 12 months. The Halifax house price index posted a year on year fall of 12.7% in August and given this rate average local house prices are now approximateky £105,000. The average cost of a UK home is now £172,109.

It's not all bad news though as figures suggest that the rate prices are falling at is finally slowing down. The month of September saw a drop of 1.3% which is the lowest since March.

However, current market situations are still very uncertain and the FTSE100 has seen prices fall at an alarming rate over the past month.

The Bank of England lowered it's interest rate by 0.5% on Wednesday, a move which will be welcomed by many home owners on variable mortgages.

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Bank of England cuts interest rate by 0.5%

The Bank of England announced an interest rate cut of 0.5% today to help boost the economy. If the reduction is passed on to borrowers the public could see healthy savings on monthly mortgage repayments.

The half a point cut is the biggest since the 9/11 attacks in New York and brings the Bank of Englands base rate down to 4.5%.

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Is Cannabis Safer Than Alcohol?

A recent report says cannabis is less harmful than drinking or smoking. The report by The Beckley Foundation's Global Cannabis Commission called for a serious rethink of drug policies claiming that users shouldn't be classed as criminals.

The report admits that smoking cannabis does have a negative impact on your health but it claims that smoking or drinking alcohol is worse, stating that historically there have only been two deaths attributed to cannabis whereas alcohol and tobacco are resposible for 150,000 deaths per year.

Full Story: Sky News