Blimey!  [Image from here is not available to guests] [Image from here is not available to guests]

City of London is the smallest - would imagine that may merge with the Met?

'Platform slip shows issues for blind rail users'

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Terri Ballon, seen with her guide dog Cinnamon, wants better passenger assistance for railway users

A blind woman who slipped on an icy platform after stepping off a train has joined calls to increase accessibility on the public transport network.

Terri Ballon, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, said she nearly fell when no support staff were available to help her when her train arrived at London Euston earlier this month, despite her having booked passenger assistance, external.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) campaign officer said other commuters had also reported "unreliable and inconsistent" passenger assistance services.

The Department for Transport has been asked to comment.

In a recent report, the RNIB said more than 60% of 1,200 respondents had revealed they had not been consistently met by staff at stations, despite booking passenger assistance in advance.

Terri, 64, said she the passenger assistance support on her recent journey to London during railworks over the new year had gone "extremely well" until the train's arrival. "When I alighted at Euston, the member of staff wasn't there initially and because it was icy on the platform, as I stepped off of the train, my foot slipped and I almost fell. If I'd have fallen, I would have hit my head backwards on the step of the train." She added that her personal experience of rail transport overall was "very mixed".

"There are some areas and places that are absolutely brilliant. Some of that is due perhaps to being a regular customer and known, and then there are some other situations which are really, really, very distressing."

She said there was no accessible toilet on the train to London earlier this month, meaning she "had to use the small cubicle ones with the door slightly open with my guide dog's lead". Terri continued: "So my dog had to stand through the open doorway. Now that's OK for myself - it's not great - but for other disabled people, that's obviously a very serious issue indeed."

Nearly 80% of respondents to the RNIB survey also reported challenges finding their carriage and an appropriate seat. Poor quality audio on rail announcements was also a problem for about 55% of respondents, while two thirds said they had experienced problems opening train doors.

Terri said the majority believed said they would benefit from "tactile wayfinding, which is a tactile-coloured path on the floor that would direct a person to important station facilities such as platforms". However she described the government's recent announcement that they would not improve accessibility at 19 stations as a "concern for us as well as obviously many other disabled people". She also said the "retention of a ticket office is vital, not only as a key point for passengers being able to locate where they can get assistance, but also in the purchase of the ticket".

Erik Matthies, RNIB's policy lead for travel and transport, said: "With the government's new Railways Bill, working towards the establishment of Great British Railways, now is a perfect opportunity to address these issues."

A spokeswoman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operating companies, said improving accessibility was "essential to making sure passengers can travel independently". She added: "We know sometimes we don't get it right, but the whole rail industry is working hard to improve how we support passengers with accessibility needs."

Hypothetical, but those figures would have been even higher had it not been for the reset enforced by covid.

Storm Ingrid: Part of historic Teignmouth pier washes away in 'wild' storm

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Part of Teignmouth Grand Pier has washed away in the storm

Part of a historic pier has washed away as Storm Ingrid brings heavy rain and strong winds to Devon and Cornwall.

Teignmouth mayor Cate Williams said the town had "taken a real battering" overnight into Saturday with "just wild" waves damaging part of the Teignmouth Grand Pier.

A Met Office yellow warning for rain is in place until 22:00 GMT and the Environment Agency said flood warnings were in place across the south Devon and south Cornwall coasts.

Great Western Railway said the line between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth would remain shut until at least 14:00 because a "significant amount of debris" was on the track at Dawlish due to waves breaching the sea wall.

Teignmouth's mayor said it was "sad" to see part of the resort's pier, which opened in 1867, washed away. "It has lost part of the pier structure itself, that has dissolved and gone away into the sea," she said. "It's an old pier and it was needing some attention and I suppose age and wear and tear has taken its toll. It has survived many weather conditions as well as world wars. It's sad when you look at it now to see some of it now missing."

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A tree fell down in Heavitree Park in Exeter during high winds

Trees have also come down across the region, with one blocking both lanes of the A377 near Lapford, Devon County Council said.

Cornwall Council warned trees might still be weak or unstable following Storm Goretti.

Meanwhile, Network Rail issued a black alert, its highest warning, as 12ft (4m) waves hit the sea wall at Dawlish. It is only the second time a black alert has been issued since a storm destroyed sections of the track around Dawlish in February 2014.

Rail services have also been cancelled between Par and Newquay and Liskeard and Looe due to flooding.

GWR said the sea wall at Dawlish would be inspected once the storm had passed. The firm advised passengers to avoid rail travel until later with tickets remaining valid on Sunday.

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Waves overtopped the sea wall at Penzance on Friday

GWR spokesman James Davis said: "There's been a significant amount of debris that the sea has thrown onto the track that will need to be cleared before we can run trains safely. The line remains closed and we have a limited bus replacement service operating. Clearly, if the same number of people choose to travel as normal you're going to find yourself waiting quite some time."

Reading elsewhere suggestions that it's the line-side wall separating the railway from the coast path rather than the sea wall itself but yes, I would imagine it will slow the reopening somewhat?

Lane Rental Schemes in other areas have exempted Network Rail from charges, which is perhaps just as well, as the Botley Road railway bridge closure would have been charged at £3m for 1,239 days.

As one of the smallest (if not the smallest) forces in the UK I suspect that Wiltshire will be one of those forced to merge.  

I am assuming since the fire service was merged with Dorset, that that will be the likely outcome.  Given the proximity of Salisbury to the Dorset border I suppose this makes sense.

However, our health services cooperate to the west where there is also a large centre of population on the border so that would also make sense.

Remembering the proposals for a Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset combined authority I wonder if a much larger force covering Wilts Dorset and Avon and Somerset will be the outcome.

... and now 19 years ago. [Image from here is not available to guests]

Has nothing been learned, or done, in that time? [Image from here is not available to guests]

White water rafting, anyone?  [Image from here is not available to guests]

What will happen with the small "specialist" forces such as BTP? Combined with MoD Police, Atomic Energy Police etc??

Number of police forces to be cut in major shake-up

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The government is to radically reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales as part of what sources have called the largest reform of policing in decades.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce plans for police reform next week. She will pledge to "significantly" cut the number of forces from its current level of 43, and tell them to focus on serious and organised crime. Police chiefs have been calling for the creation of 12 "mega forces" to save money and boost crime-fighting efforts.

It could be years before changes are implemented, with government sources saying only that it will happen by the end of the next parliament, around 2034.

Mahmood will argue in a policy proposal that the current model of 43 forces is bureaucratic and wastes money, with each force running their own headquarters, management teams and backroom staff.

Ministers also believe the performance of local forces varies too widely across England. They believe smaller forces are less well equipped to deal with serious crime and respond to major incidents.

Mahmood is expected to say new, larger forces should focus on tackling serious and organised crime, as well as complex cases like murder and drugs. Ministers will also announce plans for new Local Policing Areas, with local officers focusing on neighbourhood policing.

It is proposed these will be set up in every borough, town or city across in England, and will be tasked with working with communities and fighting what the government calls "local crime", such as shoplifting, phone theft and drug dealing.

Government insiders acknowledge there is an "epidemic of every day offences" going unpunished, and say they believe criminals think they can "cause havoc on our streets with impunity" because people are forced to wait hours or days for police to investigate crimes. A government source said: "Where you live will no longer determine the outcomes you get from your force."

Ministers will not say next week exactly how many forces will exist under the new framework. Instead, an independent review will be announced to looking at precise details. Similar cuts have been proposed as long as 20 years ago, when then Home Secretary Charles Clarke suggested cutting the number of forces to 12.

Scotland also merged its forces in 2013 to create Police Scotland.

The home secretary's allies will sell these reforms as part of her "modernising agenda". A source said: "For decades, people have called for forces to be merged. Mahmood is a politician who is not scared of bold reform and a political fight."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: "Keir Starmer's forced police reorganisation will undermine efforts to flight crime across England and Wales, inevitably leading to centralised control and reduced policing in towns and villages across the country."

Some police chiefs have called for a revamp of policing in England and have backed reducing the number of forces.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said: "Crime is changing, technology is evolving, and we need to be set up in the best possible way to tackle crime in the modern world, relentlessly focused on good quality neighbourhood policing alongside national threats. I know the home secretary shares this ambition. We look forward to seeing the government's white paper and working with them to ensure policing delivers outstanding results and rebuilds confidence with the communities we serve."

A spokesman for the Policing Federation, which represents officers from the rank of constable to chief inspector, said: "Fewer forces doesn't guarantee more or better policing for communities. Skills, capabilities and equipment need significant investment if the public and officers are going to see reform deliver in the real world. Any proposals must be driven by evidence and best practice, not lowest cost, and must strengthen rather than weaken frontline, investigative and specialist capability, neighbourhood policing and public confidence."