The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee

📢 Coming up on The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee…

We’ll bring you the latest on an exclusive report by Sky News looking at mental health care in prisons as the chief inspector of prisons warns that some people are being sent to jail simply because they have nowhere else for them to go.

Plus, we’ll have the latest on the King’s health.

Also on the show 👇

🔴 The government plans to offer dentists cash to take on new patients
🔴 A triathlete – who was involved in a bike accident which left him in hospital for 10 days – is suing his local council over a pothole

Read today’s top stories: https://trib.al/Rx0iR33

#Skynews #live #King #Royals #Prisons #MentalHealth #Dentists #Potholes

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It’s 8:00 this is the UK tonight the king is seen for the first time since his cancer diagnosis as Prince Harry flies in from LA to be by his father’s side after beginning treatment yesterday King Charles is now one of hundreds of thousands of people in the UK facing this

Disease I’ve been spending the afternoon speaking to other people living with cancer we’ll be hearing from them in just a moment also tonight the people curing around the block in Bristol to see a new NHS dentist as the government plans to offer dentists cash to take on new

Patients the shocking reality of mental health care in prison as the Chief Inspector of Prisons warns that some people are being sent to jail simply because there’s nowhere else for them to go we’ll be hearing from a former prison officer and we’ll speak to the triathlete suing his local Council over

A pothole after a bike accident left him in hospital for 10 days all that to come and much more on the Tonight King Charles has been seen in public today for the first time after revealing his cancer diagnosis with Queen Camila by his side as they headed to sandrian yesterday the king started his treatment for cancer we still don’t know what kind it was discovered though during a hospital visit for an enlarged

Prostate earlier on today Prince Harry flew in from California to be with his father but we’re told that there’s no plan for the Duke of Sussex to see his brother William while he is here our Ro correspondent ran Mills has our first report less than 24 hours after his

Announcement the king and queen were briefly seen driving into Buckingham Palace a helicopter waiting to temporarily get them away from London only hours earlier Prince Harry was in one of these cars Landing ing back in London to see his father the years of disagreements between the sussexes and

The rest of the Royals meant a media scrum waiting at Clarence House as he was driven inside for private time with the King maybe a moment of reconciliation like any family a cancer diagnosis will have hit them all hard the arrival of Harry is good news it has

To be uh it didn’t take long for us to be told he was coming and it hasn’t taken long for him to arrive I think uh this is one of those cases where what now minor grievances are set to one side and the big issue comes to the for this

Is a loving son who’s come to see an ailing father the king’s decision to be so open is drawn attention from around the world even though the palace have said that there is nothing more to share including refusing to confirm the prime minister’s suggestion that it’s been caught early thankfully this has been

Caught early and now everyone will be wishing him uh that he gets get the treatment that that he needs and makes a full recovery your roal highness how’s the king doing Princess Anne was too far from the cameras to know if she said anything about her brother her trip to

Nottingham one of four engagements already planned including handing out honors at Windsor Castle the extra attention on his family is inevitable with doctors telling the king to leave the meeting and greeting to them he’ll want to get up he’ll want to be moving he’ll want to be meeting people that’s

Where he gets his his energy from so to have this enforced sort of time away from his job it will uh he won’t be a very good patient outside Buckingham Palace the crowds have been impressed that he’s been so candid you see these things you kind of think they they’re

Impermeable and impervious to anything wrong going to them and you realize they’re human yeah quite shocked to hear it um but really good that he’s really open about his diagnosis it’s really brave for him to uh tell about this because like there’s lot lots of people out there as well who suffering with

Cancer one thing that’s been really striking since he became king is the way that people have wanted to get close to him to shake his hand in a way that we just didn’t see with Queen Elizabeth II so you can understand why the doctors are so cautious about him doing things

Like walkabouts but that in a way poses its own problem for the palace because if we don’t see him out in public how did they shut down that speculation and panic they’re so Keen to control we wait to see how much they share in the coming weeks of the work that he’s

Doing behind the scenes a man who will only want to offer reassurance that he is still capable of carrying out his responsibilities as Monarch wherever he is rihan Mills Sky News at Buckingham Palace well it has to be remembered that the king is far from alone in his

Diagnosis we know that one in two of us will develop some form of cancer in our lifetime more than 30 36,000 people receive treatment for cancer between December 2022 and November 2023 that’s around a thousand people per day the highest year on record in the UK the

Four most common types of cancer are prostate cancer breast cancer lung cancer and bow cancer each with different survival rates well we know that the king will be receiving the very best care and that’s a key factor here as you can see people from the most deprived areas simply do not live as

Long as those from the wealthiest even if they have the same disease for bladder cancer for example nearly six in 10 people from wealthy areas live another four years but in the most deprived areas it’s less than half so while the king is going through something half the population will also

Experience some people will experience it in very different ways or to get an idea of that experience I visited Maggie today a charity that provides care and support for people going through cancer just last week the queen who is also the charot president visited herself there to offer support as they

May now hope to support her and her family well this afternoon I spoke to people at the Maggie Center in West London Joe Edward and Mark they’re all living with cancer and to Louise as well who’s a cancer support specialist at Maggie I started by asking Joe about her

Reaction to the king’s diagnosis I was quite shocked really and but also it’s nice to know that he’s the same as us he’s not different um you know even a king can get cancer it doesn’t just uh attack sort of us people you know it doesn’t differentiate it just attacks

Anybody and to know that he’s he’s got it is uh a little bit sort of comforting Mark what about you cuz we were discussing that before we sat down at the table that the cancer is the great leveler anyone can get it but what is different about the king is his Global

Reach in terms of starting a conversation about cancer within the last 24 hours it’s become part of the national conversation for everyone my response was here we go which is the response I’ve had for the last few years regarding um people I know who have subsequently since my diagnosis have had their diagnosis

Because um uh they talk about one in two and once you’ve been through the experience you really um acknowledge the fact that this is a thing and so you hear of the next person whether there is celebrity royalty or you know who whoever and whenever I hear somebody has

Had their diagnosis like okay here we go now now they are at the start of their their Journey their their Journey exactly this you have all been through that diagnosis I mean Edward to hear the diagnosis that you have cancer what is that like it’s not particularly Pleasant

Believe it or not but you have to be pragmatic so you just say all right then let’s get on with this when you read the king’s statement yesterday he talked about being holy positive talking about being grateful to the medical team for finding it because by the sounds of it

He went in to be treated for something that was benign and while that was going on something else was discovered and the reason I’m sure you can attest to that because that is a story for so many people who perhaps don’t present symptoms or present symptoms of

Something else they go in thinking it’s one thing come out and it’s cancer absolutely and we hear that all the time in the center um and and absolutely it’s that description that you were all saying is what a shock it is to sort of think you’re going to theit hospital for

One thing and then to come away and find yourself in a completely different place um the amazing thing about the king sharing this um is that it has brought it um right out into the open and really encouraging um people perhaps to talk about things you know whether it’s that

They might be worried about something and they might go and get investigated or just perhaps they’ve already been diagnosed but felt they couldn’t talk about it before um so it’s an amazing thing that he’s done we talk about this cancer journey and no nobody’s is the same but what was yours like Edward

Because you know King Charles has just started this he started treatment yesterday so what what was your journey like oh it was very mixed I would say a little bit of anger but not very much a little bit of acceptance but also not very much and a bewilderment it was all those wrapped

Into one and the hardest thing is that you had to learn to be a diplomat because you had to treat the news with other people the nearest and dearest and that was very tricky so I Wish King Charles and Prince Harry have a good report over this let’s let’s hope

So Mark you were diagnosed with bow cancer yes what’s it like in those early of that diagnosis my diagnosis experience was a little unusual in that the real the real drama for me was before my diagnosis because I was rushed into emergency surgery I had to have surgery

Which has resulted in in now I have the I like to call it the souvenir of living with a sto so um that that part of it was quite dramatic it was touch and go had it been one week later I would I wouldn’t be sat

Here and it and I was in hospital for 3 weeks in recuperation with other complications as a result of the surgery and it was halfway through week three that my surgeon sat me down and confirmed yes this was definitely a very nasty fast aggressive caner so in a weird way having the previous

Experience maybe that served as a bit of a um it it kind of had had me receive the cancer news a little easier um I Heard the word cancer before but it was speculation at the time and I I live by the philosophy of don’t worry

About anything until it shows up at your front door so so when I heard the word c it was like right okay and my response was okay this is this is where we are what do we we do about it when everybody’s diagnosis is the same the

Way people receive the news isn’t the same and what happens next isn’t the same for everyone you know cancer it’s a big encompassing term for something that’s so individual Joe what was your story you were diagnosed with breast cancer I was diagnosed with breast cancer um through a routine

Mamogram uh went from my mamogram got a letter couple of weeks later asking me to go back they needed to do some further tests um so I went back I had more mammograms done they took an ultrasound scan there was a just a little area that was different but they

Couldn’t decide if it was cancer or not so they took biopsies and then I went went back and they said yes it’s is cancer um but they said it’s been caught very early um it was it was small but but size of a p and it was curable and treat

Treatable and curable so everything I wanted to hear but um it was still such a shock and and also um the surgeon and the consultant who informed me said that um wanted to commend me for going for my scan because so many women and young girls don’t bother to go um

Too busy something else don’t want to anyone it won’t happen to me or I’ll I’ll go next time or something so she that’s why it’s so important to go because I examined myself a couple of times a month and felt nothing and I told her this and she said you wouldn’t

Have done because it was so small and it was quite deep when you hear the seword you know God you know and a lot of the times you think oh am I going to die you know that fear is always there um but you know luckily we’ve all you know we’re

All okay um but yeah I mean it is a shock but I think really staying positive and I hope the king stays positive through uh his treatment however bad it gets cuz I really do think it it does help and Agia recovery Mark Edward it’s important for people to

Know that it’s okay not to be okay as well well well no absolutely and I don’t believe being totally positive I mean anyone can say totally positive but what does it really mean you hope to be positive but there will be times of deep negativity and you have to try and force

Yourself almost to be positive sometimes you have to work at Mark is that the same for you um if I’m honest it’s a it’s a it’s been I mean I of course I can only speak from my my personal experience for me it’s been a little different in that I I’ve

Never felt that I’ve had to work at being positive I I wouldn’t go so far as to say you feel impervious but I feel that I’m able to cope with things a little better I I I stress about things far far less um it gives you a a real it gives one a

Real sense of perspective so it’s a funny thing it’s a terrible thing to receive it’s a terrible thing to go through but on the flip side it’s given me a a couple of gifts that I walk along now and I feel that I I mean this is the

Best I’ve felt in years as a result of the treatment and and everything and I’m just taking each moment literally each moment I I don’t talk about day by day no Day is guaranteed so I’m enjoying this very moment right now I know that the queen Camila um is heavily involved

With Maggie and uh the king is a patron of a number of cancer Charities as well they only they know only too well about cancer about statistics about the science about the treatment about the care you know they’ve given so much in that area and now they will be the recipient

Of it and all three here had spoken about the importance of telling family and having family around them it doesn’t matter whether you’re the royal family or you know our family is we we’re all in the same situation together absolutely I think it’s almost as if

Sort of you can visualize a sort of uh ston that are falling into some water and you can sort of see that Rippling out around it and it absolutely does affect um so many people around you and we see that in the center you know we have well over a 100 people coming

Through the door every day and how it affects people sort of individually and it will sometimes be that person with the diagnosis but sometimes it will be that family member that friend who are also looking for that support with how it’s making them feel and how they’re

Going to manage things and the King’s in a particularly unique situation in terms of he’s the head of state he’s the head of the royal family he’s having to go through all the so publicly um what do you think it’s done by him being so open at this stage is

Still a very early stage you know he’s only just started treatment but just by coming out as the first Monarch to do so that we know of I’m sure there has been a history of illness and disease in the roal family but it’s never been talken spoken about openly and I think

Absolutely it has opened that door to allow other people perhaps then to start speaking openly about this and to share their story their experience it’s important that if people are worried they should get something checked out I mean when we talk about one and two of us getting cancer we’re

All living longer and it is that the older generation who are more likely to get cancer even if you are fit and healthy um what would you say to people if they have a nickle because often cancer symptoms can be dismissed to something else because cancer systems

Can feel like a cold you might just be tired aches and pains of getting older so people are reluctant yeah absolutely but I would really encourage anybody that is feeling sort of that something doesn’t feel quite right for them they’re worried about something to reach

Out to their GP um to go and get themselves checked out um it won’t be the case that it will be a cancer diagnosis so for some it will be that reassurance um for some it may be something else that’s benign um but still may need treating and then

Obviously we know that for some people it will end up being that diagnosis but the earlier that it’s picked up um the better yeah and there are there are people there for you medical and of course in the support communities with Maggie and other Charities I want to end

With my practical and positive people with some words of wisdom because I think you know you’ve been through this you’ve lived it your families have lived it and it’s not just advice for the king but it’s advice for anyone watching this who has just got their diagnosis is just about to start

Treatment is thinking about their mom or dad who’s about to go through it and doesn’t know how to support them what what advice would you give them I’ll start with you Joe well to try and stay positive to tell your family as soon as you get your diagnosis because you will need

Their love their support um and that means a lot and uh yeah that does help you get through it and uh you know if there’s a a wonderful place like magg is um go to it because you’ll have all the help and support there as well as and when you need

It I would say well I would agree my advice would be you may not feel to want to tell people but I would recommend you do it because much better to have people there for you than to be dealing with it on your your own yeah I I can’t say that

I was absolutely open with absolutely everyone um but in the end I’m coming round to my colleagues here point of view that it is better to talk and better to be as expensive as you can but information to your friends and your family is quite true tricky to handle

It’s not the easiest thing in the world and you need to think that you are a diplomat you have to put your Diplomat hat on and try the best way you can even with the diagnosis to treat all the other people around you with respect and tenderheartedness and

Kindness I think that’s sound advice for the king and anyone who is going through this right now I want to thank you so much for positivity today it’s been a really uplifting discussion about cancer and what it means to different people and I know that you’re all coming out

The other side of it at the moment with positive results so I wish you the very best thank you so much for talking to you so we appreciate it Louise and the wonderful team at Maggie thank you for hosting us thank you thank you and what a wonderful group of people

Talk to me at Maggie Center earlier today a massive thank you to Edward Mark Joe and of course Louise from from Maggie some practical positivity from all of them uh still come on the UK tonight the UK’s Dental crisis people in Bristol queuing around the block to get

An NHS appointment but how have things got this bad plus a new report highlights the scale of self harm mental ill health in the UK’s prisons is causing we’ll be hearing from a former prison officer I’m Martha Kellner and I’m Sky’s us correspondent based here in Los Angeles we aim to be the best and the most trusted place for news I’m Martin brunt and I’m Sky’s crime correspondent we take you to the heart of the stories that shape our world I’m Helen an Smith I’m Sky’s Asia

Correspondent and I’m based here in Beijing we help you understand the world with us I’m Neville Lazarus and I’m Sky reporter based in [Applause] Delhi There’s always more to the news than a headline we want to discover to delve a little deeper to find out what’s really going on explanation analysis the people at the heart of every story I’m Neil Patterson and this is the Sky News Daily podcast Alex Crawford joining us now from Ukraine

Their personal possessions are all scattered around the place our economics and data editor Ed corway try ex sensor at the big numbers for us things can change incredibly quickly and that’s what they have done so by the end we’ll hopefully all understand what’s going on in the world just that little better

Available whenever you get your podcast So Hello welcome back you’re watching the UK tonight now a leaked email that’s been sent to some MPS has revealed the government’s plans to try and tackle a growing crisis in NHS Dentistry including an offer of cash to dentists to take on new patients well let’s give

You an idea of the scale of the problem these are pictures from Bristol today hundreds of people queuing around the block and then some desperate to try and sign up to this new surgery and secure an appointment an nhhs appointment well Sky Molly Malone is here with more

Details on this Molly that’s an extreme example of what’s going on with NHS dentistry in the UK explain to us how Bristol found itself in that situation because there are varying degrees of what we saw there around the UK yeah so what happened in this specific example

Was there was a Boer private Dentistry practice ice that shut down and then loads of people hundreds of people queing Street for hours on those Street streets of Bristol to access NHS Dental appointments many of them with with little luck queuing for hours now as you said that’s an extreme example but this

Is a problem that’s really been building for many years now and it’s about access uh to dental NHS dental treatment but also demand the sheer number of people needing those NHS appointments and not being able to get them now the government have got this plan as you say

It was leaked it was to come out tomorrow but a number of MPS got got a wind of it but actually the proposals very much stand and they include as you say a cash uh bonus payment of between 15 and 50 for NHS dentists to take on

New cases to try and incentivize to take on new patients also what’s called they’re calling golden hello payments again a kind of another incentive payment for up to 240 dentists who’ll be offered up to £20,000 to encourage dentists to work in remote areas it’s that access problem so many people are

Having to drive for mes to get to these practices and another one which seems to be generally welcomed which is mobile Dental teams going into schools to actually varnish and polish and raise awareness really about you know tooth decay in young children from an early on now it’s those proposals that so far

Have been kind of largely welcome but actually it’s the it’s the bonus payments even though they sound enticing the uh British Dental Association are actually saying it’s complicated but they have a contract with the NHS the money awarded in that contract won’t necessarily change they say but actually

The way it’s divvied up will change so they say so they say actually the contract Remains the Same but you have to award part of that contract to new patients rather than old patients so already some cracks emerging but the government say this is2 200 million and

A plan that they they really are trying to tackle the problem yeah well given those scenes in Bristol it’s just a real extreme visual representation of what’s going on in the UK at the moment when it comes to access to NHS Dental Care we’ll pick this up again but for the moment

Molly thank you will follow that story here on the UK tonight much more to talk about when it comes to Dentistry right next tonight a new report that’s been seen exclusively by Sky News has revealed the scale of self harm and mental illness in prisons the government’s Target to transfer

Prisoners who are acutely unwell into psychiatric care is 28 days but some inmates say that they’ve waited almost a year to be transferred it means prisoners with illnesses such as psychosis and schizophrenia are often being left in solitary confinement while their condition deteriorates a warning this report coming out from our correspondent Alice

Porter contains description of self harm briany was just a normal university student but she developed mental health problems and in 2017 she was arrested for malicious communication and attempted aren she had undiagnosed bipolar disorder briany not her real name went to prison when you’re psychotic and depressed being locked

Away in the cell is one of the worst things you can do to someone I started to self harm because um we were allowed razors in our cell it was basically a way to cope with my surroundings it was the worst experience of my life self harm in women’s prisons is at

Record levels now a new report reveals the extent that acutely unwell prisoners both male and female will go to hurt themselves in a report exclusively seen by Sky News his Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons says some mentally unwell prisoners are so driven to harming themselves they have removed

Teeth or ma themselves to the point of exposing their own intestines frequently causing life-changing injuries but prisoners are waiting long periods before they reach hosital Hospital NHS guidelines stipulate mentally unwell prisoners should be transferred within 28 days from that need being identified but 85% of prisoners are not transferred within that deadline the

Average weight was 85 days with one person waiting over a year what we come across is cases where prisoners used in effect as a place of safety so uh out in the community there is no provision in place for someone who’s very unwell and therefore sometimes magistrates or

Judges will send them to prison simply because there’s nowhere else for them to go Sarah Reed had schizophrenia and was in prison solely for psychiatric reports to be obtained to confirm whether she was fit to stand trial her mother says Sarah was kept in isolation unmedicated in January

2016 she was found dead she’d be looking around and waving in and out and saying mom I need my meds I can’t sleep she also had these two black eyes that were when I saw I found it shocking she just looked to me like she was suffering please please get me out

Of there Mom that was the last thing she said to me the government says providers in prison have clear processes in place to identify assess and treat offenders with mental health needs and NHS England is investing in post custody care after 6 months in prison Bry was sent to

A psychiatric hospital where she finally got a diagnosis of bipolar disorder I don’t know if getting arrested and get getting sent to prison was the right response it might have been more beneficial if I’d have been taken straight to hospital and prison just made illness 10 times worse brane is now

Back studying at University but for many of those who remain locked away it’s still a long wait to get the help they need Alice Porter Sky News well if you or anyone you know has been affected by the issues in Alice’s report there you can call the Samaritans

11 16123 is the phone number or you can email Joe Samaritans do org uh we’re joining me now in the studio Alex South herself a former prison officer an author of Behind These doors a book that the documents her decade as a prison officer um Alex good to see you thank

You for coming in to talk to us um really shocking and hard-hitting Alice’s report to us but sadly not to you this is something you recognize from your time working in prisons unfortunately I mean so many of that is really familiar to me the scenarios are familiar the environments are familiar

And I think that’s important to recognize that these aren’t isolated incidents these are things that happen every day in prison you the experience that briany talks about so many people watch watching this you have some experience with of prison as a member of Staff or someone who’s been held there

Themselves that will really resonate and I think it’s important to make that clear that these aren’t sort of far off abstract Concepts Concepts this happens every day in prison and these conditions that we hold people in are as poor as they sound and it’s unsurprising that people’s mental health worsens and when

We talk about people with deteriorating mental health we’re talking about psychosis we’re talking at SC schizophrenia conditions that need specialist help and care how are these people ending up in prison it’s a different I mean obviously there’s so many sort of different Pathways to someone ends up in prison

And starts to suffer from these conditions but particularly in terms of that report what the inspector is referring to is that these are individuals who have been held to prison it’s sort of colloquially called remand for your own protection so you haven’t necessarily been convicted of a crime you’re not necessarily even awaiting

Judgment for a crime um that specific report and and Bri’s case as well is referring to somebody who is deemed a risk to themselves so they’re remanded prison because there’s no space in the local community which would be a hospital some kind of mental health provision so the only space that they

Can be held in is prison and ideally that would be a really short-term measure because Prison is absolutely not conducive to positive mental health as it is never mind if people are suffering but they become stuck in that system because again you can’t just magic up

The places for them to go if they’re not there in the first place you know a couple of months in prison you’re not just going to find that space yeah that’s stuck in the system that’s exactly the issue I mean in that report they they note how 28 days the time

Period a person should stay in prison once they’ve been noted that they need to go to a a mental health hospital I never knew of a prisoner suffering from that degree of illness who has transferred in 28 days not once and um and I was in the job for 10 years I mean

That just doesn’t happen 28 days doesn’t happen it’s far more likely to be weeks months and as you said yourself possibly even a year how do you deal with them because Alex do you get any kind of specialist training in how to deal with somebody with schizophrenia or paranoid Psych is

I me when I joined the job obviously it was a long time ago it was over a decade ago now that I joined I mean back then Mental Health Training was was very minimal I’m of the understanding that that hasn’t really changed much um and

So it’s a difficult one I think you kind of go and try to use your interpersonal skills using the things you’ve learned But ultimately these aren’t people you should be dealing with in prison these people who quite clearly need to be in a mental health setting a proper hospital

Where they can receive treatment and if someone’s being detained under the mental health act in prison you can’t treat them they can only be treated once they’re in an actual hospital so again their condition just deteriorates and then staff are in a really challenging position in how to navigate that which

In turn has an impact on the mental health of Staff as well and Alex just a final question I mean we talk about the prison system the broken prison system here in the UK tonight a lot um we’ve done investigative reports on it and uncovered shocking uh stories like that

Why did you want to be a prison officer when I joined things were very different you know the the changes in 10 years are significant and they’re really tragic in my opinion and I feel very sad thinking about them but I joined as a volunteer so I started volunteering with

Young offenders I loved it the prison officers I worked with were remarkable and they gave me a real clear sense of how effective you can be in that role of how rewarding it can be um and that isn’t idealistic you know it isn’t naive I went there because I wanted to do good

And I think I did do good um but ultimately the position we’re in now you can have the best intentions in the world if there’s no infrastructure if there’s little to no support if we’re at 99% capacity which are in prisons I think kind of speaks for

Itself and good people like you walk away oh Alex um thank you so much Alex South their former prison officer and author of Behind These doors which uh documents her experience uh a decade uh within the prison system as um a prison officer thank you thank you as to come

On the UK tonight we’re going to speak to a triathlete who’s suing his local Council this is after he ended up like this uh he’ll tell us about the pothole that left him seriously injured and it still hasn’t been been filled in more than a year Later For Now they’re motorist’s number one enemy I am talking about potholes it’s thought there could be as many as two million of them scattered across the UK’s roads the RAC say pothole incidents equate to around 80 callouts A Day in the UK but more than a costly inconvenience they

Can also be extremely dangerous as my next guest will tell us Paul Hughes a triathlete from kidderminster is suing Staffordshire County Council after finding out the very pothole that caused him to fall off his bike and put him in hospital is yet to be filled in 15

Months on Paul spoke to me for the UK tonight and I started by asking him what happened that day all I can really remember is the um just slightly going downhill um a couple of cyclists coming the other way had just gone past me and um felt the thir

First thump you know of a hole and after that I blacked out and it wasn’t until I actually came around and lay on the floor with the luckily the cyclist had turn around and come back and they were helping me um that’s all I can remember

About the actual crash you tried to to get up and you realized there was a problem and once you got to hospital you realize how bad your situation was talk us through what had happened um yeah when i’ when I’d come around and you know first instinct is to try and

Get up isn’t it and I realized I couldn’t move my leg so I was thinking oh this is not good um and then as far as the other brakes and you know the pain didn’t really kick in until a bit later on I suppose your adrenaline’s go

In obviously you’re in hospital for a long time when you’re F finally able to process what happened what did you do what course of action can you take he did you get in touch with the local Council which was Staffordshire County Council those were the roads you were

Cycling on I went online and uh found there instant um page filled all that in sent the photos and they acknowledged me with one of those automated replies and that’s it and haven’t done anything since and then recently we went back 15 months later to the same spot and

Nothing’s been done the ball is still there it makes you very angry you had a fractured spinal cord a damaged lung a broken collar bone broken ribs and a broken pelvis have saire County Council got in touch with you at all no no nothing um I did send them the email

With with the list of all the injuries and everything else um but I’ve I’ve heard nothing back how does that make you feel poor because obviously the injuries at the time painful enough and awful to recover from but you’re still living with the after effects of it now

It’s affected your ability to ride and be acted active and it’s affected your work as well I’m a landscape Gardener and uh it’s affected me big time you know it’s it’s yeah it affects everything you know I’m pretty much lost my job over it and uh yeah I it’s depressing

And you just don’t know what to do and you’re trying to get motivation to go biking again is very hard um I’m getting there um but to actually go out and enjoy a bike C that would be nice instead of coming back thinking I survived if I cried and we have had a

Response from staffire County Council um their member Cabinet member for highways and transport saying this we’re sorry to hear of this and the injury sustained but we can’t comment on the specifics of an individual incident we have one of the largest Road networks in the country 6,000 kilometers and keeping our

Highways in a good state of repair means an ongoing and costly challenge last year we completed around 16,000 pothole jobs around the C County which which often consist of two or three potholes the recent wet weather has seen a rise in new pothole reports and our crews will be carrying out numerous temporary

And permanent repairs to the roads all reported issues are inspected as soon as possible and assess for their severity and we deal with any defect that poses an immediate risk as a priority how do it make you feel hearing that Paul because given what happened to you for that particular

Pothole you find it hard to believe that that isn’t being treated as a priority if it’s a route used by many cyclists like yourself well yeah I mean absolutely it’s it’s crazy I understand you know there is a lot of potholes and it’s it’s not you know they haven’t got a

Bottomless pit of money know but the way roads the roads just seem to be getting worse and worse and you know I just think it needs to be sorted out you know people want to go and enjoy cycling um and it’s a big thing so well Paul I know

You’re taking legal action after finding that that pothole since what happened to you 50 months on hadn’t been dealt with and just a final question to you what do you want to say to people at home because we’ve all had a tangle with a pothole we’ve all taken money out out of

Our own Pockets to repair cars replace tires yours is an extreme example but lives can be lost through unrepaired roads what would you say to people watching what do you want them to take from from you speaking out today I just think everybody just needs to get on and report report

Report well a remarkably calm Paul given what happened to him let’s speak to someone now who knows a thing on to about potholes and what could we done legally to deal with them uh joining us consumer Champion Helen judiny who runs the complaining cow um first of all your

Reaction to Paul’s story uh I know you were listening and uh the look on your face pretty much said it all but viewers could see that tell me what you think well I mean it’s really shocking isn’t it because the councils are responsible yes they are underfunded for for road

Maintenance that’s that’s you know that’s given but they are still legally responsible and they have got to deal with matters when they’ve been been reported and clearly Paul reported that that PO hole so to find that it’s still not filled in is is amazing really because if there are any more accidents

On that that will help people with their evidence for their claim yeah Helen Paul is an extreme example we know potholes can be dangerous they can cause injury you know accidents that can lead to fatalities but most of us if we’re lucky we’ll just get a flat tire or damage to

A car and that’s expensive what do you do when that happens because most people just call the um the RAC or the AA replace it at their own cost and move on but what can you actually do well it’s really important to get your evidence so take your photos take your videos date

It um and also if you can try and put a measurement against the part even if that means you you’re going back so you’re actually showing how deep it is and how big it is because that’s going to help your case you can also look to

See if it has been reported because if a pothole has been reported and the council haven’t done anything about maintaining that then that will help with your evidence you can um also try a Freedom of Information uh request and that for the information about how many of their potholes have been reported you

Can report it on um the national Street gazeteer on find my street and that will tell you which local Authority is responsible for that Poole in that area Helen you you’ve got to forgive me for not sharing your optimism because I myself like many watching will have been through this

Process and Paul outlined it perfectly when I interviewed him you send an email you get an automated response and many people I know have got a response saying we are aware of it that’s it you try to call the council or the highways agency you can’t get through to an actual

Person you just get automated messages any tips on trying to break through that if you do want to pursue it because most people quite frankly just give up yeah and that’s and that’s what they hope that’s what they hope you know like any company they hope that you will give up

With your complaint don’t persevere but also keep everything in writing because you want that evidence in case you have got to go to court as we’ve seen many cases having to do Paul’s having to do that you’re going to need that evidence in writing and if you’re not getting a

Reply you can go to the CEO of the of the council so you can get their name and email address from CEO email.com and you can write the CEO and say that you are going to take this matter to court if you do not receive a you know a satisfactory response you

Know and saying that this is what I’m claiming for this is what it’s cost this is the the damage to my car this these are my medical records if you know if there’s anything that’s happened medically and and say that you will go to court you

Can go to U money claim uh online and actually fill everything out as if you were going to call just before you do the submit button where you have to pay take a screenshot and send that because that will show that you mean business where you add up

All your costs the court fee any out of pocket expenses uh and so that just to show that you mean business and then they might realize that you’re going to have to take priority uh Helen really appreciate your time Helen Judy who runs the complaining cow with a bit of

Practical advice there on what to do if you tangle with a pothole it can be expensive it can also be as we found out very pain for coming up on the UK tonight we’re going to bring you a handy lesson in why you shouldn’t always follow your Sat Nav

And in the sport we’re going to look at why maritzio pochettino thinks his job is safe at Chelsea check this out welcome to Sky Television February 5th 1989 the dawn of television’s new age and the most dramatic innovation in broadcasting since the launch of commercial television in Britain more than 3 decades Ago it’s galactic it was great like Star Wars what do you think will I as someone I watched quite a lot of old TV footage and uh this this takes a biscuit and really stands out and I have to say happy birthday to everyone at Sky obviously but in particular those

That were there from the start K you in particular of course and the commitment and dedication that that takes is quite impressive so happy birthday Kay ah it wasn’t just me Alex Crawford as well Martin Brun too now I’m listing people and I’m going to get in trouble because

I’m going to miss some people out and that won’t be very good at all but who remembers where they were when this happened in 1997 Diana Princess of Wales has in fact been killed in that car accident in Paris uh just a few hours ago there had been

Extreme concern that uh Diana was very seriously injured when she was taken from the W the wreckage there was a a news blackout to all intents and purposes for a significant amount of time um confirmation from the interior Minister from Paris for a short time and uh now there is confirmation that Diana

Princess of Wales has died my producer was in my ear at the time and he said just take a deep breath look down and read what is on the wire service in front of you and you were a little bit because we used to go to the gym

Together so um yeah it was quite um the shock this is uh 77 which was the um the bomb on do you remember on the London Underground it was actually the day after the Olympics so London um their celebrations for winning the 2012 Olympics was cut short um after we saw

Four separate bombs I I’ve course remember that and and I remember being at home uh when that story unraveled and probably was watching Sky News as it happened knowing that my brother was on the tube and you’re desperately trying to find out where they are uh coming up shortly a bit of a

Public service announcement why you shouldn’t blindly put your faith into sat have uh but first Teddy is here with the sports and we’re going to talk about problems at Chelsea but the manager is confident his job is safe because he’s had something in writing well it’s by

Text so legally I don’t know how safe that is um I don’t I don’t it’s a legal guarantee of his continued employment for moreso po but certainly he was in bullish mood ahead of their FA Cup replay at Aston Villa tomorrow night the Chelsea manager coming off the back of a

Pretty harrowing weekend considered four goals for the second game in a row they lost N9 and 23 at the end of that match against w wall booze were ringing out around Stanford Bridge as the club dropped to 11th in the table the bottom half after a 12th Place finish last

Season which was the lowest he wasn’t there for that but the malays has has continued and you wonder with the text message from the owners perhaps it’s acknowledgement that their scheme of buying all these young players youngest Squad in the league perhaps hasn’t been that good they’re on eight-year

Contracts but perhaps not ready and then maybe that’s a bit of a Saving Grace for Poo’s also got a lot of fans in the media as well because his Charisma had that swashbuckling young team at Tottenham as well that people in Jo didn’t win a trophy there won a couple

Of trophies in Paris but perhaps now with a League Cup Final coming up they will at least hold off until that against Liverpool and see where he stands did he say what was in the text message because it might have just been a thumbs up which really doesn’t you

Know doesn’t just just positive he said yeah he said we’re all together and that’s important he says after that so it’s yeah did he have anything to say about a player’s wife apparently calling for him to be S one of his leaders on the pitch 39y old Thiago Silva his wife

Usually puts positive messages on X towards the end of the game against wolves but I um but it’s time to change if you want if you wait any longer it will be too late Thiago silver apparently po reld has gone into his office and they’ve got a very good

Relationship as well and that’s all been sorted out but yeah difficult times for Chelsea was how they get on tomorrow night at Villa meanwhile big game in the Scottish Premiership to tell you about in just a second this Sky News sports bulletin is brought to you by Vitality getting more people more active

Live life with [Applause] vitality 2023 saw Rebecca Welsh become the first female Premier League referee and Sam Allison become the second ever black referee in the league they both came from PG mol’s referee Development Group dedicated to pushing talented officials into reaching the highest level of the

Game the next crop of referees are hoping to break through to the big time including former stevenage player farai halam it’s um amazing to see Sam and Rebecca to go and do something which hasn’t been done for a while or in be’s case has never been done before I grew

Up on a council state in East London I didn’t know anyone that refereed I played four years full-time football uh kind of leaving school which was like my childhood dream uh came to an end as as all kind of careers do at some point I kind of stumbled into stumbled into

Refereeing uh didn’t think it would lead to anything and yeah eight years on to be officiating in the professional game to be a p general official is just like mind-blowing it’s fantastic it’s given me like a new lease of life historically there’s maybe been a bit of a stigma

Around refereeing of oh not sure it’s for me I I wouldn’t do that uh I think we’re seeing refereeing changing like massively for the better people forget that referees are football fans themselves like we all love the game this Sky News sports bulletin is brought to you by [Applause]

Vitality right let’s have a check on the weather Warm memories wherever you go to fly to fly the weather sponsored by katar Airways the rest of the week colder than recently with some wintry hazards especially on Thursday before there much of the South will be mild wet and windy

This evening while the north looks drier and colder the wind and rain will largely clear across Southern Britain overnight leaving most places dry with a widespread Frost there’ll be a scattering of showers in the north especially for northern and western Scotland icy stretches likely there Southern England rather cloudy tomorrow

Morning with showers affecting the Southwest elsewhere mainly dry with some hazy Sunshine the weather sponsored by katar Airways uh something weird and wonderful to leave you with uh tonight it’s a bit of a cautionary tail actually don’t always trust your satnav or you might end up like this van plans have been

Made to install temporary barriers on the street in Edinburgh because satnavs continue to send motorists down what appears to be a very small road but it is in fact a set of stairs let that be a valuable lesson to you uh well that’s all from the UK tonight don’t forget you

Can catch up on all the highlights on our web page uh just scan the QR code on your screen and you can share your thoughts with us there as well uh coming up next at 9:00 it is the world with yela hakee we’ll see you tomorrow night at 8:00