07/09/2011

Available for over a year

Consumer news with Winifred Robinson. Salford City Council has taken the unprecedented step of refusing to renew the licence of a firm which extracts peat on peat bogs in the borough. What are the wider implications of this? A European directive came into force last September stating that a diabetic who has two hypoglycaemic episodes a year will be banned from driving. Diabetes UK say that cases are beginning to come to light where drivers in the UK are losing their licence unnecessarily. The Holy Island of Lindisfarne off the Northumberland coast has attracted pilgrims since the 7th century. In the 21st century most visitors arrive by car crossing at low tide every day. But tourists still get caught out, necessitating expensive rescues. This year has already seen the most call-outs for a decade. Now islanders, emergency services and Northumberland County Council have been meeting to discuss controversial plans to install barriers which would be lowered as high tide approaches.