WSSN Stories

A 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death near a children’s playground, it has emerged on Monday, August 8.

The English teen was killed just before 9 p.m. on Thursday, August 4, on Highbury Fields in the Islington district of north London, in the United Kingdom.

On the following morning, the whole park was cordoned off around a children’s playground and a recreational center as locals spoke of their shock.

Police were called to the park just before 9 p.m. on the night of August 4 and found the boy with stab wounds next to a trash can off Highbury Place.

He was treated at the scene but died in a hospital shortly afterward.

One man who lives on Highbury Place said: “I heard a fracas on the fields and a 15-year-old boy got stabbed, that’s all I know.”

Another pointed to the trash can next to which lay colored evidence markers on the ground.

One woman who lives on a nearby street and was cycling past said: “It’s normally safe round here, it’s quite shocking.

“I’ve never heard of it happening but I haven’t been living here for that long. You usually get people out in the park at night.”

Police are yet to make any arrests and are still trying to contact the boy’s next of kin.

They have closed the whole park to prevent locals and their dogs from coming near the crime scene.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “A murder investigation is underway following a stabbing in Islington.

“Police were called to Highbury Fields, N5, shortly before 21.00 hours on Thursday, August 4 to reports of a stabbing.

“Officers attended along with paramedics from London Ambulance Service.

“A male, believed to be 15 years old, was found with stab wounds.

“He was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital where he sadly died a short time later.

“Inquiries are ongoing to inform next of kin. A crime scene has been put in place.

“There have been no arrests; inquiries into the circumstances are ongoing. Homicide detectives from Specialist Crime have been informed.”

Produced in association with SWNS.

These pictures show an amazing piece of artwork made out of slate, created by a mystery artist – who has been dubbed the ‘countryside Banksy’.

Daniel Farrington, 30, and his wife Agnieszka, 34, came across the slate ring on a hillside in Borrowdale, Cumbria, in northern England, in the United Kingdom, around sunrise on August 1.

The 5-foot high and 5-foot wide ring is believed to have been created by the same person who created other similar sculptures that have previously been posted online.

However, all of these have been destroyed by either vandals or being blown over by the wind.

Local residents have now labeled the work as the ‘Borrowdale Banksy’ as the artist is still a mystery.

The couple had seen the images of the other sculptures before, but didn’t expect to discover one.

Farrington said: “It’s like a Banksy, you have no idea who it is.

“We knew that they existed, and I think all of them have either been destroyed or blown over since.

“At the time, the sun was coming over and I had my coffee and it was lovely looking at it.

“We didn’t think we would see one, but we ended up discovering one.”

Farrington, from Carnforth, in nearby Lancashire county, in the U.K., has also not decided to reveal the exact location of the artwork, as he doesn’t want it to be destroyed or for someone to be injured.

Farrington said: “Everyone has been asking me where it is and I have kept quiet for a couple of reasons.

“I want to try and preserve it for as long as possible in case people do destroy it.

“It’s not on a main path and it’s a bit of a scramble to get to it, there’s a lot of slate in that area which is very unstable.

“I don’t want a lot of people going up there but I know there will be a time when it comes out, but I don’t want to be responsible for sending people up there and hurting themselves.”

Works by the mysterious Banksy have turned up in the United Kingdom since the 1990s. His documentary film ‘Exit through the Gift Shop’ debuted in 2010 and was nominated for a Motion Picture Academy Award.

The identity of Bansky remains unconfirmed.

Apparently stemming from an underground art movement in Bristol, Banksy’s works are spraypainted on walls and feature social and political commentary.

Produced in association with SWNS.

A former BBC radio presenter has been told to expect jail after being found guilty of stalking four broadcasters including Jeremy Vine.

Alex Belfield, 41, went on trial accused of waging a relentless nine-year “campaign of harassment” against BBC staff after being axed from his mid-morning show in 2011.

A court heard he bombarded colleagues with vile emails, tweets, messages and uploaded videos to his Youtube channel, called The Voice of Reason.

BBC Radio 2 and Channel 5 presenter Vine wept in court when he gave evidence telling how Belfield launched ‘‘an avalanche of hatred” on him.

The broadcaster described Belfield as the “Jimmy Savile of stalking” and said his actions saw him lose sleep, fearing for his family and trolled over the death of his dad.

Jimmy Savile was a well-known BBC television personality for decades who was alleged to have been a serial sexual abuser of children.

Vine said: “Watching this man is like swimming in sewage. I found it shocking and distressing and it made me worried.

“This is absolutely Olympic-level stalking, even for broadcast. This is the Jimmy Savile of trolling”.

The court heard Belfield also falsely claimed that Vine had stolen 1,000 British pounds (approximately $1,200) of license fee payers’ money to put toward a memorial for radio executive John Myers.

Vine said he put up a photograph of Belfield in his hallway in case he turned up at his home and warned his daughters about him.

Jurors were told Youtube host Belfield began targeting BBC workers after they failed to renew his contract at BBC Radio Leeds in 2011.

His actions were said to have caused his victims “serious alarm and distress” which impacted their daily lives due to the “ferocious and relentless” abuse.

On Friday, August 6, Belfield, of Mapperley, located in the county of Nottinghamshire, in the United Kingdom, was found guilty of four counts of stalking. He was cleared of stalking four other colleagues.

He remained emotionless in the dock as the verdicts were returned after more than 14 hours of deliberations.

Belfield was found guilty of stalking to cause alarm and distress to BBC Radio Northampton’s Bernie Keith and videographer Ben Hirst.

Regarding Jeremy Vine and blogger Philip Dehany, he was cleared of stalking to cause alarm and distress but found guilty of simple stalking.

Belfield was warned to expect a custodial sentence when he appears at Nottingham Crown Court in central England to learn his fate on September 16.

Granting him bail, Justice Pushbinder Saini added: “I would remind you, Mr. Belfield, you need to be extra cautious about anything you say in terms of online communications.”

During the trial, the court heard Belfield had made a string of “distressing and gratuitous” allegations about former colleagues.

Prosecutor John McGuinness said: “The alleged victims did not want to be contacted by Alex Belfield, they did not want to see or hear or know what it was that he was saying about them.

“But he went ahead and did it anyway, relentlessly harassing them, knowing or being aware he was harassing them – to the extent that what he did caused them serious alarm or distress which affected their daily lives for the worse.

“It is not suggested the defendant’s conduct involved physical stalking, although such was the effect of what Alex Belfield did that some were, in fact, worried about the possibility of Mr. Belfield turning up at their homes.

“The stalking which this case is concerned with is of a different type – and is more akin to internet trolling.”

Belfield, who represented himself, declined to give evidence during his trial.

Produced in association with SWNS.

This is the moment a teenage BMX rider discovers the very painful side of stunt riding.

The daredevil bicycle motorcross rider was trying to perform a stair rail grind at a meeting of BMX fans in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.

Duarte Pereira Godinho Palmeiro Abrantes, 17, told Zenger News how it all went wrong for him at the “BMX jam” – when riders get together to watch each other perform tricks.

The video – shot on July 9 and posted to Instagram four days ago – has clocked up nearly 23,000 likes.

The teen, who is in high school but who said he has been riding BMXs for three and a half years, added: “Me and some friends were attempting tricks on the rail and after I landed the first trick that I attempted, that is called a double peg, one of my friends shouted out loud ‘do an ice pick’ and with all of the adrenaline from jumping on the rail and people going crazy I decided to try it.”

The footage shows Duarte successfully landing his bike on the rail.

But it slips out from under him and he lands hard on the handrail catching it between his legs, before he falls headfirst onto the hard tarmac at the bottom of the ramp.

The stunned rider puts his hands to his head and looks in shock at the failed stunt.

Duarte said: “So, when I fell, I was lucky to be tall enough where my balls didn’t hit the rail, but my butt did, and then I got ejected forward, hit the left side of my body on top of the rail that made me spin, the spin was stopped by my leg hitting under the rail extremely hard, then my back in a curb between the road and the grass around the rail and after my head on the ground.

“I was not really badly injured, I got super lucky, I got a little scratch on my back, my head was a bit swollen for a few days but my leg was the thing that hurt more.

“I can only describe it as if someone punched you and the muscle hurts a lot but like one hundred times worse.”

He added that it took him a little over a week to fully heal.

Duarte said: “It was for sure my worst accident, the scariest, but luckily not the one where I was more injured, because like I mentioned before I got lucky not to get seriously injured.”

Duarte added: “After it, the jam was still sick, watching everyone ride and having fun with my friends, despite the fall, I had a great time that day.

“The jam was organized by some friends of mine from @dvc.bmx here in Portugal and all the jams are always super fun.”

Chilling scenes show naval medics dealing with the aftermath of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks.

The recent exercise with NATO allies in the Czech Republic saw medical experts from 13 nations gathered in Tisá, close to the German border, to work together on treatments, decontamination, and dealing with casualties in the wake of such an attack.

Across four days, personnel shared knowledge and dealt with mock casualties at the site of an old chemical and biological testing ground, while a combined medical team of British naval personnel and marines laid on a demonstration of the techniques and procedures the U.K. employs.

Commando Forward Surgical Group of North Devon-based Commando Logistic Regiment deploy wherever Britain’s Royal Marines do, no matter how extreme the environment.

Their responsibility is to treat causalities in the field and, as a result, must be highly efficient at setting up medical treatment facilities at a moment’s notice.

During the exercises in the Czech Republic, they were at the forefront of the joint casualty decontamination area, which must be set up rapidly to deal with people exposed to a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) attack, decontaminating them, and giving them basic medical treatment before passing them onto the next level of medical care.

“Scenarios like this are needed to keep us grounded and prepared to efficiently treat and care for real-time CBRN casualties we may expect during operations,” said Medical Assistant Jack Franklin.

“As the casualty decontamination area medical team is very small, everyone must be able to take a step back, think and assess the situation.

“This was crucial for the triage medic at the front of the facility who decides, based on protocol who receives treatment first. In real-time this will be a very difficult job.

“In battle, it’s realistic to consider that not everyone is going to survive. Prioritizing a casualty with a better chance of survival, over a casualty with serious injuries is key to prevent quickly consuming our limited time and resources that can prevent us treating other multiple casualties for injuries that we can expect to survive.”

Members of the Royal Marines Band Service operated alongside the surgical group in the contamination area, together giving patients basic medical treatment and assessing their injuries.

The Bands are known for wowing crowds up and down the country with their musical ability, but are also fully trained military personnel, usually providing medical support.

At any given time, one of the bands is also held at short notice to support Royal Navy medical branches on board Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Argus. Here they receive additional training and undertake a variety of medical support roles.

In the Czech Republic, the medics and Band Service formed a formidable team, assembling the casualty decontamination area in the fastest time recorded for ten years – an impressive 12 minutes 45 seconds.

The testing live exercises came after a phase of theory, practicals and medical simulation, which is all part of a program of essential training that keeps the alliance’s medical teams prepared in case the worse were to happen.

Mock injuries — also known as moulage — were applied to actors who played the role of casualties to bring a further sense of reality to the training.

“From a Royal Marine’s perspective, it was a great insight into how the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Band Service work together during an exercise like this and witnessing/observing the medical treatment itself,” said Marine George Blake, of Commando Logistic Regiment.

“With no previous experience as a team medic or experience with CBRN casualties, I can now happily say in confidence if anything were to unfortunately happen and the Royal Marines were called to assist again, we would know what to do without any issues.

“It was a great experience and very educational as the majority of us were able to get hands-on with the casualties as they came through.

“I was in the cutting team so we had to be careful with any tourniquets on limbs, shrapnel sticking out etc. It wasn’t always as easy as just cutting a straight line through the clothes, we had work in sync together and be able to work around the medics without getting into each other’s way and with no time wasted.”

Produced in association with SWNS.