Please may we remind Parishioners of the need to keep their roadside hedges cut back and tidy so they do not form an obstruction to pedestrians.

As the lock down is eased, there will be increased traffic and more pedestrians, in particular children making their way to school.

Balfour Beatty on behalf of Herefordshire Council have issued the following information sheet on how they prioritise road repairs around the County.

Please CLICK HERE for a copy.  

Maps and timetables for grass cutting and pot holes are now available on the Council’s website.
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/grass-cutting

https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-highways/maintenance/potholes

Over time more information, such as planned road resurfacing, will be added.

Monday, 18 May 2020, saw the launch of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) speed enforcement operation.

With the gradual relaxing of lockdown restrictions police forces throughout the UK will be taking part in a two phase operation to remind motorists of the importance of travelling within the speed limit. This operation is deliberately timed as travel restrictions start to ease, to keep people safe as the volume of traffic increases.

In phase one from 18th May, forces will be sharing messages across social media and other platforms encouraging the public to slow down and save lives, in addition to normal speed enforcement activity.

Phase two from the 25 May will see forces step up visible speed enforcement activity for the following two weeks, focusing on roads and areas where speeding is known to be an issue or there is a history of serious collisions.

Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, Roads Policing Lead for NPCC, said:
“With the gradual move out of lockdown and with traffic volumes starting to increase, this national operation is an important way of highlighting the dangers of speeding, particularly when so many people have not been out on the roads for quite some time.

“Unsurprisingly, the lockdown saw very quiet roads. Many forces reported increased speeding in a general sense and some forces reported instances of very excessive speeding. It is also of particular note that we have seen an increase in pedal cyclists at this time, many of whom may be unfamiliar with busier roads. Pedestrians and runners have also got used to empty roads.

“Put this together with better weather, lighter evenings, motorcyclists itching to ride out across our country roads and you have the concerning combination of factors for a significant increase in people being killed or seriously injured. I am determined for this not to be the case.”

Police want to remind motorists of the devastating impact speeding can have, not only increasing the risk of a collision but the severity of the impact at higher speeds.

Figures show that on average 17 people are killed and 126 are seriously injured every month in the UK, where speeding is believed to have been a significant factor.

At 30mph, vehicles are travelling at 44 feet or about 3 car lengths each second. Even in good conditions, the difference in stopping distance between 30 mph and 35 mph is an extra 21 feet or 6.4 metres, more than 2 car lengths, this could make all the difference in avoiding a collision. The distance required to stop safely, significantly increased at higher speeds.

Chief Constable Bangham went on to say, “Speeding kills, and driving within the speed limits makes our roads safer. Please slow down and save lives.”

Forward any suspect emails to: report@phishing.gov.uk

In just over two weeks, the public has passed on more than 160,000 suspect emails.

• National Cyber Security Centre reveals range of fraudulent sites it has blocked with the help of the British public
• Scams include attempts to exploit coronavirus fears through fake offers of testing kits and face masks
• Public have flagged more than 160,000 messages to the NCSC’s new suspicious email reporting service – with more than 1,400 links to scams removed

CYBER security experts have today lifted the lid on some of the online scams which the British public have reported to a pioneering new Suspicious Email Reporting Service.

Emails reported to the National Cyber Security Centre include callous attempts by criminals to exploit the coronavirus through fake offers of face masks and testing kits.

The NCSC has shared some examples of what it has removed with the help of the reporting service.
These include:

• Scam web pages that have been flagged include mock-ups of official GOV.uk and TV licencing websites. Visitors are lured into giving their billing information to scammers posing as these legitimate organisations.
• There has also been scam web pages purporting to sell coronavirus linked bogus products such as testing kits, face makes and even vaccines. The NCSC noted a rise in cyber crime exploiting the coronavirus pandemic last month.

The automated email reporting service makes it easier than ever for people to help protect others from falling victim to scams.

To use it, people are asked to simply forward suspect emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.  If they are found to link to malicious content, it will be taken down or blocked, helping prevent future victims of crime.

Reporting fraud and Cybercrime https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime where you should report fraud if you have been scammed, defrauded or experienced cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.