Industry

Motorists are being warned of months of disruption in a town in Leicestershire as several roads are set to shut as part of a bypass project.

The new 4.4-mile (7km) North & East Melton Distributor Road is being built to relieve congestion in Melton town centre and unlock land for homes to be built.

Part of St Bartholomew's Way, the B676 Saxby Road and the A606 Nottingham Road will shut to allow the construction of two new roundabouts and resurfacing, with the first closure to start on 16 June until 28 September.

The £115m scheme includes constructing six roundabouts and four bridges, the diversion of the River Eye and new cycling and walking infrastructure along its full length.

Construction for the new relief road began in 2023 and it is expected to open early in 2026.

St Bartholomew's Way, from Nottingham Road to Southwell Close junctions, will close from 06:00 on 16 June until 19:00 on 28 September. A diversion will be in place via Welby Lane to Asfordby Road.

The B676 Saxby Road, near Lag Lane, is set to close from 06:00 on 24 June and reopen on 28 September, with traffic to be diverted via the A607 to the A1.

The A606 Nottingham Road, from Brampton Road to Hilltop Farm junctions, will be closed from 06:00 on 7 July until 19:00 on 31 August.

A diversion will be in place via the A606 to the A46, A46 to Dalby Intersection, A6006 to Melton and vice versa.

Leicestershire County Council, which is behind the project, said there would be no pedestrian or cycle access available through the closures, but a pedestrian diversion will be put in place from Brampton Road to Southwell Close.

However, access to properties and businesses will be maintained throughout, the authority added.

'Final phase'

Council leader Dan Harrison said: "This large-scale investment in Melton's transport infrastructure will have a hugely positive impact and help support the town's growth, now and into the future.

"In the longer-term, the new road will help to ease congestion in Melton's busy town centre, reduce congestion, improve access to housing, leisure and employment hubs and keep HGVs away from unsuitable rural routes.

"It's fantastic to see the project enter its final phase."

Currently, a section of the A607 Waltham Road, north-east of Thorpe Arnold, is shut until 22 June to build a new roundabout with a diversion in place.

It is anticipated these latest closures will be the last needed for the long-awaited project.

Mr Harrison added: "We know that planned road closures this summer will mean some temporary travel disruption in and around the town.

"We'd like to thank everyone affected in advance for their patience."

People in the vicinity of two nuclear sites in Berkshire have been urged to sign up to emergency alerts.

The areas around the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites in Aldermaston and Burghfield are covered by Detailed Emergency Planning Zones (DPEZs) – a legal requirement around licenced nuclear sites.

As part of this, the organisation has introduced an emergency text alert system, where people can be notified in the event of a nuclear emergency.

What happens at AWE?

AWE is a non-departmental public body, owned by the Ministry of Defence. It is responsible for developing, manufacturing and maintaining the UK's nuclear weapons.

It has two sites in Berkshire – one in Aldermaston and one in Burghfield.

As part of this, high explosives and radioactive substance are used on the sites under controlled conditions.

Ionising radiation

We are exposed to ionising radiation all the time – mostly from natural sources, but also from things like X-ray machines.

Usually, the danger is removed as soon as you are away from the source, and you do not become radioactive as a result.

But, if radioactive material is in a form where it can be easily spread around – like a gas or a very fine powder – then it can get inside the body.

For example through breathing it in or consuming food or drink that has been contaminated by radioactive particles.

When the radiation is absorbed, it can cause changes to the body at a molecular level. These changes can lead to negative health effects such as cancer.

What are the risks at AWE?

AWE said there were no nuclear reactors on site, so there was "no risk" of a Fukushima or Chernobyl-type disaster.

But if there was an uncontrolled fire or an explosion in a building where radioactive materials are behind used, that could lead to radiation particles being released into the environment, which could then lead to people being contaminated.

Because of this risk, AWE and West Berkshire Council (WBC) have rules about what people within the DEPZ should do in the event of a nuclear emergency – and that's where the emergency alerts come in.

What will the emergency alert say?

According the WBC, the emergency text would inform people there has been an incident at either Aldermaston or Burghfield.

It would tell them to go indoors, close windows and tune into local media if they are in the affected area.

If they are not in the DEPZ at the time, they would not need to follow the instructions in the text.

But it would still useful to get the warning, because people may not be able to return to the affected area until after the alert has passed.

What are the areas covered by the alerts?

The alerts cover the DEPZs surrounding the two sites.

But in the event of a disaster, the radioactive particles could be carried in a plume and the extent of this would depend on the weather conditions at the time.

As a result, while the potential affected area is calculated using estimated wind strength, in the event of an emergency experts would use computer modelling to track and forecast the actual risk, WBC said.

How likely is a nuclear emergency?

Both WBC and AWE said an emergency alert was "unlikely".

But, by law, the local authority has to have a plan about what to do just in case.

A man has died after a fire broke out at a house in the early hours of the morning.

Firefighters and ambulance were called at 00:31 BST on Wednesday to a property just off Brunel Road in the Malinslee area of Telford.

A man believed to be in his 60s was rescued by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service but died a short time later, West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed.

An investigation is now underway to determine the cause of the blaze.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "When ambulance staff arrived, they found fire colleagues administering CPR to the man.

"The team of ambulance staff took over advanced life support, but sadly, despite the best efforts of everyone on scene, nothing could be done to save the man, and he was confirmed deceased a short time later."

Fire crews from Telford and Tweedale attended the blaze, which was put out with hose reel jets.

A free two-day festival is set to take place in Leicester to celebrate both St George's Day and the city's Roman heritage.

A large replica Roman forum will be constructed and disassembled in Jubilee Square in the space of 48 hours during the Old Town Festival on 26 and 27 April.

Visitors will also have the chance to encounter a fire breathing dragon, learn about the archaeology of Roman Leicester and meet costumed characters including knights, jesters, wizards and centurions.

Events will take place at Leicester Cathedral, the Cathedral Gardens and Leicester Guildhall as well as Jubilee Square between 10:00 BST and 17:00 on both days.

The construction of the forum will be led by artist Olivier Grossetête, who specialises in large-scale constructions using only cardboard and sticky tape.

Participants will start by creating key elements of the structure, such as arches and balconies, before working as a team to join the pieces together.

Organisers have said St George and the Roman empire are more linked than many people might expect.

"St George was likely a Roman soldier from 3rd Century Cappadocia, now Turkey," a spokesperson said.

"His bravery inspired legends, especially the famous tale of him slaying a dragon. While the story is likely symbolic, St George is still seen as a hero of faith and courage.

"He became the patron saint of England and many other places and his red cross on a white background remains a national symbol today."

The event has been organised by Leicester City Council alongside BID Leicester, Global Streets, Arts Council England, Highcross Leicester, Haymarket Shopping Centre and Hidden Histories.

More than 20 firefighters were called to tackle a large landfill site blaze.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to the site on Pools Road in Wilburton near Witchford at 17:58 BST on Thursday.

Crews from Ely, Chatteris, Cottenham and Soham, along with a water carrier from Ramsey, attended and worked throughout the night to extinguish the fire.

Fire inspections took place throughout Friday and an investigation into the cause is ongoing.

Two men have been taken to hospital with stab wounds – one in a critical condition – after disorder broke out in a street.

Police were called to reports of people fighting with knives on Cobden Street, Salford, at about 02:45 BST, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

Three men, aged 27, 31 and 33, have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and remain in custody.

The force said it was an isolated incident with no wider threat to the community. A police cordon is in place while officers conduct inquiries.

The other man who was injured sustained minor injuries, GMP said.

The leader of the Fire Brigades Union is calling on Labour MPs to vote against the government's proposed cuts to benefits.

Steve Wright has become the first general secretary of a trade union affiliated to the Labour Party to explicitly tell Sir Keir Starmer's MPs to rebel against his plans.

Wright told the BBC: "The most vulnerable and poorest in society are being asked to pay for a crisis they didn't cause. I don't believe that is why people are involved in the Labour movement."

He added that he believed the move would lead to "the normalisation of the cost of living crisis" for many, and should be rejected.

A sinkhole on a major commuter route is preventing people from getting to and from work, impacting local businesses and making local residents feel unsafe, it has been claimed.

Bury New Road in Prestwich, Bury, has been closed since Tuesday after a hole opened above a cavity estimated to be about 110ft (33m) in length.

The road, which is often gridlocked at at peak times, links Prestwich to the M60 and Manchester city centre.

Local resident Malcolm Sidebottom said: "I've never seen anything like this before in 50 years of living in Prestwich."

Mr Sidebottom said everything was "very, very eerily quiet".

"The last [sinkhole] I saw like this… the road was closed for many months.

"You want the community to go back to normal as soon as possible, the local businesses will be affected."

'It's a joke'

Peter Collins, who owns a business next to the sinkhole, said his regular bus journey to work had been rendered impossible because of the diversions that had been put in place.

He said he had been forced to call a friend to pick him up and drive him to work.

"Over the last week it's just been a joke," he complained.

"We've not been able to do anything, we've not been able to get to and from work."

Mr Collins said he was concerned the sinkhole, which residents said had grown massively since it first appeared last week, would expand to the road under his business premises.

"I don't feel safe as such because of the size of the hole," he explained.

A Bury Council spokesperson said: "We are doing everything we can to resolve this problem as soon as possible.

"Our initial investigations have shown a sewer pipe to be in disrepair, with multiple cracks and slippages along 22m of its length.

"We are working with United Utilities to resolve the issue, and the road will remain closed for the next few days while investigations continue."

The spokesperson said diversion routes would remain in place until further notice, and advised motorists to avoid the area wherever possible and to allow extra time for their journeys.

United Utilities said its engineers had identified that the void had been cased by "erosion of the sand foundations of the road".

A spokesperson added: "There has been no evidence of any leakage from the sewer network found and no evidence of erosion around the pipe.

"Our teams are going to carry out a minor repair this afternoon to avoid any potential for infiltration into the network and Bury Council will be carrying out further remedial works and reinstating the road."