News story: Kitesurfer rescued from Bideford Bay

Great birds eye footage of the rescue of a kitesurfer from Bideford Bay.

On Monday night (24 April) we received a 999 call from a member of the public reporting a kite surfer in difficulty in Bideford Bay.

The UK Coastguard search and rescue helicopter took this great birds eye footage of the rescue after Croyde and Bideford Coastguard Rescue Teams and the RNLI Appledore Lifeboat Station were sent to the scene.

Luckily the casualty was spotted by a Coastguard and was recovered safe and well by the all-weather lifeboat. Ian Guy, Maritime Operations Controller said: ‘This was extremely good outcome and an excellent example of some great teamwork between our crews. The casualty was located in our search area quickly and thankfully, although cold he was ok. We recommend when kite surfing that you always ensure that you wear the right gear – including a buoyancy aid and a helmet, check the weather forecasts, tell someone your passage plan and practice rescue signals with your instructor in case the worst should happen.’

Footage of the Bideford Bay rescue



News story: Track worker near miss incident, Ascot

Two track workers narrowly avoided being struck by a train, Ascot, Berkshire, 7 April 2017.

At around 01:30 hrs on 7 April, two track workers narrowly avoided being struck by a train at Ascot station. They climbed out of the way, onto platform 1, with little time to spare. Equipment they had placed on the track was struck, causing minor damage to the train.

We have undertaken a preliminary examination into the circumstances surrounding this incident. Having assessed the evidence which has been gathered to date, we have decided to publish a safety digest.

The safety digest will shortly be made available on our website.



Controls now lifted at Arden Lakes for Spring Viraemia of Carp (SVC)

A fish mortality event

An outbreak of the SVC disease was confirmed at Arden Lakes, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire in 2017. Fish Health Inspectorate at Cefas, acting on behalf of Defra and Welsh Government, have lifted the Confirmed Designation with immediate effect and that the conditions of this notice no longer apply to this site following the completion of the statutory surveillance and sampling programme at Arden Lakes which were negative for the presence of Spring Viraemia of Carp (SVC).

SVC has no implications for human health. It is nonetheless, a serious viral disease of fish, and is notifiable in the United Kingdom.

Anyone who suspects a notifiable disease in any aquatic animal should immediately contact the FHI.

  1. Cefas is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI), based at Cefas’ Weymouth laboratory, is dedicated to maintaining and improving fish and shellfish health in England and Wales. Its primary role is to act for Defra and Welsh Government (WG) in undertaking statutory and inspection duties resulting from the EU fish health regime and other national legislation in the area of fish and shellfish health. The FHI is responsible for health certification of fish and shellfish movements from other countries, and runs an enforcement programme aimed at preventing the illegal importation of these animals.

  2. Spring Viraemia of Carp (SVC) is a notifiable disease under The Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009. Outbreaks of this disease have been subject to statutory control in GB for over 30 years.

Published 27 April 2017
Last updated 6 February 2020 + show all updates

  1. Fish Health Inspectorate at Cefas, acting on behalf of Defra and Welsh Government, have lifted Confirmed Designation (CD) CD02/2017 with immediate effect and that the conditions of this notice no longer apply to this site following the completion of the statutory surveillance and sampling programme at Arden Lakes which were negative for the presence of Spring Viraemia of Carp (SVC). As a result this page has been updated to reflect this.

  2. Changed title of CP01/2017 to CP02/2017

  3. First published.



News story: Accelerator innovation network event: autonomous last mile resupply

The Defence and Security Accelerator is holding an event in London on 23 May 2017 to provide information on the autonomous last mile resupply themed competition.

Suppliers attending the event will be able to hear presentations about the autonomous last mile resupply themed competition which seeks to develop and demonstrate the use of autonomous systems to deliver mission-critical supplies, focusing on the challenging ‘last mile’ resupply in the land environment.

If you cannot attend the event, sign up for our webinar which will take place on 30 May 2017.

The competition is seeking new technologies, processes and ways of working to improve the way we deliver mission-critical supplies, focusing on the challenging ‘last mile’ resupply in the land environment.

It involves delivering combat supplies from the forward-most location to personnel engaged in combat operations. Although relatively small in distance, these resupply activities are challenging as they are in an environment that is typically hostile, complex and contested. These activities need to quickly and efficiently deliver vital supplies in order to enable successful mission outcomes.

The challenges of this Accelerator competition are to develop and demonstrate:

  • Challenge 1: unmanned air and ground load carrying platforms
  • Challenge 2: technologies and systems to allow load carrying platforms to operate autonomously
  • Challenge 3: technologies to autonomously predict, plan, track and optimise resupply demands from military users

Up to £3 million is available in total across phase 1 and 2 of this themed competition.



Press release: Drivers advised to plan journeys ahead of Bike4Life charity bike event

Drivers are advised to plan their journeys and allow extra time as around 5,000 motorcyclists take part in the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s seventh annual Bike4Life event between Shrewsbury and RAF Cosford this Sunday (30 April).

Motorcyclists participating in the event will leave Meole Brace in Shrewsbury at 11.30am on Sunday and will ride to RAF Cosford via the A5, M54 and A41.

The 23-mile journey only takes around half an hour but, depending on the number of people participating, there could be delays and some congestion along this route.

The following closures will be in place during the event (approximately 11am to 1:30pm):

  • A5 eastbound between Dobbies roundabout and the M54, including the three roundabout entrances (Dobbies, Preston and Emstrey)
  • M54 eastbound entry slip roads at junctions 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3
  • M54 westbound exit slip road at junction 3

Diversion routes will be clearly signposted.

Road users may experience some delays along these routes on Sunday morning, but these should ease fairly quickly.

Drivers are advised to plan their journeys ahead of time or to use alternative routes if possible around the middle of the day.

The event is organised by and raises funds for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, which attends nearly 100 motorcycle-related incidents every year.

Highways England provides live traffic information via its website, local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile platforms, such as Android and iPhone apps.

For more information about the event go to the bike4lifefest website.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.