Tech

A new portable oxygen delivery system has been developed to improve casualty survival rates for soldiers and civilians.

The system, which was developed by the Wiltshire-based Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and the Defence Medical Service (DMS), weighs just 5kg (11lb) and is able to offer sustained oxygen supply in a safer and easier form than conventional gas cylinders.

"The ability to deliver oxygen at the point of injury represents a game-changing advance in battlefield medicine," said Major Andrew Maggs, DSTL military advisor.

The system works by taking air from the environment and removing nitrogen to leave a breathable oxygen-rich gas that can be delivered to patients.

'Every second counts'

Oxygen therapy is critical for trauma patients suffering from blood loss, head injuries and lung trauma.

By getting oxygen delivery directly to the point of injury, the system can dramatically improve the likelihood of survival and recovery.

"By reducing logistical burden and improving safety, the system will provide critical care in situations where every second counts," Major Maggs explained.

Dr Paul Hollinshead, DSTL chief executive, added: "In operational terms, this system will reduce the logistical strain on supply chains while improving battlefield care.

"The ability to also reuse the system with external power or replaceable batteries means it offers unparalleled flexibility."

It is not yet known when the system will be first used, but 15 prototypes will soon be ready to deploy.

DSTL is also working on a mass-producible version that can withstand rigorous military use.

The system currently costs £15,000 per unit but it is hoped a more cost effective version can be designed.

A road dubbed the "worst in Oxfordshire" has been resurfaced, after users called on the authorities to make it safer.

Work to resurface the A417 between Faringdon and Wantage was carried out by Oxfordshire County Council last week.

The council said recent dry weather meant it was able to bring forward the programme of work, which had originally been planned for late June.

Locals had previously told the BBC that the road was decaying and prone to flooding, with vehicles often having to drive through deep potholes.

In a statement, the council said: "Persistent flooding in the area had made it difficult to carry out these much-needed repairs, which needed to be completed in dry conditions."

It added that further work to clean drainage systems was planned "for the coming months".

Talking before the resurfacing work, Steve Henry, who runs an MOT workshop at Mellor's Garage, said the state of the road was "shocking" and "disgusting".

Mr Henry, who used to own the garage he operates from, told the BBC: "It's cost me my business. I had to sell it last year. It was closed for a period of time, flooded.

"If you're on a motorbike or pushbike it's dangerous. Someone will lose their life," he warned.

Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber also raised concerns about the route, asking on his Facebook page: "Is this the worst road in Oxfordshire?"

"It's bad enough on four wheels, but imagine riding this stretch of road on a bicycle or motorbike," the post added.

The World Marble Championship is taking place in Tinsley Green in West Sussex on Friday.

The championship, which has been held at the Greyhound pub since 1932, has been staged annually since 1588, except for when Covid-19 forced the postponement of the competition.

Organiser of the championship, Julia McCarthy-Fox, told BBC Breakfast that she has travelled over from New Zealand for the tournament, which she has been helping to run for 35 years.

She said: "I like it, as a tournament we have built it up to what it is today and it is an old tradition we want to keep going."

The village of Tinsley Green, less than five miles from Gatwick Airport, is known worldwide as being the home of British marbles.

It attracts visitors from all over the world, with some wishing to take part and some just there to watch the games.

The competition will be made up of 15 or 16 teams, with six players per team – although some people just turn up on the day, Ms McCarthy-Fox said.

Other competitors come from Germany, France and the USA.

Chris Pampel, one player who is from Germany, said sometimes "you only need a little bit of luck" in the match.

Alison Reimer, the ladies world marble champion, could win her 13th title in the competition, which would make her the most successful ever competitor.

She said: "My great-grandfather used to play and my father and brother also won titles.

"I've got my son (Louie) involved now too, so it is quite the family tradition."

Some first-time competitors, who have travelled from Germany to participate in the world championships, said: "We came for some fun and to see how good we are."

Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media.

Our pick of local website stories

There are calls to boycott Weston-super-Mare's Grand Pier after it was announced that right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins will be performing there as part of a stand-up comedy tour.

A newly-qualified teenage driver was sentenced to two years' detention after killing three friends and seriously injuring two children and an adult in a "catastrophic" head on crash.

Finally, there was some good news for Swindon's conservationists after Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and a group of councillors discovered a population of rare Great Crested Newts in the town.

Our top three from yesterday

One of Nottinghamshire's most distinctive crafts is at risk of dying out if new people are not trained, enthusiasts say.

Bobbin lace-making is a centuries-old hand technique that evolved into machine lace-making and made Nottingham world famous.

But fans of the traditional bobbin lace-making say it is a skill in danger of being lost as few new people are discovering it.

Heather Harris, 80, said: "It used to be taught in colleges and schools, but now people just don't seem to know about it."

The craft began in Italy in the 15th Century but spread across Europe due to its relative simplicity.

A pattern is laid on a pillow, then pinned out, and threads, each held on a weighted bobbin, intricately wound round the pins.

In Nottingham this developed into a literal cottage industry where families would have frames in their homes.

But the arrival of the machine-driven Industrial Revolution turned this into a global trade which dominated part of the city, which is still known as the Lace Market.

Ms Harris took up bobbin lace-making 45 years ago when her then six-year-old daughter struggled to learn it at school.

Ms Harris said: "She brought it home but couldn't work it out.

"It seemed clear to me, and when I spoke to the lady who was teaching the children, she said I should go to night classes."

Despite its seeming complexity, Ms Harris insists it is relatively easy to start.

"It is basically two stitches," she said. "You can learn those in 10 minutes, but it's how you put them together, that's the secret.

"I find it very calming. You sit with the pillow, and you can have the tele or radio on, and you lose yourself in it.

"If you are feeling down or worried or whatever, you sit at your lace pillow and you make your lace, and you enjoy what you are doing.

"And when you finish, you have such a lovely piece – I make wedding hankies or wedding garters for all my family."

Ms Harris feels the craft has been squeezed out of the public's consciousness.

She said: "There used to be clubs in schools and evening classes run by colleges, but these seem to have gone.

"We demonstrate at the industrial museum and Brewhouse Yard every month, and we have tried and tried to put it out there, but it is hard.

"We need someone who can learn and then teach it because it feels like its future is hanging by a thread.

"Two of us are 80, and the other teacher is a bit younger, but we need someone to come along and build experience.

"It seems like I've got to keep strong and go on for a few years more."

Christopher Lillimen, a trustee at the Nottingham Industrial Museum, said: "The lace industry is a major part of the area's history, and bobbin lace is a major part of that story.

"Having the bobbin lace makers here really shows the impact of mechanisation – hand lace uses a few dozen bobbins, while one of our machines here has 4,500.

"And visitors can have a go at bobbin lace-making – which they can't do with the big machines!"

A young boy from Belfast has received a letter from a former US President.

Dáithí Mac Gabhann who inspired a change in Northern Ireland's organ donation rules received a silver envelope through the letterbox on Thursday.

The letter was embellished with "William Jefferson Clinton", who many will know as Bill Clinton.

Dáithí's dad, Máirtín Mac Gabhann said the letter "stopped me in my tracks… the fact someone like President Clinton took the time to write this letter is amazing".

Dáithí's Law was named after seven-year-old Belfast boy Dáithí Mac Gabhann, who has been on the waiting list for a heart transplant since 2018.

The legislation means that most adults in Northern Ireland are now considered as potential organ donors after their death, unless they actively opt out.

Mr Mac Gabhann told BBC News NI it was as if fate helped Dáithí receive this letter.

"Dáithí and I were at (Belfast) City Hall to see the Secretary of State at a Good Friday Agreement event but he was running late… so we took a tour of the Freedom of the City Exhibition."

When they went to view the exhibition Mr Mac Gabhann said President Clinton and Senator George Mitchell had been a couple of the last to receive the honour, in 2018.

Dáithí also received the honour in 2023 in recognition of his campaign to raise awareness around organ donation.

"I just had a thought and I reached out to Queen's and said I've written letters out about Dáithí and everything that's happened," Mr Mac Gabhann said.

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He added that a response did come from Senator George Mitchell quickly because he had still been in Northern Ireland to respond.

But the letter from the former president was something unexpected.

"Dáithí hit a big redner, jaw on the floor… he knew this was big… he couldn't believe it… he was even getting a bit emotional about it all."

He added that it's so positive to have this letter as Dáithí is about to reach his 7th anniversary of waiting for a heart transplant.

"It gave us a much needed boost… Dáithí is stable now but this letter has saved the day for us… as he had been at hospital."

Dáithí's 7th anniversary of being on a waiting list for a heart transplant falls on 2 June.

In the letter to Dáithí, President Clinton said he was "so proud" to share the Freedom of the City honour "with someone as amazing as you".

"Keep up your great work and know that you have a big fan pulling for you in New York."

President Clinton ended the letter with one message – "Keep going!"

"It was just an amazing letter, I got a separate letter from President Clinton and he said 'Your letter took my breath away. Press on!' and that's momentous," said Mr Mac Gabhann.

Speaking about his son, Mr Mac Gabhann said it has been a long fight and journey for Dáithí but "luck has been on our side" and "the hope is what keeps you going".

He reiterated his call for those to consider joining the organ donor register and to talk about it with family and friends.

"We rely on the community, our close community, far and wide… don't forget about us. At our lowest points they (the community) have brought us up… as has President Clinton."

A stonemasonry student said companies had told her she could not join the profession "because she's a girl".

Alice, who is 17, was one of the students who took part in a competition for apprentices at Moulton College in Northampton on Thursday.

Industry experts have said 19,750 extra construction workers are needed in the East of England by 2028 to meet government housebuilding targets.

However, some students, like Alice, said they still faced barriers which made it difficult to pursue a career in construction.

The SkillBuild competition, organised by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), tested apprentices and trainees in a variety of tasks, from furniture making to tiling.

Alice, from Weston Favell in Northamptonshire, inherited her interest in architecture from her grandfather and wanted to work on some of the UK's greatest stone buildings – cathedrals.

But she said her journey had not been easy.

"I've tried to contact some companies to get onto that kind of work, but it hasn't really worked out," she told the BBC.

"The main thing is that I'm a woman and a lot of companies have told me 'you can't do this because you're a girl – you're not strong enough, you won't be able to do the heavy labour'."

Another competitor, Maizie from Bury St Edmonds in Suffolk, wanted to encourage more women to join the industry.

The 17-year-old goes to college in Colchester and said: "In my class it's actually a pretty good mix, but in the industry as a whole, it's definitely a big imbalance.

"People need to realise the value of these industries, and we need to push more young people to go into it. It can be a bit inaccessible at the beginning, especially for young people, since working in these workshop environments can be quite dangerous."

The first obstacle in the competition for Rugby man Sean, 18, was having to "scavenge" for the right tools to make a porch roof, having brought the wrong ones.

The bigger issue for him, generally, was the lack of opportunities for young people.

He said: "There's not enough apprenticeships – it took me two years to get here, and I feel like that's one of the biggest problems.

"The amount of houses they're trying to build; they definitely need more apprenticeships."

A CITB report published this month said 19,750 new workers were needed in the region.

Robert Smith, from the CITB, said "we really need to make that attractive so that they know there are jobs for the future, secure opportunities and great career pathways".

The figures suggest there is a long way to go before there is a gender balance in the industry.

According to The Office for National Statistics, women comprise just 15.8% of the construction workforce and only 2% of workers onsite.

There is some hope, though, with the number of women as a proportion of the overall construction workforce increasing by 36.9% since 2012.

The government said construction would be one area to benefit from a "record-breaking £3bn apprenticeship budget".

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US TV institution Saturday Night Live has entertained viewers and created comedy stars for 50 years. Can a British version reach the same heights?

For five decades, the phrase "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!" has boldly opened episodes of Saturday Night Live, with its tried and tested mix of topical sketch comedy, celebrity cameos and big-name musical guests.

Now, the stateside staple is to come live from London after Sky announced that a "star-studded" UK spin-off, fronted by British comedic talent, will launch next year.

Overseen by the US original show's creator Lorne Michaels, now 80, the broadcaster is promising the same "live, fast-paced style" as its American cousin.

Comedy heritage

Since being launched by Michaels in 1975, SNL has been a livewire springboard for comedic talents like Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell and Mike Myers.

Famed for its ever-revolving cast, Joe Piscopo of the 1980s cohort summed it up in a documentary marking the show's 50th anniversary: "They took sketch comedy to a whole other level," he said. "Comedy slowly became rock 'n' roll."

The unpredictable live premise, combined with its longevity, has helped maintain its status. No other show has been nominated for (331) or won (90) more Emmy Awards.

"I don't think you can underestimate that heritage when accounting for its current success," says the Guardian's TV and comedy writer Rachel Aroesti. "Which is something the UK version obviously won't be able to emulate."

The heritage is one reason why the show still attracts major young stars like Timothee Chalamet, who grew up watching it even as linear TV audiences have dropped sharply in the streaming age.

"In the US, the guests' involvement is often newsworthy in itself – they also know their presence will generate a lot of publicity, so it's a win-win situation," Aroesti adds.

"I would be surprised if the UK version is able to attract the same calibre of guest."

'Courageous' move

The Atlantic writer Helen Lewis says the general industry reaction has been that commissioning a UK version is a "courageous" move – wishing the team luck with the "difficult proposition".

There are some notable differences between the two transatlantic TV industries.

The US SNL budget will be far bigger than UK TV norm, paying for a large cast and a team of writers working to the wire to keep jokes current.

"In the American version, it's a very expensive format, having a writers' room and keeping a cast of actors on retainer, essentially, the whole time. That's really expensive," Lewis told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.

The US comedy culture is also different, Lewis believes.

"The humour can sometimes be much more slapsticky. Quite a lot of the time, Americans struggle with British humour because they think we're extremely mean."

Comedy writer Jack Bernhardt agrees that there are different comedic traditions. UK sketch groups often form through friendships and showcase their talent at the Edinburgh Fringe, whereas many US comedians train at improv and sketch clubs, specifically honing their skills for shows like SNL.

Bernhardt says these differences "can't necessarily be fixed by commissioning the UK version of SNL – it's an entire comedy culture that would need to shift".

"That's not to say one can't do the other," he adds. "Just that this version of a sketch show isn't necessarily playing to the unique strengths of the UK comedy scene. And that's even before we get into the difficulties of doing a live show."

Given these challenges, importing a legacy brand name like SNL may seem a gamble, especially at a time when the UK TV industry is faltering.

However, the US show's fortunes have held relatively firm this decade, even if ratings are well below the pre-streaming era.

Vulture found that SNL averages 8.4 million weekly viewers, outperforming all other late-night shows combined. It's also US network TV's top entertainment series among adults aged 18 to 49.

"You rarely hear anyone asking whether SNL will 'survive', only how once Michaels moves on," wrote reporter Josef Adalian. "Linear TV may be fighting for its life, yet SNL seems safe."

Crucially, the sketch format lends itself perfectly to social media age, being easily digestible on digital platforms. According to the Economist, online SNL clips are averaging about 216 million views per episode on TikTok, X and YouTube. Sure, these viewers are not watching live, but the content undoubtedly lives.

Previous attempts to translate US late-night shows to the UK have often struggled.

However, in the 1980s, Saturday Live – later renamed Friday Night Live – ran for four seasons and helped the careers of Ben Elton, Harry Enfield, Stephen Fry and Rik Mayall, while Channel 4's The 11 O'Clock Show gave breaks to Ricky Gervais and Sacha Baron Cohen.

British comedy producer Jimmy Mulville, whose company Hat Trick Productions has made shows including Have I Got News For You and Whose Line is it Anyway?, says the opportunity to develop new talent will be one of the key draws for Sky, despite the risks.

"If Sky get this right, they'll create new stars, and from that they can spin-off other shows with those performers," he explains. "These shows can be fantastic, they can go on for years, and they can show off new talent all the time."

He says the producers will need to assemble the right team of writers and performers.

"If it's well-produced, I've no reason to see why it shouldn't be successful," says Mulville, who co-hosts Insiders: The TV Podcast.

He recently took the BBC's long-running topical panel show Have I Got News For You to the US, where it has been commissioned for a second season by CNN. One US talent agent warned that the show was "too British" to work across the pond, he recalls.

"I said, 'Yes it is, but I'm going to get it written by Americans and performed by Americans for Americans'."

The reverse will be true for SNL. "In the UK, you're going to have it written by British writers with British performers for a British audience. So it's not an American show any more."

Indeed, being "live from London" won't be enough on its own to succeed, and SNL UK will need to feel like a truly British comedy creation and not just a reheated imitation of an American hit.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after another man was stabbed in the head.

The victim, in his early 20s, was involved in an altercation with about 10 people in Aylesbury on Monday evening, Thames Valley Police said.

Officers believed the man was attacked with a screwdriver. He has since been treated and discharged from hospital.

Two men, aged 18, and another aged 20, remain in police custody. Police have appealed for witnesses.

The attack happened in the area of Oxford Road, Whitehall Street and Buckingham Street at about 18:40 BST.

Det Insp Philip Turner-Robson said: "This was a disorder involving multiple people which quickly escalated from a verbal altercation into violence.

"A man sustained stab wounds to his head in the incident, believed to be with a screwdriver, but thankfully his injuries are not life-threatening and he is no longer in hospital.

"We have made three arrests, and I would like to reassure the local community that we are investigating this incident as a priority, and there has been and will continue to be a presence of officers in the area while this investigation continues."

A consultation has begun for residents to have their say on future development in a city.

Peterborough's new local plan will set out priorities for housebuilding over the next 20 years, as well as things like transport, community facilities and other infrastructure.

A series of public events are happening next month to raise awareness of the consultation.

Nick Thulbourn, the council's cabinet member for growth and regeneration, said: "Local plans are key guides to what can be built where, shaping infrastructure investments and determining future plans for development."

He said Peterborough was one of the UK's fastest-growing cities and needed a plan to help "grow effectively and develop the local economy".

Local plans are made by councils in order to help guide planning decisions and make sure development is sustainable.

Peterborough City Council's review of its local plan is meant to replace the current policy it adopted in 2019, which sets out priorities like protecting open spaces and attracting more hi-tech businesses to the city.

People can take part in the consultation via the council's website, which ends on 29 May.

There are plans for public events at Queensgate Shopping Centre on 8 May, Peterborough Museum on 10 May and Cathedral Square on 15 May.

A final version of the local plan will be submitted to government in early 2026.

The city council said it would then be independently examined before coming into force by the end of next year.