Blackpool Murder: Burning Body Found In Alley

Two people have been arrested after the body of a 16-year-old girl was found burning in an alley in Blackpool.

Police have cordoned off the alley off Kirby Road, South Shore where the body was found and specialist forensic officers are searching a nearby hotel.

A 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were arrested nearby and are now being questioned by police.

Lancashire Police said the victim was believed to be Sasha Marsden, a student at Blackpool and Fylde College who lived in the Staining area with her parents.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Andy Murphy from the Force Major Investigation Team said: "This is an incredibly difficult and complex enquiry and we are working to try and build up a picture of what happened.

"From examining the body, it appears to us that someone has attempted to set fire to Sasha and this is a line of enquiry that we are looking into.

Student Sasha Marsden was reportedly set alight (Pic: Facebook)

"This is an incredibly difficult time for the family and we are keeping them informed of our investigation. Our officers will be supporting them as they attempt to come to terms with what has happened."

A port mortem is planned for Friday evening.

Carl Evans, owner of the Kimber Guest House told Sky News he spotted the fire when he walked out into his back garden on Thursday evening.

"I heard the alarms going and saw the smoke, but I thought it was just someone burning rubbish," he said.

He added that some residents had attempted to put out the flames before realising it was a body on fire.

"The lass two doors up said someone seemed to have put something out - like a mannequin - but it turned out to be the body of a 16-year-old girl."

Friends paid tribute to the victim on a Facebook page called RIP Sasha Marsden.

Jordan Silkstone wrote: "Way too young, what this town coming too.. R.I.p huni x."

Emma James wrote: "R.I.P Sasha. I didn't know you very long but you was such a good mate.

"I will miss our little facebook chats. You always knew how to cheer me up when I was down. I hope the people who did this to you get what they deserve. Miss you always beautiful. Xxx."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Major Incident Room at Blackpool on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Kids Given Lessons On Dangers Of Social Media

By Emma Birchley, Sky News East of England Correspondent

The danger of posting personal information online is being taught to children as part of a pilot project to keep them safe from criminals.

Pupils at a primary school in Shropshire and a high school in Cambridge have been taking part in the trial launched by the Information Commissioner's Office.

The Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said: "I think the danger is of jigsaw identification. You can put little bits of information out there and somebody can piece it all together.

"So the name of the game with the primary school kids is to explain to them how the online world works and how there are organisations who make money by getting a hold of your information and selling it on to someone else."

Between January and October 2012, 35 million pieces of personal information were illegally traded online - up from 19 million during the whole of 2011.

As much as 90% of that trade was in the form of login and password details.

It helps to explain why 24% of UK residents have been the victim of identity fraud.

And the need to teach children early in life became even more evident after an expert at the London School of Economics recently estimated a million nine to 12-year-olds already use Facebook, despite the fact they are meant to be 13 before becoming members.

Mark Neighbour has been leading the pilot project at St Bede's School in Cambridge with year nine pupils.

He said: "We want them to think about what type of information could be used by a third party ... Why do they need to know their age for instance? Why do they need to know where they live? Why do they need to know where they shop?

"What we want them to do is question themselves before they put pen to paper or finger to a keyboard because once the information is gone, once they hit return, it's out there and anyone can get to it and use it."

Many children are also unaware that what may be quickly posted on the internet can potentially still be seen by universities or employers checking up on candidates years later.

Melissa, 14, was one of the pupils who attended the lessons.

"The internet is really scary and you should think twice before you start posting things. What you tweet, talk about on Facebook, pictures, things like that ... it's out there forever."

Rebecca, who is 13, thinks all pupils would benefit from the classes.

"It's actually helped everyone understand what we need to be aware of using the internet and what people can do."

Schools already warn children about online safety as part of the IT curriculum but these lessons are said to go into more detail about the importance of protecting personal data on the internet and in everyday life.

If the pilot proves a success, it will be rolled out in schools nationwide.

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Police Watchdog 'Woefully' Inadequate, Say MPs

The police watchdog is "woefully under-equipped and hamstrung" and does not have the power or resources to get to the truth, a scathing report reveals.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) should be given a statutory power to require a force to implement its findings, the Home Affairs Select Committee said.

The watchdog is currently investigating the Hillsborough Disaster in the UK's biggest ever inquiry into police misconduct.

And more cases should be investigated independently by the IPCC instead of being referred back to the original police force on a "complaints roundabout".

The watchdog, which was established in 2004 and is chaired by Dame Anne Owers, investigates the most serious complaints against the police.

It also investigates allegations against the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the UK Border Agency.

A total of 31,771 officers were subject to a complaint during 2011/2012.

Keith Vaz says the IPCC leaves the public 'frustrated and failthless'

Committee chairman Keith Vaz MP said: "When public trust in the police is tested by complaints of negligence, misconduct and corruption, a strong watchdog is vital to get to the truth - but the IPCC leaves the public frustrated and faithless."

He added: "Nearly a quarter of officers were subject to a complaint last year.

"Many were trivial, but some were extremely serious, involving deaths in custody or corruption - it is an insult to all concerned to do no more than scratch the surface of these alleged abuses.

"The IPCC investigated just a handful and often arrived at the scene late, when the trail had gone cold. The Commission is on the brink of letting grave misconduct go uninvestigated."

The watchdog should have a statutory power to force implementation of its findings, the commitee said.

In the most serious cases it should instigate a "year on review" to ensure that its recommendations have been properly carried out, the MPs added.

Any failure to do so would result in an investigation by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and the local Police and Crime Commissioner, as a professional conduct matter relating to the chief constable.

The IPCC told the committee that a backlog of appeals had begun to build since the need to make financial savings had obliged it to reduce its complement of temporary staff.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The Home Affairs Select Committee is right that the IPCC is not strong enough to tackle the problem when policing goes wrong.

"That is why I called for radical reform of police accountability last year, including replacing the IPCC with a new Police Standards Authority."

Scores of police officers including a serving chief constable are being investigated by the IPCC over the Hillsborough disaster.

The deputy chairwoman of the IPCC, Deborah Glass said that "without a shadow of a doubt" the probe would be the biggest investigation carried out into police behaviour in the UK.

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G'ment Too Slow To Act On Floods, Says Report

The Government has been too slow bringing in measures that will protect homes and businesses from the "shattering" impact of flooding, say MPs.

The Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee said the draft Water Bill would help increase competition in the provision of water supplies for customers.

But ministers are not showing enough urgency in implementing measures that will improve the country's resilience to flooding and drought, the MPs said.

A report from the committee criticised the failure to create sustainable drainage systems to prevent flooding from surface water.

This should be achieved through measures such as stopping people laying impermeable surfaces in back gardens and businesses.

And ministers are taking too long over moves to improve the safety of reservoirs at risk of flooding, the report on the draft Water Bill said.

Concerns were also raised that local authorities and the Environment Agency are not paying enough attention to dredging and maintaining water courses, which can have a major impact on flood risk.

The MPs also called on ministers to provide more information on the solutions being considered to ensure homeowners at high risk of flooding continue to have access to affordable insurance after a deal on the issue expires later this year.

After a year that contained both drought and repeated flooding, the committee said more progress was needed on water efficiency.

Rules for abstracting water from the environment should be reformed and people encouraged to use water meters, the MPs said.

They also warned that the lack of detail in the Water Bill risked uncertainty for investors which could push up costs and lead to higher water bills for customers.

Bill-payers should not have to bear the costs of those who do not pay up, and they should be legally protected from bad debt in the water industry, the MPs added.

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West Coast Mainline Deal: Ministers 'Lied To'

The Transport Department was "irresponsible" over its role in the collapse of the £5bn West Coast Mainline rail contract, a group of MPs have said.

Members of the Transport Committee said the Government department had embarked on an "ambitious, perhaps unachievable" reform in haste, and claimed that ministers and senior officials were lied to.

FirstGroup was told it had won its bid to take over the franchise from Virgin Trains, but the decision was scrapped after the discovery of "significant technical flaws" in the way the procurement was conducted.

Virgin has now been told it can run the service until November 2014, with the fiasco costing taxpayers over £40m.

The mistakes came to light after bidder Virgin Trains, which had run the West Coast Mainline since 1997, launched a legal challenge against the decision.

A Government-commissioned report led by businessman Sam Laidlaw last month gave a damning indictment of how the competition was handled.

Three members of staff at the DfT were suspended over the episode.

Mistakes came to light after a Virgin legal challenge

The Transport Committee said in its report today: "A more direct description of what happened is that ministers and senior officials were lied to about how the outcome of the franchise competition had been reached.

"We cannot categorically rule out the possibility that officials manipulated the outcome of the competition not only to keep First Group in the running for as long as possible, as Mr Laidlaw suggested, but to ensure that First got the contract.

"We recommend that the DfT find a way of undertaking a full email capture, reporting to someone suitably independent, to help get to the bottom of why DfT staff discriminated against Virgin and in favour of First Group during the franchise competition."

Louise Ellman, chair of the committee, added: "We also want to hear from the Secretary of State what lessons he thinks current and future ministers must learn from this episode where policy ambition exceeded his department's capability and resources."

A DfT spokesman said: "We are putting in place measures that will prevent this embarrassing episode from happening again and the Secretary of State has given an undertaking to keep Parliament updated on costs.

"While we are currently working to minimise the impact on the taxpayer, we estimate the failure of the competition and subsequent independent inquiries is around £48m."

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Banks Face Up To Hefty New Mis-Selling Bill

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The City regulator will pave the way for Britain's big banks to pay out billions of pounds in compensation over the industry's latest mis-selling scandal.

I have learnt that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to set out a revised framework for small business customers (SMEs) to pursue redress for the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products, which were designed to provide insurance against steep rate rises.

Sources said that a crucial element of the FSA announcement would relate to a change in the definition of "sophisticated" customers, or those who would not be eligible to pursue compensation.

The new regime to be outlined by the FSA will alter the bracket of SMEs which will be eligible for compensation by increasing a £6.5m turnover threshold, according to people briefed on the details.

The changes will be an admission that the criteria used during a pilot scheme that ended recently failed to meet the needs of businesses which required the regulator's help.

The methodology was being thrashed out on Wednesday during talks between the FSA and Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, which between them accounted for the overwhelming majority of interest rate hedging product sales.

However, people close to the situation said a deal would be announced at 7am. A number of other banks which participated in the pilot programme are also likely to sign up to the new terms in the near future.

The new framework follows a seven-month pilot scheme involving a small sample of SMEs whose cases had been scrutinised by the banks with the oversight of an independent reviewer. Those reviewers will continue in their roles, potentially racking up huge fees for a small number of accounting and law firms.

Last June, the FSA announced that it had found widespread evidence of mis-selling of products such as swaps, which enabled customers to "fix" interest rates, and collars, which allowed them to limit interest rate fluctuations within a defined range.

"The greatest volumes were sold in the period 2005-2008, before the base rate fell sharply to its current, sustained, historic low," the FSA said in June.

Many SMEs have complained that they were left facing bills of tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds because of these products.

The major banks have argued that while there were limited cases of mis-selling, most customers understood the risks inherent in hedging products and should not be compensated for costs triggered by the wider financial crisis' impact on interest rates rather than any venality on the part of lenders.

The four banks have now, though, agreed on a set of standards for reviewing thousands more swaps cases during a six-to-twelve month period.

Crucially, the wording of the FSA statement is expected to include a stipulation that the banks will be held liable for "consequential losses" incurred by customers who were mis-sold the hedging products.

While legally difficult to prove, it would mean that SMEs will have the opportunity to pursue significant damages from banks where they can establish that they lost out financially because their capital was wrongly deployed paying for the cost of the swaps.

Further details of the agreement will be announced in the FSA statement.

The FSA and the banks all declined to comment.

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OFT Fuel Price Probe Findings To Be Released

By Poppy Trowbridge, Business & Economics Correspondent

The Office of Fair Trading today releases its findings on the state of Britain's £32bn retail fuel market.

The regulator must assess whether serious competition concerns exist within the industry and make a call on whether to launch a full-blown investigation.

Brian Madderson, chairman of the Retail Motor Industry Federation's (RMI) petrol division, said: "It's not transparent at all.

"They must make a full-market study under the competition act so that we can see exactly how this market is working."

Motorists see prices at the pump rise rapidly when markets surge.

But there is concern that, when markets move lower, oil and gas companies are not passing on savings to retailers and motorists as quickly as they could.

This prompted the Government to call upon regulators late last year to take up the issue.

The last time the OFT conducted an enquiry into the UK retail fuel market was in 1998.

According to the RMI, the UK wholesale price of petrol has gone up by more than 7p per litre since Christmas.

Around 1.5p of that rise is because the pound has not performed well since. But the RMI says motorists have still been left to face an increase of 5.5p per litre in the space of a just a few weeks.

Asked whether fuel prices were fixed or fair, Malcolm Graham-Wood, oil analyst at VSA Capital Limited, said: "It's an efficient market working as it should do.

"What you are doing in the petrol price at the pump is seeing a reflection of what the oil price was a few months ago, in the last few months it hasn't changed very much."

Projecting how prices might perform in the year to come, he added: "I think the oil price will be relatively stable and I don't see the currency changing very much either. Accordingly, I would have thought the petrol price would be down, not up."

Any investigation that did result in changes to the current system will certainly have consequences for consumers.

But, with Britain's retail fuel market worth around £32bn, it would also have an impact on businesses and the economy as a whole.

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Belfast Violence: Images Released Of Suspects

Police investigating serious public disorder in east and south Belfast have released 19 images of people they want to question over the violence.

So far, 181 arrests have been made and 128 people have been charged in connection with ongoing protests and disorder across Northern Ireland.

The violence flared after a decision to restrict the flying of the Union flag above City Hall in Belfast.

Detective Superintendent Sean Wright, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), said: "My investigative team will continue to rigorously pursue those involved in this disorder and violence and we will be relentless in our pursuit of those who are responsible for organising and participating in it.

"We are determined that persons who are masking their faces, breaking the law, involved in public disorder and blocking roads will be brought before the courts.

"We are today releasing 19 images of individuals whom we'd like to talk to in connection with ongoing investigations into serious public disorder and I'm hopeful that the wider community will help us identify these individuals.

"I also encourage the persons within these pictures to contact my team directly – in doing so they will minimise the impact on themselves, their family and their community."

Of those arrested, 50 were juveniles. More than 100 police officers were also hurt in the violence as protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs.

:: Anyone with information should contact Strandtown Police Station on 0288 90 901775 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Sugary Drink Tax 'Could Pay For School Meals'

Sugary drinks should be taxed at up to 20p a litre, say health campaigners – with the proceeds helping to pay for free school meals.

Food and farming charity Sustain said the Government could raise £1bn a year from the duty, while also saving lives by cutting excessive consumption of unhealthy drinks.

The report has been backed by more than 60 organisations, including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Friends of the Earth, the National Heart Forum and the Royal Society for Public Health.

Diet-related illness is now costing the NHS £6bn every year, said the report.

Sustain urged Chancellor George Osborne to introduce the duty in his March 20 Budget and to channel most of the cash raised into a Children's Future Fund for programmes to improve children's health.

Money could be spent on campaigns to encourage youngsters to eat more fruit and vegetables, the report said.

The group's campaigns manager, Charlie Powell, said: "Sugar-laden drinks are mini-health time bombs, contributing to dental diseases, obesity and a host of life-threatening illnesses which cost the NHS billions each year.

"We are delighted that so many organisations want to challenge the Government to show it has a public health backbone by including a sugary drinks duty in Budget 2013.

"It's a simple and easy-to-understand measure which will help save lives by reducing sugar in our diets and raising much-needed money to protect children's health."

Sustain chairman Mike Rayner, of Oxford University's Department of Public Health, added: "Just as we use fiscal measures to discourage drinking and smoking and help prevent people from dying early, there is now lots of evidence that the same approach would work for food.

"Our obesity epidemic causes debilitating illness, life-threatening diseases and misery for millions of people. It is high time Government did something effective about this problem."

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Report: Youth Joblessness Rises Fastest In UK

Youth unemployment has increased in the UK at a faster rate than any other country in the G8 since the start of the recession, a new report has said.

A study by the Work Foundation found that the UK now lags only behind Spain and Greece for youth joblessness in OECD countries.

The problem cannot be attributed just to the recession because other countries have fared better, the research group said.

The Government was urged to follow the lead of countries like Germany and Denmark by taking measures including more apprenticeships and increased training.

Lizzie Crowley, the report's author, said: "In many other developed nations, youth unemployment has remained low despite the global downturn.

"However, in the UK youth unemployment as a proportion of 15 to 24-year-olds has increased at a faster rate over the course of the recession than both the European and OECD averages.

"While the reasons for this are complex, it's clear that the UK can learn from the experiences of those countries that have fared much better in terms of youth unemployment.

"The Government should focus on those policies that have been shown to work, cherry-picking the best responses from other countries and adapting them to the needs of the UK labour market."

Unemployment for people aged 15 to 24 had increased in the UK by 35% to 916,000 between 2008 and 2011.

That compares to an average of 15% in the other G8 countries Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Germany, Russia and Japan had seen a reduction in youth unemployment in the same period.

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Dock Master Saves Baby From Icy Waters

A dock master has rescued a six-month-old baby after his buggy was blown into freezing cold waters by strong winds.

The infant, who was strapped in the buggy, was swept into the water as his mother walked along Watchet Harbour, Somerset, at 8am.

After hearing screams for help George Reeder, 63, initially thought a dog had fallen in but was horrified to see the pushchair upturned in the water.

He dived in and pulled the pushchair to the wall, before a member of the public helped attach a rope and hauled it to dry land - but not before the baby had spent around five minutes in the water.

The baby was revived by a passerby who administered CPR, before being taken to hospital, where he is believed to be out of intensive care.

The Coastguard and an ambulance arrived at the scene

Mr Reeder, who has worked at the marina for 11 years, said he heard screaming from a couple of hundred yards away before jumping on his bike to see what had happened.

He added: "I don't know exactly how he went in, but I was on the esplanade and heard the commotion and I assumed somebody's dog had gone into the water, so I went cycling over.

"They were on the West Pier, where you walk up to the lighthouse, some way away, but the noise travels and I could hear screaming from a woman.

"The mother was there and she said 'my baby has gone in the water', so I went to the edge and I could see the pushchair upside down, floating away.

"I just jumped in and pulled the pushchair back over to the edge of the quay, and then somebody put a rope down over and I tied it on and they lifted it out.

"As far as I know, what the police told me was that the wind blew the buggy in."

The dramatic rescue happened at Watchet in Somerset

Mr Reeder said it was "amazing" that the baby survived, adding: "The baby was still in the pushchair, it was very cold, it is amazing really because he must have been in there for a good five minutes, under the water.

"They pulled up the pushchair and a lady started doing CPR, and then the coastguard came, and the ambulance and the police, so I backed out the way."

A local member of the coastguard took over the CPR from the woman and Mr Reeder said the baby started to take in breaths.

He said: "You could his little mouth opening and taking in a breath and that's when I thought it's ok, he's going to be ok.

"I know the family and the granddad came over and said he's out of intensive care now and on the ward.

"The poor mother, she'll probably never get over something like that, it's your worst nightmare."

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "Police were called to the harbour in Watchet at 8.17am this morning to reports of a baby in the water.

"It is believed a gust of wind blew the buggy with the child in it into the water," he said.

"A local fisherman rescued the six month old boy and he was airlifted to hospital for treatment.

"The condition of the baby is believed to be no longer life-threatening."

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Cosmetic Surgery Rates Soar In UK

Growth rates for surgical facelifts and other anti-ageing procedures have shown a double-digit rise - despite a double-dip recession, new figures show.

Even though anti-ageing procedures are becoming increasingly popular, breast augmentation still tops the charts for the most common cosmetic surgeries with almost 10,000 women going under the knife in 2012.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps) study also found that fat injections have become more popular than liposuction.

Rajiv Grover, consultant plastic surgeon and Baaps president, said: "Interestingly, for the first time we see a greater number of women having procedures to re-insert fat - known as fat transfer, to add volume to the face - than to remove it, in the form of liposuction."

Breast implants are still the most popular procedures

The number of women who are transferring fat from one part of the body, such as the hips or thighs, to areas that have lost plumpness through age, including the face or hands, has increased by 13% in just one year.

Meanwhile, the number of women who had liposuction has reduced by 14%.

A total of 2,641 women underwent a "fat transfer" procedure last year, making it the seventh most popular cosmetic surgery conducted by Baaps members.

Meanwhile, liposuction has dropped to eighth place, with 2,638 women undergoing the procedure in 2012.

Of the 43,172 surgical procedures carried out by Baaps members last year, one in 10 were conducted on men.

The most popular procedures for men were nose jobs, eyelid surgery and breast reduction.

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'Explosive Device' Found In N Ireland

Northern Ireland police say they have found a "crude viable explosive device" in Omagh, County Tyrone.

The device was found near the home of a police officer.

The discovery prompted a security alert but police said "everyone has returned to their homes".

Police found the device as they were conducting an investigation in the area after an off-duty officer had fired some shots on Friday night.

Officers urged anyone who could provide information to come forward.

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Childcare Better In Wealthy Areas, Report Says

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky Reporter

Children from wealthier areas receive a better standard of childcare, according to a new report.

Research by Policy Exchange showed Ofsted judged 79% of childminders in the richest parts of England as good or outstanding, compared to 64% in the most deprived areas of the country.

It also found that children from richer areas were further ahead when they started primary school.

In the City of London and Trafford 78% were at a good level, compared to just 51% in Middlesbrough at the bottom of the list.

The vocabulary development of the poorest children was 16 months behind those from the highest income families, the report said.

Harriet Waldegrave, the author of the report said: "Early years education will only have a positive impact on a child's development if it is of a high quality.

"While provision is improving, it's not doing so fast enough. Most worryingly of all, lower quality provision in disadvantaged areas means positive effects of early years education are less likely to be seen for the children who need it most."

The government is now being asked to improve the quality of early years teaching and the financial support it gives to families with lower incomes.

In response, a Department for Education spokesperson said: "This report is absolutely right to say early years education needs to improve.

"We need to learn from other countries that ensure the profession is better trained and give them the freedom to do their job. We will be announcing plans on improving the quality of provision shortly."

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