UK

A tank full of Santas caused havoc in Cornwall after getting stuck down a lane and eventually having to be freed by police. The armoured personnel carrier was filled with individuals on a pub crawl before it got wedged in the village of Angarrack, Cornwall. Lee Gribble told Sky News that he saw the tank

Families driving home for the festive period face travel misery with further rail strikes set to take place from 6pm on Christmas Eve. Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime, and Transport (RMT) union at National Rail walk out on Saturday evening, causing train services to finish at 3pm. An overtime ban is also causing

Thousands of nurses in England will go on strike again next month in a dispute over pay. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced nurses would strike on 18 and 19 January and said further dates would be confirmed in the new year. Drivers advised when to travel – strikes latest Pat Cullen, head of

Ambulance workers will stage two further strikes in January amid a dispute over pay and staffing. The Unison union says the industrial action will take place in England on 11 and 23 January. The strike action will involve staff employed by London, Yorkshire, North West, North East and South West ambulance services. It comes after

Two days of strikes by nurses and paramedics will have a knock-on effect on appointments with a return to “very high numbers” of emergency calls in the coming days, NHS Providers has warned. Historic strike action saw thousands of nurses picket on Tuesday and ambulance staff stage their biggest strike in 30 years yesterday. Saffron

The number of people phoning 999 appears to have dropped in parts of England as thousands of ambulance staff and paramedics strike until midnight. The West Midlands Ambulance Trust thanked people for heeding their advice to only call in an emergency as ambulance trusts reported receiving fewer calls. The drop in calls comes as health

A man has pleaded guilty to the murders of a woman and three children who were found dead at a house in Derbyshire. Damien Bendall, 32, had previously denied murdering Terri Harris, 35, her 11-year-old daughter Lacey Bennett, her 13-year-old son John Paul Bennett and Lacey’s 11-year-old friend Connie Gent, but admitted their manslaughter. Bendall

People have been urged to “drink responsibly” by NHS England’s medical director to avoid ending up in A&E as ambulance workers prepare to strike. Professor Sir Stephen Powis issued the warning ahead of the planned action on Wednesday, when the health service is likely to be hit by major disruption as ambulance workers, including paramedics,

Ambulance and hospital trusts across the country have declared critical incidents. Paramedics in London declared a “Business Continuity Incident” and in the North East a “critical incident” plan was put in place. Nottingham and Nottinghamshire health and care system – which represents ambulance and hospital services across the region also declared a “ritical incident”. London

Thirty new patients have contacted Sky News following our investigation into the treatment of teenagers in mental health units run by a single provider. They include a 16-year-old boy whose mother told us her son’s self-harming increased. Rachel Vickers said of her son Tyson: “He looked like he’d been in a car crash”, and Tyson

A mother has challenged health secretary Steve Barclay during a hospital visit, telling him that NHS staff are being “worked to the bone”. Sarah Pinnington-Auld said her three-year-old daughter Lucy, who has cystic fibrosis, was pushed off the “absolutely horrific” waiting list at Kings College Hospital in Denmark Hill, London, because of “the obscene number

A teenager has been charged with a people-smuggling offence after four people died while attempting to cross the Channel. Ibrahima Bah, 19, of no fixed address, was arrested by police after the incident on Wednesday. Four people died and 39 were rescued when a migrant boat capsized in the Channel. Bah was charged with “knowingly

Union bosses have criticised plans to deploy 1,200 troops to cover strikes, but the prime minister has hit back by calling them “Grinches” who “want to steal Christmas”. Union chiefs claim the military are not “sufficiently trained” to guard the country’s borders or drive ambulances, and that they should not be put in such an

Police have released the first picture of a woman who died after being injured in a crush at a concert at Brixton Academy. Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, from Newham, east London, died on Saturday morning, while two other women – aged 21 and 23 – remain in a critical condition in hospital. Eight people were taken

Hospitals should free up beds by safely discharging patients in advance of “extensive disruption” caused by industrial action by ambulance crews, health chiefs have said. They warned of “a very challenging period” when ambulance crews in England and Wales are due to walk out for two days on 21 and 28 December in a dispute

An investigation has been launched into the deaths of two children after their bodies were found at a residential address in Dagenham, in east London. Emergency services were called at around 2pm on Friday to the property in Cornwallis Road, where the bodies of a two-year-old boy and a five-year-old boy were discovered. Metropolitan Police

Four people are in a critical condition after crowd trouble at a concert in south London. People at the O2 Academy in Brixton were said to have been locked outside the venue in freezing temperatures, prompting some to try to force their way inside for the Asake gig. The concert was eventually cancelled part-way through,

Four boys who died after falling into a frozen lake in Solihull have been named by police. Brothers Samuel Butler, six, and Finlay Butler, eight; their cousin Thomas Stewart, 11, and Jack Johnson, 10, were identified by West Midlands Police. Three of the boys, Jack, Thomas and Finlay, died on Sunday after falling into Babbs

A fisherman whose crew saved 31 people stranded in the English Channel said he was woken in the early hours of the morning when migrants surrounded his boat “screaming for help”. Skipper Raymond told Sky News he had been sleeping when he was awoken by a member of his crew, who told him, “There are

NHS nurses are striking today in a dispute with the government over pay and patient safety. Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will take industrial action on 15 December and 20 December across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the first time in the union’s 106-year history. Strikes by ambulance staff and some