A mother has been left fearful over the security of her career after being given a penalty fine for taking her daughter out of school during term time for a holiday.
Natalie Saunders travelled to Bodrum, Turkey, on holiday with her eight-year-old daughter for a week-long getaway in May of this year.
However, now knowing the repercussions of taking her child out of school for this long during the school term, she probably won’t do it again.
Despite the mother-of-one admitting that she knew that the trip would result in an unauthorised absence, and therefore a £60 fine, she had no idea that it would escalate to something much worse.
The mum faces a hefty fine (Kennedy News and Media)
The 44-year-old returned from the £900 sun-soaked trip and said that she never received a penalty fine notice in the post, and reckoned she was in the clear.
Saunders, who works in risk and compliance, never followed up on the charge and claimed that she heard she wasn’t ‘guaranteed’ to get one.
But a letter from West Sussex County Council this August proved her wrong, as it detailed that she hadn’t paid the fine and now had a court date.
The Brit has been given a single justice procedure notice, saying she is being charged under Section 444 (1) of the Education Act 1996, meaning she could face a criminal conviction and a £1,000 fine.
The Act says that if a child of compulsory school age that is a registered pupil at a school does not attend regularly, their parent is guilty of an offence, unless they prove there was a ‘reasonable justification’ for their absence.
After being given the investigation letter, she has been in contact with West Sussex County Council, though they are intent on continuing with legal proceedings.
The letter revealed that she faced a £1,000 fine (Kennedy News and Media)
The mother is shocked as she pointed out that it’s up to her to ‘prove she hasn’t received the letter’, instead of the council needing to prove that they sent it.
Even after claiming to pay the fine late, the sums were refunded, as she has been given until 26 November to plead guilty or not.
Saunders, from Crawley, admitted that she ‘was happy to pay the £60 fine’, as ‘it was a lot cheaper’ to travel during the school year.
Highlighting her child’s good attendance and claiming that ‘the fine wasn’t guaranteed’, she assumed she was in the clear.
“The first letter that I received, which would have been the second letter they sent (West Sussex County Council), was dated July 18th but I didn’t receive it until August 24th,” she revealed.
Saunders explained: “The idea of getting a criminal record is devastating. I’m a good person. If I wasn’t, I would have just taken my daughter off ‘ill’ for those six days. Even if the truth is bad, it is better than lying.
“It’s a criminal record. I don’t want this against my name. I’ve got a good job and work in risk and compliance and I am studying for a diploma to further my career and this could stop me in my tracks. It could ruin this.”
The mum has been left devastated after not being allowed to pay the fine late (Kennedy News and Media)
Saunders also highlighted that there was ‘poor’ postal service in her area, saying: “I haven’t seen any proof from them (the council) that they have posted the letter.
“There are lots of mitigating circumstances that they are considering in this. West Sussex County Council are using the Royal Mail which is just not delivering.
“In Crawley my MP told me there is a shortage of staff at Royal Mail and Crawley is one of the top five worst performing towns in the UK.”
Now, Saunders says she ‘would never’ take her child out during school again, revealing that she is ‘better off pleading guilty’ as she took her daughter out herself, which would also mean that there would be no court hearing.
A West Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “The DfE is clear in its position that every moment in school counts and it has directed headteachers to take a strong stance on unauthorised holidays in term time.
“We follow the DfE National Guidelines on the use and issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices in such cases, ensuring a consistency of approach and practice. Unpaid fines are referred to the court process where parents are able to give their mitigation should they choose.
“In all cases the Fixed Penalty Notice and legal services teams follow the established legal process and the published code of conduct to ensure consistency and fairness to all cases.”
She claims that she won’t take her child out of school again, following this incident (Kennedy News and Media)
Peter Lamb, Natalie’s Crawley Labour MP, who she has been communicating with over the incident, said that the council not accepting her late fine is ultimately putting the child’s well-being at risk.
“We can all appreciate the importance of avoiding unauthorised absences, but the county council’s decision to prosecute Ms Saunders when she has indicated that she would pay a fine, putting at risk her employment, amounts to risking the future wellbeing of a child while wasting taxpayer money in the process,” Lamb said.
Saunders also got in touch with Royal Mail after the letter wasn’t delivered, as a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We take the delivery of mail very seriously and work to ensure all items are delivered on time. We have taken strides to improve our service in Crawley and nationally.
“If a customer is concerned about deliveries on their route, we encourage them to contact us directly so we can investigate.”
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media
This article contains affiliate links and LADbible Group might make a commission on anything purchased.
The clocks have changed and soon it will be dark at 4pm, which can only mean one thing: winter is coming. But Brits have found an escape route, by means of a budget trip to Malta for just £69 per person.
Just a three-hour flight from London, the Mediterranean island is renowned for boasting 300 days of sunshine a year, great news if you’re craving a last-minute dose of vitamin D.
Weather aside, Malta is also known for its buzzy restaurant scene, historic architecture, and some of the world’s best diving sites. The fortress city of Valletta is particularly beloved, as visitors flock to see its baroque and neo-classical architecture up close.
The holiday package everyone is talking about includes a two-night stay at four-star Solana Hotel which boasts a panoramic pool, fitness centre, and spa. And just one scroll of the reviews told us everything we need to know.
Tripadvisor
One visitor wrote on Tripadvisor: “I don’t have a single negative thing to say about this hotel. On the contrary, it’s one of the nicest I have stayed in and I’ve stayed in a fair few. The staff are very professional within their roles, and are all friendly and helpful. I would definitely come here again and don’t want to go home.”
Another five-star review reads, “My girlfriend and I stayed at this hotel for a week and honestly it blew our expectations out of the water. The rooms were well furnished, even including a small enclosed kitchen, and the staff were extremely friendly and professional.”
Getty/Stefan Cristian Cioata
“It’s a rare occasion that the hotel is a highlight of one’s trip but on this occasion it shines through. The food was honestly the best I’ve had in my life and I’m no stranger to lavish restaurants.”
A third traveller simply wrote: “Fantastic little gem of a hotel.”
How to book a cheap winter break to Malta
Wowcher is currently offering flights and accommodation in Malta for just £69. The bargain package includes a two-night stay at the four-star Solana Hotel and Spa, situated in the heart of Mellieha. To secure the deal, you’ll need to fly from London on Wednesday 11 December and return on Friday 13 December. The same dates will cost £89 from Manchester.
If you’d like to stay for longer, the best deal we’ve found is five nights in Malta, flying from London on Friday 13 December and returning on Wednesday 18 December for £149. Just make sure to hurry, the offer is selling fast.
Featured Image Credit: Tripadvisor/Getty/Balate Dorin
Topics: Travel
A devastated mum has told of her horror after her teenage daughter died in her sleep when she returned home from a UK festival with the ‘worst headache’ she’d ever experienced.
Livia Wilson, 19, had attended Manchester’s popular Parklife festival with her pals in June 2022 before she began complaining of continuous pain.
Her mum, Alison Goude, explained she simply thought the youngster had ‘overdone it’ while partying at the music event.
But tragically, the teenager suddenly passed away in her sleep just a few days after arriving back home in York – leaving her family heartbroken and desperate for answers.
Livia had managed to make it to her shift at a local restaurant on 15 June, 2022, but was sent home by her boss due to her persistent headache and the fact she felt ‘generally unwell’.
Alison explained: “She came back after the weekend, and she was straight back into work.
“She did say it was the ‘worst headache‘ she’d ever had, but she would do a Covid test in the morning because she felt generally unwell.
“She had paracetamol, went to bed, and that was it.”
The mum, who works as an assistant accountant, explained that Livia never woke back up.
Livia Wilson passed away in her sleep after complaining of a painful headache and feeling unwell (SWNS)
“[The next day] an ambulance came and then the police came, because they treat it as suspicious when there’s no explanation,” Alison recalled.
Livia’s loved ones faced an agonising 16-week wait to get answers about the 19-year-old’s untimely passing, but tests later revealed that the teen had contracted meningitis B.
This deadly bacterial illness can quickly turn sinister, as when meningococcal group B bacteria has infiltrated the body it begins to target the brain and spinal cord.
The strain can also cause other serious illnesses such as septicaemia and sepsis.
Alison said: “We asked, ‘Was she suffering, was she in pain?’ and they tried to explain that it’s just so fast with the brain.
“It just shuts your main organs down… she was alone. You just didn’t ever expect it.”
There is a vaccine available in the UK and Ireland which can protect people against meningitis B – however, it is only administered to babies.
The NHS explains that three separate doses are offered to tots when they are eight weeks, 16 weeks and one-year-old, alongside their other routine vaccines.
It states: “It’s best to have the MenB vaccines on time so children are protected when they’re most at risk of getting MenB illnesses.
“They can still have the MenB vaccine up to the age of two.
“Research has shown that the vaccine is very effective at preventing illnesses caused by these bacteria.”
Alison said she initially thought the 19-year-old had ‘overdone it’ at the festival with her friends (SWNS)
Now, Alison is calling on the NHS to roll out the drug to teenagers so that other families don’t have to experience the same heartbreak as hers.
She went on: “To know there is this vaccination out there, it hurts. You beat yourself up, like what could I have done to protect her?”
The mum reckons that a lot of people believe they are protected from meningitis B due to other vaccines they had as a child, but she emphasised the fact that this is a ‘different strain’.
Meningitis B is usually transmitted via mucus or saliva, meaning it is easily spread while sharing things like drinks, food, utensils and toothbrushes.
Alison wants to warn youngsters who might attend also festivals like dance student Livia did to be aware of the risks that close contact at these kinds of events brings.
She urged parents to consider getting their children vaccinated with the MenB vaccine, explaining that although it can cost £220 if done privately, she believes it is worth every penny.
In a post on Meningitis Research Foundation, Alison added: “We would have definitely paid for Livia to be vaccinated, and as Liv’s Grandad said, it would have been the best money we had ever spent.
“Just please get it, protect them and don’t be in the position that we are. We just don’t want anybody to have to go through what we are.
“Your life is never the same. If I couldn’t afford it, I’d give up anything to be able to protect my child.”
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
A mum influencer could be facing jail time after pleading guilty to child abuse.
YouTuber Ruby Franke was arrested in August after her son made it known to his neighbours that he was being abused and neglected.
The YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, which had 2.3 million subscribers, was where Utah parents Ruby and her husband Kevin Franke shared with viewers their parenting style and discipline methods.
Franke, 41, appeared in court in Washington County, Utah on Monday (18 December) alongside her business partner Jodi Firebrandt, who the court heard the abuse of the children was allegedly encouraged by.
Franke argued in court that Firebrandt led her to a ‘distorted sense of morality’.
According to an affidavit filed by an officer of the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department, the mother’s 12-year-old son had climbed out of a window and run to a neighbours house to ask for food and water.
This subsequently led to her arrest after the neighbour flagged the neglect to law enforcement.
Law and Crime Network
The boy was found by police, allegedly injured with duct tape around his ankles for restraint purposes, and they later found that Franke had tied his wrists and ankles with rope, dressing the wounds with cayenne pepper and honey.
He was consequently rushed to hospital to be treated for malnourishment and deep skin cuts.
Upon police searching Franke’s house, authorities found her other children had been left in a similar state, and four of the six were taken in by child protection services.
The court heard that Franke also tried to convince her youngest two that they were evil and possessed, and needed to be punished to repent.
MSNBC
Pleading guilty to the fourth charge, as well as another three, she said: “With my deepest regret and sorrow for my family and my children, guilty.”
Police found that the 12-year-old was tortured severely between May and August, having to carry out summer work without enough water, and developed serious, blistered sunburns.
The court heard that Franke manipulated her child to think that these punishments were acts of love.
Her 10-year-old daughter was a victim of similar abuse.
The neighbour who called 911, said on the phone call: “I think he’s been … he’s been detained.
“He’s obviously covered in wounds.”
The Franke family openly shared some questionable parenting styles on their YouTube channel, including banning their eldest child from their bedroom for seven months.
But they didn’t quite share the extent of the torture their kids were experiencing.
The channel was created in 2015, and deleted after seven years of making content.
Franke’s husband, Kevin, has since filed for divorce.
She is set to be sentenced by the court on 20 February, 2024. While Hildebrandt, who was also arrested, is set to appear in court on 27 December.
Featured Image Credit: Youtube/Inside Edition/Instagram/Moms_of_truth
A popular holiday destination could be ‘facing collapse’ if too many tourists continue to visit, a report has claimed.
It’s often the case that tourism boards across the globe are actively trying to encourage holiday-goers to visit their countries.
But with one destination, it’s the total opposite.
In fact, due to the ‘over-tourism’ in the area, officials are concerned that the numbers travelling to the region each year are no longer sustainable.
And it’s super popular with Brits.
David C Tomlinson/Getty Images
The report comes after a record number of visitors travelled to the region last year – a whopping 48 million. And around half of this number were Brits.
Some of the major concerns from locals include long traffic jams and congestion, sewage spillages and environmental issues caused from new hotel complexes and the sheer volume of people on the islands.
Experts at campaign group Ben Magec-Ecologists in Action have now spoken out and are calling for urgent action.
The report reads: “The Canary Islands territory was more than overexploited. We had exceeded the carrying capacity of the territory by seven times, resulting in a scenario of systemic collapse due to the urban development structure.
“Uncontrolled, increase in the non-resident population of European origin, giving rise to completely overcrowded islands in which the generation of waste and the exploitation of resources cause an almost irreversible degradation of our natural ecosystems.”
The Canary Islands includes Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro.
The islands are hugely popular thanks to their white sandy beaches, sightseeing opportunities and all-year-round warm temperatures.
Brits especially enjoy escaping the freezing UK winter for the balmy temperatures in the likes of Lanzarote, which are currently sitting in the mid-twenties.
Kris Hoobaer/Getty Images
But it’s becoming a huge problem among the communities across the islands.
For example, in Tenerife, campaigners have started demanding an ‘eco-tax’ for tourists, while ‘tourists go home’ is a common slogan during protests.
Meanwhile, placards reading ‘the Canaries are no longer a paradise’ and ‘the Canaries are not for sale’ could also be seen at recent rallies.
Juan Torres, the head of Gran Canarias Architects’ College, has emphasised that small changes will not be enough.
He said: “On an urban planning and architectural level, we could not remain with mere cosmetic operations. We had to take the right steps so that we all join in the improvement plans, which were really needed in the Canary Islands.”
