Appeal for information after body found in water off Lyme Regis

Detectives are appealing for anyone with information to come forward after the body of a woman was sadly recovered from the sea off Lyme Regis.

Dorset Police received a report from the Coastguard at 10.48am on Monday 19 April 2021 that the body of a woman had been found in the water around one mile east of Lyme Regis harbour.

With assistance from the coastguard and RNLI, the deceased has been recovered. While there is nothing to indicate the death is suspicious, detectives have so far been unable to identify her.

The woman is described as white, aged in her 40s or 50s and was wearing black Skechers shoes, black jeans, a pink top with red stripes across the front and a dark blue rain jacket. She was also wearing stud earrings and glasses.

Detective Inspector Kate Lill, of Weymouth CID, said: “This is a very sad incident and we are keen to identify the woman involved as soon as possible so her loved ones can be made aware. 

“We have made a number of enquiries, but we have had no reports of anyone going missing in the area or any concerns for welfare that could relate to this woman. 

“It is believed the body had been in the water for less than 24 hours and we are appealing for people to come forward if they have any information that might assist our efforts to find out who this woman is. We would like to hear from anyone who has come across any abandoned vehicles in the area or witnessed anyone close to the water in clothing matching the description given above.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55210060853.

Please take your rubbish home

This a bin bag, it’s a very clever piece of kit, it can fold or roll down very small, small enough to even go in a pocket!  

Then it can make itself very big! Big enough to hold all the rubbish that is left after your picnic in the park or your visit to the beach... 😊

It really likes to be taken back home when it’s full and to be placed in your bin... 👍🏻 

Why not join forces with this clever bin bag and keep our beautiful parks and beaches clean and tidy. 

Have respect for your surroundings, other people, children and wildlife!!

Plans are under way for the return of Lifeboat Week to Lyme Regis in July

A provisional programme for the week, beginning on July 24, is being discussed by members of the town’s Lifeboat Supporters' Group.

The week – a summer highlight since the 1970s – was cancelled last year because of the pandemic.

Chairman of the supporters group Ken Lavery said: “We feel we have to be optimistic and hope that restrictions will be lifted by late July.

“We are making plans to stage as many events as possible during the week, including old favourites and new activities subject to any Covid-19 restrictions which might still be  in place. We will update you on progress via our Facebook page and website.” (https://www.facebook.com/LymeRegisLifeboatWeek https://www.lymeregislifeboatweek.co.uk)  

Lifeboat Week has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for the RNLI’s life-saving charity since the 1970s. In 2019 the week raised a record £40,000.

Pulman's Wins Again!

 

Pulman's Weekly News has now been awarded Best Local News Publication –  West Country in the  2021 Global Business Awards hosted by Corp Today Magazine.

Pulman's Weekly News & Advertiser Series was put forward to Corp Today’s dedicated team of in-house researchers who have handpicked each of their 2021 award winners. This proven approach ensures that they award on merit, and not popularity, and recognise the very best in the business.

Michael Banks, MD of Pulman's Weekly News, said; “To be acknowledged as Best Local News Publication for the entire region is a further feather in the cap, especially in these uncertain times.  Our news coverage has now evolved to provide both video and online reporting, and I am delighted the team have won such a prestigious award in such a wide-reaching area. Included in this new area are neighbouring towns within Dorset, who benefit greatly from their own bespoke PR brands, such as Experience Lyme Regis.

“The effort put in by our team and in particular past developmental guidance from digital media entrepreneur Duncan Williams, drawing upon parallel success with Reach Plc and InYourArea projects, as well our own individual feature writers, contributors and staff, all represents a collective belief we all share in the future of hyperlocal media. I am proud that we have been awarded such a significant prize in difficult times which highlights the quality of our work on behalf of the West Country communities and small business advertisers we serve.”

Corp Today Magazine who claim readers consisting of 138,000 ‘C’ Level professional, VPs, Consultants, VCs, Managers and advisors, will announce the award winners in all categories shortly.

Backdated pay secured for staff of Lyme Regis newspaper title after two-year legal battle

Report by Daniel Wilkins for MidweekHerald

The publisher at the centre of a row over the defunct Pulman’s View From series of newspapers, which covered parts of East Devon, has secured backdated pay for former employees.

Duncan Williams told the Herald he has reached an agreement with the insolvency agency for 29 staff from the View From titles to get their wages.

It follows a two-year legal battle after Mr Williams appealed having to assume more than £500,000 worth of debt when he launched a bid to revive the titles.

He said: “As a trade union member myself, I support what the staff have been through.

“I always said to them I would appeal this.”

Mr Williams purchased the View From titles, which included papers covering Sidmouth, Honiton, Axminster, Seaton and Lyme Regis, in January 2018.

He set out to revive the titles, as well as launch an award in honour of George Pulman, who founded the papers in the 1850s.

Mr Williams said: “It wasn’t a capricious act – it was genuinely to do something that would celebrate that heritage.

“But the debts were astronomical – I have been chased by debt collectors for two years.”

He set up a crowdfunding campaign in the hope of attracting investors to help him revive the titles.

In doing so, he needed to give investors a guarantee and took on the liabilities of the company.

This prompted a two-year legal battle, and, despite an appeal, Mr Williams was told by the courts he had assumed more than £500,000 in debt, which included the unpaid staff wages.

Mr Williams told the Herald that securing the agreement for former staff to be paid was a ‘tremendous relief’ to him.

However, this is not the end of the road for Mr Williams, as he is still repaying debts owed to those who contributed to his crowd-funding.

He said the lack of advertising revenue due to the coronavirus made the papers’ relaunch unfeasible.

He added: “The AI digital technology I have developed would have been part of the plan to relaunch, and that still is the intention, but, in the current climate, it would be crazy to pursue this.”

https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/former-staff-of-view-from-get-backdated-wages-1-6672693

Philip Evans' statement to Exeter Tribunal Court following closure of View From Newspapers

The founder of the View From Newspapers was Lyme Regis based office manager Philip 'Pip' Evans.

In 2018 the papers faced sudden closure with 29 staff being left jobless.

The background to the reasons for the closure have been the subject of much debate and supposition.

So, after much insistance, we are able to publish the full statement (below) presented to the Exeter Employment Tribunal courts by Philip Evans himself.

This statement gives a revealing insight into what exactly was going on at the time within the Lyme Regis editorial offices that were being overseen by 'Pip' and his team.

About our town

Lyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, 25 miles (40 km) west of Dorchester and 25 miles (40 km) east of Exeter.

Styled "The Pearl of Dorset", it lies at Lyme Bay on the English Channel coast at the Dorset–Devon border. It is noted for fossils found in cliffs and beaches on the Heritage Coast or Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. The harbour wall – known as "The Cobb" – appears in Jane Austen's novel Persuasion, the John Fowles novel The French Lieutenant's Woman, and the 1981 film of that name, which was partly shot in the town. A former mayor and MP was Admiral Sir George Somers, who founded the English colonial settlement of Somers Isles, now Bermuda, where Lyme Regis is twinned with St George's. In July 2015, Lyme Regis also joined Jamestown, Virginia, in a Historic Atlantic Triangle with St George's. The 2011 Census gave the parish and electoral ward a population of 3,671.

The coastal exposures provide a continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock formations, spanning approximately 185 million years of the Earth's history.