Other UK News In Brief

CCTV Issued In Connection With Serious Sexual Assault

Officers have issued two CCTV stills of a man they wish to speak to in connection with a serious sexual assault. The incident happened at approximately 6.50am on Sunday 13 February in Lexington Street, west London. A woman in her 30s had been on a night out in the area when the suspect approached her in Lexington Street. They then walked around Soho before ending up at the NCP Brewer Street car park where they entered a lift and the victim was assaulted. The suspect was interrupted by a witness and left the scene in an unknown direction. The victim was taken to hospital and referred to a Haven Centre. The suspect is described as a black or mixed race and aged between 20 to 30 years old. He has short or shaved hair and is of a medium build. He was wearing a hooded top which was striped and grey and black in colour, jeans and white trainers. DS Brian Richards leading the investigation on behalf of the Westminster Sapphire unit, said: "Soho is a busy area of London and we believe there will have been people in the area who saw this man. We are appealing for anyone who may recognise him to contact us.”

Pedal Machines May Help Counter Harmful Effects

Portable pedal machines could help counter the harmful effects of prolonged periods spent at a desk or workstation among an increasingly sedentary workforce, suggests a small study published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

 The researchers base their findings on 18 full time employees who were given a pedal exercise machine for four weeks, specifically designed to be used while seated at a desk in the workplace. 

The mini exercise bike comprised a set of pedals that can be set up in front of most standard office chairs for use while seated. 

The average age of the participants was 40. Most were female and overweight. All had sedentary jobs, which involved spending at least 75% of the working day sitting at a desk or workstation.

 The volunteers were wired up to an exercise tracking device via their computers, which monitored their activity and provided real time feedback on pedal speed, distance covered, and how many calories they burned.

On average, they used the pedal machines on 12 out of a possible 20 working days, ranging from 2 days to 20, and for an average of 23 minutes each of those days, ranging from 1 to 73 minutes.

Distance covered per day ranged from a third of a mile to almost 13.5 miles, with 9 to more than 500 calories burned in the process.

 At the end of the four weeks, all participants completed a questionnaire about the feasibility of introducing a similar machine into the workplace. They overwhelmingly said they would use such a machine regularly at work if offered one by their employer and said that it had not affected either their productivity or the quality of their work. Participants did maintain the level and intensity of activity over the four weeks, and just 23 minutes of pedalling could boost health if done regularly, the authors say.

 The approach offers the potential to be used in large scale workplace health programmes, they conclude.

South West Business Could Create Up To 10,000 Extra Apprenticeships

The South West could see 10,000 additional apprenticeship places a year by 2015 if employers make the most of extra government funding for training, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander announced. The Chief Secretary made the announcement ahead of a visit to Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth whose award-winning apprenticeship programme teaches young people in the South West to build and refit luxury yachts. He also met apprentices at Fifteen Cornwall in Watergate Bay, which trains and inspires young Cornish people to develop careers as professional chefs. The additional funding will go to training providers who will work with employers locally to meet their needs. Employers should contact the National Apprenticeship Service or training providers to find out more about Apprenticeships in their area.

(BMcN/GK)