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Layla Moran demands action on sewage in Oxford rivers

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Layla Moran, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, wants better protection for Wolvercote Mill Stream and other sites in Oxford, which she says are at risk from untreated sewage discharges.

This follows recent analysis by the Liberal Democrats showing that designated bathing sites in England have suffered more than one million hours of sewage spills over the past five years.

Wolvercote Mill Stream was classified as having ‘poor’ water quality status for the fourth year in a row in 2025.

Ms Moran said: “Britain’s rivers and beaches are a national treasure – but families are now forced to check for sewage spills before letting their children swim.

“We campaigned hard in Oxford to get water bathing status for Wolvercote Mill Stream.

“This now needs to come with serious action by Thames Water and others to clean up the water and ensure it is a site which local residents can enjoy for years to come.”

Regular water testing is now underway. The data revealed 145,606 hours of sewage dumping at bathing sites in 2025 alone, with signs put up nationally at 12 out of the existing 14 bathing sites advising against swimming due to poor quality.

Wolvercote Mill Stream received a ‘poor’ water quality rating for the fourth consecutive year.

The MP said the Government must take stronger action.

She said: “I am calling on the Government to stop stalling, replace Ofwat with a regulator that has real teeth, and force water companies to clean up our bathing sites in Oxford ahead of Summer.”

The Liberal Democrats are also urging the Government to require water companies to report sewage spill volumes, not just durations, to increase transparency.





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Oxford to screen Gentle, Angry Women film this weekend

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Gentle, Angry Women, directed by Barbara Santi, tells the story of three young women retracing the historic march to Greenham Common – 40 years after the first Women’s Peace Protests.

It will be screened at The Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford on Sunday, May 24, at 5pm.

The documentary is the latest release from award-winning Cornish production company Awen Productions and is part of the film’s 2026 UK tour, with stops including Gloucester, Cardiff, Bristol, Reading, and Cornwall.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with peace activists Marie Walsh, Nuala Young, and Di McDonald.

The event is being held to mark International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament and will celebrate women’s global leadership in advocating for peace and disarmament.

Barbara Santi, director of Gentle, Angry Women, said: “I belong to the generation that should have inherited and passed on these stories, yet failed to do so.

“I’m working to repair that broken chain of women’s collective memory.

“Every woman deserves to know her own history – yet an entire generation has been robbed of the knowledge that thousands of women once lived for years in makeshift camps, facing arrest and ridicule to prevent nuclear war.”

Ms Santi said the film’s message is especially timely in light of current global events.

She said: “In a time when young people are grappling with climate crisis, global conflicts, and technological isolation, they need to see how previous generations of ‘gentle, angry women’ faced seemingly impossible odds and refused to give up.”

The Greenham Common protest lasted 19 years and became one of the largest women’s movements in British history, although many – including the film’s protagonists – were unaware of it.

The documentary follows 19-year-old Evie from Cornwall, and her friends Xanthe, 17, and Poppy, 16, on a 110-mile march to Greenham Common to rediscover its legacy.

Along their journey, the trio meet women who spent years living at the peace camp and share intergenerational conversations on activism and the state of the world today.

The young women highlight contemporary issues, including climate change, women’s rights, Black Lives Matter, and animal activism.

She said: “The film champions small acts of defiance and community building as powerful forms of resistance.”

Audience members have described the film as ‘a really humbling story of collective women’s activism’ and ‘powerful, poetic, and unapologetically bold’.

Tickets and more information are available at the Folklife Films website.





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Olives on sale at market is our camera club winner

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That was their latest weekly theme and they posted plenty of photos of market stalls in Oxford, including those in the Covered Market and at Gloucester Green and Broad Street.

Some photographers also sent in photos of markets from outside the county and beyond.

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Gloucester Green and the Covered Market offer plenty of good opportunities for colourful photos as there are often food stalls open, while Broad Street hosts a popular market over the festive period.

It was tricky to choose a winner for photo of the week, but Georgina Elliott-Dew was selected for an eye-catching selection of photos, including the one above of a market trader selling olives.

Ann Faulkner’s snap of Applegate market in Covent Garden also stood out.

A market at Covent Garden (Image: Ann Faulkner)

Camera club members have drawn up their own list of weekly themes and the next one is ‘Oxfordshire stone’.





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Aylesbury prison absconder wanted in public appeal

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John Baker, 44, left the facility of HMP Springhill, an open prison near Grendon Underwood, without permission.

The incident took place at about 7pm on Saturday, May 23.

He is 5ft 9ins tall, of medium build, and has links to Northwood, near Watford.

Detective sergeant Jon Muldoon said: “We are appealing for the help of the public to trace John Baker, who is unlawfully at large after escaping from HMP Springhill.

“If you see Baker, do not approach him and call 999 instead.”





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