Category: Blog

Come spring, chances are there’ll be driving tours in fake panda cars along the A646 between Halifax and Todmorden, with overnight stays in dodgy-looking farmhouses. Happy Valley has done for Calderdale what Peaky Blinders did for Birmingham, and dark telly tourism is all about ticking off locations and looking the part (though I’m not sure hi-vis tabards will catch on). But there are three better, more active ways to explore the Calder valley. Two of these use the Calderdale Way, either the northern section or the southern, both of which involve hill climbs and traverses across fields, hedgerows, stiles – the usual argy-bargy of agricultural rambling.

In November last year, we announced plans to roll out BBC One HD for the English regions on TV platforms by Spring 2023.

Today marks the start of this roll-out – with the first English Regions variant, BBC One South launching in HD on satellite platforms (Sky and Freesat).  This means viewers who get South Today as their local news programme (covering areas including Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire & the Isle of Wight, Oxford, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire), will get their local news on BBC One HD – rather than the red slate which was previously there at this time.

The rollout of the new versions of the regional BBC Ones in HD then continues over the next six weeks, with the full rollout completing by end of February.

Illegal electric blankets are being sold online which could cause electric shocks, a consumer group warns.

Which? found some of the products being sold are made “so poorly” they could pose “a serious risk”.

Separately charity Electrical Safety First says it found “highly dangerous” electrical products for sale by third party sellers online.

It wants new regulations to bolster consumer protection.

The cost of living crisis has seen a huge rise in the popularity of electric blankets as people try to minimise use of their central heating.

Nine out of the 11 electric blankets, throws and shawls Which? bought from third-party sellers on AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish should not be sold legally in the UK.

The consumer champion group identified problems with how the products are made, the packaging, markings and instructions.

Which? found some products with electric wires that could easily be pulled out and others lacked the proper safety standard marks. 

In addition to safety concerns, some of the blankets were incredibly inefficient and did not work properly. 

All those flagged by Which? as having issues have now been removed by the online marketplaces.

Which? is calling for sites to bear more legally responsibility for allowing unsafe and illegal products to be sold on their platform.

The current approach puts most of the responsibility on the third-party sellers.

Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which? said buying these products cheaply on online marketplaces can put people’s safety at risk. 

“The government must urgently act to give online marketplaces greater legal responsibility for unsafe and illegal products sold on their sites so that consumers are no longer put at unnecessary risk of harm,” she said. 

Last week a Private Member’s Bill was tabled by Labour MP for Gateshead, Ian Mearns, to implement more regulation in this area.

The Bill, supported by the charity Electrical Safety First, aimed to “close a gap in the law” which has allowed online marketplaces to operate “without any responsibility” for ensuring that the products sold via their sites are actually safe. 

Electrical Safety First found “highly dangerous” electrical products for sale by third party sellers across major online marketplaces, including Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Wish.com.

Boss Lesley Rudd said: “Households are perpetually being left at risk from products, such as dangerous electric blankets, as people seek to keep heating costs down. 

“Without changes to the law, people will continue to be left exposed and vulnerable.”

AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish.com all said they take safety very seriously and removed the listings that Which? flagged to them.

None of the third-party sellers of the products provided a comment to Which?