‘Desperate’ parents face years of waiting for children’s heart screenings
Charities are urging the government to introduce mandatory heart screenings for young people as their own sessions struggle to meet the overwhelming demand.
The calls come as parents have travelled across the country after waiting years for life-saving electrocardiogram tests.
Tom Paget, a dad of two teenagers, travelled 90 minutes from his home town in Otley in West Yorkshire to Hull to have his children screened.
He said: “We have been looking for a couple of years for screenings and this is the first that we found that’s any way near us.
“I came here because there've been a few high profile incidents of footballers suffering with sudden heart problems. I suppose, as a parent, that’s sort of your worst nightmare.”
Mr Paget attended a screening in Hull organised by charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY). Appointments went live at four o'clock three weeks before the session. By five past, they were all gone.
He said: “That’s how desperate people are to get on and get children screened, and clearly how few appointments are actually available.”
According to CRY, 12 fit and healthy young people under the age of 35 die from undiagnosed cardiac conditions every week in the UK.
While individuals aged 40 to 74 and families affected by a young sudden cardiac death are eligible for a free ECG heart screening on the NHS, young people have no access to these free services.
Instead, parents turn to groups like CRY which offers screenings to about 30,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 35 each year.
Despite CRY's efforts to screen thousands of young people annually, many still face long waits and the need to travel long distances for a screening.
According to CRY's 2025 statistics, demand for ECGs is “exponentially outstripping capacity” with the waiting list now exceeding 105,000.
Dr Steven Cox, CEO of the organisation, said: “In Italy, where people are routinely tested every year from a young age, they show an 89% reduction in sudden deaths.
“We don’t have the luxury of routine screening in the UK, so our priority is for everyone to be screened at least once from the age of 14.”
Charities are working with CRY to help them provide screenings to as many young people as possible, but they say it's not enough without government support.
Becky Bristow, general manager of the Dillon Quirke Foundation, a charity that screened 10,000 14 to 17-year-olds in sports clubs around Ireland this year, said: “The biggest issue is the national health service.
“They would have to find a way to pay for the screenings and they have way bigger priorities, so we are campaigning for major sports bodies to make screening mandatory for their players.”
The foundation was launched by the parents of 24-year-old sports player, Dillon Quirke, who suddenly died of an undiagnosed heart condition on the pitch. They began raising awareness that screening can prevent sudden cardiac deaths.
Ms Bristow said: “They were horrified to discover Dillon’s death was preventable with a very simple screening.”
Another charity helping make CRY’s screenings more accessible to people across the UK is Clarissa’s Campaign.
Clarissa Nicholls, 20, was a Cambridge student who died of an undiagnosed heart condition while on her year abroad.
Ms Betts, said: “It was a massive shock, Clarissa had no symptoms, she was really fit and active.”
After her death, Clarissa’s family and friends began to host screening days with the help of CRY to make screenings more accessible, especially for students at Cambridge University.
She said: “We have an emphasis on sports students but are open for everyone to sign up to, most people at the screenings say they knew someone who died of sudden cardiac death.”
Clarissa’s friend Hannah Betts said: “CRY is doing a great job but there are thousands on their waiting list and their screenings are in random locations that aren’t accessible to everyone.”
Foster Care Fortnight in Sheffield
Foster Care Fortnight have been marching across the Sheffield City Centre and playing music in the Peace Gardens this afternoon.
This is an event is an annual event that creates noise around fostering on a national level to attract enquiries and celebrate our existing Foster Carers.
Cassidy Chan was there earlier.
Manor Park Centre Fire
An industrial fire broke out early this morning in Manor Park Centre, destroying 3 shops overnight.
Residents are left shocked and upset with the damage it has caused.
Cassidy Chan has more.
Blue Plaque unveiled to commemorate Sheffield’s ‘Lady with the Lamp’
Monica Maurice, also affectionately referred to as ‘The Lady with the Lamp’, has been honoured with a Blue Plaque to commemorate her outstanding contribution to safety in engineering during the 20th century.
The unveiling took place today outside the Wolf Safety Lamp Company on Saxon Road in Sheffield.
Speaking about the Blue Plaque, John Jackson, former Managing Director of Wolf Safety, and son of Monica Maurice, he said: “It’s there in concrete and records her achievements, the membership of all the institutions, her various successes she had in business and in private life as well.
“It is a memento for the future, it’s there forever.”
Monica made remarkable contributions to the mining industry, designing and manufacturing flame safety lamps. She secured national and international praise for her expertise and knowledge, during a time when women were scarcely recognised for their professional contributions.
Amy Jackson, granddaughter of Monica, speaking about the Plaque, said: “It feels like a validation and recognition of her work.
“When you grow up and you see someone like that in your family who’s achieved those things, who’s your grandmother, you think as a woman, as a female, you can do anything as well.”
In 1930, Monica, joined ‘The Works’, as the family business, Wolf Safety, became known, and worked as a personal assistant to her father.
In 1932, after training in Germany and London, her father William, presented his daughter with a handwritten letter, congratulating her and appointing Monica as a director of the family company. She then went on to develop and enhance mining safety lamps and encouraged women to train as engineers.
Monica achieved many things, including in 1936 organising the fourteenth annual conference for the Women’s Engineering Society at the University of Sheffield. Two years later, she was elected as the first, and for 40 years, only female member of The Association of Mining Electrical Engineers.
In 1975, she was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace for her outstanding contribution and dedication to safety in mining.
Monica also had a keen sense of adventure. She had a love of fashion, fast cars and aeroplanes, and became a trained pilot.
Alex Jackson, Managing Director of Wolf Safety, and grandson of Monica, said: “To have a Blue Plaque in her name feels like the perfect accolade, and a lasting reminder of everything my Granny achieved.”
Inner City Healers: How a Sheffield hiking group is using nature to improve mental health
The founder of a new Sheffield walking group has explained how getting out in nature can be a powerful way to boost the wellbeing of people living in cities.
The Inner City Healers, which launched in September last year, has already welcomed over 200 people from different backgrounds, ethnicities and religions across the city to join outdoor walks and talk about their mental health.
The group has organised five hikes into the Peak District in beauty spots such as Mam Tor and Ladybower Reservoir, with as many as 45 people attending each one.
Jamal Aziz, the group’s 25-year-old founder, says he was inspired to start the Inner City Healers after seeing how being outside improved the life of his father, who has lived with Paranoid Schizophrenia for over 20 years.
“One day we just decided to get out and go for a walk, and I could see how much of a difference that little walk made for my dad physically, in the way he was speaking, and how he was coping with everything,” Jamal says.
“So we started going on walks regularly, and I saw a massive change in him. It’s not a cure but it’s a big help, and that connection we got on the walks is one I never had with my dad before.”
For Jamal, who took up hiking in 2017 after falling in love with being outside, spending time in nature was a revelation for his own wellbeing too.
“I feel like nature is my mental health healer,” he says. “If I wasn't going on my hikes, my head would be all over the place. It’s my safe space as well.”
Jamal’s experiences are increasingly being backed up by science. In 2021, a survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that 70% of adults agreed being close to nature improved their mood, while other studies have shown that chemicals released by trees can lower stress hormones and improve the immune system.
It was experiencing these benefits first hand that made Jamal want to share them with others in his community.
“I’ve seen the struggle, I’ve seen the hardships, and I know how to understand someone who is suffering because of the situation with my dad,” he says. “I wanted to use that to make a difference.”
Jamal says the group, which is open to anyone over 16, aims to break down barriers to men talking about their mental health by creating a non-judgemental place for them to speak with others going through similar issues.
He says: “I feel like men have a lot of pride, so they're not comfortable, or they feel weak telling someone about their mental health problems.
“I'm just trying to build a community and a safe space for all of the boys. No matter what you look like, you can come on my walk and you can have fun, you can enjoy yourself, and you can have the conversations you want to have.”
It’s an approach which has proved hugely successful - 30 young men turned up to the group’s first walk, and Jamal, a trained mental health first-aider, has a backlog of 20 others who have signed up to one-to-one walks to discuss their problems privately.
Akhtar Hussain, a supporting director of the Inner City Healers, says he was pleasantly surprised by how popular the walks have been, which have seen people travelling from as far away as Manchester and Bradford to take part.
“For them to come so far to join our group shows they must really need someone to talk to, and that’s exactly what this gives them,” Akhtar says.
“People get a chance to offload everything that they've had to deal with over the week. And the reason why being in nature with the group helps is that there's not a sign of judgment there.”
For Akhtar, building a sense of community and breaking down prejudices for people who come on walks is just as important as boosting mental health.
“We've got so many issues around rivalry nowadays. Young lads will go from Pitsmoor to Firth Park and have an issue with someone just because of where they live,” he says.
“But on these walks, you've got guys from Firth Park, Burngreave, Pitsmoor, and they come together without any rivalry. You're out in the middle of the woods, on the mountains, in the fresh air, and no-one owns anything there.
“And the best thing about it is that tomorrow, if there's an issue and some guys know each other from this walk they've gone to, they might be able to stop it before there's another stabbing or another violent attack, which is massive.”
With its focus on inclusivity, the Inner City Healers, which originally began as a group for men, has now opened its walks to women too.
Henna Ali, a 27-year-old teacher from Firth Park, attended a recent hike to Mam Tor after she came across the group on Instagram, and was blown away by how welcoming they were.
“I did not feel like I was an outsider at all,” she recalls. “Everyone was so friendly, and I felt so comfortable and supported.
“At one point I was struggling to get up the hill, and I thought I’m not fit enough for this. But the group were all cheering me on. They were literally giving me hands to climb up, and people were waiting at the bottom in case I fell, so I just felt so safe and included.”
A registered Community Interest Company, the group is now applying for council funding to make the hikes even more accessible by purchasing a minibus to transport people from the city, and hopes to run family hikes in the near future too.
But for Jamal, it’s seeing the change in people who join the walks which makes all the difference.
“We had this young lad who was going through a hard time and was a very reserved kid,” he recalls. “He came on one of our walks, had an amazing time, and now he's gelled with everyone.
“If I can help change someone's mindset like that then the world is my oyster, and I just want to be the pearl.”
Survival of the Sickest 2025
From the grudgy kids on the corner of the streets, to the cool kids showing off tricks and going to the Olympics, skateboarding is now the trendy sport for the sickest skaters around the world.
Survival of the Sickest, the UK’s only junior skateboarding competition took place in Sheffield last saturday for under 12s and under 16s.
Cassidy Chan went down to have a feel of the atmosphere.
Read more here.
“It’s exhausting and the unpredictability is frustrating”: Sheffield women share what life is like with MS
Walking across a car park may not feel like a huge task, but for Susie Evans the simple trip, which most people don’t give a second thought to, can leave her exhausted.
“Some days are harder than others, putting one foot in front of the other takes a lot of concentration and energy meaning that I can be wiped out for the rest of the day,” says Susie.
The mum-of-one was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) when she was 38-years-old, in 2018, after a couple of years of struggling with neuropathic pains to her left leg, and exhaustion.
This week as part of MS Awareness Week 2025, Susie is talking out about the condition and how it affects her everyday life.
MS is a neurological condition that one in every 450 people in England will be diagnosed with in their lifetime.
Susie, 45, a civil servant from Chapeltown, Sheffield wants people to understand how difficult daily life is for people living with MS.
“There’s this thing called ‘spoon theory’,” she says. “The premise is that anybody with a chronic disease might wake up in the morning and have 12 spoons of energy for that day. And then getting dressed might take a spoon, getting showered might take a spoon. Then getting to work might take two spoons and quickly, spoons disappear. If you get up in the morning and you’ve had a really bad night’s sleep, because one of the joys of MS is sleep disturbance, you might wake up and instead of having 12 spoons that day you’ve got eight. Then if you’ve got a cold, you can take another couple of spoons out of your day. So suddenly you might have only six spoons of energy for that day.”
Susie was diagnosed with MS seven years ago. Her particular condition, relapse remitting MS, means she can get worse periods of intense symptoms and then they lessen or stop.
“My first symptom was numbness in my big toe, which spread over a few days all over my left side,” says Susie, who has been left with scarring on her brain. “To touch it was like having an electric shock.”
Susie went to see her GP, who made a call to a neurologist at the Hallamshire Hospital and asked them to see her that day.
“They did an MRI scan that showed a lesion on my spinal cord and I was diagnosed with Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS) and told that it could progress to MS,” says Susie.
She was sent for a follow-up MRI after a period of difficulty walking, which felt like Susie ‘was wading through treacle and was exhausting’ showed further lesions on Susie’s brain. It was at this point she was diagnosed with MS.
Although it didn’t come as a shock, ‘it was still unpleasant to get that diagnosis,” says Susie.
She explained living with MS is unpredictable and Susie constantly suffers from a varying range of fatigue.
“There'll be days where it gets worse,” she says. “I also have cognitive issues so I can get confused and tired. But I’m a mum, so I have to function. It’s exhausting and the unpredictability is frustrating.”
Susie uses a TurboMed, a specialist brace, to help her manage the impact MS has had on her mobility. She also has an electronic stimulator which sends messages to her muscles when she is walking to help her lift her foot.
“It can be a bit complicated to try and get dressed in the morning.” She says.
Susie, who works from home, praised her employers for how supportive they have been, allowing her to dictate her own travel arrangements or any breaks she needs.
“I’m also in an MS support group at work,” she says. “It’s a really supportive group, full of people who have MS and for people who care for people with the condition too. When it’s a really hard day and you can’t function, they can help with advice. They also help with things like applying for benefits. I’m glad it exists.”
Susie says her MS nurses have been invaluable. They encouraged her to apply for a blue badge to help Susie conserve her energy and to start cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help her come to terms with her condition.
“Even though I’ve had MS for seven years, it’s still a learning curve,” she says. “I’m still learning to pace myself in terms of what I can do and what I can’t do. I kick myself if I do too much. It’s an acceptance thing. The acceptance that I have is that I know I’ve got it [MS] and I’m not ok about it.
“You often get comments from people like “But you look ok”. I might look ok. But it could be ten o’clock in the morning and if you see me at three o’clock it might be a different story.”
MS Society announced in February that they had reached the threshold for 200 people to take part in the ChariotMS trial for advanced progressive MS. The study hopes to find whether cladribine can help people with more advanced MS to use their arms and hands. The first results of this study are expected in 2027.
Also, later this year results are expected for the myelin repair trial. Myelin is the protective coating around nerve fibres which is damaged in MS and lab research so far has shown a combination of two drugs helped myelin repair in rats.
Another MS sufferer, Joanna Mason, 43, from Rotherham, is a social media influencer, with 103,000 followers on TikTok, under the name ‘The Yorkshire Wife’. She is also a comedian and a volunteer group coordinator for the MS Society Sheffield and Rotherham group.
As well as MS, Joanna has functional neurological disorder (FND), causing a range of debilitating symptoms. They include fatigue, vertigo, tinnitus, facial spasms, short-circuiting (FND physical and vocal tics), dysphonia (when the voice involuntarily sounds raspy, strained or changes in volume or pitch), swallowing problems, tremors and difficulty controlling body temperature.
“Some of my symptoms are permanent due to the damage in my brain and spine and then some come and go,” says Joanna. “Everyday can be different with MS and sometimes hour to hour is different. You never know what you’re going to be able to do and when.”
Joanna has been volunteering with the MS Society since she was diagnosed in 2021.
“We have three volunteers and between us we have set up two seated exercise classes which run weekly in Rotherham and Sheffield and a weekly gym-based circuit training session,” says Joanna. “We have specialist trainers from CWS Community Wellness Services that run our sessions.
“The sessions help us with functional physical exercises, strength training and building new neural pathways. We also run a monthly social group at the MS Therapy Centre in Catcliffe where we have guest speakers and workshops all with the aim of learning to live as well as we can with our MS. We don’t want anyone to feel alone.”
Joanna explained MS often gets referred to as the ‘snowflake disease’ as every individual with MS experiences it differently and there are so many factors that can cause symptoms to flare.
The MS Society support groups constantly receive positive feedback. “I’ve created friends for life through the group,” says Joanna. “We support each other through the ups and downs of our illness.”
Joanna said MS Awareness Week,which runs from Monday 28 April to Sunday 4 May, with the aim of encouraging people to join in the online dialogue using the hashtag #MSConversations to share their personal stories about MS, is important because it’s vital other people understand what life is like for people with MS.
She says: “We only have medications that aim to slow down progression or help manage symptoms. We need a cure.”
To anyone who’s recently been diagnosed with MS Joanna says: “MS might be affecting you from the inside out but there are so many things you can do from the outside in to help you live as well as you can. Reach out to support groups and ask questions.”
You can find out more information about the MS Society Sheffield and Rotherham group and contact them through their Facebook and website. You can also contact the MS Trust helpline and MS UK.
University of Sheffield strikes due to begin amid £23m cuts to staff costs
Staff at the University of Sheffield are planning a series of strikes ahead of exam season, after cuts and fears of compulsory redundancy.
The Sheffield University College Union (UCU) voted overwhelmingly in favour to support industrial action after significant cuts to staff costs over the next two years were unveiled, as well as the restructuring of academic departments into new ‘schools’.
The initial strike will be held on Wednesday 30 April, followed by a nine-day walk-out between Tuesday 6 May and Friday 16 May.
Sheffield UCU asked senior university management to commit to avoiding compulsory redundancies, with the university failing to provide this guarantee, claiming there were a range of challenges facing the higher education sector.
In response, the UCU asked management to “commit to reducing their own pay and forgoing bonuses until the university is back in surplus.”
Sheffield Students' Union supports the planned industrial action, and has set up a range of free and educational workshops throughout the first day of strikes, for students to attend if their learning is interrupted.
Professor Mary Vincent, Vice-President for Education at the University of Sheffield, said: “We understand that students may be concerned about the planned industrial action, following similar actions at other universities regarding difficult decisions institutions are making to address sector-wide challenges.
“We expect that the vast majority of our students will be unaffected by any action but, where there is disruption, we will do everything we can to support them and minimise the impact on their education.
“We have written to all our students to share information about what they can expect during industrial action and ensure they are aware of the support available to them. We will continue to keep them updated.”
Florrie Hulbert, 22, studies MA Creative Writing, and said: “I think it’s a complex issue because I support why the lecturers and professors are doing it, but it is frustrating as a student to have your class time cut and to have this happen in exam season when I am needing my tutors support more than normal.”
She explains the challenges in balancing postgraduate work and feeling unprioritised, but ultimately understands why employees of The University may feel the industrial action is necessary.
Eve Chadwick, 21, a final year law student, said: “I think the strikes are quite frustrating because obviously it is understandable that 300 jobs being cut is not reasonable or fair, and is a significant event – however, I feel like universities are one of the only businesses in which a consumer, or the person paying for the service is expected to just accept the cuts – and the university takes, from the perspective of a student, almost no responsibility for the poor service.”
Teaching and assessments are expected to take place as normal, unless students have been informed otherwise by their schools and staff.
Eczema sufferers call for increased awareness of the long-term side effects of steroid cream
Lora Krasteva has suffered from eczema since she was five-years-old, which often left her skin itchy, red and irritated.
From being a little girl she was prescribed various creams from her family doctor and has endured a lifetime of treatments.
“Using steroid creams and all kinds of ointments has been part of my routine for as far as I can remember,” says Lora. “It’s been constant throughout my life.”
It was only in November 2020, when Lora was 31 and she moved to Sheffield that she had a short period of respite from the condition.
“The water is really good in the city so it gave me a break. It allowed me to stop using the creams and everything was going really well.”
But her relief was short-lived and a month later Lora suffered an eczema flare-up. “In hindsight what happened was my skin got addicted to the steroids and I was in perpetual cycles,” she says.
Fed up constantly using steroid cream, Lora began researching other options. She discovered topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) - a severe reaction to the long-term use of topical corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone creams which are used to treat skin conditions including eczema psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, among others.
The very creams that were supposed to be helping sufferers, including Lora, were causing further skin issues. Four years ago Lora decided to stop using steroid creams altogether.
“It was a bit on a whim,” she says. “It got much worse and I thought ‘I’ll hold my nerve and see what happens’. I did it and it’s the best thing I have ever done. I was a prisoner of a thing I didn’t even know I was in a cycle with.”
Chief executive of National Eczema Society, Andrew Proctor, said: “As with other treatments, people can experience side-effects using topical steroids, including after they stop using these widely prescribed medicines.
“Topical steroid withdrawal is complex and research into the causes, symptoms and treatments is limited.”
Last year, the National Eczema Society successfully campaigned for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to introduce strength labelling on steroid creams and ointments. This is being rolled-out now and shows whether the medicine contains a mild, moderate, strong or very strong steroid.
Mr Proctor said: “This change will help the millions of people with eczema who rely on topical steroids to use these medicines safely and effectively.”
Although Lora says stopping using the creams was the best thing she has ever done, she admits initially it was difficult, describing the period as “three months of hell”.
“I stopped in a moment where my skin was looking really good, so I was like ‘this is great I don’t need them anymore’, but the rebound from that was awful,” Lora says.
"It was ten times worse. My eyes were puffy, I was disfigured. I couldn’t sleep, my skin was peeling, you shed everywhere, it’s embarrassing, you have to wear loose clothing.
“It helped that it was the pandemic because I was mainly at home. I was afraid to go and meet people as I was in a city where I hadn’t met people before and had to explain to them that this isn’t how I look.”
Lora received support from her partner as well as a peer learning group, Sheffield Pioneers. “That group of people met me at my worst,” she says. “Now we’re friends for life.”
“There are some little wins today that may feel a bit futile to some people like I’m using makeup again for the first time in six years and it feels like such a great thing to be able to do because before it was not possible.”
“It feels great not to be spending so much energy thinking about skin.”
Another eczema sufferer, Alicia Sewell, from Sheffield, experienced a flare up in her condition after she moved into a house plagued with mould. She needed a course of steroids to treat her skin.
“But no matter how strong the medication was, there was no improvement in my skin,” Alicia says. Her skin was so inflamed it was bright red and oozing, which also shed, became thin, caused nerve pain and swelling.
“I covered all of the mirrors in my house because I didn’t want to look at myself anymore,” says Alicia, who also suffered from intense itching, which she described as “a bone deep itch”.
“It was an itch that was so unbelievably painful. It was something that was impossible to ignore,” she says. “I’d never felt such an intense need to harm myself through scratching.”
However, one of the most prolific symptoms for Alicia was insomnia. She would go for days without sleep and then eventually “crash out” for up to ten hours.
Alicia started an Instagram account to try and find advice for her skin. “I had no idea what was happening to my body.”
It was then Alicia discovered the International Topical Steroid Awareness Network (ITSAN), which formed in 2012 to raise awareness on TSW.
Topical steroid withdrawal is widely discussed on social media under the hashtag ‘#TSW’, which has received over 1.1 billion views on TikTok.
Mr Proctor explained the symptoms of TSW 'can be extremely painful and distressing'.
“The eczema community wants to see more research and much more awareness among healthcare professionals," he said. "One of the challenges is the symptoms people can experience when stopping using topical steroids can appear similar to those of untreated or poorly controlled eczema.
“Without clear guidance on TSW from healthcare professionals, people are turning elsewhere for support and information.”
In 2024, Briana Banos, 36, from Edinburgh, ran the Sheffield half marathon with fellow ITSAN advocate Amy Aston to raise money for the network.
“It was a really wonderful experience to do my first half marathon in order to support and raise money for ITSAN,” she says.
Briana first started suffering from TSW at the age of 22 when she began working on a cruise ship. “It is honestly one of the most horrible things to go through and I would not wish it on an enemy.”
Briana, who last applied steroids in 2015, has produced two documentaries on TSW called ‘Preventable’ and ‘Still Preventable’.
“I knew what questions to ask and I have a balanced demeanour on the subject. I feel really privileged that I was in a place where I had put myself to gain trust in both the patient community and the doctor community.”
A joint statement with the British Association of Dermatologists and the National Eczema Society states: “We would encourage healthcare professionals to be supportive of patients living with symptoms of TSW. Trying to find common ground and agree on practical plans for treatment will help patients who have concerns about the use of topical steroids. It is important to offer alternatives to topical steroids for people who would otherwise stop using them.”
“The whole medical profession needs to be educated on what the signs and symptoms are”, says Alicia. “I think a large percentage of people who actually get to the point of needing a dermatologist are probably already going through TSW.”
“The skin is the biggest organ of the body and yet we don’t treat it with the same reverence as the brain or the heart", says Lora.
When it comes to TSW sufferers sharing their experiences, Briana says: “It comes from a very genuine place of just wanting to share our story and the grief and the loss that we feel that we hope never happens to anybody else.”
Sheffield dealers laugh as they receive combined 15 year sentence
Three individuals were sentenced today for supply of heroin and crack cocaine for a combined total of 15 years at Sheffield Crown Court.
Tommy Maughan, 21, of Badger Close, Sheffield and Kai Bean, 21 of Tithebarn Avenue Sheffield, alongside another 17 year old male who can’t be named due to his age were involved in a drug ring between July 2023-24.
Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Richardson KC called the sentencing decisions a “sacrifice on the altar of deterrence” as he handed out sentences to the smiling Mr Maughan, who laughed with the 17 year old male defendant as their sentences were given.
Maughan was sentenced to six years imprisonment for supplying heroin and cocaine from July of 2023-24, with two charges of dangerous driving, wounding with intent, assaulting an emergency worker and criminal damage.
Bean was sentenced to six years in a young offenders institution for supplying cocaine and heroin from a similar time period, with the 17 year old male sentenced to three years imprisonment for his involvement in the drug ring.
The trio received reduced sentences due to their ages and guilty pleas, said Judge Richardson, but the abuse of addicted individuals, as well as previous convictions did aggravate the sentencing, in what he called a “pernicious example of drug trade”.
Judge Richardson continued, “this type of crime is often the foundation of other avenues of criminality and sabotages the lives of addicts. Peddlers of drugs will be punished appropriately.”
The unnamed 17 year old was also found not guilty on four charges of holding a person in slavery or servitude. Users' homes were used to store and supply the drugs, with 1.23Kg of crack cocaine and 1.4Kg of heroin being sold from July 2023-24, with a street value in excess of £250,000, the court heard.
Maughan was deemed to be the main perpetrator, being found guilty of wounding with intent upon one of his associates, beating the man with his own walking aid, alongside assaulting a police officer after an on foot chase. Maughan waved to the gallery as he was taken back down to the cells after his sentencing.