Child obesity alert plan pondered

Parents in England may be warned if their children are found to be overweight, under government proposals. Children in England are currently measured at the ages of five and 10, but parents are informed of the results only if they request them. The new plan may see parents getting results automatically.

The Department of Health said ministers were prepared to go further and faster in the fight against childhood obesity, but no firm decisions had been made. Between a quarter and a third of children are thought to be overweight, and doctors fear there will be an epidemic of poor health related to obesity in coming decades.

I'm sorry but if the child's own parents do not realise that their child is overweight then there is something wrong with them. Will parents be able to soon subscribe to text message alerts that warn them if their offspring enter a McDonald's or Burger King? Once again the responsibility of the parent is placed upon somebody else.

Attacker of elderly man sentenced

A man who left a 96-year-old war veteran blind in one eye after attacking him on a packed tram has been given a three-year supervision order. Stephen Gordon, 44, launched his unprovoked attack on Shah Chaudury in Croydon, south London, in December.

Gordon, from Croydon, was found guilty of grievous bodily harm after the attack was caught on CCTV, Croydon Crown Court heard. The British Transport Police said they were "disappointed" with the sentence.

Disappointed has got to be the politically correct term for outraged and sickened that once again a violence towards the helpless is treated so casually. Respect your elders… an ideology quickly slipping away.

Changes to hosepipe bans unveiled

People in England and Wales could be forbidden to fill pools and clean patios with a hose during a drought under plans to toughen hosepipe bans. The bans already cover washing cars and watering gardens with a hosepipe. School pools and pools for medical use will be exempt from the rules next spring, but water companies may forbid the use of a hose to wash windows.

Environment Minister Phil Woolas said the existing law was inconsistent and left gardeners feeling "singled out". The dry weather of 2005 and 2006 led to empty reservoirs and hosepipe bans that affected about 13 million people. Mr Woolas said: "We saw an extreme drought in the south east then, and outdated legislation meant gardeners couldn't water their plants with a hosepipe, but their neighbours could power-wash their patios or fill swimming pools, "that situation was clearly inconsistent and illogical."

I'd imagine that the next course of action will be to ban baths and encourage people to shower with a friend in order to conserve water supplies.