Doncaster News

In a speech in London Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

Anyone reading both reports will appreciate that the problems Doncaster faces are not amenable to a quick fix. Nor is there any single individual - or group - who we can say are alone responsible for the problems Doncaster faces. But the situation is unacceptable, and needs radical change and improvement.

• UK
• Doncaster

The Ofsted report found that all areas of Doncaster's child protection services were inadequate.

The report said Doncaster could not be confident that all children known to the children and young people's services were safe.

In too many cases, professional practice was poor, management oversight ineffective and risk to children not identified or progressed.

• UK
• Doncaster

• The brutal attack on an 11-year-old and a nine-year-old was by two brothers, aged 10 and 11, in Edlington, South Yorkshire, in 2009.
• The brothers lured their victims to a secluded spot and subjected them to 90 minutes of violence and sexual humiliation.

• The victims, who are uncle and nephew, were strangled, hit with bricks, made to eat nettles, stripped and forced to sexually abuse each other.
• The attackers were locked up in 2010 for a minimum of five years.

• A serious case review concluded the attack was "a preventable incident" and identified "more than 30 opportunities that could, with different and clearer judgment and action have reduced the harm suffered by (the brothers) and their harm to others."

For more on this story visit ITV Calendar.

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• Doncaster

Director of the children and young people's service Chris Pratt said Doncaster Council "must do better to improve services".

He added: "We are using these reports as a major opportunity to up our game and are determined to rejuvenate our improvement plan to speedily put in place the changes that will provide maximum protection for all our children and young people."

• UK
• Doncaster

It is clear that we have not yet fully recovered the systematically broken services that we previously had, and as Ofsted says, features of that systematic failure remain today.

The reports do acknowledge progress has been made - and Lord Carlile's reporting states Doncaster is not faced with the shambolic situation of early 2009 - but I'm acutely aware our progress hasn't yet come far enough.

• UK
• Doncaster

Weaknesses remain in child protection services at a council which was heavily criticised after two boys tortured and sexually humiliated two other youngsters, according to a new report by Lord Carlile.

I found that Doncaster today is not faced with the shambolic situation of early 2009.

However, there remain weaknesses, which have been highlighted by the consequences of a severely critical report following an Ofsted inspection in October 2012 of the arrangements in Doncaster for the protection of children.

Visit ITV Calendar for more on this story.

• Politics
• Doncaster

Doncaster Council, which was at the centre of a child protection storm after two boys tortured and sexually humiliated two other youngsters, has admitted that "features of that systematic failure remain today".

The council made the comments ahead of the publication of two reports later which are expected to be highly critical of services in the South Yorkshire town.

The first was ordered by Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove in March following the publication of the full serious case review into the brutal attack on an 11-year-old and a nine-year-old by two brothers, aged 10 and 11, in Edlington, South Yorkshire, in 2009.

Mr Gove said this report into the background to the incident did not "meet his expectations", and that it showed the current system of serious case reviews was "failing".

He asked Lord Carlile "to carry out a further independent review of the issues and the action taken and improvements made".

The Carlile Report is due to be published this morning along with the latest report on child protection in Doncaster following an unannounced 10-day inspection last month by Ofsted.

• Politics
• Doncaster
• Michael Gove

Police are trying to confirm the identity of a teenage boy found dead in a ditch.

Officers had been searching for 13-year-old Lewis Eddleston, of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, since he went missing on Sunday.

A major police operation was launched after a body was discovered at 10.30am yesterday close to The Boulevard in Edenthorpe, Doncaster, near where Lewis was last seen playing with friends.

Ambulance crews tried to revive the teenager but he was pronounced dead, South Yorkshire Police said.

A post-mortem examination was due to take place last night and formal identification was expected today, the force said.

Police say they are no longer treating the death of a teenager found in a ditch in South Yorkshire as suspicious.

Read the full story on ITV Calendar: Boy's body found in ditch in Doncaster

• UK
• Lewis Eddleston
• Doncaster

South Yorkshire Police have sealed off a ditch in Doncaster following the discovery of the body of a teenage boy.

For more on the investigation visit ITV Calendar.

• UK
• Doncaster
• South Yorkshire

A 40-year-old man is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after suffering a gunshot wound, South Yorkshire Police has said.

Armed and unarmed officers were at the scene in Wath-upon-Dearne last night after police were called to a house in Doncaster Road to reports of a man with a gunshot wound.

South Yorkshire Police said there is currently no threat to the wider public.

Police urged anyone with further information to contact South Yorkshire Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency, quoting incident number 1146 of September 20.

• UK
• Doncaster