Summary

  • Our live coverage on Sunday 21 January 2024 has come to an end

  • Widespread warnings were in place across the UK as Storm Isha brought rain and gusts of wind of up to 80mph (128km/h)

  • The Queen Elizabeth the Second Bridge at Dartford closed due to the high winds

  • People were warned there's a good chance of power cuts, which could affect services such as mobile phone coverage

  1. Police investigation launched after cash robberypublished at 18:51 BST 30 April

    Surrey Police says on 22 April, three men approached the victim on Lower Road in Effingham.

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  2. Badenoch stands by tax pledge as council tax risespublished at 18:34 BST 30 April

    The Conservative leader says she trusts Tory councillors to "always do the right thing".

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  3. 'Thoughtful' man died in Brighton stabbingpublished at 18:19 BST 30 April

    Tio Day was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries, police say.

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  4. England's Smith set to keep wicket for Surrey published at 18:16 BST 30 April

    England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith is set to replace the injured Ben Foakes behind the stumps in Surrey's Championship's game with Sussex.

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  5. Teens who killed man with rocks and a bottle sentencedpublished at 17:31 BST 30 April

    Alexander Cashford was attacked on a Kent beach by three teenagers who thought he was a paedophile.

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  6. Three teens sentenced for killing man at beachpublished at 17:06 BST 30 April

    We are ending our live coverage of the sentencing of three teenagers over the killing of Alexander Cashford.

    You can read more about the sentencing of the teens, who lured the man they believed to be a paedophile to a beach and killed him, here.

    Thank you for joining us.

  7. Video of events leading up to killing releasedpublished at 17:01 BST 30 April

    Joshua Askew
    Journalist, BBC South East

    CCTV footage of events that happened before Alexander Cashford was killed by three teenagers in 2025 has been released by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

    The first screenshot of one clip shows the teenagers – a girl and two boys – walking to the beach where they attacked the 49-year-old.

    The second is of Cashford meeting the 16-year-old girl. During this encounter, he gave her his number on a business card, which led the teenagers to believe Cashford was a paedophile.

    Three teenagers walk along the beach.Image source, CPS
    A man at an arcade.Image source, CPS
  8. 'Cricket ball sized' rock found near victimpublished at 16:48 BST 30 April

    A passer-by, who gave Alexander Cashford CPR after he was attacked, says that he saw a "cricket ball-sized lump of chalk" land close to Cashford's head as he lay on the ground.

    Witness Chris Bye told Woolwich Crown Court in January that he found the victim lying on the beach in Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent, after three teenagers had set upon him.

    Cashford was "not in a good way", he says.

    Bye, a former Metropolitan Police officer, told the jury that he was staying at a nearby caravan park at the time.

    He says that the rock "definitely” came from a group of teenagers.

    Bye adds that Cashford looked very pale, and when asked if he heard what the group was shouting, Bye says that his focus “was really on the gentleman" and that he "needed medical aid".

    "As I approached, I said, 'are you OK?' very loudly but was getting no response," he says.

    "I checked if he was breathing but he wasn't."

    Paramedics arrived about 40 minutes later.

  9. Woman, 98, left in 'severe pain' for dayspublished at 16:46 BST 30 April

    Relatives of Margaret Donaldson, who died two months later, reach a settlement with her care home.

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  10. Sentences reflect 'conspiratorial nature' - policepublished at 16:21 BST 30 April

    Kent Police have released a statement following the sentencing of the three teenagers.

    Det Sgt Alastair Worton says: "Alexander Cashford‘s life was cut short following a vicious attack carried out by a group of teenagers who plotted to meet him under false pretences.

    "The devastating outcome of the offenders’ brutal actions that day has left a family grieving the loss of a loved one and young lives changed forever.

    "The sentencing imposed on the offenders reflects the conspiratorial nature of their behaviour and the tragic consequences of their crime.

    "I would like to thank again the witnesses whose evidence helped secure the convictions in this case, and I hope that the sentences that have now been announced can be of some comfort to Alex’s family as they continue to come to terms with their loss."

  11. Teens sentenced for killing Alexander Cashfordpublished at 16:15 BST 30 April

    Joshua Askew
    Journalist, BBC South East

    The three teenagers who killed Alexander Cashford on a beach in Kent have been sentenced.

    Justice Cheema-Grubb gave the 16-year-old boy, who previously admitted manslaughter, a seven-year sentence.

    The 16-year-old girl, who filmed the attack, also received a sentence of seven years.

    And the 15-year-old boy got a five-year sentence.

    Both he and the girl were found guilty of manslaughter at Woolwich Crown Court in February.

    The three set upon Cashford, believing he was a paedophile after he gave the girl his number in a chance encounter in August 2025.

    Cashford, 49, was chased and hit with rocks and a bottle, while the 16-year-old boy kicked him on the ground.

  12. Sentences will be half served in custody - judgepublished at 15:59 BST 30 April

    Sara Smith
    Reporter, BBC South East

    The judge says that the three teenagers will serve half of their sentences in custody, with the rest on licence.

    “You are all young and you will still be young when you rejoin society," the judge says.

    "You did a terrible thing and are all paying a price for it, but there is great potential for you.”

  13. Girl, 16, breaks down in tears in courtpublished at 15:54 BST 30 April

    Hearing her sentence of seven years from the judge, the 16-year-old girl breaks down in tears.

    She is heard crying loudly in the court room as she is led away.

  14. Fifteen-year-old boy gets five-year sentencepublished at 15:54 BST 30 April
    Breaking

    The judge gives the 15-year-old boy who killed Alexander Cashford five years.

  15. Girl, 16, gets seven years for Cashford killingpublished at 15:52 BST 30 April
    Breaking

    The judge gives the 16-year-old girl seven years in custody.

  16. Sixteen-year-old boy gets seven-year sentencepublished at 15:50 BST 30 April
    Breaking

    The judge has given a 16-year-old boy who killed Alexander Cashford on a beach in Kent a seven-year sentence in custody.

    She reduced the sentence because of his guilty plea.

  17. No other option than custody - judgepublished at 15:47 BST 30 April

    Sara Smith
    Reporter, BBC South East

    The judge says that there is no other option but to impose a custodial sentence on the three teenagers.

    "Custodial sentences for children should always be a last resort. I know as children a custodial sentence will have a greater impact on each of you than an adult who had committed a similar offence," she says.

    "However, I’ve come to the conclusion there is no other option than custody in this case."

  18. Fifteen-year-old could have stopped plan - judgepublished at 15:47 BST 30 April

    The judge says that the 15-year-old boy who killed Alexander Cashford should have been able to put a stop to the plan.

    "You were described as a healthy, strong and decent child with a positive future ahead,” she says.

    "You appear to have all the attributes which should have enabled you to put a stop to the plans.”

    She also cites psychological reports showing that he has emotional resilience and a lack of health conditions or vulnerability.

  19. Girl 'sorry' for what she did - judgepublished at 15:45 BST 30 April

    The judge cites character references for the 16-year-old girl who killed Alexander Cashford as "kind, caring and respectful”.

    “You are sorry for what you did," the judge says.

    “You wish you could go back and change your decisions. I believe you.”

  20. Sixteen-year-old killer a 'gentle giant'published at 15:43 BST 30 April

    The judge says that friends of the 16-year-old boy who was part of the trio that killed Alexander Cashford described him as a "gentle giant".

    But she adds: “I’m not able to accept [a report's] conclusion that your actions were not deliberate.”