Police are urgently trying to trace a missing 26-year-old woman and need the public’s help to find her.
Rebecca Ouedraogo was heard leaving her house in the Park Rise area of Braunstone around 6am on Monday (20 August).
She was reported missing to police around 9.30pm that evening when she did not return home. She has not been seen since.
Following extensive enquiries carried out by officers since this time it is believed that when she left her home she headed along the A47 in the direction of Kirby Mulxoe or Hinckley.
Rebecca is described as dual heritage, around 5ft 9ins tall, slim build with dark curly hair.
It is believed when she left home on Monday morning she may have been wearing a denim dress, white pump shoes and carrying a black rucksack. She was also riding a men’s red Universal mountain bike.
Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach and Baroness Williams, Minister of State at the Home Office, paid a visit earlier today (Friday 18th) to a pioneering partnership created to reduce the demand on blue light services.
The Braunstone Blues is a team of blue light services including Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Leicestershire Police and the East Midlands Ambulance Service.
Lord Bach and Baroness Williams were introduced to the team at its base in Caldecote School, where members explained how their positive engagement work with local residents helps to reduce demand on police, fire and ambulance services.
Explaining the project’s innovative approach to the Baroness, Willy Bach said:
“Their success lies in focusing on prevention and education to reduce risk and harm among those people identified as creating the highest demand to the services. By stopping incidents happening in the first place, this helps to free up valuable resources for the three services and ensure that they can continue providing the quality emergency services that the public expects.”
After talking with the team, the PCC and Baroness were taken through some of the high demand points on the Braunstone Estate before visiting a service user at home.
Baroness Williams, Minister of State for the Home Office said:
“I was delighted to visit the team to learn about how emergency services in Leicestershire are working in partnership to help residents. Seeing first hand a member of the community benefiting from a Braunstone Blues home visit really reiterates the value of collaboration and how it can ensure communities are better served.”
Willy Bach said afterwards:
“The first-hand account from someone who has benefited directly from the partnership’s home visits was fascinating and gave us both valuable insight from the service-user’s perspective.”
Shelley Jackson, a paramedic with East Midlands Ambulance Service, said:
“We were honoured to host Baroness Williams and Lord Bach and show the benefits of 999 services working together. It is really important that we share these initiatives with home office colleagues to demonstrate what can be achieved by collaborative working.”
Phil Kay, Assistant Chief Constable for Leicestershire Police said:
“The team is having a positive impact on the residents and community groups in Braunstone. Working with other emergency services and wider partners, Braunstone Blues aims to create a healthy, safe and secure community by educating and directing residents to appropriate services, by making sure homes are safer using a free home visit service and delivering appropriate campaigns to help reduce the number of emergency calls.”
The partnership offers free 30-minute ‘healthy, safe and secure’ home visits and advice on issues that include home and vehicle security, home and fire safety, child safety and health and wellbeing.
Baroness Williams (fifth from right) and Lord Willy Bach with members of the Braunstone Blues team
Help with loneliness, anxiety, depression and dealing with antisocial behaviour is also offered, along with information about other organisations that may be able to provide support. This approach, which is still in its pilot stage, aims to prevent emergencies and avoid unnecessary blue light calls on all three services.
Braunstone Blues benefits from £314,000 in funding from the Commissioner’s Strategic Partnership Development Fund.
An innovative new project to help keep people in Braunstone healthy, safe and secure has been launched at a 1940s tea party.
Braunstone Blues is a team of people that has been set up to help reduce demand and repeat calls to emergency services in Braunstone.
The team of five were officially introduced to the community at a 1940s tea party on Thursday 26th November.
The tea party, held at the Oak Centre, Bendbow Rise, with the theme of how to stay warm this winter for the over 55’s and attracted 115 local residents.
The event started in style as residents were welcomed by 1940s singing and dancing in a room decorated with bunting and props from the era. Guests were later served soup and a roll by members of the team, who wore 1940s emergency services uniform.
Braunstone Blues is a small team of staff from blue light services Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Leicestershire Police and East Midlands Ambulance Service aimed at reducing the demand placed on emergency services in Braunstone.
Assistant Chief Constable Phil Kay said:
“This was a great way to introduce this new innovative team. We need to work with community groups and partners to find better ways to protect communities from harm and to help to reduce demands placed on the emergency services. I can already see that this team has made a real impact on the residents and visitors to the Braunstone estate. In working together we are able to find solutions to problems that, in former times, would never have gone away.”
Braunstone Blues was set up earlier this year following research showing that Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Ward generated the highest amount of emergency calls for all three of the blue light services for Leicestershire.
Their aim is to create a healthy, safe and secure community by educating and directing residents to appropriate services, by making sure homes are safer using a free home visit service and delivering appropriate campaigns and to reduce the number of emergency calls they receive.
The tea party was about getting the community together in a fun way to educate them on key health and home safety messages that affect older people particularly during the winter.
Andrew Brodie, Assistant Chief Fire and Rescue Officer, who officially opened the event said:
“This is a fantastic and exciting new initiative. The fire service has been tremendously successful in reducing demand, and fire deaths and injuries. This has largely been due to 15 years of work to educate members of the public and businesses of how to prevent fires and other incidents. We can share this experience with our partners and together work more effectively than ever, to make people of Braunstone and beyond healthier, safer and more secure.”
During the tea party guests were encouraged to speak with members of the Braunstone Blues team. The team also promoted their home visit scheme and encouraged residents to book a free 30 minute visit where they will give advice and information on home and vehicle security, safety in the home, fire and child safety and health and wellbeing.
Hot water bottles with tips on how to keep warm this winter were given out to those that booked a home visit. Braunstone Blues are advising older residents of the following winter warmer tips:
keep living rooms to 21°C (70°F) and the rest of the house heated to at least to 18°C (64°F)
don’t block up air vents as fires and heaters need ventilation
wear layers of clothing to keep warm and wear shoes with good grip to avoid slips and falls
draw curtains at dusk to keep the heat in
eat at least one hot meal every day and drink plenty of hot drinks
use a hot water bottle to keep you warm, but be careful when filling it up
make sure you get your flu jab free on the NHS
stay active with gentle exercise
visit your pharmacy early for advice about coughs and colds
stay in contact with friends and family and make sure they are warm and well
Tim Slater, EMAS Divisional General Manager and Paramedic added:
“We welcome the opportunity for us to be involved in this project aimed at keeping the community safe and well, building on our good track record of keeping people out of hospital where appropriate.”
Geoff Stagg, a Braunstone resident attended the 1940s tea party, he said:
“This has been an excellent tea party bringing the three services together. The officers dressed in traditional uniform brought some flare to the event and the singing and dancing has been wonderful. A lot of elderly people really appreciate events like these.”
Braunstone Blues would like to thank B-Connected and Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation for providing the funding and making the event possible.
A Braunstone man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of sexual offences.
Bonface Marova, 48, of Woodcote Road, Braunstone, Leicester, was found guilty at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday 27 August of attempted rape and sexual touching.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attempted rape and four years in prison for sexual touching, both sentences are to run concurrently. He will also be placed on the Sex Offender’s Register for life.
The conviction relates to an incident in December 2014 when Marova befriended the victim and attempted to rape her and then touch her inappropriately. The victim was left extremely distressed by the incident and it took her a number of days to find the courage to report it.
Detective Sergeant 4125 Sarah Walker was the investigating officer, she said:
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings, it’s not easy having to re-live the events of that day and we hope that this conviction can help her to re-build her life.
“Marova betrayed the victim’s trust in him and had no regard for the effect it would have on her. From enquiries we’ve conducted it’s believed that Marova may have committed similar offences and if you recognise his photograph and believe that you may have been a victim then please get in touch.
“We would like to reassure anyone who wishes to come forward that we will help, support and guide you through the process. We have specialist officers who can help you and also put you in touch with other support agencies. Anyone who wishes to speak to us is asked to contact DC 4125 Sarah Walker on 101.
On Thursday 21st May, staff and primary school children at Millfield LEAD Academy came together for the final event amongst several activities celebrating the school’s Golden Jubilee.
To mark the school’s 50th year, each class produced a mosaic tile which was fitted to the exterior of the time capsule container.
The children then all gathered around as various contemporary artifacts and documents were placed in the time capsule.
The plan is for the capsule to be opened in 25 years time by future generations of the school.
Following the ceremony the children had great fun having a picnic on the school field.
Photos: (top) The time capsule, showing the mosaics on the outside and (bottom) the inscribed plate fixed to the top of the capsule. (Photos courtesy of Heidi Geisler)
