New plants recorded
A NEW bug-eating pitcher plant, an edible “hedgehog” mushroom and a weird species living in a waterfall are among the new plants and fungi found this year, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Kew and its partners have found some 128 vascular plants and 44 species of fungi around the world this year, many of which are already under threat of extinction just as they have been recorded for the first time. THE Army has been called in to help find the operators of drones which have shut down Gatwick Airport and disrupted the travel plans of more than 110,000 people.
An emergency Whitehall meeting was also held in response to the crisis at the UK’s second busiest airport.
The two drones were first seen on Wednesday night, flying over the airport’s perimeter fence and close to the runway, which was shut down for almost all of yesterday.
More than 20 police units from two forces were searching for the perpetrator, and the Army was also called in to help.
The rogue flying devices are part of an increasing cause for concern in the aviation industry as collisions could be disastrous.
Passengers left stranded in the airport have told of families running out of food and trying to sleep in “freezing” terminals and crowded planes as they try to travel home for Christmas.
Andri Kyprianou, from Cyprus, said she saw a pregnant woman sleeping on the floor and passengers with infants spending the night in the “freezing” South Terminal.
She said she got to the airport at 12.30am on Wednesday night for a 3am flight to Cyprus via Kiev, only to find it had been cancelled and the next connection in Kiev is on Sunday.
She said: “I haven’t slept... we are very tired. It’s freezing, we are cold, having to wear all of these coats for extra blankets.
“There were pregnant women, one of them was sleeping on the floor. There were people with small babies in here overnight, we saw disabled people on chairs.
“There were young children sleeping on the floor.”
Sussex Police stated on Twitter: “It is believed that the Gatwick devices used are of an industrial specification. We are continuing to search for the operators.”
Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw said that he was “absolutely convinced” the incident was “a deliberate act to disrupt the airport”.
He described attempts to catch whoever is controlling the gadgets as “painstaking” because it is “a difficult and challenging thing to locate them”.
He added: “Each time we believe we get close to the operator, the drone disappears; when we look to reopen the airfield, the drone reappears.”
A Gatwick spokesman said it expected disruption to continue today, which is one of the airport’s busiest days of the year due to the Christmas getaway.
He added: “There is significant disruption at Gatwick and our terminals are extremely busy.
“We are prioritising the welfare of passengers during this very difficult time, and have teams across the airport looking after them as best we can.”
Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg said: “These drones have been flown illegally and the operators, who have acted incredibly irresponsibly, could face up to five years in jail.”