War over scallops as boats attacked

Leeds beautician Leah Cambridge, 29, is said to have died after undergoing a £3,000 “Brazilian butt lift” at a clinic that boasts celebrity clientele.

Her partner, Scott Franks, 31, said he was a “broken man”. ENERGY giant British Gas has paid out £2.65 million after regulator Ofgem found it overcharged thousands of customers switching provider and wrongly imposing exit fees on thousands of households.

The energy watchdog said Centrica-owned British Gas incorrectly charged 94,211 customers its more expensive standard variable rate tariff after they decided to switch to a new supplier, due to a system error. ENDURANCE swimmer Lewis Pugh has told of his relief at completing a “once-in-alifetime swim” along the English Channel.

The swimmer, from Plymouth, was greeted at Dover’s Shakespeare Beach by Environment Secretary Michael Gove, his wife and campaigners after dozens of local swimmers accompanied him along the final stretch.

Mr Pugh, 48, said he was feeling “relieved and exhilarated” after completing the 330-mile swim, which is estimated to have taken 500,000 to 750,000 strokes.

Mr Pugh, UN patron of the oceans, set off from Land’s End in Cornwall wearing FRENCH fishermen have been accused of endangering the lives of British mariners after an extraordinary clash over scallops in the English Channel.

Rocks, smoke bombs and other projectiles were allegedly hurled at English and Scottish vessels during the confrontation in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Around a dozen British boats were targeted by the rival flotilla in a protest over fishing rights in the scallop-rich waters.

The Government said it had contacted officials in France about the matter, adding that the vessels were “legally entitled” to fish in the area.

The South Western Fish Producers Organisation, which represents many of the boats and has been negotiating with French fishermen, condemned the behaviour as dangerous.

Chief executive Jim Portus said: “They are endangering life at sea by being unprofessional.

“The French might look like heroes to the French coastal communities but it’s really awful to put other mariners in danger.”

Around 40 French boats were said to be responsible for the disruption. swimming trunks, a cap and goggles on July 12.

He said he is looking forward to “a really good sleep” after only getting three to four hours each day of the “unrelenting” challenge, which was Mr Pugh’s latest “Speedo diplomacy” mission to highlight inadequate protection of UK waters.

One of the British ships, The Golden Promise, had a window smashed by an airborne can, while another suffered fire damage after a flare was thrown at it, Mr Portus said.

He claimed to have received a message from the chief negotiator of the French scallop industry yesterday morning which said: “I regret the altercations that occurred ... it will not happen again.”

Maritime authorities in France also sought to soothe tensions yesterday, decrying the showdown as “very dangerous” and expressing hope that “things will calm down”.

The long-running dispute centres on a section of the Channel from which French fishermen cannot harvest scallops until later in the year, due to domestic environmental laws.

Dramatic footage broadcast on French TV showed boats colliding as tensions finally boiled over.

One of the British boats involved in the clash was said to be the Honeybourne 3, a Scottish scallop dredger, along with two ships from Brixham harbour, The Golden Promise and Joanna C.

Fears have been raised about the future safety of the British fleet, which the Government said was its “highest priority”.

Sheryll Murray, Tory MP for South East Cornwall, claimed Environment Secretary Michael Gove had assured her that “appropriate measures” were in place to protect fishermen.

She also criticised the response of the French authorities, saying there was “no evidence whatsoever” that they had taken action against the vessels.

Dimitri Rogoff, head of a Normandy fishermen’s association, said the violent scenes “demonstrate the exasperation of Normandy fishermen in a situation which persists and does not change”.