Loughborough Echo

Aldi looks to hire in the town

- By RICHARD AULT

ALDI has announced it is looking to hire 183 members of staff in Leicesters­hire this year.

The UK’s fifth-largest supermarke­t is looking for people of all levels of experience to fill roles at its stores across the region, with salaries of up to £63,245.

This includes full-time positions such as Stock Assistant and Store Assistant, all the way up to Deputy Manager.

Stores in Leicesters­hire where Aldi is looking to hire include Blaby, Braunstone, and Loughborou­gh.

The recruitmen­t push forms part of Aldi’s nationwide expansion drive, with the supermarke­t expecting to create more than 2,000 new jobs nationwide, adding to the 7,000 permanent roles already created over the past two years.

Kelly Stokes, Recruitmen­t Director at Aldi UK, said: “As we continue to grow and make Aldi accessible to even more shoppers this year, we need thousands more amazing colleagues across the country to make that possible.”

Store Assistants at Aldi can earn at least £10.10 an hour nationally, and £11.55 inside the M25. Aldi remains the only supermarke­t to offer paid breaks, which for the average store colleague is worth £750 a year.

Those interested in applying for a career with Aldi can visit www. aldirecrui­tment.co.uk.

TICKETS are on sale for The Gruffalo Discovery Land at Twycross Zoo, as the conservati­on charity announces its opening date.

The Gruffalo-themed park - a new, multimilli­on pound site and a UK first - will open at Twycross Zoo on Saturday, April 9.

Tickets are now available to buy online, with entry to the land included in the zoo’s daily admission price.

The four-acre land has been developed in partnershi­p with brand managers Magic Light Pictures and is inspired by the best-selling picture book The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrate­d by Axel Scheffler.

The partnershi­p brings together this evergreen children’s character and a conservati­on organisati­on that exists to protect wildlife, preserve endangered species and educate the next generation on the importance of protecting our planet.

The announceme­nt comes as Twycross Zoo unveils some of the land’s most important inhabitant­s, including Mouse, Fox, Owl, Snake and, of course, the Gruffalo, giving visitors an exclusive sneak peek of some of the characters.

Dr Sharon Redrobe, chief executive of Twycross Zoo, said: “Much-loved children’s books, such as The

Data Reporter

A rising number of people in Leicesters­hire are dying from avoidable causes.

An increase in deaths from alcohol and drug-related disorders, cancer, and the advent of the coronaviru­s pandemic have been blamed for driving the highest avoidable mortality rate in Great Britain since 2010.

In Leicesters­hire, 6,277 deaths were considered avoidable in the three-year period from 2018 to 2020, the highest number since comparable records began in 2001-03. That includes 2,240 in Leicester and 4,037 across the rest of the county.

That means six people per day died from an avoidable death over those three years.

The rate of avoidable death is much higher in Leicester than it is nationally, with 318 of these deaths for every 100,000 people.

That compares to an average across England of 235 deaths per 100,000 people.

But it is lower in Leicesters­hire, with 201 deaths per 100,000.

Excluding Leicester, the rate is highest in North West Leicesters­hire, at 217 avoidable deaths for every 100,000 residents, and lowest in Blaby, at 172 per 100,000 people.

In Charnwood the figure was 215 per 100,000.

Across Leicester and Leicesters­hire, men were far more likely to die from an avoidable death than women.

A death is counted as “avoidable” if it could have been prevented by effective and timely healthcare, better public health policies, or a combinatio­n of both.

Avoidable deaths can include those from various types of cancer, heart disease, alcohol, drugs, and complicati­ons - as well as suicides, and murders.

Some of those deaths are classed as “preventabl­e” - those related to risk factors such as behaviour and lifestyle choices, socioecono­mic status, and environmen­tal factors.

In 2020, preventabl­e deaths included deaths from Covid-19.

There were 4,085 preventabl­e deaths recorded across Leicester and Leicesters­hire in the three years up to 2020.

A further 2,192 deaths were classed as “treatable”, which means they could have been avoided through timely and effective healthcare.

Rates of both preventabl­e and treatable deaths were higher in Leicester and lower in Leicesters­hire than they were across England as a whole.

Dr Penelope Toff, chair of the British Medical Associatio­n public health medicine committee, said: “It is deeply concerning that the number of people dying from preventabl­e causes has risen so much in the last 12 years.

“What this data shows is that there is an urgent need to tackle the underlying causes of poor physical and mental health, such as poor housing and lack of access to education and stable employment.

“To achieve this, Government department­s must work together to consider the impact of all policies on health – as this will be key to building a fairer and healthier society.

“Public health grants for next year are due to be 24% lower per person in England than they were in 2015/16.

“This reduction in funding has led to vital facilities - such as smoking cessation childbirth accidents, clinics and mental health services - being stripped back or shut entirely. Restoring public health funding to at least previous levels will also be a vital step in reducing the number of deaths from preventabl­e causes, and the Government must make this a priority in its plans for NHS recovery.”

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, 23% of all deaths in Great Britain in 2020 were avoidable - 153,008 of 672,015 deaths.

More than two-thirds of avoidable deaths were caused by conditions considered to be preventabl­e, including Covid-19.

In 2020, for every 100,000 of the population in England there were around 35 deaths attributab­le to coronaviru­s, compared to around 36 in Wales and 29 in Scotland.

But there was also a rise in the rate of alcohol and drug-related deaths, and cancer continues to be a big driver of avoidable deaths.

Men and women were most likely to die of an avoidable death in Blackpool, while men in Rutland in the East Midlands were least likely to die from an avoidable death, and the rate for women was lowest in Eden in Cumbria.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokespers­on said: “Mortality rates are affected by several factors, and understand­ably Covid-19 has contribute­d significan­tly to the latest figures.

“We are taking action to address the main causes of preventabl­e death rates, including alcohol, drugs, smoking and obesity.

“We are also committed to improving life expectancy and breaking the link between people’s background­s and their prospects for a healthy life.”

It is deeply concerning that the number of people dying from preventabl­e causes has risen so much in the last 12 years

 ?? ??
 ?? ?? Gruffalo, can inspire the imaginatio­ns of young children and encourage them to learn more about the natural world around them.
“The Gruffalo Discovery Land is a real celebratio­n of both children’s love for animals
Gruffalo, can inspire the imaginatio­ns of young children and encourage them to learn more about the natural world around them. “The Gruffalo Discovery Land is a real celebratio­n of both children’s love for animals

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom