Month: March 2025

Once used as a prison sentence for British convicts for petty crimes such as theft and protesting, the Land Down Under is now a dream for many Brits who want to escape the rain and the pain of ever-increasing bills.

Moving to Australia is also now easier than ever thanks to last year’s visa change, which allows British nationals to live and work in the country for three years – so it’s easy to see why many young people are contemplating the move.

We’ve all got mates who have swapped kebabs for koalas and marmite for vegemite, and we probably pretend to hate the idea of the better weather, wages and work-life balance that Australia seems to have to offer.

Personally, I couldn’t hack the giant spiders and other creepy crawlies that can be found on the other side of the world, but that’s just one of the things YouTuber Ross Johnston has talked about in his latest video on his popular account That Johnston Life, where he outlines seven things Brits have to know before arriving down under.

The cost of living

Sadly, as much as we talk about the cost of living here in the UK, it’s clearly a big factor over in Aus as well.

Ross – who emigrated to Australia with his family in 2020 during the pandemic – talks about the sky-rocketing cost of groceries, out-of-season produce, rent and utilities. Fortunately for any meat-eaters though, he stresses that the cost of chicken has largely remained the same.

The YouTuber encourages wannabe Aussies to research properly before committing to any purchases, large or small. As with moving to any new country, it’s vital to shop around to ensure that you’re not getting ripped off.

Eligibility for free medicals

Australia has a universal health care system that provides free essential and urgent hospital treatment, but there are other costs involved.

As a new resident in Australia, you might need to take out private health care to cover those costs.

Much like the NHS, you can find what is known as ‘bulk-billing’ doctor who will bill ‘Medicare’ rather than you for their services.

Weather

Yep, it’s not all constant sunshine and 30 degree temperatures.

The reality is that the weather in Aus can be temperamental, with it ranging from chilly temperatures during the winter months and blistering wild fires in the height of summer which, as we all know, can be life threatening.

Investing in plenty of sunscreen if you want to avoid looking ‘like a lobster’ is also a solid tip.

Tipping culture

Imagine having a system where restaurant and bar staff get paid enough in wages to not rely on tips (looking at you USA)?

Fortunately in Australia, that is the case and Ross assures viewers that tipping ‘isn’t necessary’.

Public holidays

Much like the UK, some businesses will close on public holidays. But in Australia, they could also introduce a surcharge for their services on those dates.

So it’s important to plan ahead and check when the public holidays are.

Fees

As a new resident to Australia, you are likely to have to pay fees for a lot of things, including banking. Some shops will also charge you for using your card, rather than cash.

Even putting your card into the machine, rather than simply tapping it, could save you money.

Visas

Perhaps the most important you’ll need before moving to Australia is to ensure you have the correct visa.

Ross recommends using migration services, to ensure that you’re eligible and that you can qualify for the correct visa without fear of having it revoked.

Kaelen Tucker is a junior at Brookville High School in Virginia, USA, and has claimed that she is still waiting for an apology from her opponent, who attends I.C. Norcom High School.

She had just set a Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 3 State Indoor Championships record in the 55-metre race on 3 March, and aimed to emerge victorious in the 4×200 metre relay final the following day.

However, footage from the race shows an opponent, Alaila Everett, apparently hitting Tucker over the head with her baton, causing concussion symptoms and a possible skull fracture.

Tucker ran off the track, holding her head, and eventually falling down as a result.

Everett has since claimed that she ‘would never hit somebody on purpose’, and blamed the angle of the footage, which has gone viral.

But in an interview with WSET ABC 13 posted on Friday (7 March), Tucker shared her side of events.

“So, on the back curve, I kind of got cut off, and I tried to pass her the first time, so I let her go ahead,” she explained.

“I knew when I got fully on the curve that I was just going to have to push through past her. So, as we were coming up in the middle of the curve, we were bumping arms a lot. So, I got a little more on the outside of the curve to go around her.

“When I finally pushed through to get in front of her, that’s when she hit me in the head with the baton.”

Tucker’s mother, Tamarrow, also commented on the situation, claiming that her section ‘gasped’ when it happened.

“When I saw her go down, all I could do is run out of the bleachers. I just knew I had to get to her,” the mum said.

“She was kind of hysterical because she just couldn’t believe that’s what had happened.”

According to the news publication, judges disqualified the Norcom team for ‘contact interference’, as Tamarrow said that a medic attended to her daughter’s injuries when she went off the track.

The mother added that at the time of the interview, they had not heard from the runner or the school’s coaches.

After Tucker’s family reached out to the VHSL, they were told that they got a call-back explaining that they were undertaking an investigation, with no disciplinary action announced yet.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the VHSL said: “The VHSL does not comment on individuals or disciplinary actions due to FERPA.

“The actions taken by the meet director to disqualify the runner were appropriate and correct. We thoroughly review every instance like this that involves player safety with the participating schools. The VHSL membership has always made it a priority to provide student-athletes with a safe environment for competition.”

Everett has already spoken out on the incident, in a tearful interview with WAVYTV10, claiming: “After a couple times of hitting her with my baton, I got stuck behind her back and [the baton] rolled up her back.”

“I lost my balance, and when I pumped my arms again, she got hit. I know my intentions and I would never hit somebody on purpose,” she insisted.

Her parents also added that they ‘100 percent’ knew that their daughter didn’t hit Tucker deliberately, causing further injuries.

Everett has since been hit with criticism on social media and within the sporting community.

She claimed: “Everybody has feelings, so you’re physically hurt but you are not thinking about my mental, right? They are going off of one angle.

“They’re assaulting my character, calling me ghetto, racist slurs, death threats, all of this, just because of a nine second video.”

Everett insisted she does want to apologise to her opponent, but claimed that Tucker has not been ‘receptive’ and has blocked her online.

The platform has been suffering from outages today (10 March) and Musk posted online about why he thinks this is.

He wrote: “There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X.

“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.

When he claimed that X had been hit with a ‘cyber attack’, Musk was responding to a post which was complaining about ‘protests against DOGE’ (Musk’s controversial new role in the US government) and that ‘Tesla stores were attacked’.

This account was then theorising that Twitter being down for people was ‘the result of an attack’ from without rather than technical issues from within the site, leading Musk to quote their message and claim a ‘massive cyber attack’ had been launched and that it must be a large group or even a country.

Someone else replied to Musk saying ‘they want to silence you and this platform’, to which the billionaire replied ‘yes’.

Outages of this kind have happened before, in March 2023 the social media site suffered from a series of glitches which meant that links stopped working and some people couldn’t log into their accounts.

According to Downdetector.com, 63 percent of problems this time around were reported for the X app, while 33 percent were from people trying to access it through a web browser.

The issue seems to have been a global one as users from various countries were reporting problems with accessing the social media platform.

SpyoSecure, a cybersecurity team that ‘tracks, exposes, and reports’ scammers, previously said X was the victim of a cyber attack.

It’s a dollop of technological trouble that Musk does not need, hot on the heels of the recent disaster of his failed SpaceX rocket launch.

The rocket blasted off from Texas but very visibly broke up over Florida during a test flight, disrupting over 240 flights as it ended up suffering a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly’.

It was meant to land in the Indian Ocean, but with the failed test flight it’s a case of waiting for the next test to see if things get better.

Earlier today (10 March), a US-flagged tanker called the Stena Immaculate and a Portuguese-flagged container ship called the Solong collided with one another, causing explosions in the North Sea, off the coast of the UK and east of Hull.

It has been reported by the BBC that the Stena Immaculate was carrying cargo and fuel for the US Department of Defense.

Officials said: “The collision and ensuing explosions will not impact operations or combat readiness. We do not have a single point of failure.”

Officials on Downing Street have said details of the cause of the collision were ‘still becoming clear’ and remained an ‘extremely concerning situation’.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement: “We thank the emergency services for their rapid response. I understand the Department for Transport is working closely with the coastguard to help support the response to the incident.

“We’re obviously monitoring the situation, we’ll continue to co-ordinate the response and we’re grateful to emergency personnel for their continued efforts.”

The company managing the oil tanker, Crowley, revealed that there were ‘multiple explosions onboard’ after the vessel ruptured a cargo tank, having collided with container ship Solong, report PA.

The BBC have also reported that the Solong vessel was carrying 15 containers of the chemical Sodium Cyanide among its cargo when it collided with the Stena Immaculate, according to maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

As described by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), sodium cyanide is a crystal-like solid that is used in industry for metal cleaning, plating and extraction, as well as photography.

It can also be used to make other chemicals, though they note that human exposure to these salts can cause headache, nausea, dizziness, nervousness, confusion, changes in heart rate and drowsiness.

In the worst cases, it can cause heart and respiratory issues, or even death.

As for those aboard the ships when the accident took place before 10am today, it has been confirmed that everyone involved in the disaster has now been taken ashore.

An initial group of 13 people were rescued and taken to shore, with groups of 10 and nine crew members also being taken to land.

MP for Beverley and Holderness Graham Stuart has since stated that he had spoken with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.

Alexander confirmed that all 37 people on the two ships were present and accounted for, and that only one person among them was in hospital.

Rescue crews were scrambled to the area to help stricken sailors, and a mayday call from the coastguard asked for vessels with firefighting equipment to get in touch.

Large amounts of smoke could be seen for miles around and reports warned that there had been explosions and a fire as a result of the collision between an oil tanker and a container ship, off of the east cost of England close to Hull.

What exactly happened

At around 9.48am this morning (10 March), the US-flagged oil tanker Stena Immaculate was involved in a collision with the Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong.

This incident took place in the North Sea, just off the coast of the UK and a little to the east of Hull.

The tanker had set off from Agioi Theodoroi in Greece and had been heading for the port of Killingholme in the UK, and had been anchored off the British coast when it was struck.

The Solong had set off from Grangemouth in Scotland and had been on course for the Dutch port of Rotterdam.

Rescue attempts were launched and witnesses saw ‘explosions’ from the oil tanker as well as smoke billowing out of the ship.

It has been reported by the BBC that the Stena Immaculate was carrying cargo and fuel for the US Department of Defense.

According to gCaptain, a ‘senior US official at the White House’ told them that foul play had not been ruled out in the incident.

LADbible has contacted the White House for comment.

The cause of the explosion

According to the maritime firm Crowley, which manages the oil tanker Stena Immaculate, the explosion was caused by an ‘allision’ which ruptured a cargo tank containing jet fuel which resulted in a fire.

For reference, ‘allision’ refers to a maritime accident where a ship hits a stationary object, whereas a ‘collision’ is two moving objects hitting each other, and the tanker had appeared to be stationary and anchored at the time of the disaster.

Crowley said: “The Stena Immaculate sustained a ruptured cargo tank containing Jet-Al fuel due to the allision.

“A fire occurred as a result of the allision, and fuel was reported released. The Stena Immaculate crew abandoned the vessel following multiple explosions onboard.

“All Crowley mariners are safe and fully accounted for.

“Crowley immediately initiated its emergency vessel response plan and is actively working with public agencies to contain the fire and secure the vessel.

“Our first priority is the safety of the people and environment. We will provide more updates as information becomes available.”

Statements from government officials

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has released a statement on the situation, saying: “We thank the emergency services for their rapid response. I understand the Department for Transport is working closely with the coastguard to help support the response to the incident.

“We’re obviously monitoring the situation, we’ll continue to co-ordinate the response and we’re grateful to emergency personnel for their continued efforts.”

Officials on Downing Street have said details of the cause of the collision were ‘still becoming clear’ and remained an ‘extremely concerning situation’, though refused to comment on a potential cause of the collision.

It was also reported that the Stena Immaculate was carrying cargo and fuel for the US Department of Defense.

Officials said: “The collision and ensuing explosions will not impact operations or combat readiness. We do not have a single point of failure.”

Rescue attempts

The coastguard were on the scene quickly after the disaster with vessels and aircraft moving in to rescue stricken sailors who had abandoned ship.

A spokesperson for the RNLI said that four of their crews had been called out, one of which was later stood down while the remaining three continued to help in search and rescue efforts.

An initial batch of 13 people were rescued and brought ashore, with subsequent groups of 10 and nine sailors also returned to the safety of dry land.

Despite previous claims from Conservative MP Graham Stuart, East Midlands Ambulance Service say that nobody was taken to hospital.

Missing crew claims

It was initially thought that everyone had been safely recovered and that 36 people were taken to Grimsby’s North Quay, but shipping firm Ernst Russ, which is in charge of the Solong, said that one person was missing.

They said: “13 of the 14 Solong crew members have been brought safely shore. Efforts to locate the missing crew member are ongoing.

“Ernst Russ immediately activated an emergency response team and the company remains in contact with them, the master of Solong and all relevant marine authorities at Humberside.”

While all of the people on board the two ships may be present and accounted for, HM Coastguard said it was assessing the ecological damage to the area after the explosions on board the oil tanker.

It said: “HM Coastguard is currently co-ordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire resulting in fires aboard both vessels. The alarm was raised at 9.48am.

“A coastguard rescue helicopter from Humberside was called, alongside lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Maplethorpe and Cleethorpes, an HM Coastguard fixed wing aircraft and nearby vessels with fire-fighting capability.

“The incident remains ongoing and an assessment of the likely counter pollution response required is being enacted.”

Environment Minister Baroness Hayman of Ullock said she was ‘extremely shocked and concerned’ about the incident and said the environmental concerns were an ’emerging picture’.

She said: “We are speaking very closely in DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) to the Department for Transport and Maritime and Coastguard Agency, who are leading the Government response on this and who are at the moment assessing the situation.”

Ok, maybe it’s not quite that dramatic, but more than 20 years on, people across the world are still in love with the book and film series, and the elf remains one of the most loved mythical creatures in the films.

Despite being on TV screens across the world for more than two decades now, keen-eyed viewers are always finding out more small details, such as what exactly Aunt Petunia was up to in the kitchen when young Harry Potter received his first Hogwarts letter.

It isn’t until the second film that we met Dobby for the first time, as he memorably bangs his head against Harry’s wardrobe before dropping some cake on one of the Dursley’s guests, in an attempt to keep the young wizard away from the magic school that year.

It is unclear in what capacity the friendly elf, who belongs to the Malfoy family, will feature in the upcoming HBO series – but we do already know that Rupert Grint would be more than happy to return.

While Dobby, who endeared himself to fans in an emotional sacrifice in The Deathly Hallows Part One, is a well-known character, it seems clear that many didn’t actually realise the incredible actor behind his voice.

Recently, on The Graham Norton Show on February 28 (incidentally hosted by Claudia Winkleman that day), Toby Jones discussed his role as Dobby in the Harry Potter films.

The 58-year-old, who is well known for his performances in Captain America, Doctor Who, Detectorists, and more recently, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, seemingly shocked Potterheads when it was revealed he voiced the heartwarming house elf.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, one user said: “Why has Claudia Winkleman just informed me that Dobby was Toby Jones. Literally the bloke who tried to murder Sherlock saying ‘I like to watch it happen’ was Dobby. Help me.”

Another user said: “Toby Jones is Dobby in the Harry Potter movies! DR ZOLA is Dobby! This is the greatest what the s***-moment.”

Another said: ‘Why did I not know Arnim Zola was also Dobby? How amazing is Toby Jones?”

Jones has clearly forged a reputation for playing the villain, thanks to his roles in Marvel, Sherlock, and Doctor Who, but fans may well now remember him most fondly for playing Harry Potter’s close friend and ally, Dobby the free elf.

Alaila Everett has insisted there is more to the baton saga than meets the eye, warning people that they are only seeing ‘one angle’ of a ‘nine second video’.

She is at the centre of a sport row after fellow competitor Kaelen Tucker was left with a concussion and a possible skull fracture in wake of the incident which unfolded at Virginia’s Liberty University last Tuesday (4 March).

Both of the girls were competing in the 4x200m relay final at the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 3 State Indoor Championships.

But the competitiveness between them appeared to turn cutthroat when Tucker overtook her opponent.

Tucker was representing Brookville High School in the second leg of the race when she was hit on the back of the head with a baton.

But according to her rival from I.C. Norcom High School, the powerful strike was not intentional and it was a result of her ‘losing her balance’ while running.

Speaking to WAVYTV10, Everett explained: “After a couple times of hitting her with my baton, I got stuck behind her back and [the baton] rolled up her back.

“I lost my balance, and when I pumped my arms again, she got hit. I know my intentions and I would never hit somebody on purpose.”

Her parents added that they ‘knew 100 percent’ that their daughter did not deliberately hit Tucker, who was seen staggering off the track and falling onto the floor.

Everett has been met by a host of backlash in the sporting community and on social media after footage of the incident went viral.

The tearful teen said: “Everybody has feelings, so you’re physically hurt but you are not thinking about my mental, right? They are going off of one angle.

“They’re assaulting my character, calling me ghetto, racist slurs, death threats, all of this, just because of a nine second video.”

Tucker seemed to have a different perspective on the baton bashing when she shared her side of the story.

“When you go to the other side of the track, you have to cross into lane one, you have to merge in,” Tucker told WSLS. “As I was coming up on her, she kind of like made me get cut off a little bit, so I backed away.

“Then, as we got around the curve, she kept bumping me in my arm. Then finally we got off the curve, I like slowly started passing her and then that’s when she just hit me with the baton and I fell off the track.”

Tucker claims she was struck on the head as she pulled ahead of her opponent while spectators watched on from the stands.

Speaking to ABC13 News about her ordeal, Tucker said: “I still can’t believe it, I’m in shock. I’m still trying to take it all in, I can’t believe it happened.”

According to the publication, the baton-wielding athlete was disqualified by judges for the foul, which is known as ‘contact interference’.

Tucker’s mother, Tamarrow, rushed onto the track to check on her daughter alongside medical staff – although she claims Everett didn’t offer any apology for the incident at the time.

“No apologies,” the frustrated parent said. “No coaches. No athlete. No anything. Even if it was an accident, which I don’t believe it was… nothing.”

Everett insisted she does want to apologise to her injured opponent, but claimed that Tucker has not been ‘receptive’ and has blocked her on social media.

Her parents also claim that the Tucker family served them with court papers, calling for a protective order to be put in place.

Doctors have been treating Tucker for concussion and a possible skull fracture in the wake of the incident.

“I could feel like a headache coming up, so I just sat out,” the high school student also told WSLS. “I recently went to the doctor, and they prescribed me with a concussion and a possible fractured skull.”

Tucker’s family earlier demanded an apology and an explanation from the fellow relay racer, with the teen saying: “Why did you do it, and why haven’t you apologised?”

According to the high school student’s mother, the VHSL said it has launched an investigation into the incident.

VHSL told ABC13 that the ‘actions taken by the meet director was appropriate and correct’, adding that the incident was ‘a serious issue, especially when it involves the safety of athletes in competitions’.

Tucker said they have also contacted the runner’s parents and I.C. Norcom AD, who both later said sorry on her behalf.

“They were beside us at the event,” the family added. “They were watching the video at the event, but no one apologised or came to check on her.

“Even if it was a fluke or freak accident, you still would check on her.”

A further nine people were brought to shore, adding to the 23 found this morning. All were alive, and a line of ambulances was waiting to take them to hospital, Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, told Sky News.

The accident took place in the Humber Estuary near the northeastern town of Withernsea, just before 10am this morning (10 March).

It involved a US-flagged tanker called the Stena Immaculate and a Portuguese-flagged container ship called the Solong, with the collision causing lifeboats and a coastguard helicopter to be deployed to the scene, off the UK-coast.

It was confirmed by Boyers that 13 casualties were initially brought in on a vessel, followed by another 10 on a harbour pilot boat.

Now, the nine casualties, also brought in on a pilot’s vessel, brings the total up to 32.

Boyers explained to Metro: “It’s too far out for us to see – about 10 miles – but we have seen the vessels bringing them in.

“They must have sent a mayday out – luckily there was a crew transfer vessel out there already.

“Since then there has been a flotilla of ambulances to pick up anyone they can find.”

The BBC has also reported that the crew on the Stena Immaculate are safe, as business reporter Jonathan Josephs said he had spoken to the chief executive of Stena Bulk, Erik Hanell.

Hanell said that all of the crew aboard the oil tanker were safe, but would not comment on the cause of the collision.

A coastguard spokesperson stated: “HM Coastguard is currently co-ordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire. The alarm was raised at 9.48am.

“A Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Humberside was called, alongside lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Maplethorpe and Cleethorpes, an HM Coastguard fixed wing aircraft, and nearby vessels with fire-fighting capability.

“The incident remains ongoing.”

The coastguard helicopter that has been dispatched to scene is currently co-ordinating a response with local firefighters.

The BBC previously reported that the oil tanker appeared to be stationary and at anchor according to data from the tracking website MarineTraffic, and that the Solong appeared to collide with the vessel.

Metro reported that a mayday call concerning the collision identified the Stena Immaculate as carrying jet fuel which had ignited in the water.

The call was sent out from a member of the Humber Coastguard, sharing their coordinates and requested for help from any ships in the area, particularly those with ‘firefighting equipment’.

“Solong has collided with Tanker Stena Immaculate in the outer anchorage,” they said.

“Both vessels are abandoning. Vessels who have firefighting equipment or who can assist with search and rescue contact Humber Coastguard.

“Vessel Stena Immaculate is carrying Jet A 1 fuel which is on fire and in the water.”

In the not so distant past, the prospect of nuclear annihilation seemed like a bygone relic of the Cold War, but not anymore.

In fact, being vaporised in a fiery mushroom cloud appears to be back in fashion, with US President Donald Trump calling nuclear war the ‘greatest threat to humanity’ in a recent interview.

“We spend a lot of money of nuclear weapons – the level of destruction is beyond anything you can imagine,” he told Fox News of America’s 5,044 warheads.

“It’s just bad that you have to spend all this money on something that if it’s used, it’s probably the end of the world.”

So let us be pessimists for a moment and imagine the worst case scenario, what would happen if the UK ever found itself in a situation where its nuclear weapons were being deployed?

When and how would the UK deploy its nuclear weapons?

As of 2024, public records state that the UK has around 225 warheads, of which 120 are operationally available for deployment as part of its Trident programme, and ranks fifth out of nine in terms of nuclear capability.

The US ranks second, behind Russia who have around 5,580 warheads.

Only the Prime Minister can authorise the use of UK nuclear weapons

Although the UK is a member of NATO, which notably includes the Article 5 clause – ‘if a NATO member is attacked, all other members will consider it an attack on themselves’ – the alliance cannot call for nuclear weapons to be used in a collective response. This responsibility falls on the UK Prime Minister – currently Keir Starmer – to authorise the use of Trident.

Under what circumstance would the UK use its nuclear weapons?

According to the Government website, the primary function of the UK’s nuclear weapons is as a deterrent.

“We would consider using our nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances of self-defence, including the defence of our NATO allies,” UK guidelines state.

“The UK maintains only the minimum amount of destructive power needed to guarantee our deterrent remains credible and effective against the full range of state nuclear threats,” the website added, stating that key details of our nuclear deterrent are kept ‘deliberately ambiguous’ to maximise its effectiveness.

Trident: never used or ‘always in use’?

Thankfully the UK has never been in a position in which its needed to use nuclear weapons, however the defence ministry states this doesn’t mean the weapons aren’t technically ‘in use’.

In fact, the position of the UK government is that our nuclear weapons are always in use as they ‘protect us every hour of every day’.

“By providing a credible and effective response option to extreme aggression, our nuclear deterrent reduces the likelihood of such an attack taking place,” the Ministry of Defence adds.

What is the ultimate goal of the UK’s nuclear weapons programme?

If countries having nuclear weapons in order to prevent other nations’ use of said nuclear weapons sounds like a catch-22, that’s because it is.

With the uneasy prospect of mutually assured destruction holding, for now.

However this doesn’t mean the UK isn’t hopeful for a future without the need for nukes, with the nation a signatory of the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The ultimate goal of the NPT is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote peaceful uses of nuclear energy and ultimately achieve global nuclear disarmament.

Lifeboats and a coastguard helicopter have been deployed to the scene, and the ships appear to be a US-flagged tanker called the Stena Immaculate and a Portuguese-flagged container ship called the Solong.

The site of the collision is off the UK coast in the North Sea, just to the east of Hull.

A coastguard spokesperson said: “HM Coastguard is currently co-ordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire. The alarm was raised at 9.48am.

“A Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Humberside was called, alongside lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Maplethorpe and Cleethorpes, an HM Coastguard fixed wing aircraft, and nearby vessels with fire-fighting capability.

“The incident remains ongoing.”

The BBC has reported that the oil tanker appeared to be stationary and at anchor according to data from the tracking website MarineTraffic, and that the Solong appeared to collide with the vessel.

The Stena Immaculate had set off from Agioi Theodoroi in Greece and had been heading for the port of Killingholme in the UK.

Meanwhile, the Solong departed from Grangemouth in Scotland and had been journeying towards the Dutch port of Rotterdam before it collided with the anchored oil tanker.

The BBC has also been sent footage which shows the oil tanker on fire, and says that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has said in a statement that a number of people involved in the incident have abandoned ship.

A number of RNLI crews are supporting rescue efforts focused on the stricken ships which appear to be billowing sizeable plumes of smoke into the air.

The Metro reports that a mayday call concerning the collision identified the Stena Immaculate as carrying jet fuel which had ignited in the water.

The call went out from a member of the Humber Coastguard to give the coordinates of the collision and requested that any ships in the area which could help in the rescue operation or had ‘firefighting equipment’ to get in contact.

They said: “Solong has collided with Tanker Stena Immaculate in the outer anchorage.

“Both vessels are abandoning. Vessels who have firefighting equipment or who can assist with search and rescue contact Humber Coastguard.

“Vessel Stena Immaculate is carrying Jet A 1 fuel which is on fire and in the water.”

Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, has said that at present a total of 32 casualties had been brought ashore by rescue efforts on various vessels, their conditions are not currently known.