Anti-Depressants Use Rising At Record Rate

By Emma Birchley, East of England Correspondent

The use of anti-depressants is rising at a record rate as struggling patients seek help from their doctors.

In the past three years, the number of prescriptions has risen by close to 25%.

But there is growing concern that drugs are being handed over too readily to those who would be better helped with counselling.

Writer Julia Llewellyn Smith found life tough after the birth of her first child but was shocked to be instantly offered medication by a doctor.

"I said to her: 'I am not depressed, I'm just exhausted and having a bad time with a new baby'.

"She said: 'No you are depressed, I want to give you Prozac ... you will feel very better very soon,' and it really was a struggle to convince her that I didn't want, or in my opinion, need, anti-depressants."

Prescriptions have risen by nearly 25% in the last three years

Instead she went to group counselling and once the nights improved so did her mood.

But the former chair of the Royal College of GPs, Dr Clare Gerada, does not believe that everyday sadness is being unnecessarily medicalised.

Dr Gerada said: "I don't think my profession are giving out anti-depressants when they are not needed.

"But I think if there is a long waiting list for talking therapies, and there certainly is in the areas that I work, it may be that rather than see the patient get worse depression and risk their life, it may be the GP appropriately gives anti-depressants as a bridge."

Statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre reveal that 53 million prescriptions for anti-depressants were handed out in England last year.

Julia Llewellyn Smith was offered anti-depressants by her doctor

And twice as many people take the drugs than a decade ago.

Caroline Ashrafi first sought help for depression when she was in her late teens.

For 30 years she has taken different tablets and has now been told she will need to take them for the rest of her life to stabilise her mood.

She said: "There is a stigma but I think when anti-depressants are prescribed in the right situation and with proper medical care, for me they have literally been a lifesaver."

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Stephen Sutton's Teen Cancer Appeal Tops £2.5m

A terminally-ill teenager has smashed all records on fundraising website JustGiving, as donations to his charity appeal surged past £2.5m.

Stephen Sutton originally set out to raise £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust but soon upped his target to £1m, as celebrities including Jason Manford, Stephen Fry and Russell Brand gave their support.

By Saturday morning the 19-year-old had raised £2.5m, with nearly 100,000 people pledging their support.

Writing on his Facebook page, on which he published a bucket list of things he wants to do before he dies, Stephen said: "I've always been a firm believer that people are 'good' and to see people come together in the way they have is incredibly touching and heart-warming.

Donations to Stephen's JustGiving page have soared past £2.4m

"Thank you from me and thank you from every young cancer patient who will benefit invaluably from the money raised."

Stephen, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, said he was "feeling well" and was in a "stable" condition after his health worsened last weekend.

"The tumours in my body are still rife and dangerous, but I feel so lucky to just still be here," he added.

"In fact, I feel completely privileged to be in a position where I can help make such a difference to other people's lives."

Stephen, who was diagnosed with incurable colorectal cancer at the age of 15, has also released a 10-minute YouTube video called When Life Gives You Cancer, featuring interviews with his mum, his school teachers and his best friend.

Stephen (C) with friends and celebrities at a Teenage Cancer Trust event

His head teacher, Stewart Jones, said: "Stephen is the most amazing person I've ever met, let alone the most amazing student."

Tim Dowling, who runs the sixth form college at Stephen's school, added: "He's very special because he refuses to let his illness beat him or govern the rest of his life."

As donations continued to flood in, JustGiving itself donated £50,000 to Stephen's appeal.

The website stands to make more than £62,000 from the 5% fee it charges charities for online donations.

In a message posted alongside its donation, it wrote: "Stephen, we think you're amazing. It's been a privilege supporting your fundraising. You've now broken all records on JustGiving, so here's a special donation from us."

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Paedophile Abused Up To 60 Pupils At School

As many as 60 pupils have been drugged and sexually abused by a prolific paedophile at a London school.

William James Vahey, who killed himself as investigators began to uncover the scale of his crimes, captured images of his attacks on students at Southbank International School.

Executive principal Graham Lacey said images of between 50 and 60 pupils were found on Vahey's computer.

The 64-year-old taught history and geography at the £25,000-a-year school from 2009 to 2013.

Southbank International School in London

Vahey also taught in various international schools, suggesting there could be victims from all over the world.

Because he drugged some of his victims, some might not even know they were abused.

An FBI affidavit to search Vahey's USB drive, seen by Sky News, revealed suspicions were raised after he had reported a theft in November 2013.

The affidavit said Vahey reported personal items being taken from his apartment in Nicaragua and stated that a maid, hired by the school, was the only other person with access to his apartment.

An FBI affidavit to search a USB flash drive owned by Vahey

The maid was immediately dismissed, but later handed a memory stick she admitted to having taken to the American Nicaraguan School in Managua, Nicaragua. It contained folders with titles including "Panama Trip".

Staff at the school then confronted Vahey.

He admitted that he was molested as a child and had preyed on boys all his life, plying them with sleeping pills before abusing them.

In a letter to parents at the elite school, Mr Lacey urged any pupils with disturbing experiences to come forward.

Counselling is being offered and a meeting for parents will be held next week.

"This disclosure which we learned this morning, left us all appalled," he wrote.

"As a staff we feel upset, angry and betrayed. We can only imagine what you as parents must feel."

The FBI is leading the investigation into William Vahey

The school's chair of governors, Sir Chris Woodhead, said he had been left sickened by the revelations, which he described as the "worst thing that I've ever been involved in in 40 years of education".

"He was a very popular man, both with staff and students," he said.

"He has managed to deceive his colleagues in schools all around the world for 30 years."

Vahey, an American national, killed himself in a Minnesota motel two days after the FBI filed a warrant to search a computer drive belonging to him containing photos of at least 90 boys aged from 12 to 14, who appeared to be drugged and unconscious.

The images were catalogued with dates and locations that correspond with overnight trips Vahey took with students since 2008.

He was convicted of a child sex offence in California in 1969 but appears to have failed to sign the sex offenders' register.

Checks were made on Vahey when he joined Southbank International School, but these revealed nothing untoward, the letter sent to parents revealed.

Another check three years later produced similar results and Mr Lacey added three references the school obtained were "outstanding" and "specifically stated that there were no safeguarding issues".

Vahey was an "extremely popular teacher", said Mr Lacey, and several parents had expressed their sadness when he left.

There was one incident that was investigated by school management, but both the parents and the child did not want to pursue it any further, he added.

Rumours had been circulating among students and parents, but these did not reach the school's management.

"There are perhaps lessons here to be learnt," Mr Lacey admitted.

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Health Atlas Reveals Patterns Of Illness

By Thomas Moore, Science and Health Correspondent

A new health "atlas" has for the first time revealed extraordinary patterns in disease across the country.

The series of high resolution maps covering England and Wales show striking variations in the risk of cancer and other diseases in different areas.

Lung cancer is far more common in the North West and North East of England than in mid-Wales and the South West.

And Leukaemia rates are higher in rural areas, with pockets of cases across South Wales, Somerset and Dorset.

The online tool (www.envhealthatlas.co.uk), published by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit at Imperial College London, also maps air quality, levels of sunshine and pesticides, and chlorine by-products in the water supply.

However, the website crashed on Friday morning. It is not known whether it is due to the popularity of the online tool.

When it is available, users can enter their postcode to assess the disease and environmental risks in their neighbourhood.

Researchers will also be able to investigate whether there are links between pollutants and health.

Dr Anna Hansell, lead author of the atlas, told Sky News: "Ideally if we could measure things on every single person in the country we would do that, but we can't.

"By getting to something closer to where people live and work then we hope to understand a bit more about their exposures and how that might relate to health."

The atlas also reveals that skin cancer is most common in the South West of England.

Yet it's the southeast that gets the most sunshine and researchers will now study whether other lifestyle factors may account for the higher risk in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.

Most striking of all is liver cancer, with a dense cluster of cases across Cheshire and Merseyside.

Dr Martin Lambord, a consultant liver specialist at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said it could be put down to higher alcohol intake, the prevalence of hepatitis or obesity, or a combination of all these things.

He said the maps could be useful for people to make them aware of the issues they face.

"For the current generation it's about 'could I be at risk of liver disease?'" he said. "Have I put myself at risk of liver disease? Should I see my doctor and have a test? 

"I think increasing awareness is important. Once patients are identified as having liver disease or diagnosed to have cirrhosis, it's very important to offer them early diagnosis for cancers.

"The other problem we find is it presents really late and only 5% of those cancers are curable."

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RAF Jet Chases Russian Planes Away From UK

Two Russian bombers which flew close to UK airspace have been chased away by an RAF jet fighter.

The aircraft, believed to be Tupolev Tu-95 Bears, were spotted off the coast of northeast Scotland.

They were turned away from Britain when a Typhoon fighter was scrambled from RAF Leuchars in Fife.

Aircrew stationed at the base are on standby to intercept unidentified aircraft at a moment's notice.

Dutch fighter jets were also dispatched on Wednesday when the two Russian planes entered their airspace.

An RAF Typhoon escorts a Tupolev 95 over the Atlantic in 2007. Pic: MoD

A pair of Dutch F-16 jets intercepted the Tu-95s at about 4pm after they strayed half a mile into the country's territory.

The incidents come amid heightened international tensions over the situation in Ukraine, following the annexation of Crimea by Russia last month.

It also follows the arrival of a Russian warship, the Vice Admiral Kulakov, in waters off the coast of Britain.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the vessel was met by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon, which is "keeping an eye" on the ship's movement.

Sky's Defence Correspondent Alistair Bunkall said foreign planes often fly close to UK airspace, with eight similar incidents reported in 2013.

"The RAF Typhoon is one of Britain's quick reaction aircraft and would have gone up, made contact with the Russian planes and ensured they did not plan to fly into British airspace," he said.

"These sorts of events happen quite regularly and that maybe surprising for some people.

"It's all about testing defences and seeing exactly what your 'enemy' is capable of."

The two Russian planes were escorted by the Typhoon, as well as military aircraft from the Netherlands and Denmark, until they flew off towards Scandinavia.

The aircraft - turboprop-powered bombers which also conduct airborne surveillance - have been in service for more than 50 years.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace at all times and they are perfectly entitled to do so.

"Russian military flights have never entered UK sovereign airspace without authorisation."

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Gym Fees 'Could Stop Mortgage Approvals'

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

Homebuyers could find themselves turned down for a mortgage because of their gym memberships, phone bills and pension payments, under new rules introduced this weekend, experts have warned.

Mortgage advisers said new restrictions introduced under the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) would drastically increase the intrusiveness of checks undergone by applicants.

The warning coincided with advice from economists, who claim the rules could dampen down activity in the housing market.

The new rules, part of a push to prevent lenders handing out loans to those unable to afford them, will stipulate banks and building societies must inspect customers' spending commitments to ensure they can keep up their monthly payments.

Those commitments might include items as innocuous as informal club memberships, according to Peter Marriott of Westexe Mortgage Solutions.

He said: "They might have a gym membership, they might be contributing to a pension plan - anything that's deemed by a mortgage lender to be a commitment could be held against them as an ongoing expense, which would in turn affect the affordability and the lender's decision on how much they can borrow."

The MMR changes will also mean lenders have to test whether homebuyers will be able to afford their mortgage payments if interest rates rise sharply, to 7% or above.

The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee has recommended it should be able to change the suggested stress test rate in future, giving it an extra lever to influence house prices.

The changes come amid growing consternation about rising house prices.

According to the Office for National Statistics, house prices across the UK have increased by 9.1% in the past year.

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