|
   
QUICK LINKS TO THE SITE NEWS
ENTERTAINMENT
MOTORS
ARCHIVE ARTICLES AND REFERENCE
WHERE TO STAY
PROPERTY TO RENT
INFORMATION
BUSINESS
FEATURES
DETAILS OF OUR ADVERTISING & DESIGN PACKAGES Jobs at Birmingham101.com We are looking for sales people to work for us selling to businesses and individuals in the West Midlands on a casual, hours to suit basis. For details click here to e-mail us.
|
28th. April 2003 EQUIPMENT BOOST FOR HOSPITAL Doctors at a Coventry hospital say they will be able to scan an extra 2,000 patients this year following the arrival of a second MRI machine. The scanner is the latest addition to Walsgrave Hospital's new £1m suite in the radiology department. A hospital spokesman added the scanner will also improve waiting times for patients requiring a scan. ARMED GANG STEAL VEHICLE A man has had his car stolen at gunpoint by a gang in Birmingham, police said. Three men, one wielding a gun, forced the 27-year-old motorist out of his blue Rover 216 coupe in Wordsworth Street, Small Heath, on Sunday night. One of the gang punched the victim in the neck but he was not seriously hurt, said a West Midlands Police spokesman. FAMILY DEMAND HOSPITAL PROBE The family of a Warwickshire student who died from the human form of mad cow disease are demanding to know why his condition went undiagnosed for a year. Jorawar Gill, 20, of Marston, passed away earlier this month after battling vCJD for two-and-a-half years. Jorawar's family want to know why the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham failed to diagnose the condition. COUNCIL CUTS DAYS OFF SICK Birmingham City Council employees are taking fewer days off sick, according to new figures. The number of days absent per employee for the past 12 months was 10.4, compared with 12.62 for 2001 to 2002. The council has said it now wants to set an absence target of eight days every year per employee after surpassing its previous aim of 14 days. MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER A 26-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a man found stabbed in the neck at his home in Cheshire. David Crawford, 32, was found injured at a house on Eddleston Road in Crewe. He was taken to Leighton Hospital but later died. Karl Munnerly is due to appear at South Cheshire Magistrates' Court, detectives have said. FOOTBALL FANS RELEASED Fifteen Huddersfield fans arrested in Stoke after violence following their team's relegation to Division Three have been released without charge. The group was detained in the city after clashes with Port Vale fans, during which a minor blaze broke out at the Vine Pub, Burslem. Earlier, the visitors had watched their side in a 5-1 defeat at Vale Park. TAXI WORKERS' JOBS ARE SAFE Hundreds of workers at two taxi plants in Coventry and Tamworth have been told their jobs are safe after plans to open the market to competitors were dropped. MEP Liz Lynne says London Mayor Ken Livingstone has promised not to lower specifications on the capital's cabs. The move would have threatened jobs at London Taxis International and Metrocab which make the Hackney carriages. PLANE TRIBUTE MADE TO INVENTOR A full-scale model aeroplane has landed near the M1 in Leicester as a tribute to the inventor of the jet engine, Sir Frank Whittle. A memorial sculpture placed on a roundabout near Lutterworth has been unveiled by Sir Frank's son, Ian. Sir Frank, who died in 1996 aged 89, worked with a team of engineers in a disused foundry near the site. CARER CAMPAIGN TO BE LAUNCHED A poster campaign appealing for carers to provide homes for adults with disabilities in Birmingham is to be launched next week. Scores of buses operating around the city will carry posters with the slogan "Ever Dreamt of Working from Home?". The move is part of the Share Positive Moves scheme which pays carers up to £300 per week to house disabled adults. BARD'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATED Stratford-upon-Avon has celebrated the 439th birthday of its most famous son. The town has been hosting a series of events to commemorate William Shakespeare's birth, thought to have been on April 23, 1564. Celebrations have included a street circus and procession, a performance of one of the Bard's plays, and the annual Shakespeare marathon. CULTURE'S BILLION POUND BOOST Birmingham and the West Midlands can look forward to a seven year
cultural programme worth over £500 million if the city's bid, on
behalf of the region, to be European Capital of Culture is successful.
The title will also produce a massive billion pound boost to the regional
economy and create thousands of new jobs. New research carried out for
the Government's panel assessing the bid, that visited the region this
week, reveals the huge impact to the region of winning the European
DONATION IN MEMORY OF VICTIM The parents of tragic Birmingham schoolgirl Rosie Ross are presenting new equipment to breast cancer research specialists at the city's university. Karen and Sean Ross have donated the £14,000 microscope and digital camera to the Institute of Cancer Studies following a fundraising drive. The 16-year-old was stabbed to death in May 2001 as she sunbathed in the city. STEEL JOBS UNDER THREAT Hundreds of jobs at the Corus steel plant in Tipton are under threat after the troubled firm announced plans to cut 1,150 jobs across the UK. The jobs will be lost over the next two to three years under cost-cutting measures by the steel giant. Corus said the finishing facilities at Tipton will be relocated to the firm's plant in Rotherham. FIRE DEATH HOUSE BURGLED Burglars in Staffordshire have broken into a house where a woman died in a fire in her bedroom last week. Two thieves broke into the property in the High Street, Halmer End, near Newcastle-under-Lyme, but police said it was unclear what was taken. The intruders were disturbed by neighbours and fled in a red BMW. Any witnesses should call 01785 238451. CHOCOLATE PROMOTION CRITICISED Birmingham-based Cadbury is under fire from watchdogs for urging youngsters to buy 160 million bars of chocolate in exchange for sports equipment. The Food Commission says if children ate every promotional Cadbury bar they would consume nearly two million kg of fat and more than 36 billion calories. The "Get Active!" offer asks children to collect tokens for the sports gear. 50% OF SHOPS FAIL ALCOHOL PROBE Some 50% of shops investigated in Shropshire sold alcohol to under-age consumers, Trading Standards said. Four out of eight shops visited by a volunteer 15-year-old made illegal sales, according to Shropshire County Council Trading Standards Service. The exercise followed a similar probe in October 2002 in which 52% of traders were found selling alcohol to children. PUB LANDLORD FOUND DEAD A murder inquiry has been launched after the body of a Walsall licensee was discovered at his pub. Michael Hughes, 59, was found by cleaners in the living quarters of the Royal Oak in Pelsall on Sunday. Police said the property had been broken into, rooms had been searched and a small safe which may have contained cash forcibly removed. NEW VEHICLE FOR SIGHT CHARITY A Land Rover reconditioned by young offenders in Birmingham is to be handed over to Princess Alexandra, president of Sight Savers International. The vehicle is destined for Sierra Leone where it will give eye care workers greater access to people in need, said a charity representative. It will be presented to the charity at a ceremony in the city. TEENAGER INJURED IN GANG ATTACK A Coventry teenager has suffered severe facial injuries in what police have described as a "frenzied" and unprovoked gang attack. The 19-year-old was set upon by a group of youths as he walked through Naul's Mill Park with his girlfriend. Police said three teenagers have been arrested following the assault on Friday evening. STUDY SHOWS DIET EFFECTS An experiment involving identical twin brothers from Cheshire has revealed the positive effect an additive-free diet can have on children. Christopher and Michael Parker, aged five, from Crewe, showed that additive-free children had better concentration, increased IQ and were better behaved. The changes will be revealed in detail on ITV1's Tonight with Trevor McDonald. CITY SWITCH FOR FIRE LEADER The senior fire officer in the West Midlands has been appointed the new London Fire Commissioner. Ken Knight, 56, became head of the West Midlands brigade in 1998 after serving in London, Devon and Dorset. The chair of the West Midlands Fire and Civil Defence Authority, David Hinton, confirmed Mr Knight is likely to take up his new post in the summer. 30th. April 2003
MAN FACES COURT OVER DEATHS A Birmingham man charged with the murder of two policemen in a high-speed crash is set to go on trial. Leayon Davi Dudley, 38, of Oakhurst Road, Acocks Green, is due at Stafford Crown Court accused of killing Pcs Bryan Moore and Andrew Munn. The two officers died when their patrol car was in collision with a van on the A42 in Leicestershire last year. CAR CRASHES INTO PETROL PUMP A couple and their two-year-old child are recovering in hospital after their car crashed into a petrol pump, which ignited, near Lichfield. Staffordshire Police said the Peugeot 405 struck the pump at the filling station on the A38 at Fradley. The driver suffered chest injuries, his wife had a broken wrist and facial wounds. The child had minor injuries. ANIMAL CRUELTY WORSENS - RSPCA The past year has revealed a "darker side" to the way people treat animals in the West Midlands, says the RSPCA. Latest statistics show a rise in the number of people convicted for violence towards animals. Horror stories include one about four people from Stoke-on-Trent jailed for making videos of mice, guinea pigs and a kitten being crushed to death. 60 JOBS AXED AT STEEL PLANT Sixty jobs are set to be cut at the Corus steel plant in Tipton as part of a major restructuring by the company. Corus has announced that the West Midlands plant will close and finishing facilities will be relocated to the steelmaker's plant in Rotherham. The troubled firm has announced plans to axe 1,150 jobs across the UK over the next two years to cut costs. LANDLORD DIED OF HEAD INJURIES A licensee found murdered in his pub in the West Midlands died of head injuries suffered during an attack, police said. Father-of-five Michael Hughes, 59, was discovered by cleaners on the floor of his bedroom in the living quarters of the Royal Oak in Pelsall. The property was broken into, several rooms searched and a small safe which may have contained cash was removed. NAPPY LAUNCH TO GREEN BABY BOOK Men wearing only cotton nappies are due to abseil down a Birmingham hospital to launch a guide for expectant mothers. The event at Good Hope Hospital publicises the Baby GROE brochure, the first UK-wide directory of natural products and services for babies. Authors Susan Oak and Lynda Cochrane wanted to give information on ecological ways of caring for children. CANNON HANDED TO POLICE A 3ft long home-made cannon has been handed in to police in Birmingham as part of a national gun amnesty. The camouflage design cannon, which is wheel mounted and fires two-and-a-half inch cannonballs, was surrendered at Castle Vale station on Monday. A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: "This is probably the strangest hand-in we have had so far." RAPE PROBE POLICE PLEA TO PAIR Police probing the rape of a Coventry woman who was held for nearly 12 hours want two key witnesses to come forward. The 27-year-old victim was bundled into a car in the city centre and driven to an unknown address where she was raped. A passer-by who told the woman she was in Whittaker Street on March 14 and a Big Issue seller called Hayley who she saw before the kidnap are being sought. TOOL BOOST FOR DEVELOPING WORLD The country's first tool recycling bank has officially opened in Coventry. Coventry City Council urged residents to donate old DIY equipment which can be repaired and sent to developing or disaster-hit nations. The centre, on London Road, has so far collected one tonne of tools, including 22 knitting machines and plumbing and pipe-fitting equipment. COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR SON OF MP The son of a Labour MP and his friend who beat up a customer in a
takeaway queue in Walsall have been given a total of 280 hours' community
service. Brendon Turner, whose father Dennis is MP for Wolverhampton South
East, joined Steven Richards in beating Martin Brennan, Stafford Crown
Court heard. The pair were also ordered to pay Mr Brennan £250 each
in compenation.
PHONE
BACK TO BIRMINGHAM101 HOME PAGE
|
