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POLICE PROBE COUPLE'S DEATHS Detectives are keeping an open mind about the deaths of a husband and wife who were found dead in their home near Pershore in Worcestershire. The woman - whose body was found in the kitchen of the house in Pinvin - had been strangled, police confirmed. The man was found in a downstairs toilet, having suffered fatal shotgun wounds to the head. MEN TIED UP IN GOLF CLUB RAID Armed raiders have escaped with cash after tying up two security workers at The Belfry golf complex. Three masked offenders with shotguns stole the contents of a safe at the Belfry Hotel near Wishaw, Warwickshire. The security men suffered cuts and bruising to the face, but did not require hospital treatment. Police want to speak to any witnesses. PAIR IN COURT OVER CRASH DEATH A teenager is due to be sentenced for his part in the death of an elderly garage boss who was run over in Dudley. The Tipton boy, 16, who has admitted aggravated vehicle taking and assault over the death of Henry Raybould, is due before Wolverhampton Crown Court. Stuart Ferguson, 24, is also due in court having been charged with the murder of the 75-year-old grandfather. BODY FOUND IN DAMAGED HOUSE A woman's body has been discovered in a fire-damaged house in Worcestershire. West Mercia Police are appealing for witnesses and information following the find at the house in Tewkesbury road, Eckington. The woman was last seen alive on Saturday. Officers have confirmed that they are not looking for anybody else in connection with the death. CITIES BID FOR TRANSPORT CASH Worcester and Wolverhampton are among seven places hoping to win cash through the Government's multi-million pound Sustainable Transport Town initiative. The Department for Transport has set aside £7.5m to help develop plans for sustainable transport in two places. The winners will use the money to encourage walking, cycling and other public transport use. MAN KILLED IN MOTORBIKE CRASH A 27-year-old Birmingham man has been killed after his Yamaha bike was in collision with a car in the Stechford area of the city, police said. The victim, who has not been named, died in hospital shortly after the accident in The Lea, at its junction with Latelow Road. The driver of the Rover 416 involved in the incident was unhurt. RIVER CLEAN-UP OPERATION BEGINS Fire crews and police are joining forces to help clean up the River Cole in Birmingham. Members of the Arson Task Force will clear several burnt out cars from the river at Hay Barn Recreation Ground in Small Heath. The work, part of the city council's You Are Your City scheme, will also see the areas around the river cleaned up. POLICE WARNING OVER THEFT Motorists across Birmingham are being urged to use secure car parks by police in a bid to tackle auto-crime hotspots this Christmas. Police will be patrolling the city centre and car parks to crack down on vehicle crime, which traditionally rises in the festive period. A police spokesman said: "We urge people not to leave any items on show." MEP CALLS FOR EU REGISTER West Midlands Euro-MP Michael Cashman has backed a campaign for better child protection across the European Union. The Labour MEP has thrown his weight behind the NSPCC's call for an EU-wide sex offenders register. Mr Cashman said: "All European governments and police forces should work together to ensure we protect the most vulnerable people in society." WOMAN IN LINE FOR TOP JOB Bromsgrove District Council has offered its top job to a woman for the first time. Susan Nixon, Chief Leisure Services Officer at Wolverhampton City Council, has been offered the post of Chief Executive. Council Leader Dennis Norton said: "It was a difficult choice but we have an excellent prospective chief officer." WEST MIDLANDS GOES CRACKERS FOR CRACKERS! Christmas cracker jokes aren't meant to be side-splittingly funny and Brits love that they're not, according to Birmingham-based Christmas cracker manufacturer Robin Reed. The tradition of corny cracker jokes has lived on over the years, with Britain preferring to groan then giggle when pulling crackers at the Christmas dinner table. 
SPY CAMERA 'AGAINST THE RULES' Staff at a Stafford high school flouted child privacy rules by installing a spy camera to catch a thief red-handed. The headteacher of Walton High School had to write to parents, assuring them no pupils were filmed. No formal action will be taken, education chiefs said. It is thought the camera was installed inside a clock in an office during a weekend following a series of thefts. LANDLORD ROBBED AT GUNPOINT A Birmingham pub landlord and his staff were threatened at gunpoint by two armed robbers who raided his premises. West Midlands Police said the hooded raiders struck at the Coach and Horses in Castle Bromwich. A teenage member of staff was tied up and another locked in the kitchen before the 49-year-old landlord handed over an undisclosed quantity of cash. WARNING OVER CASH CARD SCAM Shoppers in Kidsgrove should check cash machines before withdrawing money following a card scam which robbed customers of thousands of pounds. A device which can read and copy card details was attached to a cash point at Tesco in Liverpool Street. Three people contacted police to say their account details were used for large fraudulent transactions. PUBLICAN MURDER: TWO IN COURT Two men are to appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court accused of murdering a landlord who was found dead at his pub. Lee Michael Worgan and Gavin Raymond Chapman, both 24, are charged with killing Michael Hughes, 49, at the Royal Oak in Pelsall in April. Worgan and Chapman are also facing a charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. MOTORIST FINED FOR NOISY CAR A teenage motorist from Shrewsbury who ignored police warnings about his noisy car has been forced to hand it over under new legislation. Officers received complaints about the 17-year-old's Ford Escort, which was tuned to deliberately backfire. The vehicle was impounded under the Police Reform Act and will not be released until a £105 fine is paid. BENEFITS CHEAT JAILED A benefits cheat who swindled nearly £30,000 from social services has been jailed for 18 months at Birmingham Crown Court. Judy Ogom, 48, from Kings Heath, claimed housing benefit for five years when she in fact owned her own home. Ogom admitted at an earlier hearing to eight counts of dishonestly making false statements and benefit claims. MOTHER'S PLEA TO MISSING GIRL The mother of a 15-year-old girl who may have run away to Birmingham has appealed for her to contact her family before Christmas. Sophia Dacosta-Rees left foster carers in Northampton more than a month ago. West Midlands Police fear the teenager, may have fallen victim to prostitution. Her mother Caroline Diamond said: "I just want to know that Sophia is OK." BID TO RE-STAGE ELECTION FAILS A legal bid to re-stage elections in one Dudley council ward has failed. The High Court ruled that last May's result in Belle Vale & Hasbury ward must stand. Dudley council chief Andrew Sparke welcomed the decision. Labour's Martin Knight had brought the case against Conservative Jill Nicholls after the Royal Mail failed to deliver 58 postal ballot papers in time. MOTHER OF ABANDONED BABY FOUND The mother of a baby who was abandoned in public toilets in Worcestershire in October has been traced. The child, named Isobel while she was in the care of social services, was discovered at the Rowland Hill Shopping Centre in Kidderminster on October 10. A police spokesman said: "Social services are liaising with the mother regarding the future of the baby," ICE HOCKEY FAN WINS PAYOUT A Birmingham ice hockey fan who bet that the goalkeeper on his favourite team would score a goal won a £5,000 payout when the rare feat was achieved. Timothy Robins, a Coventry Blaze supporter, staked £100 at odds of 50-1 on netminder Jody Lehman getting his name on the scoresheet this season. Lehman scored from 180ft in Coventry's 4-2 victory over Basingstoke Bison.
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