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COUSIN HUNTED OVER BRIDE MURDER Detectives are hunting the first cousin of a Birmingham bride who was found stabbed to death on her wedding day. West Midlands Police want to speak to Rafaquat Hussain, from Surrey, after his 21-year-old cousin was found with 14 stab wounds in Saltley. Officers say Mr Hussain, 37, was unhappy about the marriage and argued with the bride before she was attacked. WOMAN FIGHTS OFF CAR THIEF A woman shopper was grabbed by the hair by a would-be robber who tried to steal her car in Dudley. The victim, who is from Tipton, managed to fight off her attacker when he tried to pull her out of her Vauxhall Corsa at Tesco in Birmingham New Road. Police say the man was Asian, about 25, had a local accent and was wearing a green woollen hat and blue jeans. MAN MAY BE HIT-AND-RUN VICTIM A man whose body was discovered in a Birmingham road may have been the victim of a hit-and-run, say police. The man was found in Willow Way, Chelmsley Wood and was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers are asking the drivers of a Y-reg blue Ford Transit van with the name Midland Welding and a silver car spotted at the scene to contact them MISSING GIRL FOUND SAFE A 13-year-old Worcester girl has been found safe and well after going missing for six days. West Mercia Police said Samantha Bird, who disappeared from an address in the Warndon Villages area, had attended a police station in the city. A spokesman for the force, which has conducted an extensive search, thanked the public for their help. MP BACKS CAMPAIGN FOR MORE CASH Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff is supporting Worcestershire County Council's campaign to be awarded the same funding as its neighbours. The Tory MP has tabled a parliamentary question asking why Worcestershire does not receive the Additional Costs Allowance like neighbouring counties. It could mean £10m a year to cover the costs of employing extra people. FOOTBALLER'S NAME TO ADORN TRAM Former England and West Bromwich Albion footballer Jeff Astle is among a list of people whose names are set to adorn trams on the Midland Metro network. The West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority, Centro, says other names will include Joseph Chamberlain, who was once Lord Mayor of Birmingham. The plans are set to be approved by Centro's policy and strategy committee. MEP OPPOSES WAR IN IRAQ West Midlands Euro-MP Liz Lynne has expressed her opposition to war against Iraq, claiming there is no evidence that the country is a threat to the UK. "We are building up troops in the Middle East while government ministers cannot even agree on the likelihood of us going to war," the MEP said. Ms Lynne urged the Prime Minister to justify his actions on Iraq. COMPANIES 'BACK EURO ENTRY' The majority of companies in Birmingham and Solihull are in favour of joining the European single currency within the next two years, a survey has found. An internet poll launched by Birmingham and Solihull Chamber of Commerce and Industry found that 55% of firms were in favour of entry into the eurozone. Some 64% of service sector companies wanted to adopt the euro. MP WELCOMES ENERGY MEASURES A Sandwell MP campaigning for an end to the "doorstep energy-selling rip-off" has cautiously welcomed a package of measures to tackle the problem. Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, wants to end "unscrupulous" door-to-door selling of gas and electricity by utility companies. The industry has unveiled a code with compensation for victims of bad sales. GIRLS ENCOURAGED TO PLAY SOCCER Girls in Staffordshire are being encouraged to take part in special soccer training sessions to increase female participation in the game. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council said the eight-week course would begin at the new Brough Park Leisure Centre, Leek, on January 22. The course is for girls aged 7-11, and runs until March 19.
DRIVER KILLED IN VAN THEFT Police are hunting the killer of a van driver who died in Birmingham as he tried to stop his vehicle being stolen. The unnamed 37-year-old's body was found lying in the road in Willow Way, Chelmsley Wood. The driver, a father-of-two who lived locally, had gone into the shop to buy a newspaper, but emerged to find his van was being taken, police said. POLICE MAKE FRESH APPEAL Police investigating the murder of a man whose remains were found in a pond are issuing a fresh information appeal in Wolverhampton to help identify him. Police are to hold a news conference in the city as experts believe the victim may have lived in the region. The victim is thought to be aged in his 20s, about 5ft 8in and walked with a limp from a childhood deformity. BLAZE RESCUE PENSIONER DIES A pensioner who was pulled from her burning home in Redditch has died in hospital. The 66-year-old woman, who has not been formally identified, was rescued from the blaze in Evesham Road but died at the Alexandra Hospital. West Mercia Police are contacting relatives and said the fire is not thought to be suspicious. CAR LAW WILL CREATE HUGE BILLS A West Midlands MEP is warning that local councils could face huge bills as a result of a new environmental law. Lib Dem MEP Liz Lynne said councils will face problems and expense over an EU law to make owners pay to remove pollutants from their old vehicles. A report claims thousands of extra cars could be dumped on British streets as a result, costing the taxpayer millions. AIRPORT SETS PASSENGER RECORD Birmingham International Airport has set a new passenger record for the eleventh year after handling more than eight million travellers in 2002. A spokesman for the UK's fifth largest airport, said the total - 8,032,496 -represented a 2.8% increase. Record monthly figures were achieved in eight out of twelve months, with the busiest ever month being August. BOY BANNED FROM STREETS An 11-year-old boy has been banned from 80 streets in Wolverhampton for four years by an anti-social behaviour order following a six-month reign of terror. Lukon Straker, from Low Hill, becomes the youngest person in the Midlands to be served with such an order. Straker was given the ban at the city's magistrates' court after he terrorised residents with threats of violence. £100m LEISURE COMPLEX PLANNED Developers have unveiled plans to transform a derelict site in the Black Country into a £100m leisure and business complex. The proposed scheme, called The Junction, is earmarked for a 15-hectare plot off Oldbury's Ringway. Nearly 1,800 jobs would be created if the project, which includes a new ice rink and police station, goes ahead. NEW CENTRE WILL STUDY VIOLENCE A new international centre aimed at investigating the causes of family violence and serious crime has been set up at the University of Birmingham. The Centre for Forensic and Family Psychology has been established at the university's School of Psychology. The centre's aim is to investigate the causes and consequences of family violence and serious crime. PLAN TO INCREASE TEACHER SUPPLY Staffordshire's education service has unveiled a package of measures to improve teacher recruitment rates to primary schools in the county. The initiative, which is backed by headteachers and teacher training institutions, will see the creation of a 25-strong teaching pool. It will include a teacher database, so vacancies can be filled more easily. NEW CHIEF HAILED BY MINISTER A Government trade and industry minister has welcomed the appointment of a new chair to regional development agency Advantage West Midlands. Manufacturing minister Alan Johnson MP said Nick Paul would continue the good work that has gone before him. He said: "I've every confidence in Advantage West Midlands' ability to support the sector." VITAL WITNESS SOUGHT IN KILLING Police are seeking a potentially vital witness to the murder of a Chelmsley Wood man run over near his home as he tried to stop his van being stolen. Det Insp Gary Davison, head of the investigation into the death of David Warrilow, 37, is urging the person who made a 999 call to contact them. He is appealing for anyone who was in the Willow Way area to come forward. THUG ROBS UNCONSCIOUS VICTIM Police in Telford are appealing for help in catching a robber who attacked two men in the town's busy bus station, leaving one of them unconscious. One victim lost three teeth and had his nose broken before the thug snatched his money as he lay unconscious. Both times the mugger, who is white, tall and in his early 30s, asked for change before assaulting his victims. DRIVER CRITICAL AFTER CRASH A Black Country motorist is in a critical condition in hospital after his car was in collision with a taxi. The 47-year-old, from Bilston, was driving a blue J-reg Ford Orion along Cannock Road, Wolverhampton, when the incident occurred. The 25-year-old driver of the taxi and his two female passengers, aged 23 and 22, escaped with cuts and bruises. POLICE FREE VICTIM'S BROTHER A man arrested over the murders of two teenage girls gunned down outside a New Year party in Birmingham has been freed by detectives. The man, believed to be Marcus Ellis, the brother of victim Charlene Ellis, 18, had been granted police bail. The 23-year-old was arrested by police hunting the killers of Charlene and her 17-year-old cousin Letisha Shakespeare. FIRE CHIEF CONCERNS OVER STRIKE The region's most senior fire officer has expressed disappointment at the Fire Brigades' Union decision to stage further strike action on Monday Fire Service Chief Fire Officer Ken Knight said: "The FBU has announced more strikes where inevitably the community will be at greater risk. "I hope that even now the FBU will call off the strike and return to ACAS." FOUR 'SCARRED IN RADIO CONTEST' A Birmingham radio station is to be prosecuted after four people were injured in a competition in which contestants had to sit on dry ice. The "Coolest Seats in Town" contest in August 2001, staged by BRMB, left some participants with permanent scarring. The Health and Safety Executive say the contest resulted in a serious loss of skin, fat, muscle and tissue. BONES USED TO IDENTIFY MAN Police investigating the murder of a man whose remains were found in a pond have identified that he came from the West Midlands through bone analysis. Detectives said forensic tests showed a "chemical signature" linking the victim to Wolverhampton or Birmingham. The skeletal remains were found by a woman walking her dog near the village of Charnock Richard near Chorley. JAILED TEENAGER FOUND HANGED A teenage girl from Rugby jailed for robbery has been found hanged in a cell 12 days into her sentence. Leanne Gidney, 18, was taken to Brock Hill Prison in Worcester after being sentenced to 18 months in jail at Warwick Crown Court. The Home Office said she was discovered with a ligature round her neck and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. MURDERED BRIDE'S COUSIN FLEES The first cousin of a bride found stabbed to death on her wedding day in Birmingham has fled the UK. Rafaquat Hussain, from Surrey, boarded a flight to Pakistan only hours after 21-year-old Sahda Bibi was found with multiple knife wounds. Police said Mr Hussain, 37, was unhappy about the marriage and rowed with the bride before she was killed. RARE CRAYFISH COLONY MOVED A colony of rare crayfish has been relocated in a Warwickshire canal by ecologists. Hundreds of the freshwater crustaceans were removed from a stretch of the Oxford Canal near Newbold-on-Avon ahead of repair work on a tunnel. A British Waterways ecologist said the protected white-clawed crayfish is the only species native to Britain.
16th. January 2003 TV STAR KELLY ARRESTED IN CITY TV presenter Matthew Kelly has been arrested at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre by police probing allegations of sexual abuse against young boys. The 52-year-old Stars In Their Eyes host is being held in connection with "historic allegations" of sexual abuse against boys under 16. Kelly is playing the part of Captain Hook in a show running until Saturday. SEX PROBE: POLICE TO QUIZ TWO A second man held in the Matthew Kelly sex abuse probe has been named as Tam Paton, a former manager of 1970s pop chart-toppers the Bay City Rollers. Paton is in his late 50s. Allegations made involve his home in Edinburgh. A number of addresses are being searched. It was said that these arrests were not connected to Operation Ore, a US probe into internet child pornography. KELLY: POLICE PROBE 70s CLAIMS Police have said the sex abuse claims made against TV host Matthew Kelly relate to specific incidents that occurred during the 1970s. A spokesman said: "They are not current offences and the allegation is not that they have been going on since then." Police said these were the first arrests in their investigation, which had been ongoing for several months. 12 SENTENCED IN CASHPOINT SCAM West Midlands Police have welcomed jail sentences for 12 cashcard holders who exploited a cashpoint computer glitch to steal a total of £285,000. Over five days, some Coventry Building Society ATMs "gifted" more than £850,000 to cardholders of other banks. At Coventry Crown Court, 12 defendants were given sentences including 15-month jail terms, fines and community orders. MP CONCERNED OVER FAKE CERAMICS A West Midlands Euro MP is urging his constituents working in the Potteries to help stop counterfeit ceramic goods. Labour MEP Michael Cashman said a seizure of 175,000 mugs with fake "Made In England" backstamps at Felixstowe highlighted the extent of the problem. He said: "It is vital that anyone who has got evidence or information tips off the authorities." CALL FOR CELL DEATH INQUIRY The death in custody pressure group Inquest has called for an independent inquiry after a young Warwickshire woman was found hanged in prison. Leanne Gidney, 18, from Rugby, was discovered in her cell at Brockhill prison, Redditch, just 12 days into her 18-month sentence for robbery. Inquest co-director Deborah Coles said: "Serious questions have to be asked." BREWERY DONATES TO GUIDE DOGS A brewery in Warwickshire is launching a beer named after a retiring guide dog to help raise money towards training canine companions for the blind. Warwickshire Beer Company, based near Leamington Spa, is donating 20p to Guide Dogs for the Blind for every bottle of Old Warwick sold. The brew has been named after Warwick, one of the charity's golden labradors. NATIONAL CRIME UNIT CHIEF NAMED The Home Secretary has appointed West Mercia Chief Constable Peter Hampson as the next director general of the National Criminal Intelligence Service. Mr Hampson, who has led the West Mercia force since April 1999, succeeds John Abbott, who is due to retire in March. Home Secretary David Blunkett said: "He will bring his experience, commitment and clear-thinking energy to the role." CALLS TO DRUGS HOTLINE DOUBLE West Midlands Police have revealed that calls to Crimestoppers giving information about drugs have almost doubled since April. Arrests for trafficking in heroin and cocaine went up by more than a third from 416 to 567 in the same period. Between April and December there were 1,234 calls to the hotline, compared to 629 in the same period in 2001. JOBLESS FIGURE RISES BY 13,000 The jobless figure for the West Midlands rose by 13,000 in the three months September to November, compared with the same period in 2001. The number of people out of work stood at 158,000, according to the latest official figures. The unemployment rate was 6%. The number of people out of work nationally stood at 1,515,000. SETTLEMENT IN 'MIDRIFF' CASE A legal secretary who claimed she was told her clothes were too revealing
has accepted an out-of-court settlement from her former employers. Johanna
Battista, 32, of Marston Green, reached the agreement with Birmingham
solicitors Garner Canning. She believed complaints about her exposed midriff
were going to be used as an excuse to sack her. VICTIM'S MOTHER WANTS JUSTICE The mother of a teenage girl shot dead in a gangland attack in Birmingham has vowed to pursue her daughter's killers until they are brought to justice. Letisha Shakespear's mother, Marcia Shakespear, said: "If it takes 10 years, they will be brought to justice because these girls were innocent. "I don't care what gangs there are -they can mark my face - I don't care." GUN CRIME RISE DISCUSSED Police officers are meeting MPs in Birmingham to discuss ways of tackling gun crime after two teenage girls were shot dead in the city. West Midlands Police will be joined by the Anglican Bishop of Birmingham, Dr John Sentamu, to brief local MPs about the rise in firearms offences. The meeting will take place at the force's headquarters in Colmore Circus. KELLY THANKS PUBLIC TV presenter Matthew Kelly has thanked the public for its support after being bailed on child sex abuse allegations. The Stars In Their Eyes host was given a rapturous round of applause at the Birmingham Repertory theatre, where he is performing in Peter Pan. Kelly, 52, was released on bail earlier after questioning and has "emphatically denied" the allegations against him. MAN HELD OVER BRIDE'S MURDER Detectives have arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with the murder of a bride who was stabbed to death on her wedding day in Birmingham. Sahda Bibi, 21, died after suffering 14 knife wounds at her family home in Alum Rock, Birmingham. Police are still trying to trace her cousin Rafaquat Hussain, who is thought to have fled to Pakistan. AIRPORT STAFF ACCEPT PAY OFFER Baggage handlers and check-in staff at Birmingham and Coventry airports have voted to accept a 4.2% pay offer. Unions representing the workers, who are employed by Aviance, said the one-year deal was the "leading" pay settlement in aviation. Amicus, the GMB and The Transport and General Workers Union said the value of paying well had been recognised. RAIL PASSENGERS SPEAK OF ANGER West Midlands rail passengers have spoken of their anger at service cuts by the Strategic Rail Authority. Weekday trains between Birmingham and Derby had been increased to five per hour in October last year but will now be cut back to four. Passengers at Birmingham New Street Station said trains were already frequently cancelled and overcrowded. TRIAL DATE FOR EMBRYO CASE A Staffordshire woman fighting to stop her former partner destroying test-tube embryos has been given a trial date. Solicitors for Lorraine Hadley, 37, from Baswich, said the case has been listed in the High Court for June 30. The case, the first on the status of an embryo and the rights of the parties who have undergone IVF treatment, is expected to last five days. EU LAWS SAVE CHOCOLATE EXPORTS European judges have stopped Spain and Italy from restricting sales of Birmingham-based Cadbury's chocolate. Both countries were found guilty of breaching EU trade laws by insisting imports be labelled as "chocolate substitute". Gary Titley, Labour's leader in the EU Parliament, said: "A positive ruling will be a sweet victory indeed." NINE RESCUED FROM FLAT BLAZE Nine people have been taken to hospital after they were rescued from a fire in a Black Country block of flats. Four fire crews from Oldbury and Smethwick rescued the group from the first floor of Alfred Gunn House, Langley Green, with a 30ft ladder. West Midlands Fire Service said the blaze was being treated as arson by their investigators and the police.
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