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ORPHANS' TRIBUTE TO FAMILY Two Herefordshire teenagers orphaned by a minibus crash have paid tribute to their parents and younger brother who were killed in the accident. Fifteen-year-old Richard McCoig-Lees's parents, Martin and Denise, and brother Ryan, nine, were killed when their bus crashed on the M56, Greater Manchester. Richard and his brother Matthew, 19, are now staying with family in Ledbury. YOUTH KILLED AS CAR HITS TRUCK A teenage boy died when the car he was in collided with a stationary lorry on the hard shoulder of a Worcestershire motorway, police have said. The 16-year-old, from Gloucestershire, was killed in the crash on the westbound M42 near Redditch. The Central Motorway Police Group said two other men who were travelling with him were both taken to hospital. OAP DEATH: TWO MEN CHARGED Two men have been charged with the murder of a pensioner, killed as he allegedly tried to stop a car theft at his garage in Gornalwood, near Dudley. Henry Raybould, 75, died after he was run over at his family's garage business on Thursday. The widower's body was found by his granddaughter. The two men are set to appear before Dudley magistrates. BODY-IN-BARREL CASE RESUMES A jury is resuming its deliberations on a man accused of killing a drug dealer whose body was stuffed in a plastic barrel and dumped near Wolverhampton. The jury at Stafford Crown Court heard how Floyd Dodson's body was found by a council workman beside a country lane in Pendeford in August 1999. Nigel Brade, 41, of Bloomsbury, central London, denies unlawful killing. PROTESTERS DISMAYED OVER RULING Anti-noise campaigners near Birmingham International Airport are dismayed at a legal judgment that night flights do not infringe human rights legislation. Birmingham Airport Anti-Noise Group is outraged the Government got a 2001 ruling over night flights overturned. Group secretary James Botham said: "We intend to keep on campaigning for a ban and compensation for residents." PM SLAMMED OVER TERROR TRIALS The father of a Birmingham man detained at Guantanamo Bay as a terror suspect by the US has accused Tony Blair of failing to help release his son. Azmat Begg, 63, denied son Moazzam, 35, had done anything wrong but said he should be "put before British justice". He added: "The Prime Minister has a big responsibility and is doing nothing and has done nothing for months." UNIVERSITY AWARDED FUNDS The University of Coventry has been awarded £250,000 to help retain skilled employees in the West Midlands. The University's School of Mathematical and Information Sciences said the cash is to fund postgraduate study in computing and information technology. The money from the European Social Fund covers full fees for eligible students and additional funding for books. PARENTS LAUNCH YOGHURT RANGE Two Warwickshire mothers frustrated at the lack of healthy food available for young children are launching a range of organic fruit yoghurts in supermarkets. Sally Luckraft, 34, and Lynda Power, 40, developed organic foods and formed their own company, naming it Bentom after sons Ben and Thomas respectively. Supermarket chain Waitrose is to sell varieties in 140 stores from today. ARCHDEACON ENCOURAGES PEACE A senior Birmingham clergyman has stressed the importance of support for the police in curbing the rise of gun-related crime in the city. Archdeacon of Aston John Barton said: "Every person has the right to make what is called a citizen's arrest. "I am not recommending that but we all have a policing function if we want our community to be safe and peaceful." 12-YEAR-OLD AN ALLOTMENT HOLDER Green-fingered residents in Birmingham have been urged to follow in the footsteps of a 12-year-old who is the city's youngest allotment holder. David Weake, who has a plot at the Fox Hollies Nine Stiles Allotments, could be one of the youngest in the country. Association Treasurer Derek Sheppard said: "Women account for 25% of our members and we have keen youngsters." COUPLE SCOOP £4.5M IN LOTTERY A Birmingham couple will receive a £4.5m cheque after landing the jackpot in last Saturday's National Lottery. Lottery organisers Camelot said the couple, who have yet to be publicly identified, would receive the cheque at the Botanical Gardens in Edgbaston. The South Yardley couple had asked for the champagne reception at the gardens after scooping the prize. 157mph BIKER TO BE SENTENCED A Leamington Spa motorcyclist who was caught riding at what is thought to be the fastest speed recorded by police on a British road is due to be sentenced. Andrew Osborne, 29, was clocked doing 157mph on a dual carriageway in Bucks and will face magistrates at Aylesbury. He is to appear alongside Neil Bolger, 29, of Gaydon, who was recorded doing 148mph on the same stretch of road. MAN JAILED OVER BARREL DEATH A man has been jailed for six years after being found guilty of killing a cocaine dealer whose body was found in a plastic barrel near Wolverhampton. Nigel "Chrome" Brade, from Catford in London, was convicted of the manslaughter of Floyd Dodson - whose corpse was found in Pendeford in 1999. Brade showed no emotion over the conviction at Stafford Crown Court. VICTIM'S MOTHER TO GIVE SPEECH The mother of murdered Birmingham teenager Letisha Shakespeare is to tell a group of pupils about the shattering impact gun crime has on people's lives. Marcia Shakespeare is to address more than 100 students at George Dixon International School in Edgbaston. Mrs Shakespeare's 17-year-old daughter was shot dead with friend Charlene Ellis, 18, outside a New Year party. MOST EXPENSIVE PLAY IN COUNTRY Summer play schemes in the West Midlands are the most expensive in the country, costing £85 a week, compared to the national average of £67.60. Parents across England have seen a massive rise in holiday childcare costs, according to a new survey by children's charity the Daycare Trust. Prices in the West Midlands have risen £27.50 from last year's average £57.50. SECOND MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER A second teenager has been charged with the murder of a welder who died as he attempted to stop thieves stealing his van in Solihull in January. David Warrilow, 37, was knocked down by the Ford Transit as the gang sped away during the incident in Chelmsley Wood. The 19-year-old is due to appear before Solihull magistrates. Another 19-year-old man was charged last week. MP STEPS INTO FUNDING CRISIS Worcester MP Mike Foster has written to headteachers in the city setting out four steps to end the funding crisis. The Labour MP's proposals include finding cash for education budgets from other ministries, not just the Department for Education and Skills. He also believes levying higher council tax could help raise funds for Worcestershire's schoolchildren. 'FASTEST' CAR TO BE UNVEILED The British land speed record holders are unveiling a new car in Lutterworth which is billed as the world's fastest electric vehicle. E=motion was developed by Colin Fallows and Mark Newby and has been engineered to beat the existing land speed record for an electric motor of 249mph. The vehicle will be presented at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground. TWO CHARGED WITH GARAGE MURDER A man and a teenage boy have been remanded in custody by Dudley magistrates charged with the murder of a West Midlands garage owner. Stuart Ferguson, 24, of Wolverhampton, and a 16-year-old youth who cannot be named for legal reasons, are accused of killing Henry Raybould, 75. Mr Raybould was run over by a car which was driven off his forecourt in Dudley. £3.6m DAMAGES FOR CRASH WOMAN A trainee Staffs solicitor whose career was ruined after a head-on crash has been awarded more than £3,666,000 agreed damages by a High Court judge. Anne-Marie Goodreid, 30, was driving along the A5 near Telford in 1998 when she swerved into an oncoming coach. She lost control after seeing a car, which was trying to overtake two vehicles, coming towards her. CRASH BUS DRIVER FACES QUIZZING Police are hoping to speak to the driver of a minibus, which was hit by a fast train in Worcs, killing three foreign agricultural workers on board. Soran Karim, 23, of Iraq, Satish Kumar, 28, from India, and Islam Ahmed, 46, of Bangladesh, died in the Evesham crash. The minibus was hit by the 7.03am service from Hereford to London on July 7. The driver is in intensive care WOMAN ACCUSED OF MURDER BID A 23-year-old Derby woman has been charged with attempted murder following the stabbing of a shopper in a Burton-upon-Trent discount store. Staffs police arrested the woman after the 59-year-old female victim was knifed, suffering broken ribs and a punctured lung in the Wilkinson store. The accused woman is due to appear before magistrates in Burton. MAN CHARGED OVER VAN MURDER A 20-year-old Birmingham man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a welder who died as he tried to stop thieves stealing his van. Matthew Fitzgerald, of Shard End, is accused of killing father-of-two David Warrilow - run down by his own van. Fitzgerald was ordered to appear before Birmingham Crown Court with another defendant, Christopher Clarke, 19. SCHOOLBOY SHOT WITH AIRGUN A 14-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being shot in the head with an airgun pellet during his school lunch break in Stoke-on-Trent. The boy suffered non-life threatening injuries when he was struck by the pellet at Holden Lane High School. Community beat officers attended the school to gather information about the incident. Witnesses are being sought. DERAILMENT DELAYS PASSENGERS Thousands of rail passengers on a section of the West Coast main line between Nuneaton and Stafford have had their trip severely disrupted. The key London-to-Scotland route became blocked by a freight train derailment. Virgin West Coast users had to contend with delays of up to an hour. A Network Rail spokesman said rail buckling was a possible cause being checked. TRUST IMPROVES PERFORMANCE The trust which runs three Warwickshire hospitals has been awarded two stars in new performance tables, after achieving the lowest possible rating in 2001. University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust turned standards around two years after being given no stars following a damning report. The trust runs Walsgrave, Coventry and Warwickshire and Rugby St Cross. HOSPITAL LOSES TOP NHS RATING A Walsall hospital shortlisted for foundation status by the Government has lost its top rating of three stars in the latest NHS performance tables. Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust is one of four sites that can no longer apply to be among the first foundation hospitals due to open in April 2004. The trust dropped to two stars in the annual performance tables. WORKERS ENTICED TO GET ON BIKES The Coventry-based organisation behind International Ride To Work Day is enticing commuters to get on their bikes with a special free breakfast. The Motorcycle Industry Association is holding the event in Eaton Road as part of a bid to encourage workers on to two wheels for their daily journey to work. The MIA claims journeys on two wheels can dramatically cut congestion. MP DEMANDS TRANSPORT ACTION Cannock Chase Labour MP Tony Wright has called for "joined-up thinking" to combat massive congestion on the M6 and inadequate local rail services. Mr Wright told the Commons that local traffic was contributing to congestion on the M6 but that alternative rail routes were unreliable and overcrowded. Transport Minister Kim Howells said the £1bn roads programme will aid the area. JOBS HOPE OVER NEW CASINO PLAN An American company has unveiled plans to create up to 1,000 jobs by building Britain's largest casino in Coventry. Isle of Capri Casinos is to build the 100,000 sq ft complex on a 72.5-acre site, on part of the £60m Coventry Arena, due to open in 2005. Company chairman Bernard Goldstein said the development will bring numerous economic benefits to the area. 90,000 ECSTASY TABLETS SEIZED Detectives have arrested four people and confiscated 90,000 Ecstasy tablets with an estimated street value of £1m in a drugs swoop in Warwickshire. West Midlands Police uncovered the massive haul during a raid on an address in the village of Wolston. They also found cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis and £10,000 cash at two properties in Walsgrave, Coventry. CRASH BUS DRIVER FACES QUIZZING Police are hoping to speak to the driver of a minibus which was hit by a fast train in Worcs, killing three foreign agricultural workers on board. Soran Karim, 23, of Iraq, Satish Kumar, 28, from India, and Islam Ahmed, 46, of Bangladesh, died in the Evesham crash. The minibus was hit by the 7.03am service from Hereford to London on July 7. The driver is in intensive care. UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS BY 4,000 The jobless figure for the West Midlands fell by 4,000 in the three months March to May, compared with the previous quarter. The number of people out of work stood at 148,000, according to the latest official figures. The unemployment rate was 5.7%. The number of people out of work nationally stood at 1,474,000. 11 HELD IN £100k CANNABIS HAUL Detectives are questioning 11 people arrested around the West Midlands following the seizure of cannabis with an estimated value of £100,000. Ten men and one woman were held after raids on 15 addresses in Great Barr and Aston, Birmingham and West Bromwich. They recovered around 20kg of cannabis, 20 plants, £75,000 cash and a small amount of Class A drugs. BOY CHARGED FOR SCHOOL SHOOTING A teenager has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting of a Stoke-on-Trent schoolboy who was hit in the head by an air gun pellet. The 16-year-old boy was arrested after the pupil, 14, was injured during his lunch hour at Holden Lane High School. The youth is to appear before Stoke-on-Trent Youth Court on July 23 accused of assault and possession of a firearm. MAN CHARGED OVER ATTACK A 22-year-old Birmingham man is in a serious condition in hospital after suffering head injuries in an attack. The victim was found unconscious in Weston, near Bristol, after visiting the area with friends. A 25-year-old man, who handed himself in at a police station, has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. BARBER SHOP SHOOTING PROBED Birmingham Police are establishing the circumstances of a shooting in which a barber shop was damaged. West Midlands Police found five spent cartridges in Bordesley Green after residents reported hearing gunfire. They are appealing for information about a group of black men seen acting suspiciously in a Rover car moments before the incident. WOMAN ACCUSED OF MURDER BID A 23-year-old Derby woman has been charged with attempted murder following the stabbing of a shopper in a Burton-upon-Trent discount store. Staffs police arrested the woman after the 59-year-old female victim was knifed, suffering broken ribs and a punctured lung in the Wilkinson store. The accused woman is due to appear before magistrates in Burton. DERAILMENT DELAYS PASSENGERS Thousands of rail passengers on a section of the West Coast main line between Nuneaton and Stafford have had their trip severely disrupted. The key London-to-Scotland route became blocked by a freight train derailment. Virgin West Coast users had to contend with delays of up to an hour. A Network Rail spokesman said rail buckling was a possible cause being checked. 'BAD PEOPLE' CLAIM REJECTED The father of a West Midlands al-Qaeda suspect being held in Guantanamo Bay has rejected claims by George Bush that those held there are "bad people". Azmat Begg, from Birmingham, whose son Moazzam has been captive for 18 months, said: "My son is innocent and I am proud of my son." Mr Bush made the statement after talks with Tony Blair in Washington. COMMENT 'ENDS FAIR TRIAL HOPE' A group representing Britons facing trial overseas has claimed the case against a suspected al-Qaeda terrorist from Birmingham has been prejudiced. Fair Trials Abroad said President Bush's description of Guantanamo Bay detainees as "bad people" ended hopes of a fair trial for Moazzam Begg. Mr Begg, from Sparkhill, faces possible execution if convicted by a tribunal. SEX ATTACK VICAR FACING JAIL A former Castle Donington vicar is facing a "substantial" prison sentence after being convicted of a series of sex offences against two young girls. Robin Everett is due before Leicester Crown Court after being convicted of seven counts of indecent assault. Everett, 69, of Derbyshire committed an "appalling breach of trust" while vicar at Castle Donington, the judge said. PEDESTRIAN KILLED IN ACCIDENT A pedestrian has been killed in a collision with a lorry on the A500 in north Staffordshire, police said. The driver of the lorry, who is from Shropshire, was uninjured but the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said witnesses were being sought to the incident on the southbound carriageway of the trunk road. CRIME-PLAGUED FLATS TO GO A crime-plagued tower block and 28 nearby houses are to be demolished in a bid to regenerate the Aston area. Birmingham City Council said the 55 remaining residents of Clyde Tower would be rehoused as a priority. The programme, which will also affect Alma Way, comes after concern among residents and councillors at continued criminal activity in the area. STAFF STRIKING OVER PENSION Hundreds of striking workers at an Oldbury chemical factory are staging a demonstration over a plan to shut the pension scheme to new members. The walk-out at Rhodia is believed to be the first time British workers have taken action to defend a pension. A GMB union spokesman said: "Members know that closing the scheme puts its long term viability at risk." GRANDFATHER SCOOPS DEGREE A great-grandfather is set to graduate from Staffordshire University with a history degree at the age of 72 - and is having a room named in his honour. Former professional boxer Fred Deakin, of Stone, has been awarded a 2:1 BA (Hons) in History. To coincide with the ceremony, Fred is having a resource room rechristened in honour of his achievement. PRISON DENTIST CLEARED BY JURY A former Staffordshire prison dentist has been cleared of assaulting inmates by pulling out healthy teeth to make more money from the NHS. A jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court found Vernon Flackett, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, not guilty of six assault charges and four deception offences. Outside court, the 66-year-old said he was "delighted" to have walked free. AXED WORKERS FACE PENSION CUT Nearly a thousand workers being made redundant at Massey Ferguson's Coventry site face having their pensions slashed following a Court of Appeal ruling. The court ruled that workers, who lose their jobs in two weeks, can have their pensions reduced to reflect the fact they are retiring early. The move overturns a ruling which said they were entitled to a full payout. PRISON NAMED MOST OVERCROWDED Shrewsbury Prison is the most overcrowded in England and Wales, the Home Office has revealed. Prisons minister Paul Goggins said there were 344 inmates at the jail last month, compared with an "uncrowded capacity" of 183. The figures were given in response to a written question from Liberal Democrat Mark Oaten at the House of Commons.
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