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INQUEST OPENS INTO IRAQ DEATH An inquest is due to open on a Kidderminster mine clearance expert who fell victim to a roadside ambush while working for a charity in northern Iraq. Father-of-three Ian Peter Rimell, 53, was killed on September 4 after finishing work for the British-based Mines Advisory Group. The hearing is expected to open in Stourport-on-Severn. MORE DETAILS ON RAPE EXPECTED Further details are due to be released about the rape of a 25-year-old woman in Smethwick. Detectives appealed for witnesses after the attack, which happened when the victim was taken to woodland on the Thimblemill Recreation Ground. The woman, from Smethwick, was walking home when she was approached by a slim black man in his late teens. MAN GUNNED DOWN BY PAIR A 23-year-old Birmingham man suffered serious gunshot wounds after being targeted by two offenders as he returned to his home in Aston. Police said the victim was shot in the leg in Frederick Road by two men who made off in a sports car. Witnesses to the crime, near where Letisha Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis were shot, are urged to contact police. RAIL NETWORK IS 'DISASTROUS' The rail network around Birmingham is a "disastrous" bottleneck, business leaders have told the Government. In response to a consultation process, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry called for the Coventry and Shrewsbury line to be four-tracked. A spokeswoman, said: "There is a need to improve capacity and have Birmingham as a properly linked centre." ROAD REPAIR BACK ON TRACK Highways chiefs in Walsall have settled on a scheme to stabilise limestone mine workings which forced the closure of a road in Aldridge. Walsall Borough Council said plans to reopen Bosty Lane, which closed to traffic in May 2002, are back on track after earlier delays. A spokesman said: "We plan to reopen the road in early January." TRADERS REVAMP CRIME AREAS Traders in the Birchfield area of Birmingham have been allocated £200,000 to help upgrade their premises and regenerate the crime-plagued area. The city council is making the money available to traders on Birchfield Road to upgrade security, extend premises, car parking and street lighting. A spokesperson said: "This will bring in sustainable economic regeneration." STUDENT WINS INVENTION AWARD A Brunel University student from Coventry has created a "retail-scanning device" that tells blind shoppers the price, style and size of clothes. Design student Jordan Hill, 22, won the £1,000 AOL Broadband Innovation Award for the Topscan invention. Topscan is a small handheld device that describes an item of clothing through a headphone when the garment is scanned. PEOPLE WANT TROOPS HOME More than half of people in the West Midlands believe British forces should be pulled out of Iraq, according to a telephone poll. The newspaper survey, conducted in Birmingham, Lichfield, Coventry, the Black Country and Cannock, found 50% believed the Government misled them. But 25% are in favour of sending extra UK soldiers to try to stabilise Iraq. MP WELCOMES HEALTH BUDGET A Shropshire MP has welcomed figures showing the NHS budget for the county has almost doubled since 1997. Labour's Peter Bradley, who represents The Wrekin, said reductions in waiting lists and treatment times show investment in health is paying off. "We have more doctors and nurses treating more patients and more quickly," he said. 'USER ZONE' REDUCES ROBBERIES The installation of a bright yellow hatched "user zone" at a high street cash machine in Birmingham has reduced the number of robberies in the area. The number of customers using the dispenser in Birchfield Road, Aston, has risen by 22%. Pc Keith Doyle said: "I would hazard a guess the rise is linked to changes made and a reduction in fear of crime." FLORA LIGHT CHALLENGE COMES TO BRUM The first ever Flora Light Women's Challenge in Birmingham proved to be a great success on Sunday Morning. The race, which took place in the sun soaked City Centre, attracted nearly 3,000 runners. Participants in the 5km fun run, which was officially started by World Indoor Triple Jump record holder Ashia Hansen and the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor John Alden, have raised nearly £250,000 for charity. The race was won by Susan Partridge in a time of 16 minutes and 45 seconds. TRAIN WORKERS IN JOBS MARCH More than 100 union members from Birmingham are marching on Downing Street to hand over a petition against the decision to close a train plant. French-owned Alstom plans to complete a £100m order to build new Jubilee Line rolling stock in Europe, at a cost of 1,400 jobs at its Washwood Heath plant. The Amicus union wants Tony Blair to alter policies to keep work in the UK. PLAY TO ATTRACT BLOOD DONORS The Royal Shakespeare Company has marked its latest Stratford production of the Bard's most gruesome play by asking the audience to donate blood. The National Blood Service van will be parked outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre during Titus Andronicus. The Blood Service said that unlike the theatre they could not make fake blood and were pleased for any publicity. POOL TO REMAIN CLOSED A newly-installed water feature in a Coventry park is to remain shut until next year after more than 100 children who used it became ill. The pool at the city's War Memorial Park was closed to allow health officials to probe the illness causes. A city council spokesman said samples taken from the site had so far tested negative for cryptosporidium. DEPUTY MAYOR CHARGED WITH RAPE The deputy mayor of Daventry allegedly fondled a woman in a jacuzzi as he sat next to his wife and later raped her, Coventry Crown Court has heard. The court heard Arvind Kachhia, 48, a Daventry councillor, raped the woman at his house after touching her as she shared the spa bath. Kacchia, formerly of Scythe Road, Daventry, denies the charge. SHOT GIRL LIVED IN CARE Social services chief in Birmingham have confirmed a seven-year-old girl executed in London in what is believed to be a Yardie hit lived in their care. Toni-Ann Byfield was killed along with her crack-dealing father Bertram, 41, whom she was visiting. Police say she was shot in the back as she ran away. It is believed she was shot to prevent her identifying her father's killer. MP WELCOMES BUDGET CHANGE Worcester Labour MP Michael Foster has welcomed a change in the Local Government Bill to allow schools and authorities more time to plan budgets. Mr Foster said the amendment would give headteachers much greater certainty about funding earlier in the year. "We have a duty to make things easier for schools to operate, and this change is a big step forward," he said. FRESH APPEAL OVER COMA POSTMAN Police are making a fresh appeal for information about what happened to a Staffordshire postman as he enters his third year in a coma. Barry Delocq-Le-Montais, 35, has not regained consciousness since he collapsed on a stag night in Rugeley. Police believe the father of two, who is in Staffordshire General Hospital, was involved in a road accident. COUNCIL MEETS ON SCHOOL PLACES Coventry's councillors are meeting to discuss how to cut the number of surplus places at 11 primary schools across the city. Falling birth rates in the city have led to a decline in the demand for places and the authority must limit the excess to 10%. Nearly all 11 schools being considered have more than 100 surplus places. LABORATORY HELPS IN LINDH CASE A Birmingham-based forensic laboratory is to help in the hunt for the murderer of Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh. The Forensic Science Service will analyse DNA samples from the craft knife which the killer used to stab the 46-year-old in a Stockholm store. It is hoped the laboratory's pioneering low copy number technique will help lead police to the killer. PLEASURE BOAT PROBE ADJOURNED An inquest into the death of a Birmingham woman who was trapped in a capsized boat has been adjourned to await the results of post-mortem tests. Worcestershire Coroner's Court heard Jane Anne Turner, 45, died when the 20ft pleasure craft overturned at a marina in Stourport-on-Severn. A post-mortem examination has yet to confirm the cause of death. MUSEUM FIRE 'WILL COST £14m' The cost of a fire which destroyed nearly half of a Birmingham museum's collection is expected to total £14m. Although more than 400 of the 800 exhibits at Britain's Nation Motorcycle Museum were saved, those lost are estimated to be worth £9m. Replacing the building is expected to cost a further £5m. Insurers have not yet put a figure on the damage. 'CIGARETTE CAUSED MUSEUM BLAZE' A fire which destroyed 400 motorcycles and caused £14m damage at a Birmingham museum is likely to have been started by a cigarette, officials have said. Fire investigators believe a member of staff at Britain's National Motorcycle Museum may have thrown away a cigarette which set fire to cardboard boxes. West Midlands Fire Service said the blaze is being treated as an accident. CRICKETER HELPS MURDER PROBE Detectives trying to discover the identity of a murdered man from the West Midlands have enlisted the help of Indian cricket star Virender Sehwag. Officers think the man - whose skeleton was found near services on the M6 in Lancashire - was of Asian origin and was from the north Birmingham area. They hope an appeal by Sehwag will bring forward vital witnesses. PRISON VAN OVERTURNS IN CRASH A prison van carrying two prisoners overturned on the M6 near Crewe after a collision with a heavy goods lorry. The Group 4 van was involved in a four-vehicle smash north of junction 16, which caused three lanes of the motorway to be closed. The prisoners were not seriously hurt and were treated at Leighton Hospital. The lorry driver was badly injured. JOBLESS TOTAL SHOWS 9,000 FALL The jobless figure for the West Midlands fell by 9,000 from May to July compared with the previous three months, new figures show. The number of people out of work stood at 146,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. The unemployment rate was 5.7%. The number of people out of work nationally stood at 1,493,000. YARD VOW IN HUNT FOR KILLER Police have vowed that anyone with information about the killing of a girl under the care of Birmingham social services will get "total protection". Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir John Stevens said he is "appalled" by the murders of Toni-Ann Byfield, seven, and her father Bertram, 41, in London. A 23-year-old man has been arrested and questioned by police over the killings. WOMAN SUBJECTED TO SEX ASSAULT A Walsall woman has been subjected to a serious sexual assault by two men she met in a street, police said. The 24-year-old met her attackers in Upper Rushall Street and got into their car before she was driven to a remote spot outside the town and attacked. Police are hunting two Asian men who were driving a four-door silver vehicle in connection with the incident. FAMILY APPEAL OVER HIT-AND-RUN The family of a Worcestershire man killed by a hit-and-run driver have made a fresh appeal for information. Neil Tyler, 26, from Matchborough West, Redditch, was killed in a collision with a car on Birmingham's Islington Row Middleway. His parents hosted a press conference at West Midlands Police headquarters to make a new appeal for witnesses. HUNT ON FOR RUNAWAY TEENAGERS British police are searching for a West Midlands-born 14-year-old who has run away from Spain with her boyfriend. Amanda McDonnell and 17-year-old Steven Laing left Amanda's home near Alicante on September 12, taking the family car. Amanda's mother Carol Beech, originally from Stoke-on-Trent, said the pair were believed to be heading for London to find work. SINGER GETS SECOND CHANCE A Birmingham singer who failed to impress the judges on Pop Idol has been given a second chance at fame. Daniel Webster astonished judges with both his gold suit and his intimate knowledge of their private lives. But he, and four other no-hopers, have formed Outta Sync which will record a version of the song I'm Lovin' It for a fast food advertising campaign. JOBS FEARS AS EC BLOCKS RESCUE Workers at an engineering group in the West Midlands face fresh uncertainty after the EC blocked plans for the French government to help the firm. Alstom, which employs 10,000 people in the UK, said the Commission has decided "in principle" to block the French government's role in a £2bn rescue. Alstom has sites in Birmingham, Stafford and Rugby. POLICE DEATH MAN 'IN COLLISION' A Birmingham man who died in police custody shortly after his arrest was earlier in collision with a police vehicle, a spokesman has said. Michael Lloyd Powell, 38, of Lozells, collapsed and died after being detained by West Midlands Police. A Police Complaints Authority spokesman said there is "no dispute" Mr Powell was in collision with a police car. MP PLEDGES TO SUPPORT MUSEUM A Birmingham MP has pledged her support to staff at a museum in her constituency which caught fire causing £14m damage. Caroline Spelman, Tory MP for Meriden, plans to visit the National Motorcycle Museum to see how she can help rebuild it, and contact agencies to assist. Hundreds of vintage motorbikes were destroyed in the blaze. STARS GATHER FOR AUCTION Sports and TV stars are due to gather in Birmingham for a charity auction to raise thousands of pounds for maternity units across Britain. Disgraced peer Lord Archer is to be guest auctioneer at the sale for Baby Lifeline at the ICC. TV star Ruby Wax will be guest speaker at the event, also attended by Coventry City football manager Gary McAllister. CONFERENCE ON GIFTED CHILDREN Future provision for the education of gifted young people nationwide is being discussed at a conference in Warwick. More than 100 professionals will debate the development of the National Academy For Gifted And Talented Youth at the University of Warwick. A programme of events to support teachers working with the top 5% of children in the country will be held. CRICKETER HELPS MURDER PROBE Detectives trying to discover the identity of a murdered man from the West Midlands have enlisted the help of Indian cricket star Virender Sehwag. Officers think the man - whose skeleton was found near services on the M6 in Lancashire - was of Asian origin and was from the north Birmingham area. They hope an appeal by Sehwag will bring forward vital witnesses. MAN INJURED AS CAR IS STOLEN A man is recovering in hospital after he was involved in a collision while trying to stop a teenager stealing his car in Solihull. The 40-year-old victim suffered serious leg injuries in the incident, which happened when a youth drove off in his car at the Lode Lane Industrial Estate. The suspect is described as an Asian male, about 5ft 10in and slim. YARD VOW IN HUNT FOR KILLER Police have vowed that anyone with information about the killing of a girl under the care of Birmingham social services will get "total protection". Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir John Stevens said he is "appalled" by the murders of Toni-Ann Byfield, seven, and her father Bertram, 41, in London. A 23-year-old man has been arrested and questioned by police over the killings. STUDENTS DUPED OVER LAPTOPS Students who were sold laptops for £400 on the streets of Coventry and Warwick were duped into buying briefcases full of water bottles instead. Police are warning students of the scam after four incidents were reported in the Chace Avenue and Little Park areas. Offenders showed the students a laptop in a case but swapped it for a case with bottles in it after they had paid. TEENAGER PROPOSITIONED BY MAN Parents and children of a Staffordshire town are being urged to look out for a man who approached a teenager and asked her to go somewhere quiet with him. The 15-year-old girl was walking to school along Froghall Road, Cheadle, with her five-year-old sister when the man made his proposition. A Staffordshire Police spokesman said the girl refused and walked on. MOTHER 'SAID SHE MAY HARM SON' A Birmingham mother who admitted drowning her son in the sea in Wales warned social workers she might harm him weeks before, a court has heard. Mirlene Stewart, 33, of Washwood Heath, was committed to a secure psychiatric hospital at Swansea Crown Court after admitting she had drowned Jordan, one. She had asked for him to be fostered but was told her case was closed. MOTHER BLAMES SOCIAL SERVICES The Jamaican mother of a seven-year-old girl shot dead while under the care of Birmingham City Council social services has criticised the authorities. Toni-Ann Byfield and her father Bertram were killed in a London bedsit. Rosalyn Christine Richards blamed social services for not keeping better track of Toni-Ann and made an emotional appeal for help in solving her murder. 10-YEAR-OLD DIES IN CAR CRASH A 10-year-old boy has been killed in a road accident in Staffordshire. The youngster was walking in Town End, Cheadle, near the junction with Glebe Road, when he was in collision with a Peugeot car. The 49-year-old driver, from Ipstones, was uninjured. Staffordshire Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident to come forward. HUNT GOES BACK TO CONTINENT Police hunting a 14-year-old girl, originally from Wolverhamton, who ran away from her Spanish home have moved the search back to the continent. Detectives trying to find Amanda McDonnell and her boyfriend Steven Laing, 17, will now concentrate their efforts on France and Spain. The couple disappeared from Alicante on September 12, taking an Opel Omega car. MISSING TEENAGER HAS LEFT BABY The family of a Black Country teenager who disappeared, leaving her three-month-old baby with them, are appealing for her to come home. Natalie Putt has not been seen since she left her Lower Gornal home on September 1. Natalie's father David Putt is to make an appeal for her to return at a police press conference. MINE DEATH WILL NOT DETER AID The death of a Worcestershire mine clearance expert killed in Iraq would not deter humanitarian efforts there, mourners at his funeral have been told. Around 200 people paid their last respects to 53-year-old Ian Rimell, of Kidderminster, at the service at St Mary's Church in the town. The former Army bomb disposal expert died when his vehicle was ambushed. 2,000 PARTRIDGES STOLEN A flock of 2,000 partridges worth £8,000 have been stolen from a farm in Herefordshire. The birds were taken from a breeding centre in Downton on the Rock, near Leintwardine, West Mercia Police said. The owner discovered the loss while doing a stock count. Some 10,000 partridges had been reared at the farm to be released for the shooting season. COMMUNITY PRAISED BY POLICE Detectives have praised the north Birmingham community for its help in convicting a man whose part in a Lozells shooting left a man paralysed. Sean Adrian McDonald was jailed for 15 years for GBH by Birmingham Crown Court after Vincent Walters was shot. A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "It goes to show what can be achieved with the assistance of the community." TEENAGER'S PLEA POSTPONED A teenager due to enter his plea to a charge that he allegedly burned down a £275,000 public statue in Birmingham, will appear at a later date. The 16-year-old is accused of setting fire to the Forward statue in the city's Centenary Square on April 17. The Bartley Green youth, who cannot be named, will appear at Birmingham Crown Court at a date to be fixed. BURST WATER MAIN FLOODS HOMES Residents of a Birmingham street awoke to find their homes under 2ft of water after a major water main burst. Fire crews were called to Whitehill Lane, Northfield, after the 42in pipe ruptured, flooding six properties. The road and part of adjoining Shenley Lane were closed and diversions set up while a clear-up operation was carried out, West Midlands Fire Service said.
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