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RESIDENTS TRAPPED BY BLAZE Residents trapped in a flat above a severe fire in Wolverhampton were given safety advice over the phone for more than 10 minutes by operators. The blaze broke out in the first floor of a property in Primrose Avenue, Fordhouses, trapping people above. Fire service control room operators kept the occupants on the phone until they could be helped by firefighters. BALLOON RECORD BID POSTPONED Poor weather conditions have prevented a 46-year-old Shropshire woman from attempting to set a new world altitude record for a female balloonist. High winds above Cuneo in northern Italy meant pilot Lindsay Muir's bid to secure a place in the record books was put off for the second day running. Ms Muir, from Bishop's Castle, hopes to ascend to a height of 34,000ft. PREGNANT WOMAN PUNCHED A 23-year-old pregnant woman was punched in the face, dragged from her car and kicked in the head by carjackers in Coventry, police said. The woman, who is four-and-a-half months pregnant, was targeted by two men as she waited at a junction on Mary Slessor Street in Willenhall. The offenders then stole her blue Ford Mondeo and headed for Remembrance Road. CALL TO SAVE RAIL MANUFACTURING Public transport organisations across the West Midlands are being urged to join forces and lobby the Government to save British train manufacturing. Councillor Roger Horton has called on the Department for Transport to support the industry. One thousand jobs are expected to go next year when the Alstom plant at Washwood Heath in Birmingham closes. MISSING GIRL 'SIGHTING' PROBED Police in the West Midlands are investigating a possible sighting of a girl who has been missing from her home in South Wales since Wednesday. Officers say Tammy Leanne Lane, 15, from Waunheulog, Brynmawr, may have been spotted in the Wolverhampton area. It is thought Tammy might have arranged to meet someone called Dawn through an internet chatroom. £20bn BLUEPRINT REVEALED Plans to spend £20bn regenerating the West Midlands over the next five years have been revealed. Local authorities and the Learning and Skills Council have signed up to the strategy by Advantage West Midlands and the West Midlands Regional Assembly. It is hoped that the cash injection will make the region globally competitive by 2010. ACTION CALL OVER HATE CAMPAIGN Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant has called for tougher action against animal rights "terrorists". The call comes after a hate campaign against one of his constituents who runs a guinea pig farm. The Tory politician said he opposed testing on animals for non-medical experiments, but said some medical research had to be conducted on them. COUNTY CRIMESTOPPERS CALLS RISE Calls to the Crimestoppers hotline rose dramatically in Warwickshire last year, according to official figures. The charity's county chairperson Martin Bartlett said last year's 705 calls - a 41% rise - included a tip-off which led to the arrest of a dangerous offender. Mr Bartlett said the hotline provided the mechanism for the confidential flow of information to support the police. ROGUE TRADERS COULD FACE JAIL Rogue traders in Warwickshire are being warned they could face imprisonment under new laws to support consumers against shoddy and illegal work. The Enterprise Act gives trading standards officers the power to apply to the courts for an order to stop traders carrying out substandard work. Failure to comply with the order may result in a fine or jail term. VICAR SUMMONSED TO COURT A vicar and two churchwardens from Stoke-on-Trent have been summonsed to appear before the Diocese of Lichfield's ecclesiastical court. The Vicar of Trentham, the Rev Nigel di Castiglione, is being questioned about moving the font and pews at the church of St Mary and All Saints. Consecrated buildings are subject to ecclesiastical planning permission. GP 'TRIED TO BUY BABY' Health officials are investigating claims that a Stoke-on-Trent GP offered to buy a couple's seven-week-old baby. The accused is part of the Doctors Co-operative of North Staffordshire which is conducting internal inquiries into the alleged incident. Staffordshire Police said they are taking no action and have referred the matter to the General Medical Council. OFFICIALS TO HELP EXPELLED GIRL Birmingham education officials have pledged to work with the family of a six-year-old girl expelled from two primary schools in four months. Birmingham LEA said staff will help Nicola Hough, from Kings Norton, find a way to continue her education. The youngster is accused of repeated bad behaviour. Her parents believe she is suffering from autism. MAN HELD OVER NIGHTCLUB ASSAULT A man has been arrested on suspicion of indecently assaulting a woman in the toilets of a Birmingham nightclub. The 23-year-old was detained in connection with an attack on a 20-year-old woman at Bojangles in the Star City entertainment complex. West Midlands Police said the victim and a friend were followed into the toilets, where the incident took place. REGION ON RIVER FLOODING ALERT The West Midlands is on flood alert and is braced for more rain, the Environment Agency has said. The River Severn has flood warnings in force from Bevere to Powick, Monkmoor to Buildwas, Selton to Monkmoor and from Shrawadine to Shelton. The River Avon has flood warnings from Evesham to upstream of Tewkesbury and from Stanford on Avon to before Rugby. CLUB 'EMPLOYED 15-YEAR-OLD' Lap dancing chain Spearmint Rhino is investigating claims that a 15-year-old girl got a job at its Birmingham club. The firm launched the probe after the teenager, now 16, allegedly found work at Spearmint Rhino Extreme, where staff are supposed to be at least 18. The girl, who no longer works at the venue, is said to have worked three nights a week, earning £300 a shift. FLOODPLAIN WINS NATURE AWARD A 300-acre site in Staffordshire, made into a floodplain to attract birds, has won a major environmental award. Aston Hall Farm at Stone is the winner of the RSPB/Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) Living Wetlands Award 2004. Parts of the River Trent margins have been restored and - in addition to birds - voles and bats are thriving. REGION'S INDUSTRIES THREATENED Manufacturers in the West Midlands face an uncertain future due to a huge increase in China's steel production, business leaders have warned. The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry fears foreign competition could damage the region's industries. The organisation says steel prices are rocketing in the UK because China is exporting very little. MAN CHARGED OVER ABDUCTION A man has been charged under the Child Abduction Act over the disappearance of a girl thought to be in Birmingham. Police suspect Tammy Lane went missing from her home near Ebbw Vale, South Wales, after arranging to meet someone through an internet chatroom. She was last seen in Wolverhampton on Sunday. A 30-year-old Birmingham man is to face city magistrates on Wednesday. FINES FOR TEENAGE THUGS Teenage yobs have been warned their behaviour could cost them up to £80 after West Midlands Police began to trial a new fixed penalty system. Officers are using new legislation which lowers the age limit for issuing on-the-spot punishments from 18 to 16, in a drive to combat bad behaviour. Police can punish hooligans for offences such as throwing fireworks. MAN BAILED OVER SEX ASSAULT A man has been arrested and bailed in connection with an indecent assault on a woman who got into a taxi outside a nightclub in Worcester. The victim was attacked in a lay-by between Worcester and Malvern after getting into the vehicle with two other women outside the Bamboo Club. A man was arrested in Lowesmoor and was bailed pending further inquiries. MAN IN COURT OVER MISSING GIRL A 30-year-old Birmingham man is due in court accused of offences under the Child Abduction Act following the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl. The man, from the Highgate area, is due before city magistrates after being charged in connection with the girl. The missing teenager left her Gwent home on January 28 after arranging to meet someone in an internet chat room. BID TO PREVENT RAF SITE CLOSURE Civic officials are taking their fight to save RAF Stafford to the Government. A delegation from Stafford Borough Council is meeting Ministry of Defence officials in London to press the case for keeping the base in the town. The authority fears more than 500 jobs will go and the local economy will lose £17m a year if proposals to shut down the Beaconside site go ahead. BOMB JOKE STUDENT IN COURT A Shropshire student who was arrested after "joking" she was taking bombs on to a flight is due in court in the US. Samantha Marson, 21, of Bridgnorth, is charged with making a false bomb report, a crime which carries a maximum of 15 years behind bars. She spent four nights in jail after making the joke during a baggage check at Miami airport on January 17. CARE WORKER CLEARED OF ASSAULT A Birmingham care worker accused of making a bed-ridden pensioner eat talcum powder has been cleared of three charges of common assault. Nordia Noteman, 25, of West Bromwich, was acquitted by a district judge at the city's magistrates' court. Co-defendants Maxine Davidson, 36, of Handsworth, and Rosemarie Malvo, 27, from Winson Green, were also cleared. Pc FACES WIFE-BEATING CHARGES A West Mercia Constabulary police officer from Worcestershire has appeared in court charged with assaulting his wife on three occasions. Mark Willis, 49, of Little Witley, was remanded on bail until March 1 by magistrates in Gloucester after pleading not guilty to the charges. His force confirmed that an officer is currently suspended from duty. PAIR QUIZZED OVER TEMPLE MURDER Police are questioning a man and woman over the murder of a Wolverhampton pensioner at a Sikh temple. The man and woman, both aged 25, have been arrested by West Midlands Police investigating the death of Sohan Singh. The 78-year-old was beaten to death at the Guru Nanak temple in Wolverhampton, where he had been staying overnight to guard a holy book. JOBS MOVE AFTER PUB TAKEOVER A pub company is set to move at least 200 jobs to its Staffordshire HQ. Spirit Group has bought Scottish & Newcastle's pub estate for £2.5bn and is closing the firm's Northampton office, which employs 500 people. At least 200 of those jobs will be moved to Spirit's office in Burton upon Trent and will first be made available to S&N's staff in Northampton. MAN HELD OVER MOTORWAY U-TURN A Leamington Spa man has been arrested after leading police on a chase the wrong way down a motorway before a U-turn across three lanes of traffic. The driver's Suzuki 4x4 overturned when a wheel fell off after the maneouvre at Junction 12 of the M40 in Warwickshire. The 20-year-old is being questioned on suspicion of motor theft, driving dangerously and while disqualified. RESEARCH LAB DAMAGED BY FIRE Research at an internationally renowned cancer research lab in Birmingham has been put back by six months following a fire which destroyed precious samples. The University of Birmingham-based Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Research was left with a £250,000 repair bill by the blaze. The fire was sparked by a thermostat which malfunctioned at the centre. EARL OPENS POLICE STATION The Earl of Wessex has opened a police station in Worcester - intended to give officers a higher profile in an area plagued by youth disorder. Prince Edward inaugurated the facility, which is in a disused shop, along a parade in the Warndon area. It includes offices for beat managers, community support officers and special constables and an interview room. JURY TO HEAR OF ATTEMPTED RAPE A jury is to hear evidence relating to an alleged sex attack on a 10-year-old girl in Birmingham. Kent man Antoni Imiela is on trial at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent, accused of carrying out sex attacks across the South East and the West Midlands. Imiela, 49, of Appledore, near Ashford, Kent, denies the attempted rape of the girl and also eight further rapes. FREED STUDENT ON WAY HOME A Shropshire student who was arrested after "joking" she was taking bombs on to a plane is heading home after agreeing to a plea bargain. Samantha Marson, 21, of Bridgnorth, met the deal's conditions, which were to give £550 to a September 11 victims fund and write a letter of apology. An order that she return to court in Miami on Friday was waived. MAN IN COURT OVER MISSING GIRL An unemployed Birmingham market trader has been remanded on bail charged in connection with the disappearance of a schoolgirl who is still missing. Tajinder Pami, 30, appeared before Birmingham magistrates to deny a charge under the Child Abduction Act of removing Tammy Leanne Lane. Tammy, 15, disappeared from her home in Brynmawr, South Wales, on January 28. NURSE ON CRUELTY CHARGES A nursery nurse has appeared in court in Birmingham charged with two counts of child cruelty. Nicola Harding, 22, of Atlantic Road, Old Oscott, denies harming two youngsters at a nursery in Great Barr. Harding, who has been suspended by the nursery, was granted unconditional bail by magistrates in Birmingham, who adjourned the case until March 31. PAIR STILL HELD OVER MURDER Detectives are continuing to question a man and woman arrested in connection with the murder of a pensioner at a Sikh temple in Wolverhampton. The pair, both 25, were detained by West Midlands Police as part of their inquiry into the death of Sohan Singh. The 78-year-old was beaten to death on Christmas Eve at the Guru Nanak temple where he was guarding a holy book. MP URGES MINERS TO CLAIM CASH An MP has urged ex-miners from the Shropshire coalfields to join almost half a million others who have claimed compensation for lung disease. Labour MP for The Wrekin Peter Taylor warned that former colliers and the families of deceased miners must make their applications before March 31. Almost 300 people from The Wrekin have already applied under the scheme. SUPERLOO ROCKED BY EXPLOSION An explosion has blown the roof off a superloo in Stoke-on-Trent. No-one was inside the public toilet in Hanley's Albion Square - one of six superloos in the city - when it was rocked by the "substantial" blast. The explosion is thought to have been caused by a high voltage electrical cable routed underneath the public convenience, a council spokesman said. COURT TOLD OF 'CRIME SPREE' Two armed robbers led an extravagant lifestyle with money they stole from banks in Staffordshire, Northants and Warwickshire, a court has been told. Stafford Crown Court heard how David Curwen and Warren Thomas, both from Liverpool, are accused of stealing £78,000 in a five-month crime spree. Curwen and Thomas deny all the charges against them. DRIVER DIES AFTER CRASH A woman whose car crashed into a tree in Worcestershire has died in hospital. Vivianne Grosvenor-Hulme, 47, of Bridge Street, Evesham, died in Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital nine days after the accident, West Mercia Police said. She was driving a Ford Escort when it left the A4104 near Pershore on January 23. No other vehicle is thought to have been involved in the accident. 'NUISANCE NEIGHBOUR' EVICTED A nuisance neighbour who was jailed for breaching an Anti-Social Behaviour Order is to be evicted from his council-owned home in Birmingham. Ian Dickens, of Woodgate Valley, is also set to be banned from the Bartley Green area after a hearing at Birmingham County Court. Dickens received an ASBO after waging a campaign of harassment on neighbours. FOOTBALLER IN COURT OVER CRASH West Bromwich Albion striker Lee Hughes is appearing in court charged with causing death by dangerous driving and failing to stop after a road accident. The 27-year-old footballer is expected to appear at Coventry Crown Court for a plea and directions hearing. The charges against Hughes, of Leymere Close, Meriden, relate to the death of Douglas Graham, from Coventry. TEENAGER IN COURT OVER SPEEDING A Dudley teenager is expected to appear at Halesowen Magistrates' Court accused of driving at 116mph in a 40mph zone. James Green, 18, is alleged to have driven at almost three times the speed limit in Thorns Road, Quarry Bank, Dudley, West Midlands, last July. The defendant, of Hockley Lane, Netherton, will face charges over dangerous driving and speeding. MAN JAILED OVER CHILD SEX BID A Shropshire man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for offering money to an undercover US police officer to have sex with a child in Arizona. Robin Sprigg, 53, was sentenced at Maricopa County Superior Court. Sprigg, of Ellesmere, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted exploitation of a minor and one count of attempted sexual conduct with a minor. RAPE VICTIM 'BEGGED FOR MERCY' A court has heard how a 10-year-old Birmingham girl "begged for mercy" during a five-hour ordeal in the car of a man accused of a series of rapes. The girl told Maidstone Crown Court she was held at knifepoint in the city and warned she would be killed. Imiela, 49, from Appledore, Kent, denies attempting to rape the girl and nine other offences of rape. HOON PRESSED FOR RED CAP PROBE The family of a Derbyshire military policeman killed by a mob in Iraq has met Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to demand a public inquiry into the death. Cpl Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, died with five other Red Caps in an attack at Al Majar Al Kabir. Shadow defence secretary Nicholas Soames said: "The MoD must immediately convene a Board of Inquiry." EX-FOOTBALLER BATTLING CANCER A former Wolverhampton Wanderers player and England captain is battling against cancer, it has been confirmed. Emlyn Hughes underwent surgery at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital last year to remove a brain tumour. A spokesman confirmed that Hughes, who signed for Wolves in 1979, is now being treated for brain cancer. He faces months of chemotherapy treatment. AGENCY ISSUES NEW FLOOD WARNING Residents living beside swollen rivers in Shropshire have been told to expect more flooding even though the recent heavy rainfall is coming to an end. Parts of the county are likely to see the worst of any floods over the next few days, the Environment Agency said. Two warnings on the River Severn and the River Vyrnwy are in place. Both are close to the Wales-Shropshire border. 'BOMB JOKE' STUDENT BACK HOME A Shropshire student who was arrested in the US after "joking" she was taking bombs on to a plane has arrived home after securing her freedom. Samantha Marson, 21, of Bridgnorth, who was charged with making a false bomb report, agreed to give £550 to a fund for victims of September 11. The student refused to comment to reporters at Heathrow Airport. RUGBY WORLD CUP FLOWN IN The Rugby World Cup has completed the first leg of a nationwide tour as it arrived in a fighter jet in Shropshire. England centre Mike Tindall accompanied the Webb Ellis trophy in a Harrier jump jet which landed at RAF Cosford for the beginning of the 86-day celebration. Tindall expressed hope that the "Sweet Chariot" tour would galvanise interest in rugby across England. BUSINESSES HIT BY COMPENSATION Business leaders in Birmingham have warned there is a compensation culture sweeping Britain which threatens small and medium-sized firms. Birmingham Chamber of Commerce said there had been a rise in the number of employees contacting lawyers. Research published by the organisation revealed firms partly blamed 'no-win no-fee' lawyers for the rise.
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