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THE NEW BIRMINGHAM SUPER PRIX IMPORTANT MAJOR UPDATE Would you like to see THE BIGGEST MOTORSPORT
/ MOTOR SPECTACULAR THIS COUNTRY HAS EVER SEEN on the
streets of Birmingham? We have had to have a major rethink of our plans
to bring back motor racing, but have come up with something potentially
even more spectacular. We are trying to bring together as many individuals,
businesses and organisations as we can to try to make this happen again.
It could bring huge benefits to the region, but it needs as much support
as possible to make it happen.
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HERE TO READ MORE, VIEW VIDEO & PHOTOS FROM THE OLD SUPER PRIX, AND
TO SEE HOW YOU CAN HELP BRING ABOUT THIS SENSATIONAL AND UNIQUE EVENT. QUICK LINKS TO THE SITE NEWS
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4th. May 2004 MP FIGHTS POST OFFICE CLOSURES Plans to close 29 post offices in south Birmingham are "flawed" and should be abandoned, according to a report published by a Birmingham Labour MP. Northfield's Richard Burden has written a 25-page response to Post Office Ltd's proposals to scrap many branches. The MP, whose ward is set to lose five sub-post offices, claims customers will have to foot the costs of closures. CRUISER DEATH INQUEST CONCLUDES An inquest into the death of a Birmingham tax inspector who was trapped in a capsized pleasure cruiser is to be completed in Stourport. Jane Turner, 45, from Castle Bromwich, died in hospital after the vessel overturned during a carnival at Stourport-on-Severn last September. Two women and a man have been charged with manslaughter over the tragedy. MAN DENIES KILLING WIFE IN US A US jury is being selected to try a New York man accused of killing his Staffordshire-born wife and trying to cover his tracks by calling it suicide. Eric Rose, 45, denies shooting his 52-year-old wife Wendy in the head. It was thought Mrs Rose, originally from Kidsgrove, had killed herself, but tests revealed three bullet wounds, one to her back and two to the head. POLICE HUNT CYCLE KILLER Detectives are hunting for a cyclist who gunned down another rider in a Birmingham street. West Midlands Police launched a murder inquiry after Elijah Fagan, 24, was shot in the stomach. He was taken to City Hospital but later died. The gunman is black, in his late teens or early 20s, 5ft 8in and of slim build. He was wearing a black T-shirt. SMOKE ALARM SAVED MAN FROM FIRE A man who slept as a fire blazed at his Staffordshire flat was saved by neighbours who heard his smoke alarm. He was rescued by firefighters from the flat in Blurton, near Stoke-on-Trent, after falling asleep while cooking. Fire crews entered the property through a first-floor window and the man received treatment at the scene for smoke inhalation from paramedics. MAN SET ON FIRE IN FLAT Three people are being questioned by detectives on suspicion of attempting to murder a man who was set on fire at a Black Country flat. The 38-year-old is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering burns to his face and upper body at the property in Crabbe Street, Lye. Officers have arrested two men and a woman. MAN CHARGED AFTER STAB DEATH A man has been charged with murdering a 22-year-old man who was stabbed to death at a Walsall pub. West Midlands Police said that two women have been accused of lesser offences in relation to the death of Namajid Hussein. Mr Hussain was knifed in the chest twice during a fight at the Seven Stars in Stafford Street. STARS GIVEN FREEDOM OF TOWN Rugby came home when England's World Cup winners received the freedom of the Warwickshire town where the game was born in 1823. Thousands thronged the streets of Rugby to see the trophy in the hands of coach Sir Clive Woodward and Northampton stars Matt Dawson and Steve Thompson. Hooker Thompson said: "For all those people to come out was very humbling." MP URGES DISCOUNT PARKING The Wrekin MP Peter Bradley has called for pensioners and regular visitors to Telford's Princess Royal Hospital to be offered discounted parking. The Labour MP said he opposed plans to bring in charges from July, but agreed that the proposals would free up cash for frontline healthcare budgets. He said: "I have written to the Trust, asking that charges be affordable." MAN SAVED BY MED STUDENTS Two Warwick University medical students who have yet to graduate have already saved a life. Final year medics Sally Edwards and Anna Joseph were leaving a placement at Warwick Hospital when Whitnash man Matthew O'Connor collapsed. They gave him life-saving chest compressions until paramedics arrived and took him to the coronary care unit. TERROR ALERT PASSENGER JAILED A passenger who caused a major terror alert at Birmingham International
Airport has been jailed for 10 days. GIRL RAPED IN CITY CENTRE Police have released an e-fit image of a man they believe raped a girl after befriending her outside a pub in Birmingham city centre. The 15-year-old was attacked outside the Flapper and Firkin pub as she walked in daylight to meet friends. The offender is described as Asian, aged 18 to 20, 5ft 10ins, thin, with short black hair and facial stubble. POLICE WAIT TO QUIZ SUSPECT Detectives are waiting to question a man on suspicion of murdering a teenage boy who was stabbed to death outside a Coventry takeaway. Police said the suspect was under arrest in hospital after he was wounded in the same incident which left Thomas Gourley, 16, with fatal injuries. Thomas was stabbed during the fight outside Woks Wagon in Willenhall DEAD SQUIRRELS ARE WATER HAZARD An elderly Staffordshire couple who complained to the council about rancid water were told two dead squirrels had been found in their tank. Christine and Bert Dean, from Stoke-on-Trent, had complained to the city council about an infestation of the rodents in their loft. Pest control officers left bait, and the next day the corpses were found. RIVER HAS HIGHEST LEVEL OF FISH A Warwickshire river has been identified by the Environment Agency as having the "most abundant" stocks of fish in England and Wales. The comprehensive survey found the River Alne had "significant" stocks of roach, bream, dace and chub. The Our Nations' Fisheries review said that fish populations were at their highest for 100 years in the UK. PUB ATTACK VICTIM NAMED Police have named a 28-year-old man who died from serious head injuries during a fight outside a Walsall pub. Alan Clarke, from Kingswinford, was fatally hurt during a brawl outside the Hogshead, in Leicester Street. A 25-year-old man, from Darlaston, who was charged with wounding before the victim 'EDITOR SHOULD BE QUIZZED' Walsall South MP Bruce George wants Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan to appear before a committee over pictures of alleged torture by British troops. The Labour chairman of the Commons Defence Committee said he wanted to know where Mr Morgan obtained the pictures said to show an Iraq prisoner. The MOD has pledged to leave "no stone unturned" in its investigation. SEARCH FOR ATTACKER IN COSTUME A man required stitches after an attack by three men, one of whom was dressed as a superhero, Nuneaton police said. The 20-year-old was beaten about the head with a baseball bat in an alleyway as he walked home between Castle Road and Church Lane after a night out. One attacker was white, had short black hair and wore a red body suit with a "six pack" and a yellow cape. MAN ARRESTED OVER BODY FIND Police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in a derelict building in Stoke-on-Trent. Paramedics discovered the body at an address in York Street, Hanley, after responding to reports of someone collapsing. Staffordshire Police said a man had been arrested and was helping officers with inquiries. AMNESTY FOR PLATE PRANKSTERS Police in the Trent Valley area of Staffordshire are planning an amnesty for pranksters who have stolen car number plates as "trophies". More than 100 plates have been stolen in the Trent Valley Division over the last six months, said police. But only a handful of them have been fitted to vehicles used in crimes, with the rest vanishing without trace. FIVE IN COURT OVER SHOOTINGS Five men accused of murdering two teenage friends shot dead outside a Birmingham New Year party are appearing at Birmingham Crown Court. Letisha Shakespeare, 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, died on January 2, 2003. Marcus Ellis, 23, Tafarwa Beckford, 21, Michael Gregory, 23, Nathan Martin, 25, and Rodrigo Simms, 19, each face two counts of murder. FAMILY 'MAY HAVE PAID KILLER' The family of a pregnant woman may have paid a Walsall man to kill her because she ran away to get married, her husband has told the Old Bailey. Kashmir Ralh's wife Anita Gindha, 22, was strangled in front of her 19-month-old son at their London home two weeks before she had been due to give birth. Palwinder Dhillon, 65, of Redwood Road, denies murdering Anita last year. EX-FOOTBALLER APPEARS IN COURT An ex-Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest footballer is due to be sentenced for assaulting a woman last year. Gary Charles, 33, will appear at Derby Crown Court to be sentenced for one charge of common assault. The former England defender pleaded guilty to the charge last month when he admitted attacking his 30-year-old victim in Alfreton, Derbyshire. OAPs WARNED ABOUT BOGUS CALLERS Elderly people in Stoke-on-Trent are being warned to be on their guard after a spate of burglaries carried out by bogus water board officials. The alert was issued after cash was taken from homes in Little Chell, Smallthorne, Bentilee and Hanley. A police spokesman said: "If they are in the slightest bit suspicious then they should not allow them in." TOWN SUPPORTS ID CARD PLANS A survey conducted in Newport, Shropshire, by the town's Labour Party has revealed overwhelming local support for a national identity card scheme. The consultation in Newport's Market Square found that 84% of respondents were in favour of the proposals. The poll also found that 62% believed such a scheme would prove effective in tackling terrorism and organised crime. WOMAN DIES IN TRUCK CRASH Police investigating a crash involving a refuse vehicle in Worcestershire in which a woman motorist was killed are appealing for witnesses. West Mercia Police said the driver of a blue Peugeot 106 died in hospital about an hour after the accident in Broadway. Anyone with any information about the collision is asked to call police on 08457 444 888, quoting 42C/050504. HUNT FOR SEX CLAIMS PRIEST West Midlands Police officers have flown to Australia in a bid to track down a former Coventry priest wanted over child abuse allegations. They are searching for Christopher Clonan, who is alleged to have sexually abused young boys at Christ The King Roman Catholic Church in Coundon. Clonan's family, who have links in the Melbourne area, claim he died in 1998. MAN FREED OVER BODY IN BUILDING A man has been bailed after being quizzed by police investigating the discovery of a body in a derelict building in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. Paramedics found the body at an address in York Street after responding to reports of someone collapsing. The York Street area was sealed off by police following the discovery. The dead man has yet to be named. FIRE SERVICE UNIFORM UNVEILED West Midlands Fire Service is unveiling a unique uniform for more than 2,000 of its firefighters. The brigade has invested £6m in the copper-coloured "personal protective systems" which will help crews stand out against dark backgrounds. It will also show up any hazardous chemicals which firefighters come into contact with at an incident. WORK BEGINS ON £600,000 CAFE Work has begun on a new £600,000 cafe at the heart of Birmingham's £530m Bullring shopping complex. The Spiral Cafe, which overlooks St Martin's Square, is shaped like a sea shell with a curved copper roof and a bronze interior. A spokeswoman for the developers said: "The Spiral Cafe will further enhance Bullring's choice of places to meet." RACIST ABUSE RULING OVERTURNED The High Court has ordered magistrates to convict a Smethwick woman for a drunken tirade of racist abuse against an Asian policeman. Patricia Green had been acquitted by magistrates who decided she did not show "racial hostility" to PC Qureshi. High Court judges said they were wrong to conclude Green "did not demonstrate racial hostility" to the PC. POLICE ISSUE E-FIT OF RAPIST Detectives have issued an e-fit of a man wanted in connection with the rape of a 12-year-old girl, who was attacked in Birmingham on St George's Day. The man followed the girl and dragged her into a garden in Billesley. He is described as white, 5ft 7ins, in his late 30s, with ginger hair. Police wish to speak to a woman who told him to stop following the girl. POLICE PRAISE LOW CRIME FIGURES People in Warwickshire are less likely to be victims of serious violent crime than those in most other parts of the country, police have said. New Home Office figures showed 186 such crimes were committed last year, making it Britain's fourth safest county. A spokesman said Warwickshire also had the sixth lowest rate of sexual offences - at 6.4 per 10,000 people. POLICE CAR CRASH INVESTIGATED The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating a collision involving a police car in Birmingham. Four people were taken to hospital with minor injuries after an unmarked police vehicle and a Ford Focus collided on Bristol Road. A spokesman said the circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear and appealed for witnesses. WATER BILLS SET TO INCREASE Household water bills for Severn Trent Water customers are set to increase, the firm has said. The company is forecasting that the average bill will rise from £210 to £267 over the next five years. Water UK, which represents suppliers, says increases are necessary throughout the country to pay for maintenance work and improvements costing £22bn. WAREHOUSE FIRE 'WAS ARSON' A blaze which swept through a transport warehouse in Dudley is being treated as an arson attack, fire crews have said. A 200m cordon had been placed around the depot in Peartree Lane, Netherton, amid fears that an acetylene cylinder could explode. A total of ten appliances attended the scene from Dudley, Cradley Heath and Brierley Hill fire stations. 45,000 PER DAY USE TOLL ROAD The operators of the M6 Toll have welcomed figures showing 45,000 vehicles used the road daily in April. Midland Expressway Limited said it recorded its highest day of traffic on the Thursday before Easter when 57,935 vehicles passed along the route. Managing Director Tom Fanning said it was too early to draw any conclusions but welcomed strong growth in numbers. FIVE IN COURT OVER SHOOTINGS Five men accused of shooting dead two teenagers outside a New Year party have appeared at Birmingham Crown Court. Marcus Ellis, 23, Tafarwa Beckford, 21, Michael Gregory, 22, Nathan Martin, 25, and Rodrigo Simms, 19, will face two counts of murder at a trial in October. The defendants are accused of killing Charlene Ellis, 18, and Letisha Shakespeare, 17, in Aston last year. RECEPTION FOR PROMOTED CLUB Members of West Bromwich Albion's promotion-winning squad are to be honoured at a civic reception. Gary Megson and his players will travel from the Hawthorns to Sandwell Council House in Oldbury on an open-top bus. The team, who are guaranteed to finish second behind Norwich in the First Division, will then gather on a balcony to acknowledge supporters. POSTAL VOTING SIGN-UP URGED Residents in Telford and The Wrekin are urged to sign up for a permanent postal vote for use in elections. The borough council said more than 28,000 people had already registered to vote by post and the turnout at recent local by-elections had soared. He said: "Voting by post is so easy and it's important that local people have their say over who runs services."
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