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CARE ASSISTANT JAILED FOR RAPE A Warwickshire man who raped a severely disabled woman at a nursing home where he worked has been jailed for life. Ian Fraser McDonald, of Whitnash, near Leamington Spa, pleaded guilty to the charge at Warwick Crown Court. Mr Justice Hughes said McDonald would not be considered for release for at least six years, and ordered him to register as a sex offender. WOMAN IN CUSTODY OVER OAP DEATH A woman charged with murdering a pensioner found bound and gagged has been remanded in custody after appearing in a Staffordshire court. Faye Thorneycroft, 19, was remanded by magistrates in Cannock accused of killing 75-year-old Anthony Shelley. Thorneycroft, of Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, was ordered to appear at Stafford Crown Court on August 24. Telecoms group Marconi has defended its use of jets for transporting staff from Coventry after it was reported to be spending nearly £5m a year on them. Marconi, which announced 4,000 job redundancies last month, said it made economic sense to use the two jets. The planes ferry engineers from Coventry to sites at Pittsburgh in the USA and Genoa in Italy. CALL FOR PEOPLE TO PROMOTE TOWN Shrewsbury council chiefs have issued a call to local people and businesses to help the town secure city status on the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council is to use the town's blend of business and history to promote the bid. They want "passionate and enthusiastic" letters showing people's pride in the town to go towards the final entry. Royal Brierley Crystal, which was saved from closure last year, is to move to new £750,000 premises near to Dudley town centre. The historic company, which almost folded last year after decades of under-investment, is expected to be at its Tipton Road site by the new year. About 15 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the expansion. SEALED GRAVE FOUND AT CATHEDRAL A unknown sealed grave dating back more than 200 years has been discovered during the £3m landscape project at Birmingham Cathedral. Workers on the site on Colmore Row pierced the roof of two vaults which did not appear on maps or records. An estimated 80,000 people were buried in the grounds between the Cathedral's consecration in 1725 until the 1850s. DISEASE 'LED TO DIVE IN PRICES' Residents living near a foot-and-mouth burial site at the former Throckmorton airfield near Evesham have claimed it has led to a dive in house prices. Homeowners want compensation because they say there is a smell from culled animals buried at the site. Conservative MP for Mid-Worcestershire, Peter Luff,is to fight for them as some say they cannot sell properties. CITY HAS HIGHEST SALES OF PILL Wolverhampton has the highest sale of the morning-after pill in pharmacies anywhere outside London, figures show. But fears the £20 pill would lead to teenagers using it as contraception have proved unfounded possibly because of its price, experts believe. The figures, from Superdrug, show the majority of sales are for working women aged 25 to 35. REMAINS FOUND ON HOSPITAL SITE Excavation work on the site of a medical school near North Staffordshire Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, has unearthed ancient remains and skeletons. They are thought to be from the Hospital of St Loye, named after a bishop from about the 6th Century. A city archaeologist said it was amazing the medieval site was found on the site of a modern hospital. Thousands of music fans are heading to one of the summer's biggest music festivals at the split-site event V2001 in Staffordshire and Essex. Acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Texas are headlining the weekend-long shows. And for pop fans acts include Kylie Minogue and Atomic Kitten. Organisers say there are still tickets for sale at the Weston Park event. POLICE TO BE TOUGH AT FESTIVAL People heading to this weekend's V2001 festival in Staffordshire are being warned that police will take a tough line on drugs and crime. Up to 60,000 music lovers are to attend the two-day event at Weston Park to see acts including Coldplay and Texas. Chief Inspector Peter Taylor urged revellers not to take valuables and that they could be searched for drugs. NEW STAND READY FOR FIRST MATCH Construction workers have won the race to complete West Bromwich Albion's new £5.2m stand in time for the club's opening match of the season. Officials said the East Stand was ready for the Baggies' First Division clash with Grimsby more than a month late. Secretary Dr John Evans urged supporters to turn up at The Hawthorns early to get used to the new facility. Environmental groups are marching on Warwickshire to protest against plans to stage a second wave of genetically-modified crop trials at Long Marston. The demonstration has been organised by Outcrop, Stratford-upon-Avon Friends of the Earth and Green Party activists. Organisers claimed chemicals used in the trials could harm other crops and that locals had not been consulted. APPEAL AFTER BURGLARY OAP DIES Police have appealed for information after the death of a 87-year-old war veteran who was found injured after a burglary at his home in Birmingham. West Midlands Police said Charles Bottrill, of Kingstanding, died at Sutton Coldfield's Good Hope Hospital four weeks after the break-in. Items stolen from his home in Longmoor Road included his army campaign medals. FIRM DEFENDS USE OF JETS Telecoms group Marconi has defended its use of jets for transporting staff from Coventry after it was reported to be spending nearly £5m a year on them. Marconi, which announced 4,000 job redundancies last month, said it made economic sense to use the two jets. The planes ferry engineers from Coventry to sites at Pittsburgh in the USA and Genoa in Italy.
19th. August 2001 Footpaths still closed in Shropshire due to foot-and-mouth are to be reopened after a risk assessment by Government agriculture officials. The Department of Environment, Farming and Regional Affairs is allowing protection zones to be lifted. Some rights of way will remain shut but the council's countryside officers say the ease in restrictions is good news. POLICE MOUNT FOOTBALL OPERATION Police are mounting a high-profile operation for the First Division match between Birmingham City and Millwall after reports of planned violence. Ch Supt John Perkins, of West Midlands Police, said there will be a strong police presence on the street. Millwall fans without tickets are being warned not to travel to Birmingham as they will not be on sale at the ground. Staffordshire police have cautioned 317 people at the V2001 music festival for possession of drugs. Randon drug searches were carried at at entrances to Weston Park, which attracted about 60,000 music fans. A police spokesman said: "A total of £11,000 of cannabis was seized along with smaller quantities of Ecstasy, amphetamine, LSD and cocaine." REPORTS OF RACE INCIDENTS RISE Abuse and harassment are the most common types of racial incidents reported in north Staffordshire, according to a community group report. The Partnership Approach to Racial Incidents said 40 incidents were reported from April 2000 to May 2001. Workers believe figures will increase but only because of an increased confidence in reporting problems. TRUST TO HAVE NEW HEADQUARTERS The council has given Staffordshire Wildlife Trust the go-ahead to build a £1.25m headquarters. The news was welcomed by members of the organisation, who have been battling to secure funding and overcome an arson attack on the site near Rugeley. Plans for the new base at the old Wolseley Garden Park include visitor and education centres and offices. NEW COURSE ON POPULAR BOOKS BOY, 14, HELD OVER STAB DEATH A 14-year-old boy has been arrested after a man, 27, died after being stabbed in Cheshire, police said. The incident happened in Hightown, Crewe. The victim was taken to Leighton Hospital but died from his injuries. Police said the victim was in an argument with two men and was stabbed. The youth and a man aged 36, both from the Crewe area, have been arrested. MAN ESCAPES GUN MURDER BID A 26-year-old man escaped injury after a shot was fired into his car from a passing vehicle, police in Birmingham have said. The incident happened in Mansfield Road, Aston, as the victim was driving from his home in Great Barr. A spokeswoman for the West Midlands force said: "This incident is being treated as attempted murder." A report evaluating the options for a new stadium to replace Wembley, either on the historic London site or in Birmingham or Coventry, is due out. Businessman Patrick Carter is not expected to make any recommendations, but his assessment of the financial viability of sites will carry weight. The Culture Secretary is due to declare a preference at the end of September. People in the West Midlands are bucking the national trend by taking the plunge and setting up their own businesses, according to new figures. Research by Barclays showed 83,570 businesses started up in England and Wales in the second quarter of 2001, a 16% drop on the same period a year ago. But the West Midlands reported a rise of 4% in the number of start-ups. Cable TV firm Telewest is to create 150 jobs at its operation near the Merry Hill shopping centre in the Black Country, it has been announced. Telewest's Waterfront East base currently houses the national customer contact centre but will be bolstered by new full-time and part-time staff. The firm's new credit services centre will also employ 270 in Birmingham. Union bosses have told farmers in Worcestershire they can help restore faith in British agriculture after the foot-and-mouth outbreak. NFU chairman Ben Gill told members at the Three Counties Show in Malvern that the event would help the industry recover from disease. He called for a united effort to renew confidence in products such as lamb. Police are hunting an attacker who carried out a serious sexual assault on an 82-year-old Birmingham woman. The man barged his way into the frail pensioner's flat in Stechford when she answered her door. The intruder is described as being black, aged about 21, 5ft 11in, and of athletic build. He was clean-shaven with short hair and wore dark clothing. WORKERS TO HELP DESIGN VEHICLE Women workers at the Land Rover plant in Solihull are being asked to help design a new female-friendly version of the famous off-road vehicle. Designers say women are being put off buying the 4x4s because they find them too high to get into. The women will try to solve the problem when they are consulted over the new 2003 Discovery model. LECTURER TO HELP PRISONERS A Birmingham law lecturer is hoping to secure Government funding to help fight for hundreds of mentally subnormal prisoners on Death Row in America. Julian Killingley, of the University of Central England, is looking for a £155,000 grant to help the prisoners. The academic said an estimated 40% of the 3,700 Death Row prisoners in the US have an IQ of 70 or less. JAGUAR LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE West Midlands luxury car maker Jaguar is spearheading a drive to find the workers of the future - by supporting a new tourist attraction in Birmingham. The company is a backer of the Millennium Point project and provides exhibits for the ThinkTank museum. Mike Beasley, of Jaguar, said every student or pupil who visits is a potential automotive engineer. POLICE TO HELP FEMALE STAFF West Midlands Police is reviewing its policies to help its female staff and those wanting to join the service. The force is adopting the national Gender Agenda, to be launched in Birmingham next week, which challenges sexism and other obstacles to women. It will target under-represented groups like single mothers and women from black and Asian communities.
Detectives investigating the murder of a 38-year-old woman from Coventry said her former partner has been found dead. West Midlands Police said Michael John Cooke, 50, whose body was discovered in Gwent, had been wanted in connection with the murder of Ellen Lynch. Mr Cooke was found inside a vehicle six days after Miss Lynch died. His death is not being treated as suspicious. Three men have been released after questioning following the murder of a homeopathic doctor in Wolverhampton. Baldev Khrisan Yadev, 55, was shot at close range as he walked to his car outside the Aldi supermarket in Parkfield, Wolverhampton, last year. The men, two aged 32 and one aged 33, were granted police bail pending further inquiries, police said. PILOT SCHEME CUTS WAITING TIMES Pilot schemes to modernise NHS cancer services have cut waiting times in the Birmingham region. The NHS's regional office showed that Birmingham Women's Hospital processed ovarian cancer specimens in four days, ten days quicker than before the pilot. Suspected colorectal cancer cases at Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield, are dealt with on the day they arrive. Coventry Building Society announced a rise in half-year profits and an 18% increase in its assets for the year to the end of June. The society said its total assets had now increased to £6.9bn amid record gross mortgage lending of £861m. A spokesman said pre-tax profits for the half-year had also increased, rising by 3.2% to £19.1m. MAN PISTOL-WHIPPED OUTSIDE BANK Police have appealed for witnesses after a man was pistol-whipped by robbers outside a bank in Birmingham. Police said the 26-year-old victim was struck on the head with a black handgun as he walked to the HSBC Bank in Highgate Square, Balsall Heath. The offenders, two black men, stole a cash bag from the man before escaping in a green Volkswagen Golf. CRIME-FIGHTING CAMERA BOOST The West Midlands is to receive a £4.9m share of £78m of Government cash to expand the CCTV network nationally. Some 29 new schemes in the region will benefit, including a £455,000 initiative with 26 cameras on the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham. A £487,000 scheme covering car parks and entrances at Birmingham's City Hospital will also receive funding. MEP PLEDGES TIMESHARE CRACKDOWN West Midlands Euro MP Philip Bradbourn has called for greater protection for holidaymakers faced with high-pressure timeshare sales tactics. The Tory MEP said loopholes in current European law allow unscrupulous operators to dupe tourists. He added he will push for amendments to legislation in a bid to outlaw "high-pressure" selling. HOUSE PRICES CHEAP IN CITY Stoke-on-Trent is one of the cheapest places to buy property, National Housing Federation research has found. People would need an income of £13,500 a year to buy an average-priced house, according to the figures. This is in sharp contrast to the situation in London, where an average salary of more than £40,000 would be needed in all but four boroughs. FANS REJECT NEW WEMBLEY STADIUM More than two-thirds of football fans would prefer to abandon Wembley in favour of a site in Birmingham for the new national stadium, a survey found. A Football Supporters' Association poll found the city's bid would be the preferred option ahead of a refurbished Wembley in London. A total of 66.83% of the 1,037 fans quizzed favour the Birmingham site. MOTORCYCLIST CAUGHT AT 143mph A motorcyclist has been caught speeding at more than 143mph on a busy country road near Bridgnorth, police have said. The 35-year-old man was stopped after being clocked by a marked police patrol vehicle while travelling at 143.1mph on the A458. The motorcyclist, who is from Stourbridge, West Midlands, will appear in court on a date to be fixed. West Midlands Police have appealed for witnesses after the murder of a man who died from a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim, 34, pronounced dead after being taken to hospital, was found slumped in his car in Bagnall Street, Hill Top, West Bromwich. A police spokesman said the victim was thought to have suffered a gunshot wound in nearby Pikehelve Street. The search is widening for a Staffordshire teenager who allegedly slashed his parents' throats. John and Julie Sumner were attacked at the family home in Milford, near Stafford, Their son Sven, 18, later went missing in their car, police said. Detectives are liaising with colleagues in Scotland and Wales because of Sven's interest in outdoor pursuits. Detectives in Birmingham are hunting a gunman who fired about 20 shots at a house and car in a residential street. The apparently motiveless attack happened in Melrose Grove, Lozells, West Midlands Police said. DCI Mick Treble condemned those responsible and said it was "little short of a miracle" no-one was injured or killed. FUNERAL HELD FOR MURDER VICTIM The funeral is due to take place in Essex of a murder victim who was orginally from Wolverhampton. Julie Foster, 41, was found battered to death at her home in Elsenham, Essex, by her eight-year-old son after what police called a "horrific attack". Mrs Foster, who grew up in Finchfield, had visited relatives in the West Midlands the weekend before she died. Birmingham has Britain's worst accent while Glasgow has the best, a survey by youth website TheSite.org has found. Of more than 1,000 people polled, 14% said the way people talked in Britain's second city was "slow", "frustrating" and "unsexy". Glaswegian tones, however, were considered "sexy" and "cool", the survey of 16 to 35-year-olds found. VILLAGERS 'MAY HELP PROBE'
INDUSTRY VACANCIES FALL BY 20% Manufacturing vacancies in Birmingham have fallen by 20% over three years, confirming a downturn in fortunes for the sector, experts have revealed. A Birmingham Economic Information Centre study found in the same period service sector vacancies rose by 6%. Business chiefs are blaming the "two-speed" economy which has seen fewer West Midlands people in the industry. ARMED RAIDERS STRIKE AT BANK Police have appealed for witnesses after armed raiders struck at a NatWest bank in Dudley. Officers said two men, both with balaclavas, escaped with a substantial sum after robbing a security guard of a cashbox at the bank in Castle Street. One of the men was carrying a black handgun, although no shots were fired during the raid. CRACKDOWN ON BENEFIT FRAUD Dudley Council has pledged to stage further crackdowns on benefit cheats after a series of prosecutions. The council's member for finance, Kevin Lomax, said the local authority would not tolerate such fraud. "These people were attempting to take money, which had been paid in good faith by our taxpayers, away from those in most need," he said. HELP FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME Victims of domestic violence and racial incidents in Northamptonshire are being urged to contact the Special Crimes Unit at Daventry Police Station. Two officers have been assigned to help victims of the crimes and give advice before a formal complaint is made. A police spokesman said the aim was to convince people their complaints would be treated in a sensitive and fair way. A murder inquiry is under way after the death of a man found slumped in a car after being shot in West Bromwich. West Midlands Police said Martin Sylvester, 34, pronounced dead after being taken to hospital, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. He was found in the driver's seat of his black BMW car in Bagnall Street, Hill Top. Detectives have announced a major success in the battle against the hard drugs trade in Birmingham. A factory, believed to be a heroin-processing site, has been raided and half a kilo of the drug - with a street value of £40,000 - seized. Three men were arrested following the National Crime Squad investigation, which was codenamed Operation Dolerite. A shortage of would-be owners for unwanted cats and dogs in the West Midlands is leading to an animal charity turning away needy pets. The RSPCA in Stafford and Wolverhampton says that it is being forced to keep 20 cats, 13 kittens and eight dogs because no-one will offer them a new home. Secretary Pam Gay said the cattery and kennels are full to capacity HOSPITAL STAFF HELPED TO UNWIND Staff at the Queen Elizabeth and Selly Oak hospitals in Birmingham are being helped to unwind after work with a new aromatherapy service. The six-month pilot scheme at the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust is designed to promote well-being and includes Indian head massage. The concept has been developed by the trust's chief executive, Mark Britnell. An elderly Coventry woman has collapsed and died while reporting that she had been the victim of a burglary carried out by conmen, police said. The woman, whose age and name have not yet been released, collapsed at her home as she was phoning police. She was taken to the city's Walsgrave Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. POLICE PLEA FOR ATTACK SON Police in Staffordshire hunting a man who slashed the throats of his parents before fleeing have made a direct appeal for him to give himself up. Sven Sumner, 18, attacked his father, John, 66, in their cottage in Milford, near Stafford, and then his mother, Jill, 53, as she came to his aid. He fled and his parents were treated in hospital but later released. POLICE HUNT AFTER SHOOTING Detectives in Birmingham are hunting a gunman who fired about 20 shots at a house and car in a residential street. The apparently motiveless attack happened in Melrose Grove, Lozells, West Midlands Police said. DCI Mick Treble condemned those responsible and said it was "little short of a miracle" no-one was injured or killed. SOUTH ASIAN CHILDREN AT RISK South Asian children in Britain are more at risk of a virus-linked cancer affecting the immune system, West Midlands researchers have found. A Birmingham Children's Hospital team found Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi children are more likely to develop the Epstein-Barr virus. The virus lies dormant once a person is infected through physical contact. LORRY FORCES TRAIN LINE TO SHUT Major rail services between Birmingham and London have been paralysed after a lorry came off a road and on to tracks in the rush hour. British Transport Police are probing how the incident occurred one mile south of Bletchley station on the West Coast Mainline in Buckinghamshire. No collision took place but electricity was cut and all trains were cancelled. TEENAGER DIES IN CAR COLLISION Police have appealed for witnesses to a road accident in which an 18-year-old Cannock man suffered fatal injuries. Staffordshire Police said the man died after a Fiat Punto and a Ford Fiesta collided on the A51, Lichfield. Several other people travelling in the vehicles suffered injury in the accident and were taken to hospitals in Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield. TEENAGER SUFFERS SEXUAL ASSAULT A 15-year-old girl has been subjected to a serious sexual assault in Royal Leamington Spa, police have said. Warwickshire Police are appealing for witnesses to the attack in the area of Hanworth Close, Lillington. The offender is described as white, aged about 23, approximately 5ft 11ins with closely shaven brown hair. He is pale and has a spot-marked face. Two people are due to appear in court on drugs and explosives charges following the discovery of a bomb and 20,000 tablets thought to be ecstasy. The pair, a 26-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man, both from Redditch, will appear before magistrates in the town. The device was found in a car in the town during inquiries after the tablets were found in a second vehicle. SCHEME TARGETS TOBACCO PROBLEMS Customs officers in Birmingham are teaming up with health officials to highlight the dangers of both smoking and the illegal smuggling of tobacco. The initiative will include a poster campaign at the city's international airport aimed at passengers passing through its departure lounges. The scheme is backed by the Birmingham Specialist Healthcare NHS Trust. SUN LINK TO CANCER PROTECTION Higher levels of exposure to the sun may give some protection against the development of prostate cancer, West Midlands researchers have found. The finding was made in a study at the North Staffordshire Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, and Keele University. A hospital spokesman said the study had opened up a new avenue for research into the disease. DUNCAN SMITH RETURNS TO SCHOOL Tory leadership hopeful Iain Duncan Smith met his former teacher when he returned to his old school in Solihull. Mr Duncan Smith was on a visit to St Peter's Roman Catholic School where he was a pupil from 1965 to 1967. Introduced by his former geography teacher, Peter Hill, he told Conservative Party members the visit "brought back floods of memories". BOY'S SECOND LOT OF STAR GRADES A Birmingham boy has gained 10 A* GCSEs a week after getting an A in A-level Further Maths. Bryn Garrod, 16, already has two A-grade A-levels in Maths achieved before this year. The headmaster at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys in Birmingham, said he was now "running out" of challenges to set his star student. £500,000 BOOST FOR EDUCATION Schools Standards Minister Stephen Timms has revealed a £500,000 boost for the region's schools under a Government Education Action Zone scheme. The Believing in Achieving EAZ in Wolverhampton and the Zodiac project in Stoke-on-Trent will begin next month at the start of the new school year. The projects will each receive £250,000 a year over three years. NOISE INITIATIVES A SUCCESS Initiatives designed to minimise the impact of noise from Birmingham International Airport on the local community have been hailed a success. Insulation fitted in 7,000 nearby homes, quieter, modern aircraft and changes to night-time flying have helped reduce disturbances, bosses say. Air quality testing and improved public transport links have also helped.
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