Parasite is found in tapwater supplies

People in Northamptonshire are being told to boil tapwater used for drinking after a bug was found to have contaminated supplies (David Rose writes).

Anglian Water found the Cryptosporidium parasite during routine tests in a sample from supplies to Northampton, Daventry and surrounding villages. The parasite causes stomach upsets and diarrhoea. About 250,000 people are said to be affected. Those with weak immune systems are likely to be most seriously hit.



Cash bond scrapped

Government plans to make families pay a cash bond for relatives who visit from outside the EU have been abandoned for the second time in eight years.

Immigrant communities had said that the scheme would hit poor families hardest and fail to deter illegal immigration. Liam Byrne, the Immigration Minister, had suggested the idea of a financial security last year.



Dangers of vetting

One quarter of the adult population will need criminal record checks under the new child protection scheme coming into force next year, a report called Licensed to Hug says. Its author, Frank Furedi, of the University of Kent, says the obsession with formal vetting will put children in more danger because no one will use their judgment any more.



Lottery numbers

Last night’s winning numbers in the Lotto main draw were 11, 12, 22, 23, 24, 36; the Bonus number was 26. The estimated jackpot was £2,500,000. The winning numbers in the Thunderball game were 13, 18, 31, 32, 33; and the Thunderball was 3. The Dream Number was 3, 6, 8, 6, 8, 9, 0.sted the idea of a financial security last year.

Labour leader may go

Wendy Alexander’s leadership of the Labour Party in Scotland could hinge today on whether three of her most bitter political foes back a move to ban her from the Scottish Parliament. It comes after the decision by the standards committee to find her guilty of breaking parliamentary rules by not declaring donations to her leadership campaign.

20 years for husband who had wife killed

The brother of a special constable murdered by hitmen hired by her cheating husband has defended her reputation over allegations of her involvement in an escort agency set up by the couple (David Brown writes).

Nisha Patel-Nasri, 29, bled to death after she was stabbed at her home in Wembley, northeast London, in May 2006, the day after her third wedding anniversary. Her husband, Fadi Nasri, was jailed yesterday for a minimum of 20 years.

Katen Patel, an ITV programme scheduler, said that the escort business was run solely by his sister’s husband and Mrs Patel-Nasri had not approved of this and wanted him to stop it.

Nail bomb jailing

A Nazi sympathiser who made nail bombs to attack black, Asian and Jewish people and who was found to have 39,000 indecent images of children at his flat was jailed for a total of 16 years by Leeds Cown Court. Martyn Gilleard, 31, of Goole, East Yorkshire, had said that his extreme views were in the past.

Cow herd victim sues

A company director is suing a farmer for £1 million after she was trampled by his cows as she and her dog crossed a field via a public footpath in Greystoke, near Penrith, Cumbria. Shirley McKaskie, 49, who appeared at Preston County Court in a wheelchair, suffered serious head injuries in the incident in 2003.

Farm case charges

A man who was arrested after the death of a farmer’s wife was charged last night with the theft of diesel and wounding her son. Rosemary Dove, 68, collapsed and died after a raid on their farm in County Durham. Anthony Blair, 21, is expected to appear today before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe.

Dinghy pair rescued

A woman in her forties was swept out to sea with her adult daughter as they tried to cross the River Axe in Somerset in a dinghy. The women were rescued from mudflats 1,000m off Weston-super-Mare by a hovercraft crew after coastguards saw them on closed-circuit television cameras on shore.

Gatso beats scientist

A physicist who tried to show a Gatso camera was inaccurate, to get his wife off a £60 speeding fine, must pay £15,000 in costs after being proved wrong. Iain Fielden, 41, of Sheffield Hallam University, had already spent £5,000 on his evidence, rejected by Huddersfield magistrates and then Bradford Crown Court.

Alzheimer’s discovery

A new gene has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, promising insights into its origins. The gene, known as CALHM1, is the second that has been linked to the condition, and could be added to tests to assess the risk of developing the disease. Details of the research are published in the journal Cell.

Show stopper

Ashes contained in a clear box inside an undertaker’s velvet black pouch have been found in Liverpool Empire Theatre after a show by a medium, Derek Acorah, on June 17. An official said it was in the auditorium, but not near a seat: “The box has not been opened. You can clearly see that it has ashes inside.”

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