Nine Fusiliers acquitted of rampage in Cyprus bar
Nine British soldiers accused of taking part in a bar brawl in a Cyprus resort
were found not guilty yesterday after the judge said he was not satisfied
with the way they were identified. The soldiers, all members of the 2nd
Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, claimed they stayed behind in the
bar after the brawl to help injured colleagues.
Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis, the owner of the Bedrock Inn, told the court in
Paralimni that soldiers threw bottles and attacked his staff.
William Sewell, 21, was acquitted of grievous bodily harm, malicious damage
and breach of the peace. Daniel Brayne, 22, and David Ramage, 21, were
cleared of actual bodily harm, malicious damage and breach of the peace.
Damien Heywood, 27, Gary Farrell, 23, Andy Evans and Dean Rushton, both 21,
and Christopher Wenham and Ashley Hughes, both 19, were cleared of malicious
damage and breach of the peace.
They will return to duties with their regiment, which is based in London and
involved in ceremonial duties including guarding Windsor Castle and
Buckingham Palace.
Nurse sent stream of text calls before death crash
A nurse who continuously sent text messages while driving before causing a
fatal crash was jailed for eight years and banned from driving for life.
Susan Hopkins, 53, was more than three times over the drink-drive limit. Her
80-mile journey from her home in Wythenshawe, Manchester, ended at Lincoln
when she lost control and collided head-on with a car driven by James Sabey,
77, of Ragnall, Nottinghamshire.
He died in hospital. Lincoln Crown Court was told that his wife, Claire, 81,
an Alzheimer’s sufferer, had had to move into a nursing home after his
death.
Hopkins admitted causing death by dangerous driving, having no insurance and
driving with excess alcohol. Rob Townsend, for the prosecution, said: “Her
mobile phone was analysed and showed she was making calls and writing text
messages throughout the journey.” There was no evidence that she was on the
phone at the time of the collision. An empty whisky bottle was found in the
footwell of her car.
Thrill of high-speed aerobatics hits the capital
Light aircraft sped above the Thames yesterday in preparation for this
weekend’s Red Bull Air Race, in which pilots from around the world will fly
a low-level aerial race track made up of air-filled pylons at up to 230mph.
The competitors have already raced in Abu Dhabi, San Diego, Detroit and
Rotterdam as part of the series, which will move on to Portugal, Hungary and
Spain before finishing in Perth in November. Paul Bonhomme, a 43-year-old
British pilot who is leading the standings after four races, recorded the
fastest time in practice yesterday.
Royal Mail ban on Booze leaves villagers cut off
Royal Mail has suspended postal service to a remote hamlet, leaving residents
of the 13 homes in Booze, North Yorkshire, left, with a 30-mile round trip
to Richmond to collect their post.
Royal Mail conducted a health and safety assessment and declared the track to
the village from Langthwaite too hazardous for postal workers.
The penultimate batch of post delivered to Booze included letters giving 24
hours’ notice of the suspension. John Blackie, a North Yorkshire county
councillor who represents the Upper Dales, called the decision outrageous.
‘Nappy plan’ support
Almost nine in ten teachers support the Government’s controversial early
childhood curriculum, research has found.
A survey of 1,500 teachers found that 88 per cent supported the curriculum in
principle and two thirds believed it would be of overall benefit for those
aged under 5. Experts and practitioners have criticised the “nappy
curriculum”, which sets out targets for young children, including writing in
sentences.
Stepfather guilty
George Franklin, 22, from Louth, Lincolnshire, was remanded in custody at
Lincoln Crown Court yesterday for sentencing on August 15 after he admitted
dangerous driving that caused the death of his stepdaughter, Abbie Perrin.
The three-year-old was riding on a scrambler motorbike that Franklin was
driving when it was involved in a collision with a pick-up truck on May 26.
She was pronounced dead at Grimsby Hospital the same day.
Missing girl found
Nia Witts, 15, who went missing from her home in Penrhyncoch, near
Aberystwyth, on Sunday, has been reunited with her parents after being
traced to Belgium. A police search was called off after she contacted her
home on Tuesday. A 27-year-old man is being held in Belgium for questioning
by British police.
Smoke in cockpit
An aircraft with 89 passengers made an emergency landing after the crew smelt
smoke in the cockpit, Flybe said. Four passengers suffered minor injuries
leaving the aircraft after it diverted to the Isle of Man during a flight
from Manchester to Belfast. The air-conditioning system is thought to have
failed.
Ministers knew school tests were at risk
A report warned ministers four years ago that the school testing system was at
risk, The Times Educational Supplement said.
An independent report on problems with the national curriculum tests in 2004
said civil servants needed to take more “ownership and accountability” of
the system.
The organisation of the tests has been called a fiasco, with thousands of
papers undelivered a month after they were due. The Government has denied
that it is directly responsible. The report suggested four years ago that
ministers should establish a team to “accept corporate responsibility for
test delivery”.
Glitter release date
Gary Glitter will be released from a prison in Vietnam on August 19 after
serving a sentence for child abuse, an official said. The singer, whose real
name is Paul Gadd, was sentenced to three years in March 2006, but this was
reduced during last year’s lunar-year celebrations. He was jailed for
committing obscene acts with two girls aged 11 and 12.
Boat blaze kills three
Three fishermen, believed to be two Filipinos and a Latvian, died in an
intense fire on a fishing boat moored in an Aberdeenshire harbour. An
investigation was under way to find the cause of the blaze on Vision II,
a 90ft (27m) prawn trawler registered in Banff, that broke out as it was
docked at Fraserburgh. The fire is not thought to be suspicious.
Firefighting degree
Students will be able to take a degree in firefighting from next year. The
three-year BSc in Fire and Leadership Studies will focus on risk management,
the science of combustion, law and leadership skills. The course, offered by
the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and the county’s fire and
rescue service, has an option of full practical training as a firefighter.
Cruise hit by storm
More than 40 cruise liner passengers were hurt when their ship rolled heavily
in 25ft waves and 50mph winds off New Zealand, sending fruit machines and
crockery flying. One passenger on the P & O Australia Pacific Sun
sent an e-mail saying: “We are nearly on our side. If we get out of this, it
will be a miracle.” The company said the ship arrived safely in Auckland.
EuroMillions
The winning numbers in last night’s EuroMillions draw were:
1, 22, 25, 40, 50; Lucky Star numbers: 1, 8.
the news of the day rolls hot off the press
more titbits and gobbets for all to digest
Dangers and scares, from near and afar
All good for small talk while in the bar
perry smithwick, market harborough, u.k.