Sunday Mercury (Birmingham, England) back issues from September 2007:
DEAD AT 15; EXCLUSIVE Why was abused girl's cry for help ignored?(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY JEANETTE OLDHAM A BRILLIANT schoolgirl took her own life just weeks after revealing that she had been raped to a nurse - who failed to alert police. Talented Anna Marie Averill, 15, was once among the brightest students in the country and dreamed of ...
Mum is very strong and is fighting hard; EXCLUSIVE STABBED WOMAN'S FAMILY TELL OF HORROR.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL THIS is the first picture of the pensioner brutally stabbed in an unprovoked attack by a machete-wielding man. Mum-of-three Yuk Thai Yau was left dying after a stranger lashed out at her from behind with a machete as she was on her way home ...
Poor decisions were made... as a result we have a child who is dead; EXCLUSIVE LET DOWN BY HER CARERS...THE BRILLIANT SCHOOLGIRL WHO KILLED HERSELF TO ESCAPE CLUTCHES OF A RAPIST.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY JEANETTE OLDHAM A TRAGIC Midland schoolgirl killed herself after her claim that she was raped was kept secret. A confidential document reveals that Anna Marie Averill, 15, committed suicide three weeks after telling a community nurse about her ordeal. ...
SCANDAL OF INADEQUATE CHILDCARE; SHOCKING REPORT SLAMS MORE THAN 200 MIDLAND NURSERIES AND CHILDMINDERS 'If they do not learn the lessons of Abby's death another tragedy will happen' SPECIAL REPORT.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY FIONNUALA BOURKE HOUSANDS of children's lives are being put at risk due to dangerously defective care at Midland nurseries. Ofsted inspectors have branded more than 200 childminders and nursery businesses as 'inadequate' in a shock new report. ...
Burns nursery owner in court; SHOCKING REPORT SLAMS MORE THAN 200 MIDLAND NURSERIES AND CHILDMINDERS.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A NURSERY owner was recently prosecuted at Birmingham Magistrates Court for failing to undertake risk assessments. Suzanne Holmes admitted the two charges which resulted in Mya Hunt, then five months-old, receiving second degree burns to her ear, neck and back at Munchkins Day ...
Catering colleges attacked by London restaurant boss.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A TOP restaurateur has been panned by a Midland food college boss after claiming 'poorly trained' catering students are destined for prison. Oliver Peyton sparked fury in the hotel and restaurant world by criticising the standard of cooking and management courses on offer in ...
CRAZY WORLD.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... INDIANA, USA: Two stunned women saw their neighbour's five year-old son speed by in a car - with his drunk mum and three year-old brother as ...
Tribute to tragic son.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... THE mum of a 17-year-old shot at his home alongside his father and a friend has paid tribute to her son. Nicole Cowell said her son Matthew had been planning a new life with his girlfriend Claire and her three-year-old daughter Angel. He had been decorating a house ...
CRAZY WORLD.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... FLORIDA, USA: A teenager has been sentenced to 30 days behind bars for posting a naked picture of his ex-girlfriend ...
Appeal for flood victims.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... PSYCHOLOGY experts are looking for flood victims to take part in a new study to examine the impact of this summer's deluge. Researchers at the University of Worcester want to investigate the level of distress and difficulty that residents ...
Blaze dad in window jump.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A DAD was forced to leap from a first-floor window when his flat caught fire in a suspected arson attack. David Young-Smith, 38, from Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was woken up by his dog barking at the blaze in the middle of the ...
Maximum security at birth of a new force; PRINCE CHARLES SEES END OF AN ERA IN TAMWORTH Two of the Midlands' longest-serving army regiments were disbanded yesterday and replaced with a new combined Mercian Regiment. TOM SCOTNEY was at the ceremony marking the formation of the super military unit.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... THE last time this many soldiers were camped around Tamworth Castle they were there to drive out the Royalist forces in a brutal Civil War siege that lasted for days. That time, they were there trying to get in. This time they're here to keep people out. Or so it ...
Cop shooting man arrested.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A MAN has been arrested after two shots were fired at a police car during a routine stop-check in the Midlands. A gun was discharged when officers pulled over a blue BMW on the B4008, just off junction 12 of the M5 in Gloucestershire. A 33 year-old man, from Swindon, ...
Tory peer hits house.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A WOMAN needed hospital treatment after a car being driven by former Worcester MP Lord Walker crashed into her house. The 75 year-old peer's Jaguar X-Type smashed into the front room of the property in Flyford ...
CRAZY WORLD.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND: A burglar lifted a laptop computer, camera, and credit cards from a home - but then broke back in to return them ...
Tough for pensioners.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... PENSIONERS are finding it harder to save money because of rises in the cost of living, a new survey has shown. One in four say they are saving less now than three ...
The chip shop bard; EXCLUSIVE HOW WRITING SAVED 'THE LILY ALLEN OF POETRY'.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY ROZ LAWS WHEN the chips were down, Stella Loizou turned to poetry. Now she has gone from working in her family's chippy to publishing her first book. And she is serving up her own troubled life in verse - including her strained relationship with ...
Albion fans plan tribute to killer Lee.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY BOB HAYWOOD WEST Bromwich Albion fans are planning a shock tribute to killer footballer Lee Hughes. Supporters plan to cheer on the former Baggies hero from the terraces at his new club, Oldham Athletic. The pilgrimage is being arranged to ...
FOOTBALL SAVED ME FROM A LIFE OF CRIME; EXCLUSIVE SAYS ZAT KNIGHT Villa's pounds 3.5m signing.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY MAT KENDRICK ASTON Villa new boy Zat Knight has admitted that football saved him from a life of crime - after protesting his innocence over his drugs-bust arrest. Knight was detained and released without charge following a raid on his mother's home in ...
Relative 'has links to gang members'.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY CARL MORRIS A RELATIVE of new Aston Villa signing Zat Knight has links to the city's notorious Johnson Crew, an underworld source claimed. The family member has allegedly become close to the gang who have terrorised the streets of Birmingham during a ...
HELL'S KITCHEN HEATS UP AGAIN.(News)(Television program review)
Sep 02, 2007 ... EXPLOSIONS and fireworks are on the menu as another 10 celebrities tackle the flames in Hell's Kitchen. Sparks are set to fly tonight as chef Marco Pierre White - once described as the Godfather of British cooking - has promised to take no prisoners in the ITV reality show. ...
Sunday Mercury SAYS: Life stolen by a pervert.(Leaders)
Sep 02, 2007 ... HER parents thought she had killed herself because of bullies. But Anna Marie Averill's real tormenter was not a gang of tyrannical schoolgirls. It was a sick child abuser and rapist. The frightened youngster must have been in despair when she finally told ...
Sunday Mercury SAYS: Safety first.(Leaders)
Sep 02, 2007 ... OFSTED inspectors claim that the standard of nurseries and childminders is improving. But their latest report shows that more than 200 of them in the Midlands are failing to provide adequate care for our kids. Government policy permits the businesses to remain open to ...
Sunday Mercury SAYS: Brum all-bright.(Leaders)
Sep 02, 2007 ... RESEARCHERS have claimed that white people will be in the minority in Birmingham by 2024. Look around and you will see there are parts of our wonderful city where this is already the case. Yet it doesn't really ...
He'd brandish his machete with a hairy caterpillar on it just for me... How US action man won the heart of telly's Ruth.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY ROZ LAWS TV Editor TV presenter Ruth England has revealed how her hunky new American husband wooed her - with lizards and caterpillars. The Midland beauty was thrilled by the unusual gifts which Myke found for her when they were working in Jamaica. ...
THIS IS JUST CRIMINAL; EXCLUSIVE Nurse sacked after checks wrongly brand her a mugger.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY BOB HAYWOOD A MIDLAND nurse wrongly branded a violent mugger has been sacked by hospital chiefs. And last night distraught Kerry Woolley said: "I'm just stunned. It's all so unfair." We revealed that the mum-of-two had been caught up in a ...
University honour for PM's wife.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... SARAH Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, is to receive an honorary degree from the University of Wolverhampton. She is president and founder of PiggyBankKids, a charity which ...
Cocklers back at Morecambe.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... THE treacherous sands where 21 Chinese cockle pickers lost their lives reopened yesterday for the new fishing season. Around 220 fishermen began work in Morecambe Bay from around 4.30am harvesting cockles. A licensing scheme introduced last September aimed to combat ...
Dead soldiers flown home.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... THE bodies of three British soldiers killed in a "friendly fire" incident in southern Afghanistan have been repatriated to the UK. Privates Aaron James McClure, Robert Graham Foster and John Thrumble, from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, died when a US fighter ...
CRAZY WORLD.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... FLORIDA, USA: Dopey dealers left a kilo of heroin worth more than EUR60,000 in a hire car they ...
NHS chief quits post.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A SENIOR NHS Midland official has resigned four days before a disciplinary hearing into allegations that he lied about his qualifications. Stoke-on-Trent Primary Care Trust said Lee Whitehead had quit his pounds ...
Rays of hope.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A TRIO of the world's most venomous fish have taken up residence in a UK sanctuary. Weymouth Sea Life Park, in Dorset, has now ...
UFOs: THE TRUTH IS IN HERE; EXCLUSIVE TOP MoD OFFICIAL ADMITS EXISTENCE AFTER MIDLAND SIGHTING.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA A TOP Government official admitted the existence of UFOs in a secret document about a dramatic Midland sighting. The Ministry of Defence boss made the astonishing claim after dozens of eyewitnesses reported a 'hovering' flying saucer in ...
SEX CASE HEADMASTER'S FUTURE IN LIMBO.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A MIDLAND head teacher is still waiting to be told about his future despite being cleared of having sex with a 15 year-old pupil. Michael Taylor, head of the City of Leicester College, was acquitted at Leicester Crown Court in May of eight counts of indecent assault on a girl ...
I SPY WITH MY PRIVATE EYE... A LYING BRIDE-TO-BE.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY TOM SCOTNEY HUSBANDS-to-be are being offered the chance to investigate their prospective wives by a Midland 'private eye' firm. The services mirror the events in the gripping drama The End of the Affair when Ralph Fiennes hires a private detective to spy on ...
Family holiday ends in tragedy.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A GRIEVING Midland husband last night described how a holiday ended in tragedy when his wife was killed after a mini-van he was driving crashed. Maxwell Cross, of Erdington, Birmingham, told how ...
PEUGEOT FACTORY STAFF HONOURED.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A PLAQUE to celebrate the workers at Coventry's Ryton car factory was unveiled yesterday. Peugeot announced it was closing the plant with the loss of 2,300 jobs last year. The union Unite said the plaque at Coventry Motor Museum would honour those workers who had ...
Oh Brother, BB twins cost punter pounds 50k; BRUMMIE'S A BIG LOSER AFTER HUGE BET ON SISTERS TO WIN.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA A BRUMMIE punter is in Big Bother with his bank manager - after betting pounds 50,000 that Midland twins would win Big Brother. The gambler became the biggest loser in reality TV history when he staked the huge wager on Amanda and Sam Marchant ...
DJ KERSHAW ON STALKING CHARGE.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... BBC radio DJ Andy Kershaw was in jail last night after being charged with breaching a restraining order. The former Radio 1 presenter, now a regular on Radio 3, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon close to the home of his ex-partner Juliette Banner. Ms Banner had won ...
Skinner stars at a pub.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... BLACK Country comic Frank Skinner is performing two lowkey gigs at a Birmingham pub. The West-Bromwich born comedian will be on stage at the Hare & Hounds, in Kings Heath, on Wednesday and Thursday. Frank, ...
TEST PLAYERS FOR HEART PROBLEMS; EXCLUSIVE Father whose son died on pitch calls for urgent action.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA THE father of a tragic Midland soccer star, who died on the pitch from heart failure, has urged clubs to pay for regular cardio tests on all players. Andrew Gadsby spoke out following the sudden deaths of promising teenager Anton Reid, of ...
Shooting: teen held.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A TEENAGER was arrested after a man was shot in the back in Liverpool yesterday. The 16 year-old, from Toxteth, was arrested after the 24 year-old victim suffered a gunshot wound in the attack in Park Hill Road, Toxteth. The man was taken to hospital for treatment ...
CRAZY WORLD.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... BEJING, CHINA: "Steamed crap" and virgin chicken are being removed from restaurant menus ahead of next year's Olympics. Chinese authorities are trying to rid restaurant menus of ...
Stab victim in hospital.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A 23 YEAR-old man was in hospital last night after being found a stab wound to the chest at a Midland house. The victim, who has not been named, was discovered at the property in Tamar Close, Brownhills, ...
We entered Tom's lonely, silent world and drew him out; EXCLUSIVE PARENTS HAIL RADICAL U.S. AUTISM TREATMENT.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY JEANETTE OLDHAM THIS is the happy family picture that proved doctors wrong. When Tom Sherlock was diagnosed with autism three years ago, his parents Jackie and Andrew were told he would be unlikely to ever speak or form proper relationships. But ...
FAMILIES MARK ANNIVERSARY OF HORRIFIC PLANE CRASH.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... THE first anniversary of an Afghanistan plane crash in which 14 British servicemen died will be marked today by their relatives and colleagues. Special prayers for the crew of the Nimrod XV230 will be said at a church service at RAF Kinloss in Moray. The Nimrod MR2 ...
Busiest bus beats jams.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... BUS chiefs have revealed the top jam-buster route in the Midlands. Travel West Midlands says the No 51 service - which runs from Birmingham city centre to Walsall, via Great Barr - is saving 200,000 car journeys every year. An independent survey has shown that nearly ...
Villa fans hit by rail chaos.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... FOOTBALL fans could face travel chaos today after rail chiefs closed the train station nearest Villa Park for engineering works. Aston Villa take on Chelsea this afternoon, ...
CRAZY WORLD.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... BERLIN, GERMANY: A brain surgery patient has been awarded pounds 2,000 damages after hospital bosses accidentally destroyed part of his skull which had been stored in a fridge. Doctors had removed ...
A top tip to make music.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... THE London Philharmonic Orchestra added another string to its bow when its musicians made music out of rubbish. Eight members of the orchestra performed Elgar's Land Of Hope And ...
Surfers in sewage row.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... SURFERS have staged a protest at two ports over raw sewage being pumped into the sea. Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) are campaigning for Guernsey's sewage to be ...
BRUM WHITES IN MINORITY BY 2024.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA SHOCK new research has claimed white people will become an ethnic minority in Birmingham by 2024. But last night Dr Mohammed Naseem, leader of Birmingham Central Mosque, said the startling prediction would not effect community relations in the ...
Your prints aren't down you're not coming in...(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... THIS is the first glimpse of Birmingham's most exclusive bar - where VIPs will need to have their thumbprints scanned to gain entry. Mechu, in Summer Row, will reopen this week after a pounds 5 million refurbishment, with plush new privacy booths where revellers can splash out ...
WE'RE FED UP WITH HIDDEN DANGERS.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: GEORGE TYNDALE REMEMBER the GM debate? Big fuss over "Frankenstein food". The Government bans any genetically-modified crops from our shops. Matter closed. Well, not quite. It turns out that most of us consume GM material daily. This is because ...
Government is parent of yob culture.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: GEORGE TYNDALE IT'S the parents to blame. Ask anybody. Ask the parents of Rhys Jones, who pointed the finger not at the killer of their 11-year-old son, but at the family of the gunman. Ask David Cameron, who in his new Conservative Party initiative ...
EATING AND DRINKING CAN KILL YOU TOO.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: GEORGE TYNDALE GRIM pictures of tumours and diseased lungs are to be printed on cigarette packets. The idea is to convince smokers that smoking is bad for their health. A total of 14 messages and images, including a drooping cigarette to indicate erectile ...
KNIGHTLEY FAME GAME.(Features)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: GEORGE TYNDALE KEIRA Knightley has been witheringly dismissive about the attractions of being a star. She claims to be frightened by the hunger of youngsters for fame and wealth. "Why should they want to be famous?" she asks. "So that ...
I'm squids in with my seven foot shrimp! EXCLUSIVE FILM-MAKER EARNING A CRUST FROM WEIRD AND WACKY FILMS.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY TOM SCOTNEY A SEVEN foot shrimp is washed ashore and is taken in by a Midland pub owner. The landlord goes on to teach the giant crustacean how to box - before entering it into a reality TV show. No, this is not another silly season story ...
Warning on charity scam.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... FAMILIES in the Black Country have been warned about a bogus charity marathon runner. A woman has been seeking up-front cash for a nonexistent event said to have been organised by Beacon Radio. She has been calling on houses ...
Cops hunting 'danger' crook.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... COPS are hunting a 'dangerous' convicted criminal who went missing from an address in the Black Country. David Richardson, 38, was on licence but was last seen in Walsall on Thursday evening and is considered to be a risk to the public. ...
Little Pete hits the big time; BRUM ACTOR LANDS MUSICAL ROLE AS HOBBIT It's the West End musical they're all Tolkien about. Costing pounds 25 million, The Lord Of The Rings is the most expensive show ever to open in London. ROZ LAWS talks to the Midlanders playing a key part in the battle for Middle-Earth.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: ROZ LAWS GROWING up, Peter Howe was nicknamed Tiny and Little Pete. At 5ft 3in tall, he was used to the teasing. But now his diminutive height has become a huge asset - because every night he goes on stage as a hobbit. He plays Sam ...
From spider to elf, it's al action for Wayne.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... PETER Howe isn't the only Mid-lander in Middle-Earth. Playing wizard Gandalf is Malcolm Storry, a Royal Shakespeare Company regular who lived in Stratford-upon-Avon for 25 years. And taking on no fewer than NINE roles every night is Brummie actor Wayne Fitzsimmons. ...
BIG DAY DELIGHT; Land Rover steps in after wedding reception blow.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL A HEARTBROKEN bride-to-be has had her wedding day saved - thanks to the Sunday Mercury. We told last week how Mary Hodgetts, 27, was forced to postpone her marriage to Barry Hall after her father, Michael, contracted kidney cancer. ...
Mid-life crises cost men pounds 24bn a year.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... BRITISH men in their 30s and 40s are spending a total of pounds 24 billion every year to feed their mid-life crises. Exotic holidays are the most popular extravagances, costing an average of pounds 1,340 a year, followed by cool gadgets (pounds 295) and beauty ...
Wake murder: man charged.(News)
Sep 02, 2007 ... A MAN has appeared in court charged with the murder of a mourner who was shot dead at a friend's wake. Aeeron Campbell, 24, of no fixed address, appeared before Manchester magistrates charged with gunning down Tyrone Gilbert, 23. Father-of-three Mr Gilbert was ...