Sunday Mercury (Birmingham, England) back issues from July 2008:
HOLIDAY PAY..FOR PRISONERS; EXCLUSIVE NO..WE'RE NOT PULLING YOUR LAG! Wages for NOT doing work on Christmas Day.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY BEN GOLDBY PRISONERS at jails across the Midlands are receiving holiday pay, the Sunday Mercury can reveal. Inmates are picking up wages for NOT working on Bank Holidays and during religious festivals, including Christmas and Easter. ...
PUBLIC DISASTER; EXCLUSIVE Gallery future in doubt over pounds 5m cash crisis.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL THE future of The Public art gallery was thrown into fresh doubt last night after insiders claimed it was facing a massive pounds 5 million funding shortfall. The much-maligned gallery finally opened its doors last week, two years behind ...
15,000 smuggled cigs found at OAP's home.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A PENSIONER faces prosecution after customs officers discovered 15,000 smuggled cigarettes in a raid at his Midland home. Undercover investigators also recovered 20 kilos of black market rolling tobacco at the 70 year-old's house in Stonnall, Staffordshire. The ...
Fireman's career is wrecked by false rape case; EXCLUSIVE CLEARED IN 35 MINUTES, HE'S STILL SUSPENDED.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY FIONNUALA BOURKE A FIREFIGHTER has been left battling to save his job after being cleared of attempting to rape a young mum at his Midland flat. Adrian Jones, 38, was accused of attacking the woman at his home in Pelsall, near Walsall, following a night of ...
Wedding shock as vicar tells bride: Remove your noisy tot from church.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A COUPLE have complained that their wedding day was ruined when a Midland vicar asked for their toddler son to be removed from the service. Ashley and Vicky Thorpe told Lich field Diocese they were unhappy following their wedding at Christ Church in Fenton, Staffordshire, last ...
Bus crash: one dead.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... POLICE appealed for witnesses last night after a motorist died following a horror smash on a rural Midland road. The crash, which involved a car, tractor and double-decker bus, happened yesterday on the A49 in ...
pounds 1m web scam plot.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A GANG of Ukrainian fruit pickers based in the Midlands fronted a worldwide internet scam which netted around pounds 1 million, a court heard. At least six people, who had been living in Telford, Shropshire, were involved in fraud and money ...
Drug mum not cured.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A MOTHER who thought she was cured of cancer after paying pounds 21,000 for a drug has developed the illness again. Barbara Moss, from Worcester, believed she had beaten bowel cancer after cashing in her pension to pay for a drug not available on ...
WE'RE CURSED; HOODOO FEARS AFTER SPEEDWAY STARS' HORROR RUN OF INJURIES.(Sport)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY BEN GOLDBY A CRISIS-hit Midland speedway team last night issued a desperate appeal for someone to lift the "curse" that has blighted their season. The Birmingham Brummies believe a hoodoo needs to be tackled to put an end to an incredible run of bad luck. ...
Football star's dad gets the boot.(Sport)
Jul 06, 2008 ... THE DRUG dealing dad of ex-Birmingham City star Jermaine Pennant is to be evicted from his Midland home. Gary Pennant, 43, whose son spent two seasons with Blues, has been told he has 14 days to leave his home in Radford, ...
crazy world.(Sport)
Jul 06, 2008 ... CALIFORNIA, USA: DAREDEVIL dogs kitted-out in Hawaiian shirts and surfgear took to the waves in America's ...
Daylight robbery by gunmen.(Sport)
Jul 06, 2008 ... TWO gunmen raided a victim's Midland home in broad daylight. Police say that two black men, both carrying guns, casually knocked on a door in Oxley, Wolverhampton, before forcing their way into a 35 year-old man's house ....
Councillor's son convicted of gun crime; EXCLUSIVE: LABOUR MAN SPOKE OUT ABOUT GANG VIOLENCE.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL A MIDLAND councillor who was once responsible for community safety is facing calls to resign after his son was convicted of carrying a gun. Anthony Mattu, 19, from Wolverhampton, was given a suspended sentence last month after being caught ...
Boris in the pink.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson donned a pink cowboy hat as he led the annual Gay Pride parade through the capital yesterday. The flamboyant Tory has been accused of homophobia in the past for comparing gay civil partnerships to marrying a dog. He also supported keeping ...
Little RED Devil; Trial for Man Utd aged 6 ...and he's only played 8 friendlies.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY JONNY GREATREX MASON Ward is a little footballer with a big future after winning a trial with European Champions Manchester United - at the age of just six. And the skilful youngster could now follow in the famous footsteps of David Beckham and Wayne ...
Crooked clamper fined pounds 5,000.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A CROOKED Midland clamper who made a fortune from "ripping off" motorists has been made to pay almost pounds 5,000 in fines and court costs. Gary Southall charged drivers pounds 375 to reclaim their cars, even though some had only been parked for two minutes. ...
Blaze hero on a phone.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A BLACK Country man was dramatically rescued from a blaze at his first floor flat after an operator kept him calm by talking to him over the phone. The man rang the fire service from his property in Oldbury after fire broke out during the early hours of yesterday. A ...
Donkey in well rescue.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... EMERGENCY crews carried out a dramatic two-hour rescue of a donkey which fell down a well in the Midlands. Fire crews, a vet and an RSPCA inspector were among the experts to ...
crazy world.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... BERLIN, Germany: A huge catfish bit off more than it could chew after trying to swallow a football in a canal. Police found the unfortunate two-yard-long fish floating on the surface with the ball in ...
Wimble-fun.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A DISABLED teenage Midland tennis player had the honour of flipping the coin at the women's final at Wimbledon yesterday. Jordanne Whiley, 16 and from Halesowen, met US sisters Venus and ...
I'm worried for my Bex when she's booted out of Big Bro; MUM'S FEARS FOR DAUGHTER BRANDED A BITCH EXCLUSIVE.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA, Showbiz Editor THE mum of Midland loudmouth Rebecca Shiner defended her under-fire daughter last night and insisted: "She's no Big Brother bitch." Sandra Shiner, 50, claimed the nursery nurse was not showing her true colours after causing controversy with ...
SANDRA'S VERDICTS ON HOUSEMATES.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: SANDRA LUKE "I think he is hilarious and really does have a good time. He has a great relationship with Rebecca and he's the only one I'd trust in the house." LISA "She doesn't do enough to be noticed. I know she doesn't like Rebecca ...
How to marry Madge and avoid being her latest fall Guy.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: LORNE JACKSON MADONNA is a gal who can't make up her mind. Blonde or brunette? Buxom or buff? Average singer or rubbish actress? She's always swithering between one extreme and another. Now, if you believe the rumours, she'smulling over whether to ...
Tasty treats too good to resist.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: LORNE JACKSON FORMER supermodel, Christie Brinkley, is divorcing husband, Peter Cook, after he was caught cheating on her with a 19-year-old girl. It may seem crazy that Cook would canoodle with any woman apart from his wife. Christie may be 54, ...
jackson 5.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: LORNE JACKSON LAST week I wrote that Andy Murray, like Tim Henman before him, is as inadequate on a tennis court as a Taliban leader at a swingers' party. Or words to that effect. Later in the week, loads of foolish fellow hacks began drooling ...
2,000 Midland knife crimes in 5 months; EXCLUSIVE.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY JONNY GREATREX KNIVES were used in more than 2,000 Midland crimes in the first five months of this year, the Sunday Mercury can reveal. That means detectives are dealing with 11 crimes a day involving deadly blades, including sex attacks and kids taking the ...
Thanks for trying to save our boy.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... THE parents of 16 year-old knife victim Shakilus Townsend have paid an emotional thank you to a woman who scared off his attackers and desperately tried to save him. Nicola Dyer and husband Derek visited the scene of their son's death in Thornton Heath, south London, and thanked ...
TEENAGER FACES GUN CHARGE.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A YOUTH appeared at a Midland court yesterday accused of carrying a gun with intent to endanger life. The 17 year-old was brought before Birmingham Magistrates Court, charged with possession of a firearm and a prohibited weapon. ...
DON'T DIE LIKE OUR STUNT SON; Parents urge police to use teen's death to end surf craze.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: By ANJUI VARMA A TEENAGER who was killed while he was car surfing could be used in a campaign to stop youths from acting out the deadly stunt. Andrew Travers, of Chesterton, near Leamington Spa, died when he was thrown from the roof of a car driven by his pal ...
Top screenwriter tells of 'dog rage' attack.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A MIDLAND teenager has been found guilty of assaulting the screenwriter behind the BBC hits Bleakhouse and Pride and Prejudice. Andrew Davies, 71, was headbutted and punched by the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, while out walking his dog Daisy in Kenilworth, ...
US child sex offender is coming to preach in the Midlands; HE CLAIMS TO CURE VICTIMS BY BEATING THEM.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY FIONNUALA BOURKE A US child sex offender turned church minister who tries to cure cancer victims by KICKING them has been invited to preach at a Midlands rally. Todd Bentley, 32, is due to take centre stage at Birmingham NEC in September after being asked ...
TOP CRICKETER PLAYED AFTER DRINK-DRIVE ARREST.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A MIDLAND cricket star played a crucial Twenty20 match less than 24 hours after being arrested for drink driving, the Sunday Mercury can reveal. Worcestershire Vice Captain Gareth Batty took to the field for a vital quarter final against local rivals Gloucestershire in Bristol ...
IT'S MINI MAGIC.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... MINI fanatic Darren Curtis was among the crowds who turned out to pay homage to the motoring icon at a Midland event yesterday. The popular Gaydon Mini Festival kicked-off at noon after owners took part in a heritage run from the gates of the Longbridge car factory to the ...
THOUSANDS FACE HOMES HEARTACHE; 150,000 already in negative equity.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY ANJUI VARMA THOUSANDS of Midland homeowners are facing a property nightmare after research revealed rocketing numbers are now in negative equity. A staggering 150,000 people who bought properties so far this year have seen their value plummet to below what ...
Bishop joins women call.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A TOP bishop has urged the Church of England to go ahead with the introduction of women bishops despite bitter divisions over the issue. Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester, said it would make him "very sad" if the Church were to choose "simply to ...
Flood land's 570 homes.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... PLANS to build almost 600 homes on flood-prone land have been given the goahead. Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears, approved a 570-home development in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire - even though it was submerged in ...
crazy world.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... FLORIDA, USA: A drinker has been charged with battery after hitting his wife over the head with a package of Polish sausage. Gregory Allen Praeger, 46, told police he ...
Rapist gets jail warning.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A MIDLAND rapist who was caught 20 years after he attacked a nine-year-old girl is facing a "substantial" jail sentence. Gary Cooper, 51, of Keightley Road, Leicester, was found guilty ...
School bill.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... BIRMINGHAM schools are facing a combined bill of pounds 30 million after the city council said they must meet backpay claims of dinner ladies. Headteachers have been told they ...
Find Brummie father of my baby daughter; SEARCH AFTER DUBLIN ONE-NIGHT STAND.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... AN IRISH nurse who had a drunken one-night stand with a Brummie in Dublin has begun a campaign to find him - after giving birth to their baby daughter. The woman, known only as Roisin, has appealed for help in tracing the mystery man who left her pregnant after they met just ...
pounds 16k for Queen Mum's letter to Backstairs Billy.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... A LETTER from the Queen Mother telling her Midland servant to pack some Dubonnet and gin, "in case it is needed" has fetched pounds 16,000 at auction. The personal note written to Coventry-born William Tallon - affectionately known as Backstairs Billy for his role as Page of the ...
Do you want to be a SUPERHERO?(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... ARE you always up for a challenge? Are you an adrenaline junkie? Do you feel the need for speed? Then YOU could be a superhero! The Sunday Mercury has teamed up with Birmingham's Pallasades Shopping Centre in an innovative promotion to support local people. ...
Have you hired an exorcist?(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... BIRMINGHAM City Council's Freedom of Information department was asked to find out how many times the authority had paid for exorcists. Relieved staff discovered nothing had been spent on any form of ghost hunter - but other things the ...
Towpath pervert is locked up.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... PERVERT who groped a young woman as she jogged along an isolated canal towpath will have to serve at least two years in jail. The 21-year-old victim was accosted by Mark Brown, 33, of Leicester, who verbally abused her and then grabbed her ...
crazy world.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... ILLINOIS, USA: A MINIATURE Dachshund is in the doghouse after gnawing off the big toe of its sleeping owner. Linda Floyd, 56, has no feeling in her toes because ...
999 host rescued.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... TV'S MICHAEL Buerk has revealed how he was the subject of his own dramatic 999 rescue. The former host of BBC's 999 show had the Royal National Lifeboat Institution come to his aid last weekend. Newsreader Michael, who was born in ...
Maddie is dead says ex Portugese police chief.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY BEN GOLDBY THE former head of the Portugese investigation into missing Midland toddler Maddie McCann has claimed the four-year old is dead. Retired detective Goncalo Amaral, 48, broke his silence to say he was now convinced the tragic youngster will not be ...
Bishop's blast at opposition to gay clergy.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... THE former Bishop of Birmingham last night launched an outspoken attack on a new Anglican traditionalist movement that is opposed to gay clergy. Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu said he was "deeply grieved" at the criticism of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, ...
Man quizzed over student murders.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... DETECTIVES were last night questioning a 21 year-old man, arrested following the brutal murders of French students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez. The friends, both 23, were bound, gagged and stabbed to death in a bedsit in New Cross, south London on Sunday night, which was ...
Uncle Norm wanted his ashes scattered over Peak District... but they blew in the path of a caravan.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: MIKE LOCKLEY "JUST bung the thing out of the window," I bellowed, straining to see through a windscreen blurred by wipers fighting a losing battle against bullet rain. "I'm not sure about this, Mike," cautioned my concerned wife, clutching the urn tightly. ...
At last I've got my own allotment.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: MIKE LOCKLEY "I'VE gone green," I told Colin, proudly, over a frothing pint of best bitter in The Drum and Monkey's smoke-free snug. "That fungal thing's come back again?" he asked. "No. No. No. I am the proud possessor of an allotment. Here's the ...
Our Chav cat has moved in with posh family up the road.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: MIKE LOCKLEY KEOGH, our chav cat, has been leading a double life, it emerged this week. She has been sharing her affections between us - the family who rescued the mad moggie when she was abandoned on Cannock Chase - and the rich couple up-the-road who ...
When honesty isn't best policy.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: MIKE LOCKLEY A COUPLE are arguing on their honeymoon. They've pledged to be open and honest about past relationships, but the husband still won't tell his new bride how many women he's slept with. "If I do, you'll just get angry," he protests. ...
INNOCENTS ACCUSED; Hundreds are falsely branded as criminals.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA A GOVERNMENT agency set up to protect children branded hundreds of innocent people criminals in the last year. Three million applicants bidding for jobs in teaching, nursing, child-minding and volunteer work underwent checks with the Criminal ...
HOT WHEELS.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... RACY models of the two-legged and four-wheeled variety were out in force in the Midlands yesterday at the UK's ultimate car show. Sexy babes posed with sexy cars when Street Life opened at Birmingham's NEC. All motors on show at the two-day event ...
Fat camp Changed my life.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY ZOE CHAMBERLAIN Lifestyle Editor BY the age of 13, James Skinner weighed an astonishing 17 stone. The teenager had piled on the extra pounds within a year of receiving steroid treatment for swelling to his brain. While the drugs helped his ...
HOME AND DRY; Futuristic heat blast used to turn contaminated wasteland into Eco site.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA THESE amazing pictures shows how a greasy, grime-filled Black Country site is being transformed into plush new Eco-Homes. The contaminated land, previously used by a chemical manufacturing plant, was written off after being deemed unt for ...
Crunch time for cider.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... CIDER drinkers could be in for a dry spell this summer - as scrumpy looks set to become the latest victim of the credit crunch. Increasing production costs and "inflation busting" duty rises could mean the end for the Midlands cider industry, experts warned. ...
Town plea for a KFC.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... MORE than 200 locals have signed an internet petition to bring a KFC restaurant to a sleepy Midland town. The fast food enthusiasts have created a group on social networking website Facebook ...
crazy world.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... INDIANAPOLIS, USA: A pyrotechnician will go out with a bang when his cremated remains are added to the fireworks in the city's annual show. The ashes of Meredith Smith, 74, will ...
X-Fator.(News)
Jul 06, 2008 ... BRUMMIE-BORN X-Factor finalist Niki Evans has revealed how she has lost a whopping 18 inches after having liposuction. The singer, who lives in Polesworth, Staffordshire, ...
Eating posh is child's play; dining eating out THE GLASSHOUSE BRASSERIE, Worceste.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... TWO years ago I might have said that having a baby ends your life as you know it. With no experience of having children, it's easy to assume that parties, Prada outfits and posh restaurants all go out of the window, replaced with sleepless nights, stained dungarees and ...
It's cheap but certainly not cheerful.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... IF you're looking for something cheap and cheerful, The Dragon Inn ticks one of the boxes. It's certainly cheap. We had steak and salmon, cocktails and coffee for less than pounds 20 which, when you're after a very quick bite to eat before the theatre, is ideal. But ...
eating in: ROAST CHICKEN WITH GRAIN MUSTARD PAN JUICES; Each week we bring you a cut-out-andkeep recipe from top chef KEVIN ASHTON, who has cooked for American presidents and Hollywood stars.(Features)(Recipe)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: KEVIN ASHTON (serves four) 1 x 1.75kg (3 1/2 lb) chicken 500g (1lb 1oz) spring greens (cabbage) 4 rashers of smoked back bacon 2 tsp grain mustard 1 tsp Dijon mustard 75ml (y pint) whipping cream ...
CAR-JACK GANG STRIKES AGAIN; EXCLUSIVE RAIDERS BREAK INTO HOME AND DEMAND KEYS FROM TERRIFIED OWNERS.(Features)
Jul 06, 2008 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL POLICE believe a car-jacking gang who have been terrorising Midland motorists may have struck again - after breaking into a victim's home to snatch their keys. We revealed last month how detectives were looking at links between a series of ...