Sunday Mercury (Birmingham, England) back issues from February 2009:
CREDIT CRUNCH SUICIDE; EXCLUSIVE Debts drove Lord of the Manor to kill himself and shoot lover.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA MIDLAND businessman Howard Worthington cracked under the pressure of the credit crunch and killed himself because of a looming tax bill, it was claimed last night. Company director Mr Worthington, 52, who recently became a grandad, was said to ...
Locals raised cash for murder suspect; EXCLUSIVE We're living in fear, say residents of leafy Lichfield.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL A MURDER suspect accused previously had thousands of pounds raised for him by the local community as he battled cancer, it was claimed last night. Carl Keatley and a 15-year-old boy were charged on Wednesday with the murder of father-of-five ...
Jodie eyes up Tamworth talent.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... JODIE Marsh is looking for love - in Tamworth. The glamour girl is appearing at the Midland town's only lap dancing club on Valentine's Night. The Players Lounge is holding a blind date style competition for a customer to have quality time with the former Celebrity Big Brother ...
NICK NICKED; EXCLUSIVE 132 West Midland cops committed offences including kerb crawling, deception and domestic violence.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY JONNY GREATREX WEST Midlands Police often boast about the number of convictions they have achieved. But they do not readily provide the public with information about the number of crimes their own officers commit. During the last four years ...
Lambs stolen.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... SHEEP rustlers have struck in Shropshire stealing up to 60 prize lambs in a night-time raid. The lambs are believed to have been stolen from a field near Bridgnorth. The incident was reported to police on Thursday after the ...
crazy world.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... CALIFORNIA, USA - A new store has opened offering a range of wigs - especially designed for animals. Sisters Jenny and Crissy Slaughter used to dress up their pets ...
Haunted.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... FIVE Midland hospital workers claim they have seen a black-cloaked ghost haunting their building. One found the experience so terrifying they are on sick leave. Night shift staff ...
Malaria missed by five doctors - claim; FAMILY PIN HOPES ON CORONER IN TRAGIC CASE.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY PAUL SUART SOLICITORS claim a bin man died after five Midland doctors ignored his concerns that he had malaria and wrongly diagnosed him with food poisoning. Richard Clayton, from Stechford, Birmingham, visited Heartlands Hospital on December 29, 2007, ...
Date for post office murder victim's funeral.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... THE funeral of a sub postmaster's son gunned down during an attempted armed robbery on a Midland general store is to be held on Thursday. Craig Hodson-Walker, aged 29, was shot dead during the raid at the general store and Post Office he ran with his father Ken in Fairfield, ...
Killer in bid to appeal.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... A MAN jailed for life for the brutal killing of his former girlfriend and her two children is seeking leave to appeal against his conviction. Pierre Williams, of Birmingham, used a hammer to batter ...
The engine that could.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... AROUND 1,000 people gathered to wave off the first new steam locomotive to be built in Britain for almost 50 years yesterday as it embarked on its maiden journey. The pounds 3 million Peppercorn class A1 60163 ...
crazy world.(Features)
Feb 01, 2009 ... FLORIDA, USA - Cops say a 46-year-old man has been arrested for the 190th time. Police caught Henry Farrell after he tried to ...
Therapist struck off.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... A MIDLAND speech therapist has been struck off for incompetence after a number of failures, including one that left a child without food and drink for a day. Sarah Dugdale-Pointon, who ...
Our baby is back.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... THE first baby born in the Midlands from frozen embryo transfer has visited the fertility clinic that made it possible 18 years later. Michael Robinson, who was born on January 30, 1991, went with ...
Shine back for David in Pitman deal.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY IAN JOHNSON IT has taken Birmingham jeweller David Johnson more than a decade to get back into racing - but he admitted this week: "The buzz is coming back in a big way." It was in November 1996 he turned his back on racing. That was the day the brilliant ...
DRAW THE BEST BET AT ANFIELD; BETRESCUE.COM.(Features)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY CHRIS HUTCHEON SUCCESSIVE draws against Stoke, Everton and Wigan have seen Liverpool drift off the title pace prompting Betdirect to push them out to 8-1 in the betting. So this afternoon's titanic clash with Luis Felipe Scolari's Chelsea, 9-2 (Stan James) ...
Serena power stuns Safina.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... NEWLY-CROWNED Australian Open champion Serena Williams revealed she knew she had her destiny in her hands after just three games of her final against Dinara Safina. Williams powered past a nervous Safina 6-0, 6-3 in less than an hour in Rod Laver Arena to win her fourth title in ...
LAURA WILTS IN OZ FINAL; Cool Russian just too hot for Brit teen star.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY EMMA STONEY LAURA Robson may not have won the junior girls' singles title at the Australian Open but she says her achievements in Melbourne rate almost as highly as her success at Wimbledon last year. Robson had to overcome temperatures ranging from the ...
Exciting times ahead for Villa; offside.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: luke wilkins FOOTBALL in the Midlands has always been of a high standard. You just have to look at how many big clubs there are in the area - Coventry, Wolves, Birmingham, the Baggies and of course Aston Villa. But just how good is Martin O'Neill's ...
ASHES IS MAKE OR BREAK FOR ME; Vaughan: I must play to save England career.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY MARTYN BLAIR FORMER England captain Michael Vaughan admits he probably needs to regain his place for this summer's Ashes to stop his international career coming to an end. Vaughan memorably captained England in their last home series against Australia in ...
NINETIES MEN SECURE DRAW.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... KEVIN Pietersen continued his imperious start to his post-captaincy England career as the tourists drew with West Indies A. Pietersen hit 90, one of three batsmen to neglect an opportunity to reach three figures when well placed, as England were dismissed for 414 at Warner Park ....
ACTION HERO.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ANDY WALKER BLUES boss Alex McLeish praised his last-gasp action hero Kevin Phillips for saving the day at Sheffield Wednesday. The ex-England striker popped up with a vital equaliser deep into injury time at Hillsborough last night to rescue at point for ...
Injury woe mounts for Mowbray.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ROB TANNER ALBION boss Tony Mowbray is considering fielding a weakened side at Burnley on Tuesday for their FA Cup fourth round replay after his injury worries mounted following the 2-2 draw at Hull City. Defenders Abdoulaye Meite and Ryan Donk both had to ...
OBAMA ARRESTED (that's George, not Barack); President's halfbrother charged with possession.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ROY BAYLISS BARACK Obama's Kenyan half-brother has been arrested by police in Nairobi on charges of possession of marijuana. George Hussein Onyango Obama, 24, the youngest halfbrother of the new US president denies the allegation. He is due to ...
Hunt for robbers.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... POLICE want to speak with these four youths in connection with a robbery on a bus in Birmingham city centre. The 34 year-old victim was boarding a bus when he was approached by a man aged between 15 and 20 who wrestled his laptop from him before running off with three other men ....
Days out from jail for tycoon fraudster; EXCLUSIVE MASTERMIND BEHIND pounds 138 MILLION SCAM LANDS CUSHY JOB - JUST 2 YEARS INTO 12-YEAR SENTENCE.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY JEANETTE OLDHAM Crime Reporter ONE of Britain's biggest criminal bosses is enjoying days out from jail - just two years into a 12-year sentence. Midland gangster Craig Johnson masterminded a VAT fraud that saw pounds 138 million stolen from the public ...
House fire man arrest.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... A MAN has been arrested in connection with a fire at a Midland home in which a 14 month-old boy and his mother were lucky to escape. A neighbour raised the alarm, prompting the toddler's grandfather, who lives nearby, and another neighbour to jump into action. They ...
Speed sign pranksters.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... TAXPAYERS will have to fork out pounds 5,000 after a vigilante changed speed limit signs on a Midland road. Cops are hunting the cheeky prankster who tore down the 50 mph signs on the B5000 near Polesworth, Warwickshire, and replaced them with second-hand ...
crazy world.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... GAO QIAN, CHINA: Zoo keepers have spent three months training a sea lion to write in Chinese. Peter, the sea lion, ...
Corkscrew ride is sold.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... THE front carriage of the Corkscrew rollercoaster at Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire has been sold in an online auction for pounds 7,200. John ...
Tragedy mirrors chilling deaths.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... THE death of businessman Howard Worthington mirrors the chilling death of troubled millionaire Christopher Foster, who killed his wife and daughter before turning a gun on himself. It is believed the 50 year-old father took a rifle from his private collection and killed Jill, ...
Cash calls to Samaritans.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... THE Samaritans have seen a large increase in calls about financial problems in the last six months, it was revealed last night. As the credit crunch bites harder, more and more people are turning to the charitable organisation for support when their situation becomes ...
Get ready for a big FREEZE; Siberian winds blow snow into the UK.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL MIDLANDERS are bracing themselves for Arctic conditions today as Siberian winds sweep through the UK. The cold snap is expected to hit this afternoon and will leave much of the country covered in snow until the middle of next week, ...
Jade picked to sing for UK at Eurovision.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... SOUL singer Jade Ewen was last night chosen to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. She triumphed in a public vote in the final show of the BBC's Your Country Needs You, beating two other hopeful acts. The 21 year-old from Plaistow, London, wowed the viewers with a ...
Soldier dies in firefight.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... A MIDLAND soldier has been killed during a firefight in Afghanistan. Corporal Daniel 'Danny' Nield, 31, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, died from injuries sustained during an exchange of fire on Friday, the Ministry of Defence confirmed. Cpl Nield (pictured), ...
CARSON'S STILL NO.1 - BIG JOE; CORRIGAN BACKS BLUNDER KEEPER SCOTT TO BOUNCE BACK EXCLUSIVE.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ROB TANNER SCOTT Carson will come through his run of clangers and will be a better goalkeeper, Albion keeper coach Joe Corrigan believes. Carson has made crucial, goal-costing errors in defeats to Aston Villa and Manchester United and his tag as a future ...
Obodo loan fee tempter.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... WEST Bromwich Albion are bidding to agree a loan fee with Udinese to take midfielder Christian Obodo for the rest of the season. Albion are in advanced talks to sign the 24-year-old Nigerian international. Albion hope that a loan fee of pounds 250,000 could tempt ...
Late chase on for Hare.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... ASTON Villa striker Marlon Harewood is at the centre of an 11th-hour battle for his services. With the transfer window closing tomorrow, Harewood is still being targeted by Stoke City, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth. Villa have ruled out letting the former West Ham ...
Garry close to a return.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... BIRMINGHAM City striker Garry O'Connor is closing in on his comeback at St Andrew's. The former Hibernian and Lokomotiv Moscow marksman has been sidelined since tearing his groin in the warm-up before Birmingham's match at Queens Park Rangers on October 28. ...
Coleman on Driver's tail.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... COVENTRY City boss Chris Coleman is bidding to bring in another wide-boy after making a move to sign Hearts winger Andrew Driver. Coventry are chasing the 21-year-old in an attempt to clinch a deal before the transfer window closes at 5pm tomorrow. Coleman boosted his ...
I COULD HAVE ENDED UP IN PARIS GANGS; EXCLUSIVE HOW SOCCER HELPED ACE BOUAZZA ESCAPE FROM THE GHETTO..(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ANDY WALKER HAMEUR Bouazza has revealed that he could have been lured into a world of petty crime and gangs had it not been for football. The Blues winger is currently enjoying a loan spell at St Andrew's until the end of the season from Premier League ...
NOLAN: WE'VE CHARACTER TO STAY UP.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... KEVIN Nolan is not even thinking about relegation as he prepares to make his Newcastle debut against arch rivals Sunderland today. The 26-year-old midfielder, who completed a pounds 4 million move from Bolton to St James' Park yesterday, will pull on the black-andwhite stripes ...
Sam boosts Hutchings.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... WALSALL manager Chris Hutchings was delighted to sign Aston Villa striker Sam Williams on loan - after revealing all his previous attempts to strengthen the squad that he inherited had met with frustration. The former Bradford and Wigan boss has a number of targets in sight but ...
Villa making Shrew move.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... ASTON Villa are in talks with Shrewsbury over snapping up winger Chris Humphrey for a bargain pounds 50,000. Villa manager Martin O'Neill, who has had Humphrey, 21, scouted, wants to buy him and loan him back to Town, who will pocket pounds 50,000 plus a percentage of any future ...
Ty deal just child's play.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... IN-DEMAND Nottingham Forest striker Nathan Tyson knew just who to ask for advice when choosing whether to look for a transfer or sign a new contract. No, not a wily old manager or an agent ...but his six year-old twin girls, Lola and Beth. After talks potentially ...
I DON'T FANCY BEING THE BOSS.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY BRIAN HALFORD MICHAEL Ricketts has been around the block in football many times at many levels as a player. Although still only 30, he has been around first-team squads for more than a decade. Ricketts the player has been part of a dozen teams and played ...
SULLY'S STILL AT TOP OF HIS GAME; EXCLUSIVE FRIEDEL RELISHES REMATCH WITH FELLOW VETERAN STOPPER NEIL.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY MAT KENDRICK BRAD Friedel is happy for Doncaster's Neil Sullivan to again win the battle of the senior stoppers - providing Villa emerge victorious in Wednesday's FA Cup rematch. Sullivan stole the show in the original fourth-round tie last weekend by ...
GO FOR DOWNING IS MORLEY ADVICE.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY MAT KENDRICK ASTON Villa legend Tony Morley has urged Martin O'Neill to bring in another left-footer before tomorrow's transfer deadline to give the claret and blues better balance. The league and European Cup winning wing wonder would love to see his ...
O'Neill mulls late swoop.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... ASTON Villa manager Martin O'Neill has held a transfer summit with owner Randy Lerner as he ponders a lastminute raid before the window closes. O'Neill is keen to further strengthen his squad as Villa seek to maintain their challenge in the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Cup. ...
No deal for striker Sunil.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... COVENTRY City manager Chris Coleman has decided not to sign the Indian international striker Sunil Chhetri. Chhetri trained with the Sky Blues last week but Coleman won't be adding the 24-year-old to his squad. Chhetri plays for East Bengal in ...
Big Sam's Rovers' run continues.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... MIDDLESBROUGH 0 BLACKBURN 0 SAM Allardyce's unbeaten run at Blackburn remains intact after another battling display in this stalemate at Middlesbrough. The Rovers boss extended his promising sequence of results to eight without defeat, six in the Barclays ...
SUPER KEV TO THE RESCUE! Phillips stuns Owls with last-gasp leveller.(Sport)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: ANDY WALKER at Hillsborough SHEFFIELD WEDS 1 Buxton 75 mins BIRMINGHAM 1 Phillips 90 mins SUPER Kev Phillips continued his campaign to become Sheffield's most-hated man with a last-gasp equaliser at Hillsborough. The ex-England man ...
Car bomb found near to school.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... A LETHAL 300lb car bomb has been discovered close to a primary school, police revealed last night. The home-made device was hidden in the back of a black Volkswagen Bora in the village of Castlewellan, Northern Ireland. Police and army disposal experts carried out ...
Three injured in brawls.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... THREE men suffered head and facial injuries, including a slash wound, during a series of brawls in Shropshire yesterday. Violence erupted in Wellington around 1pm and paramedics were called to an injured person in the Church Street area of the town but when ambulance crews ...
Fruit village.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... A MIDLAND fruit growing firm which was ordered to tear down 300 illegally erected mobile homes has submitted plans for a workers' village. ...
He tried to kill himself before; EXCLUSIVE LORD OF MANOR WAS DRIVEN TO SHOTGUN SHOWDOWN BY SPIRALLING DEBTS AND CONSTANT ROWS WITH GIRLFRIEND.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA A MILLIONAIRE businessman who killed himself after blasting his girlfriend with a shotgun had previously tried to commit suicide after his debts spiralled out of control, a source claimed last night. Howard Worthington, 52, who ran his own ...
Heart disease still Britain's biggest killer.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... HEART attacks kill ten people every hour in the UK, new research has revealed. One person dies every six minutes from a heart attack in Britain and heart and circulatory disease claim around 200,000 lives every year. Together they constitute the biggest cause of death ...
Car crash escape.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... PASSENGERS had a lucky escape when a car crashed into a bus on one of Telford's busiest roads yesterday. The car crashed into the back of the bus on the A442 Eastern Primary, near Madeley, shortly before 11.45am. Police said the bus driver ...
McCann's birthdays.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... GERRY and Kate McCann are to hold a party to celebrate their twins' fourth birthdays today - with presents from their missing sister, Maddie. ...
crazy world.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... FAIRFIELD, USA - Barbecue lovers were left with more than they bargained for after a bizarre road crash closed roads into a Connecticut town. Fairfield's main arterial routes were blocked off ...
House fire tackled.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... FIREFIGHTERS were called after fire swept through a Black Country home. The two-storey building in Highfield Road, Smethwick, was well alight by the time crews from Cradley and Oldbury arrived at about 6.35am yesterday. ...
PERVERTS TARGET XBOX KIDS; FBI AGENT WARNS OF NEW EXCLUSIVE.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY ADAM ASPINALL PAEDOPHILES could be using online Xbox 360 games to groom their future victims, the head of cyber security at Microsoft has revealed. Former FBI agent and Oxford graduate Ed Gibson outlined his fears ahead of a planned visit to Birmingham ...
Police name stab victim.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... A MAN who was stabbed to death in front of his daughter as they travelled to visit his newborn son has been named by police. John Nii Kacsu Abbey (pictured), 26, a local boxer known to friends as 'King', was stabbed in Croydon, south London, on his way to nearby Mayday Hospital ...
pounds 60m FLOP; The exorbitant pounds 1,304 cost per visitor could pay for plush trip to the Louvre to see real art.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... Byline: BY JONNY GREATREX IT'S the pounds 60 million art gallery flop which has been nicknamed "The Pink Elephant". Just 46,000 people have attended The Public in West Bromwich since its less than glorious opening last June. And that means the astonishing ...
Woman dies after fire.(News)
Feb 01, 2009 ... AN elderly woman has been found dead in her Midland flat following a severe fire. The woman, who has not been named, was discovered in the bedroom of her ground floor flat in a four-storey block in Willenhall Road, Wolverhampton, at around 10.15pm on Friday. She was ...