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From Saturday 17th - Friday 23rd
January 2004
(days
in reverse order)
Friday
23rd January 2004
Recaptured
fugitive found hanged The Midlands' most-wanted criminal is found hanged in
prison 16 days after being re-arrested. Vincent Palmer, 37, was re-arrested at
an associate's house in Shenstone, near Lichfield. Read
the full story from BBC News
Man shot on doorstep A man was
shot up to five times on his doorstep by a masked gunman, police have revealed.
The attack happened in Astbury Street, Congleton, south Cheshire on Wednesday
night. Read
the full story from BBC News
Territorials's awards Two Territorial
Army Soldiers from Ashbourne and Burton are being honoured for their services
in Afghanistan. Lance Corporal John Owen and Private Paul Naylor from C Staffords
Company both offered to spend six months as part of a peace keeping force in the
country.
Tuning silenced? Piano tuners across East Staffordshire are warning that
their trade could soon die out. The Piano Tuners Association says its seen the
number of new tuners drop from 80 a year to 4 over the last 15 years. Ian Hewitt
of the Eric Reynolds Music Centre in Burton says young people don't see the profession
as a viable career.
Appeal lost A former social worker jailed for
abusing teenagers at an East Staffordshire childrens home has lost an appeal to
overturn his conviction. Joseph Hopkins of Ash Grove in Lichfield was jailed for
twelve years in November 2001 after being convicted of one rape, nine indecent
assaults and two assaults at the Riverside Children's Home in Rocester. Appeal
Court judges dismissed his conviction appeal but reduced his sentence by two years.
Husband jailed for wife's death 35-year-old David Clive Richards from
Staffordshire has been jailed for five years for killing his wife Karen in Leek
in August. Read
the full story from BBC News
Thursday 22nd January 2004
M6
Toll mix-up A motorist with a heart complaint had to wait two-and-a-half hours
in his broken down van after a recovery vehicle driver wasn't allowed onto the
M6 toll road because he wouldn't pay the fee. The toll booth operator demanded
payment - but the recovery driver argued that he DIDN'T have to pay because he'd
been contracted by Staffordshire Police. The recovery truck was eventually allowed
onto the carriageway without having to pay - and then towed the stranded motorist
off the hard shoulder and to a garage. Alan Edwards, Vehicle Recovery Administrator
for Staffordshire Police says it was all due to a mis-understanding.
New
memorial for Alrewas A Turkish-born architect Nadir Imam-o-lu has persuaded
twelve companies from the Midlands to help create a lasting memorial to the thousands
who died in the First World War in the Gallipoli campaign, which resulted in half
a million casualties.
A map of the Turkish Gallipoli peninsula has been constructed
entirely from glass by a company in Walsall and will form part of the memorial.
It'll be formally opened on April the 25th, the anniversary of the first landings
on Gallipoli.
Wednesday
21st January 2004
Council suspensionsThree officers are
suspended by Stoke-on-Trent City Council after investigations into a £15m overspend
for the so-called Cultural Quarter project. Read
the full story from BBC News
See
a full copy of
the investigation report
Varnish
horror A Staffordshire man died in an accident when he was engulfed in flames
while using petrol to thin down varnish close to a bonfire at his home. Forensic
officers are working on the theory that a stray spark, possibly from a cigarette
or the fire ignited the petrol fumes causing an explosion.
Derek Wyke, believed
to be in his late 60s, was certified dead at the scene at his home in Hednesford.
Salad
cream defence An East Staffordshire robber who was caught because he'd been
drenched with salad cream, has been sent to a young offenders' institution for
three-and-a-half years. A court heard police picked out 18 year old Michael Watt
from James Court in Burton, because he still had the cream on him. He'd used a
knife to threaten Uttoxeter shop owner Lorraine Avery - who'd thrown a catering-sized
tub of sauce at him.
No windfall for widow The Staffordshire
Building Society is refusing to pay widow Alice Rolston a bonus - because her
late husband's name came first on their joint accounts. Read
the full story from BBC News
Villagers wanted - to act as speed
"police" Volunteers from South Cheshire are being recruited to set
up their own checkpoints to catch speeding drivers. Read
the full story from BBC News
Tuesday 20th
January 2004
Mother's fight for prison changes The mother
of Sarah Campbell, a south Cheshire woman who killed herself in prison, welcomes
a report calling for an end to the jailing of the mentally ill. Read
the full story from BBC News
Shoplifter barred from town stores
20-year-old Emma Brown, from Tamworth, is served with an order that bans her from
a retail park and every shop in the town. Read
the full story from BBC News
'Farcical' train journey for Virgin
passengers A passenger on board a train, which was destined for Stoke, but
was directed onto the wrong tracks, has described the incident as a "complete
farce." It happened at 1900 GMT on Tuesday, when the Virgin service should have
gone through Stoke and Manchester but a signalling error sent it via Crewe. A
signal operator has been suspended by Network Rail pending an investigation. Passenger
Katherine Brenand from Cheshire said it was complete pandemonium when Virgin workers
realised what had happened.
Robbie boosts live gigs revenue Concerts
by Stoke-on-Trent singer Robbie Williams and Coldplay help music company Sanctuary
increase its profits in 2003. Read
the full story from BBC News
Criticism over post office closure
plan A Stoke-on-Trent MP has criticised the Post Office in the Commons over
planned branch closures. If the scheme goes ahead 21 post offices are likely to
disappear in the Potteries. Labour's Joan Walley MP said it would have a detrimental
effect on the area. But the Post Office minister Stephen Timms said there was
little hope left of saving the branches.
Cancer deaths 'reduced'
Twenty specialists are recruited to help reduce the number of people dying
of cancer in Staffordshire, where the overall death rate is above the national
average. Read
the full story from BBC News
Patients checked after TB scare A
health worker from the University Hospital of North Staffordshire is diagnosed
with tuberculosis.Read
the full story from BBC News
Monday 19th
January 2004
Opening hours row at cottage A Stafford heritage
group is upset that the Izaak Walton's Cottage museum could have its opening hours
cut, despite their offers of help. Read
the full story from BBC News
See Izaak
Walton Pages
Two men in abduction attempt Police appeal for
information after two men try to entice a 10-year-old girl into a car in the Staffordshire
village of Coven. Read
the full story from BBC News
M6 Toll delays anger drivers Drivers
are facing delays on a stretch of the M6 Toll as workmen correct unevenness in
the road's surface. Read
the full story from BBC News
See M6
Toll Road Pages
Discrimination complaint A formal complaint's
been made against Staffordshire's Chief Fire Officer Alan Doig after the authority
was ruled to have discriminated against a white male firefighter to meet Government
targets. Retained firefighter Roger Brookes applied for a full time post during
a recruitment drive. Of the 2,200 applicants who were subsequently interviewed
49 were offered jobs. Of those 37 were white men, 8 were women and 4 were ethnic-minority
candidates. An employment tribunal found that the white male applicants were discriminated
against to make sure the county's fire authority met Home Office targets for recruiting
under-represented groups. Mr Brookes has now filed a formal complaint.
Sunday
18th January 2004
Advice for children who lose their way
A video advising children on what to do if they become separated from their parents
will be shown in schools in Stafford. The video is being sent to all primary schools
to show children what to do if they do get lost. It is hoped the video will make
children aware of where they can go and who to speak to if they are lost. Stafford
police said they hoped the video would make the town a safer place.
Saturday 17th January 2004
Man dies in head-on crash A 19-year-old man has been killed in a car crash
in Stoke-on-Trent. It happened on Werrington Road at the junction of Dividy Road
at 0130 GMT on Saturday. Read
the full story from BBC News
Cold-hearted thief A thief who
stole a life-saving defibrillator from a paramedic's car could have caused the
death of a patient, police and ambulance staff have warned. The £20,000
machine was taken from the community paramedic's response vehicle while he tended
to a patient at a house in Moreton Street, Middleport.
Powergen merges
Midlands firms Electricity generator Powergen is to merge and rename its Midlands
distribution business after completing its billion pound takeover of Midlands
Electricity. Read the
full story from BBC News
WWII archive photos go online A website
has been created by the Aerial Reconnaissance Archives (TARA) at Keele University
which will allow users to access more than five million aerial photographs from
World War II. Read the full
story from BBC News
FULL
ARCHIVE OF 2002, 2003 & 2004 STORIES - CLICK
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