NOTTINGHAM PATRIOT

Police found heroin, crack and £10k stashed under floorboards

2012-01-27T12:14:00.000-08:00

A 22-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for six years after police found more than 1,300 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine in his house and more than £10,000 in cash.

Following an anonymous tip-off to Crimestoppers, police swooped on Anton Willis' house in Osman Close in The Meadows in March last year and found crack cocaine, heroin, cannabis and cash stashed under the floorboards.
Jailed: Anton Willis was sentenced to six years.

Willis was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday and was given six years in jail for possession with intent to supply heroin, possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and possession of criminal property – namely £10,580 in cash.

He was also given six months in jail for possession of cannabis, but all his sentences will run concurrently.

After ripping open the floorboards on the stairs at his home, officers found 965 wraps of heroin and 395 wraps of crack cocaine, which had a combined street value of £13,600.

They also found uncut blocks of heroin weighing 133.68 grams, which were valued at £8,910.

Scales containing traces of heroin, cannabis and caffeine — a common cutting agent — were also seized, along with £10,580 cash which had been crammed into a red Adidas bag.

In court prior to Wednesday's sentencing, Willis had denied all four charges against him, but was found guilty on all counts by a jury following a three-day trial.

Photographic evidence of the drugs was shown in court.

Detective Constable Andy Gerus, of Operation Vanguard, called on members of the public to contact Crimestoppers or the police if they suspect someone of dealing.

He said: "Yesterday's conclusion came following investigative work prompted by an anonymous tip-off from the Crimestoppers 'Rat on a Rat' campaign. The end result not only takes a Class A drug supplier out of the equation, but also puts countless street dealers out of a job.

"In short, thousands of pounds of heroin and crack cocaine have been taken out of circulation in Nottingham, easing this frustrating and detrimental crime-feeding-crime burden on society.

"But this is one, albeit important, battle won in the ongoing war against drugs.

Anyone with information about the manufacture or supply of drugs is asked to contact the Vanguard team on 101 extension 802 4496, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Operation Vanguard was launched in August 2008 to combat drug dealing and associated organised crime in Notts.

In the last three years, the ongoing operation has led to the arrests of 700 people and recovered nearly £10 million of drugs, £273,000 in cash and 50 guns.

Broxtowe Labour council leader charged with £45k benefit fraud

2012-01-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

A COUNCIL leader has been charged with a £45,500 benefit fraud.

Milan Radulovic, who has been Labour leader of Broxtowe Borough Council since last May, is accused of receiving an overpayment of £45,511 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The Post understands that the alleged overpayment relates to allowances he is said to have claimed as a councillor but not declared to DWP. He told the Post: "I am refuting all this. I'm contesting everything. I've never been given the chance to answer the allegations, it's gone straight to court. I shall counter-sue for damages. This is unfair. I haven't done anything wrong."

Radulovic, 56, who was awarded an MBE in 2007, was first elected to the borough council in 1986 and currently represents Eastwood South on the council.

He was also leader of Broxtowe Borough Council between 1995 and 2007; and also served as leader of Eastwood Town Council between 1991 and 2003.

He previously worked as a maintenance engineer, but retired from work in 1997 due to serious health problems.

A hearing was held at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on January 6. Radulovic was not present, but had legal representation in court. No plea was entered.

Radulovic, of Cross Street, Eastwood, is set to next appear at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on March 16.

He has been charged under the Social Security Administration Act for "having made a false statement or representation" relating to an incapacity benefit claim form. This is claimed to have happened in or around May 29, 1997, in Eastwood.

City cathedral blames Labour council's parking charges for £2,500 fall in donations

2012-01-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

NOTTINGHAM Cathedral claims it has lost more than £2,500 in donations because of new parking charges in the city centre.

Reverend Geoffrey Hunton, dean at St Barnabas' Catholic Cathedral, in Derby Road, says recently introduced parking charges on Sunday have put dozens of people off attending masses.

Nottingham City Council scrapped free Sunday parking in November and extended the hours people must pay to park on streets on weekdays.

It means people have to pay to park from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.

Church leaders across the city condemned the plans, and Mr Hunton says their fears have now been realised, with the cathedral reporting an expected loss of about £2,600 in charitable donations since the scheme came into effect on November 20.

He said: "We would normally have over 1,000 people coming for the various masses, but the other Sunday we were down by more than 100."

Mr Hunton fears the loss in donations could mean difficulty in maintaining the grade-II listed building.

"We don't receive any grants from anyone else, we rely on people's goodwill," he said.

"At 6am to 6.30am homeless people come in and we provide them with warmth, but at the end of the day we still have the heating bills to pay." The dean said that a £50 pre-paid voucher scheme introduced by the council, saving church-goers about £70 per year in parking, has had little effect.

He is calling on the council to "do away with" the parking charges.

He added: "What happens is up to the council. I can only present them with the evidence. We are not asking for special compensation, we are asking for fair treatment."

A city shop owner also claims that businesses have been hit by the charges and has challenged council leader Councillor Jon Collins to see the extent of the effects for himself.

Geoff Williams, owner of the Tokenhouse gift shop in Bridlesmith Gate, said: "These charges are far from helpful. And we don't even know where the money being gained from them is going.

"When you walk around, you can see how few cars are being parked up. In an area with 40 spaces, I've seen just two cars. I'd like the council to see it for themselves."

Councillor Jane Urquhart, Nottingham City Council's portfolio holder for planning and transport, said: "Given the generous package of discounts we have agreed with the churches, we would be surprised if the changes to parking arrangements are the only or even most significant reason for a reduction in the numbers of people coming into the city to worship.

"There have been no reports of a reduction in the congregations at other churches such as St Peter's and St Mary's on Sundays.

"Indeed, St Mary's Church in the Lace Market had its largest congregation for many years at its Christmas Eve carol service.

"However, we will continue to listen to the concerns of churches and faith groups and will work with them if there is demonstrable evidence that parking arrangements are having an adverse impact."

Doc says terror claims did not affect patients

2012-01-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

A SRI LANKAN doctor who admitted aiding the Tamil Tigers terror group has said his personal feelings never affected patients.

Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy, who once lived in Nottingham, spent four years in a US prison after he was arrested on suspicion of helping the banned organisation – known for its use of suicide bombers and child soldiers.

He admitted the offence and now, after his release, wants to resume seeing patients at the practice he runs with his wife in Enfield, London.

The doctor told a disciplinary hearing in Manchester: "I served my patients without any reservations, or without any influences, other than the patients' needs.

"That is the aim of my practice and will continue to be my aim. My personal feelings have never affected my practice."

The General Medical Council says his fitness to practice is impaired because of the conviction and that his involvement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had "stepped wildly beyond any reasonable boundary".

The hearing was told Dr Vinayagamoorthy was detained after a taped conversation with undercover US agents.

It was alleged he tried to bribe them into removing the LTTE from the country's list of designated foreign terrorist organisations.

Charles Garside QC, for the GMC, said: "My fundamental submission is that a doctor who so far departs from moral and ethical standards as to actively support a terrorist organisation is impaired."

Dr Vinayagamoorthy, 62, denied being a member of the Tamil Tigers and said he did not support them either.

He said he did not knowingly break the law and during his prosecution claimed there was no evidence against him but he took the offer of a "global" plea so that co-defendants would not have to go to trial.

Among them was Sri Lankan Prathapeen who lived with him and his wife in Nottingham from 1994 while he studied for an electronics degree.

The lodger was said to be senior procurement agent for the LTTE, involved in the purchase of improvised explosive devices, missiles and machine guns from around the world.

The doctor said he was unaware of his lodger's involvement with the terror group.

He is suspended from practising at the surgery he shares with his wife.

Armed raid terror as men steal shop cash

2012-01-27T11:40:00.000-08:00

NOTTS police have released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to in connection with a robbery.

Two masked (hooded) men, one armed with a gun and one brandishing a knife, raided Nuthall Convenience Store, in Ash Crescent, Nuthall, at about 9.10pm on Sunday.

They demanded money and escaped on foot with a quantity of cash from the till.

Ash Crescent resident Tony Fitzpatrick, 66, said he was shocked to hear about the robbery. "I can't understand why anyone would do it because there is a really good CCTV system in the shop," he said.

"I go in there every day and I know the staff well. It's terrible. I'm a widower now but if my wife was still alive I wouldn't want her working in there – most of the staff are women and it's just really scary."

Both of the men were either black or mixed race, in their late teens or early twenties, and had their faces covered.

One of the suspects was wearing a grey waterproof jacket, with stripes down the sleeves, and the hood up, black jogging bottoms, black gloves and black trainers with a thin sole.

He was seen carrying what is believed to be a gun. The other offender, who was carrying a knife, is described as being between 5ft 7ins and 5ft 9ins tall.

He was wearing a dark blue hooded jumper with black stripes down the sleeves, dark blue tracksuit bottoms and black boots.

He was also wearing thick brightly coloured gloves.

Detective Inspector Andrew Bateman, from Beeston CID, said: "This was a nasty incident which has left the staff member involved incredibly shaken.

"Officers are reviewing CCTV and carrying out house-to-house inquiries. We are determined to find these men and bring them to justice.

Anyone with information is asked to call Beeston CID on 101, extension 812 5635.

Labour's spin doctor and the items that went missing in the night

2012-01-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

The director of communications at Nottingham City Council is leaving the authority, taking voluntary redundancy. But an investigation by the Nottingham Post means there are still some difficult questions for the spin doctor and the council to answer. Charles Walker reports...

THE city council claims the departure of its director of communications, Stephen Barker, is part of a shake-up aimed at cutting costs.

Stephen Barker

Certainly, losing staff at Mr Barker's level, who command salaries of around £90,000, will help save money.

However, it is also clear that Mr Barker's tenure has become a problem for the council and the ruling Labour group.

In February, the Post revealed a document which appeared to show that the council and Labour Party communications were co-ordinated ahead of the local elections in 2007.

If proven, this would be illegal and an abuse of public money.

The revelations raised difficult and serious questions for Mr Barker, the Labour Party, and Nottingham City, which are yet to be answered.

Almost 12 months on an internal investigation launched by council chief executive Jane Todd is not concluded.

It was sparked when the Post published the document which showed two communications grids relating to the year prior to the 2007 election. The grids are used to plan campaign messages.

One of the grids showed the city council's publicity plans up to the election, while the other showed the communications plans of Nottingham Labour during the same period.

The slogans and messages were almost identical.

In addition, a computer pathway, which indicates the name of the file and where it is stored, which is at the bottom of the Labour Party publicity plans, included the phrase, "document for StephenB".

Mr Barker and the city council have previously refused to comment on the document.

However, the Post can now reveal the existence of an email sent by Mr Barker which suggests the communication grids for the council and Labour Party publicity may have been in his possession in 2007.

The email was sent two days before the Post revealed the existence of the grids. It went to former Lib Dem councillor Tony Sutton, who obtained the documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

Mr Barker said in the email: "In 2007 two items were removed overnight (I hesitate to say stolen) from my desk, in my locked office, in the Guildhall Annexe. The co-existence of these two items would only be known to myself, Michael Frater [the council's former chief executive], whoever removed them from my office or anyone that they then passed them onto. Were you involved in any way with the removal of the two items from my office in the Guildhall Annexe?"

Mr Sutton complained about Mr Barker's email to the council's head of legal services, Glenn O'Connell, saying it was totally inappropriate.

He told the Post: "I believe Stephen Barker was referring to the communications grids the council released under the Freedom of Information Act. These were the subject of my FOI requests around that time. I am disappointed and concerned that Jane Todd has not taken action on this matter."

The Post wrote to Nottingham City Council and leader Jon Collins suggesting the "two items" Mr Barker referred to in his email were indeed the two communications grid documents, as Mr Sutton believes. We also asked why Mr Barker would be in possession of these documents.

Neither the council nor Councillor Collins answered the question.

The Post also asked Mr Barker if he was involved in the co-ordination of council and Labour Party publicity in 2006/7. He did not answer the question.

The council has also failed to say whether Mr Barker was indeed the "Stephen B" mentioned on the computer pathway. However, no one else working in the council's communication department at the time had both the first name Stephen and B as an initial.

Council publicity had been dramatically stepped up in 2006/07, in line with the plans in Mr Barker's office. And they shaped the authority's marketing for years to come.

At the centre of the city's and Labour's communications was the message "Proud of Nottingham".

The council's communications themes between April 2006 and April 2007 included "proud of Nottingham", "safe", "clean", and "ambition".

In effect the city council was rebranded with the slogans, which eventually appeared on signs, refuse lorries, vehicles, uniforms, posters and bus stops city-wide.

Labour's themes for the same period included "Labour's Proud of Nottingham", "ambition for" Nottingham, "safer", and "cleaner".

The Proud of Nottingham campaign cost the council up to £20,000 of public money for poster sites alone, but the total cost was likely to be much higher.

Some of the adverts in the council campaign declared: "Looking Back On '06: Crime Down; Cleaner Streets; Best Ever Exam Results. Nottingham City Council Proud to Serve the People of Nottingham."

The Labour Party in Nottingham put out, in some cases, identical messages, in its election material. The council's publicly-funded publicity was on the streets at the same time Labour put out newsletters under the slogan, Labour's Proud of Nottingham. They featured messages about progress in education, street cleanliness, and crime.

After the election, which Labour won by a landslide, the then District Auditor Andrew Blackburn investigated council spending on its publicity.

He raised concern about the "strikingly similar" content between the council's publicity, paid for by the public, and that of the Labour Party.

He concluded: "In my view an objective reader could make the assumption that the material has been expressly designed to affect public support for a political party."

However, he stopped short of sending the matter to court for a judgement of unlawful expenditure because he was unable to find documentary evidence to link the two campaigns, nor could he prove a council officer was involved with both. The council has not said what progress Ms Todd has made in her investigation of these matters. Mr Barker was allowed to take five months unpaid leave during her inquiry and now he is leaving.

But while the council has axed Mr Barker's post as part of its cost-cutting agenda, it still has to explain why documents suggest publicly funded council publicity was co-ordinated with Labour's communications. And why the authority's head of communications, appeared to be in possession of the documents.

Departure 'not connected' to probe

THE city council's leader has not commented on concerns that the authority's and the Labour Party's publicity campaigns were co-ordinated ahead of the 2007 election.

Councillor Jon Collins led the Labour campaign in the city in 2007. The Post asked him questions about Mr Barker's apparent involvement in plans for council and Labour publicity for 2006/07, but he did not respond.

The Post also asked Mr Collins whether the Labour Party and the city council publicity was in his view co-ordinated ahead of the 2007 election, but we received no response to the question.

We asked Mr Collins if he had spoken to Mr Barker or corresponded with him about Labour Party communications plans before the election, but he did not respond.

Mr Collins issued a statement thanking Mr Barker for his contribution to Nottingham City Council, claiming he has been "invaluable".

He said: "He brought a huge amount of passion and enthusiasm to his role and under his leadership our communications and marketing team has won many national awards for its excellent work. I am disappointed he is leaving but I understand that after 15 years with the council he wants to explore new challenges."

Council chief executive Jane Todd did not respond to any of the concerns raised regarding Mr Barker's apparent involvement with Labour Party publicity.

She did not comment on whether Mr Barker has been interviewed in her investigation into this matter, or what progress her investigation has made.

A statement from the council said: "[Mr Barker's] planned voluntary redundancy is in no way connected to investigations which he has agreed to help with, if and when required."

Ms Todd thanked Mr Barker for his "fantastic contribution". She added: "He has an incredible knack for grasping how small details have an effect on strategic aims and was fearless in his pursuit of doing things better across the council and so making things better for the citizens we serve."

Mr Barker did not comment on the concerns about his involvement in Labour Party election campaign but said in a statement: "Should my redundancy be confirmed next week I leave wishing only the best to everyone at the council and all those in Nottingham who work in the city's best interests.

"I've been lucky to be involved in some great projects and to work with some very talented people at a very interesting time. But at 45 I'm happy that now is the right time to be moving on."

Post comment

THE concern we report today that public funds may have been used to support the Labour Party's campaign ahead of the 2007 election are extremely serious – and appear to be well founded.

The starting point for this concern was a report by the district auditor who stated following the election: "In my view an objective reader could make the assumption that the material has been expressly designed to affect public support for a political party."

During the past year more information has come to light as a result of investigations by the Nottingham Post.

We have found evidence to suggest the publicity campaigns for Labour and the council were indeed co-ordinated and Stephen Barker, the council's director of communications, may have been involved.

However, an investigation launched by Jane Todd, the chief executive of the city council, is more than a year old and it is not clear what, progress has been made. Indeed, during this time, Mr Barker was first allowed to take a five-month leave of absence and has now been granted voluntary redundancy.

It is not clear if he has been interviewed.

Furthermore, key questions we have asked of Ms Todd, Mr Barker and the Labour leader of the city council, Councillor Jon Collins, have not been answered.

Any suggestion that voters' money has been used to fund Labour's election campaign is damaging to the council, the Labour Party, and to the democratic process.

The Post has been criticised by the council and Labour politicians for pursuing this issue, but we think it is of vital importance that city residents know how their money is being spent.

Public confidence is built on transparency and openness. These are qualities that the city council has stressed are important to local government.

Therefore the Post will continue to pursue this issue.

It goes to the heart of local democracy – and it is the legitimate role of a good newspaper to investigate where there is clearly cause for concern.

Unanswered questions

Was Stephen Barker in possession of a document which appears to co-ordinate Labour Party and council communications ahead of the 2007 election?

Is Stephen Barker the "Stephen B" referred to in the communications computer pathway at the bottom of Labour's communications plan for the 2007 election? If so, why was that document sent to him and by whom?

The Labour leader of the city council Jon Collins led the Labour campaign in 2007. Would he have known if the two campaigns were co-ordinated?

What action has Jane Todd, chief executive of Nottingham City Council, taken to investigate concerns over the use of public money to support Labour ahead of the 2007 elections?

Has Mr Barker been subject to any disciplinary process as a result of Ms Todd's investigations?

Given the serious concerns over the use of public money and the evidence available to Ms Todd, why did she sanction a five month leave of absence and then voluntary redundancy for Mr Barker before these matters were resolved?

Labour city council's Work-Place Parking Levy increased before the first charges are even made

2012-01-13T23:31:00.000-08:00

8 out of 10 companies now have parking levy licences

NOTTINGHAM City Council claims about 80 per cent of companies that need a workplace parking levy licence now have one.

More than 44,000 workplaces have now been licensed and the council's WPL team says it is continuing to work with employers to ensure that they are licensed correctly.

Companies had to legally register their car parking spaces from October 1 but charges will not be put in place until April 1.

The charge of £279 per space has now gone up to £288. Firms with fewer than 11 spaces are exempt.

A city council spokesperson said: "The WPL will provide funding for public transport improvements; NET Phase Two, the plans to build two new tram lines, the Hub project, which is the redevelopment of Nottingham Railway Station, and the subsidised Link bus services, which provide more than six million passenger journeys a year.

[Comment / rant: As well as this, John Collins's 'mate' Graham Chapman is already advising that council tax (the bin emptying fee) is to increase, yet again. All this to fund a costly, unnecessary tram scheme when there are already adequate/suitable transport facilities available - tram lines and trolley buses were phased out by the mid last century because of high maintenance / running costs, passenger decreases & preferred alternatives. It would be better to help the law-abiding 'over-burdened/taxed & insured road users' by repairing & securing the craters in roads where metal thieves have taken away drainage covers/grates, etc, These hazards must be causing increases in punctures & damaged vehicle suspensions - an absolute assault course for cyclists. Even when the A453 is widened, it'll still be grid-locked at crucial times. If the 'carbon footprint' needs reducing - promote peddle-power or ebikes - electric-powered vehicular modes of transportation - bring in proper inner-city cycle network routes / paths that avoid the deadly roads. Just another example of Labour's exorbitant waste of peoples' money.]

'Do you recognise them?' ask officers in purse thefts probe

2012-01-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

POLICE have issued CCTV images of a number of people they want to speak to in connection with a spate of purse thefts in Mansfield town centre.

Seven thefts have been reported in the past two months. It is believed that the offenders follow the same method each time. Pictures of the three people police want to speak to.

They appear to wait in and around banks for usually elderly victims, who are then watched as they enter their debit card PIN number into a cash machine. The victim is then followed as they shop, and their purse or wallet is stolen.

In some instances, a number of women and a man have approached victims in charity shops, asking them for advice on clothing to distract them while their purse is stolen.

The card is later used to withdraw money at cash machines outside Mansfield.

PCSO James Wilkinson said: "We believe the individuals in these CCTV images may be able to provide us with vital information about these purse thefts. I'd like them or anyone who knows who they are to contact us at the earliest opportunity."

He also warned people to shield their PIN number when they are entering it into a cash machine, and to try and keep wallets and purses in zipped up inner pockets or at the bottom of a bag. Anyone who recognises the individuals or knows anything about the thefts should call Notts Police on 101, extension 805 3442 or canCrimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

[Judging by the pictures, these characters 'appear' to resemble eastern european Romani gypsy types]

Help trace 'black magic man' after indecent assault

2012-01-11T14:41:00.001-08:00

POLICE investigating an indecent assault in Leicester hope people in Nottingham could help.

A 30-year-old woman was approached by a man in New Walk, Leicester, at 1.30pm on Monday, September 19 last year.
He offered to get rid of black magic and change her luck before touching her inappropriately when they sat on a grassed area.

Officers have received information that people in Nottingham city centre have been approached in a similar way.

An E-fit of a man police wish to identify and trace in connection with the incident has been released.

The man has been described as Asian, 40 to 50, and about 6ft. He was wearing a turban, dark grey trousers, a tunic and a black coat. Anyone with any information is asked to contact PC 4820 Claire Middleton at Leicestershire Constabulary on 0116 222 2222 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Police are investigating reports of racist chanting at Nottingham Forest Football Club

2012-01-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

Nottinghamshire Police are investigating reports of racist chanting at the Nottingham Forest versus Leicester City match on Saturday 7 January 2012, following the online circulation of a video clip.

Superintendent Mark Holland said: “The incident is being treated as a hate crime and we are reviewing CCTV footage and following up on a number of lines of enquiry.

“We take all reports of racism very seriously and work extremely closely with the football clubs in Nottinghamshire in a bid to kick racism out of the game.”

There have been 11 arrests in connection with Saturday’s FA Cup tie, none of which are related to racism.

[A group of Forest fans were heard to be chanting "England, England - you're not english anymore" to Leicester supporters. It may simply be the fact that Leicester is partly owned by Asian Football Investments.]

Former Labour city mayor, Mohammed Munir, given suspended sentence

2012-01-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

A FORMER Lord Mayor of Nottingham has been given a suspended prison sentence for knowingly breaching fire safety regulations at his company.

Mohammed Munir, who runs Trent Valley Trading in Wigman Road, Bilborough, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to 26 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, and pay a fine of £4,000 in costs.

Sentencing Munir, who pleaded guilty to six separate charges, the judge said that he had put the needs of the business over employee safety.

The court found he had failed to ensure there was an effective means of escape from the site in the event of a fire, and that exits were well illuminated and easily accessible.

Fire officers visited the company and issued an enforcement notice urging the company to change its fire regulations.

But the fire service today 1/5 said Munir – who was Lord Mayor of the city for two years from 2006 to 2008 – was prosecuted “when it became apparent that he had ignored the deadline and continued to trade without ensuring his premises were safe”.

Now Notts Fire and Rescue Service wants to remind all business owners and occupiers of buildings of their legal responsibility to protect staff and customers against the risk of fire otherwise action will be taken.

Neil Williamson, fire protection station manager, said: “We are here to advise and give support to local businesses and are always willing to help make sure they comply with fire safety legislation.

“However, the public should continue to be reassured that we take any breaches of Fire Safety very seriously and will use legal sanctions where necessary.

“In this case, my officers had previously spent some time ensuring that the occupier was aware of his responsibilities and duties to ensure the safety of employees and it is disappointing that he chose to place people at risk from fire. The absence of a Fire Risk Assessment is a particularly bad aspect of this case, especially after numerous reminders.”

Help regarding Fire Safety in non-domestic premises is available from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service Fire Safety advice line on 0115 957 5231 or email fireprotection@notts-fire.gov.uk.

Labour run city council criticised for its dubious management of £12 million.

2012-01-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

THE Labour city council has been criticised for how it managed employment schemes worth £12 million.

Concerns have also been raised over the conduct of former senior Labour councillor Hassan Ahmed.

The district auditor, Sue Sunderland, has completed an investigation into the £10.5 million Future Jobs Fund and £1.5 million Community Programme.

She concluded the council failed to meet the requirements of its own constitution and financial regulations in giving contracts to companies and organisations.

The auditor also said "specific individuals failed to demonstrate appropriate accountability for the decisions taken".

And she believes Mr Ahmed, who was the portfolio holder responsible for the job schemes, may have breached the city council's code of conduct because of behaviour "which has compromised or is likely to compromise the impartiality of officers".

In an annual audit letter to the council, Ms Sunderland wrote: "My concerns arise from the need for transparency and good corporate governance rather than that there was any actual inappropriate allocation of contracts, in relation to which I did not find any evidence."

Mr Ahmed stood down from the city council at the local elections last May.

He announced his intention to stand down, to the surprise of Labour Party colleagues, in March last year as the district auditor was preparing her report.

He said at the time that his departure was not connected to the auditor's investigation.

Ms Sunderland launched an investigation into the schemes in August 2010 after the Post passed on the findings of the newspaper's own inquiries and the concerns of whistle blowers.

She completed her report in November 2011 and submitted it to the city council.

But to date the council has declined to release the full report and only a ten line summary of the auditor's conclusions has been published.

The local authority has declined requests for the document from the Post and today it is due to be discussed in private session at the council's Audit Committee meeting.

Former Liberal Democrat city councillor Tony Sutton also took concerns about the city's jobs plan to the district auditor .

He said he had requested the report under the Freedom of Information Act but has not received it.

Mr Sutton said: "Why is the council now afraid to let people see the final report? What have they got to hide?

"The district auditor clearly felt these issues were worthy of investigation and the annual audit letter suggests she did find failings."

A spokesman for the city council said the authority was pleased the auditor did not find evidence of "actual inappropriate allocation of contracts".

He added: "It is however accepted there should have been some sharper processes and record keeping in place and these issues are being addressed to ensure our actions are beyond reproach."

The spokesman said there is a case for the report to be exempt from the public part of the meeting and it is for the chairman of the committee to decide whether or not to do so.

He added that "open circulation" of the report might lead to defamation of those identified within it and prejudice the initial stages any standards committee hearing.

The Post revealed in September 2009 how Mr Ahmed had failed to register interests in five companies involved in training, enterprise and community development.

The Standards Board for England subsequently found Mr Ahmed had breached the council's code of conduct by failing to register all his outside interests, but it decided to take no further action.

When contacted by the Post Mr Ahmed issued a statement.

It said: "The outcome of this is that a comprehensive investigation by the District Auditor has cleared me of all of these allegations.

"As a result of her investigation, the auditor accepts that I did not breach any rules of the council's constitution and I did not 'deliberately set out to improperly influence officers'."

Man attacked, in Mansfield, by 3 Polish speaking thugs

2012-01-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

A MANSFIELD man was found with a broken nose and eye socket following an attack in the town.

The 29-year-old was found, covered in mud, by police officers in Lime Tree Place on Ratcliffe Gate at 1.54am on 31st December.

The attackers are thought to be three white men who spoke Polish.

Said Detective Neil Allsop: “This is a serious, wanton assault which has left the victim with some nasty, very visible injuries.

“If anyone has any information about his attackers, please get in touch with us.

“I would particularly like to speak with a passer-by with either a young child or a push chair who may have disturbed the attackers before they ran off.”

The injured man was taken to Kings Mill Hospital and released the following day.

Anyone with information can contact Nottinghamshire Police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS & A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR

2011-12-24T16:31:00.001-08:00

Arrest over Tesco, Hilltop, armed robbery

2011-12-23T23:20:00.000-08:00

A MAN has been arrested in connection with an armed robbery at Tesco, Hilltop.

Police officers arrested a 25-year-old last Wednesday in connection with the robbery, where a courier filling up the cashpoint was shot in the leg by robbers.

A G4S security guard was approached by three men with their faces covered and shot in the leg as he filled up the supermarket cashpoint back in July. They left empty handed.

A £10,000 reward was offered for an arrest and conviction, and after police had still not made any arrests in September, they issued pictures of clothing found in a suspected getaway car.

The man from Nottingham was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery, and suspicion of burglary, relating to the alleged theft of an Audi car from a house in Arnold in July.

He has been questioned and bailed.

Drug dealer jailed for seven years

2011-12-23T22:38:00.000-08:00

Benjamin Mcleod, A drug dealer who was snared by an undercover police operation has been jailed for seven years.

Benjamin Mcleod, aged 25, of no fixed abode, Nottingham, was found guilty of supplying the Class A drug to an undercover police officer in October 2010.

He was sentenced yesterday, 22 December 2011, following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

Mcleod was caught just two months in to Operation Chit Chat, which was launched by the Force in August 2010 to tackle the production and supply of drugs in the Stapleford, Beeston, Lenton and Radford areas of the city.

During the operation an undercover police officer was directed to a street where he met Mcleod who sold the officer a small quantity of heroin.

The Force uses a wide range of tactics and operations in the city and across the county to combat drug offenders, who are often linked to other criminality.

To date, 73 people have been arrested and charged with 218 offences as part of Operation Chit Chat. A total of 81 warrants have been carried out and various drugs seized, with an estimated street value of almost £30,000.

Over £20,000 cash has also been seized as part of the operation.

Detective Constable Kayne Rukas, a detective in the Operation Chit Chat team, said: “Illegal drug supply fuels drug misuse which often leads people to become involved in other types of crime such as theft and burglary in order to continue to feed their habits. It’s a vicious circle which has to be stopped.

“The aim of Operation Chit Chat is to utilise undercover tactics to catch offenders in the act. McLeod is the latest dealer to be taken off the streets in what has been an incredibly successful operation.”

A little festive cheer from Nottingham

2011-12-23T14:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas greetings from the Midlands, where long-suffering Nottingham taxpayers have been brought a little bit of festive cheer. The Labour controlled Nottingham City Council has opted for more frugal celebrations after last year’s splurge on a £5,000 Christmas tree for its headquarters building.

According to the Nottingham Post the 2010 tree was rented for just 35 days, meaning it cost nearly £143 per day. Now where would Nottingham City Council, which likes to tell us it is too cash-strapped to publish its spending over £500 like every other council in the country, get that kind of money to burn?

At the time, council leader Jon Collins rushed to tell his Twitter followers that the tree was sponsored and so did not cost Nottingham taxpayers a penny. But a recent Freedom of Information request revealed that only £550 of sponsorship was received. The council’s FOI response claimed that this was used to buy presents for needy children, but the council later told the Nottingham Post that this was incorrect and the £550 was actually set against the cost of the tree (meaning that Nottingham taxpayers footed the bill for the remaining £4,450).

Confused? Probably not as confused as NCC’s Information Governance staff at the misinformation apparently fed to them by their council colleagues. If the council’s long-winded sign-off procedure for FOIs – inadvertently revealed by a council worker earlier this year to cause delays to issuing responses – isn’t picking up fundamental errors like this, what is it doing?

Nevertheless, thank goodness for Freedom of Information or cases like this might never be exposed in the first place. Not to mention that the leader of Nottingham City Council might never find out what his council is actually spending. Except Mr Collins doesn’t like FOI much. A few months ago he tweeted that FOIs cost the council £500,000 per year, and that ‘you could save a lot of services with that’.

Is that figure any more accurate than his Christmas tree tweet? Not if the council’s accounts are anything to go by. In 2010/11 the council’s Information Governance department spent £236,000, actually coming in under budget by nearly £67,000. And remember that FOI is only one of Information Governance’s responsibilities, along with data protection, access to personal data and licences for public sector information. Of course, this figure does not include the cost to other departments of gathering data for FOI requests. But it is hard to believe that that cost amounts to more than the entire budget of the Information Governance department.

After all the negative publicity surrounding the infamous giant tree in the local press, Nottingham City Council has decided to do without a similar tree this year. A small victory for Nottingham taxpayers brought about by a simple FOI request. Now how much more money could be saved if the council actually answered all the FOI requests it receives, rather than using every means possible to block and delay them?

Illegal Immigrant Car Wash Rapist jailed for ten years

2011-12-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

A car wash worker who attacked and raped a woman on a cycle path off the city’s ring road has been jailed for ten years.

Rebwar Omar got into a taxi at the same time as his 23 year old victim, claiming he was going the same way.

When they got out at the Crown Island, near to the Jubilee Campus, Omar followed his victim before grabbing her around the throat before she was subjected to a serious sexual assault.

The terrified woman managed to get away and flagged down a taxi driver who saw her running in the middle of the road distraught.

Omar, a 29 year old Iraqi national who is an illegal immigrant, was convicted of rape following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court. He was arrested at a car wash near Radcliffe on Trent after he was traced through DNA.

Detective Constable Shaun Pollard, from Central CID, said Omar’s victim had been left completely traumatised by the attack, which happened in the early hours of Saturday 16 April this year.

He said: “She was absolutely terrified and in fear of her life at the time but utterly distraught afterwards.

“It has had a significant impact on her life. She has not told any of her family or friends what has happened and, as a result, has been trying to cope with this on her own. Despite DNA evidence and injuries to the victim, Omar denied the offence.

“He has showed absolutely no remorse and by pleading not guilty has put his victim through the stressful ordeal of a trial in which she was cross examined and had to relive the nightmare of her assault.”

Omar will be deported once he has served his sentence.
Victims of rape or sexual assault can access support and advice at the Topaz Centre (Nottinghamshire Sexual Assault Referral Centre), by calling 0845 600 15 88 or by emailing support@topazcentre.org.uk.
Alternatively they can call Nottingham Rape Crisis on 0115 9410440.

To report a sexual assault, or any crime, contact Nottinghamshire Police on 101.

Police intelligence?

2011-12-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

POLICE have apologised after they wrongly raided the home of an elderly couple.

Sughra Ghani, 64, was woken at midnight by police with a battering ram who were banging on her door.
Abdul and Sughra Ghani
Her 79-year-old husband Abdul Ghani had recently returned from hospital after suffering two heart attacks.

Mrs Ghani, who has had a hip replacement and struggles to get around at any speed, made her way downstairs to let in the police, who were looking for a suspect after a serious wounding incident.

"They were hitting the door and shouting," she said.

"I tried to shout 'hold on' and stumbled down the stairs as quickly as I could so they wouldn't break the door down with the battering ram.

"I thought that when police came to your door they would be respectful and talk to you, but now I'm just scared."

Four officers searched the house in Mansfield Grove, Arboretum, on the night of Saturday December 10.

Mr Ghani used to work for British Steel and Mrs Ghani is a housewife. The couple have five children aged between 37 and 44, and 16 grandchildren.

Their son Amer Ghani, 39, said: "Luckily, Dad was on a lot of pain-killers that night and was more or less knocked out.

"Had he woken up, he could have had another heart attack."

Mr Ghani rang the police to complain about the incident, and police have since visited the couple to apologise in person.

A police spokesman said: "The force was notified the following day that one of the houses searched had no connection with the suspect and had caused distress to the residents.

"An apology has been given to the complainant."

The raid followed a serious wounding incident in the city, and a suspect was later arrested and charged.

Halal Promoting Pizza/Kebab Shop Survey

2011-12-21T13:51:00.000-08:00

Below is another mini survey of junk mail flyers, for various kebab houses and such like, delivered over past 3-4 months or so.

Of 33 flyers; 20 (Over 50%) # Muslim Halal; 2 # Indian (halal not known); 5 # Chinese & 4 others (also halal unmarked) [Domino Pizzas, Bulwell (2) / Pizza Hut, Wollaton (2) / Chicago Pizza, 393 Nuthall Rd & Aspley Fish Bar, 399 Nuthall Rd.]

THE ALFRETON ROAD AREA HALAL FAST-FOOD SHOP AVOIDANCE CHART 12-11
1.TOPS PIZZA 195 ALFRETON ROAD 6 FLYERS
2.SIMPLY PIZZA & CHICKEN, 22-25 ALFRETON RD. 2 FLYERS
3.MAX'S PIZZA, 276 ALFRETON RD 2 FLYERS
4.TASTEES RESAURANT & TAKEAWAY, 177-179 ALFRETON RD 2 FLYERS
5.KEBABISH TAKEAWAY, 201 ALFRETON RD 2 FLYERS
6.CANNING KEBABS, 27 ALFRETON RD
7.WHITE HORSE CAFE & TAKEAWAY, 313 ILKESTON RD *
8.GEORGE FISH BAR, 180 BERRIDGE RD, FOREST FIELDS
9.MILANO PIZZA, 147 ILKESTON RD, RADFORD
10.GO GO PIZZA, 84-86 RADFORD BOULEVARD
11.GSG GOURMET SPICE & GRILL, 6 KNIGHT CLOSE, TOP VALLEY

(All the above 'openly' display the Halal symbol – the arabic 'squiggle': indicating that under islamic law, their meats are barbarically slaughtered. Swine was considered unlawful and impure by all the prophets, this doesn't prevent muslims selling ham to 'non-believers.')

*: This was once a public house and is, briefly, included in Alan Sillitoe's 1960 classic film 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' which was based on working-class Nottingham life.

Man critical after Nottingham stabbing attack

2011-12-18T05:01:00.000-08:00

A 35-year-old man is in a critical condition in hospital after being stabbed in Nottingham city centre.

Police said the man had been stabbed several times on Pilcher Gate at about 02:00 GMT following an altercation in the street between two groups.

The attacker then ran into Escucha bar on Fletcher Gate and left through a different door.

The victim was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre for treatment where he remains, police said.

Nottinghamshire Police detectives believe the attacker, described as an Asian man, about 5ft 6in tall, bald and with a thin goatee-style beard, was connected with a dark saloon car seen parked outside Escucha.

Pilcher Gate has been cordoned off and is closed to traffic.

Anyone who may have witnessed the attack or who has any information, is asked to contact police.

Notts Drug Dealer Jailed

2011-12-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

A drug dealer who was responsible for the coordination and distribution of heroin and crack cocaine throughout Nottinghamshire from his mobile phone, will spend the next seven years in jail.

Courtney Voce appeared at Nottingham Crown Court today.

The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to 16 offences relating to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs between 20 September 2010 to 2 November 2010.

He was sentenced to seven years in prison. Voce, who was unemployed at the time, was the manager of a lucrative Radford drug dealing business known on the streets as "Jay".

He operated the business from an unregistered pay-as-you-go mobile phone, coordinating drug deals across Nottinghamshire. Voce, previously of Stansfield Street, was charged following covert police work and the analysis of 26,000 mobile phone communications under Operation Vanguard.

Detective Constable Andy Gerus, of Operation Vanguard, said: "Voce has been responsible for the solicitation of countless drug deals in Nottinghamshire at the touch of a button.

His imprisonment today has closed down a large drugs arm and has hopefully sent the message out to the drugs fraternity of Nottinghamshire that we do not tolerate the supply of controlled drugs on our watch and will doggedly pursue those involved until we have a conviction.

Today's result is testament to the tireless work of a very dedicated team of officers. It also reflects the dim view taken by the criminal justice system of people who infect our communities with controlled drugs and perpetuate the further crime inevitably stemming from them."

Nottingham girl, 16, indecently assaulted

2011-12-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

CCTV image of man on bus: The man, seen at the front of the picture, was on the 77 bus from Nottingham

Detectives in Nottingham have released a CCTV picture of a man they wish to speak to in connection with an alleged indecent assault on a 16-year-old girl.

The attacker talked to the girl as they both travelled on the 77 bus from Broadmarsh Bus Station at about 13:45 GMT on Thursday.

He then followed her off the bus at Alfreton Road in Radford into an alleyway where he grabbed the girl.

She shouted and he ran off. Anyone with information should contact police.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said the girl was not injured but had been left "very distressed" by the attack.

Four years for Aspley rapist, Rajinderpal Ghala

2011-12-17T05:12:00.000-08:00

A RAPIST who left bite marks on his victim's body has been jailed for four years.

Rajinderpal Ghala was found guilty following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court last month.

The 46-year-old, of Melbourne Road, Aspley, carried out the attack on a 40-year-old woman in Nottingham on Friday, June 24.

After going to the victim's home, Ghala became violent, strangling and biting her as he raped her.

When he left, the woman raised the alarm and was taken to Nottingham's Topaz Centre, where victims of rape and sexual assault receive specialist support and undergo a medical examination.

They found bite marks on her body and injuries on her neck consistent with strangulation.

Ghala was arrested and denied the charges, claiming he'd had consensual sex with the victim.

He also denied biting or strangling her, but a forensic dentist concluded the bite marks on the victim's body were a match to Ghala's teeth.

He was charged with rape, which he continued to deny, but was found guilty at his trial.

Following his sentencing yesterday, the victim said: "Ghala knew he had raped me and yet he made me relive the attack in court.

"It has changed my life. That night I thought I was going to die – not only was I violated but I was injured too.

"I have been scarred by one of the bite marks, and on a recent holiday someone made a comment about my scar.

"How on earth am I supposed to explain that? It's a sudden and constant reminder of being attacked."

She added: "I have to live with this attack every day of my life and I am no longer the same person.

"I trusted Ghala and then he attacked me – not only in my own home but in my bedroom. I still can't sleep in there and it's a constant reminder of the attack.

"I would still like to think that one day he will admit what he did to me. I think only then will I get proper closure and move on with my life.

"His sentencing will hopefully be a turning point for me to start rebuilding my life.

" I have the resolve to get my life back together and knowing that justice has been done has helped a lot."

Detective Constable Rachael Hickling, from the Rape Investigation Unit, led the inquiry.

She said: "Ghala's victim has gone through a tremendous ordeal – she not only had to endure a cruel and violent attack, but she then faced grueling questioning in court.

"The events of the last six months have had a profound and lasting impact on her but she has shown incredible strength and bravery throughout."

"Because of her admirable courage, a dangerous and violent attacker is now where he belongs and is no longer free to do this to anyone else."

Public will get vote if 'Labour-controlled' city council tries to raise council tax by more than 3.5%

2011-12-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

A REFERENDUM could be held in Nottingham if the city council tries to increase council tax by more than 3.5%.

In what he branded the "local tax lock", Communities Secretary Eric Pickles promoted his proposal as a measure to help hard-working families.

But Labour politicians in Nottingham and Westminster immediately branded the announcement as a "red-herring".

They claimed the Government was using it to divert attention from crippling cuts imposed on councils.

From April, if a council seeks to increase tax above the 3.5% limit, a referendum will be triggered. If the local electorate votes against the increase, the council must revert to a lower council tax level.

But Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie said: "This is all a bit of a red herring because no one would really want to see council tax rising above that level anyway. It's just an attempt on his part to look strong.

"What he should be doing is explaining the massive cuts in grants for the city that are going to hit people really hard."

The move has been welcomed by Councillor Georgina Culley, Conservative leader at the city council.

"People need to know if it's going to be a high increase, and they need to know why the council feels it's justified in going beyond a 3.5% increase," she said.

Mr Pickles said: "Since 1997 people have seen their council tax more than double, pushing typical bills to £120 a month.

"We are getting to grips with this with another council tax freeze deal and by radically extending direct democracy over big bill increases with a new local tax lock."

The announcement came on the day that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed the Government would seek to devolve new powers to Nottingham City Council and authorities in England's seven other biggest cities.

These included measures to give local authorities a greater say over transport investment, more control of business rate receipts and the ability to grant firms a tax discount.

Mr Leslie said: "This is blatant centralism rather than any sort of serious attempt to delegate local decisions to local authorities."

George Cowcher, chief executive of the Derbyshire and Notts Chamber of Commerce, said it could have a positive impact on businesses.

But he said: "In order to make this work, it is absolutely crucial that business is placed at the centre of any decision-making processes, along with local control of transport and training in order to create a better environment for private-sector growth."

Mrs Culley hoped that if councils were given more freedom to spend money, that more money and decisions could be devolved to ward councillors.

Axe-wielding rapist, Jasinder Grewal, gets 17 years.

2011-12-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

AN axe-wielding rapist who burst into a house in The Meadows and attacked a woman in front of her boyfriend has been jailed for 17 years.

Jasinder Grewal carried out the brutal attack in the early hours of New Year's Day, following a night out.

Jasinder Grewal

He had originally denied rape, claiming the sex was consensual and that he knew the woman, but changed his plea midway through the trial yesterday.

Nottingham Crown Court heard he did not know the couple and it was a purely random attack.

Dawn Pritchard, prosecuting, said Grewal's teenage victim's life had changed dramatically since the rape.

"It's with her everyday," she said.

"She hasn't slept properly, often cries herself to sleep and has flashbacks.

"She's suspicious of people. She has mood swings and feels like a Jekyll and Hyde character."

The court heard that the teenager was raped twice by Grewal after he tied her boyfriend up and took her to a bedroom.

He then got into bed with her and tried to cuddle up with her for several hours.

Her boyfriend managed to struggle free and call police.

Grewal was disturbed by the sound of a police car and jumped out of bed.

He found her boyfriend in the kitchen and got down on his hands and knees and begged him not to tell police what had happened as he had children.

Yesterday Grewal, 30, of Mapperley Plains, Mapperley, admitted he raped the woman twice and asked for charges of aggravated burglary and two charges of robbery, in relation to the woman's wallet and a laptop, to lie on file.

Sentencing Grewal Judge Tony Mitchell said: "The jury will have seen themselves, when she was required by you to come to this court and give evidence against you, the sort of person that she is: a straight-forward, nondescript young woman who you violated not once but twice, who you put in fear over several hours."

He added that he had been given a generous allowance by his father that night and was clearly "an indulged young man."

His barrister Keith Raynor said Grewal had been out on New Year's Eve with friends and was dropped 100 metres from his father's shop in The Meadows.

"It seems to me, on the evidence, to be a moment of unfettered madness on his part."

Judge Tony Mitchell told Grewal he would serve eight-and-a-half years of the 17-year sentence in custody. He is now on the sex offenders' register and banned from working with children indefinitely.

The judge said: "I give you some credit for the fact you have called a halt to this charade of a trial."

Grewal has previous convictions for robbery, handling stolen goods, burglary, possession of an offensive weapon – a rolling pin – and common assault.

Hunt for attempted robber extends to Nottingham

2011-12-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

Police are hunting a London man who tried to rob a Nottingham jewellery store in 2009.

Marlon Anthony Campbell, from Lewisham, is wanted on recall to prison, and police detectives have now widened their search to Nottingham.

Marlon Campbell

He was sentenced to three years in a young offenders institution in 2009 after being convicted of an attempted robbery at Goldsmiths jewellers in Nottingham city centre.

It is not known if he has any links to Nottingham other than it being the location of the robbery attempt.

Anyone who recognises Campbell or has any information as to his whereabouts is urged to telephone Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, or to call 999 if he is seen or known to be in the vicinity.

Man shot at while sitting in car

2011-12-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

A MAN escaped injury after the car he was sitting in had its windscreen smashed following reports of a gun shot.

Police were called out to Wolsey Avenue, Radford, at around 11.50pm last night after reports of a gun shot, and are now investigating.

Several streets have been cordoned off, including Garden Street, Ronald Street, parts of Ilkeston Road and Highhurst Street, and will remain in place until a forensic examination is carried out later today. Enquiries are ongoing to establish what happened.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Nottinghamshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Knife robber on CCTV

2011-12-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

POLICE need help in identifying this man who brandished a knife as he carried out a robbery in Sherwood.
The incident happened in the Nisa supermarket in Mansfield Road on November 10.

Wanted: The robber is caught on CCTV at the Nisa store in Mansfield Road, Sherwood.

A black man who was around 6ft 3ins tall, entered the convenience store, threatened staff and demanded money before taking cash from the till.

CCTV footage of the incident shows the man holding a large knife as he leans over the counter and then grabs something with his left hand.

No one was injured in the incident, which took place at 10.55pm

A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of robbery the following day, but has since been released without being charged.

Anyone who recognises the man in the images, or knows anything about the incident should telephone Nottinghamshire Police on 101, ext. 802 4687

Alternatively they can call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Three years in jail for Facebook user, Tuseef Mahmood, 24, who groomed 12-year-old

2011-11-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

A FACEBOOK user who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl he met through the social networking site has been jailed.

Tuseef Mahmood, 24, pretended to be 17 when he set up a Facebook page under another name.

He claimed he was a local sixth-former and sexually groomed the child – using Facebook and text messages – before meeting her twice at The Forest recreation ground.

At a previous hearing, Mahmood pleaded guilty to meeting a child, following sexual grooming, between November 21 and November 30 last year, and to sexual assault between November 21 and November 30 last year.

He also admitted intimidation between May 21 and May 26 this year after he messaged the girl on Facebook and asked her to drop the charges.

Mahmood had said that taking cannabis over the previous seven years had caused him to behave as he did.

At Nottingham Crown Court yesterday Judge John Milmo QC jailed Mahmood for three years.

He said: "If cannabis leads you to behave in this way, don't take it. You come from a good family, there's absolutely no reason in my judgement for you to behave in this way.

"In the absence of evidence I approach this matter on the basis that these events must have had some psychological effect on the victim – but the effect is unquantifiable."

Mahmood, of Burns Street, the Arboretum, was added to the sex offenders register and banned from working with children for ten years.

He had previously denied knowing the girl was 12 and said he thought she was 15.

But phone records showed the girl, now 13, had made her age clear from the beginning.

His family, who the judge said had been greatly shocked by the events, attended court to see him sentenced.

Mahmood, who was 23 at the time of the offences, has no previous convictions but has a caution on his record.

Judge Milmo was provided with several references that said Mahmood was of good character.

But the judge said the references did not make it clear that the people writing them knew the nature of the crime Mahmood had committed.

Judge Milmo added: "One has to ask what the reaction of parents would be if their 12-year-old daughter had been subjected to such behaviour."

Michael Johnson speaks out about racism

2011-11-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

A former footballer has told BBC East Midlands Today regional news tv that racism is widespread in the sport.

Michael Johnson played more than 600 matches in the top flight for clubs including Derby County and Notts County.

He mentioned that, in his opinion, racism was still rife within the game and that players were being paid off by their respective clubs to keep their mouths shut and that he knew of players who had signed secrecy agreements so that they leave clubs and say nothing about the reasons why.

Michael Johnson is currently the honoury president of Real United FC, the Nottingham 'community' football club. Roger Henry, the recent Gamston Union flag complainant, is the First team manager.

Ex-takeaway boss, Cheok Tong Lao, fined £3,130 over hygiene

2011-11-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

Yien takeaway, Eastwood road Kimberley.

THE previous owner of a Chinese takeaway in Kimberley has been fined over £3,000 for breaching hygeine regulations.

Broxtowe Borough Council found the kitchen at Yien Takeaway in Eastwood Road filthy when they carried out an inspection back in March, and discovered food stored in dirty old boxes.

The previous owner, Cheok Tong Lao has now been prosecuted and fined £3,180.

The council said the walls were stained and dirty, there was thick burned-on grease and food debris encrusted around the cooker, the sinks and soap dispensers were dirty, there was food debris and finger marks on the inside and outside of the microwave and chiller, and the extraction system was coated in black grease.

The floor had only been cleaned on the visible area leaving a distinct line between clean and dirty, food surfaces, chopping boards and food storage containers were dirty and food service bags and packs of prawn crackers were being stored in old and greasy cardboard boxes, said council inspectors.

Food handlers must wear clean protective clothing yet Mr Lao wore none and the only available apron was dirty and had a hole in it.

Although Mr Lao has worked in the food industry for 20 years and had recently taken a distance learning training course in food hygiene, his knowledge of good practice, said the council, ‘was poor with important temperatures not known and open foods being left out uncovered where they could become contaminated’.

Magistrates said that despite receiving previous warnings from Environmental Health Officers, Mr Lao had shown ‘a flagrant disregard for the food hygiene regulations’.

He pleaded guilty to nine food safety offences at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court.

Mr Lao’s fine included £915 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Yien Takeaway has now changed hands and the new proprietor has made numerous improvements and recently received a ‘satisfactory’ rating of three out of five.

Sex attack taxi driver, Bukhtor Singh, gets seven years

2011-11-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

Picture: A typical Dark Green coloured Nottingham taxi

A TAXI driver who sexually assaulted a student at a car wash has been jailed for seven years.
Bukhtor Singh, of Bagnall Road, Basford, was driving the 23-year-old woman home from a Nottingham
Although she said she just wanted to go home, Singh, 40, drove the taxi around the back of a car wash building in Beeston and sexually assaulted her.

Singh had denied the charge but was found guilty after a trial. Nottingham Crown Court heard that the young woman had pleaded with Singh to stop four times before he did.

Judge Tony Mitchell said: "Your suggestion that it was her who suggested you go somewhere quiet was horrendous. She was clearly a victim. You took her to a location where she felt terrified and like a rabbit caught in headlights she sat there in fear asking you to stop."

The victim's statement was read to the court. In it she said: "I had no reason to have wanted to interact in this way."

Dominic Shelley, in mitigation, said: "Some 23,000 passengers have travelled with Mr Singh. He has not only lost his good name but his employment and reputation."

Mr Shelley said that the attack was impulsive.

Judge Mitchell said: "There is a very real risk that this was not the first time, but what I do know is it will be the last opportunity, because no Hackney Carriage Licence will be available to you again."

Singh will also be on the sex offenders' register for life.

Roger Henry: ''I've had racist threats over flag issue''

2011-11-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

A MAN who urged councillors not to fly the Union Flag all year round says he has received threatening letters and phone calls.

Gamston Parish Council decided to fly the flag outside the village hall 24 hours a day, after previously saying it would only fly it on significant days. Roger Henry, who visits Gamston in his role as a community cohesion mentor, spoke against the move at the meeting because he felt the flag "would lose its significance by being up every day".

He said later: "I've had two calls making threats to cause harm, as well as a letter and other letters sent to my partner's place of work. They're being really racist, telling me to leave the country."

A police spokesman said they were taking the matter "extremely seriously". He added: "We'll carry out a thorough investigation and ensure we provide adequate support to the family. Crimes of hatred are not tolerated."

Foreign students to be banned after swoop at airport

2011-11-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

IMMIGRATION officials have banned a city college from taking international students – after an airport swoop.

Hundreds of students attend Victoria College in Radford, with about 98 per cent of its learners coming from overseas.

But its licence to recruit international students has been revoked by the UK Border Agency.

College managing director Zaheer Ahmed said the agency had stopped three of the college's students at Manchester Airport in March.

Mr Ahmed said when none of them could speak English the agency turned up at the college on an unannounced spot check.

He said the Radford Boulevard college then had its licence revoked. Electronic records of students were not available because software was being upgraded and the agency would not accept paper records, he added.

"They had concerns a system was not in place," said Mr Ahmed. "Basically they saw the number of students we have, it's a big number that come to the college, and they thought if the students' English is not good they are only coming here for work – not for study."

He said he appealed in March against the revocation of the licence, but on September 30 a High Court judge upheld the border agency's decision.

Mr Ahmed said: "The judge said this was a case of immigration threat, that students were coming here and disappearing in the country."

Mr Ahmed said he must now decide whether to continue with the appeal. Victoria College would remain open to non-international students whatever happened with the licence.

For international students already at Victoria College, Mr Ahmed offered a ten per cent discount on fees at Birmingham International College, where he is also a director.

A border agency spokesman confirmed Victoria College's licence had been revoked, but would not provide further details because of ongoing legal action.

He said: "Widespread abuse of the student visa system has gone on for too long, which is why we've made changes to ensure only first-class education providers should be given licences to sponsor international students."

The college offered English language courses for up to six months for foreign students under the UKBA Student Visitor Visa programme, as well as other courses including computing, business and accountancy.

Mr Ahmed would not say how many students were at the college, but the Post understands there were about 300 on English courses alone.

An investigation by the border agency into more than 100 colleges led to 51 having their licences to recruit international students revoked.

The agency released a list of colleges affected but Victoria College was not on the list.

The former head of the UK Border Force yesterday accused Home Secretary Theresa May of destroying his reputation.

Brodie Clark, who quit his 40-year career in the Home Office last week amid a row over border checks, criticised Mrs May's actions as he told MPs he did not extend or alter her pilot scheme of risk-based checks at the border in any way.

But he admitted using guidance designed for health and safety emergencies to suspend fingerprint checks at ports, actions which had no ministerial authorisation.

National flag flies 24/7, 365 days a year (sanity prevails)

2011-11-16T14:23:00.000-08:00

Muslim chap aims to set up a Masjid mosque in his residential garage

2011-11-16T14:03:00.001-08:00

A MUSLIM man who has been trying to build a mosque in West Bridgford for the past five years has found a new location – his garage.

Mohammed Malik, 68, of Loughborough Road, has applied for planning permission to turn his garage into a mosque.

Mr Malik says Muslims in West Bridgford have nowhere to pray without travelling into the city.

He said: "I have tried everything to try and find a suitable piece of land where the council will let us have a mosque, but have been consistently blocked.

"Now I'm hoping to get permission to allow my home to become a place of worship for people. There is a prayer room for men and a separate room for women.

"The community of West Bridgford is big enough now to deserve its own mosque.

"St Ann's, The Meadows, Forest Fields, Sneinton have all got one – why hasn't West Bridgford?"

Mr Malik, who lives in a semi-detached house, says people have been using his garage – nicknamed the Madrasah Taleem-ul-Quaran – as a place of worship for the past ten years.

In 2008, Mr Malik applied to build a mosque on land owned by Rushcliffe Borough Council off Collington Way, West Bridgford, but his plans were rejected by the council. He appealed against the decision and won, in 2009, but he was unable to buy the land from the council.

A borough council spokesman said: "We never told Mr Malik that we would sell him the land."

Since then Mr Malik, a former secretary of the Islamic Centre in St Ann's, has looked into obtaining other areas of land in West Bridgford but to no avail.

Earlier this year a man admitted racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage, and also causing racially or religiously aggravated alarm, harassment or distress by words or writing, after spraying the words 'No mosque here EDL Notts' on the pavement in Collington Way, West Bridgford.

Three other men pleaded guilty to racially or religiously aggravated harassment after a pig's head was

Gamston flag fiasco update

2011-11-14T13:06:00.001-08:00

IN America citizens learn the national anthem and pledge loyalty to their flag.
Here it seems that our national flag is “offensive” to diversity nutters who have protested that it should not fly on their village green.

Paula O’Brien, a diversity lecturer, and her partner, diversity officer Roger Henry, choose this time of remembrance to wail that insufficient thought has been given to all the nationalities in the community.

This couple were interviewed on regional tv in the east midlands last week, and Mr. Henry appeared a second time on Monday's programme continuing to whinge about the matter. He compared the situation to having a Jamaican flag being flown 24/7 & implied the national flag symbolizes far right extremism (to him). The final vote on keeping the national flag flying or not, was held, presumably, in the village hall today, but the outcome is not known at this stage. 14/11 21:21.

Thoughts for Friday 11-11-11

2011-11-11T14:15:00.000-08:00

“Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks.

Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools.

And their grandchildren are once more slaves.”
― D.H. Lawrence

Cunts !
― D.H. Lawrence (Lady Chatterley’s Lover)

LOCAL SCOOTERISTS WILL HONOUR THE FALLEN ON SUNDAY 13/11/11

2011-11-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Muslim community centre bid on the site of former garage

2011-11-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

A COMMUNITY, religious and education centre could be built on the site of a former garage.

The three-storey centre would be used by Dar-us-Salaam, a Sneinton-based organisation which works mainly with the Muslim community.

The organisation is currently based in a semi-detached Victorian house which has been converted to provide prayer and wash facilities, community activities and religious education for children.

But they now need a bigger base as they are seeing an increase in numbers.

In a planning application to Nottingham City Council, the group says: "The development will be mutually beneficial for all sectors of the community, helping to create better links between members of differing faiths – and hence building on the already established community spirit.

"The development will provide excellent education for all who attend. Children will be encouraged to develop skills and knowledge appropriate to their stage of development and ability within a well-planned and delivered religious curriculum."

The centre would be built at the former premises of Direct Auto Repair, at 16 Sneinton Dale, opposite premises used by Dar-us-Salaam.

It would be larger than the existing garage.

The group wouldn't say how much it would cost to build, but said they had received donations to fund it.

The ground level would include a large entry hall, reception office, wash and toilet facilities, main hall, and a small retail unit as a way of generating revenue.

The main ground floor hall would be big enough for up to 300 people to congregate at the same time.

The lower ground level would include a community hall, storage area, kitchen, and funeral room.

The first floor would include classrooms, toilets, a library, meeting room and admin office. The planning application says the site was identified for its central community location, high residential population, and its current "undesirable" use and appearance.

The application adds there has been "undesirable activity" on the disused site, and said that developing the land would improve safety for the public as well as helping to regenerate a largely forgotten area.

The organisation is planning to consult the community over the plans.

There would be a limited number of parking spaces at the site, but the organisation will encourage people to get there by walking or public transport.

Tuseef Mahmood, 24, sexually assaulted 12-year-old he met on Facebook

2011-11-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

A FACEBOOK user sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl who he had contacted through the social networking site.

Tuseef Mahmood, 24, pretended to be just 17 when he set up a Facebook page under another name.

He claimed he was a local sixth-former, and sexually groomed the child – using Facebook and text messages – before meeting her twice at The Forest recreation ground.

He sexually assaulted her between November 21 and November 30 last year.

Mahmood, of Burns Street, the Arboretum, had previously pleaded guilty to meeting a child, following sexual grooming, between November 21 and November 30 last year; and intimidation between May 21 and May 26 this year.

A previous hearing heard he had messaged her on Facebook, urging her to drop the charges.

Yesterday, he was due to go on trial at Nottingham Crown Court accused of raping the girl, who he had not known before contacting her on Facebook. He had denied the rape charge.

The trial was abandoned when the prosecution accepted a plea to an alternative charge of sexual assault between November 21 and November 30. His plea to the alternative charge was considered by the Crown Prosecution Service and the police officer in the case, the court heard.

Dawn Pritchard, prosecuting, said: "The officer had extensive meetings with the complainant and mother, and it is on that basis that the Crown is content to accept the plea."

The court heard the child's mother had said she did not want her daughter to give evidence in court.

Mahmood, who was 23 at the time of the offences, has no previous convictions but has a caution on his record.

Recorder John Pini QC ordered a pre-sentence report to be prepared. Mahmood will remain in custody to be sentenced on November 28.

The judge said: "You have pleaded guilty now to a further sexual allegation; a serious one in addition to the serious one you have already pleaded guilty to."

Row over flying of the Union flag in Gamston

2011-11-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

PARISH councillors will meet next week to try and resolve a row over whether the Union Jack should be flown full-time in a Notts village.

The flagpole was put up in Gamston in April this year, to coincide with the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The flag remained in place following the wedding, but at a meeting in September the Gamston and Holme Pierrepont Parish Council voted to only fly the flag on 'flag flying days'. These include the Queen's birthday, Coronation Day and Remembrance Day.

But some councillors and residents believe the flag should be flown all year round.

Tim Kaye, who has lived in Gamston for more than 15 years, said he couldn't understand why the flag couldn't be flown all the time.

He said: "I'm appalled – I don't see why anyone would object to having the flag flown all year round. People have died for the right to fly the flag and I find it hard to understand why the council only decided to fly it on certain days.

"If anyone tried to do something similar in the United States, they wouldn't get very far – they are rightly proud of their flag, so why aren't we?"

Mr Kaye said a petition was being compiled in the village in an attempt to make the council change its mind.

Diane Kidger, chair of the parish council, said the council had received a number of e-mails about the matter, and had felt that flying the flag all the time would make it lose its significance - so it was decided to only fly it on certain days of the calendar.

A decision on whether to fly the flag all the time will now be taken at the next meeting of the parish council on Monday.

Witness appeal over Hucknall armed robbery

2011-11-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

TWO men carried out an armed robbery at Hucknall's Tesco Extra store on Sunday.

The offenders approached two G4S couriers at the Ashgate Road store at around 8.30pm, as they prepared to load cash into the ATMs.

They threatened the couriers with a knife and took a quantity of cash from them before fleeing in the direction of Lingford Street.

Neither of the couriers was hurt.

Both men are both described as black and were wearing dark clothing and face coverings.

Anyone who saw anything suspicious at or near the store on Sunday should call Hucknall CID on 0300 300 99 99, ext 804 4733.

TAXI driver, Bukhtor Singh, has been found guilty of a sex attack on a Nottingham student after driving her to a deserted car wash.

2011-10-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

A TAXI driver has been found guilty of a sex attack on a Nottingham student after driving her to a deserted car wash.

Bukhtor Singh sexually assaulted her after he pulled off the road as he took her home to Beeston.

The woman, who had been studying at university in the city, told Nottingham Crown Court that she got in the taxi in the early hours after visiting a Nottingham nightclub.

Singh, 40, of Bagnall Road, Basford was chatting to her in the front passenger seat about her evening.

He started asking her how she kept her legs looking so good and touched them, the woman told the court.

She said: "Worry was starting to set in, but at the time I was thinking, 'just get through it...I'm ten minutes from home'. He started asking me if he could stop the car, so he could touch my legs, but I said, 'no, I just want to go home'.

Singh drove the taxi into the car wash and around the back of a building, she said.

She did not know where she was as they came to a stop.

Singh turned off the car lights and flicked on the interior light.

"Then he took off my seatbelt and undid my jacket," she told the court. "I started asking, 'what are you doing and where are we?'"

Singh lunged across and pushed up her T-shirt and bra and started kissing her chest.

The woman, who is now 23, said he then sexually assaulted her.

She repeatedly told him to stop, which he eventually he did, and they set off again.

She said she cried for the remainder of the journey and, when the car stopped again, she was able to get out and call a friend.

"Once I got out of the car, my first thought was to check he was not following and get away. I rang my friend in hysterics."

A recording of her friend's 999 call, which was played in court, picked up the sound of her sobbing.

The defence for Singh suggested that it was the woman who had invited Singh to drive into a layby after he asked her what she was wearing and she said 'I'll show you'.

But the woman denied she was the instigator.

Singh, who had pleaded not guilty, was granted bail after his trial and will be sentenced on November 18. His name will be added to the sex offenders' register.

Judge Tony Mitchell told him his pre-sentence report would be on an "all options basis", adding: "Custody must obviously be considered."

Tents set to move as protest continues

2011-10-29T03:53:00.000-07:00

PROTESTERS camping in Old Market Square were set to move last night following talks with the Labour controlled Nottingham City Council.

Around 18 tents beside the Council House were expected to move across the square by the water fountain so they would not disrupt the GameCity events being held there next week.
Set to move: The anti-capitalist camp in the Old Market Square (with litter strewn over the pavements).

However, the protesters have warned they could be camping out for some time to come, claiming they were at the "beginning of a long road".

Group spokesman Carl Freeman, of Lenton, said moving was not a problem.

"It was something we bore in mind when we came here," he said.

"We had no intention of disrupting the Christmas market or any other fun for the people of Nottingham."

The protest began last Saturday when about 10 tents were pitched to protest about the state of the world economy.

Yesterday that had grown to 16 tents, a store tent, a kitchen tent and a communal gazebo.

Mr Freeman said many of the protesters are going to work or college every day, adding: "Life must go on."

He was unable to say how long they would be there for.

"We fully intend on seeing this process through in making a change in the world for the better.

"We're here until we make a difference, however long that takes – it's the beginning of a long road."

He said they'd not had much trouble since setting up camp.

He said: "There's been the odd rowdy drunk but other than that we've had no problems.

"The people of Nottingham, the police and the council have been commendable in their support of us and level of cooperation.

"We're trying to return that by showing our respect."

He said they have asked the council for some toilet facilities during the night, when public toilets are closed.

A council spokesman said: "We understand why the protestors are demonstrating and respect their right to protest.

"We do feel that they have made their point but if they wish to continue their protest, we are hopeful that they will agree to move from their current location so that events that are scheduled to take place in the Old Market Square – the popular GameCity festival next week, for example – can go ahead as planned and without any disruption."

Protests took place around the world over the weekend.

Yesterday St Paul's Cathedral in London took the unprecedented step of closing due to hundreds protesters setting up camp.

Man is arrested as police probe alleged rape of girl aged 12

2011-10-29T01:55:00.000-07:00

POLICE have arrested a man in connection with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Kimberley.

The 19-year-old, of Hucknall, was arrested yesterday evening and remained in police custody last night.

Investigation: Police cordon at the Maws Lane path.

Police investigating the incident say the girl was on her way to see friends when she was allegedly attacked by two men.

The girl, from the Ilkeston area, said the incident happened at about 10.30pm on Wednesday in Maws Lane, near its junction with Lawn Mill Road.

Detective Inspector Rob Severn, who is leading the inquiry, said the girl had travelled to Kimberley on Wednesday night with a friend but had become separated.

"She was wandering around in the area trying to find friends that she did not know very well," he said.

"Her parents were concerned for her and were making enquiries to try and get her back home.

"There's no information that her attackers were connected to her."

Police are continuing to appeal for information about a second man in connection with the attack.

He is described as black and muscular, aged about 19 and over 6ft. He was wearing a bandana.

DI Severn said officers were also keen to speak to a white teenager, aged around 15, who may have disturbed the girl's attackers and chased them off.

Detectives also want to hear from a young couple in a car who are said to have stopped and looked towards the victim around the time of the alleged attack.

Residents in the Maws Lane area were in shock.

Mum-of-four Sharon Louth, 41, a housewife who lives on the junction of Lawn Mill Road and Maws Lane where the alleged incident took place, said:"I can't believe this has happened right on our doorstep. It's a nice area and I like living here, but I wouldn't let my children out at that time of night."

Margaret Nightingale, 70, of nearby Lyle Close, said: "I have two granddaughters and it makes you think 'what if it happened to someone you love?' It's horrific.

"There's not usually any crime on Maws Lane, just the odd drunken person swearing late at night on the way home from the pub – but that's nothing out of the ordinary."

And Vanessa Heesom, 46, a nurse, who lives on a private road just opposite where the alleged offence took place, said: "My daughter, who is 16, heard about the attack from Facebook because all her friends were asking if she was OK."

Anyone who thinks they can help should call Carlton police station on 0300 300 9999 ext 811 6674 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Police appeal over city centre sexual attack

2011-10-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

A MAN forced his way into a city centre house and sexually assaulted a woman on Wednesday, October 18.

The incident happened in North Sherwood Street at about 12.10am after a man followed a 21 year-old woman into her home.

Notts Police has now launched a public appeal, asking anyone to come forward who saw or heard anything.

The attacker fled in the direction of Colville Terrace after the woman cried for help.

He is described as black, and aged in his late 20s or early 30s. He was 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build and had dark brown eyes and a wide nose.

He was wearing a black woollen cap, black coat, dark top and trousers.

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Griffin said: "This is a very worrying opportunistic attack on a young woman by a determined offender who clearly had a sexual motive.

"We would, therefore, urge anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the North Sherwood Street area shortly after midnight on Wednesday to let us know immediately."

Anyone with information that they believe can help police enquiries into this incident is urged to call Radford Road CID on 0300 300 99 99 ext. 802 4583.

Police missed 11 chances to save murdered mum who was kicked to death in front of her toddler

2011-10-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

* Casey Brittle's two-year-old daughter was found next to her unconscious body
* The 21-year-old had repeatedly called police over TWO years before she was murdered

Police missed 11 opportunities to save the life of a young mother who was murdered by her violent ex-partner.

Casey Brittle, 21, was kicked and punched to death in front of her two-year-old daughter after suffering years of abuse.

The little girl walked into the room where her father Sanchez Williams was carrying out the attack and afterwards stayed with her unconscious mother for two hours.
Casey Brittle, 21, repeatedly called Nottinghamshire Police before she was murdered by Sanchez Williams in front of her two-year-old daughter.

Let down: Casey Brittle repeatedly called police before she was murdered by Sanchez Williams in front of her two-year-old daughter

Yesterday, Nottinghamshire Police were savaged for a series of failings by officers.

Williams, 27, was known for his violence and had a long criminal record but police failed to take ‘basic actions’ to protect Miss Brittle.

The force was called 11 times by the mother herself, neighbours or witnesses, to report attacks or threats between September 2008 and August 2010.

But an independent report found police never questioned why she repeatedly complained of domestic violence before they refused help.
Prison: Killer Sanchez Williams was jailed for life after he admitted murdering Casey at her home in front of their daughter

Miss Brittle was so scared of her ex-partner she ‘played down’ the incidents and was reluctant to press charges.

As a result, Williams was never charged with a criminal offence in relation to her.

A neighbour heard her daughter screaming ‘I want my mummy’ as she was attacked at her home in Nottingham in October last year.

Miss Brittle died in hospital from 27 injuries to her head, including a jaw fractured on both sides, caused by being punched, kicked and stamped on.

In March, Williams was jailed for life with a minimum of 15 years after admitting murder.

The report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission said the force did not have a domestic abuse policy for most of the period of her ordeal and officers repeatedly failed to intervene effectively, with many ‘unclear about what to do’.

It said key paperwork was not submitted, a domestic abuse unit was left in the dark, procedures were not understood and bail conditions were not imposed on Williams to keep him away.
Nottingham Crown Court where Sanchez was jailed for life in March. Ms Brittle died from a series of injuries to her head, including a fractured jaw, cuts and bruising at her home in October last year

Attack: Nottingham Crown Court where Sanchez was jailed for life in March. Ms Brittle died from a series of injuries to her head, including a fractured jaw, cuts and bruising at her home in October last year
A CATALOGUE OF POLICE FAILURES

The IPCC investigation found failures by officers in individual incidents, which included:

1. A lack of understanding of the force's domestic abuse policy and procedures

2. Not submitting risk assessment forms to the domestic abuse unit

3. A lack of positive action against Williams or following lines of enquiry

4. Bail conditions preventing contact with Casey not being imposed on Williams

5. Incidents were not given the appropriate coding or entered on the crime recording system that would have given colleagues a better chance of assessing the risk posed to Casey

In June 2010, Williams threw Miss Brittle into a changing room at the shop where she worked. She emerged shaken with red marks on her neck. But there was no CCTV of the attack and police inquiries were dropped.

In August 2010, he head-butted her and threw her into a shopping mall photo booth. She refused to press charges and an inexperienced officer did not arrest him.

Six officers have been disciplined and four reprimanded.

Last night, Miss Brittle’s mother Victoria Blower said: ‘Mistakes were made, but there is only one person responsible for my daughter’s death and that is Williams.

‘Maybe one small change in the way things were handled could have saved her, or maybe nothing was ever going to prevent him murdering Casey.’

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Broadbent said: ‘We could and should have done more. That is a cause of deep and lasting regret.’

Labour city Council urges companies to reduce impact of parking charges imposed on staff

2011-10-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

Deputy leader of Nottingham City Council: Mr. Chapman

THE deputy leader of Nottingham City Council has urged businesses to use a salary sacrifice scheme if they intend to pass on the workplace parking levy to employees.

The levy came into place at the beginning of this month and will be chargeable from April 1 when companies will be expected to pay about £279 per staff parking space.

The council is urging councillors to sign up to a salary sacrifice scheme – like its staff already can – to pay the council's own workplace parking charge, which starts next month.

It means the money is taken before tax and also saves the council a small amount on National Insurance.

The council's charge for staff is priced according to salary bands and will vary from £30 to £70 a month.

However, when using a salary sacrifice scheme the charge drops to about £20 and about £40 per month in real terms.

Council deputy leader Graham Chapman said if businesses used a similar scheme it would "reduce the impact of the WPL".

The plans were discussed at a scrutiny meeting yesterday after Tory councillors challenged the decision to have a "pilot scheme" for councillors.

The council cannot subject councillors to a salary sacrifice scheme as they receive allowances not a salary, but once a voluntary scheme is running the council could present it to HM Revenue and Customs to seek a permanent scheme.

However, Conservative Councillor Roger Steel argued that councillors were a "special case".

He said: "Council work in my view is an essential voluntary service. We get an allowance to cover costs, we're not full-time employees at Loxley House and a similar situation applies to staff working at home.

"We can be asked to call into Loxley for a couple of hours to pick up some documents. I would urge that a couple of hours for councillors are exempt, as well as evenings."

He said that he had no problem with paying for car parking but perhaps there could be a half-day rate.

There is a day rate available but Mr Chapman said it will be cheaper to sign up to the monthly charge.

Councillors are paid a basic allowance of about £11,500 but are paid extra for specific roles and duties, including being a party leader or chairing certain committees.

Mr Chapman said: "Councillors are not a special case in any circumstances. It all depends on your income from the council – that's fair and reasonable.

"We're not asking for any benefits above anybody else but we should be getting the benefits the staff are getting and also benefits we're hoping the rest of the public will get."

The Tories argued there had not been enough consultation with councillors about how the scheme would work for them.

Mr Chapman admitted they should have informed the party whips to relay the details to their councillors.

However, he said if councillors did not volunteer to take part in the salary sacrifice scheme they would still have to pay the charge, but without the benefits of it being taken before tax.

The WPL will help pay for a number of transport projects including the next two lines of the tram and the station redevelopment.

The city council is contributing 25% towards the £500m tram extension and up to £15 million for the station redevelopment.

scout group set up for Muslim community

2011-10-15T02:35:00.000-07:00

A NEW Scout group in Bobbers Mill – the first in the county to have been set up after requests by the Muslim community – has had its first meeting.

The 92nd Nottingham group is being run with the support of the Karimia Institute, a charity which runs mosques, nurseries, an independent faith school and community radio station in Nottingham.

The group is aimed at younger children – Beavers and Cubs – for now, but will involve older Scouts once the leaders have more experience.

Scout leader Amjad Shah, who is a trustee of the Karimia Institute, and was a Scout himself when he was younger, said: "I've got five children and I want them to have the same experiences, so that we can give the children an adventure and a challenge by taking them out of the inner city and find new experiences."

Mr Shah added that the new leaders have been put through rapid Scout training to get them up to speed.

"We started talking about this three or four months ago. We've gone through a crash course of training, working through the Nottingham District Scout Group," he said.

Matt Rooney, head of Nottinghamshire Scouts, said: "It's the first time that a group of Muslim parents have come together and said 'we want scouting in our community'.

"We are proud that more and more young people and adults are joining scouting and I am proud to be the head of a movement in Nottinghamshire that celebrates and reflects the diversity of our communities."

Scouting has been open to different religions for more than 100 years. Non-Muslim children are also welcome to join the 92nd group.

The Scout Promise can be amended to recognise different religions, meaning that Muslim members can replace the word God with Allah, while promising to do their best and help their community.

The group met for the first time this week, at the Bobbers Mill Community Centre, in Berridge Road West.

Aisha Shah, nine, from Wollaton, said: "I wanted to join because I saw the video and it's really interesting and looks fun.

"I want to go camping and do some rock-climbing."

Faisal Hanif, eight, from Aspley, said: "I wanted to join because I like to play games and have fun.

"I want to go camping and do fun activities."

Madihah Aslam, eight, from Hyson Green, said: "When you have nothing to do you can just come here.

"I want to do sports, cooking and play games."

Imran Shah-Simmons, eight, from Gamston, said: "I want to have adventures and have fun with all my Muslim friends."

Campaigners try to save Green Belt land

2011-10-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Wonderous green fields of 'Lawrence Country' to be built all over in urban sprawl

Campaigners in the Broxtowe borough council areas of Nottingham have stepped up efforts to save the borough’s greenbelt land.

Opposing Broxtowe Borougn Council’s plans to build hundreds of houses on the greenbelt, they are trying to get a debate in Parliament on the matter, involving a meeting with Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to discuss the council’s approach to housing development.

Over 6,000 houses are planned to be built in Broxtowe between now and 2026, despite Government targets being scrapped leaving the council responsible for the number of houses it wants to see in the borough.

Many of the ‘potential sites’ for development are around Nuthall, Watnall and Greasley, with campaigners claiming there is only enough brownfield land for 2,000 homes across the borough – forcing the majority of the properties to go on greenbelt land.

Broxtowe is surrendering our greenbelt to the developers. The greenbelt land between Greasley and Watnall is some of the loveliest in the county, and with the links to DH Lawrence some of our most historic.

Huge areas of this land has been identified, including, even, the Moorgreen Agricultural Showground.

Armed robber jailed after waving gun in bookmakers raid

2011-10-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

Waved gun: Ryan Robinson, 25, of Sargent Gardens, St Ann's, was jailed after an armed robbery at Ladbrokes.
A ST ANN'S man has been jailed after taking part in an armed robbery for the second time in five years.

Ryan Robinson, 25, of Sargent Gardens, waved a bb gun and demanded staff hand over cash at a Hucknall bookmakers.

He was jailed for a minimum of three-and-a-half years at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.

He will only be released when he is considered not to be a risk to the public.

The court heard that Robinson and an accomplice entered Ladbrokes in High Street, Hucknall, on June 6 this year.

Robinson approached the counter, drew the gun from his trousers and waved it underneath the security glass demanding money.

A staff member handed him £200 from the till and a further £200 from the safe and the pair ran to a car which they parked nearby and sped off.

Michael Auty, prosecuting, said Robinson was tracked down after a member of the public wrote down the car's registration plate.

He said: "The man noticed the car when it drove into the space and saw two people starting to put on extra layers and attempting to obscure their faces with their clothing.

"Ten minutes later, he saw the two men including Robinson run back into the car park at great speed – this member of the public took down the registration and this helped the officers with the case."

He added that the robbery was a "complete carbon copy" of one which Robinson was involved in 2008.

He was sentenced to four years in prison after acting as a getaway driver after two other men robbed Ladbrokes in Mansfield Road, Sherwood.

Defending, Matthew Smith said that credit should be given to Robinson for his early guilty plea.

Sentencing Robinson, Judge Jonathan Teare said: "You are only 25 years old and this is the second time you have appeared before the court in connection with an armed robbery.

"One of the victims thought she might die because of the threats you made and I believe you pose a significant risk of harm to the public."

Detective Constable Tony Tonks, who investigated the incident, said the armed robbery left the staff "very shaken."

Mr Tonks, based at Hucknall CID, said: "For one of the people working at the shop, it really affected their health and wellbeing and was a shocking incident.

"Fortunately, there was a member of the public who saw what was happening and wrote down the car which was used to leave the scene of the crime.

"This evidence was instrumental in our case and we are grateful for this man's actions."

Druggie tried to murder his own half-brother in city 'crackhouse'

2011-10-09T07:30:00.001-07:00

Punctured lung: Anthony Morrison, found guilty of attempted murder.

A MAN has been found guilty of trying to murder his half-brother.

Anthony Morrison plunged a knife into the chest of Jeremy Mullins, puncturing his lung and causing a seven-and-a-half-centimetre wound.

The trial at Nottingham Crown Court heard that the attack happened in a "crackhouse" where both men had taken drugs the night before.

Mr Mullins told jurors that his half-brother lunged at him, striking him in the chest.

Mr Mullins said: "I saw the knife when he pulled it out of my chest. I could see the silver handle come out. It was a fat silver knife. A kitchen knife."

Mr Mullins said Morrison lunged at him again, causing a 6cm wound to his left arm as he tried to defend himself.

"I knew my lung had been punctured because I could not breathe properly," said Mr Mullins.

Morrison, 51, of Montford Crescent, Sherwood, did not give evidence. He admitted stabbing his half-brother but claimed it was in self-defence.

Christopher Kinch, for Morrison, claimed that Mr Mullins struck out first – hitting Morrison on the head with a mug.

As part of his evidence, Mr Mullins admitted injuring his half-brother by swinging the mug at his head, but said he did this after he was stabbed.

The attack happened at a house in Berridge Road, Forest Fields, shortly before 5am on May 12. The house belonged to a friend of Mr Mullins, and he was staying while his own home was renovated.

Mr Kinch claimed the half-brothers had argued over money which Morrison had loaned to Mr Mullins, and which he was refusing to pay back. But Mr Mullins said he didn't know why his brother was aggressive towards him.

"I tried to ignore him," said Mr Mullins. "He hit me on the back of my head and I told him not to do that again."

Mr Mullins, 35, was later taken to the Queen's Medical Centre where an X-ray revealed he had a punctured lung. He was transferred to Nottingham City Hospital where a specialist plastic surgery team fitted a cast to protect his damaged left forearm.

Morrison was also charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and jurors could have found him guilty of this lesser alternative charge if they had found him not guilty of attempted murder.

He is expected to be sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on November 25.

Campaign to honour the 31 fallen Sherwood Foresters (Dublin revolution 95 years on)

2011-10-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

Sherwood Foresters photographed with captured rebel leader, Eamon de Valera, 1916.

''Gutters ran red as recruits marched into the gauntlet''

THERE is no memorial to remember the 31 Sherwood Foresters who died in Dublin at the hands of Irish freedom fighters more than 90 years ago.

Despite their bravery and sacrifice, the regiment was never granted a battle honour nor a campaign medal. Some of those who died do not even have a decent grave.

In an attempt to honour the fallen – mainly sons of Nottinghamshire – Foresters archivist Eddie Edwards and museum trustee Cliff Housley crossed the Irish Sea to walk in the footsteps of the four battalions: 2nd/5th and 2/6th, both from Derbyshire; and 2/7th Robin Hoods and 2/8th (Newark) as they went into battle.

"We went with a bit of a pre-conception about the fighting. We were looking at it from the Foresters angle, against the rebels I suppose. But we came back with a very different point of view," said Mr Housley, who served with the Foresters in Malaya 50 years ago.

"They were fighting for their freedom and I can sympathise with that."

The two men also want to renew interest in this forgotten passage of Foresters' history which is shrouded in controversy.

"After the rebellion was put down, 16 Irishmen were summarily tried and executed. The men ordered to form the firing squad were Foresters. Because of that their reputation, particularly in that part of the world, has been affected."

But the historians have discovered that the Foresters who fought in Dublin were mainly raw young recruits who had never fired a rifle before, under the overall command of Governor Sir John Grenfell Maxwell, a "pompous, pig-headed officer".

"They had to do what they were told," said former Warrant Officer Eddie Edwards.

Ireland came under British rule in 1800 – and that almost immediately gave rise to the Nationalist movement and eventually, in 1915, to the birth of the Irish Republican Brotherhood which planned the Easter uprising.

It was the height of the First World War. The rebels had persuaded Germany to send them a boatload of arms and ammunition but, despite a U-Boat escort, the ship was intercepted by the Royal Navy and scuttled.

The incident led to the arrest of British diplomat and patriotic Irish nationalist Sir Roger Casement, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed for treason.

Poorly armed and lacking support from the civilian population, the rebels nevertheless went ahead and on April 24, 1916, small groups seized key locations across the city of Dublin, catching the police and British garrison unawares – shots were fired, police officers and civilians were killed.

A proclamation of independence, signed by seven nationalists, was then read out. In the event, those seven men had signed their death warrant.

The Foresters landed at Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) two days later, thinking they were heading for the Western Front and still rehearsing their French phrases. But they were about to march into a different gauntlet of fire.

Civilians came out to wave and cheer as they tramped the eight miles into Dublin.

At a crossroads, the Derbyshire battalions went down one route, the Notts boys took another. It was a fateful parting of the ways.

On the outskirts of the city Robin Hoods officer Captain Frederick Dietrichsen, a Nottingham solicitor, was amazed to see his wife and children among the crowd. His Irish-born wife Beatrice had left Nottingham to avoid the Zeppelin threat and had come out of her imposing Dublin family home to see the troops.

Captain Dietrichsen embraced his family and then the Robin Hoods marched up Northumberland Avenue towards the Mount Street bridge.

In nearby houses and public buildings a total of 17 rebels were prepared to fight and die to prevent the Foresters crossing that bridge to reach the city centre and the Nationalist HQ.

From the windows of number 25 a volley of shots rang out. Dietrichsen fell, one of the first Foresters to be killed, less than an hour after he had kissed his wife goodbye.

Only two rebels were barricaded in the house, but they inflicted dreadful casualties on the lightly armed Foresters.

Enraged, an officer drew his sword and led a reckless charge on the house ... and straight into the crossfire from other strongholds. The gutters ran red with the blood of Nottinghamshire soldiers.

Number 25 Northumberland Avenue still stands today, a plaque on the wall remembers the two rebels who were killed.

The Foresters continued towards the narrow bridge, straight into the guns of more rebels who were barricaded inside the Parochial Hall and a school.

The young Foresters were not trained for street fighting and many were cut down.

Lieutenant Harold Daffin from Worksop and Sergeant Major Henry Dixie from Newark were among those killed; Captain Francis Cursham, whose nephew Lieutenant Colonel John Cursham is the present museum trustees chairman, was wounded when a grenade he threw hit a wall, bounced back and exploded.

Finally, the rebels were subdued and the exhausted Foresters were able to rest and lick their considerable wounds.

While the two Derbyshire battalions were ordered to man barricades around the city centre, the Notts men were sent back into action to break another rebel stronghold – with more Foresters paying the ultimate price.

The uprising was finally put down six days after it began when the British brought in artillery. The small number of rebels had no answer and lay down their weapons.

Under the orders of the governor Sir John Grenfell Maxwell, more than 3,400 men and women were arrested and in a series of swift court martials, 90 were sentenced to death.

Fifteen were finally executed, including the seven men who signed the Nationalist Proclamation.

They were taken into a courtyard inside Kilmanhaim Jail and shot by that firing squad of Foresters.

One of them, James Connolly, could not walk because of a leg injury ... so he was tied to a chair for his execution.

Maxwell summarily dismissed all pleas to commute the sentences to life imprisonment and thus created 15 martyrs.

"He was pig-headed and pompous," said Mr Housley. "Had he waived the death penalty, the troubles would have been considerably lessened."

His decision helped to sway a large section of Irish nationalist opinion towards support for the rebels.

The site of the executions, and the spot where the bodies were thrown into a pit and covered with quick lime, are preserved as a memorial to their sacrifice. Mr Housley said: "It is impossible not to feel sympathy for these men. They were brave patriots."

In May, 95 years after the uprising, the Queen visited Ireland and spoke of her "sincere and deep" regret for the heartache and loss suffered as a result of centuries of conflict between Britain and Ireland.

She was speaking for those rebels who gave their lives for freedom, and also for those young soldiers ordered into action on the streets of Dublin.

Mr Housley said: "The Queen recently visited Dublin and laid a wreath at the rebels' memorial. It has been seen in Ireland as a great gesture of reconciliation."

To bring home the true picture of the Dublin rebellion, Mr Housley has compiled an illustrated talk and is available to visit local groups and organisations. To arrange a talk, call 0115 946 5415.

Council tax 'could rise by 5 per cent' threatens labour councillor Graham Chapman

2011-10-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

A CITY councillor has warned the authority may have to put council tax up by five per cent.

It follows an announcement by Chancellor George Osborne that council tax is to be frozen next year.

The Government plans to make up the difference of a 2.5 per cent rise for authorities which don't increase charges.

However, Councillor Graham Chapman, deputy leader and financial portfolio holder of Nottingham City Council, has warned this will just delay the cost for taxpayers.

Nottingham City Council plans a council tax increase of about 2.5 per cent per year.

This would be given in a one-off grant by the Government for next year to cover the freeze. This means in 2013-14, when this grant disappears, council tax will remain at the same level as it currently is – but rise sharply the year after.

Mr Chapman said: "It will mean the year after [2013-14] council tax may have to go up by twice the amount – to five per cent in order to make up for it. A lot of it is smoke and mirrors."

Mr Osborne said a tax freeze could be funded with savings on Whitehall inefficiency.

Balcony fall man tried to grab railing

2011-10-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

AN IRAQI asylum seeker who died after falling from a seventh-floor balcony might not have intended to kill himself, an inquest heard.

Osman Rasul Mohammed died on July 25 last year at Clifford Court in Radford.

Nottingham Coroner's Court heard that Mr Mohammed, 27, had been distressed about having his asylum application refused, but it was not clear whether he intended to jump or just slipped.

Mr Mohammed left his house at about 3pm on July 25. Clifford Court resident Sarah Hind looked out of her window at about 5pm and saw him on the balcony.

Ms Hind said she could hear voices shouting up from the ground telling Mr Mohammed to jump. She spent 20 minutes trying to convince him to come inside and have a cup of tea.

At one point she grabbed his belt and tried to drag him in but was not strong enough. Notts Coroner Mairin Casey said: "For two hours police officers tried to negotiate with Mr Mohammed. All through this time nobody was able to establish a rapport with him.

"He had a glazed look in his eyes and was speaking in a language that people didn't understand, though he seemed to understand English."

Mr Mohammed fell from the balcony at about 7pm. He was pronounced dead at the Queen's Medical Centre.

Miss Casey said: "At the end, he seemed to slip rather than jump. One of the witnesses noted that at that point it looked like he tried to grab the railing. We cannot be sure that, at that point, he wanted to kill himself."

A post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death was multiple injuries and that Mr Mohammed had used cannabis.

An open verdict was recorded.

Jurors hear witnesses describe final moments of father-to-be Felix Akhigbe

2011-10-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

Stab crime: Victim Felix Akhigbe
JURORS heard witnesses describe the moment a man was stabbed to death in Nottingham city centre.

A door supervisor at a pub near where Felix Akhigbe was attacked saw him running on Lower Parliament Street followed by another man.

The man is alleged to be Raymond Iriogbe, of St Ann's, now on trial for Mr Akhigbe's murder.

Richard Barber, who was working on the doors of the Dog and Partridge, thought he saw the two men "cuddling", before Mr Akhigbe fell to the ground.

Giving evidence, Mr Barber said: "They were together so it seemed like they were friends that had come out of one place going to another place."

The attack happened at about 1.30am on New Year's Day.

Mr Barber continued: "I just assumed they were mucking about. I just assumed they were in drink. They looked like they were cuddling each other."

After Mr Akhigbe fell to the floor, outside the Bonmarché shop, Mr Barber saw the other man standing to the side of him.

Mr Barber said the man was "a bit in shock or daydreaming, or something like that".

"Because he didn't go down to him I was about to radio for an ambulance," said Mr Barber. "Some students who were coming towards me saw a police car and flagged it down. That's when I realised he was more than in drink."

Mr Barber later saw a knife lying on the floor near Mr Akhigbe.

The trial at Nottingham Crown Court previously heard that Iriogbe and Mr Akhigbe, both from Nigeria, had known each other for several years and had at one stage lived together in Sneinton.

The court was told that Iriogbe accused Mr Akhigbe of trying to poison him after the two men had dined together some time in 2006 or 2007.

Mr Akhigbe's partner Susan Ehiosun – who was pregnant when he died – told the court that he had been concerned after a phone call from Iriogbe in December 2010.

Witness Barry Dawson said that a man was hiding in the doorway of Peacocks clothing store before approaching Mr Akhigbe.

Mr Dawson recalled seeing the man make a single striking movement to the upper body of Mr Akhigbe.

Mr Dawson said: "I'm not sure if it [the strike] was to right or the left side. We just heard a big thump when his head hit the floor."

Mr Dawson said he then ran over and said either "Why have you done this?" or "What have you done, man?"

Iriogbe, 48, of Carlton Road, St Ann's, is alleged to have armed himself with two knives and stabbed Mr Akhigbe three times.

One 16cm stab would went through Mr Akhigbe's heart and gall bladder.

He was pronounced dead at the Queen's Medical Centre.

Iriogbe denies murder.

The hearing continues.

Black and Asian teens given chance to shine on work placements

2011-10-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

MORE than 80 youngsters from across the city who took part in a two-week work placement scheme this summer have been rewarded for their efforts.

Students who took part in the scheme also included year 11 disabled students and children in care.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Nottingham City Council's Tap the Gap scheme, which aims to encourage young people from black and minority ethnic communities to become involved with organisations like the police, NHS and Nottingham City Council.

School-leavers took part in two week placements during the summer holidays. 83 pupils were involved.

They were commended for their work during a ceremony at the Council House, where they were each given a certificate of achievement.

Among those attending were 16-year-olds Adil Hassan Arif, of Aspley, Julie Chowdry, of Sneinton, Louis Greyson, of Nottingham city centre, and Elliott Mitchell, of Wollaton.

All four carried out placements with Notts Police.

Elliott, who attends Fernwood School in Wollaton, said spending two weeks with the force had increased his long-held ambition to become a police officer. "It was fascinating, I wish I could have stayed much longer," he added.

During their time with the force, teenagers spent time with officers and staff in a range of departments, including the police diving team, the control room, the dog section and the media relations office.

"I found visiting all the different departments really interesting each day was different and exciting," Elliott said.

Elliott said he intends to go to university to complete a degree when he leaves school and hopes to become a traffic police officer.

DC Gary Godden, who runs the scheme for the force, said: "Nottingham is a culturally diverse area and people from minority backgrounds are traditionally under-represented in police forces, and we want to change that.

"Many youngsters in Nottingham have never had contact with police, so this is a fantastic opportunity to work with them on a one-to-one basis and to show them how we operate.

City council leader Councillor Jon Collins said: "Giving young people the opportunity to work during the summer increases their skill level, confidence and employability which stands them in good stead for the future.

"Tap the Gap prides itself on the quality of student that we are able to attract, who are all academically bright, good role models, conscientious, hard-working, mature and sensible."

Pupils from ten city schools took part this year: Fernwood School, Bluecoat School, Manning Girls School, Trinity School, Big Wood School, Djanogly City Academy, Nottingham Academy, Bulwell Academy, Emmanuel School and Ellis Guilford School.

Christmas tree rented by labour controlled city council cost taxpayers £4,450

2011-10-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

Showpiece: The rented tree at the Nottingham City Council offices at Loxley House.

NOTTINGHAM City Council spent more than £4,000 renting a Christmas tree last year despite its leader claiming it "didn't cost" the taxpayer.

The council was criticised after it rented the 35-foot tall tree to stand in the atrium at its new headquarters, Loxley House in Station Street, for just 35 days.

The council expected to receive more than £2,000 in sponsorship from private companies to help pay for the tree.

However, a Freedom of Information Act request has now shown the council only received £550, leaving the taxpayer to pick up the remaining £4,450.

This comes just four months after council leader Councillor Jon Collins wrote on Twitter: "Tree was sponsored so it didn't cost".

In a statement to the Post today, he said: "That was my understanding at the time. Clearly sponsorship didn't come in to the extent that we had hoped."

Sponsorship included £150 from Octavian Continental Ltd, £100 from Senator International, £100 from Mansell Construction Service Ltd and £200 from Arrow Light Rail Ltd.

The council has confirmed it will not be renting a tree again this year. A spokesman said: "Having the tree was a one-off for our first year in Loxley House, and so we have no plans to repeat it.

"The tree was however successfully used as the centrepiece for our Christmas Stars Appeal which attracted donations from our staff of around £10,000 worth of presents for over 500 looked-after children in Nottingham.

"We had hoped to get more money from sponsors based on indications of interest, but ultimately secured £550."

Last Christmas the council's corporate directors also personally paid for five smaller trees for each floor of Loxley House.

These artificial trees will be used again this year and decorated by staff, but the council will not be renting a larger tree for the atrium. The council says it is looking to find a different focus for this year's Christmas appeal.

The Freedom of Information Act response, which has been published on the WhatDoTheyKnow website, stated inaccurately that the £550 in sponsorship was for "purposes of providing Christmas presents for needy children".

However, the council has confirmed this money was used to offset the costs of the tree and not to directly pay for presents.

Georgina Culley, leader of the Conservative Group at the city council, described it as a "huge folly".

She said: "I would have thought spending taxpayers' money to the tune of £5,000 on a Christmas tree to go in the centre of the admin building – which is what Loxley House is – was highly inappropriate."

Death crash driver, Imran Rashid, jailed 11 years on

2011-10-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

Killer driver: Former taxi driver Imran Rashid was jailed for nine years.

THE family of a teenager killed in a crash more than 11 years ago described their relief after the man who caused it was finally jailed.

Imran Rashid fled to Pakistan in April 2001 after admitting causing the death of Nardeep Singh Walia by dangerous driving.

Retired Detective Inspector Stuart Kinton and Nardeep Singh Walia’s family speak to the media outside Nottingham Crown Court.

Retired Detective Inspector Stuart Kinton and Nardeep Singh Walia’s family speak to the media outside Nottingham Crown Court.

But Notts Police eventually managed to bring him back before the courts.

And today he was starting a nine-year jail term.

After the sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday, Nardeep's sister Pam Ahluwalia said: "The judge summed it up perfectly when he said Rashid showed no remorse at all for what he had done and tried to manipulate the system in any way he could. But finally justice prevailed.

"We will never get over the loss of our brother, but at least now with the closure of the case we can begin to move forward."

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Rashid, 34, had driven his Peugeot 405 at up to 100mph as he chased a Rover in which Nardeep was the front-seat passenger.

Nardeep, 19, a University of Leicester student, and three friends had been drinking at the Media nightclub in Nottingham city centre before the car chase on June 6, 2000.

Nigel May, prosecuting, said there had been an argument at the club but the reason for Rashid targeting the occupants of the Rover "remains something of a mystery".

Mr May said Rashid's friends heard him repeatedly shouting "yeah boy" in "a mad way" as he pursued the Rover.

He shouted an insulting word to describe Sikhs and said "you're dead".

The court heard other occupants of the Peugeot told Rashid to stop but he turned the music up so he couldn't hear.

The Rover hit a wall near Wollaton Park, killing Nardeep. Rashid's car crashed into the back of the Rover.

When arrested, Rashid told police "we were being chased by some black lads".

He was over the drink-driving limit, having 48mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Rashid, then of Newstead Grove, Arboretum, pleaded guilty in April 2001 on the basis he couldn't remember what had happened, then unsuccessfully tried to change his plea.

He was due to be sentenced in August 2001, but failed to appear. He was re-arrested at Manchester Airport in April after coming back voluntarily.

The court heard Rashid, who had worked as a taxi driver, had been running a haulage company in Pakistan.

Thomas Schofield, mitigating, said Rashid was only 23 at the time of the crash and now had more responsibilities.

He said Rashid was married for the first time when he was 15 and had four children at the time of the crash.

Rashid was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for causing death by dangerous driving and eight months for skipping bail. He was also banned from driving for five years.

After the case, retired Detective Inspector Stuart Kinton said: "After many years on the run, Rashid will now have nine years in the one place to think about the devastating and compounding effects his crime and subsequent actions have had on the family of his victim.

"I hope the outcome will bring some comfort to the Walia family, who have finally got some justice for Nardeep."

Rashid's father Abdul Rashid intends to appeal against the conviction.

Six years for Radford drug dealer found with cocaine

2011-10-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

A DRUG dealer who had £14,000 of cocaine at a city flat has been sentenced to more than six years in prison.

Jeremiah Wallace, of Francis Street, Radford, was arrested back in August 2010 following a drug deal.

He was charged in December with three counts of possession of class A drugs – including heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine – with intent to supply.

He was also charged with possession of cocaine, heroin and the class C drug BZP, an acronym for the amphetamine benzylpiperazine.

In May, while still on bail for those offences, Wallace was arrested again when a large quantity of cocaine was found by officers in a flat off Derby Road, Radford.

He was then charged with possession with intent to supply a class A drug in relation to the cocaine, which had a street value of £14,000.

At Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, 25-year-old Wallace was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, having earlier pleaded guilty to each of the charges.

DC James McDonagh, from Operation Vanguard, which tackles drug-dealing in the city, said: "This is a significant sentence for a dealer like Wallace and we are very pleased with this outcome.

"Operation Vanguard's aim is to tackle drug-dealing and associated organised crime in and around the city.

"By arresting dealers like Wallace and securing the evidence needed to have him imprisoned for some considerable time, we have again disrupted the chain of drug production and supply in Nottingham."

In the last three years, Operation Vanguard officers have arrested 700 people, recovered nearly £10 million of drugs, £273,000 in cash and 50 guns.

The Nottingham riots cost £1.2 million

2011-09-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

ABOVE: Charred remains of a resident's car.

MORE than £65,000 of damage was caused to police cars and property in Nottingham during the summer riots.

The figure was included in a breakdown of policing costs associated with the disorder in the city in August, which came to almost £1.2 million in total.

Notts Police said the costs included:

£690,000 on police officer overtime

£315,000 drafting in officers from other forces

£51,000 for civilian staff overtime

£35,000 writing off damaged police vehicles

£9,000 on other vehicle damage

£23,000 repairing police property

On August 8, firebombs were thrown into the car park of St Ann's police station.

The following evening Canning Circus police station was firebombed; windows were smashed at The Meadows police station; police cars were set alight outside The Meadows and Oxclose Lane police stations, and cars were damaged outside Bulwell police station.

Now, fears have been raised that the Government will leave Notts taxpayers to pick up the £1,156,500 bill.

Speaking during a Police Authority meeting, former authority chairman John Clarke said he believed the force would be unable to claim back the cash because the operation did not meet Home Office requirements for special grants.

He added: "We have very little chance of recovering the money."

But neither the Home Office nor the chairman of Notts Police Authority, Jon Collins, could confirm whether this was the case.

'University must be held to account' over the whole Rizwaan Sabir saga

2011-09-25T03:14:00.000-07:00

Rizwaan Sabir was arrested for downloading the Al Qaeda bomb-making manual, but received £20,000 in damages from Notts police.

"FOR me, last week was a partial triumph.

This is because, even though I received £20,000 in damages from Notts Police, who also agreed to pay all my legal fees regarding what I see as my wrongful arrest and seven-day detention as a suspected terrorist in 2008, the University of Nottingham has not been held to account. I believe they should be.

The police paid damages without accepting liability. They are still claiming my arrest was lawful and proportionate.

I believe the out-of-court settlement is indicative of their guilt, regardless of how they spin and phrase their press releases.

I was arrested in May 2008 when I was a Masters student at the university.

As part of my postgraduate research into al-Qaeda, I downloaded a document from an American government website which was nicknamed the al-Qaeda Training Manual by the American government.

The sole purpose of the document was to inform my research. What is most incredible about the document is that it can be obtained through the university's library, or even purchased in a fuller version from WH Smith, Blackwells and Waterstone's bookshops.

For possessing this document, I was held for seven days in solitary confinement. My entire life was turned upside down while the police searched for some evidence that would allow a charge of 'terrorism' to stick.

They failed because I was innocent. On my release, saddened and angered by the way I was treated, I instructed lawyers to bring a civil claim against the police for what I believed was false imprisonment. I wanted to clear my name.

I believe the senior management ignored Government guidelines which advised them what should be done if circumstances similar to mine arose. Regardless of the mistakes I feel they made, they have never apologised for what happened to me.

Many people ask me how I felt when I was arrested. I felt like any innocent person would feel if they were told by a police officer that they would be serving a 15-year prison sentence for having this document – absolutely frightened.

I feel mistakes have been made and they should be used to ensure that they aren't made again.

I also feel that if I can be arrested once for having a library book, I can be arrested again. I am, after all, still doing a PhD in counter-terrorism, albeit at a different university.

People will think that now that I have been compensated, I can move on. I cannot. This issue remains very much alive for me due regarding the role I believe the university has played in this sorry saga.

Dr Rod Thornton, a former soldier-turned-academic, explained what he believed had happened at the university in an academic paper he published in May 2011, but he was suspended by the university. He remains suspended until this day.

Until he has been reinstated, until the university has apologised – and I think they should – until a public inquiry has taken place and considered what I see as the discriminatory way the university treated me and my supporters, this issue is alive.

I am considering all options with my family and legal team on how this matter should now proceed.

Only when I feel the university has been held to account will I be happy to say that my name has been vindicated."

Ghanaian born Kwaku Adoboli, accused of £1.3bn fraud, was student in £500-a-month city flat

2011-09-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

A CITY landlord has told how he rented out a flat to an alleged rogue trader accused of masterminding a £1.3 billion fraud.

University of Nottingham graduate Kwaku Adoboli, 31, appeared at City of London Magistrates' Court yesterday charged with fraud by abuse of position and false accounting at Swiss banking giant UBS.

Adoboli, of Bethnal Green, East London, graduated from the university in July 2003 with a BSc (Hons) degree in E-Commerce and digital business.

Tony Barrowcliffe was his landlord when Adoboli lived in a two-bedroom flat in Hamilton Drive, The Park, during his time at the university.

"He and another lad moved out in June 2003," said Mr Barrowcliffe. "I think they went to London. As far as I'm concerned they gave me no hassle.

"They were paying me £500 a month between them. The flat has two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a living room and a bathroom with shower.

"I'm not sure if he [Adoboli] was there a year. I normally have six-month tenancy agreements."

Adoboli is reported to have been involved in co-ordinating Freshers' Week during his time at the University of Nottingham.

He is believed to have worked with a product called an Exchange Traded Fund, an investment fund traded on stock exchanges.

A memo issued to UBS staff by its chief executive Oswald Gruebel said the alleged unauthorised trading was discovered at some stage between Wednesday and Adoboli's arrest in the early hours of Thursday.

The London branch of Swiss-based UBS has its main office in Finsbury Avenue, in the City of London.

UBS employs 65,000 staff worldwide.

Adoboli wept when he appeared in the dock yesterday.

He wore an open-necked white shirt and sky blue sweatshirt. He was remanded into custody until Thursday.

A packed courtroom looked on as the defendant stared down at his feet while he was ushered back to his custody cell.

EDL Pighead pranksters 'should be ashamed of themselves' (Magistrate)

2011-09-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

THREE men in a group which placed a pig's head at the site of a proposed mosque were told they should be ashamed of themselves by a magistrate.

Nicholas Long, 22, of Needham Rd, Arnold, Robert Parnham, 19, of Farnborough Rd, Clifton, and Wayne Havercroft, 41, of Millbank Place, Bestwood Village, all pleaded guilty to racially or religiously aggravated harassment after the pig's head was put on a 4ft pole in Collington Way, West Bridgford, on June 23.

Nottingham Magistrates' Court

The head was found along with an offensive message and 'No mosque here EDL Notts' written on the pavement.

The court heard Parnham bought it from a butchers and tried to sell it by sending a text message to all his contacts. He received a response from Christopher Payne, who was given a suspended sentence, fined £250 and banned from going to West Bridgford in July.

Payne and the trio were present when the head was put on the stick, and Havercroft admitted he took a photo and sent it to his daughter and asked her to put in on Facebook.

Havercroft, an ex-member of the EDL, also pleaded guilty to racially or religiously aggravated harassment on June 25 after he shouted at people manning a stall about Islam in the city centre. He pulled out a St George's flag and shouted "You are all with Osama Bin Laden".

In mitigation for Parnham and Long, Robert Keeble said the pair were both appalled and ashamed. He said: "They both entered guilty pleas at the first time of asking."

Julia Haywood, in mitigation for Havercroft, said he had borderline personality disorder. She said: "On June 25, Mr Havercroft failed to take his medication and his behaviour can become erratic if he doesn't have it. He was a member of the EDL and joined last year after being incensed by the poppy burning incident."

Long and Parnham were fined £200 and ordered to pay £85 costs. Havercroft was fined £400, with £170 costs and £15 victim surcharge.

Nottingham magistrate Colin Wharmby said: "All three of you should be ashamed of what you did, thoroughly ashamed."

Facebook 'riot' call teen locked up

2011-09-02T22:57:00.000-07:00

A TEENAGER who used Facebook to encourage rioters on to the streets of Nottingham has been locked up for two years and nine months.

Amed Pelle, an 18-year-old churchgoer, left three messages on his profile following the outbreak of violence in the city.
Amed-Pelle. He had 2,197 friends on Facebook, where he asked: "Riot till we own cities".

The first two read: 'Nottz Riot whose onit?' and 'Kill one black youth; we'll kill a million Fedz [police]: riot til we own cities'.

In his third message, Pelle, who has 2,197 Facebook friends, asked if people wanted goods from a fashion shop. He wrote: "Rioting 2nyt anyone want anything from Flannels?"

The store, in the city centre, had its windows smashed hours later.

Pelle went to the extent of posting a profile picture on Facebook of him surrounded by boxes of the fashion labels Vans, Lacoste, Fred Perry and Adidas trainers, intending friends to believe he had looted them.

Later, he said that he had actually bought them legitimately out of his Jobseeker's Allowance.

Pelle pleaded guilty to intentionally encouraging or assisting in the commission of an offence under the Serious Crime Act 2007.

He said before he was locked up yesterday: "I put it down as a joke but I did not know it was going to go this far."

Within minutes of the posts some people "liked" the comments.

"The problem is that others may have taken your comments seriously," said Judge John Milmo QC. Pelle was arrested at his home in Park Lane, Old Basford.

Interviewed by police, he conceded he wanted the riots to continue as a demonstration by black youths against authority, Government and police so "the police can't do nothing to us any more".

He said he had seen the movie Shank and hoped "youth would take over the streets and Government, police and society could do nothing", as happens in the film.

Judge John said: "The seriousness of what you did was to encourage indiscriminately those who were minded to take part in the violence and those who were not but who, on seeing your comments, might have changed their minds.

"I am satisfied that was your intention.

"What you encouraged was not an attack on an individual but attacks on the people of Nottingham as a whole and the people of other cities.

"Fortunately, those living in this city were, for the most part, too sensible to follow your lead."

Pelle had told police that he never thought his comments would be taken seriously. His barrister, Simon Eckersley, said that a large number of responses to Pelle's comments were negative and posts were taken down before his arrest.

He said Pelle went to church.

He had been in the country for 15 years, having moved here from Cuba with his family.

Asylum seeker, Micaele Misghna Ogbamicael , 22, used false passport for job

2011-08-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Mr. Ogbamicael , 22, was arrested on May 13 by UK Border Agency officers, after working illegally at poultry and food processing company Moy Park Ltd, in Ashbourne. Officers found a forged French passport in his possession.

Up until his arrest Ogbamicael had received £9,406.62 in asylum support which he was not entitled to. He also received £18,245.39 in illegal earnings.

He was jailed for eight months at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to one charge of possessing false identity documents with intent.

Ogbamicael, of Forster Street, Radford, also pleaded guilty to one charge of making a false statement or representations with a view to obtaining benefit or advantage.

UK Border Agency asylum fraud investigator John Hadland said: "This case sends out a clear message that we will not hesitate to prosecute foreign nationals that use forged documents to fool employers.

"We will bring before the courts anyone who tries to abuse the immigration laws of this country. Our immigration crime teams are cracking down on immigration abuse across the Midlands."

Owners fined for 'Horrifying conditions' at ''Lasani'' Indian takeaway

2011-08-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

Lasani takeaway, Hilltop Eastwood.

A TIP-OFF from a member of the public alerted the Environmental Health Department to cooked meat and rice being left out and dirty conditions at at a Hill Top takeaway restaurant.

A nephew and uncle who worked at the Lasani restaurant were both prosecuted for food hygiene offences as a result of inspectors’ findings.

Safir Iqbal, of Wye Gardens, Nottingham, had been left in charge of the premises whilst the registered food business operator, Mr Riaz Chowdhury of Grundy Street, was out of the country.

After a phone call from a member of the public saying that chicken carcasses had been left outside overnight an officer visited immediately.

The premises were empty so the chicken was taken as evidence and the officer returned just before opening time.

The restaurant was found to be dirty, rubbish bins containing food waste were uncovered and un-emptied, cooked rice had been left out overnight, cooked meats were uncovered in the chiller and dirty food containers and chopping boards were also found.

Out-of-date yoghurt was found to be being used and there was no clean apron available.

Mr Iqbal fully accepted responsibility for the conditions at the premises but in mitigation he said that he had not been at the premises on the previous evening.

However the magistrates commented that they found the conditions ‘horrifying’ and said it was hard to believe that the premises had got into that condition in 24 hours.

Mr Iqbal was sentenced to 200 hours of Community Service in the form of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £1,461.

Mr Chowdhury, the registered food business operator who was out of the country at the time of the offences, denied that he had any responsibility because he had handed the business to Mr Iqbal earlier in the year.

Mr Chowdhury pleaded guilty at Nottingham Magistrates Court on August 3 to failing to inform the Environmental Health Department of the change in ownership and failing to having in place a written food safety management system.

He was fined £220 and ordered to pay costs of £688.44 and a £15 victim surcharge.

Nottingham named jobless capital of Britain

2011-08-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

NOTTINGHAM is Britain’s unemployment blackspot – with nearly one in seven out of work, research shows.

A study by the GMB union has found that the city’s unemployment rate is 14.8% – almost double that of the national average.

Not far behind is Middlesbrough, with 14.4% of adults looking for work, Sandwell in the West Midlands, at 14.1%, and Newham in East London (13.7%).

Regionally, the North East has the highest rate of unemployment at 9.9%, with a total of 122,200 people out of work, compared with the UK rate of 7.8%. The South East has the lowest, at 6.1%.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB, said: “These important figures on unemployment must be a serious cause for concern for both the Government and the communities affected. Our experience is that the position on the ground is getting worse.

“With the Government getting rid of tens of thousands of public-sector jobs and with the private sector either stalling or going backwards, the outlook across many areas is very worrying, bordering on bleak.”

He added: “The priority is for investment to create jobs and boost confidence rather than cuts in the tax rate for the super-rich.”

Figures last week showed the jobless total surged by 38,000 to 2.49 million in the three months to June, which is the sharpest rise in two years.

The number of women out of work rose by 21,000 to 1.05 million – the highest figure since 1988.

Race Riots remembered 53 years later.

2011-08-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

In 1958 London's Notting Hill was the scene of some of the worst racial violence Britain has ever seen. But for those caught up in a less-reported race riot in Nottingham days earlier, it was an experience that shaped their lives.

Fifty years later, Chris Stredder recalls the night of 23 August 1958, when she was 12, as if it were yesterday.

"I was trying to get through the crowd of people. And I couldn't. I was pushed against a shop window. All of a sudden, this man's head hit the window and he fell onto the floor.

"I remember blood from his head spattered across the front of my dress.

"I couldn't move. He was black and he was on the floor beside me. I wanted to run but I couldn't. I was totally traumatised by it."

Inter-racial relationships

More than 1,000 people went on the rampage on the streets of St Ann's that night.

Eric Irons
I think the police and everybody were shocked by the speed and ferocity of the West Indian response
Eric Irons

The Nottingham Evening Post reported: "The whole place was like a slaughterhouse."

According to the chief constable's account, the first 999 call came at 2221 BST from a pub in St Ann's Well Road.

The police did not deem the area safe again until 0035 BST the next day.

In many of the reports of what caused the riot, relationships between black men and white women feature.

Eric Irons played an important community relations role in Nottingham after the riot, and would become the UK's first black magistrate in 1962.

"There were two accounts. One was that a West Indian was in the pub chatting up a white young lady and when he left the premises, he was assaulted. The other was that someone insulted a West Indian man out with his white girlfriend," says Mr Irons.

"I think the police and everybody were shocked by the speed and ferocity of the West Indian response. There was no nonsense about it."

Increasing tension

A number of people were stabbed that night, most of them white.

Charles Coyne
I got stabbed five times and finished up in hospital
Charles Coyne

Charles Coyne was one of them.

He says: "There were a couple of coloured lads getting onto this lad and his wife, a white couple. I went to intervene and these two lads came for me. I got stabbed five times and finished up in hospital. I was off work a month."

Tensions arising because some people in the white community felt outraged that black men were going out with white women may well have been the spark that lit the fuse that Saturday night.

But local people will tell you ill feeling was already evident.

By 1958 the economic boom that had brought post-war Caribbean migrants to the UK was over.

There was increasing competition for jobs.

Some Nottingham factories were reluctant to take black employees.

And a series of attacks on West Indians - including an attack on a man while he was out getting medicine for his pregnant wife - put the black community on their guard.

In-fighting

Black people today in Nottingham remember name-calling and bricks thrown at their windows as a regular occurrence in the 1950s.

A week after the Nottingham riot, the crowds gathered again in St Ann's.

Around 4,000 people were on the streets on Saturday 30th August, 1958.

But black people were conspicuous by their absence.

Without any visible targets the white crowd turned on itself.

A huge fight ensued and dozens were arrested.

But events in London's Notting Hill were already beginning to overtake the scenes in Nottingham.

Bus tours

Some people remember the disturbances in Nottingham as the "teddy boy riots", a reference to the young men involved who were part of the first real manifestation of white working class youth culture.

An enterprising bus company apparently offered tours of the riot-torn streets. And such was the interest that in early September, 1958, the Lord Mayor of Nottingham appealed to people not to go to St Ann's "for sightseeing purposes".

The riots in Nottingham and Notting Hill were reported and debated around the world.

In the UK, they enabled those who favoured stricter immigration controls to gain the political advantage. Legislation followed in 1962.

Another report claims that a a television cameraman in Nottingham was being accused of starting the riot when a reconstruction got out of hand, and five men were imprisoned after disturbances in the St Ann’s Well Road area where white and black communities clashed. As four policemen carried one screaming woman defendant from the court, the magistrate Arthur Towney said: “Lawlessness is not going to be tolerated in this city.” The black population had nothing to do with the case, he added. The television cameraman had contributed to the rioting, it was said, by attempting to reconstruct a previous fight between two parties of youths. After he had lit a magnesium flare, “the mock fight, presumably staged for the benefit of the cameraman, developed into something more serious,” said the prosecuting counsel.
Press and television reporters were told to consider carefully to what extent they had contributed to the riots.

Back to drawing board as mosque built too tall

2011-08-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

Raising concerns: The mosque being built on the site of the old Jester pub in Sneinton Dale.

A DEVELOPER is seeking fresh planning permission for a new Mosque being built in Sneinton after constructing it too high.

Permission was granted to convert the old Jester pub in Sneinton Dale into a mosque and education centre in July last year and building work is now under way.

However, planning officers at Nottingham City Council have said that the building is 1.3 metres higher than allowed on one side.

It is also 60cm too high on two other sides.

New plans, requesting permission to build the mosque up to 80cm taller than currently permitted had been due to go before a council planning meeting yesterday but were withdrawn.

Council officers had said the plans should be rejected and that any parts of the building which are too high should be pulled down.

Amended plans have now been submitted to the council by mosque owners Jamia Masjid Sultania, with the new application due to go before the council's development control committee in September.

Until then the developers have been told they must not continue building the mosque beyond the planning requirements.

Sneinton councillor David Mellen raised concerns over the impact it could have on neighbours.

Mr Mellen, who described the new mosque as an "asset" to the community, said it could create parking problems for neighbours.

"Because the mosque is potentially going to be bigger then the original plans then potentially more people will visit," he said.

"I think we need to get a sense of proportion – that there is a building that will add to the diversity of Sneinton but is not so dominant that people feel overlooked – and I'm confident the planning committee will achieve that balance."

Sneinton councillor Ken Williams has also raised concerns about the impact of the building on residents living in nearby Kentwood Road and the appearance of the minaret due to its height.

A committee at Jamia Masjid Sultania mosque in Thurgarton Street in Sneinton raised funds and received donations to carry out the development.

They plan to relocate to the new building when it is finished.

Black mob 'petrol bomb' police station 9-8-11

2011-08-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

History repeating - 30 years on from the Hyson Green riots, the station is attacked again ...

Back in '81, during several days of unrest, the police had minimal protective gear and even resorted to using dustbin lids as riot shields ...

The Police's 'partial' log of 1,000 reported incidents, from 6pm, for tuesday 9th August 2011 include:

1. Earlier this evening, a group of 20 people – some of whom were believed to be in their teens – appeared on the roof of Nottingham High School. A total of 10 people were arrested as a result.
[reportedly seen ripping the roof apart]

2. Damage to Blenheim pub in Bulwell by a group of people in their late teens/early 20s (20:30)

3. Youths attempt to damage an off licence in Radford (20:42)

4.Youths have set a tree on fire in Elm Avenue, St Ann’s (20:46)

5. Golden Fleece public house on Mansfield Road, Nottingham has been targeted by 10 youths causing damage (20:54)

6.Fire in Mansfield Road, Carrington (21:18)

7. Cars on fire in Woodborough Road, Mapperley (21:57).

8. Clarendon College in Sherwood Rise, Nottingham, has been fire bombed. Fire service attended and extinguished fire. Glass in door smashed and has caused considerable damage (22:00)

9. Reports of fire bombs thrown at cars (22:00)

10. Canning Circus police station was firebombed at approximately the same time by a mob of around 40 individuals. Eight arrests have been made in connection with this incident alone.

11. Damage to cars in North Sherwood Street, Nottingham (22:04)

12. Bin fire in Delta Court, North Sherwood Street, Nottingham (22:04)

13. 6 men are causing damage to property by smashing glasses and throwing items in Canal Street, Nottingham (22:22)

14. Meadows Police Station is being attacked by 15-20 males (23:10). A police vehicle is on fire outside

15. 30 youths have been seen throwing stones at St Ann’s police station (23:16)

16. House windows put through in Cinderhill Park, Bulwell

17. Car fires have been started in New Basford and Old Basford

18. Bargain Booze in Bestwood Park, Nottingham has been targeted by a group of teens throwing bricks and stones at shops. No damage reported

19. A group of people outside the Council House in Old Market Square are trying to pull barriers down

20. A group of 3 males seen throwing bricks at cars in Abbotts Drive, St Ann’s

21. A group of 50-60 youths in hoodies and balaclavas walking towards St Ann’s

22. A group of youths were seen trying to break into the Walter Raleigh Pub in Radford

23. Reports of a car and van on fire in Alfred Close, St Ann’s

24. Youths with baseball bats seen in Holden Street, Radford.

25. Youths damaged cars in Moorgate St, Radford.
The caller saw them walk over and damage the vehicles.

26. Around 50 youths seen trying to set fire to cars in Monfort Street, Radford

27. A lorry was set on fire in Sneinton Market

28. An off licence in Cyril Avenue, Aspley was attacked

[At the same time of this co-ordinated rioting, around 22,000 spectators attended a cup competition, in a local Derby, between Nottingham Forest v. Notts County Football Club without incident].

Multi-cult rioters in Nottingham destroy vehicles

2011-08-08T23:12:00.003-07:00

About 40 vehicles have been set on fire in a night of violence in Nottingham linked to the London riots.

Most of the incidents happened in the St Ann's area of the city but police foiled an attempt to break into the Victoria Centre in the city centre.

About 30 people were involved in the trouble which broke out at 23:30 BST and lasted about three hours.

A 16-year-old boy from St Ann's and a 20-year-old from Sneinton were arrested and remain in police custody.

More than 100 officers were deployed when the trouble began but no injuries were reported.

Windows were smashed and about 40 vehicles and a container of 200 tyres were set alight in St Ann's.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Scarrott, said: "What provoked a night of serious disorder is not clear, but I can only assume that a mindless minority may have somehow, and perversely, felt motivated by the appalling events in London in the last few days.

"Throughout the night officers have put themselves in harm's way to protect the people of this city and their property in what was a fast moving and dynamic situation.

"But let me be plain. What happened last night has no justification. It was mindless, thuggish criminality, nothing more, nothing less."

Unsolved: Murderer's car may have been seen in Notts.

2011-08-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

CCTV Of Gunman

Detectives investigating the murder of a 19-year-old man in Birmingham 3 years ago, think a car used in the attack may have been seen in the East Midlands.

A CCTV image of a gunman hanging out of the car before Stephon Davidson was shot, has been released by police in the West Midlands.

Officers think the silver Toyota Avensis, with the registration number FE03 JXW, was also driven in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire area.
Stephon Davidson was a passenger in a car on Ladywood Middleway in Birmingham on 5 August 2008 when he was shot in the neck.

He died in hospital almost a month later on 2 Sept.

Appeal

Detective Inspector Buck Rogers, who is leading the investigation into Stephon's death, said:

"Three years have passed but we remain committed to establishing who fired the shots which ended such a young life.

"The enquiry remains open and I would encourage anyone who knows anything about what happened to come forward.

"I would reassure you that we can offer the full range of special measures to support witnesses."

Victim: Stephon Davidson

Nottingham Gay Pride 2011

2011-07-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Would you like a sweetie? [Picture Is NOT from today's event]
OK, this a complete new one on me. I went to the Nottingham Pride festival 2011 (just as an observer – honest!)
My findings: very few asians present (considering this is right by the side of an expanding multi-cult area) – those that were present appeared to be bewildered at the very spectacle before them. There were a few blacks there that appeared to be, harmlessly, enjoying the fun. Although security were noticed trying to push back / eject someone who was probably stoned on something. On the perimeters of the site, there was the usual ''all-pro islam'' stall easily setup to peddle away their message of just ''how wondrous the prophet mohamad is'' but they just looked silly setting up stall where they did – right in the heart of one of those 'wonderfully 'diverse areas of a typical inner city.'' (These arabs resembled the type that held an anti-gay demo as the marches entered the parade site last year).
Yes, I saw several lesbians and gays kissing and cavorting together doing what they wanted to do. I witnessed 'males (?)' in sailor outfits drinking Fosters; the odd Freddie Mercury leather-clad individual with their bare asses exposed to all and sundry. Transvestites in peacock outfits and so on - the usual sort of thing. However, the whole event, in front of the 'rap style' stage acts, was a leisurely and pretty much innocent bit of fun, to be honest. There were some pro-labour/socialist worker tents in evidence – like the 'propaganda bar' that sold cans of Carlsberg at £2 a can (only when I got there, though). Conveniently, the bar person mis-heard what I ordered, so I had to suffer twice as much of the gnats pee than wanted :(
The other bar tent 'NG1' had a larger range of just lagers / alcapops, plus Strongbow cider at £3.50 per plastic pint glass.
The X factor tart (can't remember the nonenterty's name) on the platform performed fairly well in her skimpy black tight nylon stockings / revealing costume. She shouted out the club-dance tune lyrics to the music in a 'presentable' fashion. Her 'black' collegue did a good supportive job. She (the ex x-factor one) seemed to relish in the way she was 'vociferously' managing her own stage act.
Anyway, to summerize this state-sponsored queer event – it was a nice 'little get-together' of similar types. However, I still want to ask ... ''WTF local tax payers 'hard earned' money is being wasted on this sort of event? - I just cannot fathom! ''

Would I go again? (ANSWER: NO thanks – only if I had absolutely 'naff all' else to do.)
Also, I don't really think the advertising reflected the message it was trying to convey to the 'masses' about ''CELEBRATING DIVERSITY'' – so in my opinion, once again, the event was meaningless, in other words – like the pile of sand dumped on slab square, another costly Labour endorsed flop.

Three black men involved in failed Tesco armed robbery

2011-07-30T00:18:00.000-07:00

A reward of up to £10,000 is being offered for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for an attempted armed robbery in Eastwood last week.

A G4S courier was treated for a firearm injury to his leg following the incident outside the Tesco Express store in Nottingham Road at around 1.30pm on Friday 22 July.

The courier, who has now been discharged from hospital, had just finished depositing cash into an ATM at the store with a colleague when the attack took place.

The reward is being offered by G4S and Tesco.

It coincides with a renewed appeal from detectives for people who were at or around the scene of the incident as it took to place to contact Nottinghamshire Police on 0300 300 99 99.

Police have stated that they are looking for three suspects. They are said to be black males who were wearing dark clothing and face coverings, possibly scarves, to conceal their identities.

One of them discharged a firearm before they fled the scene empty handed in a stolen black Audi Quattro S3.

The car had the registration number KU09 ZDM and an ‘L’ plate on the back when it was found at Kingsway Gardens, in Watnall Road, Hucknall, just one hour after the incident.

It is thought that the car may have been in the possession of the offenders since being stolen from a house in Arnold some time between 11pm on Wednesday 20 July and 7.30am on Thursday 21 July.

Police also want to hear from members of the public who may have seen the car and those driving it in the 36 hours leading up to Friday’s robbery attempt.

Anyone who believes they know who carried out the robbery can telephone Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 to give that information.

Callers will be given a reference number which they can quote should convictions eventually be secured and a reward become payable.

Norway atrocity

2011-07-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

Breivik is a terrorist. His targeting of helpless schoolchildren makes him no better than the slaughterers at Beslan…. There is no connection between the legitimate, courageous, lawful work of notable anti-jihadists and such evil. No true Christian, conservative, or responsible critic of jihad would condone Breivik’s despicable, cowardly acts or deem them to be in accordance with our beliefs and values. Much less would we celebrate those acts, unlike our Islamist counterparts.
(c) Mark Tapson.

Stabbing near Yates bar, city centre.

2011-07-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

CCTV images released after man stabbed in city centre

Do you recognise any of these men?

DETECTIVES have released pictures of a number of men they would like to speak to about a stabbing near a city centre bar.

A 19-year-old man suffered a single stab wound to the leg during a confrontation between two groups, one of which had just left Yates's Wine Lodge at around 1.40am on Friday 15th, July.

The victim was treated at the Queen's Medical Centre and was discharged shortly afterwards.

Police say they are particularly keen to identify a black male seen wearing shorts and a baseball cap.

He was in a group of men who had been on the street outside the bar before they became involved in the confrontation and then moved off toward Angel Row.

Anyone who knows or recognises him, or witnessed the disturbance, is asked to contact DS John Armstrong at Central CID on 0300 300 99 99 extension 801 5234.

St Ann's murder victim named

2011-07-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

THE woman whose body was found in St Ann's has been named as Caroline Jane Coyne.

The 28-year-old was discovered in an alleyway between two houses in Thorneywood Mount at 8.45am on saturday 23rd July.

Police said she had been to a family party in Arnold on Friday evening and had left at about midnight.

They are appealing for information to find out how she ended up in St Ann's.

A postmortem revealed she had died from head injuries.

Detective chief inspector Tony Heydon, who is leading the inquiry, said: "It is important that we clearly establish what she did and where she went during the early hours of Saturday morning."

Miss Coyne was of mother of two sons - a seven-year-old and a five-month-old.

She was white and had shoulder-length auburn hair.

She was wearing blue denim jeans with a brown belt, a pinkt T-shirt with 'FCUK' printed in black on the front and a pair of pink and white trainers.

Officers yesterday spent several hours doing house-to-house inquiries and searching around the area, including in bins and gardens.

Anyone with information should call Notts Police's incident room on 0115 844 5020 or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.

'I was raped within a week of arriving at kids' home'

2011-07-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

FORMER residents of a city children’s home have spoken of the alleged systematic abuse they suffered at the hands of staff.

Beechwood Community House is being investigated by police over claims that residents were physically and sexually abused between 1975 and 2000.

Two former residents of the home have told the Post of the alleged abuse, which they say has overshadowed their lives.

A woman who lived there as a teenager tells the Post today that she was raped during her first week at the home. And a male former resident says he was taken into a dark cellar by a member of staff, who put on a Freddie Kruger mask and beat him.

Police are investigating claims by six former residents but a local solicitor is preparing a compensation claim on behalf of 17 people.

She was just 16 when she moved into Beechwood Community House in Mapperley.

Kate, not her real name, hoped her troubled life would be put back on track.

But the next 11 months shattered those hopes.

"I was raped in the first week I was there and physically assaulted by staff at different times," says Kate, now in her 40s.

As she stands looking at The Lindens, one of two residential units within Beechwood's grounds, Kate talks about the impact of her alleged ordeal.

"I worked as a prostitute and was a heroin addict for 15 years.

"We had our hearts and souls taken from us. At least 12 of the children I was there with have since overdosed or committed suicide."

Kate says she has been clean of heroin for more than a year and is turning her life around.

"I'm doing voluntary work with charities. I feel I'm one of the lucky ones. I've brought my children up really well. I've met some caring people along the way."

Despite getting her life back on track, Kate says she is determined to get justice for herself and all others alleged to have suffered during their time at Beechwood.

She is one of six people who have made allegations to Notts Police of systematic child abuse suffered at the home.

She added: "If anyone, whether it's a former child who lived there or a member of staff, has information that can help with the police inquiry they should contact them immediately."

Notts police have confirmed they are investigating allegations of systematic child abuse at Beechwood made by six individuals over the last four months.

They stressed that inquiries are at an early stage and no arrests have been made.

Seventeen ex-Beechwood children, including Kate, intend to pursue compensation actions against Notts County Council, the home's owners in the 1980s and early 1990s before its transfer to Nottingham City Council in 1998, on conclusion of the police investigation.

John, not his real name, is another ex-Beechwood child who has made allegations to police and is intending to lodge a civil compensation claim against the county council.

He says he was regularly taken to a cellar and beaten by a member of staff while living at Beechwood.

"He used to take me down to the cellar, put on a Freddie Kruger mask and chase me around the cellar.

"I would run into posts and pillars because it was pitch black. When he caught me he would punch and kick me.

"He did it hundreds of times. Because I was a bit boyish I did not say anything to anybody."

Beechwood was John's first experience of a children's home.

"I saw one lad tied by his ankles and hung upside down from a curtain pole. He was screaming. There was nothing I could do.

"I was on a minibus once. We were going swimming and someone shouted abuse at one staff member.

"He looked straight at me and then got up and stamped on me, on my chest. One member of staff had to pull him off."

John said because of his timid nature and skinny frame, he would also get bullied a lot by other children in the home.

It led to him repeatedly running away, only to be brought back by the police.

"Staff would give us a smack to teach us not to run off. One member of staff used to shout 'he's back' to the other boys in the home and then they would attack me. It made me more determined to keep running away.

"I went to another children's home after about eight months. They cared for me. It was completely, utterly different. I was there six to eight months then it closed down and I was sent back to Beechwood.

"When they [social services] told me I had to go back I was crying my eyes out. I was begging social workers not to send me back. It all started again the second time I was there.

"I started sniffing glue just to block out everything. I just used to block the day out."

After enduring a further year at Beechwood, John left and admits his life spiraled out of control.

"I got involved in car crime, breaking into shops and fighting.

"I went into young offenders institutions. I hated everybody, especially the authorities.

"I've spent around 20 years of my life in and out of jail.

"I went from smoking dope to taking amphetamines and then doing heroin.

"I've been clean of drugs for four years. I stopped because of what it was doing to my family."

John said he has given a statement about his time at Beechwood to Notts Police.

He is among the 17 former Beechwood children who are set to make a civil compensation claim against Notts County Council at the end of the police investigation based on the alleged suffering they endured at the home.

"This is not about money. It's about getting justice for those that suffered.

"Because of my history, I've always hated bullies and [certain Beechwood staff] have got away with this for so long.

"I still get upset talking about it now. I'd like to help others like me talk about what happened to them.

"This is not grassing. It's telling what you've been through."

The 17 ex-Beechwood children set to seek compensation for their alleged ordeals are being represented by Chris Ratcliffe, of Uppal Taylor Solicitors, in West Bridgford.

Mr Ratcliffe said: "This was not one rogue member of staff. It was systematic abuse.

"The claimants are making allegations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

"Had they received appropriate care in an appropriate environment, their lives could have been substantially different."

Anyone with information that could help the police inquiry into alleged child abuse at Beechwood Community House is asked to contact Notts Police on 0300 300 99 99.

A CONVICTED paedophile has been jailed for ten years after he raped a pupil at a Nottingham school where he had been given a job.

2011-07-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Mikhail Mohammed invited his 13-year-old victim back to his home, forced her on his bed and raped her in November last year.

The school, which cannot be identified for legal reasons, had checked his criminal record, but it came back clean – because he had changed his name.

Mohammed had a previous conviction for indecently assaulting another 13-year-old – which prohibited him from working with children – but lied about this when he applied for the job.

He was given a job as a lunchtime supervisor and bus escort.

The 45-year-old, of Waterloo Promenade, Radford, changed his name when he converted to Islam.

At Nottingham Crown Court yesterday, Mohammed was sentenced to ten years for the rape after being convicted at a previous trial. He had already admitted fraud – for not declaring his conviction – and received a consecutive sentence of nine months.

Detective Constable Daniel Bebbington, from the Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: "This has understandably had a profound and long-lasting effect on the victim, who is still very young.

"The attack has had a massive affect on her confidence and what he did to her will potentially stay with her for the rest of her life. The judge commented that Mohammed did not even have the courage to admit what he had done. Instead he chose to put this young girl through the trauma of a public trial."

New fears over suspected child abduction bids

2011-07-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

A POLICE team set up to investigate reports of a man approaching young girls has received nearly 60 calls in the past six weeks.

Operation Curriculum was launched in late May after two possible attempted abductions in Carlton and Bulwell, and another suspicious incident in Carlton.

All three involved a man approaching girls aged 11 to 14.

The investigating team has had a further 56 calls, some about the first three cases, but others about new reports.

One of these involved five-year-old Serina Clarke who was approached by a man while playing in Cross Street, Carlton, on the evening of June 3.

Her mother, Claire Dinsley, 27, said the man put his hand out to Serina and gestured her towards him.

"Luckily, she ran away," said Ms Dinsley, a mother-of-four. "She knows not to talk to strangers.

"It scarred her. She hasn't forgotten about it. She talks about it all the time, especially when we see somebody who looks like him."

The first three incidents involved a girl, 14, who had her arm grabbed in Foxhill Road, Carlton, on May 23; a 14-year-old who was told to "come here" and had her bag grabbed on Bulwell Forest golf course on May 23; and an 11-year-old who was told to get into a car in Standhill Road, Carlton, on May 24.

On each occasion the suspect was described as a black man and there were reports of a dark-coloured car.

Police initially said they believed the incidents might be linked but now believe there is no connection.

Police say it is likely most of the incidents have been innocent, but it is important parents remain vigilant.

Memorial to soldiers defaced days after unveiling

2011-07-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

FAMILIES of seven Mansfield servicemen killed in action are furious after a memorial was vandalised less than a week after being opened.

Trustees of the Mansfield's Heroes Memorial Fund, the charity who built the memorial, were shocked to hear how six names had been written on the memorial wall in Carr Bank Park.

Graham Parker, trustee, said: "It was utterly galling to hear about the vandalism. This was done by disrespectful idiots. We spent 20 months working on this."

The phrase "RIP" was written in red ink, as well as the names Mollie, Bailey, Anna, Holly, Meg and Mia.

The group raised more than £70,000 to build the memorial which was opened on June 25. It includes commemorative plaques to seven Mansfield soldiers killed since the Second World War, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.

PC David Miller-Eardley, beat manager for Ravensdale, described the incident as "despicable".

He said: "I would urge anyone who witnessed the vandalism or anyone who recognises the names written on the memorial to call the police."

A13-year-old girl was helping the police with their inquiries yesterday. No one has been arrested and police enquiries are continuing.

Anyone with information can contact Notts police on 0300 300 99 99 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Youth in CCTV images sought in Lenton robbery investigation

2011-06-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

Robbery suspect
CCTV images of a youth police wish to speak to about a robbery committed in Lenton in May have been issued to help identify him.

The robbery took place in Harlaxton Drive, close to its junction with Harrowby Road, at around 8.45pm on Friday 6 May.

A 23-year-old man was threatened by a youth, who was holding a knife and demanded money. The victim was forced to hand over his HTC Desire mobile phone and the youth then fled, running in the direction of Derby Road. The victim was uninjured.

The suspect is described as an Asian youth aged 16-17 years old, of slim build and around 5ft 8ins tall. He was clean shaven, had short black hair, big eyes, a saucer-shaped face and small, but prominent ears.

The youth had a Midlands accent and was wearing a white loose-fitting T-shirt with a black and white printed design, loose-fitting dark blue jeans, and a thick ‘bling’ style silver chain.

Officers investigating the robbery have issued CCTV images which show a youth in Trinity Square, in Nottingham city centre, the following night. Police believe he may have information about the incident, and would therefore like to identify him and speak to him about the matter.

Anyone who recognises him or knows anything about the robbery should call Nottinghamshire Police on 0300 300 99 99 and ask for PC Simon Jones in the Central Robbery Team.

Alternatively, they can telephone Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

SIX men were fined a total of £4,647.74 for driving taxis without insurance in October last year and January and February this year.

2011-06-25T03:12:00.000-07:00

Guilty pleas for the offences were entered at Nottingham Magistrates' Court last month by Zulfiqar Ali, 38, of Marchwood Close, Wollaton, who was fined £515; Mahboob Dildar, 64, of Newlyn Gardens, Aspley, who was fined £1031.58; Jaspal Singh Gill, 64, of Hollies Drive, Edwalton, who was fined £465; Mohammed Khalid Hyder, 46, of Middleton Boulevard, Wollaton, who was fined £800; Munawer Hussain, 27, of Grassington Road, Aspley, who was fined £265; and Modou Camara, 38, of Colwick Road, Sneinton.

Muhammad Ali Khan, 34, of Cullin Close, Rise Park, was found guilty and fined £924.

All men also had their driving licence endorsed with six penalty points. All fines included costs

Hit-and-run driver who 'left woman to die' gets a mere 5 months prison sentence!

2011-06-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

GUILTY: Rohan Bingham drove off to a party and bought crack cocaine after the accident last November.

Clare Carver is still in hospital and her family believe she owes her life to those who stopped to help after Bingham hit her in Derby Road, Lenton.

Her father, Robert Carver, said: "Clare is alive today only because there were people in the vicinity of the accident who did care, who saw a fellow human being in need and responded to that need.

"The contrast between their response and that of the driver – who simply left her to die (or to be struck again) in the road – could not be greater."

Bingham, 35, of Crossland Road, Bestwood, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report it, three charges of having tyres with insufficient tread on his Ford Focus car and possessing cocaine.

Judge John Stobart sentenced him at Nottingham Magistrates' Court yesterday to 150 days concurrently on the driving charges and 14 days consecutively for the drugs offence. He banned him from driving for four years.

He said: "Had she died you would be in the Crown Court facing a sentence of years rather than months."

The maximum sentence he could impose by law was six months, with a reduction for a guilty plea.

Clare, who was a student in Nottingham, cannot walk. It is thought she will need medical care for life.

Car thief, Zulquerian Ali, caught on camera

2011-06-05T03:52:00.000-07:00

A CAR thief has been jailed for 160 days after being caught on video breaking into a car in Notingham.
Zulquerian Ali fell foul of a police blitz after he broke into a ''capture car'' which police had planted in Russell Street, Radford, and fitted with video and audio devices.
Footage of Ali forcing the passenger door and smashing a window with his elbow has been posted on the internet by the force.
Ali, 30, of Alfreton Road, also stole items from the car.
Several cars have been rigged and placed strategically throughout the city as police crack down on this type of crime.

Motorcyclist, Maciej Gackowski, was doing stunts on dual carriageway before crash

2011-06-05T03:40:00.000-07:00

A MOTORCYCLIST who died after he did a wheelie and crashed was part of a group of bikers doing stunts on a dual carriageway.
Driver Caroline Dodds called police prior to the crash after seeing two riders doing wheelies she thought were ''dangerous and an accident that was definitely going to happen''.
Maciej Gackowski, 31, of Wilford Crescent East, the Meadows, died after he lost control of the bike and crashed into a tree on the A6097 Oxton bypass.
Police later saw film footage which showed a number of motorcyclists, including Mr Gackowski, doing stunts.
PC Peter Payton, from Notts Police's forensic collision investigation unit, said Mr Gackowski, who was Polish, was believed to have lost control of the bike when he put the front wheel down after doing a wheelie and it started wobbling. He said it would have been ''almost impossible to recover from''.
Stwphanie Haskey, assistant deputy coroner for Nottingham & Notts, recorded a verdict of misadventure.

'Police used baton' on sick man who died after being CS gassed

2011-06-05T03:33:00.000-07:00

A SERIOUSLY-ILL patient who died after being CS gassed and restrained may have also been struck with a baton by police, an inquest was told.

Healthcare assistant Jonathan Hill told a jury at Nottingham Coroners' Court that he saw three or four police officers drag Victor Massey into the corridor after CS gas had been used.

Mr Hill, who was working at King's Mill Hospital at the time, said he also heard the officers say they needed back-up and shields.

Police had been called to ward seven at the hospital, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, by security staff after they were unable to get father-of-three Mr Massey out of a shower room, where he had locked himself in. Mr Massey, of Palmerston Street, Westwood, had been admitted on August 2, 2006, with pancreatitis with complications and was in great pain. The inquest had previously heard that 20-30 per cent of sufferers were likely to die of the condition.

While he was at hospital, his wife of more than 30 years, Jane, continually raised with staff her concerns about him hallucinating, which she put down to the painkillers he was on, including tramadol and morphine. But she said nothing was done or recorded in his notes.

On August 7, he ran from his bed to a shower room, where he locked himself in. Hospital staff said he kept shouting "help, get the police" and they heard smashing, later found to involve a mirror.

Ward staff and security were unable to coax him out and security asked for the police, who used CS gas and restrained him. Mr Massey died shortly afterwards in the early hours of August 8.

Mr Hill said that when police arrived on the ward, they managed to open the door slightly – which by now had been unlocked – and show Mr Massey their ID cards in a bid to calm him down but this did not work.

Mr Hill went to check on other patients and when he returned, he saw CS gas being sprayed into the shower room.

He went to find fans to ventilate the corridor and when he got back, he could see Mr Massey's hand reaching round the shower room door "as if he was trying to pull himself up".

"I then saw a police baton out by one of the officers and I do believe, although I didn't see, that Mr Massey was struck with the police baton."

He said Mr Massey was then dragged out of the room by three or four officers and sat against the wall in handcuffs.

He heard the officers say Mr Massey had glass in his hand, though he never saw this.

Mr Hill added: "He couldn't hold his position."

He then noticed that Mr Massey had handcuffs on with his arms were behind his back.

"He kept falling from one side to the other down the wall. I also noticed as he slid down the walk there was a streak of blood from the back of his head."

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was a cardiac arrest following restraint, combined with acute pancreatitis and tramadol administration.

Burglar, Muhammad Ishfaq, locked up after he "waged war" against family

2011-06-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

The trial was held at Nottingham Crown Court

A BURGLAR "waged war on a family" by smashing windows at homes, a car and a business they once owned.

Muhammad Ishfaq took revenge after a member of the family slapped him around his face and forced him into a car when they thought he was planning a break-in.

Ishfaq, who has previous convictions for burglary, was spotted in a car allegedly looking at a property when the family member threatened him, slapping him in the face and forcing him in to their car, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

The incident happened on May 2 this year and later that day Ishfaq decided to get his own back.

Armed with a small scaffolding pole, he smashed ground-floor windows at their home in Sherwood Rise and the windows of their Mercedes.

A member of the family was cut in the face and knee by flying glass as a window in a front door was smashed.

Ishfaq then visited an Indian restaurant in Haydn Road, Sherwood, and threw bricks through the windows. He went to another property connected to the family in Basford and smashed the windows there with a scaffolding pole.

"Because the defendant was known to the family he was named and arrested," said prosecutor Samuel Skinner. "He said he was furious about the way he'd been treated."

Ishfaq, 24, of Laurie Avenue, Forest Fields, pleaded guilty to four charges of criminal damage and one of assault causing actual bodily harm.

Recorder Nirmal Shant QC sentenced him to eight months in prison, of which he will serve half.

The judge said Ishfaq's reaction to what had happened was "disproportionate and inappropriate" in that he decided to wage war on the family.

William Bennett told the court in mitigation that, after being slapped and forced into the car, Ishfaq should have gone to police.

He said his client was a habitual burglar with a criminal record.

"He went home and ruminated on it and he let it get on top of him and he went out and did this," said Mr Bennett.

"He comes to this court very, very ashamed."

Freed burglar was convicted of threatening head teacher

2011-06-04T01:43:00.000-07:00

Previous offence: Convicted burglar Wayne Bishop, who was freed early so he can look after his children, all under 13.

A BURGLAR released early from prison so he can look after his children has a previous conviction for threatening their head teacher.

Details of the incident in November 2008, which led to Wayne Bishop being given a community sentence and unpaid work, emerged over the weekend. He was prosecuted after threatening to smash up cars at a primary school, because his five-year-old son had a bracelet confiscated.

Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard at the time that Bishop blocked the drive of Portland School in Bilborough with his car and told the head: "I'm going to do you over."

He was there to discuss why his son was repeatedly wearing the bracelet against school rules.

Bishop pleaded guilty to using threatening words and behaviour and was given a one-year community sentence and 100 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to the head.

Bishop hit the headlines last week after having an eight-month sentence for burglary and dangerous driving suspended by appeal court judges so that he could look after his five children, all under 13. He was their sole carer five days a week.

His legal team argued that Bishop's imprisonment went against Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention.

Czech lorry driver's mistake led to death at traffic lights

2011-06-04T01:40:00.001-07:00

A BEREAVED husband was killed in a car accident just hours after his wife had died.

Alan Allsop, 85, suffered multiple injuries when his car was in collision with a lorry while he was on his way to the crematorium.

His wife had died earlier that day from natural causes.

Czech driver Dusan Loucky misunderstood the traffic lights at the junction of Cauldwell Road and the A611 Derby Road, Mansfield, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

He took the green filter for turning right only as giving him permission to go straight ahead, just as Mr Allsop was driving his car across.

Loucky had only been driving for 20 minutes, had not been drinking and was not using a mobile phone.

But his single error of judgement on February 8 this year cost Mr Allsop his life.

As soon as Loucky realised what had happened, he applied his brakes with "as much force as he could", said sentencing Judge Michael Stokes QC.

At court, Loucky admitted causing Mr Allsop's death by careless driving.

He was fined £1,500 and banned from driving for 12 months.

According to sentencing guidelines, the judge said the offence was in the lowest category. "The court is left with one option, which is to impose a fine and period of disqualification," he explained.

"The fact the court is imposing a fine is no reflection whatsoever on the death of Mr Allsop.

"His family are not present, understandably. They have suffered not only his death but the death of his wife on the same day; she of natural causes, he as a result of this accident.

"The fine I impose shouldn't be taken by anybody at all of any indication of the value of anyone's life. That would be absurd."

Loucky, 45, of Rosice, in the Czech Republic, had flown to Nottingham from his homeland for the hearing.

An interpreter translated proceedings to him in the dock after he admitted his guilt.

The court was told he will lose his job after he worked for a firm that specialised in haulage between the UK and the Czech Republic.

He earns £700-a-month to support himself and two children, aged 24 and 20.

Teachers visit Lebanon as part of bid to connect communities and improve teaching

2011-06-04T01:36:00.000-07:00

TEACHERS from Nottingham have gone to Lebanon as part of efforts to build international links and improve standards of teaching.

The trip to Beirut was part of an ongoing British Council project called Connecting Classrooms, which aims to build lasting partnerships between schools in the UK and others around the world.

The teachers now hope to take what they have learned from the Lebanese education system into classrooms in Nottingham.

Vicky Hoad, assistant head for foundation and key stage 1, from Hempshill Primary School, in Bulwell, was one of the five delegates who took part in the visit to 15 schools in Lebanon they have been working with for the past two years.

"It was an amazing experience," she said. "One of the main things that this helps to do is smash the stereotypes.

"People often think that Lebanon is war-torn and very depressed and it's not like that at all. Yes, there are tensions there, but for most people there they just carry on with their lives.

"When I get back I will be doing lot of work across the school about the Lebanese and how a society can be quite diverse and be difficult for the population, but how that adversity can be dealt with in a positive way."

As well as visiting Lebanon, delegates from 15 schools in Lebanon have also visited the UK schools involved in the trip, including Rise Park Primary and Nursery School, Middleton Primary and Nursery, and Nethergate School.

Windmill Primary, Warren Primary, Sycamore Primary, Bulwell Academy, Nottingham Emanuel School and Holgate ComSchool have also been involved in the Connecting Classrooms project.

Ms Hoad said that on the trip they could already see teaching methods from England being used in Lebanese classrooms.

And now she plans to instil some of their values in classrooms here.

"We were just knocked out by the commitment of all of the teachers no matter which sector they were teaching in and the children's attainments were very high," she said.

"Their systems of teaching are different but they achieve very high standards and have such a positive attitude.

"One of the things that struck me was how much these children look at their cultural identity because it's a very mixed country in terms of nationalities and religions.

"They are very proud of their culture and heritage and they learn all about it, including the national anthem and the history of their flag.

"It struck me that if you ask the average child here about where the Union Jack came from and the different verses of the national anthem they wouldn't know and perhaps we need to think about our own cultural identity and weave it into the curriculum more.

"There are other certain things that I would like to put in place a bit more, like the formal ways of teaching little things, like handwriting, which I think could be useful."

Ms Hoad was also struck by the children's attitude towards education. "Their attitudes are extremely positive and all the children want to do well," she said.

"In a country like that where they are not as economically strong to get a good living you need to get a good education, because if you don't get a good job there is no support system like there is here.

"It's very different – if you want a better life there's no safety net."

Driver admits careless driving after student seriously injured

2011-06-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

A 35-YEAR-OLD man has admitted careless driving after a hit-and-run which left a Nottingham student seriously injured.

Rohan Omar Bingham, of Crossland Road, Bestwood, drove off after the accident in Lenton, which threw 23-year-old Clare Carver ten feet into the air.

The University of Nottingham student was left with serious head injuries and Bingham failed to report the incident to police.

He admitted seven charges, including careless driving, at Nottingham Magistrates' Court.

He was driving a Ford Focus when he ran down Ms Carver as she crossed Derby Road at 11.30pm on November 20.

A bus driver told the court that he saw someone crossing the road and could not believe a white vehicle in front was not slowing or stopping.

The bus driver had been on route to Nottingham when the accident happened.

In his opinion it would have been obvious to someone paying attention there was a pedestrian in the road, the court heard.

The defendant, who was of previous good character, said afterwards he simply did not see the pedestrian. She suffered serious head injuries.

At court, Bingham also pleaded guilty to failing to stop after the accident, failing to report it, three charges of having tyres with insufficient tread on his Ford Focus car as well as a charge of possession of cocaine. All the offences were on November 20.

More background will be given at the next court hearing.

Careless driving does not carry a prison sentence and punishment is a fine, penalty points and a disqualification.

District Judge Tim Devas adjourned for a probation report to be prepared and granted Bingham unconditional bail.

He told him to return to court on June 16 at 9.45am.

Two jailed after loaded gun found at £100,000 heroin factory

2011-06-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Conrad Vaughan and Leon Wright

A DRUG dealer has been jailed after police found a £100,000 drug factory and a loaded gun at a flat in Sherwood.

Leon Wright, 30, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years after officers discovered 1.2kg of heroin and a semi-automatic pistol at the property in Edwards Lane.

The 9mm pistol and bullets belonged to Wright's friend Conrad Vaughan, 28, of Lenton, who also used the flat.

Wright was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply.

Vaughan was jailed for five years after he admitted possessing a prohibited weapon and ammunition.

A third man, also 28, was arrested at the time of the raid on December 2 but was found not guilty.

Detective Inspector Pete Parchment of Notts police said: "Our communities are undoubtedly safer and more secure with both these men behind bars and a substantial amount of drugs have been taken off the streets."

The court heard that Wright stored the drugs in the bedroom of his flat in a high-street carrier bag.

The black Ruger pistol was found in another bedroom.

Detective Constable Simon Cabourn, of the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: "Leon Wright had been operating a large-scale drugs factory in the flat for quite some time and would have generated a substantial income from this.

"We believe he brought a large amount of heroin into the area and then mixed it with other ingredients until it was a lower strength before selling it on the streets on Notts."

Mr Parchment added: "The Serious and Organised Crime Unit will continue to target those involved in the supply and distribution of drugs into our communities.

"Two men have been jailed for more than 12 years between them and this demonstrates that those involved in this type of criminality will be pursued and convicted by Notts Police.

"Our message is simple – drugs and organised crime will not be tolerated in Notts."

Labour housing scandal: Did sports club members jump the housing queue?

2011-06-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

AN investigation by the local press has revealed that some members of a city sports club may have received preferential treatment in the allocation of council houses.

Certain members of the club had links with the housing service at Nottingham City Council.

Using leaked housing records and requests under the Freedom of Information Act, eight players and their families , have been identified, who received offers for a total of 18 properties during two-and-a-half years from late 2002 to 2005.

The Audit Commission later found widespread abuse of housing allocations in Nottingham during this time.

The Post launched its own investigation after it emerged that Notts Police had decided not to investigate the misallocation of properties, and the council's inquiries resulted in only one written warning being issued.

Documents obtained reveal:

Some housing managers and officers, who were members of the sports club, were directly involved in the allocation of properties to other club members and their families.

Housing staff pushed club members up the queue for a home when they were on the "low need" list.

Offers for 15 homes made to club members manually bypassed the normal points system for allocating houses. Ten homes were let in the cases we examined.

Three homes were bought at a discount under the right-to-buy scheme. Two have since been rented out.

Today's revelations are the first in a series of special reports on the misallocation of city council houses.

Burglar has sentence overturned so he can 'look after his children'

2011-05-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

A CLIFTON burglar has had his sentence overturned after convincing judges his children would suffer as much as him if he remained in jail.

Wayne Bishop, 33, was serving an eight-month sentence, imposed at the city's crown court in April after he admitted burglary and dangerous driving.

But he is the sole carer of his five children – aged five to 13 – for five nights a week and said it was not in their "best interests" that he stay in prison.

His QC, Ian Wise, told Mr Justice Maddison and Mr Justice Sweeney at the Court of Appeal that the Nottingham judge had not properly taken into account the effect on the children.

Since his incarceration, they have been cared for by his sister during the week and his ex-partner at weekends.

The sister is a single parent with seven children to look after already and she lives seven miles from the schools which her nieces and nephews attend.

Pointing to Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention – which guarantees respect for family life – Mr Wise said judges should have the wellbeing of children at the forefront of their minds when their sole carer might be sent to prison.

"We submit that the judge erred in law in failing to have proper or any regard to the children that he was the sole carer for," he told the appeal judges. "The interests of the children should be central to the decision making process where children are affected by a decision."

Mr Justice Sweeney questioned whether it had been in the children's best interests for their father to be out committing burglary and asked who had been looking after them at the time.

But the judges together concluded that not enough attention had been paid to the effect that Bishop's incarceration might have on his children.

Mr Justice Maddison said: "It is important that criminals should not think that children can provide some sort of licence to commit criminal offences with impunity.

"All of that said, however, we have to be aware of the highly unsatisfactory and difficult situation faced by the children and those now doing their best to look after them."

His sentence has now been suspended for two years.

Bishop, of Southchurch Drive, Clifton, was caught driving away from the scene of a burglary at Mansfield Rugby Club in the early hours of September 2 last year.

He and three other men raided the premises, taking only some chocolate, before he and one of his accomplices drove off in a transit van.

Bishop clipped a police vehicle and drove through red lights before he eventually drove up a dead-end street and was arrested.

Police Warning: Girls Approached

2011-05-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

Police are telling parents and schools to be extra vigilant after three reports of girls being approached by a man in Nottingham over the last two days.

It's happened twice in Carlton and once in Bulwell.

'Come Here'

On Monday, a man asked a 14-year-old girl to get into his car on Foxhill Road, Carlton between 2.30pm and 5pm.

The man grabbed the teenager's arm but she broke free and ran away.

Police think that incident could also be linked to one at Bulwell golf course, again on Monday, at about 3.40pm.

The man grabbed the bag of a 14-year-old girl and told her to 'Come here', she also wrestled free and ran away.

Yesterday morning in Standhill Road, Carlton at around 8.30am, a man called over to an 11-year-old and asked her to get into his car. She ran away and told her school.

In every report the man was described as black, aged 20-40, wearing dark clothing and in a dark-coloured car.

House to House Enquiries

Police have been in touch with schools to make them aware of the reports.

Officers have been checking CCTV and will be making house to house enquiries.

High visibility patrols are also being organised around Carlton and Bulwell.

None of the girls were hurt.

Labour controlled Council defends itself over £3.5m credit card spending as row continues

2011-05-23T12:31:00.001-07:00

NOTTINGHAM City Council has defended itself after the Government revealed details of how much officials had spent on publicly-funded credit cards.

The authority spent £3.5 million using procurement cards – credit cards handed out by the Government which are paid for by public money – in the financial year 2009-10.

This included more than £7,000 at a wine shop, almost £1,000 on flights, £80 at Alton Towers and £69 at Dominos Pizza.

The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles, after the city council refused to publish details of all spending over £500.

The FOI also showed that officials had used the cards to spend £63 on gift websites and £50 at a pub.

Deputy leader of the council, Councillor Graham Chapman, said: "Surely the Government have more serious things to think about than whether somebody had pizza in Nottingham?

"The Government is playing silly games. If they were concerned about our spending, they should have written to us in a formal way as ministers of state, which is what a responsible Government would have done.

"We could have then given them a proper explanation and if they were still concerned, then they could have gone to the media.

"This is not serious politics at a time when there are some very serious things happening."

He added: "Most of the figures are below £100 and we are going to be checking on each of the individual items on Monday. But with the wine, for example, it is likely that it was bought for an event at the Council House – where we hold weddings and events for local businesses as a way of making money."

Mr Pickles is now putting in FOI requests for the details of other councils' procurement card expenditure and local government minister Grant Shapps wants all of the card statements published online.

1. Graham Champman
(Labour: local council Deputy leader)

2.Eric Pickles
(Conservative: Communities & Local Gov.sec.)