Jail for pair at the helm of a car crime racket

TWO men who unknowingly sold over A 100,000 worth of stolen cars to the police during a six month sting operation called Operation Red Anvil have been jailed. Dean Cronin, 41, and Daniel Gordon, 28, both from Cardiff, were operating at the top of a criminal network and were behind a campaign which saw luxury cars being stolen from driveways across south Wales.

James Hugh Gascoyne. The photo which his daughter sent to Tyrrells

His daughter, Lynda Clifton, had taken a photo of her dad enjoying a cup of tea and a packet of Tyrrells crisps just after his 100th birthday and had sent it to Tyrrells, based near Leominster . Members of staff then visited Mr Gascoyne at Christmas and gave him a big packet with lots of smaller packets inside of the different flavours of crisps.

Duke of Cambridge to visit Gwent next week

THE Duke of Cambridge will launch the Skill Force Prince William Award at Llanfoist Fawr Primary School, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, next Wednesday, March 1. Skill Force works with education partners across the UK to help children and young people aged 5-19 to develop self-confidence, resilience and character. The Duke’s visit to Gwent comes a week after the Duchess of Cambridge visited two projects helping children in Gwent as part of her first trip to see the work they do since becoming their patron.

Tui accused of ‘gross neglect’ in Tunisia beach massacre

Inquest into the deaths of the Britons at the Royal Courts of Justice heard that ‘part of the attack or most of it could have been prevented’ Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith was told to consider a ‘neglect’ conclusion, arguing that there had been ‘gross neglect’ on the part of the TUI travel company The deaths of 30 Britons in the Tunisia terrorist attack could have been prevented had there not been ‘gross neglect’ by the travel companies they depended upon, an inquest has been told. Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse on June 26 2015, leaving 38 people dead.

$65 flights to Europe offered from Conn, NY

If you act quickly, you can get one of Norwegian Air’s heavily discounted $65 flights to Europe to promote its new regular trans-Atlantic service. The discounted flights that went on sale Thursday are from such airports as Bradley International in Windsor Locks and Newburgh-Stewart in New York.

Historic former Blackburn church to host major beer festival

More than 30 ales will be on offer at Holy Trinity Church in Mount Pleasant, Blackburn, on April 22 and 23. The Grade II-listed gothic structure, built between 1837 and 1846, has been empty for more than 30 years since it closed as a place of worship in 1981. The festival, with free entrance, is the latest in a series of events designed bring life back to the church.

Contract awarded to provide advanced connectivity

Boston Networks has been awarded a contract to design, supply and install a new Wireless Wide Area Network to provide advanced connectivity to towns and rural schools across the Angus Council area. The upgrade will include the provision of wireless connectivity to a number of schools to deliver the higher bandwidth required to facilitate the delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence programme.

‘Wrong on every level’: Councils urge Government to give up plans for …

Pressure is mounting on the Government after a “damning” Parliamentary report shows it has not proved the Heathrow expansion can achieve legal environmental limits. The report, issued on Thursday, February 23, by the cross party Environmental Audit Committee, is a follow-up of its first report and states it has seen “little evidence so far of the ‘step change’ in the Government’s approach to environmental mitigation”, which the committee had originally called for.

Police dog with security duties for Royal Family at Balmoral Estate retires

After nine years of loyal service, Police Dog Patch, a regular attendee in Royal Deeside with security duties for members of the Royal Family, has recently retired from Police Scotland. Over her nine year career Patch worked across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom and was even involved in deployments at the London 2102 Olympic Games and the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Top students more likely to smoke pot, drink alcohol, study says

British teens with the highest test scores are less likely to smoke cigarettes yet more likely to drink alcohol and smoke pot compared with teens with lower scores, according to a study published Wednesday in the British Medical Journal Open. Although some people believe smart students simply have a tendency to experiment, James Williams and Gareth Hagger-Johnson, co-authors of the new study, say these patterns of substance use may continue into adulthood.

Ghosn outlines Brexit, NAFTA uncertainties facing Renault-Nissan

Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn acknowledged that uncertainties surrounding Britain’s exit from the European Union and a possible renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement under President Donald Trump posed “risks” for Renault and its Japanese partner, Nissan, in 2017. The Nissan plant in Sunderland, England, became a political flash point last year ahead of the Brexit referendum after Ghosn warned that the company might halt investment there if a “leave” vote prevailed.

Ghosn outlines Brexit, NAFTA uncertainties facing Renault-Nissan

Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn acknowledged that uncertainties surrounding Britain’s exit from the European Union and a possible renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement under President Donald Trump posed “risks” for Renault and its Japanese partner, Nissan, in 2017. The Nissan plant in Sunderland, England, became a political flash point last year ahead of the Brexit referendum after Ghosn warned that the company might halt investment there if a “leave” vote prevailed.

Brixham to save red phone boxes earmarked for removal 1

The telephone kiosks in Rea Barn Road, Great Rea Road and North Boundary Road are all in poor condition, with the latter missing a door, but the council is planning to refurbish them and hand two of them to community groups. A report presented to the council at its February meeting stated that BT had provided information to prove that the kiosks were no longer being used by the community and BT was proposing to sell them off.

Bot out, Ukip tells Putin, as pro-Russia tweeters attack Paul Nuttall

Ukip has told Vladimir Putin to keep out of the Stoke by-election after typically pro-Russian Twitter accounts turned on party leader Paul Nuttall. The social media profiles have generally posted positive messages about the Kremlin’s bloody intervention in Syria while praising the Russian president, who has been accused of interfering in the US election.

Travel latest: One lane closed and queueing traffic on M5 due to accident

So, if you’re looking for a stress free journey and want to avoid the rush hour hot-spots – why not use our traffic update? A quick glance around the Black Country and North Worcestershire suggests the roads are looking okay in general, apart from the below: One lane closed and queueing traffic due to accident on M5 Southbound at J5 A38 , congestion on M5 to J4a M42. In the roadworks area.

a Patients urged to have say on healthcare in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire

Doctors are calling on patients and local people in northern Staffordshire to sign up to a scheme to ensure they have a voice in the way healthcare services are delivered in the area. Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Groups – the organisations responsible for buying healthcare services in the area – launched the “Our NHS” membership scheme as part of their continued commitment to putting patients at the front line of decisions about local care.

Weymouth Beach named best in UK by travellers

The three-mile long stretch of sand was also ranked number nine across the whole of Europe, travel site TripAdvisor said. We’re proud to announce #Weymouth Beach is number 1 in @TripAdvisorUK Travellers’ Choice Awards for Beaches ???? pic.twitter.com/2cz1oxua4b It was praised for offering traditional seaside attractions such as Punch and Judy and donkey rides, as well as live music and free summer firework displays.

Suffolk Armed Forces Weekend at Felixstowe will also mark resort’s unique place in English history

Launch of Suffolk Armed Forces Weekend at Felixstowe – members of the team orgainsing the event gathered on the seafront after a meeting to look at the latest programme for the event being staged on June 24-25 Armed Forces Weekend at Felixstowe will be a chance for people to show their appreciation for the forces and also to mark the 350th anniversary of the last attempted invasion of England’s shores by a foreign force. It had been planned for the event – costing around A 50,000 to stage – to be one day, but now it has been expanded into a weekend, June 24-25, at various seafront venues.

Suffolk Armed Forces Weekend at Felixstowe will also mark resort’s unique place in English history

Launch of Suffolk Armed Forces Weekend at Felixstowe – members of the team orgainsing the event gathered on the seafront after a meeting to look at the latest programme for the event being staged on June 24-25 Armed Forces Weekend at Felixstowe will be a chance for people to show their appreciation for the forces and also to mark the 350th anniversary of the last attempted invasion of England’s shores by a foreign force. It had been planned for the event – costing around A 50,000 to stage – to be one day, but now it has been expanded into a weekend, June 24-25, at various seafront venues.