Birmingham Post

Man Dies in Family Blaze Tragedy

A disabled man was killed and his mother and younger brother were fighting for their lives in hospital after a blaze ripped through the family home yesterday. The dead man, named by neighbours as 35 year-old Karl Salloway, died after a fire broke out following New Year celebrations at the semidetached in Birmingham where he lived with his parents, Yvonne and Dennis.

Jasper's Daughter in Chistmas Health Scare

The actress daughter of Birmingham comic Jasper Carrott is recovering after being rushed to hospital while visiting her parents on Christmas Day. Lucy Davis, star of the hit TV comedy The Office, was treated at the renal unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston after collapsing at the family home in Knowle, near Solihull.

Chamber Culture Lessons After Halal Mix-Up

Staff at the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce are to be given "cultural awareness" lessons after Muslim guests were served non- halal meat at a dinner it organised. The measure was decided during an emergency meeting of the Chamber following the mistake which occurred at the annual Institute of Asian Businesses dinner.

Inside Today: Speed Lottery

Inside Today: Bishop's Attack

Inside Today: Brutal Churchill

Inside Today: Disaster Ahead

Inside Today: Dana Blow

Midland: Big Freeze Keeps the Shoppers at Home

Fears that consumers deserted the high street as the country was hit by freezing weather were confirmed by industry figures from a West Midlands retail data company yesterday. There was a more than 12 per cent drop in the number of people hitting the shops during the week after Christmas compared with the comparable period of 2004, Solihull based retail monitor Foot-Fall said.

Midland: Fireworks Light Up City for New Year Welcome

There might not have been a city-organised party or concert but Birmingham ushered in the New Year in spectacular fashion with a thundering fireworks display. The city council decided to scrap the traditional New Year's Eve celebrations, which would have cost pounds 170,000, and opted instead to spend the money on a pre-Christmas festive programme and last night's midnight firework display which cost pounds 35,000.

Midland: Campaigners Want End to Speeding Fine Lottery

Drivers caught by speed cameras in Birmingham are nearly half as likely to be fined than those in neighbouring Midland counties, Government figures have revealed. Motoring campaigners are calling for an end to the "speed camera lottery" across the UK after the financial accounts of 35 camera safety partnerships, published on the Department for Transport (DfT) website, show speeding drivers are far more likely to be prosecuted in some areas than others.

Midland: Rail Strike Hits New Year's Day Passengers

Passengers were hit with strike action yesterday by hundreds of conductors at a Birmingham-based train operator, cutting New Year's Day services by almost half. About 300 members of the RMT union took part in the 24-hour walkout at Virgin Cross Country - which operates services across the country from its Birmingham New Street hub - over Sunday pay rates.

Midland: Cutting the Jams with Satellite Technology

The Midland branch of a leading engineering consultancy firm is using new satellite technology to gather information to help to cut traffic congestion across Britain. Mott MacDonald's Birmingham office is set to deliver information on traffic flows that will help local authorities meet strict new congestion targets.

Midland: Crash Couple Are Named

Two people from Staffordshire who were killed in a highspeed car accident in northern France have been named by the Foreign Office. Clive Potts, aged 36, and Michelle Dalgarno, aged 39, were returning from Disneyland Paris when their Audi A8 overturned in wintry conditions on the A26 motorway near Calais.

Midland: Hippodrome Aims to Reduce Its Energy Bills by Pounds 17,500 a Year

A Birmingham theatre will reduce its energy bills by pounds 17,500 a year after transforming its heating and ventilation systems. The Hippodrome (right) was spending pounds 35,000 in energy bills but hopes to reduce that by about a half after receiving a grant from the Carbon Trust to curb energy use.

Midland: Hanging Tragedy of Mother Is Revealed

A young mother found dead at her home two days before Christmas had been hanged. Two agents from a shopping savers' club found 24 year-old Karen Russon at the foot of a ladder under the loft hatch at her terraced home in Turk's Head Way, West Bromwich, at about 4pm on Friday, December 23, an inquest heard.

Midland: Car Woman Fights for Life

A woman was fighting for her life last night after being thrown from a car in a road accident. The crash happened at 11.20am yesterday when the driver lost control of the vehicle travelling southbound on the A38 near Bassetts Pole, Staffordshire.

Midland: Bishop Lays Down Law to 'Nazis'

The Bishop of Lichfield used his New Year message to launch a blistering attack on governments which allowed "extraordinary rendition" of terror suspects and exploited the poor. Criticising Western governments for "putting themselves outside the law" in the war on terrorism, the Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill claimed that "dangerous though al Qaida might be", such practices carried the risk of "becoming the thing we hate".

Midland: Hands-On Nurses Go Doctor-Free

A second urgent care centre, designed to ease pressure on A&E departments, opens in north Birmingham tomorrow. The Warren Farm Health Centre, in Kingstanding, and run by the North Birmingham Primary Care Trust, will have six specially- trained nurse practitioners and give patients treatment for a wide range of minor ailments and injuries.

Midland: Useless Drugs Cost City Pounds 2m

Patients in Coventry could help their local NHS save up to pounds 2 million a year if they took medicines as prescribed rather than stockpiling drugs they no longer use or need. Coventry Teaching Primary Care Trust fears that throughout the year some patients order extra medicines as a "stand-by" but are not taken.