Birmingham Post

Us Police Quiz Briton in London Over Killings

A British man whose wife and baby were found murdered in a bed in their Massachusetts home was being questioned by United States detectives in London last night, as it emerged that police only found the bodies on a second visit to the house. Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said officers in Hopkinton went to the house on Saturday night after being contacted by Rachel Entwistle's mother, who had not been able to reach her daughter all day and had heard that the house appeared empty.

Who Is the Real Brum Champion?

A personal feud risks robbing Birmingham of its best possible advocate in the fight to redevelop New Street Station, it was claimed last night. Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council, stands accused of vetoing the appointment of Sir Digby Jones, director general of the CBI and a former Birmingham lawyer, as an unpaid "champion" of the crucial pounds 350 million project after a public spat.

Mayor's Pet Beheaded in Relief Road Row

A pet duck belonging to the mayor of Worcester has been beheaded in what he believes is a deliberate attack because of his views on a controversial relief road. Coun Aubrey Tarbuck had received threatening letters weeks before his one-eyed drake Henry went missing on New Year's Eve.

Midland: News Digest - Police Hold Five

Five people have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 23- year-old man in Birmingham. Three men and two women were detained in connection with a stabbing in Oakwood Road, Sparkhill, on Thursday.

Midland: News Digest - School Raids

Police in Warwickshire are appealing for any information about a series of school burglaries. The burglaries at Bilton High School and Boughton Leigh Junior School and an attempted break at Newbold Riverside Primary, all in Rugby, were discovered yesterday morning.

Midland: News Digest - 'Scrooge' Hunted

Police have made a new appeal for information about an offender they are labelling 'Scrooge' following an assault that took place on Christmas Day. The victim was walking his two dogs in Eagle Street park, Leamington Spa on Christmas morning when he was involved with an altercation with a man on a quad bike, who spat at him and punched him several times to the face and body.

Midland: News Digest - Road Delays

Solihull motorists are being warned of delays due to resurfacing works taking place on a busy road. Work is due to start on the B425 Lode Lane on February 13 and should be completed within four days. The affected area is from Grove Road to Lighthorne Road.

Midland: 'What Do You Have to Do to Get Struck Off?'

The parents of children misdiagnosed with epilepsy by a Midlands doctor have criticised the GMC for allowing him to continue to practice. Dr Andrew Holton, who worked at the Leicester Royal Infirmary in the 1990s and treated 20 patients at outreach clinics at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry, was suspended by Leicestershire NHS Trust in May 2001.

Midland: First Vocational Health Facility Opens in Brum

Pupils Tyler Powell (left) and Sophie Cohen under the supervision of Andy Yorke of West Midlands Ambulance Service in the mock-up of an ambulance at the HealthTec Centre at Harborne Hill School, Birmingham The UK's first vocational health and educational facility opened yesterday at a school in Birmingham.

Midland: Farm Takes Village Plan Fight to High Court

A strawberry farm, which was fined for trying to create a new village without planning permission, is appealing against an order to pull down part of the development. S&A Property Ltd which runs Brierley Court Farm near Leominster, Herefordshire, has lodged two appeals in the High Court in an attempt to save a utility building, sewerage works and a road network which serves more than 1,000 seasonal fruit pickers.

Midland: Police Find Pounds 90,000 Drugs in Raid

Police have seized cannabis with a street value of pounds 90,000 after executing a search warrant at a house in Market Drayton. Inspector Neil Spencer, who is in charge of policing in North Shropshire, confirmed that two firearms had also been recovered during the operation.

Midland: Brum's Churches Are Crumbling

Some of Birmingham's oldest churches are in desperate need of Government support with congregations unable to fund repairs, the Archdeacon of Birmingham has warned. The venerable Haywood Osborne said that while the number of parishioners were increasing across the diocese, many of its 186 churches needed extra funding.

Midland: King Edward

Midland: Man Suspected of Murdering His Wife

A 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife after they both disappeared from their home. Kafil Ahmed, from Darlas-ton, West Midlands, was detained in Norwich on Thursday, six days after he and his wife, Laily Begum, were reported missing by relatives.

Midland: News Digest - Memorial Fund

A family have raised pounds 30,000 for a city hospital in memory of their son who was killed more than a year ago. Stephen Smith, aged 28, of Low Hill, Wolverhamp-ton, was stabbed in the heart by a pickpocket outside a bar in Lisbon during Euro 2004.

Midland: News Digest - Failed Ram Raid

Midland: News Digest - Wheelchair Crash

Midland: News Digest - Collision Injuries

Midland: News Digest - Jury Retires

A jury yesterday retired to consider whether a dentist committed a string of sex attacks on a teenage girl in the late 1980s and 1990s. Nigel Whitling (68) is on trial at Birmingham Crown Court for allegedly groping and fondling the teenager, who is now in her late 20s.

Midland: Priest Accused of Raping Child Is Forced to Quit As School Governor

A parish priest arrested on suspicion of raping a nine-year-old child has been forced to quit as chair of governors at a Birmingham school. Honorary Canon Father John Herv was arrested earlier this month amid allegations of rape and gross indecency with a person under 16.