Birmingham Post

Vintage Jag Conman Jailed for Pounds 2m Scam

A businessman who conned investors out of more than pounds 2 million to fund his passion for vintage Jaguar cars was jailed for four years yesterday. Michael Summers (53) lured unsuspecting clients with the promise of incredible rates of return of up to 60 per cent on their initial investments.

Powertrain Bosses 'in Denial' Says Hse

Bosses at a Birmingham car factory which witnessed the world's largest outbreak of occupational asthma were "in denial" that workers could face health risks, the Health and Safety Executive said yesterday. It was only after the HSE launched an investigation that managers at Powertrain in Longbridge brought working conditions in line with regulations, according to the inspectorate.

Worker Ill with Bird Flu

Lib Dems Rally Round Candidate

Mohammed Khan, the Birmingham Liberal Democrat election candidate arrested on suspicion of postal vote fraud, will not be convicted of an offence, senior party officials insisted last night. John Hemming, chairman of the city council Lib Dem group and MP for Yardley, said on the basis of evidence he had seen he did not expect Mr Khan, the party's candidate in Bordesley Green, to be found guilty of vote rigging.

Eyes Right for Staffords for Last Time

Hundreds of soldiers from the Staffordshire Regiment perform their last changing of the colours ceremony yesterday in front of their Colonel-in-Chief, the Duke of York. Next year the regiment merges with others across the region to form the new Mercian Regiment.

'I Thought I Was Going to Be Killed'

A businessman broke down in tears yesterday as he described in court how he was tortured and held hostage by a gang that included a serving police officer. It is alleged that Pc Colin Hester (36), of West Midlands Police, collected ransom money from Thomas Scragg's business partner outside the Coventry police station where he was based.

News Digest : Officer in Court

An award-winning police officer who admitted drink driving while thought to be celebrating his promotion to the helicopter squad has denied various other motoring offences during the same incident. Pc Ian Fielding, from West Mercia Police, denied failing to stop for police, failing to report an accident and taking a vehicle without the owner's consent when he appeared at Shrewsbury Magistrates' Court.

News Digest: Sex Charge

A 47-year-old serving police officer has been charged with sexual assault. Colin Jones, a sergeant serving in Bedworth, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault on a woman which are alleged to have happened in Nuneaton between 1999 and 2003.

News Digest : Football Thugs

Six men, including one from Coventry, appeared in court yesterday accused of football hooliganism after a Liverpool-Manchester United FA Cup match. They were charged with violent disorder following the fifth round clash at Anfield on February 18.

Darwin's Theory of Evolution Is a National Icon

The Origin of the Species, written by Shrewsburyborn Charles Darwin, has been named among 21 new Icons of England. The pivotal 19th century work, which posed the theory of evolution for the first time, is part of the second wave of cultural treasures being compiled into an online collection aiming to provide a snapshot of real England.

Powertrain 'Did Not React Fast Enough' to Asthma Risk

Health and safety chiefs yesterday refused to condemn bosses at a Birmingham company which saw the world's biggest outbreak of occupational asthma. However, questions were raised over the conduct of management at Longbridgebased Powertrain when the scale of the outbreak became known in 2003.

Majority of Workers Have the Disease

The majority of employees at the Powertrain plant now suffer from Alveolitus or 'occupational asthma', an allergic inflammation of the lung caused by prolonged exposure to dust . The subsequent scarring decreases lung function and the damage to the lungs is permanent. Scar tissue stops the lung from doing its job by preventing it from taking oxygen from air and passing it into the blood.

Some Days I Wake Up Unable to Move ; Neil Connor Spoke to a Former Powertrain Worker Whose Life Was Shattered When He Contracted Two Crippling Lung Diseases, Occupational Asthma and Extrinsic Allergic Alveolitis

For most men, the smell of a woman's perfume or the inside of a pub are either alluring or welcoming. But for Chris Eaton, his first instinct on coming into contact with these two scents is to make himself scarce.

Solicitor General to Appeal in Abigail Case

An 18-month jail sentence handed to a hit-and-run driver who killed a medical student is being referred to the Court of Appeal. The Solicitor General Mike O'Brien said he had reviewed the case of Jaswinder Singh (45) who killed Abigail Craen in Birmingham last year and decided the sentence was unduly lenient.

Teen Admits Supermaket Toilet Rape

A 15-year-old boy has admitted raping an 11-year-old girl in the toilets of a busy Warwickshire supermarket. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to attacking the girl at a Sainsbury's store in Leamington Spa last month.

Celebrities Backing City Charity's Re-Launch

Celebrities ranging from Cher to Sir Digby Jones are standing shoulder to shoulder next week to support the re-launch of Birmingham cancer charity Get A-Head. The charity, which raises funds to help people with head and neck cancers, will be officially re-launched at the city's Council House on Friday May 5.

Post Website Is Changing

The Birmingham Post online service is changing as part of a continuing programme of improvements to the website. From Monday, the Post's web address will be www.birminghampost.net, replacing the current icbirmingham / p o s t address.

Miliband Full of the Joys of Us in the Spring Time ; Voters Will Go to the Local Election Polls Next Week As Ministers Are Planning a Revolution in Local Government, Writes Political Editor Jonathan Walker in Monday's Post: Were Birmingham Promises Kept or Broken?

David Miliband has been on an exciting trip to the United States and, like a neighbour keen to show off their holiday snaps, he wants to share his experiences with the rest of us. Being a high-flying young politician, he has set up a blog - a diary posted on the Internet - to get his message across.

Osborne Visits City's Front Line

Conservative shadow Chancellor George Osborne visited Birmingham yesterday but, significantly, did not spend time touring the party's Sutton Coldfield and Edgbaston heartlands. Mr Osborne instead made straight for the new front line of the city's political divide - Labour-held Erdington.

By-Election Win a Bright Point in a Bad Week

As the Government struggled in one of its worst weeks since it came to power, Labour received a surprise by-election boost just a week before the main council contests. Its candidate Anthony Howard gained from Liberal Democrats at Mablethorpe East in Lincolnshire's East Lindsey District.