Birmingham Post

Salvation Army School to Help Excluded Pupils

The Salvation Army has set up a school in Birmingham for children excluded from mainstream education as part of its mission to help those "who have been rejected" from society. The Christian evangelical charity - which is more associated with helping the homeless and elderly - claims the pioneering centre was the first of its kind and in keeping with the 130-year-old organisation's central ethos.

Gourmet Town Home to No-Frills Discount Store

It may be a gastronomic heartland of the Midlands but even the Shropshire market town of Ludlow has been feeling the effects of the credit crunch. So little surprise that German-owned discount food retailer Aldi has chosen it as the location for one of three new stores it is to open in the Midlands this year.

Man Charged with Murder of Villa Fan ; Crime

A man has been charged with the murder of an Aston Villa supporter who was hit by a car after the Second City derby. Lee Mockble, 20, from Hall Green, Birmingham, is the only person to be charged in connection with the death of 26-year-old Christopher Priest.

Suspect Recaptured ; Terrorism

A suspected terrorist who breached his bail and went on the run was recaptured yesterday by police. The 24-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in East London, Scotland Yard said.

Man Dies in Bus Crash ; Accident

A man died after his car was involved in a crash with a single- decker bus on a Shropshire road, said an ambulance service spokesman. He suffered multiple serious injuries and was confirmed dead at the scene of the collision, which happened in Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury, at about 1.30pm on Saturday.

Ordaining the Wife ; Religion

The Bishop of Manchester ordained his own wife at Manchester Cathedral yesterday. The Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch ordained his wife Celia, who is to serve as a full-time stipendiary curate in the parish of Cheetham.

400,000 Stubbed Out for the Last Time After Smoking Ban

At least 400,000 people in England have quit smoking as a result of the ban on lighting up in public places that was introduced last July, according to a new study. The smokefree legislation could prevent 40,000 people dying over the next decade, it added. The Smoking Toolkit Study, which is being presented at the UK National Smoking Cessation Conference in Birmingham tomorrow, involved interviews with more than 32,000 smokers and ex-smokers over the nine months before the ban and the nine mo...

Two Years Late

Two years late and nearly pounds 15 million over budget, The Public opened its doors to the public at the weekend. The art gallery in West Bromwich staged a free weekend festival for more than 1,000 families in the Sandwell area - admission charges set at pounds 7 will come into force in July - to celebrate its opening. The complex, which cost pounds 53 million, features displays specially commissioned from a variety of British and international artists.

Stab Victim Was Teenage Actor

A teenage actor was stabbed dead following a row with a group of youths in London yesterday. Scotland Yard named him as 16-year-old Ben Kinsella. Friends who visited the murder scene in Islington, north London, said he was the brother of former EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, who played Kelly Taylor in the BBC soap.

Route Is Peak Road for Danger

A scenic route through a picturesque beauty area was named today as Britain's most dangerous road. Topping the risk list for accidents is the A537 Macclesfield to Buxton road in the Peak District, according to the ITV programme Police Camera Action. The single-lane A537, known as the Cat and Fiddle, has a risk rate (fatal or serious accidents for every billion kilometres travelled on it) of 250.

Ivf Is a Dream Come True for Thousands of Childless Couples ; Villa Park's Usual Visitors May See One or Two Minor Miracles On the Pitch, but Hundreds Were Witnessed at Aston Villa's Ground As Midland Fertility Services Celebrated Its 21st Birthday at the Weekend.

In theory, every baby, child and teenager celebrating the Walsall- based fertility clinic's 21st birthday should not have been there. Each one represents a dream come true for their parents, and the clinicians at the Midland Fertility Services who have been making the seemingly impossible possible since 1987.

Home-Owners Sit Tight As Prices Fall

House prices fell for the ninth month in a row during June, to cost 3.2 per cent less than they did a year earlier, figures showed today. The number of homes changing hands is now expected to slump to levels last seen in the 1970s as the credit crunch continues to take its toll on the market, property information group Hometrack said.

Half a Million Public Workers to Strike

Tens of thousands of job centre workers, coastguards, driving examiners and other Government employees are set to join a strike next month by council workers, making it one of the biggest outbreaks of industrial unrest for years, it was revealed yesterday. More than half a million local authority employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are staging a twoday walkout on July 16 and 17 after rejecting a 2.45 per cent pay offer.

Climate Change Targets Will Add Extra 20 Per Cent to Energy Bills

Households already under pressure from soaring energy tariffs will see gas and electricity bills rise by an extra 20 per cent for the UK to fund ambitious emission targets, a report said today. Consumers will have to fork out an extra pounds 5.3 billion by 2020 to meet the European Union's emission and renewable energy goals - price rises which come on top of sky-high bill hikes, according to Ernst & Young.

Belfast Is Fastest Growing Uk City

The economy of Belfast has grown fastest among the 30 largest cities in the UK over the past decade, it was revealed today. It has raised itself to third place in the league of the UK's strongest economies - just behind Edinburgh and London.

Councils Should Foot Bill for Child Custody Cases ; Politics

Control of the annual budget for child custody should be moved from the Youth Justice Board to local authorities to reduce the number of children in jail, the Prison Reform Trust said today. If local authorities had to foot the bill for every child in their area who went to jail, it would give them a greater incentive to prevent offending and offer "robust alternatives to custody", the trust said.

Deep Clean Was a Stunt, Say Contractors ; Politics

The Government's flagship deep clean programme was dismissed as a "political stunt" amid claims hospitals were not using products recommended by health watchdogs. The Tories said "worrying" figures showed only a small minority of NHS trusts in England were using all the cleaning products recommended by the Health Protection Agency to fight bugs like MRSA and Clostridium difficile. Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley accused Gordon Brown of "grandstanding" and only being concerned with head...

Shock Images Are a Reminder ; Politics

Town hall chiefs have launched a charm offensive to remind voters of the work they do - using images including a drunk girl vomiting in the street and a dog fouling a park. The posters are among a series being given to councils in a bid to counter what the Local Government Association said was an unfairly poor public reputation.

President Nelson Mandela ; Politics

Brown Condemns Labour to 'Leadership Doomed to Failure' ; Politics

Labour is doomed to failure under Gordon Brown, a former party donor warned yesterday. B usiness guru Sir Gerry Robinson said the Prime Minister appeared incapable of leading and had left the party in "probably an impossible position to come back from".