Birmingham Post

Us Gulf Coast As a Slightly Weakened

Hurricane Gustav crashed into a mainlydeserted US Gulf coast as a slightly weakened Category 2 storm yesterday. An estimated two million people fled Louisiana over the weekend as the hurricane headed to New Orleans, just three years after Katrina devastated the city.

Rising Rents Push Jewellers to Brink

Traditional manufacturers could be forced out of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter because of harsh rent rises, the head of the local preservation group claimed. Marie Haddleton, the president of the Jewellery Quarter Association, said rent rises of up to 40 per cent made life impossible for the small firms that gave the area its character.

Airgun Toddler Loses His Battle

An 18-month-old boy died of his injuries yesterday, a week after being shot in the head with an airgun in the garden of his Birmingham home. Rashid Ullah, who had been in a critical condition since the shooting on August 24, died at Birmingham Children's Hospital, West Midlands Police said.

Fears Mount As Third Body Is Found

Friends and teachers of the teenage daughter of millionaire businessman Christopher Foster were fearing the worst last night after police found a third body in her burnt-out family mansion. Detectives said further human remains were discovered in the main part of Osbaston House in Maesbrook, Shropshire, on Sunday night.

Woman Eliminated From Police Investigations ; Baby Death

A woman arrested following the discovery of a baby's body at a recycling site has been eliminated from police inquiries, detectives said yesterday. West Mercia Constabulary said the woman had been ruled out of an investigation into the death of the baby girl, whose body was found last week in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

Honour for Hero ; Social

A woman who defended a class of young children from a machete- wielding attacker is to be given an honorary fellowship by the University of Wolverhampton. Lisa Potts, a former nursery nurse at St Luke's School in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton, gained numerous injuries protecting children in her care from a man attacking them with a machete in 1996.

Tesco Scheme Outcry ; Building Plans

A Birmingham MP has demanded residents be given more time to respond to plans to build a Tesco superstore on playing fields in the city. Labour's Liam Byrne, who has battled against plans for the store on Brockhurst playing fields since being elected MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill in 2004, said he is "shocked" that local people have been given only one month to respond to detailed plans.

Now Charity Groups Wait to See If Bids for Pounds 30m Approved

Scores of charitable and voluntary organisations face an agonising wait to discover whether applications for a share of a pounds 30 million Birmingham City Council fund have been successful. Cabinet members approved a list of payments to 143 bodies yesterday and rejected a further 108 bids, but refused to identify any of the groups involved.

Budget Cuts Mean Lots More Lolly for Council

Council chiefs have saved more than pounds 950,000 during the last five years by slashing the funding for city lollipop men and women, it emerged yesterday. An investigation into Birmingham City Council's finances has exposed a huge drop in the amount of money put aside to ensure the safety of thousands of school children as they go to lessons every day.

Competition to Join Beefy's Charity Walk Around Uk

Cricket hero Sir Ian Botham yesterday launched a competition offering people the chance to join him on a charity walk around the UK. Lucky winners who find one of 40 golden tickets in special packs of chocolates can walk with Sir Ian for one leg of his nine-day trek in October.

'Irresponsible' Remote Power Boat Users Banned From Lake

It's a father-and-son activity carried on for generations. Many parents will fondly recall the day when they were taken to the local lake with their new remote controlled powerboat given as a birthday or Christmas present. It's a tradition they hope to pass on to their offspring.

Councillor Calls for the Return of British Bulldog

Birmingham's head of education urged schools to "stand up to the compensation culture" and encourage children to play traditional rough and tumble games like British bulldog, stuck in the mud and tag at break-time. Councillor Les Lawrence (Con Northfield), the city's cabinet member for children, young people and families, said parents and teachers should not "wrap children in cotton wool" because they were afraid of them getting bruised.

Appeal for Pounds 1m to Overhaul Stratford Rsc

An appeal has been launched to find pounds 1 million to transform the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon. The Royal Shakespeare Company launched the Transforming our Theatres Appeal when 10,000 attended its open day on Sunday.

Booklet Advising Parents How to Spot Signs of Their Children Having Joined a Gang

Parents are being given advice today on how to spot if their child is in a gang as a charity set up by the mothers of two Birmingham teenagers killed in a drive-by shooting is launched. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will speak today at the launch of the New Year Shooting Memorial Trust in the city. The trust was set up by Beverley Thomas and Marcia Shakespeare, whose daughters died in 2003. Letisha Shakespeare, aged 17, and Charlene Ellis, 18, were killed in a botched gang attack outside a New ...

Fund-Raising Plan to Start Cathedral Wine Bar Defended

Birmingham Cathedral could be doing its own fund-raising version of turning holy water into wine as it considers plans for a wine bar. Clergy at St Philip's Cathedral are looking at business ventures, including opening a city centre wine bar, coffee shop or eatery.

West Midlands Drug Smugglers Are Sentenced

Five members of a drugs ring have been jailed for smuggling "vast" quantities of cannabis in heavy machinery from The Netherlands to the West Midlands. Officers who intercepted one load recovered 96 kg with a street value of about pounds 500,000.

Pounds 60 Tax Rebate for 22 Million A7er 10p Tax Abolition Fiasco

About 22 million people are set to receive a pounds 60 tax rebate this month following a change introduced in the wake of the controversy over the abolition of the 10p tax rate. The Government is increasing the tax-free personal allowance by pounds 600 to pounds 6,035 from September 7, and it is backdating the change to the beginning of the tax year on April 5.

Brown School Connection in by-Election Mix

A head teacher from Gordon Brown's old school is on the short- list of potential Labour candidates for the Glenrothes by-election. Lindsay Roy, aged 59, is one of three contenders vying to fight the seat for Labour.

Pushing for Value with Pfi Deals

The Government needs to do more to ensure that deals between the public and private sectors are good value for money, an influential Commons committee said today. Taxpayers may be losing out as many public sector authorities are "not doing a good job" of managing Public Financial Initiative contracts, the Committee of Public Accounts said.

Justice System has to Move Away From Robocop Thinking

Fundamental changes to policing and criminal justice are needed because Britain has become a nation of "passive bystanders" who expect ministers to be responsible for every crime, a think tank said today. To move away from the "centralised and technocratic" system of "Robocop justice", Reform argues for local justice commissioners, community police boxes and regionalised criminal justice policies.