Policeman dies chasing burglar
A police officer chasing a teenager fleeing a break-in at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff on Saturday night was knocked down and killed.
Andrew James, 38, suffered multiple injuries when he was struck by the passing car in front of the college. He died four hours later at the University Hospital of Wales. The driver was questioned, but is not expected to be charged. The suspected burglar escaped.
PC James, from Caerphilly, was married with a daughter, 5. His wife also has a daughter, 17. Geoff Cooper, head of Cardiff CID, said: “He was an enthusiastic and dedicated officer who was well-liked and respected by those he worked with.”
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Shooting inquiry
An inquiry has begun into how a police marksman accidentally shot in the arm a 44-year-old man who was stopped for questioning in Notting Hill, West London, on Saturday. The officer was carrying a Heckler and Koch carbine on a strap. Sources suggested that he tripped and the gun went off. He has been taken off armed duties.
Riding blind
Billy Baxter, 39, a former staff sergeant in the Royal Horse Artillery who lost his sight in 1997, has set a new blind land speed record, riding his motorbike at 165mph (265kmh) at RAF Boscombe Down, Wiltshire. Riders on either side provided guidance by radio. The father of three, from Cambridge, said: “It was like riding a hurricane.”
Baby in shed
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Michelle Rose South, 22, a dental nurse from Broadstairs, Kent, is to be charged before Margate magistrates with child neglect and concealing a birth after a baby’s body was found in a garden shed. A 34-year-old man arrested with her was released without charge. A post-mortem examination was inconclusive, police said.
Poor show
Robbie Williams failed to convert his Knebworth concerts into chart success when his single Something Beautiful entered at number three. Top spot went to the urban R&B star Blu Cantrell, with Breathe. Lumidee was second. In the album chart Beyoncé was knocked from the top by Magic and Medicine, by the rock band Coral.
Stabbing victim
Detectives are investigating the death of a woman, aged in her thirties, whose body was found in a field in Burnham, Berkshire, with multiple stab wounds on Saturday night. Thames Valley police said more details would not be revealed for operational reasons. The victim was not expected to be identified until today.
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Briton freed
Richard Mechan, 37, of Gloucester, who was jailed in Bahrain in 2000, initially for 15 years, for stabbing an American to death has returned home. The Foreign Office said that Bahrain authorities had agreed to release him following a letter sent by Jack Straw. The family said it was grateful for the Foreign Office help.
Chlamydia call
The Family Planning Association called for a nationwide screening programme for Britain’s most common sexually transmitted disease, at the start of Sexual Health Week. Testing woman under 25 for chlamydia, which shows no symptoms in 70 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men and can lead to infertility, was a must.