Woman starved to death, age 79
A grandmother starved to death after a “lack of mindfulness” by welfare services, an inquest was told.
Ivy Allen, 79, was found lying emaciated on her sofa last September with not a scrap of food in her house in Warrington, Lancashire. She had probably been dead for two days, Mohammad Jafari, a pathologist, said.
The inquest, in Warrington, was told that none of the welfare agencies involved in her care, nor any of her extended family, had noticed that she was dying.
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The mother of 10 and grandmother of 30 died from gross malnutrition as a result of natural causes to which neglect — including self neglect — contributed, the coroner, Nicholas Rheinberg, ruled. “It is a summation of a lack of mindfulness of those undertaking their duties as they saw fit,” he said. He added: “The biggest single failing was one of communication.”
Inquest delayed
An inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot last year by police in a bungled counter-terrorist operation, will not be held until criminal proceedings against Scotland Yard are completed, a coroner has ruled. If Scotland Yard decides to fight the case, the inquest could be delayed until 2008.
Asbestos payout
Thousands of lung cancer victims who developed the disease through working with asbestos used for insulation have won a £36 million compensation battle. Factory workers were exposed to lethal levels of asbestos at Turner & Newall and Newalls Insulation plants in southwest England and South Wales.
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Cruelty to turkeys
Daniel Palmer, 27, and Neil Allen, 30, who admitted using live turkeys to play baseball while working at a factory farm, have been ordered by Norwich magistrates to do 200 hours’ community work. The Bernard Matthews company welcomed the court’s decision and said that the pair had been dismissed.
Actor’s bag stolen
The American actress Lindsay Lohan had her handbag stolen at Heathrow airport. Lohan, 20, who had been at the Venice Film Festival, noticed that her Hermès bag was missing from her trolley as she left Terminal One. It contained jewellery, police said. They have no description of a suspect.
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Two remanded over terror plot
Two men charged in connection with an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic aircraft were remanded in custody until September 18 yesterday.
Donald Stewart Whyte, 20, and Mohammad Usman Saddique, 24, appeared before City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court accused of terrorism offences.
Both Mr Whyte, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and Mr Saddique, from Walthamstow, East London, are accused of preparing an act of terrorism contrary to the Terrorism Act 2006.
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Mr Whyte is also charged with three offences contrary to the Firearms Act 1968.
The two men spoke only to confirm basic details about their identity. A bail application on behalf of Mr Saddique was refused. There was no bail application on behalf of Mr Whyte.
Footballer jailed
A lesbian footballer who bit her lover’s ear off after a chase down a London street and attacked a stranger at a friend’s home has been jailed indefinitely. Katie Saunders, 28, of Hampstead, northwest London, who is a former Arsenal women’s team player, threatened to kill Emily Kelly, 25, then maimed her.
BUPA death fine
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BUPA, the private health care provider, was fined £90,000 for major failings over the death of a 95-year-old woman. Inadequate staffing, lack of training and a failure to consult vital care plans were blamed after Charlotte Wood fell at a nursing home in Sidcup, southeast London. She died of pneumonia in hospital.
Murder denied
Two teenagers aged 18 and 19 denied murdering Tom ap Rhys Pryce when they appeared at the Old Bailey. One admitted robbing the 31-year-old lawyer, who was stabbed to death near Kensal Green Tube station, northwest London, in January. The two men are due to stand trial on October 30.
Voyeur sentenced
A student who filmed women taking baths and showers in his hall of residence was sentenced to nine months in a young offender institution, suspended for two years. Charles Greaves, 19, of Telford, Shropshire, hid a digital video camera inside a shower gel bottle at the University of Wales in Bangor.
One bed, £1.5m
A one-bedroom flat in Knightsbridge is being put up for sale at £1.5 million, making it the most expensive in Britain. “There is a huge demand for one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats for bankers and rock-and-rollers,” said Ed Mead, an estate agent. It is one of several single-bedroom flats to pass the million mark.
Sunbathing may get less risky
A new ingredient in suntan lotion might help to prevent the onset of skin cancer.
The formula releases “chelators”, which mop up the free iron released when skin burns, preventing the build-up of harmful sunlight-generated free radicals. Researchers at the University of Bath, whose findings appear in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, expect to begin human trials in the next few years.
We are not alone
Earth-like planets around distant stars are probably much more common than scientists had thought, astronomers in the United States have found. More than a third of the 150 or so solar systems detected beyond our own are likely to have small planets suitable for life.
Women lapped
Twelve years after lap dancing was introduced in Britain, the first club featuring male strippers is to open for women. Despite opposition from councillors, who branded the club as a “recipe for getting out of control”, Tricky Dicky’s Nightclub will open next week in Birmingham.
Legionnaires’ hits
Three people infected with legionnaires’ disease are being treated in the intensive therapy unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The men, two in their forties and the other in his fifties, are all from Shropshire. An investigation has begun into the source of the outbreak.
Popping off
Parents criticised a decision by some schools and learning centres near Roundhay Park, Leeds, to shut today to avoid disruption by a Robbie Williams concert. Five will close all day and six for the afternoon. A father said: “It’s a new term and they’re closing.”