Must Reads
Outrage as council plans to charge rough sleepers £1,000
Stoke City Council’s proposals to fine rough sleepers in the city has been met with outrage. The proposed Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) will make it an offence for a person to 'assemble, erect, occupy or use' a tent. Anyone who fails to pay their £100 on-the-spot penalty notice can be prosecuted and fined up to £1,000 in court. GMB, the union for workers in the Potteries, says the decision is an outrage, adding that "we’re not going to solve...
Tory tax changes double David Cameron’s holiday home stamp duty
Tax changes under the Tories resulted in David Cameron paying more than double the amount of stamp duty on his holiday home than if he’d bought under the previous Labour government. It can be revealed the former Prime Minister and wife Samantha paid the treasury almost one quarter-of-a-million pounds in tax after buying their Cornish retreat. Official documents, updated by the Land Registry this week, show the sale went through on November 14 - for a whopping £2,150,000. Stamp Duty...
Man receives £20 from Natwest TEN YEARS after leaving cash in ATM
A council worker has finally received £20 in compensation from Natwest – TEN YEARS after mistakenly leaving the cash in an ATM machine. Steve Titman, 34, walked away from the cash machine in Peterborough, Cambs., without taking the money in early 2008. He was astonished to be sent a cheque for the amount last week – along with £6.80 interest which has added up over the past decade. Steve said: “It was a complete shock but very welcome. I will...
Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA sues Woof-Tang Clan doggy day care centre
As music industry lawyers say "where there's a hit there's a writ" and this one even by music standards is bizarre. Legendary hip hop brand the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA is unamused by a doggie day care centre in New York that has been trading under the name The Woof-Tang Clan. RZA Shankbone (real name Robert Fitzgerald Diggs) is suing the dogs walking and sitting service based in Brooklyn and offering services to "the illest group of dogs in New York...
Drinking three or four cups of coffee a day ‘confers greatest health benefits -except in pregnancy’
Drinking coffee is "more likely to benefit health than to harm it" - with three or four cups a day conferring the biggest boost, according to a new study. Researchers brought together evidence from more than 200 studies and found that drinking three to four cups of coffee a day is associated with living longer and a lower risk of heart disease compared with drinking no coffee. Coffee drinking is also associated with lower risk of some cancers, diabetes, liver...
Police still refusing to declare on cricketer Ben Stokes’ fate
Police are still refusing to say when England ace Ben Stokes might be free to join the team for the Ashes. The 26 year-old all-rounder was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm after a brawl in Bristol in September. He was released pending further investigation and suspended by the England team while the case remains unresolved. But two months on - and with the Ashes starting today (weds) in Brisbane - Avon and Somerset say they still have no update...
Mum hand-rears wild FOX as a pet alongside her four children
A mum-of-two has hand-reared a fox cub which she lets play with her young children - despite it having a tendency to nip strangers. Natalie Reynolds, 35, keeps Jasper the fox with her three dogs, cat and horses at their home and even takes it out for walks on a lead. But despite her insisting the eight-month-old fox is domesticated, an animal charity argued keeping the wild animals as pets is wrong as they belong in the wild. The stay-at-home...
Former pilot charged with estranged wife’s murder
A trained pilot appeared in court yesterday charged with murdering his estranged wife who was beaten to death at her home. Andrew McIntosh, 54, was arrested last Wednesday (15/11) just half-an-hour after his nail technician partner Patricia, 56, was found dead. Police officers found her body at her £300,000 four-bedroom detached property in Knightcote, Warks., at around 9.15pm. She had suffered multiple facial injuries. McIntosh was arrested 18 miles away in Rugby, Warks., at 9.47pm after police stopped his car....
100 year old great gran says packet of PORK SCRATCHINGS the key to a long life
A great-gran who celebrated her 100th birthday says the key to a long life is a packet of PORK SCRATCHINGS a day. Lily Welch swears by the salty pub snack - containing roughly 544 calories per pack - which she is forced to crunch with her set of false teeth. The sprightly centenarian doesn't drink or smoke - and only has one working kidney following an operation in her 80s. But Lily hails the roasted pig skin as her 'elixir...