Julie Kirkbride, married to former shadow Northern Ireland secretary Andrew Mackay, has a son and is a former journalist. The best way we can tackle crime is by restoring the 20 police officers lost to the Bromsgrove force since 1997. More police on the
Peter McDonald is the Labour candidate for Bromsgrove. He is married with two daughters and two grandchildren. He is a full-time lecturer in Wolverhampton and a district and county councillor. Reducing crime and disorder is part and parcel of Labour's
We asked the candidates the following questions about issues which affect the lives of everyone in the constituency. - What initiatives would you implement to reduce crime and vandalism in your constituency? - How would you ensure the LEA would receive
Vandalism occurs because of boredom and lack of amenities and facilities and this has to be addressed. Regarding crime and vandalism, I'd like to have more police officers including some to encourage a more community spirit and work closely with the public
Karen Lumley is married with two children and is a former manager of an engineering company. The Conservative party would begin to reduce crime by increasing the numbers of police officers on our streets by reversing the cuts that Labour have made. In
A FORMER pupil of Worcester's Manor Park Special School has been awarded his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award - from the Duke himself. Darren McClory, who is now aged 25 and suffers from severe learning difficulties, received the award from Prince Philip,
A WORCESTER woman had a row with her partner of 19 years before setting fire to clothing in his flat the moment his back was turned, a court heard. Robina Milne poured turpentine into a laundry basket and set it on fire, said Samantha Crabb, prosecuting
TROUBLED company director Gregory Webb locked himself in his garage and gassed himself hours after a meeting with his bank manager. The 47-year-old, from Kempsey, near Worcester, had been described as "emotionally fragile" by his business colleagues.
Peter Darkes shot himself after a row with his girlfriend, an inquest heard. The 36-year-old was found lying in a pool of blood at the home they shared in Wood Street, Kidderminster. His girlfriend made the grim discovery on Sunday. Mr Darkes had shot
POLICE watched as a woman carried out two drug deals in the street, Worcester Crown Court was told. Louise Grainge sold wraps of heroin to two men and more was found inside her body when she was arrested and taken to the police station, said Gareth Walters
A FORMER pupil of Worcester's Manor Park Special School has been awarded his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award - from the Duke himself. Darren McClory, who is now aged 25 and suffers from severe learning difficulties, received the award from Prince Philip,
WORCESTER City are to receive a civic reception at the Guildhall to celebrate their success in lifting the Dr Martens League Cup. The St George's Lane team lifted the trophy in April for the first time in 61 years after defeating Crawley Town 4-1 on aggregate
WORCESTERSHIRE recall 'big guns' Andy Bichel, Stuart Lampitt and Steve Rhodes for their County Championship Division Two match against Sussex which opens at Horsham tomorrow. All three missed the Vodafone Challenge Series game against the Australians
INKBERROW'S Olympic silver medallist Leslie Law has made a good start to his delayed three-day event season, as a member of the winning British team at the Saumur CCI in France. The event attracted around 90 world-class riders and Law finished 13th individually
EVESHAM United will entertain Kidderminster Harriers and Cheltenham Town in friendlies before they have even kicked a ball in pre-season training. Former Kidderminster boss Phil Mullen's side return to training on July 23 but play Chaddesley Corbett on
THE tight left-handed turns of the Roodeye at Chester are not to the taste of all horses. But tomorrow they should be guaranteed to suit Parker, whose propensity for going left cost him the race and more when beaten at Sandown last time out. Having looked
WORCESTER City are to receive a civic reception at the Guildhall to celebrate their success in lifting the Dr Martens League Cup. The St George's Lane team lifted the trophy in April for the first time in 61 years after defeating Crawley Town 4-1 on aggregate
I RECENTLY needed to attend Ronkswood Accident & Emergency department with an eye injury. Having registered at around 5.25pm, I was seen by the nurse who assessed my need of urgency. I was then told that there would be at least a two-and-half-hours
BOB Brierley bases his comments regarding charitable donations from Worcestershire Hunt on a very odd logical premise. No one would disagree that Air Ambulance, Arthritis Research and so on, are extremely good causes. The problem is that making charitable
LIKE John R Richards (You Say, May 24) I too would watch the buses go by and count the number of the passengers within. Then one day last week, I decided to get out of my car and take a leap of faith by giving the park-and-ride a try. Having parked my
NEW research from the Campaign for Real Ale suggests Worcester beer lovers could be losing out on full measures, despite Labour's past promise to ensure a full pint of liquid. CAMRA shows that many pints are short by more than five per cent, and some
FARMERS and consumers are celebrating the news that Royal Worcester has opened its markets for the first time since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The farmers' markets have not operated since March and local producers have lost out due to the
Margaret Rowley is leader of the opposition on Wychavon District Council, and chaired the council's environment committee from 1996 until 1999. She is married with three adult children and has lived in Worcestershire for 11 years. After graduating in
Early release schemes would be abolished for repeat offenders and no bail would be given. This would send a clear message to the perpetrators of crime that our society has had enough. For the more heinous offences, we reinforce that life should mean life
During 18 years in office the Conservatives pursued a superficially populist policy on crime. It failed - crime doubled. Violent crime rose year on year and convictions fell. Labour tries to sound tough but remains just as ineffective. Despite repeated
Jacqui Smith, the Labour candidate, is married with two children and is a former who worked in Worcester. Crime has fallen since 1997, but I know that vandalism and yobbish behavior can ruin the peace of mind of local people. Tackling this sort of behavior
A GOOD Samaritan who went to a woman's aid in a Worcester street was robbed by her two accomplices after she lured him into a dark alleyway. The woman approached her victim claiming she needed help, but when he followed her into Nash's Passage, which
A WORCESTER primary school has been recognised for its sporting activities and awarded a national certificate. St Joseph's RC Primary at Chedworth Drive, Warndon, Worcester, has been named as one of only 100 schools nationwide to win an Activemark from
A BANNED driver who twice gave police a false name and address when stopped at the wheel has been jailed for nine months. Trevor Smith admitted driving while disqualified and without insurance and attempting to pervert the course of justice. The 21-year-old
NEARLY half the Worcestershire families who voiced fears about the possible retention of their loved ones' organs have now been interviewed, health leaders have revealed. The Worcestershire Hospitals NHS Trust special hotline has taken around 140 calls
A MAFF field officer made a desperate 999 call as she lay dying, telling the operator: "I'm alone in the house and I've stabbed myself". Nicole Winnett, of Middle Lane, Cropthorne, near Pershore, was last seen gardening on the afternoon of Tuesday, May
A BIRD of prey feared dead after going missing 11 days ago has been found three miles away from its Malvern home. Owner Nick Ross feared for the life of his Harris hawk Jess after she broke away from her line, still attached to her jesses and metal swivel
A WORCESTER tenant smashed the glass out of a fire door with his crash helmet after being locked out of an electricity meter cupboard. Peter Jenner was convicted of causing criminal damage outside his housing scheme manager's ground floor flat at Nightingale
A NEW advisory group aimed at making public events in Worcestershire and Herefordshire safer is being piloted by West Mercia police. The new approach, which will make it easier for organisers to consult with experts, is being tested in neighbouring Shropshire
POLICE saw a driver stagger when he left his car after being stopped on the Spennells estate at 1.30am. He was arrested after a breath test and found to be more than twice over the legal alcohol limit, Kidderminster magistrates heard. Luke Ashcroft, 21
A NUMBER of cars set off for Abergavenny, Monmouthshire on a lovely afternoon: it was Hartpury, Corse and Staunton Mothers Union summer trip, but with a purpose. Their destination was a small workshop deep in the country looking across the valley to spectacular
ENGLAND'S sporting reputation has been badly damaged in recent years by the behaviour of some so-called football fans. The violence in Marseille during the 1998 World Cup and in Belgium during Euro 2000 dealt a major blow to the campaign to eradicate
WORCESTER Nomads 1st XI took the headlines this weekend with a thoroughly emphatic victory over Lye in this Worcestershire Cricket League Division One game at Bransford. Once again Derek Austin was the man in destructive form, but this weekend with the
BARNARDS Green 2nd X1 consolidated their position in the top three of Division Two of the Worcestershire County League with a well deserved victory over Cookley. Skipper Dick Brown won the toss and had no hesitation in asking the home side to bat first
WORCESTERSHIRE recall 'big guns' Andy Bichel, Stuart Lampitt and Steve Rhodes for their County Championship Division Two match against Sussex which opens at Horsham tomorrow. All three missed the Vodafone Challenge Series game against the Australians
FORMER Gloucester stalwart John Brain has been appointed as Worcester Rugby Club's new head coach. The 40-year-old, who spent most of his playing career at Kingsholm, has left the Zurich Premiership club to take up the Sixways role vacated by Adrian Skeggs
A PROMISING county rugby player has earned his stripes after being selected to train with Leicester Tigers juniors. Chris Pinner, aged 14, a pupil at the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, beat off fierce competition from 70 other players to land one of
KIDDERMINSTER'S Chris Holmes won two medals as Great Britain retained the BT Five Nations Challenge Trophy at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. The Paralympic elite squad clinically despatched all-comers by claiming 15,213 points from 16 events, almost 300 points
FORMER Gloucester stalwart John Brain has been appointed as Worcester Rugby Club's new head coach. The 40-year-old, who spent most of his playing career at Kingsholm, has left the Zurich Premiership club to take up the Sixways role vacated by Adrian Skeggs
A PREGNANT woman asked her five-year-old daughter: "Would you prefer a sister or a brother?" The girl replied: "Well, I think I'd like a sister, but if it is a brother, does it have to be a boy?" GEORGE COWLEY, Windermere Drive, Worcester
STEALTH taxes are robbing pensioners without them knowing it. With £5bn pounds a year taken from pension funds, the pensions are constantly decreasing in value. Those workers still paying into one, are now paying higher premiums to receive no increase
IN recent years, Worcester has lost its half marathon and Carnival, and gained a shopping centre that is all over the place, half of which - for some people - is an unbearably long walk from the two multi-storey car parks. The CrownGate should have been
GEORGE Cowley recently commented on the 72 Scots MPs in Parliament and wondered (as an Englishman must!) if he was being racist. Could he now take a further risk and inform us of how many English persons have been elected to the Scottish Parliament, to
MIKE Grundy's excellent railway article reminds me of the days before the Second World War when it was almost every lad's ambition to become an engine driver. The first step was to obtain appropriate employment on the railway and that was not easy. The
R G SPENCER recently (You Say, April) told us that Brussels wishes to see a Europe of regions by 2009 - eight years time. However, was it not recently agreed at Nice, with Tony Blair in attendance, that the final stages of putting together a European
I WONDER if someone might apologise to prospective parliamentary candidate Mike Foster for the embarrassment he suffered when the Worcestershire Hunt Supporters Club bought three hours of his time at the Arthritis Research Campaign charity auction. Extremely
KEY: CC: County Championship; C>: Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy; B&H: Benson & Hedges Cup; NCL: National Cricket League; TM: Tour match; F: friendly. APRIL 20,21,22,23 CC Middlesex (Lord's) Draw 25,26,27,28 CC Sussex (New Road) Draw
KEY: CC: Second Eleven County Championship; AON: Aon Trophy. MAY 2,3,4 CC Derbyshire (away) Draw 23,24,25 CC Yorkshire (Scarborough) Lost 4 wkts 29,30,31 CC Northants (Kidderminster) Lost 2 wkts JUNE 12,13,14,15 CC Glamorgan (Abergavenny) 18 AON Somerset
TWO six formers from Prince Henry's High School in Evesham are planning a ski-dive to raise cash for Marie Curie Cancer Research. Richard Brabin from Badsey and Jo Holmes from Broadway, both 17, have always wanted to ski-dive. After surfing the net they
THE future of one of Kidderminster's oldest printing businesses looks bright after its management staged an eleventh-hour buy out. The move has secured 110 Worcestershire jobs at GT Cheshire & Sons Ltd. Cheshire's deputy managing director Brian Wilson
