country wide alcohol ban approved::: (start)Nottingham alcohol ban zone 'should cover city'

Nottingham alcohol ban zone 'should cover city'
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pic::a women fall in down on footfath after taken alcohol..police charge for anti social behavioral act..pic::wp/Ebc
drugs & anti social crime reporter,nottingham(weastar times/Ebc)::

A city-wide ban on street drinking in Nottingham is being proposed.

Similar bylaws are already in place in seven areas, including Sneinton and St Ann's, but the city council is looking to include its entire area.

The Designated Public Place Orders allow police to confiscate alcohol from those they suspect of causing problems and arrest those who do not comply.

Officials said any ban would be applied using common sense and would be used alongside educational initiatives.

City council leader Jon Collins said: "It's not to say people can't be trusted to drink responsibly but it is about setting the right sort of tone.

"It's about tackling a minority of people who drink to excess and drink in a way which brings all of us difficulties."

Ch Supt Simon Nickless, divisional commander for Nottingham, said: "What we have found is with the Designated Public Place Orders, rather than waiting for the negative things to happen, it is being a bit more preventive."

A consultation on the measures is to begin shortly with a decision from the city council expected later in the year.

Last 10 years Devon landfill taxes up £9m !!!!!!

      

Last 10 years Devon landfill taxes up £9m  
business correspondent,devon(wp/Ebc):::

Councils in Devon paid penalties of more than £15m last year for throwing waste into landfill sites.

The figure has soared by £9m over the last decade - even though the amount of rubbish being dumped has reduced.

Devon County Council and Plymouth and Torbay's unitary authorities, paid about £15.2m in landfill tax for 272,000 tonnes, a rate of £64 per tonne.

The EU brought in the taxes to reduce the amount of rubbish being dumped.

The UK has targets to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill to 50% of 1995 levels by 2013, and 35% by 2020.

Devon County Council said the landfill tax had led to reductions in the amount of waste sent to landfill, and had helped its recycling rate reach its current 55%.

But it added it wanted to see more transparency about how the money raised through the tax was used.

Bracknell Forest Council temporary closure Coral Reef closure costs more than £500,000!!!

PHILLIPS   C O E T   philcollins.com

Bracknell Forest Council temporary  
Coral Reef closure costs more than £500,000!!!
kidz reporter,berkshire(weastar times/Ebc/Wp):::

pic:::council only kidz entertainment place ..pic courtesy::wp/Ebc

temporary closure of a leisure centre will cost a council more than £500,000 in repairs and lost income.

Coral Reef in Bracknell, Berkshire, closed on 8 December after the building was found to have structural problems.

Bracknell Forest Council identified some of the building's bolts had "stress corrosion cracking".

Councillor Iain McCracken said the building's design is unique in the UK and the problem requires a "complex, bespoke solution".

The council estimates the closure will cost £440,000 in lost income, with repairs costing about £90,000.

A spokeswoman said Coral Reef, which includes swimming pools and water slides, will reopen on Good Friday, 29 March.

Eight men have been arrested for teenager rape in east london

Eight men have been arrested for teenager rape in east london

crime reporter,east london(weastar times/wp/Ebc):::

Eight men have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of the rape of a teenage girl aged under 16.

The Met said the men, five aged 23, two aged 24 and a 21-year-old, were arrested during raids on Wednesday.

They were held at addresses in Newham, Redbridge and Havering in east London, as well as one in Hertfordshire.

The investigation was launched by the force's Sapphire Command following an allegation relating to alleged offences between May and November 2012.

The men are currently in custody at an east London police station.

Det Ch Insp Adam Lowe said: "These arrests are part of an investigation into rape and serious sexual assault carried out by a group of men in Newham and the wider east London area. Our inquiries continue.

"I would urge anyone who has been a victim of this type of offence or who believes they have any information to please contact police."

Two men have been found guilty of raping three 14-year-old girls

Two men have been found guilty of raping three 14-year-old girls 

crime reporter(weastar times/wp/Ebc)

Two men have been found guilty of raping three 14-year-old girls who had been plied with alcohol and cannabis.

Bilal Hussain and Shazad Rehman repeatedly raped one girl and also raped two other victims they picked up in the Keighley area of West Yorkshire.

Hussain, 23, of Leeds and 30-year-old Rehman, of no fixed address, pursued teenage girls between 2010 and 2011, Bradford Crown Court heard.

The men are to be sentenced later on Wednesday.

They had denied nine rape charges and supplying cannabis.

'Fresh meat'

Prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC had told the court: ''They acted together travelling from their various home addresses in Leeds and Halifax to the Keighley town centre where they specifically targeted vulnerable girls, all under-age."

She said some of the girls, none of whom can be identified, had difficult backgrounds or were emotionally fragile and may have been seeking attention.

''They were out of their depth,'' the jury was told.

''They were supplied with strong alcohol and cannabis, enticed to believe they would have fun, that they were special.

"In truth what was on offer was beyond their control."

Rehman had referred to the girls as "fresh meat", the court heard.

Ms Colborne had told the court the defendants "exploited the girls' lack of maturity, their lack of life experience and to render them more compliant.''

Jurors heard that drink and drugs were given to the girls to reduce their inhibitions, or in some cases to leave them incapable of resisting sexual advances or oblivious to them.

Some of the rapes took place at the Alder House Hotel, Batley, and the Campanile Hotel, Bradford, after the complainants had been picked up by the defendants in a silver Audi, the court was told.

After one of the girls told Hussain she thought she was pregnant, he said she had to terminate the pregnancy or he would kill the baby himself.

Ms Colborne said Rehman had boasted to a woman they could get any girl they wanted.

''He said they had no reputation and if they got them young enough they could keep them forever,'' she told the court.

Both men were also convicted of a series of drugs offences and a charge of conspiring to intimidate a witness.

Neither opted to give evidence during the trial, which lasted a number of weeks.

Surrey contributed 'second most tax' to Exchequer

PHILLIPS        

sense and simplicity

Surrey contributed 'second most tax' to Exchequer

business reporter,surrey(weastar times/wp/Ebc):::

Surrey contributed more income tax to the Exchequer between 2009 and 2011 than anywhere apart from the City of London, the county council has said.

The authority said new figures show the county's economy grew by 7% during that time, despite the recession, and generated more than £30bn annually.

A new group - Surrey Future - has now been launched to help boost business.

It said its initial focus would be tackling overcrowding on trains and congestion on the roads.

Surrey County Council said Surrey Future would bring business leaders, the county council and the borough and district councils together and establish investment priorities over the next 20 years.

A report to the council's cabinet by deputy leader Peter Martin said Surrey's economy had gone "from strength to strength" over the past two decades, with the county contributing almost £6bn a year in personal income tax, second only to London.

'Major gateways'

There are about 600,000 jobs in Surrey, and although unemployment has risen during the recession, levels are below the national average, the report said.

"The county benefits significantly from major international gateways, particularly the airports, and from proximity to London and associated road and rail connections," it added.

But the document said the county's success had led to congested roads, high house prices and inadequate infrastructure.

"Surrey's very success creates a significant challenge to its global competitiveness because of the way in which investment in critical infrastructure lags behind the need generated by strong growth," it added.

David Hodge, leader of the council, said: "Surrey is an engine room for the national economy and a centre for innovation.

"Sustained investment is vital if we are to accelerate the recovery and lead the rest of the UK into prosperity.

"Investing in the county's overburdened roads and rail network will be key to this because good travel links help businesses run more efficiently while making the best possible use of land will play a big part in accelerating development."