This is Grimsby -- A FRIEND of a man who was knocked unconscious by a former soldier in Cleethorpes has spoken of how she feared he was dead. Francis Weldon was repeatedly punched and kicked by Keith Wells, 28, of Fairway in Waltham, outside the Reflex bar in the resort on August 17. Francis, 26, was in Cleethorpes visiting friends and his four-year-old daughter at the time, after travelling South from his home in Greenock, Scotland. His friend, who does not wish to be named, said she thought Francis was dead and believes he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time", and insists they had consumed just "four or five drinks". In tomorrow's Grimsby Telegraph, Francis' friend reveals more about the attack which resulted in him spending four months on a liquid diet. As reported, Keith Wells was serving in Afghanistan where he saw shocking scenes of "horrific injuries" when he was told that his 30-year-old wife had been killed in a crash on the A18 in April 2012.
His young daughter, a passenger in the car at the time, was trapped and suffered serious injuries. He was later flown from Afghanistan to be at her bedside.
During his time as a soldier, Wells, who had been in the 1st battalion of the Grenadier Guards, had to treat those who were very seriously injured in combat, a court heard.
He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, the court was told.
Wells admitted assaulting Francis Weldon, causing actual bodily harm, on August 17.
Stephen Welch, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that Wells became involved in a confrontation outside the Reflex bar in Cleethorpes after midnight.
He went over to Mr Weldon and told him to back off after an earlier incident in which two people suffered "bullying" and name-calling by another group.
Mr Weldon had made comments towards the couple and was being "disrespectful
and aggressive", claimed Mr Welch.
Wells grabbed Mr Weldon by the throat, pushed him backwards and told him to go away. He hoped this would "intimidate" Mr Weldon in to leaving the other two alone.
He punched Mr Weldon in the face four or five times in quick succession, knocking him to the ground and leaving him unconscious.
He later kicked and stamped on him during a "momentary loss of control".
He later admitted: "I am ex-military, so I know the consequences of using full force."
Mr Weldon suffered injuries including three chipped teeth and a black eye.
"The complainant was unconscious on the floor for a significant period of time before people came to his assistance," said Mr Welch.
Nigel Sloane, mitigating, said Wells had shown remorse and made admissions.
He served in the Army as a front-line medical combat guardsman during two tours of Afghanistan and had seen "horrific injuries" which it was his job to help treat.
He had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and, after leaving the Army, was now unemployed.
Wells was now the carer for his six-year-old daughter, Lily-Mae Wells, who was in the car when her mother was killed.
He had been given a fixed penalty for a public order matter in November 2010.
That incident happened after he returned from his tours of Afghanistan.
He had been drinking and was stumbling about when he came to the attention of the police, said Mr Sloane.
Judge John Dowse told Wells that he "acted completely out of control" after drinking heavily.
"This was a sustained attack but this offence was completely out of your general character," said Judge Dowse.
"There are some worrying signs about you, probably brought in when you were representing this country on two tours of Afghanistan."
Wells was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay £650 compensation, £535 costs and a Government-imposed £100 victims' surcharge.
*Flown home from front-line to become a lone parent within 24 hours*
During his medical duties in Afghanistan, ex-soldier Keith Wells dealt with amputations, gun-shot wounds, fatalities and decapitations.
He saw people in pieces and with their faces missing, Grimsby Crown Court was told in a report.
Wells, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, appeared before a judge to admit assaulting a man following a confrontation on a night out.
As reported in the Grimsby Telegraph, his wife Kay Wells was killed in a crash on the A18, on a sharp bend between the B1203 Ashby Hill junction and the Waltham Road turn-off.
Police believed at the time that she lost control on the bend. No other vehicle was involved in the incident.
The couple were separated at the time of the accident but still married.
Psychiatric and pre-sentence reports given to the court revealed that the couple's daughter, Lily-Mae, was in the car at the time of the accident and suffered the trauma of being trapped there for some time afterwards because she could not move.
She had to be cut free and suffered serious injuries, including head and neck injuries, a fractured femur, cuts and bruises, the court was told.
Wells was flown back from Afghanistan to be at his daughter's bedside and found himself becoming a lone parent within 24 hours and not knowing what to expect, the reports said.
The girl suffered flashbacks and anxiety problems, the court was told.
Wells, who joined the Army in 2007 and did his basic training at Catterick, was given a compassionate discharge from the Army last year.
Combat Stress is a charity specialising in the care of veterans' mental health. It is currently treating 12 people aged between 33 and 89 in North East Lincolnshire.
The condition can cause everything from nightmares, flashbacks and insomnia, to severe depression and anxiety disorders.
Mike Burrows, regional welfare officer for Yorkshire, North Derbyshire and North Lincolnshire, said: "On average, veterans wait 13 years after leaving the Armed Forces before contacting Combat Stress. The sooner that a veteran with psychological injuries seeks help, the sooner the sufferer can receive the right treatment in the right environment to help them rebuild their life."
For advice and information from the charity, call the 24-hour helpline on 0800 1381619.
*Follow us on Facebook and Twitter*
Reported by This is 7 hours ago.
This is Plymouth -- A MAN who twice touched the chest of a teenage girl on a bus is being hunted by police. The 17-year-old boarded the number 62 Citybus, heading from the City Centre to Honicknowle shortly before 3pm on February 1. While the bus was travelling through the Hyde Park area of the city the man, who was standing next to the girl, brushed his hand against her chest. When he did it a second time the girl pushed him away and the man got off of the bus around the Limetree Road area. He was described as white, around 50 years old, about 5ft 9ins tall with short grey hair. He wore a cap and a red and black tracksuit with a beer belly. At the time the girl said she could smell alcohol on his breath. If you were on the bus around this time and can recall seeing this man, call police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting crime reference number ED/14/649.
Reported by This is 8 hours ago.
This is Croydon -- IF YOU'RE planning to snuggle up with a romantic film this Valentine's Day but can't watch Love Actually without a sickbag then here are some alternatives. James Wallin lists his top ten screen romances, with absolutely no Meg Ryan in sight..... True Romance (1993; USA; Starring Christina Slater and Patricia Arquette; Directed by Tony Scott) QUENTIN Tarantino may not be considered a cinematic softie but he has created some of the most memorable romances to grace the silver screen, including Bill and The Bride, Django and Broomhilda and even Mickey and Mallory Knox. In True Romance, comic book geek Clarence thinks his luck is in when his lonely birthday treat of a martial arts movie marathon is gatecrashed by the glamourous Alabama. However, as the best night of his life comes to a close. Clarence receives the bombshell that Alabama is a prostitute paid to entertain him by his boss as a birthday present. Instead of turfing her out Clarence pledges to set his new lover free from her pimp and make her his wife. The ensuing mission sees Clarence become a reluctant murderer and drug dealer. While the most emotional scene of the entire movie is probably Dennis Hopper's character showing how far a father will go to protect his son, it is the relationship between the two central lovebirds that gives this film its heartbeat. Life is Beautiful (1997; Italy; Starring Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi; Directed by Roberto Benigni) A CONCENTRATION camp may not seem the most obvious location for a romantic comedy but this Oscar winning Italian classic manages to pull it off. Benigni plays affable twit, Guido, trying to make a life for himself in Italy during the first year of the Second World War. He falls in love with the beautiful Dora (played by Benigni's real-life spouse, Braschi) and sets about trying to woo her. After various elaborate stunts Guido gets the girl and after a few years a son is born. Having played out as a traditional rom-com for its first half, the film abruptly takes a darker turn when the Jewish family are rounded up by the Nazis and taken to a concentration camp. Here Guido tries to protect his child from reality by pretending the camp is all one big game - all the while trying desperately to be reunited with his beloved wife. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004; USA; Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet; Directed by Michael Gondry) THE mantra 'better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all' is turned on its head in this film by the notion that all memory of a relationship could be erased by a simple operation. Jim Carrey sets aside his rubber-faced goon schtick to play it straight as scorned lover, Joel, who wants to forget all about Kate Winslet's Clementine so hires a firm to wipe all memory of their time together. The Charlie Kaufman-scripted film takes place mostly in Joel's mind where the various chapters of the couple's story are recalled and washed away. So far, so unromantic. But as the medics dig deeper into Joel's mind so his true feelings for Clementine begin to fight back. As his subconscious mind and the version of his ex that lives there realise what is happening, they go on the run across his memories, all the way pursued by the procedure that wants to destroy them. Lost in Translation (2003; USA: Starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson; Directed by Sofia Coppola) IF EVEN the films above are too schmaltzy for you then here's a love story with a cold heart. The romance between Murray's jaded movie star, Bob, and Johansson's frustrated newlywed, Charlotte, is one as much in the mind of the viewer as the protagonists. The ultimate will-they-won't-they film brings together two characters so utterly wrong for each other they could only be a perfect match. They are drawn together as fish out of water in the bewildering city of Tokyo, where they struggle to fill their empty days. While it may occasionally strive too hard to be cool this is a refreshing alternative to the opposites-attract movie cliche. WALL-E (2008; USA; Starring the voices of Ben Burtt and Elissa Knight; Directed by Andrew Stanton) IT ISN'T only humans that fall in love. This Pixar favourite has at its heart a robotic romance. The courting contraptions are WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth-Class) who roams 2805 Earth diligently collecting rubbish from the ground. As a hobby he collects mementoes of the human civilisation that once inhabited his home planet, with special affection for his videos of 20th century musicals. One day WALL-E finds the first plant to have grown on the Earth for centuries. This attracts the interest of a probe, EVE, who has been sent by an orbiting human spaceship to search for signs the earth could once again sustain life. The flower sparks a love story between the two which continues through space and a near-death experience. And all this in a kid's film. Grosse Point Blanke (1997; USA; Starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver; Directed by George Armitage) ALMOST certainly the best romantic comedy about a hitman and his high school sweetheart. Grosse Point Blank also has one of the finest Dan-Ackroyd-being-murdered-with-a-television scenes. The film follows professional killer Martin Blank (Cusack) who decides it would be wise to get out of town for a while so takes up the offer of a trip to his high school reunion. Here he is a reacquainted with former squeeze Minnie Driver as well as a host of annoying blasts from the past, only a coupe of whom he ends up killing. In the Mood for Love (2000; Hong Kong; Starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung; Directed by Wong Kar-wai) THIS understated masterpiece may move slowly but keeps the audience entranced thanks to two riveting central performances. Set in 1962 in tells the story of a journalist who rents a room in the same building as a secretary. Both married, they develop a friendship through a series of chance encounters. Their bond is strengthened when they both come to the conclusion that their spouses are cheating on them. As they meet to discuss these imagined infidelities their feelings for each other blossom. It may sound familiar but this beautifully executed tale of repressed passion is well worth a watch. Sightseers (2012; UK; Starring Steve Oram and Alice Lowe; Directed by Ben Wheatley) MURDERERS, drug dealers and hitmen are all fair game for a romantic comedy but serial killers? British director Ben Wheatley took the love story down a route no-one had dared to consider when he paired Chris and Tina. Beginning like a 2012 version of Nuts in May, this blackest of comedies follows the couple on a caravan holiday with a difference. However, when Chris hits and kills a pedestrian who had previously annoyed him there are doubts as to whether it was entirely accidently. When several other people who have slighted Chris also find themselves pushing up daisies, it becomes obvious that Tina has hooked up with a psycho. However, far from being appalled she finds the idea a release from reality and joins her beloved in a blood thirsty road trip, complete with packed lunches and a decent awning. Harold + Maude (1971; USA: Starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort; Directed by Hal Ashby AN AGE difference of 50 years is no impediment to this strange tale of a young man obsessed with death and the lessons he learns from a 79-year-old woman on how to live in the moment. Harold's entire life revolves around death - attempting suicide several times and hanging around at funerals. It is through this strange hobby that he meets Maude, a pensioner with a relentlessly carefree and positive outlook. The pair become friends and eventually get engaged, only for Maude to reveal at her 80th birthday a surprise which will change Harold's attitude to life and death forever. As Good As It Gets (1997; USA; Starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt; Directed by James L Brooks) JACK Nicholson has developed a reputation as botj an on and off-screen womaniser but in this film, for which he and co-star Hunt walk off with Best Actor Oscars, he plays a man whose absolute lack of charm or tact has left him a social leper. Melvin Udall is a wonderfully acerbic grump whose life is plagued by his obsessive compulsive disorder and who is constantly irritated by the rest of the human race. The only person who refuses to be alienated by Melvin is street-wise waitress Carol (Hunt). When Melvin is reluctantly drawn into the private lives of both Carol and his neighbour Simon (Greg Kinnear) the layers of misanthropy are gradually peeled away. When he eventually realises he has fallen in love with Carol a confused Melvin must fight against his complete lack of social skills to try to win her heart.
Reported by This is 7 hours ago.
This is Devon -- An alleged rapist who escaped justice for 30 years was caught by 21st century forensics after his victim asked police to re-open the cold case, a jury has been told. Sam Robinson was traced through a DNA sample which was recovered from the camisole top worn by his victim when he allegedly attacked her in the grounds of a stately home in 1984. The 17-year-old girl was taking a short cut through parkland at Oldway Mansion in Paignton, Devon, when she was attacked from behind, battered into submission and raped twice. She was ordered to strip naked during the ordeal but samples of the attacker's semen got on to her top as she put it on afterwards, Exeter Crown Court was told. Former soldier Robinson, 47, denies raping the girl and claims his DNA must have been picked up from the grass where she put down her top as she was being raped by someone else. Robinson, who lived at Higher Polsham Road at the time but now lives in Brookside, Totton, near Southampton, denies raping the girl in July 1984. Malcolm Galloway, prosecuting, said the victim was walking home on her own at around midnight after a tiff with her boyfriend and was attacked by a man who followed her into the grounds of Oldway Mansion, which was then a council office. He said she was battered about the head and forced to go to lawns near the tennis courts where she was ordered to strip and put her clothes on the ground. She was raped once and then taken to an overgrown garden where she was raped again before her attacker left after a 40 minute ordeal. Traces of semen were found in three different places on the top and scientists believe they must have been transferred from her hands or mouth. He said: "The victim was raped brutally by an unknown male and after the rape she ran home and reported it to the police and samples were taken from her clothing. "The forensic tests available at the time were carried out and semen was found on her top but at that stage it was not possible to identify her attacker. "In 2012 and 2013 the tests were undertaken again on the same material using modern techniques not available 30 years ago and a full male DNA profile was obtained. "It was compared with the national data base and a positive match was found for this defendant. The likelihood of it originating from another person is less than one in a billion. "Work undertaken by the police has shown at the time of the rape Robinson was aged 17 and living within half a mile of the scene of the rape. "In 2011 the victim got back in contact with the police and asked them to look at the case again with the benefit of advanced forensic science and that is exactly what they did. "She was re-interviewed and you may think unfortunately it is something which is going to stay in her mind for the rest of her life." Mr Galloway said the victim had pleaded for her life during the attack and afterwards put her clothes back on in a panic, some inside out, and it was likely the DNA was transferred to the shirt at this stage. Robinson denied raping anyone but said at the time he did have sex with his girlfriend in parks around Paignton and this may explain the DNA. Mr Galloway said police had traced the girlfriend he identified but she told detectives she did not meet Robinson until 1989.
Reported by This is 6 hours ago.
This is Scunthorpe -- POLICE are investigating reports of an assault on a 14 year-old-girl. The girl is believed to have been assaulted by another girl, whose face was obscured by a scarf. The incident was reported shortly after 8.30pm, on Saturday, February 1, close to the church in Crowle. A Humberside Police spokeswoman said: "Investigations are in the early stages, with enquiries underway to establish the details of the incident." Police said the girl sustained minor injuries. Anyone with information should call Humberside Police on 101, quoting log 632 of 03/02/2014. *Follow us on Facebook and Twitter*
Reported by This is 5 hours ago.
Riduan Masmud, 41, attacked the girl in a car parked by a roadside in Inanam, Borneo. He already has one wife and four children aged three to 18.
Reported by MailOnline 17 hours ago.
This is Exeter -- A ten-month baby who died after an alleged Christmas Day attack may have died from natural causes, a jury has been told. A leading expert has told a jury that Kimberly Barrett may have died as a result of a blood clot in an artery in her brain which produced symptoms similar to those of a traumatic injury. James Hunt, aged 30, is on trial accused of killing the baby girl while he was left in sole charge of her on Christmas evening while he was living with her mother Hayley Bradshaw at a flat in Ottery St Mary, Devon. The jury at Exeter Crown Court have heard a week of specialist medical evidence about how the child died with defence experts questioning the entire scientific basis of what is known as 'shaken baby syndrome'. The prosecution case is that Kimberly died from head injuries caused either by being shaken, slammed against a wall or other hard surface, or thrown onto a cot or mattress so hard that her brain moved inside the skull. They say the baby suffered two different attacks on December 12 and 25 when Hunt lost his temper with the girl while left in sole charge of her. Pathologists and consultants called by the prosecution have identified a combination of three symptoms known as a 'triad' which they say is indicative of trauma. These are bleeding in a membrane just inside the skull, known as a subdural haemorrhage; bleeding inside both eyes, known as bilateral retinal haemorrhage, and fatal damage to the brain caused by lack of blood and oxygen, known as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Doctors called by the prosecution say that in addition to these features, there were bruises on Kimberly's forehead and ear and a larger bruise on the inside of the back of her skull. There was also evidence of earlier internal bleeding inside the child's head which they say is consistent with an earlier assault. Hunt, of Pellinore Road, Exeter, denies murdering Kimberly at her mother's flat in Spencer Court, Ottery St Mary, over Christmas 2011. The child died at the Bristol Children's Hospital on December 29 after collapsing unconscious on Boxing Day and being transferred from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. Dr Waney Squier, consultant histopathologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, was called by the defence and told the jury that the association of the triad of injuries with shaken baby syndrome is not accepted by all experts in the field. She said Kimberly may have suffered blood clotting in a vein in her brain which caused it to swell and triggered internal bleeding which resulted in the other symptoms. She said doctors who treated her at Exeter and Bristol were right to consider non accidental trauma as a diagnosis but should also have looked for other potential causes. She said the evidence of earlier internal bleeding and the evidence that Kimberly had suffered sickness and diarrhoea in the days before her death made this a complex case in which it is difficult to trace the exact mechanism and chain of events. Dr Squier spent three days in the witness box and was cross examined by Mr Martin Meeker, QC, for the prosecution. He asked her why the doctors who treated Kimberly at the time had all suspected non accidental injury. She said:"It is absolutely appropriate for them to have done so. The first consideration in a child who has bleeding inside the head is that there may have been some trauma if no natural or accidental explanation is forthcoming. "However, one should never put on blinkers or not look for other causes. You fail the child if you fail to look for other conditions that may be treatable. "A clot in the vein going down the top of the brain might cause the symptoms and signs seen in Kimberly." Mr Meeker suggested the whole picture of the evidence, with the other bruising, and the earlier incident, meant this was a unique case. She replied:"Separate injuries must be treated separately. I think you are oversimplifying it. This is a very complex set of circumstances. I am not able to satisfy myself of the evidence of trauma at the time at the time of her collapse on December 25 or 26. "You must consider the old subdural bleeding and the 32 minutes of hypoxia followed by resuscitation when the baby came into hospital." Ends The trial continues and will definitely NOT end this week. The most likely timings are speeches for the rest of this week, summing up on Monday and Tuesday, and jury out late Tues or Wed NEXT WEEK.
Reported by This is 11 hours ago.
This is Dorset -- City and Colour brought their unique brand of folk to Bournemouth – with the audience at the 02 Academy hanging on every word. The Canadian group are in the middle of a European arena tour, and the cosy former theatre in Boscombe probably wasn't the ideal place for some of the larger, more ambitious numbers. However, frontman Dallas Green's incredible vocals and the band's impressive harmonies were stunning during the acoustic quieter songs. Support act Hannah Georgas joined Green on stage for a fragile performance of 'Paradise' before the audience was treated to the impressive 'Sleeping Sickness'. City and Colour have a fairly unique fanbase. Green sprung to fame leading post-hardcore band Alexisonfire – and has attracted fans of heavier music to a fragile and often beautiful sound through quality and reputation. City and Colour aren't just about their frontman. Brilliantly-named guitarist Dante Schwebel held together 'The Grand Optimist' and 'Two Coins' while pedal steel organist Matt Kelly also helped bring together the band's unique sound. Fans had to wait almost an hour for favourite 'Body in a Box' after Green had asked everyone to hold up their mobile phones, before requesting they keep them in their pocket for three minutes. A memorable and intimate performance of the song was well worth the wait. The venue was perfect for Green's acoustic numbers, but some of the bigger band performances were received blankly by the crowd. Sing-alongs were rare – and when they did come, they weren't loud. However, the crowd seemed utterly content with the show, listening intently to every word. The encore began with another fan favourite 'The Girl' with the band joining Green halfway through for the final flourish. 'Two Coins' and 'Death Song' rounded off the set in perfect fashion. Not really a gig for a casual fan, with City and Colour's quality mellow songs outshining the big-arena numbers which littered the set.
Reported by This is 10 hours ago.
This is Hull and East Riding -- As Facebook celebrates its 10th birthday *Ian Midgley* finds plenty of things to like and unlike about its place in society How did we ever live in the days before we knew what that horrible bloke from school that we no-one really liked was having for his tea? And were our lives totally empty before we had a running commentary about the tedious exploits of the girl from the office and her interminable visits to the gym? And let's not forget all the smug parents with their endless anecdotes about how little Jimmy did something hilarious to the cat, the annoying social climbers and the news about their latest extension, the perpetually drunk second cousins and their night-long vomit-fests, the infuriating time-wasters who want us to join them in a game of Farmville, or the annoying reposters who can't help sharing how they "like" Asda's new range of chicken thighs. Of course, none of these irritants can remotely compare to the enigmatic status teases. You know the ones. Their status updates says things like "Oh, I'm so torn I don't know what to do..." or "I can't believe this has happened, why is it always me?" in a desperate bid to generate a spark of interest from anybody who'll bite. It's the only way the can think of to make themselves sound mysterious and interesting. In reality, the scope of their problems is they can't decide whether its beans on toast or spaghetti hoops for tea or whether to bask in their unpopularity alone at home while eating a full packet of Hobnobs or chocolate digestives. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Facebook is ten years old today and I'm starting to wonder how we ever lived without it. In recent weeks there's been a rumour floating around that Facebook is on its last legs and won't survive the decade. Youngsters, horrified that their parents are using Facebook, are reportedly fleeing the social networking site like red-faced teenagers legging it from a wedding full of dads dancing. After all, if you wanted to look cool in front of your mates down at the park it's unlikely you'd bring your mum along, carrying photo albums packed full of pictures of you sat on a potty, ready to chime in with excruciating pearls of wisdom after everything you say. "Oh, Jimmy used to wet his bed every night until he was ten! Lol," is hardly going to help any young wannabe Snoop Doggy Dog enhance his street cred. But despite the yoof's supposed exodus from Facebook, reports of its death are greatly exaggerated. A report in November last year stated that 89 per cent of all US 18 to 24-year-olds used Facebook, while the numbers of silver surfing Facebookers – people who actually have money to spend on the site's increasingly successful advertising platforms – are growing exponentially. Who needs spotty youths when you can target walking wallets with jobs and disposable income? According to the latest figures, the networking site Mark Zuckerberg started in his Harvard dormitory room for his mates now has 1.23 billion active users worldwide. Its revenues jumped 55 per cent to $7.87bn in 2013 while profits grew sevenfold, bringing the annual total to £1.5bn. That's almost as much as Jim Davidson's predicted to earn from winning Celebrity Big Brother. Of course, Facebook is still a guilty pleasure for those voyeurs amongst us. Who doesn't like to take a sneaky peak at what our extended circle of friends, acquaintances and people we half-recognise from down the pub are up to? Despite laughing at those who shamelessly live their lives and wash their dirty linen in public on Facebook's cyber washing line, quietly sitting in the background observing other people's private lives is undoubtedly a guilty pleasure. It is also a means of genuinely useful information sharing. When the national media seemed far more preoccupied with the death of Nelson Mandela than the floods lapping at the doors of many houses up and down the east coast of England last year, it was social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter that helped give a running commentary on the impending disaster. The Hull Daily Mail itself now had 16,500 followers on Facebook and uses the networking site as another outlet for its news gathering. As long as gossip exists and there are nosey parkers are there to revel in it, Facebook will survive. It's tenth birthday is just the start of what's going to be a long and insatiable relationship with tittle-tattle, voyeurism and schadenfreude. Because, let's face it, we like to know that the horrible bloke from school leads an empty life and is about to tuck into a microwave meal for one. That'll teach him for giving you a wedgie back in the third year. Like it or not, it's life-affirming to know you're doing better than those you secretly can't stand.
This is Croydon -- The superstar singer Prince will be announcing his new tour dates today from the flat of one of Croydon's best emerging artists, Lianne La Havas. The young singer, who went to Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls in Croydon, is hosting a visit from the Purple Rain performer Prince at her home where she now lives in east London this afternoon. She tweeted "Looking fly for the #purple guy" earlier today after the announcement was delayed from yesterday. So far, it is only known that there will be a series of "iconic" venues in the capital and will see him perform with all-female rock group 3RDEYEGIRL. The arrangement was made after the girl singer suggested Prince came to her flat as a joke. La Havas, 24, said in a statement: "It is pretty unbelievable that Prince is coming to my house but it is true! "It will be a pleasure to welcome him into my humble home and play some music with some dear friends by candle light. I couldn't be more excited." La Havas and Prince struck up a friendship during her tour of America in 2013 when they jammed together at Prince's Paisley Park Studio in Minneapolis, and have kept in touch ever since.
Reported by This is 8 hours ago.