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A man who styled himself as the “Kardashian of Cheshire” defrauded over £200,000 from friends and family in a fake designer handbag scheme, Chester Crown Court has heard.

Jack Watkin, 26, of Alderley Edge, persuaded those close to him — including his father — to loan him large sums of money on the promise of either financial returns or access to luxury items. Instead, he spent the funds on extravagant personal indulgences, including shopping sprees at Harrods and a hotel bill of more than £100,000 at The Dorchester in Lond...

A car drove into a crowd of Liverpool FC supporters celebrating the club’s Premier League title in the city centre, injuring almost 50 people. The incident occurred around 6 p.m. on Water Street, a major road near the waterfront, during what was meant to be a jubilant celebration.

Merseyside Police arrested a 53-year-old white man at the scene. The crash is not being treated as terror-related, and authorities have urged the public not to speculate about the motive.

Shocking footage showed a black Ford Galaxy driving through...

Beth Fernley, 26, has admitted forging paternity test results to convince her former partner, 27‑year‑old Ryan Hampson, that he was the father of her child. According to Liverpool Crown Court, Fernley told Hampson in April 2019 that she was pregnant and uncertain of the baby’s paternity. She allegedly requested £300 from him to pay for DNA testing and later sent screenshots purportedly from EasyDNA showing a 99.9 percent probability that he was the father. Prosecutor Gareth Roberts revealed those documents were subsequently discovered to be counterfeit.

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Derek Hatton, the former deputy leader of Liverpool City Council, has been charged with bribery as part of a police investigation into the awarding of commercial and business contracts. Merseyside Police confirmed that Hatton, 77, is among 12 individuals, including former Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson, facing charges related to alleged corruption between 2010 and 2020.

Hatton, a prominent figure in the 1980s Militant movement within the Labour Party, was expelled from the party for his hard-left stance and only briefly reinstated under Jeremy Corbyn’s l...

WHSmith has placed security tags on a £19 packet of Cadbury Mini Eggs in an apparent attempt to deter shoplifters. The anti-theft device was spotted on the 1kg bag of Easter chocolates at the retailer’s John Street store in Liverpool.

High street retailers have warned that shoplifting is reaching crisis levels, with around 50,000 incidents occurring daily over the past year. In December, WHSmith took similar measures during the Christmas period, tagging advent calendars, £2 Terry’s Chocolate Oranges, and card games to combat theft. ...

Major mortgage lenders are reducing rates as part of a year-end price competition to meet sales targets. NatWest, Santander, and Barclays lowered rates last week, despite widespread expectations that the Bank of England will maintain its benchmark Bank Rate during its final meeting of the year on Thursday.

On Monday, TSB joined the trend with reductions of up to 0.25 percentage points on its fixed-rate mortgages. Experts believe these rate cuts stem from lenders striving to achieve their annual sales goals, with further reductions likely to continue into t...

Manchester City owe Benjamin Mendy £8.5 million in unpaid wages after he won an employment tribunal case against the club.

The dispute arose when City refused to pay Mendy for the final 22 months of his contract, worth £11 million, following his trial for rape even after his acquittal last year. The tribunal ruled the club was justified in withholding only five months’ salary, equal to £2.5 million, for the time Mendy was remanded in custody for breaching bail conditions.

In a statement, Mendy said: "Having had to wai...

A former detective who stole nearly £400,000 worth of drugs from police storage was caught after accidentally dropping a bag of cocaine outside his daughter’s school, a court has heard.

Andrew Talbot, 54, previously a detective constable with Greater Manchester Police (GMP), worked with convicted drug dealer Keith Bretherton, 50, to sell the stolen drugs, according to evidence presented at Liverpool Crown Court.

Judge Neil Flewitt KC sentenced Talbot to 19 years, stating, “Large quantities of Class A drugs were remov...

A mother allegedly faked a DNA test in an attempt to prevent the father of her newborn daughter from having access to the child, a court was told.

Georgina Saville, 25, is accused of misleading her ex-boyfriend, Kyle Fitton, 26, by claiming DNA results showed he was not the baby’s father, in an effort to discourage him from seeking custody through legal channels. Additionally, she is accused of falsifying the birth certificate by naming her new partner, Danny Mellows, as the father.

Saville appeared in Southampton Crown Cou...

Recent convictions brought by train companies are expected to be declared void following a significant judicial ruling.

The prosecutions, carried out by companies such as Northern Rail and Greater Anglia, were pursued under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), which allows defendants to be convicted of minor offences without attending court despite this method not generally being approved for such cases.

The exact number of people prosecuted under the SJP for fare evasion remains unclear. However, in a June hearing, Chief Magistrate Pa...

Water companies discharging raw sewage into Britain’s waterways can now be sued for damages, according to a landmark Supreme Court ruling. This decision allows private entities owning canals, rivers, or lakes to take legal action against businesses that contaminate their waters with untreated sewage.

The Manchester Ship Canal Company has been in a legal dispute with United Utilities since 2018 over the company's right to discharge raw sewage into the canal without the owner's consent.

The canal, a 36-mile Victorian waterway connecting Ma...

Lloyds bank has issued a warning to home buyers following a surge in conveyancing scams that cost victims up to £250,000 each, last year.

According to the lender, victims suffered an average loss of £47,000 due to conveyancing scams, where fraudsters gain access to corporate accounts. The incidents rose by 29% in the six months leading to December, with nearly half of those affected under the age of 39, highlighting heightened risks among first-time buyers.

The average loss of £47,000 was significantly higher compare...

A sister is suing her brother, whom she dubbed a "sicknote," after their mother left him her entire £500,000 fortune, a court heard. Carol Scott, 77, left home at 19 to build a career and family, while her brother, John Jones, 75, lived with their mother, Muriel Jones, his entire life until her death in April 2017. Muriel resided close to all her children in Surrey until 2012, when she moved to rural Wiltshire with Mr. Jones and his wife, Bronwen. Subsequently, she drafted a new will, leaving everything to Mr. Jones, a retired builder, and excluding the rest of the family...

During a court hearing, it was suggested that the gunman who fired an AK47-style firearm in various locations across Merseyside might have been seeking "suicide by cop." Leslie Garrett, aged 49, caused widespread panic in Liverpool in January by firing the weapon at several places around the city. Although no injuries were reported, parts of the city were placed under lockdown as Garrett, a former security guard, carried out his actions.

Garrett, who has admitted to several firearms offenses, was scheduled to be sentenced, but the hearing was postpone...

Halifax has introduced a new measure imposing a maximum age limit of 70 for homebuyers, signalling a shift towards more cautious mortgage lending practices. This move entails a reduction in the maximum age at which borrowers can indicate their retirement intentions from 75 to 70, effectively disqualifying individuals above this threshold from securing loans. The adjustment has the potential to compel numerous borrowers to shorten the duration of their mortgage terms in the future, consequently leading to higher monthly mortgage payments.

The impact of this chan...

A mortgage expert has offered advice to individuals considering remortgaging as millions of fixed-rate deals approach their end this year. The guidance coincides with positive news for homeowners, with mortgage rates experiencing the most significant decline since 2022.

According to a financial information website, the average two-year fixed mortgage rate on the market saw its largest month-on-month drop since December 2022 in February. At the beginning of February 2024, the average rate stood at 5.56 percent, down from 5.93 percent at the start of January this...

“Despite a slowdown in sales, residential properties in Liverpool continue to fetch tens of thousands above their guide prices, maintaining a consistent demand, as observed by Cathy Holt, Associate Director at Sutton Kersh.

Sutton Kersh concluded its final auction of the year on December 7, with over £7,000,000 worth of properties successfully sold. In total, the Liverpool-based auction house has facilitated the sale of more than 500 properties throughout the year, amounting to nearly £60,000,000 across their seven auctions.

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The offspring of the late millionaire inventor, aviator, and business magnate, Dr. Jack Leonard, find themselves embroiled in a legal dispute over his £5.4 million estate. Dr. Leonard, an accomplished engineer renowned for developing an early foetal heart rate monitor, successfully ventured into business and pursued helicopter pilot training. His dynamic life included two marriages, with four children from his first union and a close relationship with the family of his second wife, whom he flew to meet in his helicopter on their first date.

Upon Dr. Leona...

A 21-year-old van driver, Anton Hull, described as "selfish," has been sentenced to six years in jail and a nine-year driving ban after admitting to causing the death of a 29-year-old woman, Sarah Baker. The tragic incident occurred on August 18, 2022, near Wincanton, Somerset, when Hull, who had been drinking rum and lager in a pub, collided with Ms. Baker's Volkswagen. Ms. Baker, who had recently completed her Master's degree and was on her way to Somerset for a weekend getaway after putting in an offer on her first home, lost her life in the crash.

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Families who tragically lost babies or had them harmed by Lucy Letby are expressing their approval of the commencement of a corporate manslaughter inquiry at the hospital where Letby committed these horrific acts. The Cheshire Constabulary has confirmed its investigation into the hospital's senior leadership and decision-making processes at the Countess of Chester Hospital (COCH) to ascertain if any criminal wrongdoing occurred.

This announcement has been met with appreciation by the parents of the infants who were targeted during Letby's employment at ...

A potential murder trial looms for a suspect who may face proceedings next year following the tragic stabbing of a man described as having an exceptionally generous spirit.

Matthew Horton, affectionately known as "Babs," lost his life in a harrowing incident that prompted the police to respond to a disturbance at a residential complex on Sefton View in Litherland, late in the evening on Tuesday, September 5. Despite the valiant efforts of emergency services personnel who administered CPR, the 32-year-old succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

A dispute over tea breaks has led to the dismissal of six postal workers, according to a statement from a union. These employees were among the 11 workers who were suspended from their roles at Prenton Delivery Office in Wirral, Merseyside, back in July. Their suspension stemmed from allegations that they had been enjoying tea and coffee at pubs during their breaks. Out of the initial suspensions, three workers were later reinstated, one received a penalty, and the status of the remaining individual remains unknown, as confirmed by the Communications Workers Union to Birkenhead News.

A woman has admitted harassment after repeatedly calling her husband while he was out watching a football match before ringing his friends demanding to know his whereabouts.

59-year-old Joanne Healey called 60-year-old Steve Healey, her partner of 37 years, numerous times on his mobile while he was watching a Chelsea v Manchester United game at a friend’s house. She became increasingly irate that her husband was ignoring her and began ringing Steve’s friends, John and Debbie Ashworth. She called them repeatedly on their landline demanding he re...

Mike Farron, a fraudster, has been ordered to pay a £10,000 legal bill after falsely claiming he injured his ankle due to a pothole and attempting to sue Flintshire council in north-east Wales. Farron alleged that he experienced severe pain as a result of the fall in February 2021 but did not seek medical treatment for the injury.

He also provided conflicting accounts of the incident, initially stating that it occurred at 6pm while crossing the road near his home, but later claiming it happened at 10am. Flintshire council admitted responsibility for ...

Under a post-covid crackdown on truancy, the number of parents being charged for failing to send children to school has doubled in less than a year.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show that schools and councils are prosecuting 1,700 people a month, which is up from between 700 and 900 a month at the start of 2022. On-the-spot fines (Penalty notices) quadrupled from 45,809 in 2020-21 to 218,235 in 2021-22, with parents paying out find in the region of £12 million.

Following concerns that children were “lost” to edu...

A senior executive who was told she could not have a pay rise because her husband already earned “more than enough” has won compensation for sex discrimination.

It was claimed at an employment tribunal that Jiang Ping’s boss at Sheffield-based James Durrans & Sons thought, “a married woman cannot challenge her salary if her husband is a high earner”.

Her husband David Armitage, a director at the same company earned up to £270,000. Ms Ping, a senior manager, had earned £65,448 a year plus a...

In the year to March house prices had the biggest annual fall since 2009, according to Nationwide Building Society. But figures from Halifax paint a different picture. The bank said that house prices had gone up 1.6% in a year.

The housing market still has some momentum and prices have climbed over the past year. But surging mortgage rates and the cost of living crisis have hit household budgets. And the rate of property price growth is now stalling, even falling.

According to Zoopla, the number of new property sales agreed fell by 28...

In a legal first for "online hate crimes", a football fan who racially abused a Premier League player has been banned from every ground in the country.

Antonio Neill sent an abusive message to Brentford striker Ivan Toney in October 2022 and Police began an investigation after he shared it on social media. The message, which was treated as a hate crime, was traced to a suspect who was then living in the North Shields area.

24-year-old Neill, of Blyth, Northumberland, admitted sending an offensive message when he appeared at ...

The First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) has made the first remediation contribution order under the Building Safety Act 2022. The Tribunal ordered a landlord to repay amounts paid by the leaseholders of a multi-let building under the service charge, which were used to fix historic fire safety defects. Click the link here for more information https://todaysconveyancer.co.uk/fire-safety-uk-tribunal-makes-first-remediation-contribution-order/

Figures show that the NHS is compensating two patients a week for lost limbs.

In the past 5 years, the NHS has paid out £189 million ta a total of 605 patients. These individuals have won legal cases against hospitals claiming that negligent care meant they had to have an amputation. The bill in the past five years has reached £276 million, costing the NHS more than £150,000 daily.

NHS Resolution statistics show that the average for the loss of an arm, foot, or leg was more than £300,000. There were also 3...

Figures from Rightmove show demand from buyers returning to the housing market rising by 55pc this month.

The increase in demand comes amid falling mortgage rates and is compared with the two weeks before Christmas. It is the biggest “new year bounce” since 2016, the property website said.

Buyer inquiries were also 4 per cent higher than during the same period in 2019, which experts have attributed to mortgage rates increasing confidence among buyers. An average two-year fixed rate mortgage deal has dropped from October...

The Lord Chief Justice has announced that in an attempt to keep up with “modern terminology”, Judges will no longer be called “Sir” or “Madam”.

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Lord Burnett of Maldon, and senior president of tribunals, Sir Keith Lindblom, have announced changes concerning modes of address in courts and tribunals.: “The move away from Sir or Madam involves modern and simple terminology, reflecting the important judicial role while maintaining the necessary degree of respect. We also hope this ...