Bus company owner jailed for £23,400 tax fraud scam

December 1, 2016, 6:35 am

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A bus company owner who faked invoices as part of a £23,400 tax fraud scam has been jailed for three years.Andrew Harris, who was trading as Harris of Leicester, created false invoices from two companies with costings for refurbishment work carried out on his buses.He then submitted the invoices to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to back up fraudulent VAT repayment claims he made between January 2013 and January 2015. However, the businesses confirmed to HMRC investigators that they had...

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Man set fire to mother's home after hearing 'voices' following an...

December 1, 2016, 6:47 am

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A mentally-ill man who set fire to his mother's home, after hearing "voices" following an argument, has been placed on a hospital order.Adewale Babatunde Aderonmu (30) who suffers from schizophrenia, was unfit to plead to the offence, but a jury heard the evidence and made a finding of fact that he "did the act" of arson, on March 20 last year. A second jury also found he "did the act" of sexually assaulting a woman, whom he groped in the street, in an unrelated...

How police are using BALLOONS to prevent burglaries in Loughborou...

December 1, 2016, 9:05 am

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Police have adopted a novel approach to showing how burglars can squeeze through even a partially open window – by putting inflated balloons through the gap. The balloons, which have a crime prevention message tagged to them, are being used by Leicestershire Police in Loughborough in an attempt to drive down burglary rates. Officers are targeting properties occupied by the town's large student population. On Monday, officers visited 500 student homes and found 11 were empty and with...

Judge says depressed mum deserves 'compassion' after trying to...

December 1, 2016, 10:00 am

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A judge took pity on a clinically depressed mother who attempted to murder her daughter and kill herself in a house fire, saying she deserved "compassion, not punishment".The distressed woman, whose actions were "borne of despair", torched coats hanging up in the hallway with a cigarette lighter at 4am.She disabled two fire alarms and went back to sleep, alongside her 11-year-old daughter, Leicester Crown Court was told.As the blaze mushroomed into a fireball downstairs, the...

Is this the work of Leicester's most brazen fly-tipper?

December 1, 2016, 11:09 am

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Fly-tippers often do their dirty deeds under cover of darkness – but not this one. This double mattress was dumped in the footpath which runs through the grounds of a city centre church this morning. Shortly after midday, Leicester City Council's litter busters chanced on it on their way to another job and arranged for it to be removed. Next, they hope to trace the person who left it there. If they do manage to find them, they will fine them up to £250. Bemused passersby...

Shanti Margh stabbing: Three men, 18, bailed as investigation...

December 1, 2016, 11:58 am

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Police have bailed three men who were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of a 19-year-old man. Officers were called at 2.30pm on Monday to Shanti Margh, Belgrave. However, following inquiries, they say they have now established that the assault took place in Dysart Way, Leicester. A section of Dysart Way was cordoned off on Tuesday as police searched at the scene. The three men, all aged 18, have also been released on bail after they...

Police step up search for drunk or drugged-up drivers

December 1, 2016, 11:00 pm

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Police today launched the annual Christmas crackdown on drunk or drug-impaired drivers.Officers said extra checks would be made on drivers across the city and county and around the clock in the run-up to Christmas and New Year's Eve.Last year's month-long operation was the first to see officers using roadside testing kits which enable them to identify motorists who are under the influence of drugs.The handheld devices, which are part of officers' everyday kit, can detect the merest trace of...

Jail term 'not too long' for teenage rapist who threatened to...

December 2, 2016, 3:24 am

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A teenage rapist who threatened to stab his "vulnerable" victim has failed to convince judges his eight-year sentence was too tough.Ibrahim Abdulle (19), of Myrtle Road, Evington, Leicester, was with another man wandering around Leicester railway station on October 8 last year when they came across their victim, who is in her mid-40s.She agreed to engage in a sex act with the other man in exchange for £9, Mr Justice Singh told London's Appeal Court.They went into an alleyway and,...

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A hearse and a smashed-up car: police launch drink driving...

December 2, 2016, 9:54 am

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Police used a hearse and a smashed-up car to demonstrate the tragic consequences of drink or drug-impaired driving. The two vehicles were present today as Leicestershire Police launched its annual month of action in the run-up to Christmas and New Year's Eve. The heavily damaged car, a Rover 25, was involved in a real drink-driving case, officers said. The campaign was launched by police and the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership began the four-week operation...

Peter Farrands: ​Ex-teacher, 90, has jail term increased after...

December 2, 2016, 10:07 am

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A 90-year-old former teacher and scout master has had a seven year jail sentence increased to nine years, after four more victims of his sex offending came forward.Peter Farrands, who was also a respected church minister, molested youngsters in his classroom and a storeroom at Folville Rise Junior School, in Braunstone, Leicester, where he taught between 1976 and 1981. He was jailed for seven years in May 2015, after a jury convicted him of indecently assaulting two former pupils.The pensioner...

Burglary victim, 81, overwhelmed by support as fund opens to help...

December 2, 2016, 11:30 am

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An 81-year-old great-grandma whose home was burgled and her Christmas savings taken two days after she learned she has cancer has been overwhelmed by donations and messages of support from Mercury readers. Earlier this week, Sheila Weston asked the Mercury to publish an open letter she had written to the person who ransacked her home and stole her money in the hope its message would somehow reach the intruder. Since the story appeared, messages of goodwill have flooded in, along with...

DPD worker stole £12,000 worth of mobile phones from depot

December 3, 2016, 3:38 am

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A trusted employee stole mobile phones worth £12,000 from his workplace by throwing them over a fence or dumping them near his car, a court heard.Farayi Mokale, who had a supervisory role at DPD Group's parcel hub in Hinckley, was caught when a security guard saw him acting suspiciously - throwing a parcel near to where his car was parked, in March.Leicester Crown Court was told his vehicle was searched at the end of his shift and six new mobile phones, worth £3,000, were...

Sharing crack cocaine with friends 'like buying round of drinks...

December 4, 2016, 2:35 am

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A former drug user said sharing his crack-cocaine with friends was like "going to the pub and buying a round of drinks".Rfakat Ali (41) was caught with the Class A drug by chance when the police went to a house in Loughborough looking for someone else.Jonathan Dunne, prosecuting at Leicester Crown Court, said Ali and two others were present when the officers found five wraps of crack-cocaine on a table.Read more: Embers from coal burner thought to have started a blaze in wooden shisha...

Disabled girl's stolen wheelchair found on Tesco car park

December 4, 2016, 3:20 am

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A disabled teenager has been reunited with her wheelchair more than a week after it was stolen. The girl, who was born with spina bifida and cannot walk, and her family had given up hope of getting the chair back until a police officer turned up at the home with it. Officers had retrieved it from the car park of Tesco in Hamilton. Leicester, after a member of staff contacted them to report seeing a group of youths playing with it. The staff member had read an appeal by the family in the...

Shop hopes to win licence by not selling super-strength alcohol

December 4, 2016, 3:55 am

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A city centre shop-owner hopes to obtain a licence to sell alcohol by agreeing to not stock the super-strength drinks which attract street-drinkers. In the application to Leicester City Council's licensing department, the owner of Red Apple Supermarket, in Charles Street, says he will not sell beers, lagers or ciders of more than 5.5 per cent alcohol content. Also, the shop will have a 16-camera CCTV system and staff will be trained to refuse to sell alcohol to people who are drunk or...

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MP demands public safety assurance over child killer Colin...

December 4, 2016, 5:15 am

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An MP has demanded to know whether notorious child killer Colin Pitchfork has been transferred to an open prison.Alberto Costa says he is seeking assurances that Pitchfork is not a danger to society.It follows a decision earlier this year to allow the double murderer to be moved to a lower security jail.Former Justice Secretary Michael Gove rubber stamped the potential transfer, despite opposition from the families of Pitchfork's victims.Pitchfork raped and murdered 15-year-old Lynda Mann in...

Elderly woman left "badly shaken" after being dragged...

December 5, 2016, 2:34 am

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An elderly woman has been left badly shaken after having her handbag stolen in the street.The 82 year old was dragged to the ground as the bag containing cash was pulled from her shoulder.The incident occurred as the woman was walking along a town centre street in Market Harborough.She was attacked by a woman thief in Walcot Road at the back of the Commons car park at about 2pm on Friday afternoon.Police said the woman was approached from behind by the robber,who was a woman,and suffered cuts to...

Human traffickers were stalking Madeleine McCann, according to...

December 5, 2016, 10:24 am

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Detectives have been given more money to probe an "important" new lead in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.The search for the Rothley youngster, who vanished on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007, aged three, is reportedly being extended by Scotland Yard due to the latest tip-off.It concerns information that a gang of European traffickers may have snatched Madeleine from the family's holiday apartment in the Praia da Luz resort after taking pictures of her.The Sun on Sunday...

Three men arrested after police are called to two street brawls

December 5, 2016, 11:25 am

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Police arrested three young men after officers were called to a reports of street-brawling. The men, aged 20, 21 and 23, were detained after police were alerted to disorder in Bridge Road and St Barnabas Road, Spinney Hills, Leicester. Leicestershire Police said callers reported the violence, initially in Bridge Road, shortly before 9pm last night. In a statement, the force said: "Officers were called to report of a large number of men gathered in Bridge Road, Leicester."We also...

Glass lantern at scene of tragic tots' deaths is found smashed

December 5, 2016, 10:00 pm

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An ornate glass lantern placed at the roadside where two toddlers were killed by an out-of-control car has been smashed. The tribute, which held a lit candle, was one of a number placed at the scene in Leicester's West End where two-year-old Zofia Tabaka and 21-month-old Oliwier Baczyk were killed in August four years ago. The lanterns stand next to a memorial stone which is inscribed with the children's names. One appears to have been smashed on Saturday. However it is not known...