Evening Post
Articles for The Nottingham Evening Post:
ATTACK LEAVES MAN IN HOSPITAL
12 September 2007
A darts fan is scarred for life after a drunken yob broke his arm in an unprovoked attack. Darrell Birch was with a small group leaving Nottingham arena after watching premiership darts when he was assaulted on February 16.
Luke Holmes, 21, punched Mr Birch to the floor and repeatedly stamped on his left arm. His accomplice, Paul Kinton, who kicked Mr Birch once, had drunk ten to 15 pints and alcoholic shots that night.
After Holmes and Kinton were sentenced yesterday, Mr Birch said he was traumatised. “The stamp on my arm snapped it in two. I was in surgery at the Queen’s Medical centre for three and a half hours and needed eight plates in my arm, which I will have for the rest of my life.”
Mr Birch had four weeks off work. A six-inch scar down his left arm is a daily reminder of the night that changed his life. “I don’t go anywhere in the city centre now. What happened to me is typical town centre culture,” he added. “It can happen anywhere. Any one of those kids could quite easily have put me in a wheelchair.”
Jon Fountain, prosecuting, said words were exchanged between two groups. Mr Birch, a manager who lives outside Notts, said there was no confrontation and he was not in a gang. His group, which included two middle-aged women, had been heading for a recommended Thai restaurant.
Kinton also punched Mr Birch’s friend James Lowe to the ground. CCTV captured Kinton, of Priory Road, Eastwood, and Holmes, of Rolleston Drive, Newthorpe, both 21, in the attack in Pelham Street. They both pleaded guilty at Nottingham Crown Court to inflicting grievous bodily harm. Kinton also pleaded guilty to a charge of common assault.
Recorder of Nottingham, Judge Michael Stokes, QC, sentenced Holmes to 15 months in prison and Kinton, to 12 months.
“There is no possible excuse for that behaviour,” the judge told the tearful pair yesterday. “It puts people off going into the streets of the city in the night time and it happens far too often.”
TWO RUNS SOLD OUT
14 September 2007
David Hughes, formerly deputy head at Alderman Derbyshire School in Bulwell, has just released his first novel The Reso. Aimed at a teenage readership, it has already sold out two print runs of 200, and more are being reprinted. But Mr Hughes says the novel, set in Rhyl, North Wales, should also appeal to an older generation who wish to reminisce about their own 60s childhoods.
“Lots of families from the East Midlands used to make the trip to Rhyl for the holidays,” said the 50-year-old from Southwell. The book, which is the first in a trilogy, is set on a notorious council estate, the name of which inspired the title. Mr Hughes wants the book to be used for citizenship lessons in schools.
YOUNG MUMS PLAN SPARKS FEARS
19 September 2007
Residents are protesting against plans to convert a farm into a 24-hour care centre for teenage mums. Villagers in Teversal, near Sutton-in-Ashfield, say the area is not suitable for the project as there are no transport or leisure facilities.
Some fear the centre would bring traffic and noise to the conservation area.
Andrea Walker, 34, said residents feared an increase in numbers. “We’re worried that this is the start of something else,” she said.
Leader of Ashfield District Council, Coun Jason Zadrozny, said the proposals would go before the planning committee on September 26. He was aware of concerns, but added: “It is down to how members vote on the day.”
Martin Johns, 44, who has lived in the village for ten years, said he was worried about the teenage mums. ”There is nothing for them to do here, and there are no transport or leisure facilities.”
His own daughters were in similar programs as young mums, he said, adding that the one who benefited more was in an urban area, with a larger support network. But Gardengate Life, the organisation behind the project, says “the rural environment can offer them a better quality of life”.
The plans say there would be seven girls at the centre and that worries about parking were unnecessary, as there are enough parking places at the building.
A spokesperson added: “These are young girls, who will be under 24-hour care. We won’t just be accepting anybody and those who come won’t have cars. We’re trying to give these girls a better life. The nearest neighbour is around 800 yards away and so they won’t be on anyone’s doorstep.
“We are meeting with the residents this evening to allay their fears, as there seem to be a lot of rumours circulating. We’re hoping the residents will rescind their claims once they’ve heard what we have to say.”