Goldfish survives being flushed down lavatory and is rescued from sewage plant

A goldfish which survived being flushed down the lavatory is enjoying a new lease of life today after being rescued from a sewage plant near East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire.

Published: 11:24AM BST 20 Aug 2009

Pooh the goldfish survived being flushed down the lavatory Photo: GETTY

Worker Jake Huey noticed the fish flailing on a mesh filtering screen he was cleaning at the Scottish Water site.

He picked it up and rushed to the treatment building, where he put it in water in an emergency tank.

The fish, nicknamed Pooh, is now being looked after at the Philipshill Waste Water Treatment Works until a new home can be found for it.

Mr Huey said: ''Obviously someone thought their pet was on its last legs and flushed it down the toilet, which obviously we wouldn't advise.

''The fish has rallied as it made its way through the waste water network underneath the streets of East Kilbride and popped up in our screens totally revived.

''This is one lucky little fish. We just need to find a good home for him now.''

Pooh was rescued late last week.

Scottish Water urged customers to flush only human waste and toilet paper down the loo.

It said that items such as nappies and sanitary products should all be bagged and binned with household rubbish.

Samaritan gives rape victim £10k

By JOHN COLES

Published: Today

A GOOD Samaritan given a £10,000 reward for helping catch a brutal rapist has handed all the money to the stunned victim.

Big-hearted Lloyd Gardner, 22, said the woman had far more need of the cash as she was left crippled by the savage attack.

The 48-year-old, who can not be named, was left for dead, unconscious and naked, in the centre of Exeter, Devon, and still uses a wheelchair over three years later.

Lloyd, a restaurant manager, gave cops vital information which helped them track down sex beast Jakub Tomczak, left, to Poland.

The 24-year-old fugitive monster was arrested and brought back to the UK and given two life sentences in January 2008.

Lloyd responded to a TV appeal over the attack when he recognised two Polish girls spotted on CCTV with Tomczak.

He had worked with them before they returned to Poland but he told detectives where they came from and they led officers to the rapist in Poznan.

Horrific

Modest Lloyd told police he wanted the victim to have all the money and said: "I didn't feel like I'd earned it.

"The fact that such a horrific thing happened to that lady, I thought it would benefit her life more than it would mine.

"I just wanted to try and improve her standard of life.

"It's a huge amount of money but I've been lucky throughout my life - she nearly died and was left in a horrendous state after the attack.

"I thought the money would go a lot further to improve her situation. I just wanted to help in any way possible and I hope this has done that."

Lloyd, of Ottery St. Mary, Devon, added: "I thought what I told police was quite minor at the time but they told me it was what they needed and had been a vital part of the case."

Lloyd has now been chosen by police in Ottery St. Mary to officially open their new station next week.

Local Sergeant Nick Harper said: "Lloyd's act of kindness was unbelievable. He is an outstanding member of the community."

Tomczak was working as a hotel night porter when he struck and left his badly injured victim under a van.

He was brought back to the UK under a European arrest warrant and convicted on DNA evidence which matched his semen with samples found at the scene.

He told the court: "I do not know the truth of what happened to her."

He was given two life sentences for rape and grievous bodily harm, to run concurrently, and was sent back to Poland to serve them.

Mother who drowned daughter because she feared she would be taken from her is sent to secure hospital indefinitely

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 12:57 PM on 09th October 2009

Drowned: Chloe Fletcher was held in a cold bath by her mother, Laura

A young mother who killed her four-year-old daughter because she feared she would be taken from her was today ordered to be detained indefinitely at a secure hospital.

Laura Fletcher drowned Chloe by holding her down in a bath of cold water, before attempting to hang herself.

The 23-year-old, who was suffering a serious mental illness, then spent two days in the house with her dead child before reporting the crime to police from a public phone box half a mile from her home.

Fletcher, of Oakdale Avenue, Wallasey, Merseyside, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility last month.

At her sentencing today, the Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe QC, was told she killed Chloe because she feared the little girl was going to be taken from her by relatives of the child's father, Dean Marr.

Andrew Menary QC, prosecuting, said: 'Police received a call from the defendant saying she had killed her daughter and attempted to hang herself, but the cord had snapped.

'Soon after, the police met the defendant at her home when she immediately repeated, "I've killed her, I've killed her".'

Police found Chloe had been dressed and laid out on the bed with a soft toy by her side, Mr Menary said.

Next to the child was a note apparently written by Fletcher which said: 'I'm sorry Chloe you've died, but I just didn't want to lose you to the Marrs because I was scared of them taking you as you were alive.

'I love you that much I did that. I love you and will miss you loads. I tried but I couldn't kill myself, it snapped.

'I love you always no matter what you think of me, love Mummy.'

Detained indefinitely: Laura Fletcher said she killed Chloe because she feared she would be taken by relatives of the child's father

Mr Menary added when Fletcher was taken into police custody, she had written on her left arm with a pen: 'I do not want any more kids'.

He said the killing took place in the early hours of Monday April 27 this year but it was not until early on Wednesday April 29 that Fletcher called the police.

The prosecutor said Fletcher had brought Chloe home from nursery school on the previous Friday and gave her a bath, leaving the water in the tub afterwards because she feared the water supply was due to be cut off.

He said: 'Throughout Saturday and Sunday, both mother and daughter stayed at home until late on Sunday when the defendant became increasingly paranoid.

'She feared that Julie Marr, Chloe's paternal grandmother, was going to get access to Chloe and this was not something Laura Fletcher wanted.'

Mr Menary said Fletcher came to the conclusion that the only way Chloe could stay with her was if the child died.

He said: 'And so she carried the child to the bathroom and put her head first under the water that had been left in the bath a few days earlier.

'Chloe was half asleep but still struggled with her arms to lift her head above the water."

Fletcher held her daughter with one hand on her back and one on the back of her head. She later said she had been surprised how long it had taken for her daughter to die.

'No attempt was made to resuscitate this little girl or to summon help,' Mr Menary told the court.

'The defendant slept with her daughter's body next to her for the remainder of that night.'

Newborn baby falls through train toilet onto tracks

A baby delivered in a train lavatory has survived tumbling down through the bottom of the carriage and onto the tracks.

By Dean Nelson in New Delhi

Published: 6:01PM BST 08 Oct 2009

Passengers on the West Bengal Tata-Chapra Express raised the alarm when they saw Rinku Debi Ray, 28, jump from the speeding carriage in what they believed was a suicide attempt.

The train came to a halt more than a mile down the track, but when passengers ran back to help her, they discovered the new mother cradling her new baby in her arms.

Mrs Ray later explained she had been travelling to her parents home in Bihar, where she was planning to deliver her second child, with her husband Bhola and their four-year-old daughter, when she felt sharp pains in her abdomen.

She went into the lavatory hoping to relieve the pain, but instead suddenly gave birth. The baby fell into the lavatory bowl and through the flap onto the tracks under the speeding train, and her mother quickly ran out of the lavatory and jumped from the carriage to find the child.

Her husband, who pulled the emergency chord, and other passengers who saw her jump, said she injured herself in her leap, but managed to get up and start running back to where the child tumbled onto the track.

When the train came to a halt just over a mile down the line, Mr Roy and other passengers began searching for them. "We got off the train and started looking for my wife. After an hour we found Rinku sitting beside the track with the baby in her lap," said Bhola Roy, a 33 year old businessman from Rourkela, West Bengal.

His wife and new baby were transferred to Purelia district hospital where both are now recovering from their ordeal, while the railway station manager said the baby's survival was a "miracle".

Toddler drowned after father let go of buggy to kiss his mistress during secret trip to seaside

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 10:55 PM on 08th October 2009

A toddler died when her buggy plunged into the sea after her father let go of it to kiss his mistress.

Two-year-old Rebecca Hopper drowned even though her father Andrew and his lover Paula Anderson rushed into the water in a bid to save her.

They managed to rescue her baby brother Lewis, who had been strapped into the double buggy with her.

Tragic: Rebecca Hopper, two, died when her buggy was blown off a seafront in Folkestone when her father let go of the handles to embrace his lover

Yesterday an inquest heard that the couple, who were both married, had met for a secret rendezvous on a seafront promenade at Warren Apron, near Folkestone in Kent in February. As they kissed, a gust of wind blew the buggy away.

Rebecca's father Andrew Hopper leaves Ashford magistrates court after the inquest

Coroner Rachel Redman said police investigated the tragedy and considered charges of child neglect. But the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute father-of-three Mr Hopper.

The Ashford inquest heard he told detectives: 'We kissed momentarily - I let go of the buggy and seconds into that kiss we heard a plop.

It was like someone throwing a stone into the water. We broke from the kiss and thought "what was that?".'

Giving evidence at the inquest, he said: 'After a moment and the realisation we had no choice, we knew what we had to do. I took my coat off and jumped into the water without any thought for my own safety.

'She [Anderson] went for Rebecca, who was lying face down.'

Mrs Anderson, 38, told the hearing: 'It was a horrible realisation that the buggy went over the edge.

'Andrew jumped in first and when I realised there was no way he could get the buggy and children out I jumped in as well.

'Andrew went for Lewis and I grabbed Becca. We struggled in the water.

It was very cold - it was very deep as well.

'I tried to keep her above the water as best I could.'

Rebecca was airlifted to a specialist unit at a London hospital but was declared dead two hours later.

The mistress and the wife: Andrew Hopper's girlfriend, Paula Anderson (left), leaves the magistrates court after the inquest, while Rebecca's mother Sarah has been described as 'an inspiration' by family

Lewis, then eight months old, was taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford where he made a full recovery.

The hearing was told that experts had found no defect in the buggy.

The children's mother, beautician Sarah Hopper, 35, had not known about her husband's affair before the tragedy.

The seawall in Folkestone, where Rebecca was swept out to sea

The couple, who had three children, have since separated.

Although Mrs Hopper did not attend the 45-minute inquest, a statement from her was read out after the coroner recorded an accident verdict.

Mrs Hopper said: 'I am relieved the coroner has now come to a decision.

'Rebecca was my beautiful baby girl and her brothers and I miss her every second of every day.

Rebecca's eight-month-old brother Lewis was also in the buggy but he survived

'While today's decision will help us take the next step in our recovery, the accident which took my little girl's life could so easily have been avoided.

'Rebecca will never be forgotten and I intend to make sure my two boys will always know how important she was in our lives.'

Mr Hopper - who works for BAE Systems in Rochester - is still in a relationship with Mrs Anderson, who has separated from her husband.

The lovers took part in a charity cycle ride in June, according to a worker at the company who said: 'They have not made their relationship a secret.'

Chris Taunton, Sarah Hopper's mother and Rebecca's grandmother, said after the inquest: 'Our daughter has times where her world is so deep with sorrow she doesn't know how to carry on but she has shown so much courage, strength, bravery and self-respect.

'It is beyond belief how she has managed to go on with her life and caring for her two little boys, Joseph and Lewis.

'We are very proud of her.

'Her life and ours will never be the same again but she has been an inspiration to us all as a family.'

Mr Hopper and Mrs Anderson refused to answer questions.

UCLA Student's Throat Slashed in Lab, Man Held

Friday, October 09, 2009

LOS ANGELES — Students and faculty at UCLA are stunned following a horrific attack in a campus chemistry lab in which a male student allegedly slashed the throat of a female student.

The woman underwent surgery for multiple stab wounds at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and was in stable condition Thursday night, Los Angeles police said.

Damon Thompson, 20, was arrested in the same chemistry building shortly after the stabbing Thursday. He was booked Thursday night on suspicion of attempted murder and was being held on $1 million bail, said Los Angeles police Officer Sara Faden.

UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said the victim and suspect were both 20-year-old seniors taking an organic chemistry class along with other students who were in the undergraduate teaching lab at the time.

Cyril Baida, a teaching assistant who was working in a lab across the hall, said he saw the victim stagger out of the lab while another teaching assistant applied pressure to her neck, Baida said.

"The poor girl was completely drenched with blood. She was talking at first but then she started fading away," he said. "We told her she was going to be fine and to keep breathing so she didn't pass out. I told the other TA that he was doing great so he didn't faint either."

Baida said he did not know the victim or the suspect but was told that they were lab partners or had worked together in a small group on projects in their lab section.

Los Angeles city police and campus police interviewed about 30 witnesses who were in or near the lab and might have seen the attack, Campus Police Assistant Chief Jeff Young said. The motive is under investigation.

"Her TA — that guy deserves a medal. He had his hands around her wounds and was yelling, 'Call 911,"' said Baida, a 26-year-old biochemistry graduate student. "I called 911 and told him to bring her into our lab. He kept holding her so she wouldn't bleed until the paramedics arrived."

Baida said the organic chemistry lab where the attack took place is a demanding class.

"All my students have taken it and they hate it. Usually people bond during classes like that because they have to study together. I don't think it was so tough that it makes people go crazy," he said. "It's awful, but things like this can happen anywhere."

UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block said the campus community was shocked by the attack and "wishing for the speedy recovery of the young woman who was injured."

Coma mother wakes after hearing gurgles from 11-week-old son

By Liz Hull

Last updated at 8:35 AM on 09th October 2009

As she lay in a coma after contracting the lethal food poisoning bacteria E.coli, Karen Morrisroe-Clutton felt ill enough to slip away and die.

But when she heard the gurgling of her newborn son, she knew she had to fight on.

Mrs Morrisroe-Clutton, 32, amazed doctors by making a full recovery.

Fight for life: Karen Morrisroe-Clutton's husband Paul recorded the gurgling sounds of their newborn son Oliver and played them at her hospital bedside

She credits her husband Paul with saving her life, by playing her recordings of 11-week-old Oliver's voice.

'I knew that I was dying,' she said. 'I confess that at one stage I gave up. Frankly, I wanted to die.

'But then I heard Ollie. I remember lying there thinking that I wanted to hold him, to see his face and to stroke his little hands.

'I knew that I had to live and that he needed his mother.'

Mrs Morrisroe-Clutton, a librarian, fell ill at the end of July after eating a vegetarian burger from a fish and chip shop in her home town of Wrexham.

She was admitted to intensive care at the town's Maelor Hospital where doctors diagnosed she had contracted E.coli.

They put her into a medically induced coma and placed her on a dialysis machine to try to control her seizures and kidney failure.

She spent five weeks unconscious in a critical condition before doctors began reducing her sedation and slowly eased her from the coma.

The Llay Fish Bar: Ms Morrisroe-Clutton fell ill after eating a vegetarian burger at this Wrexham fast food restaurant. A year earlier councillors had awarded it a zero rating for hygiene and it has since been shut down

It was during this crucial time that Mr Clutton, 33, a business adviser, started playing his wife tapes of Oliver's voice.

He also took in photographs and videos of their son and talked to her about his progress.

'I was having all this treatment but I knew it wasn't working,' said Mrs Morrisroe-Clutton.

'But when Paul played the tapes it changed.

It is the most natural thing in the world for a mother to feel those pangs of love when you hear your child. I turned around and said: "I can't do this. I need to live".'

Mrs Morrisroe-Clutton was discharged after 67 days in hospital and is back home with her husband and Oliver, who is now five months.

Apart from some slight liver damage, which will repair itself, she is almost back to full health.

She added: 'Now I just want to enjoy every day with Ollie and Paul. I've lost weeks of my life and seeing my baby grow up.'

Three-year-old Abigail Hennessey, also of Wrexham, was struck down with E.coli in the same outbreak along with two other adult victims.

All had eaten from the Llay Fish Bar. They have all since recovered. The takeaway was shut down and an investigation is ongoing