Shakey
War Hero
It's a hive of news activity in our favourite grim Yorkshire town!
Hungry Copper Breaks Speed Limit And Gets Away With It
A policeman who was cleared of speeding on his way to pick up a Chinese takeaway still faces disciplinary action, his chief constable has said.
Pc Stephen Akrill was caught by a speed camera in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, driving a police Land Rover at 48mph in a 40mph zone.
Magistrates let him off after he said he had been on his way to an accident.
South Yorkshire's chief constable said it was "very regrettable" he had apparently disregarded a speed camera.
Pc Akrill told Rotherham Magistrates' Court on Wednesday how he decided to help after receiving reports of a serious road accident on the evening of 13 February this year.
But when he heard other units had responded he aborted his journey and went to the takeaway instead.
However, the court heard he had not been called to respond to the crash, did not have sirens or blue lights on and was not taking the quickest route to the scene.
This incident has obviously raised public concern and it is very regrettable that an officer should apparently have disregarded a speed camera
Chief constable Meredydd Hughes
He was spotted by a motorist triggering a speed camera and then entering the Wickersley Cantonese takeaway, emerging minutes later with several bags of food.
Magistrates were told the takeaway had been ordered in advance.
Pc Akrill, 41, admitted he had been "foolish" in not reporting to his bosses, as he should have done, that he had triggered the speed camera in Wickersley.
But the South Yorkshire officer denied speeding in his marked police Land Rover and was cleared after a day-long trial.
Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes said on Friday: "This incident has obviously raised public concern and it is very regrettable that an officer should apparently have disregarded a speed camera under these circumstances.
The chief constable is a national spokesman on roads policing
"The decision of the court in the face of the evidence presented to them is entirely a matter for them, but South Yorkshire Police will always seek to prosecute police drivers where evidence suggests they have failed to comply with the law which covers their use of police vehicles.
"In this case, the evidence was independently reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service and disciplinary enquiries will continue."
Paul Smith, founder of the anti-camera group Safe Speed, said: "The hypocrisy is absolutely breathtaking.
"It's clearly one law for them and another for the rest of us. Cases like this do immeasurable damage to the police-public relationship."
Vigilante Dad With Sword Goes Mental
A DAD plagued by yobs on a South Yorkshire estate took the law into his own hands and attacked one of the troublemakers with a Samurai sword.
James Darwin narrowly escaped jail after the assault on the youth in Thrybergh, Rotherham which left him unconscious with a trainer imprint behind his ear.
Darwin, aged 30, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
Sheffield Crown Court heard Darwin and his wife Joanne, 25, had suffered weeks of abuse before the night of the attack.
Judge John Swanson told Darwin: "I fully understand many circumstances in modern life where the hooliganism and destructive methods of others can be extremely frustrating. I hope you can accept why the courts cannot allow seeking out vengeance and taking the law into your own hands. The alternative is ultimate anarchy."
The court heard trouble flared when the couple, who lived in Chesterhill Avenue with their two young children, woke to find the tyres on their car had been slashed along with 20 other vehicles in the area.
Merchant navy engineer Darwin confronted a gang of youths on the street later the same evening. Between 10 and 15 youths circled Darwin and a fight flared with one of them.
Both incidents were reported to police but a few hours later a stone was hurled through a window of their home.
Darwin went with his friend Paul Banffy to the house of a man known as Monkey Boy, who was said to be responsible for the stone-throwing.
Darwin hit the man so hard the Samurai sword snapped.
The victim used part of the small, blunt sword to hit Darwin over the head and a further scuffle between the men left Monkey Boy unconscious.
James Baird, defending Darwin, said his "behaviour was born out by extreme circumstances and provocation".
Mr Baird handed a petition with more than 110 names of residents to the judge which "indicated the degree of problems" in the area. In April the family moved to Lancashire.
Banffy, 34, of Town End Avenue, Thrybergh, pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to four months in prison suspended for 12 months.
RESIDENTS LIVES 'MADE A MISERY'
RESIDENTS in Chesterhill Avenue today said their lives had been made a misery for years by yobs running amok.
One couple who moved to the street were forced to quit their home within two months after a spate of attacks.
A neighbour said: "Within a few weeks their car had been smashed up and had been targeted by the vandals. It's not on. We need more help."
Boarded-up homes on a particularly crime-torn section of the Thrybergh road is a visible sign of the mayhem.
Police respond to calls but residents say it is often too late and council neighbourhood wardens were rarely seen.
A 21-year-old resident said: "I have had my windows put through seven times.''
Man Stabs Woman And Overdoes It A Bit.
DETECTIVES say a vicious attack on a woman repeatedly stabbed and kicked outside her South Yorkshire home was one of the worst they have ever seen.
Doreen Corbett, who was today fighting for her life, was only saved from a sustained assault in a busy shopping precinct when brave passers-by intervened and apprehended a man.
The 39-year-old, of West Street, Wath, is still seriously ill in a South Yorkshire hospital intensive care unit after the incident at 8.50am on Monday - just yards from her first-floor flat.
Det Insp Lisa Ray, heading the inquiry, today described the attack as "horrific" and one of the worst she had seen in many years of policing.
The victim was stabbed several times in the chest and then kicked in the head repeatedly as she lay helpless on the ground.
Witnesses jumped in to stop the assault and the man then gave himself up without a struggle, police said.
The attack was so horrific that several members of the public will need counselling to help them overcome what they saw.
A 43-year-old man has been arrested and detectives have been given more time to interview him. He remains in custody at Rotherham's Main Street police station.
Police are not commenting on the man's relationship to the victim but confirmed it was a "domestic" incident.
More exciting Rotherham news as and when it happens!
Hungry Copper Breaks Speed Limit And Gets Away With It
A policeman who was cleared of speeding on his way to pick up a Chinese takeaway still faces disciplinary action, his chief constable has said.
Pc Stephen Akrill was caught by a speed camera in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, driving a police Land Rover at 48mph in a 40mph zone.
Magistrates let him off after he said he had been on his way to an accident.
South Yorkshire's chief constable said it was "very regrettable" he had apparently disregarded a speed camera.
Pc Akrill told Rotherham Magistrates' Court on Wednesday how he decided to help after receiving reports of a serious road accident on the evening of 13 February this year.
But when he heard other units had responded he aborted his journey and went to the takeaway instead.
However, the court heard he had not been called to respond to the crash, did not have sirens or blue lights on and was not taking the quickest route to the scene.
This incident has obviously raised public concern and it is very regrettable that an officer should apparently have disregarded a speed camera
Chief constable Meredydd Hughes
He was spotted by a motorist triggering a speed camera and then entering the Wickersley Cantonese takeaway, emerging minutes later with several bags of food.
Magistrates were told the takeaway had been ordered in advance.
Pc Akrill, 41, admitted he had been "foolish" in not reporting to his bosses, as he should have done, that he had triggered the speed camera in Wickersley.
But the South Yorkshire officer denied speeding in his marked police Land Rover and was cleared after a day-long trial.
Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes said on Friday: "This incident has obviously raised public concern and it is very regrettable that an officer should apparently have disregarded a speed camera under these circumstances.
The chief constable is a national spokesman on roads policing
"The decision of the court in the face of the evidence presented to them is entirely a matter for them, but South Yorkshire Police will always seek to prosecute police drivers where evidence suggests they have failed to comply with the law which covers their use of police vehicles.
"In this case, the evidence was independently reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service and disciplinary enquiries will continue."
Paul Smith, founder of the anti-camera group Safe Speed, said: "The hypocrisy is absolutely breathtaking.
"It's clearly one law for them and another for the rest of us. Cases like this do immeasurable damage to the police-public relationship."
Vigilante Dad With Sword Goes Mental
A DAD plagued by yobs on a South Yorkshire estate took the law into his own hands and attacked one of the troublemakers with a Samurai sword.
James Darwin narrowly escaped jail after the assault on the youth in Thrybergh, Rotherham which left him unconscious with a trainer imprint behind his ear.
Darwin, aged 30, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
Sheffield Crown Court heard Darwin and his wife Joanne, 25, had suffered weeks of abuse before the night of the attack.
Judge John Swanson told Darwin: "I fully understand many circumstances in modern life where the hooliganism and destructive methods of others can be extremely frustrating. I hope you can accept why the courts cannot allow seeking out vengeance and taking the law into your own hands. The alternative is ultimate anarchy."
The court heard trouble flared when the couple, who lived in Chesterhill Avenue with their two young children, woke to find the tyres on their car had been slashed along with 20 other vehicles in the area.
Merchant navy engineer Darwin confronted a gang of youths on the street later the same evening. Between 10 and 15 youths circled Darwin and a fight flared with one of them.
Both incidents were reported to police but a few hours later a stone was hurled through a window of their home.
Darwin went with his friend Paul Banffy to the house of a man known as Monkey Boy, who was said to be responsible for the stone-throwing.
Darwin hit the man so hard the Samurai sword snapped.
The victim used part of the small, blunt sword to hit Darwin over the head and a further scuffle between the men left Monkey Boy unconscious.
James Baird, defending Darwin, said his "behaviour was born out by extreme circumstances and provocation".
Mr Baird handed a petition with more than 110 names of residents to the judge which "indicated the degree of problems" in the area. In April the family moved to Lancashire.
Banffy, 34, of Town End Avenue, Thrybergh, pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to four months in prison suspended for 12 months.
RESIDENTS LIVES 'MADE A MISERY'
RESIDENTS in Chesterhill Avenue today said their lives had been made a misery for years by yobs running amok.
One couple who moved to the street were forced to quit their home within two months after a spate of attacks.
A neighbour said: "Within a few weeks their car had been smashed up and had been targeted by the vandals. It's not on. We need more help."
Boarded-up homes on a particularly crime-torn section of the Thrybergh road is a visible sign of the mayhem.
Police respond to calls but residents say it is often too late and council neighbourhood wardens were rarely seen.
A 21-year-old resident said: "I have had my windows put through seven times.''
Man Stabs Woman And Overdoes It A Bit.
DETECTIVES say a vicious attack on a woman repeatedly stabbed and kicked outside her South Yorkshire home was one of the worst they have ever seen.
Doreen Corbett, who was today fighting for her life, was only saved from a sustained assault in a busy shopping precinct when brave passers-by intervened and apprehended a man.
The 39-year-old, of West Street, Wath, is still seriously ill in a South Yorkshire hospital intensive care unit after the incident at 8.50am on Monday - just yards from her first-floor flat.
Det Insp Lisa Ray, heading the inquiry, today described the attack as "horrific" and one of the worst she had seen in many years of policing.
The victim was stabbed several times in the chest and then kicked in the head repeatedly as she lay helpless on the ground.
Witnesses jumped in to stop the assault and the man then gave himself up without a struggle, police said.
The attack was so horrific that several members of the public will need counselling to help them overcome what they saw.
A 43-year-old man has been arrested and detectives have been given more time to interview him. He remains in custody at Rotherham's Main Street police station.
Police are not commenting on the man's relationship to the victim but confirmed it was a "domestic" incident.
More exciting Rotherham news as and when it happens!
