Man arrested after deliberate caravan fire in Cambridge
Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
42 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Newport, Cwmbran, Tredegar and Caldicot criminals jailed
We look at their cases. (Image: Ann Bray) (Image: Jonathan Leonard) A 'warped and perverted' couple who sexually abused a young girl have been jailed for a total of 46 years. Ann Bray and her boyfriend Jonathan Leonard were involved in a 'campaign of rape' during which she would film the attacks and send him the videos. The schoolgirl was used as a 'sex object' and assaulted in a 'threesome and rewarded with money'. Bray, 62, from Newport and Leonard, 58, from Caldicot, were both jailed for 23 years each. (Image: Gareth Colsey) A man who repeatedly raped a woman has been jailed for 11 years. Gareth Colsey, 38, from Cwmbran was locked up after a jury found him guilty following a trial of three counts of rape. The defendant, of Two Locks Road, had denied the offences. (Image: Daniel Beatty) A disgraced former primary school teaching assistant was sent to prison for 12 months after being caught with child rape images. Convicted paedophile Daniel Beatty, aged 33, from Newport was jailed for three years in 2015 after he sexually touched an 11-year-boy and showed him pornography. Those offences took place when he was employed at a city school and "preyed" on his victim. He was back in court a decade on after police caught him with two category A images indecent images – the worst kind – on his mobile phone. (Image: Ashley Stockwell) Ashley Stockwell was part of a gang who assaulted a father in a pub sticking up for his barmaid daughter who was being verbally abused. The violence unfolded at the Dorallt Inn in Cwmbran. Newport Crown Court heard that it was probably a 'cowardly' punch by Stockwell which left him with a fractured jaw. The 24-year-old from Cwmbran was jailed for 15 months. (Image: Thomas Morgan) Thug Thomas Morgan fractured a man's skull when he hit him in the face with a baseball bat. The 35-year-old swung the weapon at Christopher Holly on his doorstep after turning up at his Tredegar home early on a Sunday morning to confront him. The defendant carried out the 'revenge' attack after becoming jealous about Facebook messages his partner and the victim had shared. Morgan from Tredegar was locked up for three years after he admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.
North Wales Live
an hour ago
- North Wales Live
Dangerous paedophile used rendition of Coldplay song to try and sexually groom girl
A dangerous paedophile sent a video of himself, to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl, singing a Coldplay love song, a court has heard. Gareth Davies, 64, also sent a series of messages on Facebook, the court heard, telling the girl how pretty she was and also asking her about sex, reports WalesOnline. Davies boasted he had previously been acquitted of rape while other allegations against him had not been proceeded with. He referred to himself as "Teflon Taff." But Swansea Crown Court heard in reality, Davies was communicating with a member of so-called paedophile hunter group operating a decoy account on Facebook and members of the group later tracked him down to the boat he was living on. When arrested the defendant denied the messages he had been sending were sexual, a stance he maintained during his trial and to the author of the pre-sentence report following his conviction by a jury. Ashanti-Jade Walton, prosecuting, had previously told the court that in November last year Davies made contact with the profile of a 14-year-old girl on Facebook. The girl's account was actually being operated by a woman acting as part of a so-called paedophile hunter group, and she made her purported age clear to the defendant but continued with the interactions. The court heard that in the messages Davies told the girl she was pretty and said he had been "showing her off" to others. He told her she was his "special friend" and he referred to himself as her "cyber uncle". The court also heard Davies asked what he thought was a girl about whether she had had sex yet, telling her the first time would hurt but "if it is done right the pain will be very short and extreme ecstasy". The prosecutor said Davies then recorded a clip of himself singing the Coldplay love song Yellow and sent it to the girl, and talked about travelling to Yorkshire to meet the "girl". The court heard members of the paedophile hunter group managed to identify the boat in Swansea Marina where Davies lived with his dog and said on December 12 a number of members confronted the defendant and contacted the police. The defendant was arrested and taken to Swansea Central police station. In interview Davies accepted exchanging messages with the Facebook profile in question but said there was nothing sexual in the messages and said the pair were just friends. He also said he had a "dead c**k" and was asexual and therefore was not attracted to anyone. Gareth Davies, now of a hostel on Castle Street in Swansea city centre, had previously been convicted at trial of attempted sexual communications with a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has six previous convictions for nine offences including stalking without fear of violence from 2018 - this offending had seen him attending at the complainant's house and making a series of sexual comments. He also has a caution for harassment which involved him sending sexual messages to people on Facebook. Jon Tarrant, for Davies, said given the defendant maintained the position he held at trial there was little by way of mitigation he could put forward on his client's behalf. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here Judge Paul Thomas KC said having presided over the trial he had been able to form a view of Davies and gain an insight into his character, and he said he had no doubt the defendant is a "very calculating individual". He noted the author of the pre-sentence report had commented on how the defendant had shown a "great deal of cunning" in the messages he had sent the decoy which, in the main, had not been explicitly sexual in content but which had a sexual "subtext". The judge said based on everything he knew about Davies he considered him to be a dangerous offender but said the sentencing range open to him for the offending before the court did not allow him to impose and extended sentence. Davies was sentenced to 18 months in prison - he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He was also placed on the sex offenders register.
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Girl missing in Texas flood dead after being washed away from summer camp
A missing 9-year-old girl has been found dead after she was washed away in a horror flood during summer camp in Texas, while at least 23 girls from the camp are still missing A nine year old girl tragically lost her life after being swept away by severe flooding while attending a summer camp. Renee Smajstrla's family has confirmed the devastating news following the deadly floods that impacted Texas during her stay at Camp Mystic in Hunt, situated roughly 80 miles northwest of San Antonio. The camp, which is a Christian summer retreat for girls, saw at least 23 children go missing amidst the catastrophic floods on Friday, with 750 girls in attendance for their summer holidays, reports the Mirror. In a poignant Facebook post, Renee's uncle Shawn expressed his sorrow and gratitude towards those who supported the search efforts. He wrote: "Thank you to all our friends and family for all the prayers and outreach. "Renee has been found and while not the outcome we prayed for, the social media outreach likely assisted the first responders in helping to identify her so quickly. We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday. "She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic. Please continue to pray for the other families in Kerrville. We are now trying to make our way home from Italy to be with Michelle's family." The Lieutenant Governor of Texas has also reported that at least 23 girls from the camp, located by the Guadalupe River, were unaccounted for after the region was hit by devastating floods, which brought approximately a foot of rain across Central Texas. Dan Patrick commented: "That does not mean they've been lost. They could be in a tree. They could be out of communication. We're praying for all of those missing to be found alive." The Guadalupe River, by Kerrville town, overflowed, swamping numerous rural towns as the water levels surged over 22 feet on Friday night following several months' worth of rain in just hours.
