Gunman opens fire at busy pub beer garden as landlady left seriously injured
Oliver Corney fired three shots towards the Red Lion pub beer garden in Wath on 28 June, last year, following an earlier altercation outside.
One of the shots seriously injured the pub's landlady who had been bravely trying to diffuse the situation and keep customers safe by locking the gates of the beer garden.
Corney, 34, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and grievous bodily harm with intent when he appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday (11 July).
Corney, of Cricket Inn Road, Sheffield, was given an extended sentence totalling 16 years and nine months, with 11 years and nine months behind bars.
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The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Benn says ‘no choice' but to repeal NI legacy act as veterans stage protest
Hilary Benn has said that 'only one soldier' has been convicted over a Troubles-related death since 1998 as he sought to justify Labour plans to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy and Reconciliation Act. The Northern Ireland secretary, speaking at a debate in Westminster Hall, argued that of the 250,000 British military veterans who had served in the country, 'the number being prosecuted for offences has been very, very small'. Benn said he recognised 'the very real fears that many veterans have' and that the government took 'those concerns very seriously' – but he said Labour had no choice but to repeal and rewrite the legislation because it had been deemed incompatible with human rights law. Citing research by the Centre for Military Justice, Benn said the law firm 'records that only one soldier has been convicted since the Good Friday agreement' – a case in which a veteran received a suspended sentence for manslaughter. Benn was responding to a general debate brought after more than 176,000 people signed a petition demanding Labour not make any changes to the law. Before it began, a couple of hundred veterans staged a noisy protest at the Cenotaph in Whitehall and in Parliament Square with the support of the Conservatives, who passed the legislation in 2023. Veterans at the protest said they believed a simple repeal of the legacy act would lead to a reopening of investigations and prosecutions against them, in a gradual process that would take several years. David Holmes, an RAF veteran who did two tours in Northern Ireland, said that 'what's being proposed would be a return to inquests, that would lead to prosecutions, vexatious prosecutions that would be long, drawn-out'. Holmes, one of the leaders of the protest, said that although 'the chances of getting a prosecution are very slim, the veteran who is under prosecution will be punished for five to seven years' while the investigation took place. Dennis Hutchings died in 2021, aged 80, before he could be put on trial for attempting to murder John Pat Cunningham, who was shot in the back and killed as he ran from an army patrol in 1974. The prosecution had been begun six years earlier, in 2015. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Mick Curtis, 76, who served with the Royal Horse Artillery in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1971, said he believed 'the rules were being changed in retrospect' and that ordinary soldiers who were given rules of engagement that permitted opening fire in certain circumstances were no longer considered to have acted legitimately. The Legacy Act halted all but the most serious investigations into Troubles-related killings by soldiers and paramilitary groups – a compromise that also meant that inquiries into the deaths of 202 soldiers and 23 veterans were among those halted last year when the law took effect. Labour said it would repeal the act because it was opposed by many victims' families and Northern Ireland's political parties, as well as having been deemed by a court to be incompatible with human rights legislation. It has not yet decided exactly what to replace it with. The shadow defence minister, Mark Francois, one of those supporting the protest, said 'we think the government are beginning to hesitate now that the anger of veterans is becoming apparent'. A repeal of the law would open up former soldiers to 're-investigation endlessly', he said.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EastEnders and The Bill actor at war with neighbours over fight for compensation after his wife's finger was bitten by their dog at luxury holiday lodge
With tough guy roles in films such as Quadrophenia and Scum, John Blundell seems like he could handle anything. But the actor has revealed he and his wife Mercina are struggling to enjoy breaks at their luxury lodge in an upmarket resort over a bitter four-year legal dispute with neighbours. Relations with Alison and Andrew Girdiefski soured after their tiny Chinese crested dog, Ziggy, bit Mrs Blundell, leaving her with a scar on her wrist. The dispute that spiralled out of the incident has resulted in the Blundells contacting police to claim they had been verbally abused, filmed, barked at and even had 'Who Let the Dogs Out?' sung at them. But the Girdiefski's firmly deny the claims, point out all criminal investigations have been dropped and say the Blundells remained friends with them – even inviting them to dinner – until an insurance claim over the dog bite incident faltered. The drama has played out at Fritton Lake, near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, which is owned by Lord Somerleyton who tried – unsuccessfully – to mediate between the warring couples. The resort, set in 5,000 acres of countryside, has 115 lodges that sell for up to £350,000, while owners pay an £8,000 ground rent that includes access to a clubhouse with a bar, restaurant, outdoor pool, gym, tennis and volleyball courts, a shop – and a floating sauna. Mr Blundell, 66, who has also appeared in EastEnders, The Bill, Just Good Friends and Juliet Bravo, complained: 'We now go back to our home in Camden in London for a rest. 'This was supposed to be an idyllic holiday retreat and it has turned into a living nightmare.' Mrs Girdiefski, a 61-year-old project manager – who has so far spent £19,000 on solicitor's fees and expects a damages bill of up to £11,000 after admitting liability, countered: 'We were still all happy when they were going through the pet insurance stage and there was no animosity at all at this point. 'But when they learned that the pet insurance wouldn't pay out to them because the incident took place inside the holiday lodge, things changed.' She and her husband suspect their neighbours are 'doing this for the money' – an allegation flatly denied by the Blundells. Ziggy nipped at Mrs Blundell on June 21, 2021, two months after she and her husband bought their lodge. They had walked around 600ft through woodland to visit the Girdiefskis for the first time and were inside their property admiring their skylights. The bite broke the skin on Mrs Blundell's wrist and left her with a half-inch scar after she went to James Paget Hospital in Gorleston for treatment. The couple subsequently made a claim on the Girdiefskis' pet insurance but were turned down as it didn't happen in a public place. Mrs Blundell claims bad blood developed between the couples, saying: 'They would sneakily film us, hurl abuse at us. 'Alison would drive past really slowly… call us all the names under the sun, trying to irk a reaction. 'When they would go past, they would bark at us and growl, pretending to be dogs. 'They have shown no guilt or remorse and would even sing 'Who Let the Dogs Out?' as they passed. The couple contacted Norfolk Police in April 2023 to report the dog bite and harassment, as they said the Girdiefskis were filming them at the clubhouse to contradict Mrs Blundell's claim she had been left fearful of dogs since the attack. Officers gave words of advice to Mrs Girdiefski and put Ziggy on the force's register of dangerous dogs but took no further action due to the lack of evidence available after so much time had passed. They also decided no offence had been committed in relation to filming. A few weeks later Mrs Girdiefski was spoken to under caution by officers and issued with an Acceptable Behaviour Contract after the Blundells made a further complaint about harassment and threats to cause criminal damage. Police concluded no crime had been committed after receiving a further complaint earlier this year – following which the Blundells to launched the civil case as they were frustrated at the lack of progress. Mrs Blundell, who says a plastic surgeon quoted £1,500 to fix the scar on her wrist, said: 'All we wanted was an apology. Alison has abused us so many times and even threatened to burn our lodge down. 'At some points, I have literally broken down. We do not want animosity with anyone and this is not the retirement we want.' The Girdiefski's deny every claim made against them and said relations with their neighbours remained amicable for more than a year after the dog bite. Mr Girdiefski, who works in forensic litigation, said: 'We saw them multiple times after the incident. They were very friendly still. We even went for dinner at their lodge… 'Suddenly, out of the blue, they were asking for our pet insurance details and told us they would be making a claim.' Referring to the claim being turned down, his wife added: 'From this point on things changed. We thought they were doing this for money. Why else would they be doing it? 'We, from day one, have accepted responsibility. Our Ziggy did bite Mercina and we have never denied this. 'We wanted it settled [out of court] and have made multiple attempts to settle the matter with them.' Mr Blundell, who played 'Daddy' Pongo Banks in the brutal 1970s prison drama Scum and Leader of the Rockers in Quadrophenia – appearing opposite Ray Winstone in both films - added: 'This is absolutely nothing to do with financial gain at all. It is simply about accountability.' Lord Somerleyton, whose resort is frequented by celebrities including EastEnders stars Charlie Brooks and James Farrar and was used to film E4 reality show The Real Dirty Dancing with Anthea Turner and singer Lee Ryan - confirmed he had tried to orchestrate peace between the couples. 'We offered to sit down and try and talk things through and settle the feud in our own family business style kind of way,' he said. 'But the disagreement escalated well beyond our control and, once it ended up in court, there was not much more we could have done.' There have been several civil hearings, resulting in a judgement against the Girdiefskis. At the latest hearing, in Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court late last month, the Girdiefskis were told a settlement figure would be decided during a hearing at Norwich County County Court later this year. Mrs Girdiefski, whose principle property is in Norwich, said: 'These sums of money are just ridiculous – the sort of money you would expect to be paying somebody who has had their face ripped off by a dog, not this mere 1.2cm cut.' Norfolk Police confirmed they had been contacted about a number of alleged incidents including a dog allegedly being dangerously out of control and a hate crime but had not taken action. A spokeswoman said of alleged harassment and threats to cause criminal damage between May 9, 2023, and July 7, 2023: 'A woman was questioned under caution (voluntary police interview). 'She was issued with an Acceptable Behaviour Contract in connection with anti-social behaviour which outlined she should not contact the victim/s.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Woman finds her long-lost brother on the other side of the world after decades apart - and reveals they nearly crossed paths 34 years ago
A woman who tracked down her long-lost brother after only finding out he existed when their mother died has revealed how her life has been 'enriched' in the midst of tragedy. Jess Basey-Fisher, 53, was perched on the end of a bed holding her mother's ashes in 2019 when her father Nicholas dropped a bombshell that would change her life forever. Unbeknown to her, Jess, a nurse from Carleton St Peter, Norfolk, had a biological brother living on the other side of the world who had been hidden from her through her whole life. Her mother, Ann Weir, had given birth to a baby boy years before meeting Nicholas, but put him up for adoption in the 1960s due to the societal pressures of raising a child out of wedlock. In a bizarre coincidence in 1991, the secret sibling travelled from his adoptive family home in Australia to stay with his paternal aunt in the Norfolk village of Brundall - just 10 minutes away from where Jess was living at the time. However, it would not be until April 1 2025 - some 63 years after her brother was born - that the siblings would finally meet for the first time after Jess tracked him down through Ancestry and Facebook. In another heartbreaking layer to their extraordinary story, he was diagnosed with stage four cancer in November 2024 - just a month after they first made contact online. What followed was an emotional reunion between Ann's separated children which came at a key moment in Jess' life when she was battling through a double tragedy along with the revelation that she had a secret older brother. Her GP father Nicholas, who had strongly urged her to track down her brother, died in a fatal cycling crash in Amsterdam just five months after Ann's death - and six days after the family laid her to rest. 'I remember him saying you've got to find him. And I said, "Yeah, too right"... I just had this yearning to find him.' She added: 'When when dad told me, obviously my jaw just dropped. It was just a real surprise but I had such an urge to find him. 'The reason why dad had told me was because he'd read a book by Joanna Trollope, called Brother and Sister. He waited until probably six weeks after mum died to tell me so. It wasn't something that he told me straight away. 'But he felt that we should know, because he'd read this book, and I've read it now, and I can see why he felt he needed to, and he was very keen for me to find Alistair. 'I haven't got a very big family, so I suppose you want to find out any extra members. It was just something that I was really important to me. 'I can't even begin to think how mum would have felt.' Despite being filled with determination to find her brother, the only information that Jess had to go off was her mother's name. She subsequently discovered that her mother and the father of her long-lost brother had met at a ball at a US airbase in Sculthorpe. Ann, who went on to work as a nurse and a midwife, was then sent to London to give birth. Jess then managed to track down her brother's birth record from September 1962 on the Ancestry website after guessing what his first name would be. She was met with 50 different results for 'A Weir' but incredibly tracked her brother down by guessing what his first name would be based on knowing what her mother would have picked. 'I searched down and looked at all the names that mum would have chosen. It was just a hunch. I thought I've got to start somewhere, so let's start with James. And it was the right one, so I didn't have to do any more searching, which was rather lovely. Thrilled with the discovery, Jess then contacted a social worker who tracked James down on Facebook in 2021. He had been renamed Alistair Dalgliesh and was 62 and living in Australia, having moved over with his new family from Kent when he was three. His new parents had a daughter but were struggling to have another child when they adopted Alistair. They had moved Down Under via the Ten Pound Poms scheme, a term given to British immigrants who migrated to Australia and New Zealand after the Second World War. Back in England, Ann would go on to marry Nicholas, with the wedding taking place on Alistair's birthday - six years after he was born. 'I think the fact that she got married on his birthday says a lot,' Jess said. 'That was her nod. 'I mean it could be total coincidence that but equally I think you'd never forget.' Bearing extraordinary similarities to her own childhood, Alistair's adoptive mother was also a nurse, his father also a GP. The journey to find Alistair did not come without stumbling blocks. To begin with, there was a red herring where Jess was told by a social worker they had found her brother, only for them to realise he was born 10 years too late. Then when the social worker found the right Alistair on Facebook, he failed to respond to follow-up emails. 'I was quite nervous as well, because he might not want to be found, he might not know he was adopted for a start, he might have changed his mind, and I went through all the possible scenarios,' she added. Social workers came and went but persistent Jess always asked them to keep contacting Alistair - and then one day he started replying. The pair first started exchanging messages on October 3 2024 and held their first phone call, starting with Jess asking him 'Have you got red curly hair?' to which he replied yes. The siblings then proceeded to have a two-hour FaceTime and connected instantly, laughing about how similar they look. 'We were just having two hour conversations every couple of days, because we had so much to catch up on.' But then came another tragedy. 'Literally a month later, he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer,' Jess said. 'And I also had to tell him that his birth mum was no longer alive, which wasn't an easy thing to do. 'But he he actually said to me, he said, "Do you know what, Jess? The only thing I regret is not being able to say to her, "Thank you, I had a really lovely life"."' Jess then travelled to Australia in April this year to finally meet Alistair in person and support him through his chemotherapy. Describing the moment she met her brother for the first time, Jess said: 'I was really cross with myself because I'd asked Suzie, his wife, to video us. In a reference to ITV show Long Lost Families, she quipped: 'I said, all we need is Davina McCall to be there! 'But I stupidly crept up on them which is just a bit stupid because she couldn't video it. 'I saw them, and I was just so excited I forgot to do it properly. But never mind! 'I couldn't stop looking at him. You're looking at every single detail. I was comparing him to my mum. I just kept saying, "God, this is just so unreal. Is this happening?" It's so weird.' Jess was stunned by the similarities between Alistair and their mother, including his love for history and music. 'I think I watched more English television when I was out there than I ever watched. That's all we watched, Antiques Roadshow, Antiques Road Trip, 1 % Club and all those.' Jess said she was welcomed into the family by Alistair's adoptive mother, Marjorie, and has even been added to the family tree. She also has two nephews through Alistair. Jess revealed how the pair nearly crossed paths 34 years ago, when Alistair came back to the UK to stay with a relative. She explained: 'Alistair's been out there since he was three, and ironically, in 1991, he was staying with his adoptive father's sister in Brundall, which is 10 minutes from where I was living. 'How weird is that? The parallel lives, it's just a bit weird, there's some real coincidences.' Alistair is having chemotherapy every three weeks but is due to come over and stay with jess in Norfolk. She joked how he will have to adjust to his 'life in Suburbia' to the 'mud of the Norfolk farm'. Jess says that Alistair as 'really enriched my life', adding: 'I still can't comprehend it really. 'She said they are 'making up for lost time', adding: 'We're just basically picking up a little bit later. 'It is weird because it's like I've known him all my life.
