Man who raided Ulster Museum to steal Viking helmets jailed for 10 months
Adil Hajjaj also took a vintage doctor's bag and an antique optician's set from the exhibition rooms in south Belfast.
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Metro
01-07-2025
- Metro
Man stabbed through armour during historic re-enactment gone wrong
A man wearing armour was seriously injured by a sword during a battle re-enactment this weekend. The 37-year-old man from Horsham, West Sussex, was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton after the accident at Bodiam Castle on Sunday. He was a part of a living history demonstration at Bodiam Castle, where volunteers showed what medieval combat may have looked like in full armour. Police are asking for witnesses to come forward after the man was stabbed through his visor with his opponent's sword. A Sussex Police spokesperson added: 'He suffered a head injury and he is currently in a serious condition at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.' DI Barry Chandler said police are treating the incident as accidental and offering support to the victim's family. 'His opponent, a 36-year-old man also from Horsham, and the organisers are helping us with our inquiries,' he added. 'We know the re-enactment had drawn a large crowd and understand that anyone who witnessed the scene could have found this distressing. 'We are appealing to anyone who has photographs or videos of the interaction that led to the injury to contact us so we can gain a clear understanding of what happened.' Historical reenactment, or living history, as it's also known, first took root in Northern Europe in the 1890s. As of 2022, there were around 140 reenactment societies in the UK, with around 20,000 enthusiasts devoting their time, money, and expertise to the hobby. While these groups recreate all periods between the Roman Ages up to the Vietnam War, activities remain broadly similar: camp tasks, arms drill, sentry duties, historical crafts and skirmishes between troops. There's a space for everyone, no matter their interest. More Trending But the hobby isn't without its dangers. A woman suffered life-threatening injuries in a similar accident in 2020, slicing her throat open with a sword in Kent during a Viking re-enactment. A witness said at the time: 'They've got proper swords. They were practising and he caught her neck. It really was an accident, a terrible one, so I'm glad she is okay now.' World War Two re-enactors were injured in 2017 when explosions at Audley End House in Essex went wrong. The men were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and made a full recovery. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Boy, 9, 'nearly grabbed and then followed' by man in Brighton MORE: Windrush activists rally government to save Notting Hill carnival MORE: What I Own: I'm a millionaire with eight properties – my home cost just £396,000
Belfast Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
Man who raided Ulster Museum to steal Viking helmets jailed for 10 months
A man who raided the Ulster Museum to steal Viking helmets has been jailed for 10 months. Adil Hajjaj also took a vintage doctor's bag and an antique optician's set from the exhibition rooms in south Belfast.
Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Missing Brit's mum and girlfriend fly to Portugal after he vanished on night out
Greg Monks has been missing since the early hours of Wednesday morning when he vanished in Albufeira, Portugal, while on a stag do. His panicked mum and girlfriend have flown out to join the search The mum and girlfriend of missing British tourist Greg Monks have flown to Portugal to join the search for him. Greg, 38, vanished on Wednesday morning in the Algarve while he was away with friends on a stag do. His worried dad has also cut short a holiday in Spain to join the search. The Glasgow-based mechanic disappeared when he was heading back to his holiday apartment following the first night out in the party resort of Albufeira with a large group of friends. He had flown away with a large group of friends for a stag do and was due to fly back to Scotland tomorrow afternoon. Police have checked hospitals and are trying to find out whether he has used his bank cards and get a rough location on his phone with the help of his family. Today Greg's worried sister Jillian, who first raised the alarm yesterday, said the search was focusing on a residential area called Cerro da Aguia where Greg is understood to have been seen on CCTV. She said: 'The police have been searching the Cerro da Aguia area because he was seen in or near that area on CCTV. 'He left his friends on the Albufeira strip to head back to his tourist apartment and they were on the first night of a stag do and had been drinking, so the thinking is that he could have got lost on his way back to his holiday apartment and possibly had some sort of accident and I understand inquiries are being made in that area. 'The police have asked us to try to access his banking details to see if he's used his cards but we don't have his passwords so it's not been confirmed if he's used them. 'The police have advised us that all the hospitals have been checked. I was phoning him when his friends alerted me on Wednesday morning he'd gone missing and at first it was ringing out but now the phone appears to be out of battery and getting a fix on where it might have last been or is now is not obviously proving easy. 'I've managed to get his iPad to access his Apple account but his phone is just saying it's offline and no tracking is available. 'Apple are saying at the moment they can't do anything and the police are waiting as well and I think they've also tried pinging a cell tower. 'Greg's got a tattoo at the top of his right arm which might help people identify him over and above the photos that are already out there. 'If he's not wearing a top or has got a vest top on it would be visible. It's an unfinished tattoo of a Thor-type Viking.' Revealing their mum was already in the Algarve along with Greg's girlfriend Alison Meechan Fraser, and adding their dad was due in the area tonight, Jillian said: 'There are about 10 to 15 friends all from Scotland on the stag do and Greg was due to be a groomsman. 'Obviously all the friends are actively searching for him with the police. They were all due to go out on a boat trip today and I know he would have wanted to be on that. 'Greg's a plant mechanic so he fixes big diggers and HGVs and things like that. He's a really hard worker, a quiet guy. He's not out that often. He lives quite a quiet, content life with his girlfriend and they have a bulldog and they just go out walking the dog. 'My sister and I have children and he's a great uncle to them. My daughter particularly has got a very close bond with him. She dotes on him. 'He's not got any mental health issues or issues with depression. Nothing like this has ever happened before. That's why when I got the phone call from one of his friends on Wednesday to say he had gone missing it immediately threw up a red flag. 'We're just praying at the moment that we get positive news before the day's out because the longer this goes on the more worrying this gets. 'The last calls we know he's made was to his girlfriend around 9pm on Tuesday when he arrived and a couple of hours later when he got to the Albufeira strip.' Other British holidaymakers have reacted to Greg's family's calls for help by promising their support. The missing man was staying at Novochoro Apartments, a tourist resort consisting of 31 units, thought to be around a 15-minute walk from the Albufeira strip. Last month Edinburgh University history student Gregor Thomson vanished briefly less than a full day after arriving in Madrid with rugby club teammates for a weekend trip abroad. The 21-year-old's dad Murray touched down in the Spanish capital to learn his son had reappeared after becoming separated from friends during a night out.
