Latest news with #Bedworth
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Face of Exhall dealer caught in Bedworth just two days after starting out
An Exhall drug dealer was caught in Bedworth just two days after starting out. Police spotted Imraj Randhawa supplying multiple known drug users in Saunders Avenue, Bedworth within a few minutes of each other. Checks of his Ford Kuga car and his home in Tresillian Road revealed £200-worth of cocaine and heroin, BirminghamLive reported. Various weapons, including a machete and claw hammer, as well as mobile phones were also seized. The 34-year-old said he had only been in operation for two days. READ MORE: Coventry man charged with pub arson He claimed he only got into dealing after losing his job, trying to pay off his brother's debt and then becoming addicted to drink and cocaine himself. Recorder William Webb KC described it as a 'sad case' as he jailed Randhawa for two-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, July 23. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply. "You made a bad choice," the recorder said. "I think you know you made a bad choice and I am sure you would not make it again." He added: "This is a sad case. I have reduced the sentence at each stage as much as I can legitimately. "It does not go to a level where I'm permitted to consider a suspended sentence. That's the nature of class A drug dealing I am afraid." 'Sending out marketing messages' The court heard, from prosecutor Jas Dhaliwal, that shortly after 1.15pm on October 15 last year police arrested Randhawa in Saunders Avenue, Bedworth, after observing him drive around in a Ford Kuga and interract with three known drugs users. They found various wraps in his car as well as two mobile phones, a claw hammer and £45 in cash. Officers seized further drugs and paraphernalia from a shoe box at his home and a list of contacts from his wardrobe. One of the phones, a Nokia, was examined. Mr Dhaliwal said: "There were 19 messages between October 13 and October 15. "The defendant was sending out marketing advertising messages to customers stating he's active. "He received direct messages from users to him asking to buy drugs for cash or on tick. He was arranging meetings." He added that a drugs expert witness concluded Randhawa had only set up the business two days before being caught. "He was still attempting to build up a client base given the list of mobile phone contacts," said Mr Dhaliwal. Jeevan Mann, defending, told the court Randhawa had a positive side to his character including teaching boxing to children. He said: "This defendant was employed but his employment was terminated. He has a brother who had accumulated an extensive drug debt. "This defendant then bore the responsibility of paying off the debt. "As a consequence, he did start suffering mental health issues. "He became depressed and anxious about paying the debt. Eventually he was offered the opportunity to earn money by way of supplying drugs. "A decision he regrets. Looking back in hindsight he was naive to be getting involved in selling drugs." Mr Mann stated Randhawa was given a phone, a list of contacts and was told what to do. "At the same time, simultaneously, he began developing a dependence on alcohol and cocaine," he added.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Birmingham judge expresses sadness at jailing drug dealer caught just two days after setting up
A judge expressed sadness at having to jail a drug dealer who was caught just two days after starting out in his illegal enterprise. Imraj Randhawa was still setting up his client list when police spotted him supplying multiple known drug users in Bedworth, Warwickshire, within a few minutes of each other. They stopped him and ultimately found around £200 worth of cocaine and heroin in his Ford Kuga car and back at his home. READ MORE: First picture of asylum seeker who raped girl, 12, above shop after saying streets weren't safe Officers also seized various weapons, including a machete and claw hammer, as well as mobile phones. Randhawa claimed he only got into dealing after losing his job, trying to pay off his brother's debt and then becoming addicted to drink and cocaine himself. The 34-year-old from Tresillian Road, Coventry was jailed for two and a half years at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, July 23, dashing his faint hopes of a suspended sentence which has a two-year threshold. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply. Recorder William Webb KC said: "You made a bad choice. I think you know you made a bad choice and I am sure you would not make it again." He added: "This is a sad case. I have reduced the sentence at each stage as much as I can legitimately. "It does not go to a level where I'm permitted to consider a suspended sentence. "That's the nature of class A drug dealing I am afraid." Prosecutor Jas Dhaliwal told the court that shortly after 1.15pm on October 15 last year police arrested Randhawa in Saunders Avenue, Bedworth after observing him drive around in a Ford Kuga and interract with three known drugs users. They found various wraps in his car as well as two mobile phones, a claw hammer and £45 in cash. Officers seized further drugs and paraphernalia from a shoe box at his home and a list of contacts from his wardrobe. One of the phones, a Nokia, was examined. Mr Dhaliwal said: "There were 19 messages between October 13 and October 15. "The defendant was sending out marketing advertising messages to customers stating he's active. "He received direct messages from users to him asking to buy drugs for cash or on tick. He was arranging meetings." He added that a drugs expert witness concluded Randhawa had only set up the business two days before being caught. "He was still attempting to build up a client base given the list of mobile phone contacts," said Mr Dhaliwal. Jeevan Mann, defending, told the court Randhawa had a positive side to his character including teaching boxing to children. He said: "This defendant was employed but his employment was terminated. "He has a brother who had accumulated an extensive drug debt. "This defendant then bore the responsibility of paying off the debt. "As a consequence, he did start suffering mental health issues. "He became depressed and anxious about paying the debt. Eventually he was offered the opportunity to earn money by way of supplying drugs. "A decision he regrets. Looking back in hindsight he was naive to be getting involved in selling drugs." Mr Mann stated Randhawa was given a phone, a list of contacts and was told what to do. "At the same time, simultaneously, he began developong a dependence on alcohol and cocaine," he added.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Welfare needs reform despite U-turn
A grandmother living with a degenerative disease says the government's U-turn on personal independence payment (Pip) will still not help those in need, as "complete reform" is Thomas, 59, from Bulkington, near Bedworth, has had muscular dystrophy for nearly 30 years, receiving disability benefits ever since. On Tuesday, the Labour government said it would not change Pip rules until the recommendations of a review could be implemented, having won a vote on its benefits bill following last-minute concessions to party rebels. However, Ms Thomas said that despite some of the benefit cuts being reversed, the "one size fits all" welfare system remained "broken". She is no longer able to walk and is cared for primarily by her husband, but said the current system categorised her in the same group as a person who "had some difficulty walking around"."Others get the same level as me, but have half the disability. It's a constant fight to survive," she government needed to reclassify "the impacts of disabilities" in order for it to improve, Ms Thomas said. She said it was "upsetting" to have to ask for help, but any cut to Pip would be "devastating". The government previously announced current claimants would be protected from stricter eligibility changes to disability assessments have been proposed for anyone claiming Pip for the first time after the recommendations of a current review are implemented. The proposals require those applying to score at least four points for a single activity, rather than across a range of different ones, with assessments scoring everyday activities, such as washing hair, from zero to 12, for no difficulty to most difficulty. "There needs to be complete reform not just an alteration to Pip points," Ms Thomas said. 'Divide in the community' The government previously defended the proposals, after it pointed to steep rises in the numbers claiming benefits and said making changes was the only way to ensure the system remained sustainable in the Mel Smith, from the Coventry charity Grapevine that supports people with special needs, said the proposed reforms still raised concerns."What does that do for the disabled community, you'll get one group who will be eligible and then other people who won't," she argued the new criteria was therefore "unfair" and future claimants would "lose out on vital support". Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
29-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
MP Rachel Taylor to drive donated ambulance to Ukraine
An MP who is taking an ambulance to Ukraine has said she is "honoured" to contribute towards humanitarian efforts in the MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, Rachel Taylor, is set to take on the 1,300-mile drive from Birch Coppice to the Poland-Ukraine ambulance has been paid for by fundraising by an automotive parts firm, based in her said it had delivered more than 200 tonnes of aid since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, including 34 ambulances and more than £6,000 worth of medicine. Taylor - who is also chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freight and Logistics - met with a delegation from the Ukrainian embassy in said seeing the dedication of the team coordinating the relief effort had been "truly inspiring"."I'm really excited to be playing my small part in supporting Ukrainians in their fight for freedom," she said."I know the strength of feeling in North Warwickshire and Bedworth about the need for the UK to keep standing strongly with Ukrainians in their hour of need."Taylor was elected as the Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth at the 2024 general that, she was a local councillor in North Warwickshire and worked as a property solicitor and has also previously served as a line judge and umpire at Wimbledon and in grassroots tennis. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
29-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Judge me on my record, 18-year-old Warwickshire council leader says
An 18-year-old acting leader of a county council has urged people to judge him on his actions rather than his age. George Finch took temporary charge of Warwickshire County Council after the Reform UK leader stood down on Wednesday. He now oversees a local authority with £1.5bn of assets and a revenue budget of about £500m. The unusual situation has sparked debate, with his party calling it a proud moment and Labour and the Conservatives questioning his experience. Finch, a councillor for Bedworth and the local Reform UK chairman, has not ruled out running for the top job on a permanent basis. He said his track record was pretty good. Reform made unprecedented gains in Warwickshire in May's local elections, mainly at the expense of the Conservatives. They became the largest party and formed a minority Howard, who had been leader for 41 days, said he was quitting as council leader with "much regret" due to health reasons. Finch had been his deputy and will serve as interim until a new leader has been chosen, as per the council's constitution. Finch, who also serves as portfolio holder for children and families, said he hoped people would be able to see past his age. "The people of Bedworth Central elected me with a thumping majority of 1,100," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. "Don't judge me on my age, judge me on what I do. At the moment, my track record is pretty good."As party chairman I got 13 out of 13 candidates elected. "All of the things we needed to do to prepare for the elections, they speak volumes." Jaymey McIvor, an Essex county councillor and Reform UK local government spokesperson, praised Finch for taking over and getting on with the job. He said Warwickshire councillors were focused on issues such as fixing potholes and improving access to skills in deprived areas. "I was able to see councillor Finch in action," he told the BBC's Politics Midlands programme. "He was very professional."I think we should actually be quite proud that a young British man, who has been elected to office to represent his community, has found himself in a very senior position."Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston Preet Gill said the people of Warwickshire "frankly deserve better". "This is not work experience," she said. "This is not about learning on the job. "With all due respect, at 18 you will not know how to deliver adult social care, children social care [and] SEND services." Mike Wood, the Conservative MP for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, was more apprehensive. He said he had previously been a local councillor, and it was a tough job."It really would take a quite remarkable 18-year-old to go straight from sixth form to running a large local authority with a half a billion pound budget with no previous experience," he said. Watch Politics Midlands on BBC One in the West Midlands at 10:00 BST on Sunday. The show will be available on iPlayer BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
