Other UK News In Brief

RAF Royal Lands

Prince William has arrived at RAF Valley on Anglesey to start his training as a search and rescue pilot. The 27-year-old prince, who is known as Flt Lt Wales, will be based on the island until the end of the summer. If successful on the course, he will become a fully operational pilot with one of the six UK-based RAF Search and Rescue Force flights later this year. He graduated from a 12-month advanced helicopter training course at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire this month.

Shotgun Recovered In Salford

A boy has been charged after police recovered a shotgun in Salford. The boy, 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with possession of a firearm without a certificate and appeared before Salford Magistrates' Court yesterday, where he was bailed to reappear before magistrates on 2 February 2010. At about 6pm on Saturday 23 January 2010, police were on patrol on Chorley Road in Swinton and they recovered a bag containing a single-barrelled sawn-off shotgun.

Drugs Recovered In Falkirk

Officers recovered a significant amount of drugs, believed to be cocaine, after they attended a flat in Falkirk during the early hours of Sunday morning. Officers were responding to reports of a disturbance in the flat in Melville Street when the drugs, estimated to be worth around £60,000 were discovered. Falkirk Sub Area Commander Chief Inspector Gordon Taylor, said: "This is a significant quantity seized and we are pleased that we have prevented this from reaching our communities. This shows that we use every opportunity presented to us to tackle drugs." A 44-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman were due to appear from custody today.

No Immigrant Centre At Gatwick

Plans to convert a hotel near Gatwick Airport into an immigration detention and removal centre have been refused. Arora Management Services had applied for permission to convert the four-star Mercure Hotel near the airport's north terminal into a secure removal unit. The application was turned down by planning officers at Crawley Borough Council on the grounds there was no proven requirement for the facility.

Group Wins Electric Car Grant

A consortium led by micro gas turbine company Bladon Jets has secured investment from the Technology Strategy Board to develop an Ultra Lightweight Range Extender (ULRE) for next generation electric vehicles. The objective of the consortium, which includes luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover and leading electrical machine company SR Drives, is to produce the world's first commercially viable – and environmentally friendly – gas turbine generator designed specifically for automotive applications. Backing for the project was secured in a hotly contested £15 million funding competition organised by the Technology Strategy Board to support the advancement of the mass adoption of low carbon vehicles.