Other News In Brief

Mother Remanded Over Four-Year-Old's Murder

A 22-year-old woman has been remanded in custody after appearing at Wirral Magistrates' Court on suspicion of the murder of her daughter, aged four. Chloe Fletcher was discovered at Oakdale Avenue, Wallasey, by police on Wednesday after a call made from a public phone box nearby. A post mortem found the cause of death as drowning. Laura Fletcher, of Oakdale Avenue, did not enter a plea and her next appearance will be at Liverpool Crown Court on 21 May.

Teen Sexually Assaulted

A teenage girl has been sexually assaulted after being forced into a car. The 14-year-old, from Dunstable, was walking along Princes Street at around 8.30pm when two men in a silver car stopped and asked her to get in, Bedfordshire Police said. The girl refused and the men drove away but returned moments later when the passenger got out and dragged the girl into the car and assaulted her. She was then pulled from the vehicle which police said could be a Vauxhall Astra or Corsa. Her attackers then drove off. They were described as white, aged between 18 and 20, with dark hair.

Police Seize Cigarettes In Raid

More than 26,000 cigarettes have been seized by police and trading standards officers following an early morning raid in Ayrshire. Officers entered and searched a property in Irvine, and recovered the cigarettes and 95 pouches of tobacco. They also seized £1,420 in cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act. A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said a 62-year-old man has been reported to the procurator fiscal for alleged tobacco offences.

Crews Battle Roof Collapse Blaze

Fire crews have been called to a house in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff, to tackle a blaze which caused the roof of a four-storey property to collapse. The fire, at a property in Bryn Heulog in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff, was reported at lunchtime on Tuesday. Around 20 firefighters, six in breathing apparatus, tackled the blaze at its height. No injuries were reported and the fire was put out at 1610 BST. The cause is not yet known but an investigation has begun and fire officers are still at the scene. The blaze destroyed the roof and caused extensive damage to the first and second floors of the property.

Odds On For A Barbecue Summer

The coming summer is 'odds on for a barbecue summer', according to long-range forecasts issued today. Summer temperatures across the UK are likely to be warmer than average and rainfall near or below average for the three months of summer. Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, Ewen McCallum said: "After two disappointingly wet summers the signs are much more promising this year. We can expect times when temperatures will be above 30 degrees Celsius, something we hardly saw at all last year." Although the forecast is for a drier and warmer summer than average that does not mean that we will not get some heavy downpours at times. However, a repeat of the wet summers of 2007 and 2008 is unlikely.

(JM/BMcC/KMcA)