TWO MEN JAILED FOR VICIOUS PLATFORM ATTACK

TWO men from Coventry have been jailed for 12 months after kicking a man unconscious on a platform at Birmingham’s New Street station.

Andrew O’Reilly, of Allesley Park, and Marc Turner, of Wyken, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday October 23.

They were charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm after the vicious attack on a 32-year-old.

The court heard how the pair, who both pleaded guilty, kicked their victim in the head while waiting for a train home at about 11pm on April 10 earlier this year.

O’Reilly, aged 28, and Turner, aged 24, had also assaulted the man in the station toilets minutes earlier, the court heard.

The pair fled on a Coventry-bound train after they were chased by rail staff and a passenger who witnessed the attack on the platform.

As part of the investigation, British Transport Police (BTP) issued CCTV images of the attackers, who members of the public identified as O’Reilly and Turner.

BTP officers later arrested and charged O’Reilly and Turner with GBH after they admitted during interview that they had carried out the attack.

The victim spent the night at Birmingham’s City Hospital where he was treated for cuts to his face and bruised ribs before being released the next day.

He is still receiving medical treatment for his injuries.

Andrew O’Reilly and Marc Turner were both jailed for 12 months.

Speaking after the case, Detective Constable Graham Moss said: “This was a particularly violent and unprovoked attack on someone who was just trying to catch his train home.”

GOLDING DINES AT ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT AFTER WINNING A Q MUSIC AWARD

The Specials legend Lynval Golding celebrated scooping the prestigious Q Inspiration Award by tucking in to an all-you-can-eat buffet in Coventry.
The 58-year-old was presented with the gong by Back to Black singer Amy Winehouse at the star-studded Q awards ceremony in London last week.
But, rather than celebrate the achievement in a top restaurant in the capital, he chose to rush back to Coventry for an all-you-can-eat buffet.
The 2-Tone star tucked into a £7.99 meal at the Taybarns restaurant in Walsgrave, with his glistening trophy by his side.
He had shunned the after-show party on Monday to satisfy his hunger in his home city.
Lynval said: “As soon as Amy gave us the award I shot off. I didn’t hang around for the party.
“We were all starving and wanted to get back here for the buffet. We’re in here all the time – we live only round the corner.”
Mark McMenemy, Taybarns Coventry general manager, said: “We are delighted that such a musical legend chose to celebrate with us and it just goes to show that we really do offer something for everyone here at Taybarns.”
The Q Awards are the UK’s annual music awards, which have been held since 1990 and are run by the music magazine Q.

ESCAPE BAR RE-OPENS

ESCAPE bar in Coventry’s city centre will be opening its doors again tomorrow, three months after they suddenly closed.

The award-winning venue, in Hales Street, closed unexpectedly in July and bailiffs were called in after the owners fell into financial difficulties.

A new management group has taken over the running of the leased venue, which forms part of the Old Fire Station complex, off Millennium Place.

Troy Linehan, who was the bar’s general manager before it closed, returns as the venue’s co-manager.

He said: “Escape bar was really popular and everyone was surprised to see it close, so it will be nice to get it back up and running again.

“There won’t be any major changes to how it used to be.

“The only difference is the new management.

“It will still be all about the bands and live music. It will be like going back in time and it never closed.

“If anything, the bar will go up a gear with more entertainment.”

Mr Linehan will share the managerial responsibility with Liz Wilson-King, former manager of The Cottage, in Earlsdon.

When the bar ceased trading, bailiffs posted a notice on the door to inform the owners they entered the premises on behalf of the landlord. The bar’s unexpected closure came as a shock to city revellers, but the previous owners admitted the bar was too costly to run.

Mr Linehan is certain Escape will be a success.

He said: “I am very confident it will work because of the amount of people who demanded it was reopened.

“There’s been huge support for it and an online petition.

“We’re in the lead-up to the festive season and hopefully Escape will be everyone’s first point of call again when they’re on a night out in the city centre.”

Escape, which opened in the Old Fire Station in 2006, was named best bar in Coventry in the Best Bar None awards 2007.

URNS WITH PARENTS' ASHES STOLEN

THOUGHTLESS thieves took off with two urns carrying the ashes of the homeowner’s parents.

The burglars overlooked credit cards and a Rolex watch during a burglary at Radford home on Thursday October 22.

Intruders broke into the house between 7pm and 9pm, ignored obvious valuables such as a wallet lying on a coffee table, but went for the wooden urns that were stored in the 54-year-old resident’s bedroom.

The baffled homeowner said: “I can’t believe someone would deliberately take a stranger’s ashes. Both urns featured a tribute plaque that included the date when each of my parents died, so the contents should have been apparent.”

The urns were later discovered by Coventry police officers during a search of nearby Holbrook Park.

It’s thought the thieves, who stole two mobile phones, a Nokia 6600 and a Sony Ericsson P9101and tins of loose change, may have mistakenly believed the weighty urns were used to collect pound coins.

The victim added: “Obviously the urns are very precious to me, so it was upsetting to find they’d been taken.

“The officers went to the trouble of calling out local undertakers so that the remains could be gathered respectfully.

“I’m grateful they dealt with a delicate situation like this in such a compassionate way.”

Sergeant Jerome Moran, of the Radford Neighbourhood Police Team, said: “This was a particularly callous, insensitive crime, and hopefully someone will have seen the thieves and come forward with information or a description.”

Anyone who may have spotted the thieves in the Holbrook or Radford areas on Thursday evening should call Stoney Stanton Road Police Station on 0845 113 5000.

POSSIBLE PARKING FEES SCRAPPED AT HOSPITAL

LABOUR has promised to abolish hospital parking fees if they win the next general election.

But the ins-and-outs of the policy have not yet been ironed out, leaving users of Coventry’s University Hospital confused.

At the party’s Brighton conference, the Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham, promised that hospital car parking charges would be abolished and phased out completely over the next three years under a future Labour government.

Initially, it would mean free parking permits would be provided for all hospital inpatients. But there hasn’t been any further guidance.

Coventry north west MP Geoffrey Robinson has campaigned against hospital parking fees, claiming they are a “tax on the sick”.

He added: “I have campaigned for years on this issue, so naturally I am delighted with this announcement.

“I’ve written to MP Andy Burnham to find out the fine detail on this and what it means in terms of timescales for our University Hospital.

“It is a big step and a good one too. It is targeting inpatients who have visitors coming in and out so for them a permit will be worthwhile.

“We have to tackle one step so I am not sure what the situation is with outpatients and staff, but this is all very encouraging.

“I’m not sure how quickly it will be implemented.”

The scheme is expected to cost £140million a year but is unclear where funds will be raised.

University Hospital, in Walsgrave, has a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) agreement with ISS Mediclean, which runs and maintains the carpark.

Earlier this year, the hospital was named as the second-highest hospital car park earner in the country, raking in £2.7million in one year.

A University Hospital spokesman said: “There are 1,200 beds at this hospital and if everyone of those patients was given a permit then there wouldn’t be enough spaces for outpatients and staff to park.

“There hasn’t been any indication over what will happen to them and at the moment there isn’t much more we can say on the matter.

“ISS Mediclean are the parking contractors and we don’t know what is written in the contract.”

n What do you think? Write to
us or email timesletters@mrn.co.uk.

COV COPS TO GET TASERS

FRONTLINE police officers in Coventry have been given 50,000-volt Taser guns.

The devices, which deliver a powerful electric shock that temporarily paralyses targets, will be used by officers from West Midlands Police’s Operational Support Unit (OSU).

Previously the devices had been reserved for use by specialist firearms officers.

The change follows a Home Office trial which ended in November last year.

The force’s OSU was specially formed to provide a reserve of officers to respond quickly at times of public disorder.

Taser guns have been used 93 times by firearm officers in the West Midlands since 2004.

The device uses an electrical current to temporarily affect the control of a suspect’s muscles, allowing police to make an arrest.

WOMAN'S NIGHT OUT ENDS IN SERIOUS ATTACK

A WOMAN was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured skull after she was attacked following a night out.

The 44-year-old victim suffered serious head injuries in an incident at an address in Coundon on Sunday October 4.

As part of the inquiry police are trying to trace the driver of a silver Vectra car who was flagged down on Holyhead Road, near to the Texaco garage between 7.15am and 7.45am by a male and then gave the man a lift, dropping him off a short distance away.

Officers believe the driver may have important information to help the inquiry and should contact detectives at Little Park Street police station.

The victim remains in hospital where her condition was described as “serious but stable”.

A 24-year-old man has been charged with wounding, rape and robbery and was due to appear at Coventry Magistrates Court on Tuesday October 6.