Runaway Emu Captured By Police In Barnstaple

An escaped emu has been captured by police after it was spotted running through a town and trying to enter people's homes.

Two officers found the 4ft-tall bird "in a state of panic" after they were called out by concerned residents in Barnstaple, North Devon.

Acting Sergeant Zoe Parnell said the emu was "running up and down the street, trying to get into people's houses" before it was caught.

She said: "When we first had the call from the public, I thought it was a bit of a wind-up.

"But when I arrived at the scene to check it out, I could see this bird in the street. It was trying to get into people's houses.

"Obviously it was finding that difficult, and would try the next one. I must admit that while I'm not normally scared of birds, I was a bit nervous with this one."

Officers said the 4ft bird was in a 'panicked' state

The bird was later caught by PCSO Stephen Huxtable, who picked up the fugitive and put it in the back of a police car.

He said: "It's a bit of a state in the back of the car now - there's mud, feathers and a few other things...

"This (catching a wild bird) is not the sort of thing we get taught during training, so I was a little unsure of how best to deal with this.

"I asked one woman if she would mind taking the bird into her lounge to catch it, and understandably she was a little reluctant to do that.

"I've been in the police force for seven years now, and I must say this is one of the most bizarre incidents I have ever been called to.

"I'd only been back in the office for a few minutes and already a few of my colleagues started cracking jokes about me 'feeling peckish'."

The emu has been handed to Diana Lewis, who runs an "animal ambulance" service in north Devon, and will later be reunited with its owner, police said.

The emu is native to Australia, and was propelled into popular culture in Britain in the 1970s by entertainer Rod Hull, whose routine included an aggressive, mute emu puppet.

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Gas Blast: Man Admits Two-Year-Old's Killing

A man has admitted the manslaughter of a two-year-old boy killed in a gas explosion at his home.

Jamie Heaton died while watching TV when the blast levelled several homes in Buckley Street, Shaw, in Oldham.

Andrew Partington, an unemployed father of six, admitted causing the explosion when he let his house fill with gas overnight.

The 27-year-old suffered 40% burns and a broken back in the blast and pleaded guilty via videolink from prison during a hearing at Manchester Crown Court.

Three houses were "obliterated" in the explosion

The explosion in June "obliterated" Partington's rented terrace house and two neighbouring homes, with the rest of the row and surrounding streets also left devastated.

Neighbours found Jamie's body as they searched the debris of his wrecked home.

The boy's parents sat in the public gallery holding hands for the brief hearing.

They were flanked by police officers and other members of their family, who wiped away tears as the defendant admitted his guilt.

As well as manslaughter, Partington pleaded guilty to eight charges of destroying neighbouring houses. He was remanded in custody until February 11 when he will be sentenced.

Judge Gilbart also ordered a psychological assessment of Partington before he is sentenced, to assess his dangerousness.

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Euromillions: £64m Hitchin Prize Unclaimed

A EuroMillions player has just seven days to identify themselves as the winner of £64m - the biggest unclaimed prize in UK lottery history.

The winner in the June 8 draw matched the five main numbers 05, 11, 22, 34, 40 and the two Lucky Stars 09 and 11.

Lottery bosses have made several public appeals since establishing that the ticket was bought in the Stevenage and Hitchin area of Hertfordshire.

Posters were even put up at Luton Airport in case the lucky punter was a holidaymaker.

The winner is richer than Princes William and Harry - but may be unaware

The winner has until 11pm on Wednesday, December 5 to claim the £63,837,543.60 fortune, which would put them ahead of Harry Potter Star Daniel Radcliffe and Princes William and Harry on the Sunday Times Rich List.

The other half of the £127m prize was shared with a winner from Belgium, who has already collected their cash.

The previous biggest unclaimed prize was £9m in Doncaster in the 90s.

The National Lottery says prizes have previously been claimed on the deadline day - including £2.5m in the Worcester and Malvern area in 2009.

The Weirs from Largs scooped the UK's biggest ever jackpot

Players who believe they may have lost or destroyed their tickets have 30 days from the date of the draw to contact lottery operator Camelot so it can investigate their claim.

However that deadline passed five months ago for this ticket, so now only the ticket-holder can come forward.

If no-one claims the money by next week the sum and all the interest it has generated will go to National Lottery good causes - adding to the £29bn already raised through ticket sales since the game's 1994 launch.

Britain's biggest jackpot winners are Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in North Ayrshire, who won £161m in July 2011.

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Louis Walsh Wins £403,500 Over Sun Sex Slur

Louis Walsh has won a 500,000 euro (£403,500) settlement from The Sun after the newspaper carried false sex assault allegations.

The X Factor judge sued the paper after it published a story that was based on a false allegation that he sexually assaulted a man in a Dublin nightspot after a Westlife concert.

The newspaper admitted the claim made by unemployed dance teacher Leonard Watters was false and apologised to Walsh accepting that the "alleged assault did not occur in the first place".

Speaking outside court following the out-of-court settlement, Walsh said he would not have wished what happened to him on his worst enemy.

He said: "I'm very relieved. This has had a terrible effect on me guys. It was all lies.

"And I'm very satisfied with this total vindication for me, but I remain very angry at the treatment I received at the hands of The Sun."

Eoin McCullough, senior counsel for News Group Newspapers, read an apology to Walsh at the High Court in Dublin.

It said: "The Sun unreservedly apologies to Louis Walsh for any distress caused to him as a result of our article."

Louis Walsh lines up with his fellow X Factor judges

The Sun published an article in its editions on June 23, 2011, with the headline "Louis Probed Over 'Sex Attack' on Man in Loo" in which it was wrongly claimed Walsh has groped Watters at the celebrity nightclub Krystle following a Westlife concert in April 2011.

When the official complaint was made, The Sun and the Irish Sun printed the story before Walsh was questioned under caution. He denied the accusations against him.

Watters was subsequently jailed for six months for making the false allegations.

The newspaper accepted that the accusation was false but initially denied defamation, saying it had acted fairly as the story was based on police inquiries into the allegation.

Walsh's lawyer, Paul Tweed, said that a great deal of damage had been done to his client because of the online spread of the story and added that it was something he hoped Lord Leveson would address in his report on media standards.

The case was settled before the President of the High Court in Ireland, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns.

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German Train Driver Killed 10 In Crash

A freight train driver has been convicted of manslaughter after he smashed into a passenger train, killing 10 in one of Germany's worst rail crashes.

The 41-year-old missed two stop signals and drove head-on into an express train travelling in the opposite direction.

The collision, which happened in heavy fog, was so loud it was heard in a village more than four miles away.

The driver, who has not been named because of Germany's privacy laws, told a regional court in Magdeburg that he did not know why he had passed though the red light.

He was given a year's suspended sentence for manslaughter and negligent bodily harm.

The youngest to die in the crash on January 29, 2011 was a 12-year-old girl. Three women and six men were also killed and 22 others were injured.

Investigators at the scene of the crash in 2011

The freight train nearly obliterated the first carriage of the Harz-Elbe-Express in the collision in Hordorf, near Magdeburg, the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt.

At the time Holger Hoevelmann, interior minister of Saxony-Anhalt, said: "We are still speechless and shocked by the images and the level of destruction."

Almost 200 police and rescue workers rushed to the crash site around 125 miles southwest of Berlin.

The crash was Germany's worst since 2006, when 23 people were killed in Emsland in the north of the country.

It is unclear whether the driver will appeal the sentence.

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Comet: Jobs At Risk As Shops Face Closure

Comet's administrators have confirmed a further 125 stores will close by the end of the year if they fail to get a firm offer for the whole business.

Around 70 stores of the original 236 will remain open until the electricals retailer's remaining stock is sold, Deloitte added. 

Some 5,000 jobs remain in the balance at the embattled retailer, which called in the administrators earlier this month.

Deloitte's Chris Farrington said a "small number of interested parties" remained and he hoped a positive outcome could still be achieved.  

"Should any acceptable offers be received for stores we will delay the closure process," he said.

"Unfortunately, in the absence of a firm offer for the whole of the business, it has become necessary to begin making plans in case a sale is not concluded."

Stores will begin closing in December, he added.

Since Deloitte was appointed to work for the electricals chain, some 1,500 jobs have already been axed.

Last week, the entrepreneur behind Appliances Online confirmed he had tabled a bid for Comet's web-based operations - but not for the whole business.

John Roberts said he had put in a "seven-figure offer" for Comet's website, although the deal would see the business disappear from the UK's high streets.

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Flood Warnings Remain As River Levels Stabilise

Residents of flood-ravaged towns across England and Wales are continuing to battle high water levels as a week of torrential rainfall works its way through river systems.

At 2.15pm, a total of 146 flood warnings and 151 alerts remained in place despite the rain easing.

The Environment Agency said areas around slow-responding rivers including the Thames, Trent and Severn were a particular concern, but had now  reached their peak.

An EA spokesman said: "After several days of heavy rain, the ground is saturated and floodwater from small watercourses continues to flow into larger rivers like the Thames.

"The Environment Agency is carefully monitoring the levels in these rivers and will issue flood warnings if necessary."

An RNLI life boat rescues residents in the flooded streets of St Asaph

It has lifted two severe flood warnings - meaning a potential danger to life - for the River Elwy in the cathedral city of St Asaph and the A55 to Rhuddlan in North Wales.

St Asaph remains severely flooded after the River Elwy reached a record high of 14ft 3in (4.35 metres) and burst through flood defences - making it more than 3ft (1 metre) deeper than its previous record of 11ft 4in (3.47 metres) in November 2009.

Hundreds of people spent the night away from their homes.

Insurance assessor David Flatley told Sky News there had been "significant" damage caused by the flooding in St Asaph.

A pedestrian pushes his bike through flood water in Tewkesbury

"It is not just clean water, it is from the river so there are contaminants - there's mud and oil that has run off from the roads," he said.

"People often don't appreciate that things like their kitchens have got to be ripped out, the skirtings have got to be ripped out.

"So as well as the drying out process, which can takes four to six weeks, there is the ripping out before the reinstatement ... in reality it may be more like four or five months before the majority of these people are back in their homes."

Four people have died since the latest bout of wet weather struck and around 900 people in England and Wales have fled their waterlogged homes after heavy rain left many properties uninhabitable.

At Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron praised the emergency services and "good neighbours" who had helped tackle the flooding.

Flood waters in Oxford

He also defended Government spending plans on flood defences, saying: "The Government is planning to spend over £2bn over the next four years.

"That is 6% less than over the previous four years, but we believe by spending the money better and by leveraging from private and other sectors we can increase that level of flood defence spending.

"The spending that is already under way will protect an additional 145,000 homes between now and 2015, but if we can go further, of course we should."

Thousands of motorists and train services are subject to hold-ups and reduced services in the West Country and the North East.

The River Ouse in York peaked at 4.5 metres, flooding city centre businesses. The Environment Agency said while it does not expect the flood-prone river to rise any further today, it will remain high.

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'Pirate Site' Student To Avoid Extradition

A university student who was accused of infringing copyright laws over a site that helped people find pirated films has reached an agreement to avoid extradition to the US.

Richard O'Dwyer, 24, faced the prospect of becoming the first British citizen to be extradited for such an alleged copyright offence, in which he is said to have earned thousands in advertising revenue.

But the High Court heard that Mr O'Dwyer is expected to travel to the US in the next 14 days to complete the agreement, pay a small sum in compensation and give undertakings not to infringe copyright laws again.

His extradition application is expected to return to the High Court in December so it can formally be disposed of.

The judge said: "It would be very nice for everyone if this was resolved happily before Christmas."

Mr O'Dwyer ran a site called TV Shack from his university digs.

Although the webpage did not provide the free films or TV shows itself, it did carry links to other websites where people could download pirate videos and TV series before their general release.

The US authorities alleged that Mr O'Dwyer had received more than $230,000 (£147,000) in advertising revenue between January 2008 and 2010, when the site was shut down.

When he was arrested by City of London Police in November 2010, he accepted that he was earning approximately £15,000 per month from online advertisements.

His mother Julia O'Dwyer, from Chesterfield, said she was "disgusted" when she heard of the US attempt to extradite her son and claimed the UK's extradition treaty with the US "needs fixing fast".

It is the latest in a series of high-profile cases that have raised questions about the extradition treaty between the two countries, with critics saying the treaty is one-sided in favour of the US.

Human rights campaign group Liberty welcomed the proposed settlement of Mr O'Dwyer's case, but said there was still need for reform of extradition laws.

"This will be a huge relief for Richard - but how appalling that he had to wait so long for the US authorities to make this decision," said Isabella Sankey, Liberty's director of policy.

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Magnitsky Case: 'Supergrass' Drops Dead

A Russian businessman who was helping Swiss authorities investigate a multimillion-pound money laundering scheme in Russia has been found dead outside his Surrey home.

The Swiss prosecutor's office confirmed 44-year-old Alexander Perepilichnyy had been assisting authorities with their inquiries.

Hermitage Capital was once one of the largest foreign investors in Russia but fell victim to apparent conspiracy by Russian interior ministry officials and tax officers to defraud the Russian tax system.

Corporate seals were taken from Hermitage Capital following a police raid and used apply for a series of tax rebates. The rebates were signed off by courts and tax offices and the money was transferred into a bank which was liquidated shortly afterwards.

The Independent newspaper reported that Mr Perepilichnyy was a key witness against the Klyuev Group, a network of Russian officials and criminals implicated in a series of tax frauds and the death in custody of Sergei Magnitsky, a Moscow lawyer hired by Hermitage.

It added that he was the fourth person to be linked to the scandal who had died suddenly.

Mr Magnitsky died aged 37 in November 2009 from acute heart failure in a Russian pre-trial detention facility after being accused of committing the tax fraud himself.

Hermitage Capital declined to comment on Mr Perepilichnyy's death.

Surrey Police said it was investigating the "unexplained" death of a man in his forties who collapsed in Weybridge on Saturday, November 10.

"The death remains under investigation whilst officers await the results of the post-mortem and toxicology tests, " a spokesman said.

"Surrey Police continues to work closely with the coroner's office whilst the investigation remains ongoing."

Mr Perepilichnyy reportedly sought sanctuary in Britain three years ago and lived in a luxury development in Weybridge.

According to Russian media reports, Mr Perepilichnyy was a former business partner of Vladlen Stepanov, whom Magnitsky had named as one of the suspects in the money laundering.

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Melrose Place Actress Guilty Over Death Crash

A former Melrose Place actress has been convicted over the death of a 60-year-old woman in a drink-drive crash.

Amy Locane-Bovenizer was acquitted of the more serious charge of aggravated manslaughter over the 2010 collision that left Helene Seeman dead and Mrs Seeman's husband with lung and rib injuries.

Prosecutors said the star's blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit when the crash occurred on a dark lane in Montgomery Township in New Jersey.

The actress reportedly told ambulance workers she had downed several glasses of wine and a beer before getting behind the wheel.

The emergency call was made at 9.16pm and an officer who attended the scene found Locane-Bovenizer in a nearby ditch, with her "clothes messed up, eyes bloodshot and speech slurred".

Fred Seeman, who had been returning from dinner with his wife and friends, said it was like getting hit by a bomb when Locane-Bovenizer's 4x4 hit them.

Locane-Bovenizer's defence team said she was distracted by another driver who was chasing her after she rear-ended their vehicle and the Seemans' car then turned in front of her.

During the chase Locane-Bovenizer was driving nearly 20mph over the speed limit when she collided with the couple.

Somerset County assistant prosecutor Matthew Murphy said at the opening of the trial on October 4 that Locane-Bovenizer had had eight to 10 drinks before the accident, citing that "death was probable, not merely possible".

The actress appeared in 13 episodes of Melrose Place and in movies including Cry-Baby, School Ties and Secretary.

She faces five to 10 years in prison on a vehicular homicide charge and three to five years in prison for her conviction on a second count of assault by auto, which stemmed from the injuries to Mr Seeman.

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