South Wales Echo

'He Was Looking Forward to Being a Dad Now I'm Planning His Funeral'

A PREGNANT teenager today spoke of her shock after finding her boyfriend dead just three months before she gives birth. Kyra Applin, 15, discovered 17-year-old Paul Briggs hanged in her bedroom in the early hours of the morning. Shortly before his death, Paul and Kyra had been discussing names for their baby daughter.: FROM PAGE 4&5: 'Briggsy couldn't wait for our baby to be born':A teenage dad-to-be has been found hanged just three months before the birth of his baby daughter. The body of 17...

Terminally Ill Woman has to Fly Home

A ghanaian woman who came to study in Wales five years ago has been told she must return to the African country, despite being terminally ill. Ama Sunami, 39, has been receiving dialysis at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, for more than a year after cancer damaged her kidneys. Ms Sunami, whose visa has expired, needs a bone marrow transplant but as she is a foreign national she is not entitled to the treatment on the NHS. She says she cannot afford the care in Ghana.

Three Recovering After Car and Ambulance Crash

A woman and two paramedics were recovering today after a car collided with an ambulance on a 999 call. The front of the woman's silver Renault Megane was destroyed in the smash, which happened at the junction of the A470 Manor Way, Whitchurch, Cardiff and Caegwyn Road. The ambulance, which was taking an elderly man to the city's University Hospital of Wales, suffered damage to its lower driver's side panels and a punctured tyre, as reported in later editions of the Echo yesterday. Two more am...

Family Fly Out for Funeral of Tragic Fred Victim's Son Was Due to Celebrate His 21st

PREPARATIONS are under way for the funeral of a South Wales man who was murdered hours before his son's 21st birthday party. Dad-of- six Fred Picton-Turbervill, 45, was shot in front of his wife and four of his children after gun-wielding raiders entered their South African home. His son Jamie Picton-Turbervill had been due to celebrate his birthday in Cowbridge on the same day. Fred's mother Catherine Clay, 78, a Vale of Glamorgan councillor from Ewenny, has flown with Jamie to South Africa ...

3,000 Cartons Burnt

More than 3,000 orange juice cartons were destroyed in an arson attack on a recycling plant in Barry last night. The cartons were stored outside the Recycling.com depot on Cardiff Road, Barry, when the arsonists struck at 10.30pm. The cartons were part of a massive pile of more than 6,000 cartons, weighing some six tonnes, which were due to be recycled.

Man, 21, Is Bailed

Fans Are Cashing in On Chasetown Clash

Cardiff City's David versus Goliath FA Cup tie against lowly Chasetown has proved a real money-spinner for fans cashing in on matchday memorabilia. Internet auction site eBay is awash with rare programmes, scarves, match tickets, badges and even team sheets from last Saturday's tie - which for the first time saw teams from eight leagues apart compete in a domestic competition. Just hours after the match finished, items commemorating it were appearing on the site and selling for more than 1,00...

Screaming Man Is Banned From Churches

A 42-year-old man has been given a restraining order banning him from going into three city churches. Keith Norman Harris pleaded guilty at Cardiff Magistrates' Court to harassing Rev Mark Preece in one instance by attending church and screaming at him during a sermon. The court heard the harassment continued for a year.

Staedler Hq Demo

Four Are Taken to Hospital After Crash

Four people were taken to hospital after a collision on a busy valleys road. The crash, which involved a silver Citroen C5 and a Ford Fiesta, happened on the B4275 Cardiff Road, in Aberaman, near Aberdare, just before 3pm yesterday. Fire crews from Aberdare, Merthyr and Pontypridd had to cut three people out of the Fiesta with hydraulic cutting equipment before paramedics could treat them.

Sickness Bug Continues to Hit Hospitals

Hospital patients and staff are continuing to be hit by a winter sickness bug, with wards being closed in an attempt to stop the spread of the highly infectious virus. Health officials are warning visitors to stay away from hospitals if they show the vomiting and diarrhoea symptoms of the norovirus. Hospital managers in Cardiff today confirmed there were 39 patients and a small number of staff currently affected by the virus. A total of 13 wards are closed to new admissions, mainly at the Uni...

Helping Ark Appeal

Knifeman Threatens and Robs Pub-Goer

A robber threatened a 58-year-old pub-goer with a knife after he had left a city drinking spot. Police have issued a description of two black men in their early 20s who asked the victim for the time as he walked out of the Claude pub in Roath, Cardiff, at around 8.15pm on Monday. The victim, a local man, had walked on for a few minutes when one of the men caught up with him outside St Margaret's Church, Albany Road, and demanded his wallet at knifepoint. The two men were in their early 20s, o...

Close Shave for Roy After Nearly 34 Years

Family Fortunes Change for the Better

Welder Peter Evans was delighted to be our latest Grab a Grand winner after entering on his wife's behalf. The 52-year-old dad of two decided to enter the Echo competition after his wife was disheartened when she failed to win the night before. Mr Evans, of Llantwit Major, said: "My wife Sioned phoned up on Monday night but after we didn't win she said she wasn't going to bother.

Force Leads the Way in Wales for Gay Recruitment

It is a far cry from Life on Mars. South Wales Police has today been named the most gay-friendly employer in Wales. The award by gay rights organisation Stonewall shows how much Britain's police forces have changed since the days depicted in the BBC's politically incorrect 1970s cop drama. South Wales Police led four Welsh employers named in the top 100 British businesses for gay people to work in.

Celebs' Soda Bar to Close

A celebrity haunt is closing in two weeks. Soda Bar in St Mary Street, Cardiff, popular with Charlotte Church and Gavin Henson, will shut because of a dispute over its lease, according to boss Tim Corrigan. In an e-mail newsletter to the exclusive club's members, he wrote: "I have sadly decided to close the Soda Bar. "I will be looking for a new site in the future so that we can provide more suitable surroundings for our loyal and wonderful members and customers."

Magnifying Glass Blaze

Milk Snatchers Are About

Outlook Is Brightfor Newlywed Sian