Left alone to die by who? The little girl found dead in a wet cot
An underweight little girl died after being left alone in a wet cot by a window for more than four hours – following months of ‘wrangling’ by two social service teams about who should look after her.
Sixty recommendations have now been drawn up by Sandwell and Dudley councils after the case of tragic 18-month-old Keidey-Ellese Earp was not picked up in time by the authorities after her family moved house.
An inquest heard that court care proceedings by social workers, who had been monitoring her case for seven months over concerns that she was underweight and failing to thrive, was launched just two days before her death.
An expert hired to investigate the case said court action should have been taken ‘considerably’ earlier.
The cause of the girl’s death may never be known after a coroner recorded an open verdict, but said it was probably due to the cold conditions she was left to lie in.
Two arrested after man dies in Dudley dispute
TWO men are in police custody after a man died during a fight at a house in Halesowen last night.
Police were called to the house, on Graham Road, at around 9pm on Sunday 3 February to a report of a disturbance at the property.
Officers arrived to find the door had been forced open and a man collapsed inside the premises, having suffered a stab wound.
Ambulance staff attended the scene, however the man could not be saved and he died as a result of his injuries. His family have been informed.
Post Master fights off thieves
A POST Office worker fought off a robber wielding a metal bar who charged into the Rowley Regis branch and demanded cash.
Two masked men forced their way behind the counter of the Blackheath Post Office in High Street and attacked two members of staff but the Post Master fought back and the men fled empty handed.
Both members of staff suffered minor injuries following the attempted robbery which took place at around 11.45am on Saturday 24 November.
Commissioner announces proposed policing budget for 2013-14
Proposed 3% rise allows 100 Officers to transfer to frontline operational duties
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Bob Jones is asking householders for just a few pence a week more for policing in next year's council tax bills, in order to put the Force on a more sustainable financial footing given unfair government cuts, pay for investment in new technologies and return more officers to the frontline.
In his report to the Police and Crime Panel, the Commissioner has said that he will seek to increase the policing element of Council Tax bills from £99.45 to £102.43 a year for a Band D property, equivalent to just over 5p a week more. Despite this proposed increase, the local charge for policing in the West Midlands will remain the second lowest in the country.
School children in unprovoked metal bar attack
TWO school children required hospital treatment after being attacked by a man wielding a metal bar in Tipton.
The teenagers, aged 13 and 14, were assaulted as they sat on a pathway off Wallbank Primary School playing fields at around 5.40pm on Tuesday 20 November.
They were approached by an older man who, without any provocation, began to savagely beat them with the bar.
Both victims were taken to hospital with head wounds following the assault.
