Seems A Bit Judgemental...

Doesn't it?

Laura McEwen, 26, was travelling back to the family home in Idle with her partner Ashley Baker, 28, and girls Niamh, three, and Isla, 18 months, when the horrific incident happened.

Ah!

In A Warm, Fuzzy Blanket...?

Those homonyms get them every time...

Sunday Funnies...

I'm fairly amazed they could limit themselves to just six...

Liverpool - Twinned With The Nearest Open Sewer...

Lewis Barkley, 11, suffered horrifying injuries when he and a friend, who cannot be named, were attacked in Speke on June 24 this year. Harrowing pictures of terrified Lewis, who suffered 17 bites requiring more than 300 stitches, were released by his family after his ordeal.

Fredrick Farnsworth, 73, of Stapleton Avenue, Speke, admitted two counts of being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control. But the two Staffordshire Bull Terriers - which he claims he was walking for a man called 'Mark' - still remain at large and could strike again.

Because he's refused to hand them over. Yes, you read that right.

Judge Gary Woodhall today said the grandad's stance showed "a complete lack of remorse" and told him: "You should hang your head in shame".

Shame is only felt by humans.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Farnsworth denied perverting the course of justice, by allegedly misleading police over the location of the dogs.

He was set to stand trial, but prosecutors were forced to drop the charge after conceding there was not a realistic prospect of a conviction.

Meaning that the jury selection process in Liverpool is incapable of picking those with an IQ over 45..? Or that even their normal human instincts of self-preservation are overrun by misplaced sympathy with the petty criminal?

Farnsworth said he took the dogs home and locked them in his garage before going back to the park, but when he returned with police, they had gone.

Yeah, sure.

He confessed that the dogs had earlier ripped apart a football belonging to some other boys and he had paid them £10, before the second attack.

/facepalm

Farnsworth's 12 previous convictions for 19 offences, the last in 1999, are mostly for dishonesty and driving matters, but also include assaults in the 1960s.

Fine, upstanding citizen, clearly.

He used two crutches in the dock, which Jeremy Rawson, defending, said was the result of a hip replacement in August, and also has arthritis.

Sure, that must be the reason.

Judge Woodhall noted in a pre-sentence report, Farnsworth said he would rather spend time in prison than place his grandson at risk by naming the dogs' owner.

He said: "It seems you're in effect condoning what happened - putting other members of the public at risk of serious injury."

The judge ordered the destruction of the dogs - which he said the owner was hiding from the authorities - and banned Farnsworth from keeping dogs indefinitely.

Unrepentant Farnsworth showed no emotion as he was jailed for 18 months.

If police turned up to these cases and shot the dogs then and there, we wouldn't have this expensive farce.

A Beta Male Speaks...

The words and wisdom of Carl Cederström, associate professor of organisation studies (Ed: nope, not a clue...) at Stockholm Business School, Stockholm University:

The journalist Richard Godwin has described in the Guardian how, in his quest to examine modern manhood, he found groups where men were doing “breathing exercises, talking about their fathers, pretending to be tigers, leaning in on one another, working out which Jungian archetype we vibed with, and trying to articulate why we all felt so defensive and angry and misunderstood so much of the time”.

Men were doing these things, were they? Ordinary, off-the-street, pint-in-the-pub-after-work, men..?

I'm sceptical.

I opted for a quieter approach, following the advice that, to show solidarity with the movement, you could begin by seriously listening to women.

Well, that's probably a better start than some men have managed. But did you plan to listen to ordinary women?

No. Of course not. They might say things you didn't want to hear.

So I decided to spend the month leading up to the first anniversary of the Weinstein revelations reading some feminist classics, which, for inexplicable reasons, I had never got round to.

Oh, I don't think that's so 'inexplicable', really...

...the experience of watching the evening news with my wife and eight-year-old daughter as the welter of #MeToo allegations began. The news anchor read out some of the testimonies that had been shared on social media. Usually, when horrible things are reported, we could, as a well-protected family, who previously lived in Wales, now in Sweden, calm my daughter down by saying that these things hardly ever happen in our neighbourhood. But we couldn’t do that now.

No, you couldn't. I wonder if you told her why...?

They Had Help In That, Didn't They, DCI Pasmore...?

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Pasmore, from Essex Police, said: "These men put an innocent family though a living hell and subjected them to violent threats in their own home - a place many of us consider as a place of safety.

"A woman and two children were forced to watch as a loved one had their hands bound by the men and what appeared to be a firearm put to his head.

"Fearing for his own safety and the safety of his family, he managed to challenge Robertson, who died of his injuries sustained during a struggle.

"Two of the victims have been forced to relive the ordeal in court and bravely gave evidence."

Yes, it must have been absolute hell. He must have thanked his lucky stars when the police arriv...

Oh.

Mr Wood was arrested on suspicion of murder but later released.

Yes, despite the witnesses and the clear evidence he was assaulted in his own home by thugs, no reason not to compound it by banging up the real victim, eh?

“The Truth? No! I Can’t Handle The Truth!”

Karen Kerridge, headteacher of Appleton School, slammed the ambulance service after Hannah Rowe, 13, was left waiting following a fall at the school during a break time.

Why was she 'left waiting'..?

Sharon Rowe, 47, from Pitsea, is upset the service said her daughter was not a priority as she was conscious and breathing despite the level of pain.

Yup, that's what 'emergency ambulance' means. A dislocated knee is painful, I'm sure, but she's unlikely to die.

Here's a nice man from the emergency services to explain it to you and the headmistress (who should have known better):

A spokesman from the ambulance service said: “We always regret any distress caused when patients have to wait to be assessed and treated.

“At the time of this incident, we were experiencing a very high level of calls.

“More than half of the incidents we respond to every day are to people with serious or life-threatening conditions. We focus on our sickest patients first, and unfortunately at times of high demand that means that people with non-life threatening injuries can experience longer waits for an ambulance.

“When we have high numbers of calls, we will call patients back to check on their welfare and if their condition has changed. We understand that at this incident a nurse was at the scene with the patient who was able to advise us.”

Clear now?

"Overreach? What Overreach?"

Why not go the whole hog and demand radios are taken out of cars (including police and other emergency vehicles)?

They Can Admit When They Got It Wrong...

It seems common sense has finally prevailed:

The judge who over ruled the original decision said: "It is important that this was not an uncontrolled dog, it was not a prohibited dog or a dog trained to be aggressive.

Precautions had been taken to reduce any potential risk the dog would cause. There's no suggestion the dog had attacked people before - it seems this was an isolated incident.

We do not think there is any evidence that Miss Fletcher is anything other than a fit and proper person to keep dogs and, after having heard the evidence of expert witnesses, we are satisfied the dog does not constitute a danger to public safety."

 Better send the cretins from the original case back to lawyer school, then...

Miss Fletcher must still keep Kye in the rear of her garden, make sure he is muzzled in public and when visitors are at the house, and have him neutered.

He's not the only thing that will soon lack balls.

"Let The State Do It..." Part 249358

Coroner Catharine Palmer said Miss McKay’s death was unascertained and called the community mental health team’s work “suboptimal”.

Hmmm....

That seems to be rather mild criticism, given the circumstances.

Miss McKay was found dead in a chair in her living room by police on January 11. Brighton Coroner’s Court was told she died in the first week of 2018 – though an exact date could not be ascertained.

David Manser, one of the nurses who visited Miss McKay, was asked if her behaviour on December 19 was a cause for concern, but he stood by his actions.

Claire Williams, the community mental health team’s service manager, said her team “should have done more”.

So, you'll be sacking them? No. Of course not.