Remand Prisoner Jailed For Life For Phone Murders

A remand prisoner has been jailed for life for ordering a murder using a mobile phone. Delphon Nicholas was found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering Andrew Wanogho, in Brockley, south-east London, on 8 April 2006. The 29-year-old from Lewisham in south-east London has been jailed for 30 years. The court heard Nicholas had made dozens of calls in London's Belmarsh Prison to gunman Trevor Dennie, who was also found guilty of murder, and sentenced to 30 years. Sentencing both men Judge Richard Hone said: "We have had an insight into what goes on in Belmarsh prison. It was a real eye-opener for us all. You are two cold-blooded killers. You exude an aura of violence. You are both extremely dangerous." Three others, Sereata Barrie, Michael Williams and Erran Cato, were acquitted.

Murderer Jailed After Victim's Skull Found

A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder after his victim's skull was found in the back garden of a house in Wembley. Wojciech Sokolowski, aged 35, was found guilty at the Old Bailey, on 15 October, of murdering Jurij Grigorjev whose remains were discovered in Wembley in July 2007. Sokolowski will serve a minimum of 16 years imprisonment. Police were alerted on 30 July 2007 to the discovery of a human skull in the rear garden of an address in Wembley Park Drive, Wembley. A search of the area confirmed a body was buried there. When the body was exhumed officers also found clothes, the facia of a mobile phone, a cigarette stub, a piece of paper, a piece of cord, a small blue pen and a single key. A post mortem at Northwick Park Hospital did not ascertain a formal cause of death. DNA and a single fingerprint recovered from the victim identified him as Jurij Grigorjev, aged 29, and a Lithuanian national who had been reported missing by his family in Lithuania on 16 April 2007. His family confirmed he had last been in contact with them on 12 January 2007.

Injuries After Bus Crash

Fifteen people have been treated for injuries after a double decker bus hit a railway bridge in Neath. Emergency services were called to Dwr-t-Felin Road in Cadoxton, and closed the road two hours after the incident at 8.40am on Friday. Thirty-seven passengers – most in their late teens - were on board at the time. Police are appealing for witnesses. They said that the bus was “extensively damaged” and 15 people were treated for minor injuries and shock. They are waiting for Network Rail to declare the bridge safe, though there is no suggestion is was structurally damaged.

Uptake Of New Construction Diploma Poor

Questions have been raised over the future of the new Construction and the Built Environment Diploma after just over 1,500 students signed up for the course last month - that's 8,500 less than first predicted.

According to figures from the Department of Children Schools and Families (DCSF) By July only 3054 students had signed up to the course.

It was estimated around 10,000 students would take up the diploma.

The course was launched by Education Secretary Ed Balls this year alongside four new Diplomas in creative and media, engineering, information technology and society, health and development.

Rural Climate Change Forum Appointed

The Rural Climate Change Forum (RCCF) has been reappointed up to March 2011, to continue advising Government how the agriculture, forestry, and land management sector can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The existing Chair and members of the RCCF have all been asked to remain in their roles, while three new members from the agricultural sector have been invited to join the Forum. Announcing the reappointments, Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, said: "The Forum will play a vital role in shaping policy as we work with the farming, forestry and land management sectors to achieve greenhouse gas reductions and adapt to the impacts of climate change."

(JM)