Mystery woman in sea is missing Herefordshire pensioner

A WOMAN found dead in the sea off Watchet has been identified as a pensioner from Herefordshire who disappeared from her home in the early hours of November 7.
Marion Warwick (pictured), aged 75, was spotted floating 550 yards off Watchet Harbour a week ago by Scooby Doo Too fishing boat skipper Steve Yeandle.
Police appealed for any information which might help to identify her, and cross-checked missing persons reports before dental records revealed her identity.
The West Somerset Coroner, Michael Rose, yesterday opened an inquest into Mrs Warwick’s death, and adjourned the proceedings to a date to be fixed.
A post mortem examination has been carried out on Mrs Warwick to determine a cause of death, but the results were said to be inconclusive.
Mrs Warwick, who lived in Wilton, Ross-on-Wye, was last seen by her husband Christopher at about 3 am on November 7 when she got out of bed.
When Mr Warwick woke again later in the morning, there was no trace of his wife, who was known occasionally to suffer loss of memory and who was on medication for a heart condition.
He immediately called the police.
The couple’s home was not far from the River Wye, which eventually empties into the River Severn close to the original Severn Bridge.
A spokesman for the coroner said the inquest was likely to be transferred to the coroner in Ross-on-Wye, where it was thought Mrs Warwick entered the water.
Police said they were not looking for anybody else in connection with Mrs Warwick’s death.
Mr Yeandle said: “I am pleased she has been identified and her family are aware. I am pleased we did the little we could and my thoughts are with the family this Christmas. I am sorry for their loss.”

Chilcott killers sentenced to three years - but could be free in 18 months

TWO young West Somerset men who killed Minehead gardener Tim Chilcott in an unprovoked street attack were today each sentenced to three years in custody.
But Daniel Cain (pictured, right), who was 16 at the time of the killing and is now aged 17 of Porlock, and Sean Wylds (pictured, below), aged 20, of Alcombe, Minehead, are likely to be free again within 18 months.
The pair were drunk when they set upon 36-year-old Mr Chilcott as he walked home through Minehead town centre in the early hours of January 20 this year.
Mr Chilcott was punched to the ground in Blenheim Road and hit his head on the road, suffering a 10-inch fracture of his skull and internal bleeding.
He died 36 hours later in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, without regaining consciousness.
Cain and Sean Wylds denied Mr Chilcott’s manslaughter but were found guilty by a jury after a trial in Exeter Crown Court in July.
Judge Graham Cottle - who previously pledged ‘zero tolerance’ for drunken yobs - said in sentencing the pair today: “This was yet another act of senseless unprovoked violence carried out by young men affected by drink.
“A man walking home alone, minding his own business, posing no conceivable threat to anybody is punched to the ground and dies of his injuries.”
Because of his young age, Cain was sentenced to be detained in a young offenders’ institution, while Wylds was sent to prison.
However, Wylds will have dedeucted from his sentence the 121 days already served on remand in jail, while Cain, who had been free on bail for much of the time, will have 31 days served in custody deducted from his sentence.
Both will be liable for early release, and could therefore spend less than 18 months in custody.
Cain’s identity had been protected throughout the trial due to Section 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act, which prevents the press identifying criminals, aged under 18 years.
However, following an application by local newspaper the Somerset County Gazette, Judge Cottle lifted the anonymity.
Cain had no previous convictions, while Wylds had a reprimand and penalty notice for battery in March, 2005, and for public disorder just two months before the deadly attack on Mr Chilcott.
During the trial, the court heard how Cain had drunk 12 pints of strong Stella Artois lager during a drinking binge with Wylds and six friends on the night in question.
He picked up some Argos catalogues from a shop doorway and thought ‘it would be fun’ to throw them at the first person who walked past, which happened to be Mr Chilcott.
Then, Wylds confronted Mr Chilcott and goaded Cain into attacking him.
Cain punched Mr Chilcott resulting in his death.
Judge Cottle said the jury had ‘no difficulty in rejecting the fanciful proposition advanced by each of you that you were acting in self-defence’ in a fight with Mr Chilcott.
He said he had no doubt that social problems highlighted by the case needed to be addressed at different levels.
Judge Cottle said: “All the courts can do is to demonstrate in the sentence passed that the public have had enough of being frightened away from town and city centres by the prospect of witnessing an incident of this sort.”
Mr Chilcott’s mother, Sylvia, said in a victim impact statement: “This was an act of senseless, violent stupidity.
“We hope all those involved will always remember that they destroyed the life of a wonderful young man and have shattered the lives of all who knew him.
“We hope the people involved in taking Tim’s life realise the devastating effect that their actions have had on so many other people’s lives.”
She hoped the case would ‘deter people from taking the same path of those involved in Tim’s death on the night they took him away from us’.
Det Supt Russ Nurcombe, who was involved with the investigation, said: “This tragic and unnecessary act was fuelled by drink and violent behaviour.
“We are satisfied with the verdict today and are pleased with the judge’s comments.”

Hospital 'missed' Butlins woman's fatal illness

A WOMAN employee who died at the Butlins holiday centre, in Minehead, is thought to have contracted a fatal illness which went unnoticed by hospital doctors.
Colleagues of Alexandrea Toth, a 22-year-old Hungarian, found her dead in her bed at the holiday centre last week.
After complaining of feeling unwell the previous day, she went to hospital for checks but was sent back again because she started to feel better.
However, she died in her sleep during the night.
She is believed to have died from a bacterial infection known as group a streptococcus (GAS), which can be linked to meningitis.
It is a bacteria which many people carry in the throat and on their skin, and it can survive long enough to be passed to other people by sneezing, kissing, and skin contact.
Generally, it proves harmless, although in rare cases it causes serious illness and death if it reaches the bloodstream, muscle tissue, or lungs.
Symptoms include fever, aching muscles, localised tenderness of muscles, and redness or inflammation around wounds or open skin.
Medical advice for anybody suffering from such symptoms is to immediately contact their GP.
Other staff at Butlins were offered antibiotics as a precaution following Miss Toth’s death.
However, the Dorset and Somerset Health Protection Unit said staff and visitors at Butlins were not in any danger.
The unit’s director, Dr Sue Bennett, said it was a rare illness with as few as 15 cases a year in Somerset.
She thought it was unlikely to have spread to any friends or colleagues of Miss Toth.
Dr Bennett said: “We have informed the management of Butlins that this is an isolated event and represents no risks to the health of either staff or other guests.”
A spokesman for Butlins said it was a ‘rare and unforeseen tragedy’.
He said Miss Toth was well-liked by staff and her death had upset everybody at the centre.
“Alexandrea was a popular young lady with all members of staff and will be sadly missed,” he said. “We offer our condolences to her family.”

EXCLUSIVE: Third teenager is charged after Tim Chilcott killing

A THIRD teenager has been charged with involvement in the killing of Minehead gardener Tim Chilcott.
The 18-year-old had been arrested at the time but was allowed bail while police continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Chilcott's death.
He was charged today (Friday, February 22) with the offence of affray and was named as David Hayes, who lives in Winsford.
Hayes is due to appear before magistrates sitting in Minehead on Friday, March 7.
Two other teenagers arrested with Hayes were subsequently charged with the more serious offence of manslaughter.
They are 19-year-old Sean Wylds, of Alcombe, Minehead, and a 16-year-old Porlock youth whose identity is protected by the law because of his age.
They are both due to make a second appearance in Exeter Crown Court on March 18.
Wylds has been remanded in custody, but the 16-year-old was given bail by the judge on condition he lived in the meantime with relatives in London and observed a nighttime curfew.
Mr Chilcott, aged 36, was found unconcious in Minehead town centre in the early hours of Sunday, January 20.
He died 36 hours later in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, where he had been put on a life support machine.
Mr Chilcott, who lived with his elderly parents in Hillview Close, Minehead, had suffered severe head injuries. The results of a post mortem to determine the cause of death have not been released, because of the forthcoming trial.

Dulverton tenant hailed as hero for fatal blaze rescue attempt

A MAN who died in a fire which ripped through a block of four flats in Dulverton in the early hours of Tuesday has been named locally as Bob Short, who was in his 50s.
Mr Short lived in an upstairs flat in Herbert House, Dulverton, and was found dead inside it by firefighters who tackled the blaze.
Herbert House, on the corner of Amory Road and Barns Close West, provides temporary sheltered accommodation for homeless people and those with drugs and/or alcohol dependency.
It is run by Worcester-based Sanctuary Housing Association, which manages more than 70,000 properties across England and Scotland.
Mr Short had today still not been formally identified due to difficulty in locating his next of kin.
Fire service and police forensic investigators were continuing to examine the scene to try to work out what caused the fire.
Meanwhile, a second Herbert House tenant, Les Dale, aged 53, has been hailed as a hero for helping to rescue a woman and her dog, Shadow, from a ground floor flat, and for trying to save Mr Short.
Mr Dale saw flames coming through the ceiling of his downstairs flat shortly before 3 am and he rushed to a nearby relative’s house to call for the fire brigade before going back to help the woman.
A fourth occupant, a man in another upstairs flat, was rescued by Dulverton firefighters.
More than 30 firefighters were called to the incident from Dulverton, Wiveliscombe, Bampton, Tiverton, Taunton, and Bridgwater.
A spokewoman for Sanctuary Housing said alternative accommodation would be found for residents while Herbert House was repaired.

Teenagers arrested on Minehead murder charges

THREE teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a man in Minehead during a street brawl in the early hours of yesterday, Sunday, January 20.
The trio, aged 19, 18, and 16 years were taken into custody in Minehead Police Station today (pictured).
The man, aged 36, died from his injuries in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, at about mid-day today.
He had been found unconscious at about 1 am on Sunday in Blenheim Road, Minehead, and was believed to have been stabbed during a fight which started in Wellington Square and continued into The Parade and into Blenheim Road, where he collapsed.
He suffered head injuries which resulted in him being put onto a life support machine in hospital.
Police are appealing for any witnesses who may have been in and around the Blenheim Road or The Avenue area of Minehead shortly after midnight on Sunday to come forward.
Det Chief Inspector Martyn Triggol said: “Although we have three people in custody, I am very keen to speak to anybody who may have been in the area or might have come out of the Wellington public house near the time of the incident.
“We are also keen to trace people who may have spoken to the occupants of a dark coloured, three-door car around Wellington Square shortly after the incident.”
Police are also reassuring residents that the murder was an isolated incident and the police need the community’s assistance to help the investigation.
Det Chief Insp Triggol said: “We realise that incidents like this shock what is a tight knit community in Minehead.
“Incidents like this are very rare, but I would appeal for anybody who has any information to help inquiries, however small, to come forward and speak to police.
“Minehead remains a very safe place, but the community can help us best by telling us what they might have witnessed and seen on Sunday morning.”
Anybody who can help is asked to contact Taunton CID on 0845 4567000 or Criemstoppers on 0800 555111.

Man, 76, dies in horse and carriage accident

AN investigation has been launched into the death of an elderly West Somerset man after he was thrown from a horse-drawn carriage which bolted down Porlock Hill.
The accident happened at about 2 pm on Friday, October 5, when Robert Griffin, aged 76, of Porlock, was driving the cart along the B3225 at Greencombe, with a woman passenger.
The horse is thought to have become spooked and then galloped down the notoriously steep hill before the cart struck a nearside hedge and turned over.
The couple were thrown into the road and Mr Griffin suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, in Exeter.
However, Mr Griffin died in the hospital shortly before midnight.
Police are investigating and have appealed for any information and witnesses to the incident to contact them by calling the force’s collision investigation unit on 0845 4567000.
Alternatively, information can be provided over the internet by using the secure Crimestoppers contact form at https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/crimestoppers/ContactForm.aspx.
Callers do not have to give their names.