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Woman drink driver who crushed 15-month-old toddler to death at school gates is jailed for seven years

Finlay Woods

A woman was jailed for seven years today for crushing a 15-month-old toddler under the wheels of her car. Katie Gutierrez-Perez, 40, was drunk as she ploughed her speeding into Finlay Woods.

Revealed: The 27 M&S stores being axed after 7% sales slump

M&S today announced 1,200 job losses amid falling sales

Marks & Spencer today revealed the 27 stores it will close after one of its worst ever Christmas trading performances. Two smaller M&S outlets and 25 Simply Food shops will shut.

Cold war! Gas bills in Britain to soar as Russia switches off supply to 12 freezing countries

gas pipeline

Russia today shut off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine, leaving 12 countries without fuel in freezing winter conditions.

Revolt! Robbed of their right to buy traditional light bulbs, millions are clearing shelves of last supplies

End of light as we know it: Millions of Britons are stocking up to grab the last of the traditional bulbs

'I'm sorry': One of world's richest men leaves note to wife before killing himself over credit crunch

A family spokesman said: 'The desperate situation of his companies have broken the passionate family entrepreneur and he took his own life'

Adolf Merckle told his family that he 'had to go to the office for a while' - then drove to a railway embankment and threw himself under a train.

'Our innocent angel': Toddler killed in arson attack hid from flames on her bed because she was too scared to jump

Too scared: Francesca Bimpson, three, refused to jump into her father's arms as fire engulfed her home and instead fled to hide under blankets on her bed

A terrified toddler hid as fire raged through her home after a random arson attack because she was too scared to jump to safety, her distraught parents revealed today.

Euston we have a problem: 100,000 commuters caught in rail fiasco

Virgin Trains

Britain's busiest railway was in meltdown today with trains in and out of Euston brought to a virtual standstill.

One dead and two Good Samaritans fighting for their lives after motorway pile-up

M4 traffic

A motorist has been killed and two Good Samaritans who stopped to help him seriously injured after they were hit by vehicles on a motorway slip road.

Policewomen sue the Met for £1m each in sex case

Julie Facey and Paula Church

Two women police officers are suing the Met for £1million each over sexual harassment allegations against three male officers.

Boy, six, drives family car to school after missing the bus

Rappahannock Hospital,

A six-year-old boy who missed his bus tried to drive himself to school in the family car.

Blundering funeral firm buries wrong man despite vicar's protests... then secretly digs up and replaces coffin

Frankby Crematorium

A funeral firm has apologised to two families for a blunder in which the wrong man was buried and then his coffin dug up without permission and secretly replaced with the correct one.

Single father turned away from swimming pool... because health and safety rules say he can't supervise his two sons

Hillsborough Leisure Centre

A single father was left stunned after he was turned away from a swimming pool when staff told him he could not provide proper supervision for his two sons.

Mother gives birth to healthy baby boy... then cooks Christmas dinner for her family just hours later

Karen Holmes

On-screen romance: A boyfriend's unusual proposal inspired by Love Actually

Dan Ferguson was inspired by the film 'Love Actually' for his proposal

Drugs charity boss and her two sons ran 24-hour cocaine delivery service

Karen Stott

The director of a drugs charity and her two sons ran a round-the-clock service supplying cocaine to middle-class customers anywhere within the M25.

Great-grandfather cancer patient dies after 'wandering out of hospital ward unchallenged'

William Brown

A cancer-stricken great-grandfather died after he wandered out of a hospital ward unnoticed.

We'll get 'Shameless' families out of bed and off to work in the morning, says Blears

Shameless

A crackdown on 'Shameless' families could see state officials turning up at people's homes to get them out of bed for work and make sure their children go to school.

Duke charges taxpayers £280,000 to build public footbridge over his riverbed

Duke of Beaufort

One of Britain's richest men has cashed in on a 400-year-old aristrocratic right by charging hard-up taxpayers £280,000 to build a bridge over his riverbed.

They're the carrier bag boots that could save the world... But would you actually wear them?

Carrier bag boots

Boots made of recycled carrier bags have been created by an eco-conscious designer keen to make use of old plastic bags.

Animal carer dies from rabies 'after being scratched by dog in Africa two years ago'

Lisa McMurray, who contracted rabies while abroad, has died in hospital. She may have harboured the disease for two years

A woman who died from rabies may have contracted the disease in Africa more than two years ago. Lisa McMurray had been in a critical condition in intensive care.

WORLD NEWS

gaza        

Model plane made by British POW in Great Escape war camp discovered

Remarkable: The scale version of a Lancaster Bomber was made out of items found by captured British World War II pilot E Taylor

New internet crime maps for every part of England and Wales 'could become a burglar's guide'

Crime map

Every householder in England and Wales can now check crime levels in their neighbourhood through online crime maps compiled by police forces.

The £1m-a-year motorway speed camera that is CAUSING accidents

The speed camera

A motorway speed camera which has increased the number of crashes and injuries at its site is revealed today as the most profitable in Britain.

The African queen Elizabeth: British grandmother is crowned by tribal chiefs in Ghana

Tribal honour: Liz Busch with members of the Ewe tribe in Hohoe who made her queen in recognition of her work with children

A grandmother who left her family, friends and London home to start a children's centre in Ghana has been crowned queen by tribal chiefs.

Playing outside can prevent children becoming short-sighted

Children

Playing outdoors dramatically cuts a child's risk of becoming short-sighted, research shows.

Benedict Brogan
Robin Page
Peter Hitchens
Mary Ellen Synon