Author: Darren Smith

A 21-year-old man from Leeds has pleaded guilty to encouraging the suicide of a vulnerable young man in the United States after urging him to end his life during a live video call on the online platform Discord. Dylan Phelan admitted the offence at Leeds Crown Court after a police investigation established that he had actively participated in a video call on 30 October 2024 during which Travis Dyer, 21, from Theriot, Louisiana, was urged to harm himself and take his own life with a shotgun. Dyer died while the call was still ongoing. The pair had been in contact…

Iran will not compete at this summer’s World Cup, the country’s sports minister has confirmed, ruling out any possibility of participation in a tournament hosted by the United States — the nation currently engaged in active military conflict with Tehran. Ahmad Donyamal made the announcement in a television interview on Wednesday, delivering the clearest statement yet on Iran’s position after weeks of mounting uncertainty over the team’s involvement. “Since this corrupt government assassinated our leader, we have no conditions under which we can participate in the World Cup,” he said. “In view of the malicious measures taken against Iran, two…

A man who attempted to have sex with a 14-year-old girl in a Cardiff park has been jailed for two years after screaming abuse at the judge sentencing him and storming out of his video link room mid-hearing. Abdirahman Osman, 44, who lived in the Roath area of Cardiff, was found guilty of attempting to engage a child in sexual activity following an incident involving a group of schoolgirls at a local park. Attending his sentencing hearing from custody via video link, Osman told Judge Lucy Crowther he wished to return to Kenya before shouting “f**k your country” and walking…

A teenage girl has been taken to hospital after being stabbed at a secondary school near Norwich, triggering a major armed police response that left pupils hiding under desks with classroom doors barricaded for over an hour while a suspect remained at large. Officers were called to Thorpe St Andrew School on Laundry Lane at 10.24am following reports of a stabbing. Pupils were instructed to conceal themselves, switch off their phones and remain in classrooms while teachers barricaded doors from the inside. Police drones were deployed as officers searched for the suspect, who was believed to have fled the school…

A registered sex offender has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after approaching two girls walking home from school near Bath and asking them a sexually explicit question, in a case that also revealed he had breached his supervision requirements at the time of his arrest. David Blackwood, 58, of Trinity Road, Combe Down, appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 3 March where he pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child, failing to comply with the requirements of the Sex Offenders’ Register, and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. In addition to the immediate custodial sentence,…

Violent scenes erupted inside a betting shop during the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday afternoon when a mass brawl broke out among racegoers, with footage of the altercation spreading rapidly across social media. The disturbance took place while the 3.20pm Trustmarque Ultima Handicap Chase was being run at Prestbury Park, one of the most anticipated races of the opening day of the prestigious four-day meeting. Video footage posted on X showed multiple individuals throwing punches inside the bookmakers while bystanders attempted to intervene and separate those involved. The clips had been shared nearly 300 times on the platform within hours of…

A 58-year-old Syrian man has become the first person in the United Kingdom to be charged with crimes against humanity, following a years-long investigation by Scotland Yard into alleged atrocities committed during the early stages of the Syrian Civil War. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faces seven charges in total — three counts of murder as a crime against humanity, three counts of torture and one count of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity. The charges relate to his alleged role in suppressing anti-government demonstrations in Damascus in April 2011, during the tenure…

A woman who fraudulently claimed more than £70,000 in benefits over six years has avoided an immediate prison sentence after magistrates in Cheltenham took account of her significant mental health conditions, dyslexia and caring responsibilities. Donna Palmer, 48, of Hygrove Residential Park in Minsterworth near Gloucester, admitted a series of offences relating to false claims for Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. The total amount fraudulently obtained came to £70,430.05, with the offending spanning from January 2017 to November 2023. The court heard that Palmer had originally applied for ESA in 2017, declaring she was single and…

A Hindu festival attended by around 1,000 people in Harrow was violently disrupted last week when a group of up to 20 youths descended on the celebration, throwing glass bottles and beer cans before fleeing as police arrived — with only one arrest made in the aftermath. The incident took place on the evening of 3 March outside the Harrow Civic Centre on Station Road, where the International Siddhashram Shakti Centre had organised its annual Holi celebration. The event had been running peacefully when, just after 8.30pm, three teenagers arrived and switched off the sound system before throwing the speakers…

A prisoner has been charged with the murder of Ian Huntley, the convicted killer of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, after the Soham murderer died in hospital following a brutal attack at a maximum-security jail in County Durham. Anthony Russell, 43, a fellow inmate at HMP Frankland, was charged by Durham Constabulary after Huntley, 52, died on the morning of Saturday 7 March — nine days after being assaulted in the prison’s workshop on 26 February. Russell is due to appear via videolink at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 11 March. Huntley had been on life support in…