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This is the terrifying moment a schoolgirl is abducted by a convicted killer as she heads home after studying for her exams at a local library.

The 15-year-old was walking along a ‘millionaire’s row’ after calling her boyfriend to say her mobile phone was running out of battery.

Paul Sharpe, 56, who previously served a life sentence for strangling a woman who called into his radio show, was meanwhile pretending to try doorbells on the street in Altrincham, Greater Manchester.

CCTV captures the chilling moment the overweight murderer – wearing a high vis jacket to avoid arousing suspicion – spots the teenager and crosses the street towards her.

Approaching the unsuspecting girl from behind, he then placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his car.

Feeling a knife pressed against her and fearing for her life, she complied, beginning a terrifying eight-hour hostage ordeal as he took her captive and sexually assaulted her at multiple locations.

In what a judge today praised as a ‘remarkable’ piece of bravery and presence of mind despite fearing she would be murdered, the schoolgirl secretly placed strands of her hair around the interior of Sharpe’s car during her ‘harrowing’ ordeal in a bid to ensure traces of her DNA would later be found.

After her family reported her missing, police were able to link her to the vehicle with the help of the ‘find my’ application on her iPad, which was still in her bag.

Police bodycam shows the moment police arrested Sharpe and rescued the terrified schoolgirl from his car

They used CCTV cameras to trace the car to a hotel car park in Knutsford, Cheshire at 3.45am the next day.

Armed police descended on the vehicle and ordered Sharpe to get out, rescuing the ‘visibly shaking’ girl, who had a cut to her knee and bruises but was otherwise physically unhurt.

Police bodycam footage shows Sharpe appearing to tell officers ‘She’s not been harmed’ as he is arrested and led away.

As a judge today imposed another life sentence with a minimum of eight years behind bars, he branded Sharpe ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’ and someone with ‘dark sexual desires’.

In a victim personal statement, the girl described the attack as the ‘worst eight hours of my life’ and how she ‘feared that she was going to be raped, drugged and murdered’. 

Sharpe had been jailed for life in 2001 after murdering 28-year-old Sarah Widdup, who he seduced when she contacted his phone-in show. 

But he was released on parole in 2013 – with her relatives telling the Daily Mail earlier this year that Sharpe should never have been released.

His latest victim was walking home through a street of £1million houses at around 7.15pm one evening in May 2026 when Sharpe targeted her.

Convicted killer Paul Sharpe (pictured) had a kitchen knife in his pocket when police arrested him

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Sharpe (in high vis jacket) pictured outside a gated house in Altrincham, Greater Manchester as his unwitting teenage victim walks along the opposite pavement

Alaric Bassano, prosecuting, told Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester how Sharpe got his victim in a chokehold, told her he had a knife, and demanded she get into his car, which was fitted with drapes to prevent anyone seeing inside.

He also invented a story that she was being taken because her father ‘owed someone money’.

During her ordeal Sharpe asked her ‘keep talking’ to him, Mr Bassano said.

She did so ‘in the hope by giving herself a personality, the defendant would be less likely to harm her’, the court heard.

He demanded that she drank a yellow-coloured liquid from a vodka bottle.

The convicted killer also ordered her to stretch out her legs so he could ‘smell’ her feet, warning he would ‘go into desperation’ if she made a ‘bad decision’.

After telling her she needed to be ‘sleepy’, she pretended to be intoxicated and ‘stumble about’.

After his arrest a kitchen knife was found in his trouser pocket, while neck ties, several pairs of tights, women’s shoes and bottles containing alcohol were also recovered.

Detectives later uncovered evidence of his sexual interests, which included a foot fetish.

Beautician Sarah Widdup was murdered by Sharpe, who she had been dating, in October 2000 

Former radio DJ Paul Sharpe was jailed for life in 2001 for the murder of Ms Widdup

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He had also searched pornographic sites with search terms including ‘sleepy teen’ and ‘white socks.

Police also found AI generated images of unconscious schoolgirls in the back of a car on his phone and an evidence of an interest in ‘sexual kidnap’.

When interviewed by detectives, Sharpe said he’d been feeling ‘overwhelmed’ because he had no electricity at home, was on the verge of driving ban and had quit his job.

Sharpe, of Stockport, previously pleaded guilty to six offences including kidnapping, sexual assault and threats with a blade. 

Judge Mark Savill praised the ‘remarkable’ girl for ‘having the presence of mind’ to leave traces of her DNA in Sharpe’s car.

As he taken down to the cells, Sharpe mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to the victim’s family in public gallery.

Afterwards Hannah Gee, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said it had been a ‘harrowing experience for the victim and her family’. 

Detective Inspector Karl Perry, of Greater Manchester Police, said: ‘This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home.

‘Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.

‘Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.’

Paul Sharpe’s Ford Focus arriving at a hotel car park as he transports the teenage victim around all night

Sharpe pictured being led away in handcuffs

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Sharpe murdered beautician Ms Widdup in 2000 after the beautician called his late-night show on Tower FM, in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

They arranged a dinner date and embarked on a passionate romance, but he ‘flipped’ and killed her when she tried to break it off.

The following day callous Sharpe picked up Ms Widdup’s ten-year-old son from school and dropped him at a neighbour’s home, before going on the run.

Sharpe handed himself into police four days later and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 11 years in March 2001.

Demanding tougher punishments for killers after his latest offence, Ms Widdup’s relative told the Daily Mail: ‘If he’d been given the sentence he should have had, he would not have been out and he wouldn’t have been able to carry out the attack.

‘It will have a massive impact on the girl and on her family.

‘What he did had a massive impact on us and devastated her son.

‘If you take a life, you should serve life.’

A serious further offence review will now take place to understand how Sharpe was able to reoffend despite being monitored by probation staff, with the results shared with the girl’s family.

Government figures show 26 per cent of criminals reoffended in 2022-23, an increase on the previous two years.

MPs have warned that the probation service in England and Wales is at the brink of collapse.

It comes amid anger at Labour’s controversial soft-justice plan to start releasing waves of killers, rapists and violent criminals from jail.

Ministers have set out a timetable that will see thousands of prisoners walk free – although murderers and other criminals serving life sentences will not be eligible. 

After Sharpe admitted abducting the girl, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘These crimes were horrific, and our thoughts remain with the victims and their loved ones.

‘The offender is now rightly back in custody and we will take any necessary action identified in a serious further offence review which is underway.

‘Decisions to release life-sentenced prisoners are made by the independent Parole Board and while fewer than 0.5% of those under Probation Service supervision commit serious further offences, we know they have a life-changing impact on victims and their loved ones.

‘This Government is investing a record £700million into probation and community supervision and recruiting an extra 1,300 probation officers to protect the public.’

The “memorandum of understanding” unveiled at the conference is a political document, but could be developed into a legal agreement between two future governments, if both parties win power.

It states: “The United Kingdom will intercept boats which have launched from French shores and entered British territorial waters and will return the persons on board to France.

“France will ordinarily accept these persons, who will be repatriated to their home country in accordance with the law in force in France concerning expulsion.”

Under the proposals, illegal migrants who successfully arrive in the UK from France would be immediately detained and deported to their home country, rather than to France, under plans previously outlined by Reform.

Challenged during a news conference over whether the wording “ordinarily” meant some migrants would not be accepted by France, Farage said it was “legalese”.

He argued the proposals would mean there was “no incentive” to pay a trafficker to cross the Channel, and “in very, very short order the business model is broken”.

Farage said the “historic document” would “stop the boats forever”.

Achieving this goal within the first 100 days of a Reform government is one of the party’s key pledges.

Last month Emmanuel Macron’s government hit out at Reform’s proposals to use the Navy to return migrant boats to France, saying the they would violate the country’s sovereignty and breach international law.

Opposition parties also branded the plan unworkable.

Labour has pointed to increased cooperation with France as contributing to the number of small boat crossings falling.

This includes extra officers being deployed to French beaches, and more funding to help prevent crossings.

Last year Sir Keir Starmer’s government also signed a “one in, one out deal”, which allows the UK to send some small boat-arrivals back to France, while agreeing to take the same number of people from France believed to have a legitimate claim to come to the UK.

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT and DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

Published: 15:30 BST, 4 September 2026 | Updated: 16:51 BST, 4 September 2026

Reform MP Sarah Pochin today called for a ‘coming together’ between Right-wing parties ahead of the next general election.

The party’s first female MP warned that voters should not be let down by ‘squabbles’ between rival outfits, who must be able to look at the ‘bigger picture’.

She urged her fellow politicians to ‘rise above’ personal attacks on each other as they try to prevent Labour retaining power the next time the country goes to the polls.

Ms Pochin told an event at Reform’s conference in Birmingham that she would ‘feel devastated if the Right destroys itself’.

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Her comments came despite Reform leader Nigel Farage and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch having both repeatedly ruled out an electoral pact.

There has also been a dampening of expectations over a proposed deal between Reform and Restore Britain – the rival Right-wing party set up by Rupert Lowe.

Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin today called for a ‘coming together’ between Right-wing parties ahead of the next general election

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Her comments came despite Reform leader Nigel Farage and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch having both repeatedly ruled out an electoral pact 

Speaking during a live recording of the Daily T podcast, Ms Pochin said: ‘The most important thing is that the parties on the Right do not allow the Left to come through again and for us to have to suffer another general election where Labour might succeed.

‘How that happens is going to take some negotiation, but I would feel devastated if the Right destroys itself.

‘We cannot let Right-wing voters down by squabbles. We need to be able to look at the bigger picture if we’re going to save this country and put it back on a trajectory which I think most of us in this room desire.

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‘There needs to be some coming together on the Right.’

Asked about the exchange of political attacks between Reform and the Tories in recent months, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby added: ‘I actually don’t go in at all for all of this personal attack stuff. I don’t do Twitter.

‘I don’t like it, I’m obviously a victim of it at times, but I don’t do it myself. I think we have such big issues to deal with. I feel a huge sense of responsibility.’

She continued: ‘I think we need to rise above all of this tittle tattle and think about the huge mission that we are on. That needs to be the driving force. Not all of this nonsense.

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‘Can I just say one thing – and I do apologise to all of the men in this room – there’s a big difference between men and women because women don’t really have these big egos. We get on with the job.’

Mr Farage last month said he was ‘open-minded’ about holding talks with Mr Lowe following the Restore leader’s surprise offer to ‘unite the Right’ and take on Labour.

Mr Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP, was initially elected to Parliament as a Reform representative at the 2024 general election.

But he left the party last year following a furious row with Mr Farage and other senior Reform figures.

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Reform insiders have since downplayed the chances of a deal being struck between Mr Farage and Mr Lowe, after the Restore leader refused to sack his party’s controversial top aide Charlie Downes.

The rising popularity of Restore Britain has sparked concern among some within Reform that it is eating into support for Mr Farage’s party.

And Ms Pochin said that Mr Lowe ‘needs to think very seriously about the damage he is potentially doing to the Reform vote’.

‘We are basically in the same direction aren’t we, we’re talking to the same people,’ she added.

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Nadine Dorries, the former Tory Cabinet minister who defected to Reform last year, also said there was a need for the ‘Right to unite’ as she appeared on the same podcast.

But her and Ms Pochin’s pleas for unity came after Reform’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said the party should seek to destroy the Tories rather than make a deal with them.

Mr Yusuf used his conference speech to launch an attack on the Conservatives over their time in power, telling Reform members: ‘We are not here to do a deal with con-artist Kemi, we are here to put the Tories out of business.’

Muhammad Ismail Alum, 16, was cycling home after performing the Fajr or dawn prayers at Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre when he was struck by a car near Birmingham City’s ground in Small Heath

Heartbroken teachers have paid tribute to a “much-loved son, relative, friend and student” after a 16-year-old boy was killed while cycling home from morning prayers.

Muhammad Ismail Alum was returning from Fajr prayers at Green Lane Masjid and Community Centre, in Birmingham, when he was struck by a car near St Andrew’s Satadium, in Small Heath on August 28, Birmingham Live reports.

The teenager, a pupil at Darul Uloom Birmingham Islamic High School, had already achieved outstanding GCSE results, memorised the entire Qur’an and led prayers despite his young age. Staff described him as an exceptional young man whose kindness, humility and dedication earned him the admiration of classmates and teachers alike.

Deputy head teacher Hammaad Azhar said: “Muhammad was an exceptional young man: respectful, resilient, responsible and deeply caring. There are not enough words to adequately describe him, but we would like to share something of the remarkable person he was.

“By the age of 16, Muhammad had memorised the entire Qur’an, earned two Ijazahs – formal certifications recognising his mastery of Qur’anic recitation – led Taraweeh prayers at the masjid, achieved outstanding GCSE results and participated in numerous fundraising events to support those in need.

“These achievements, remarkable as they were, tell only part of Muhammad’s story. It is important he is remembered not simply for what he accomplished, but for the person he was each day. Despite achieving so much at such a young age, he remained humble, respectful and grounded.

“His kindness could be seen in the way he treated everyone around him. He was always willing to help and encouraged others to follow Islamic principles through his words and example.

“He greeted everyone with a smile and a handshake, and whenever someone spoke to him, he gave them his full attention. He had a natural ability to make others feel acknowledged, respected and valued.

“He was a much-loved son, relative, friend and student who enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, playing sports and engaging wholeheartedly in his studies.

“Like any young person, Muhammad had hopes and ambitions for his future. He dreamed big and approached the journey ahead of him with enthusiasm, determination and a desire to make a positive difference.

“Muhammad will be remembered not only for his achievements, but also for his kindness, the quiet strength of his character and the respect he showed to everyone around him. His conduct reflected the values he encouraged in others and left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of knowing him.”

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Mr Azhar remarked that Muhammad “had so much more to offer the world” yet the standard he established would endure as his legacy.

“It was a privilege and a blessing to have known him, taught him and witnessed the remarkable young man he became,” the statement added.

“Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with Muhammad’s family, friends, teachers and everyone affected by his passing during this profoundly difficult time.

“We pray Allah has mercy upon Muhammad, forgives him, illuminates his grave and grants him the highest ranks of Jannah. May Allah grant his family and loved ones patience, strength and comfort.”

FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki has touched upon the recurring motifs in his games though he swears he’s not as into feet as some fans assume.

There are plenty of things we’d associate with FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki, like medieval knights and poisonous swamps, but we wouldn’t count feet among them.

And yet some fans of Miyazaki’s video games are convinced that he has a, shall we say, particular interest in feet, citing how often female characters in his games, such as Elden Ring and Demon’s Souls, appear bare foot.

This would hardly be controversial even if it was true, but Miyazaki himself recently went out of his way to deny he has any sort of foot fetish and has attempted to offer another explanation for this frequent foot motif.

Miyazaki brought the topic up almost unprompted during an interview with The Guardian about his past work as well as the upcoming Switch 2 multiplayer exclusive The Duskbloods.

‘There’s a rumour that I have a bit of a thing for feet, but I’m not honestly sure where this comes from,’ says Miyazaki. ‘I feel like I’m trying to depict some side of human nature or the human existence that is difficult to describe.’

It is something of a stretch since while there are certainly several women in Miyazaki’s work with an aversion to wearing shoes, they are never depicted in any sort of Quentin Tarantino-esque way.

If anything, there’s a stronger argument that Miyazaki has a thing for hands with how often hand imagery appears in his games. But, again, there’s no sense of voyeurism behind them and they’re more likely meant to be symbolic.

Miyazaki admits that even he’s not sure where this motif keeps coming from, saying, ‘It’s not necessarily something I’m consistently aware of – maybe it’s something subconscious coming through.’

If we had to guess, perhaps it comes from a yearning for human connection, which is also present in Miyazaki’s games through how you can leave helpful messages for other players or summon others to aid you in battles.

This even carries over to The Duskbloods since despite being a competitive game, you can form alliances through what is essentially a marriage proposal, though Miyazaki describes it as ‘less a traditional romance and more a sense of secure trust with a character in the world, and that’s something I personally yearn for.

‘It’s not necessarily a romantic pairing – it’s having someone that you can ultimately rely on. This concept is carried through from characters like the maidens in Elden Ring … it’s a transient, ephemeral love, which is maybe a motif I’m striving for.’

Speaking of The Duskbloods, it still lacks a firm release date despite being billed for 2026. However, Nintendo did just announce a new Nintendo Direct for next week so perhaps that detail will be shared there.

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