Regulars in Farnworth are preparing to honour one of the pub’s most familiar faces after the death of Darren Ainsworth at just 55 years old.

He was a much-loved customer described as part of The Grapes Inn‘s “fixtures and fittings”.

Joanne Hardman, who runs the pub alongside business partner Sam Gavin, said: “Everyone’s absolutely devastated. The pub’s just not the same.

He was much loved by his community. (Image: Joanne Hardman)

“It feels empty without him.”

Darren had been a customer at the pub for at least a decade, remaining a familiar presence through different owners.

Ms Hardman said he visited every evening without fail and was involved in the pub’s cards, darts, and dominoes teams as well as quizzes and social events.

She said: “He was just one of the best customers ever.

“He was on all our teams, cards, darts, and dominoes; he did all our quizzes.

Friends, staff, and customers are now coming together for a fundraising event to help support the cost of his funeral following his death on June 19.

The event, called A Day for Darren, will take place at the pub and feature bingo, cards, pool, dominoes, a tombola, football cards, and a beer hamper, with proceeds going towards his funeral fund.

Darren Ainsworth (Image: Joanne Hardman)

The fundraiser has been organised after Darren’s death, which came just months after the death of his father, leaving his family facing another loss.

An optional £1 entry donation will be collected on the day, while money raised through games, raffles, and other activities will also contribute towards the funeral fund.

Ms Hardman said: “He was just kind. He was honest, very, very honest, and he was just a go-to man for everybody.

He went to the pub every day (Image: Joanne Hardman)

“Everybody loved him because he was just a gentleman.”

The 53-year-old was such a familiar part of life at The Grapes Inn that staff invited him to their Christmas celebration during a refurbishment closure last year.

Customers have already shared tributes online, with more than 100 comments left on a social media post announcing his death and the fundraising event.

Ms Hardman added: “He really was part of our fixtures and fittings.

“We would like to do everything possible to make sure he gets the best send-off.”

Poppy-Rose Brown got tickets for her and her mum to go see the singer on his ‘Together, Together’ tour

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A Harry Styles superfan was left in tears after a 300-mile trip to the star’s Wembley gig. Poppy-Rose Brown got tickets for her and her mum to go see the singer on his ‘Together, Together’ tour on Friday, June 12.

The 18 year old forked out around £300 on tickets that she said were listed as from Ticketmaster but that she said she bought through a reseller website called Hellotickets. Poppy said the duo travelled from their home in Padstow, Cornwall, to Wembley where she bought merchandise before heading to the entrance.

However, after Poppy scanned her ticket and went through the turnstile, she said her mum Michelle tried to go through but it did not work. Poppy claims staff were ‘rude’ and did not let her mum enter through a different entrance, advising them to go back to the ticket office.

The house-cleaner claims she was escorted out through an emergency exit and went to the Ticketmaster stand where she was asked for her and her mum’s ID. Poppy said she was ‘in a flood of tears’ after the Ticketmaster staff member told her it was not possible to retrieve the tickets due to them being bought through a reseller website.

Wembley Stadium said they ‘strongly encourage’ all fans to only purchase tickets ‘only through authorised channels’. Poppy-Rose said: “We were really excited. On Friday we made our way to Wembley. We got ready and everything at the hotel.

“I scanned my ticket and went through the turnstile absolutely fine. I had both tickets on my phone and I passed the phone to my mum so she could scan her ticket. She had pushed the turnstile and it locked.

“I was trying to talk to the people on my side to see what I would do. They went and got the supervisor and he wasn’t helpful – all he said was ‘you need to go to the ticket office’.

“We tried to scan our tickets again but because we scanned them already it looked like we were trying to double scan and get another person in. They told us to go out of the venue. I went out the emergency exit and went to the ticket office with my mum.

“I went to one that said ‘Ticketmaster’. My ticket said Ticketmaster but I bought them from Hellotickets. She asked us for both of our IDs and scanned our codes. At Wembley there was no signal and the Wi-Fi was shocking.”

‘They came out and said ‘we are really sorry”

She went on: “She came back and said she was really sorry but she couldn’t re-issue our tickets. They were sold by somebody else on Hellotickets and it wasn’t in my name, which is unfortunate. They said ‘you can buy more tickets or you will just have to go’.”

Poppy said she contacted Ticketmaster who reportedly said she needs an official paper from Wembley denying her access to the stadium in order to be refunded. Poppy-Rose said: “I’ve emailed Hellotickets, Ticketmaster, Wembley stadium. Ticketmaster asked for a piece of paper to say we couldn’t go into the venue but they never gave us that.

“They can’t go through with the refund if they don’t have that. It was horrible. It is so much money and we’ve been to a Harry Styles concert before and it was the best thing we’ve ever done.

“I’m quite an anxious person so being in a big stadium with hundreds of thousands of people is scary anyway, to be denied entry is even worse. I fought the anxiety and went all the way to Wembley to be told I couldn’t enter because they would not just open the turnstile when they saw me scan the ticket.

“They just wouldn’t help, they were so rude. It was like it wasn’t their problem.”

Poppy said the two had travelled up to London just for the concert, spending more than £300 on accommodation and transport. Poppy claims she has been ‘obsessed’ with Harry Styles for many years.

Poppy-Rose said: “We planned to travel up to Wembley to stay in London. It’s not just like a quick trip because we live in Cornwall.

“I drove up, which is £50 there and £50 back. The hotel was about £209. Obviously, we were buying food and transport. I’ve been to concerts when he was in One Direction, been to his tours, I’ve been obsessed with him since I was four years old.

“It was so horrible. We were in floods of tears. It’s just sad.”

After sharing her ordeal on social media and calling out Wembley Stadium’s lack of help, Poppy-Rose says the venue have since offered her two VIP tickets for a different Harry Styles show as compensation. A Wembley Stadium spokesperson said: “Wembley Stadium has robust ticket verification and security procedures in place at all our events.

“We strongly encourage all fans attending the stadium to purchase tickets only through authorised channels and to arrive in good time to allow the necessary ticket and security checks to be completed prior to entry.”

Ticketmaster and Hellotickets have been contacted for comment.

As fans complain that the physical edition of GTA 6 doesn’t contain a disc, is there any real chance they can fight back against the takeover of digital downloads?

Grand Theft Auto 6 is clearly a game that’s too big to fail. When it’s released on November 19 it’ll become the biggest entertainment launch in history. Whether or not it beats the staggering 230 million sales of its predecessor will take a decade or more to find out but the long wait for the game, and its frequent delays, has created so much pent up demand that no sales record is now safe. It also means that creator Rockstar Games can do whatever they want and people will buy the game regardless.

Whether GTA 6 has the capacity to disappoint as a video game is hard to say. The Rockstar formula is well established and while there are consistent issues – especially in terms of core gameplay and a central narrative that often gets lost amidst a torrent of side quests and activities – the almost equally successful Red Dead Redemption proves that it’s still massively popular.

As a result, many analysts predicted (many of them gleefully) that Rockstar owner Take-Two would sell the game for a higher than usual price, safe in the knowledge that people would pay literally anything to play it. To Take-Two’s credit, that’s not what happened and the game is no more expensive than other triple-A titles, while it’s Ultimate Edition is a surprisingly modest mark-up. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t taken advantage of the situation in other ways.

The biggest controversy to come out of pre-orders going live this month (other than a silly argument over whether the graphics have got better or worse – based on a bunch of staged promo images) is that the physical version of GTA 6 doesn’t include a disc. It’s just a code in a box, with no indication yet that it even includes a physical map, as all previous entries have.

There are rumours that there’ll be a physical edition released in December, but Rockstar has not confirmed that (and wouldn’t even if it’s true, lest it put anyone off from pre-ordering now). But while some fans are already getting very angry on social media, and there’s already talk of boycotts, it’s hard to imagine that there’ll be enough complaints to dissuade Rockstar from their plans.

Besides, the battle of physical sales vs. digital has already been lost. Only recently Capcom mentioned that 93% of all their sales are now digital and while that percentage varies according to format and publisher, buying a game on disc or cartridge has become a niche concern.

It’s hard to understand why, though, since buying digital has almost no advantages, other than not having to get up to change discs and being able to purchase games instantly. Although instantly is very much relative, given the size of modern games, as those stuck with a slower broadband connection have to wait so long for it to download it would literally be quicker to go down the shops and buy a box copy… if there was actually a disc inside it.

Unfortunately, convenience, or at least the promise of it, has won out against all the many and obvious advantages of owning a physical copy – starting with the fact that you do actually own it, rather than just having a digital licence to use it. For decades publishers have conspired to destroy the second-hand games market and with digital downloads they were finally able to do so, preventing you from selling the games you buy in order to fund the purchase of more.

Publishers also didn’t like sharing their profits with retailers, so not only do they make more money from digital downloads but they can ensure there are no discounts at launch. Whereas 15 years ago or so every major store and supermarket would fight to undercut each other, for the cheapest deal on a new release, nowadays it’s full price or nothing.

The way we buy video games today is exactly how publishers want it and naturally it’s not the interests of their customers that they have in mind, but their shareholders. But this wouldn’t have happened if people had just said no. The situation we have today is entirely the result of ordinary people valuing convenience – even a relatively mild one – above all else.

And we could all have said no. We could have stopped publishers in their tracks and forced a U-turn very easily, simply by refusing to buy digitally. Especially as that sort of economic disobedience has proved highly effective many times before in the games industry.

It’s what killed the ridiculous online passes of the 2010s (an early attempt to stifle second-hand sales), while the proliferation of loot boxes in full price games was stopped only because of gamers rising up against it. Meanwhile, the whole world said a big ‘no, thank you’ to NFTs, even as companies convinced themselves it was going to be the next big thing.

While many people and industries seem to be unquestionably accepting of AI, gamers have been amongst the most vocally sceptic, to the point where admitting your game uses AI is now a sales risk. All these things happened because ordinary people made a stand, but then none of these concepts were selling the idea of convenience, only increased company profits.

Unfortunately for those that value physical media, there’s almost certainly no going back now, at least as far as video games go. In theory, if there was some kind of fight back against GTA 6 and its ‘physical’ edition, then the tides could be turned, but despite all the current anger the chances of that seem remote. What’s more likely is that GTA 6 will draw a line under the whole concept of owning a game as a physical object, no matter how many benefits it brings.

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A person has died following a collision between a car and a train shortly before 9am today, June 25.

Two people were in the car at the time of the crash.

One was pronounced dead at the scene, and a child has been taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Lindsay Hoyle, Chorley MP and Speaker of the House of Commons, said he is in contact with the Minister of State for Rail and Network Rail.

He said: “I was very sorry to hear of the tragic accident that occurred at Hoghton level crossing today and am in contact with both the Minister of State for Rail and Network Rail.

“I extend my sincere condolences to the family and friends of all those involved.”

Several trains between Preston and Blackburn have been cancelled due to the crash.

Tricia Williams, managing director of Northern, said: “We can confirm the 7.51am Colne to Preston service was involved in a collision with a car at a level crossing in Hoghton this morning.

“Our thoughts are with the person who sadly died in the collision and the other passenger in the car who has been taken to hospital.

“There have been no injuries reported from passengers or staff who were on the train.

“We are now working to support the emergency services, Network Rail and Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and will co-operate fully with the investigation into what happened.”

British Transport Police, paramedics, and the fire service attended the scene.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: “We are currently on scene at a level crossing in Hoghton, Lancashire, following reports at 8.50am today (June 25) that a train had struck a car.

“Two people were in the car, and, sadly, one was pronounced dead at the scene, the other is being taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

“There have been no other injuries reported from passengers on the train at this time.

“Enquiries to establish the full circumstances of this incident are ongoing, and anyone who witnessed what happened who hasn’t already spoken to police is asked to text 61016 quoting reference 152 of June 25.”

A spokesperson for the North West Ambulance Service said: “North West Ambulance Service responded to an incident in the Hoghton area of Lancashire after reports of a collision between a train and a car at 8.50am today (25 June).

 “Several clinical teams attended the scene, including our hazardous area response team and two air ambulances.

 “Sadly, a child has sustained life-threatening injuries and has been taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital for further treatment.

 “No passengers travelling on the train required treatment from ambulance crews.”

Lancashire County Councillor, Usman Arif, said: “Thoughts and prayers are with the families of the person who sadly died in the incident this morning in Hoghton near Preston, I hope the injured child makes a swift recovery.

“Many thanks to Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service for their efforts in tackling the tragic incident.”

Police are urging anyone who witnessed the incident and has not yet spoken to officers to get in touch by texting 61016 and quoting reference 152 of June 25.

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday halted President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and limit who can receive a mail ballot.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, sided with a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the Republican president’s order in granting a summary judgment. Her ruling applies to this year’s midterm election cycle.

Plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits, both filed in federal court in Boston, that Trump’s order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. The judge agreed, saying in her ruling that the provisions of Trump’s order seeking to create a federal list of eligible voters and using the U.S. Postal Service to determine who can receive a mail ballot are “legally void” because they “unconstitutionally violate the separation of powers.”

It was the second ruling in as many days against executive orders Trump has signed seeking oversight of the nation’s elections. A separate ruling Wednesday prohibited an executive order he had signed last year that would have required people to show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote.

Order targeted mail voting, administration likely to appeal

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose state was among the plaintiffs, celebrated the court’s decision.

“Millions of independents, Republicans and Democrats across Arizona have voted by mail for decades,” she said in a statement, noting that nearly 80% of ballots in the state are cast by that method.

Mayes, a Democrat, singled out military families, voters in the state’s rural expanses and Native Americans who cast ballots from tribal lands.

“Donald Trump’s executive order targeted all of these voters,” she said. “But today, the courts affirmed what the Constitution makes clear: States run their elections, not the President.”

Trump’s executive order, the second one aimed at elections during his second term, comes as he continues to raise the specter of widespread voting by noncitizens as a reason to change election rules. But states already have detailed processes aimed at keeping their voter rolls accurate, and voting by noncitizens has been shown to be rare. It also is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.

Trump issued his second order in March after a bill he supported to overhaul voting stalled in Congress. The order would have had the federal government — through the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration — create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters. It then directed the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to those on the list.

Election officials argued that it was ripe for abuse and could cause chaos.

The Postal Service has published a proposed rule required by Trump’s executive order in the Federal Register. Among other things, the rule would not apply to primary elections or overseas ballots.

Postal Service workers have pushed back against the order, saying they are not equipped to determine who is eligible to vote in each state. After Trump issued his order last spring, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association said forcing its members into such a role “risks politicizing one of the nation’s most trusted public institutions.”

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat whose state was among the plaintiffs, said the executive order illustrated how Trump was attempting to “abuse power in previously unthinkable ways” to interfere in elections.

She said it “strains credulity” to think the U.S. Postal Service could set up a workable system for pre-screening individual voters to determine whether they would be allowed to vote by mail, adding that it would be “a shocking violation of American constitutional rights.”

The Postal Service did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment.

Trump’s second election executive order faces multiple legal challenges

The lawsuit seeking summary judgment was filed by Democratic attorneys general representing 22 states and the District of Columbia. Also signing on were attorneys representing Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, which has a Republican attorney general.

The states also told the court that the move imposes a costly burden on election officials to comply and would spread fear about the possibility of prosecution. Stephen Pezzi, a lawyer for the Trump administration, had argued that no one would be prosecuted for violating the order.

The other lawsuit filed in Talwani’s court was by the League of Women Voters and other voting rights groups, which have sought a preliminary injunction against the executive order.

In yet another lawsuit filed against the executive order, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., in May agreed with the Trump administration that it was too early to block the order because it had yet to be implemented. That lawsuit was brought by Democratic and civil rights groups, which have appealed.

Since his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has groundlessly claimed mail voting is rife with fraud and has launched a federal investigation into that year’s vote, even though repeated audits and investigations, including ones run by Republicans, found it was free of widespread fraud. Trump also has said he wants to “take over” election administration in Democratic areas.

___

Barrow reported from Atlanta and Hanna from Topeka, Kansas.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — It’s halftime at the World Cup. Take a break, everyone.

Wednesday marked the midpoint of the 104-match tournament — technically, just past the midpoint, with 54 matches now in the books and 50 remaining before a World Cup champion is crowned in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.

The U.S. has reached the Round of 32, which shouldn’t be surprising. Mexico and Canada, the other host nations for this biggest World Cup in history, are also through to the knockout stage. And the stars are positively shining: Argentina’s Lionel Messi has five goals to kick-start what he hopes is a run toward a second consecutive World Cup title. France’s Kylian Mbappé has four, as do Norway’s Erling Haaland and Brazil’s Vinicius Júnior.

Stadiums are mostly filled; FIFA is touting record attendance. And there have been some feel-good stories, most notably the tale of Cape Verde goalie Vozinha and how his mother was able to come to this World Cup.

“The best is yet to come,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino told SNTV earlier this week.

In other words, the second half of this tournament — just like the second half of matches — is when things might get really good.

Who’s in

Through Wednesday’s games, 13 teams have clinched spots in the Round of 32.

Mexico won Group A, Switzerland won Group B, Brazil won Group C, the U.S. won Group D, Germany won Group E and Argentina won Group J.

France, Norway, Canada, Morocco, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Africa also are assured of moving into the knockout stage.

“I know how it feels, but it’s very difficult to explain how it feels,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said after his team clinched its first-ever appearance in the knockout stage. “I’m very happy for the guys.”

Who’s out

A handful of teams already know they’ll be among the 16 that don’t survive the group stage and reach the Round of 32.

The Czech Republic, Haiti, Turkey, Tunisia, Jordan, Qatar and Panama are certain to not advance.

Still hoping

With 13 teams into the knockout round and seven eliminated, that leaves 28 teams for 19 remaining spots in the Round of 32.

Some key matches left:

— Australia-Paraguay is a win-and-you’re-in game.

— A winner of Japan-Sweden would be assured a Round of 32 spot, as would a winner of Austria-Algeria.

— Tiny Cape Verde would be into the knockout round with a win over Saudi Arabia.

— Colombia-Portugal will decide the winner of Group K.

The U.S. path

This much is clear: The only match the U.S. might play in the Eastern time zone will be the World Cup final.

The Americans will begin the Round of 32 in Santa Clara, California, on July 1. If they win, they’ll go to Seattle for the Round of 16. Win that, and it’ll be off to Inglewood, California, for the quarterfinals. Win that, and Arlington, Texas, will be calling for the semifinals.

The most likely opponent for the U.S. in the Round of 32 is Bosnia and Herzegovina. After that, it would seem likely that Egypt could be waiting.

What happens now (or starting Sunday)

Once group play ends, the drama really begins.

It’s called the knockout stage for a reason — if you don’t win in this round, you’re knocked out of the tournament. (The only time that won’t apply is the semifinals, since the losers of those games will get sent to Miami Gardens, Florida, to decide third place.)

A team will have to win five elimination games to win the World Cup title.

Scoring is up

Everybody should have predicted that the record for total goals in a World Cup would get smashed in this tournament. After all, there are 104 matches in this event, compared with just 64 matches in the format that was used over the previous seven World Cups.

And the record for most goals will fall, almost certainly on Thursday or Friday. There were 172 scored at Qatar four years ago; there have been 161 goals through 54 matches so far this year.

But what is noteworthy in this tournament is that scoring per game is at its highest level in more than 50 years — 2.98 goals per match.

An average of 2.81 goals per match were scored at Spain in 1982, 2.97 goals per match at Mexico in 1970, and 3.60 goals per match at Sweden in 1958.

That said, this year’s games have been defensive battles compared to what happened in 1954 in Switzerland, when games featured a staggering 5.38 goals on average. That tournament included a game with a 7-5 final score, still the highest-scoring game in men’s World Cup history.

The pace

By the end of Day 17 of the World Cup on Saturday, 72 matches will be done, 32 will remain. That’s the day the group stage ends and the knockout stage — where every match until the semifinals is of the win-or-go-home variety — begins.

And then things slow down. A bit, anyway.

There is only one Round of 32 game on the schedule for Sunday — South Africa vs. Canada at Los Angeles. Things pick up again after that and matches are planned every day until July 8. That means the tournament will have 27 consecutive days of play before everyone gets a day off.

A rematch?

Argentina and France gave us an epic World Cup final in 2022. It’s not outside of the realm that we get a rematch this year; the way the bracket is looking at this point (and this could easily change), they should be on opposite sides, making a collision in the final possible.

Argentina has five goals through its first two matches, and Messi — who turned 39 on Wednesday — has all five of them. Messi now has 18 goals in World Cup play, an all-time record.

When Argentina plays in the Round of 32, Messi will basically get a home game in Miami. It won’t be at the stadium that he and Inter Miami call home, but it will be in Miami Gardens and in what has been his home market for the last three years since he came to MLS.

Mbappe has four goals for France so far in this tournament, giving him 16 in World Cups, tying for second-most all-time with Miroslav Klose of Germany — who held the record before this year’s tournament started.

___

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES Paul Atkins, 38, was targeted at random while walking home from work through a graveyard in Ramsgate, Kent in February 2024 – his attacker is still at large

The victim of a random acid attack is still suffering with the horror effects two years on – as his case remains unsolved.

Paul Atkins, 38, was targeted while walking home from work through a graveyard in Ramsgate, Kent in February 2024. He says he didn’t realise it was acid at first but, within minutes, felt blood – before his clothes “melted” from his body.

Two years on, dad-of-three Paul still regularly suffers from night terrors and panic attacks – and the suspect is still at large. A man was arrested but later ruled out as a suspect, according to reports.

Paul, a bus driver and engineer, said: “I was literally just walking home and cut through St Lawrence graveyard around 8pm at night. All of a sudden I got wet from behind, someone had thrown something over me. Initially I thought it was water, maybe kids messing around. It was only a couple of minutes later that my neck started to burn.

“I put my hand round to the back of my neck and when I pulled it away there was blood on my hand, I thought ‘oh I am in trouble now’. My clothes literally melted from my body.”

Paul suffered third degree burns across his neck, down his back and on the front of his chest where the acid had run down the top of his head. He called 999 and was then raced to hospital.

He said: “I had a skin graft and plastic surgery to remove the burnt skin and replace it with skin from my thigh.”

Paul is still feeling the effects to this day – and has not been back to the graveyard since. He said: “I wake up in the night profusely sweating because I am having a panic attack.

“Even now I am still living the consequences of the attack. I have horrific scars down my chest and every time I look in the mirror it is just a constant reminder. The skin feels different from the back of my neck when I rub it, it doesn’t feel like skin anymore.

“I have not been back to the graveyard since and I do not think I will ever walk that way again because of the psychological damage that it has done to me since.”

Despite launching a large investigation and arresting one suspect, the police never found the person who committed the attack.

Kent Police said: “On the evening of Sunday 11 February 2024, a man had an unidentified corrosive liquid thrown at him after he entered St Laurence Graveyard, off Manston Road, Ramsgate.

“Following our response to the incident on the evening, a detailed investigation was carried out, which involved speaking to possible witnesses, a review of CCTV and forensic work.

“This resulted in the arrest of a man later the same month, but that man was later ruled out of our investigation and released without charge.”

A Freedom of Information request by Legal Expert recently revealed that the force recorded 86 acid attacks over the last three years.

Paul said: “For me personally more needs to be done from a Government level. It is not just in my area where these attacks are happening. It needs to be brought up at a national level but I guess if someone wants to go out and hurt someone they will.

“These attacks destroy lives and they destroy families.”

He has been sent to prison a month after being released after he made multiple threats to kill his ex-partner

A man has been sent back to jail a month after being released, after he made multiple threats to kill his ex-partner. Robbie Grant, 27, attended the home of his former partner on May 13, despite a restraining order which prevented him from contacting or visiting her.

After an argument between the pair broke out, Grant left the victim’s home, but called her mobile soon after, telling her he was going to put her “six feet under”. During the phone call, Grant also described how he was going to arrange for his friend who owned a shotgun to visit the victim, leaving her fearing for her life.

The threats were reported to police and on May 15, when officers contacted Grant, he made further threats about harming and killing the victim to police. He was arrested at a hotel in Peterborough later the same day.

At Peterborough Crown Court on Tuesday (June 23), Grant, of Drayton Road, Norwich, Norfolk was jailed for three years and ten months after admitting to making threats to kill and intimidating a witness / juror.

DC Roberto Scialla Cooper, who investigated, said: “Grant’s barrage of threats to hurt and kill the victim left her fearful for her life. Grant’s behaviour was completely unacceptable, and I hope this sentence allows the victim to move on with her life.

“We would strongly urge anyone who is a victim of domestic abuse to contact police or call the national domestic violence helpline on 0808 2000 247.”

To report concerns or for more advice and support on domestic abuse, including coercive control, visit the force’s dedicated web page.

Stressing the importance of spending targets being delivered in the face of the threat posed by Russia, he said: “Because in the end Putin is not afraid of commitments, he is afraid of (us) implementing those commitments, and that’s exactly what we are doing, Vladimir, we will defend ourselves.”