Tabak ‘saw fear in Joanna’s eyes’: Vincent Tabak saw the fear in Joanna Yeates’s eyes as she struggled for her life, but refused to stop strangling her until she died, Bristol Crown Court was told yesterday. In his closing remarks, Nigel Lickley, for the prosecution, said Tabak, a 33-year-old Dutch engineer both taller and stronger than his victim, had been in full control that night; with sex on his mind; he had intended to kill or harm Ms Yeates. Tabak denies murder but admits manslaughter. More from The Independent…
Teachers to take pensions reform protest to parliament: Thousands of teachers and lecturers, including dozens from Bristol, are due to descend on parliament to lobby MPs over pension reforms in an attempt to stave off their biggest strike for decades. The mass lobby today will be the first time in history that all the UK’s major teaching unions have taken action together over a single issue. More from The Guardian…
75% of Bristol rioters had criminal record: People taking part in riots in Bristol in August were older than those in other parts of the country, a government study has concluded. The figures were revealed yesterday in a Home Office report into the looting and violence that swept the country over the summer. Of the 55 people arrested by Avon and Somerset Police, more than three quarters already had a conviction or caution to their name. More from Bristol Evening Post…
Bristol’s Severn Beach rail line ‘less reliable’: Campaigners are to present a 300-name petition to Bristol City Council after a rail subsidy was cut. The Severn Beach line was given £400,000 per year between 2008 and 2011, but funding has now been halved. Members of the Friends of Bristol Suburban Railway and other groups including the Green Party claim services have now become less reliable. More from BBC News…
Strike set for TV Licensing staff: TV Licensing workers are to stage a second strike in a dispute over pay. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said its members, employed by Capita at sites in Darwen, Lancashire, and Bristol, will walk out on 31 October. It said there had been no contact from the company or offer of fresh talks since a strike on 17 October. More from BBC News…
North Bristol tenders for Frenchay social care redevelopment: NHS Bristol trust is looking for a private sector partner to carry out work at Frenchay hospital, which will be downgraded from an acute hospital to a health and social care centre. A spokeswoman for the trust told Guardian Healthcare that acute care such as surgery and emergency services will be transferred to the new £430m Southmead hospital that it is currently building. More from The Guardian…
