M5 crash deaths: fireworks organiser charged with manslaughter

Geoffrey Counsell, 50, from Somerset faces seven counts of manslaughter after 34-vehicle pile-up in November 2011

Emergency services at the scene of the fatal collision near junction 25 of the M5 in November 2011. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

The organiser of a fireworks display that was taking place next to the site of a motorway pile up that claimed seven lives has been charged with the manslaughter of the victims.
Geoffrey Counsell, 50, from Somerset, will appear before magistrates in Bristol next month accused of seven counts of manslaughter.
On Friday 4 November last year, seven people died and 51 people were injured on the M5 near Taunton in Somerset following a collision between 34 vehicles.
A statement released on Friday night by Avon and Somerset police and the Crown Prosecution Service revealed that Taunton Rugby Club, which hosted the display, would not be prosecuted. Nor would any of the motorists involved.
But the statement said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Avon and Somerset police to charge Geoffrey Counsell with seven counts of manslaughter following the deaths of Anthony and Pamela Adams, Maggie and Michae
l Barton, Malcolm Beacham, Terry Brice and Kye Thomas in a collision on the M5 in November 2011.
"Since the collision we have worked closely together to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the collision and to carefully consider all the evidence. This has been a complex process which has also involved working with Taunton Deane Borough council and seeking the views of expert witnesses.
"Having considered the evidence … the CPS decided there was sufficient evidence to charge Geoffrey Counsell, the provider of the fireworks display at Taunton Rugby Club on the night of the collision, with manslaughter.
"It was clear from the investigation carried out by Avon and Somerset police that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute for driver error and therefore no action will be taken against any motorists.
"The CPS also considered the culpability of Taunton Rugby Club and reached the conclusion that there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction."
Counsell is due to appear on 12 November.

Gaddafi's last moments: 'I saw the hand holding the gun and I saw it fire'

Former rebel fighters in the Libyan city of Sirte recall the capture and killing of their reviled dictator a year ago

An anti-Gaddafi fighter points at the drain where Muammar Gaddafi was hiding before he was captured in Sirte on 20 October 2011. Photograph: Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters

Moustafa Zoubi trained his battered Kalashnikov on a large storm water pipe, his gun barrel darting between the shadow at its entrance and a frantic commotion on the ridge above. Fighters were scrambling in every direction, shouting commands and barking orders for reinforcements into their mobile phones. One radio call in particular was repeatedly shouted: "Call sign one."
Some of the frantic men nearby took cover behind a grass berm, looking towards an area past a twisted and smouldering convoy of cars and trucks for the source of the incoming gunfire. Others made for nearby buildings. All the time, gungho men in war-ravaged trucks were arriving, tyres squealing on the hot black bitumen as they neared the maelstrom on the outskirts of the Libyan city of Sirte.
The recent arrivals were turning up with news urgently passed on to them in phone calls from their colleagues as far away as Misrata and Tripoli. The man they had all been hunting was cowering in the foul-smelling hole in front of them.
Captives from the firefight still raging around them had given up their boss, the new arrivals were told. He had nowhere left to run.
Zoubi's heart seemed to pound through his chest as he focused his Kalashnikov and every bit of concentration he could summon on the shadow in front of him. The gunfire crackling in the distance no longer mattered. Along with everyone else, he was focused solely on the momentous drama that was about to play out.
A hand tentatively emerged from the drainpipe. Seconds later another slowly appeared from the shadow into the midday light. One hand briefly dropped to the ground, and the men outside responded with screamed orders. "Keep coming," someone said. Someone else fired into the air.
A man's head appeared from the gloom – sporting a signature black curly mass of hair.
The rebels surged forward and grabbed the man by the arms, pulling him clear of the pipe and hauling him to his feet. One pulled his hair back, forcing his face to lurch violently towards the sunlight.
"Muammar! Muammar!" one of the rebels screamed.
"What's this?" asked one of modern history's most infamous tyrants. "What's this, my sons? What are you doing?"
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, wearing matching tan pants and shirt, by now soaked in blood, stopped briefly and looked around, seemingly bewildered. He had little more than a few seconds to take in his surroundings before being grabbed by each arm and wrenched away from his final, ignominious refuge.
The self-anointed Godfather of Libya, King of Kings of Africa, and Leader Who Lived in All Libyans' Hearts, looked unsteady on his feet as he was led away, his hair unkempt, wild and partly matted in his own blood, and his legs trembling with each step.
A mob grew around Gaddafi as he was frog-marched through the sand. While he was being taken towards a group of rebel trucks, one fighter crouched in the dirt behind the frightened captive and sodomised him with a bayonet.
"Haram alaikum!" screamed Gaddafi, his voice hoarse and his eyes darting wildly. Loosely translated: "It's a sin what you are doing!"
Blood from the vanquished leader's various wounds was now caking his shirt. Blows rained down on him. Every one of his captors seemed to want a piece of the hobbled tyrant. Things were slipping fast out of control.
Rebels from everywhere were converging on this industrial area outside Sirte, a city that had become associated with his rule. The rebels held their telephones forward like candles, filming every move of the increasingly desperate and terrified 69-year-old. Gaddafi was thrown on to the front of a white car bonnet, his bloodsoaked head locked between the knees of a militiaman from nearby Misrata.
He slipped off the bonnet, his ravaged body unable to cope with the constant battering. The militiaman hauled him back up.
Around this time, someone filmed the gruesome shot of what seemed to be a mortally wounded Gaddafi, an image that would quickly be broadcast worldwide.
From this point, none of the dozens who were recording the scene seemed able to hold their mobile phones steady. Torn between wanting to watch things unfold with their own eyes and recording for posterity the momentous scenes playing out on what would be a famous day – 20 October 2011 – the men surrounding Gaddafi all seemed to choose the former.
Adam Zawbi, a 20-year-old Misrata fighter, saw what happened next. "I had just got there," he said. "We got a call that Gaddafi was captured and we went straight to the area. There were lots of guys shouting and Gaddafi was in the centre of the road. I saw the gun. I saw the hand holding it and I heard it fire."
"I know who did it," he later said, as we drove between the central Libyan coastal city of Zlitan and his home city of Misrata. "I know his first name anyway." I got the impression that the young medic, by then a veteran of eight grinding months of frontline warfare, knew a

She doesn't know her mum is dead: Disabled daughter of Cardiff hit-and-run victim is on "dream holiday" in Florida

Police also made an appeal for information about a mystery Renault Clio and confirmed the van driver physically assaulted people with a weapon between crashes

 

A disabled little girl whose mother was killed in a horrific hit-and-run rampage is on a "dream holiday" in Florida and is unaware that she has died, it has been revealed.
Karina Menzies, 32, was mown down outside a fire station near her home in Cardiff.
Just hours before she was hit by a white van as she walked home, the mum-of-three had tweeted thanking the Dreamflight charity taking her daughter to America.
She wrote: "completely blown away by the opportunites u have given my child,cannot thank u enough n i kno [daughter's name] is havin a ball!! Xx" (sic)

 The revelation came as police made an appeal for information about a mystery car seen driving on the wrong side of the road shortly before the crashes.
Detectives are continuing to question a 31-year-old man on suspicion of her murder as well as investigating reports that he deliberately knocked people down in the Welsh capital with a white Iveco van.
Detective Superintendent Paul Hurley confirmed reports that the suspect left his vehicle and physically assaulted people between the crashes and also carried a weapon.
The officer said: "We are aware the suspect assaulted people outside his vehicle," and he added police were "looking to identify and recover" the weapon.
He said no firearm was involved and there was no suggestion anyone had been stabbed.
Mr Hurley urged witnesses to get in touch and asked for information about a black Renault Clio seen driving on the wrong side of the road of Western Avenue, not far from Cowbridge Road West, where one crash happened.
The horrific events began when police received calls about an incident in Crossways Road in Ely at 3.30pm.
This was soon followed by other reports of hit-and-run collisions in several locations in the west of the city, including Grand Avenue, Cowbridge Road West and the Leckwith Retail Park.
There was no full registration details for the Clio but officers said it carried on 05 plate.
Fourteen people were injured in the crashes, nine remain in hospital.
Five are children and two adults remain in a critical condition.
Seventy officers are working on the investigation.

 

 

Floral tributes have been laid at the scene where Ms Menzies was killed.
Among those paying their respects this morning was local Labour MP Kevin Brennan.
He said: "It's absolutely shocking what has happened and the fact that someone has appeared to use a vehicle as a weapon.
"Karina was a well-liked mother who had three children.
"One of her children is disabled and is currently on a dream holiday in Florida.
"This incident is beyond senseless and has rocked the whole community."

 

 

Scores of tributes have been paid to Ms Menzies on social networking sites.
Facebook user Katy Johanna Benson wrote: "Rest in piece Karina Menzies. Sleep tight beautiful angel and may the scum responsible for this senseless, evil murder be brought to justice. Cant imagine what her family are feeling."
Facebook user Marine Thomas wrote: "r.i.p karina i didnt know u personally but from what ive heard u were a fab mum and will be missed very much :( this is a cruel world we live in and its always the good ones that go first. sleep tight angel."
Facebook user Jeff Cornwall wrote: "I never knew you but such a vile tragedy I live not far from this awful mess rest in peace pet."
Ely sub-postmaster Shady Taha, 29, had just served two girls aged about 10 and a woman in her mid-20s moments before one of the hit-and-runs in Grand Avenue, immediately outside a row of shops.
He said: "All of a sudden I heard a bang. I looked out and across the road one girl was on the floor and the other girl was screaming.
"I heard a van speed off but I did not see it."

 

 

Lynda Paterson, who lives in Cowbridge Road West, described the scene outside her house as chaotic.
"I was going to pick my children up from school and I could see there were police and someone was lying on the floor, on the pavement," she added.
"I could see police running back and forth along the road and I now know a child had been hit."
Other eyewitnesses said pedestrians were deliberately targeted by someone driving a white van.
"We had a customer in our shop who said the van mounted the kerb like the driver wanted to run down young kids with their parents," a female shop worker in Grand Avenue, who did not want to be named, said.
The A&E department at the University Hospital of Wales was initially shut to anyone not involved in the incident but has now reopened.
Dr Grahame Shortland, medical director at the hospital, said those being treated mostly had fractures and head injuries.
The crime scenes included Ely fire station, an area near the Merrie Harrier pub in Llandough on the outskirts of Cardiff, where the suspect was arrested, and Leckwith Retail Park - next to the Cardiff City Stadium.
Superintendent Julian Williams said: "This is a tragic incident that has affected a large number of people, and we thank the people of Cardiff for their help and support.
"Incidents like this are extremely rare here, as they are across South Wales, and we want to reassure the public that a significant number of officers are working on the investigation, including a number of specialist resources.
"Whether the actions were deliberate or reckless is a matter for the inquiry and the person will obviously be spoken to."
Anyone with any information about the incidents is urged to contact police on 01656 655555.

The victims

Police have released details of the 14 victims of a hit-and-run rampage in Cardiff.
The youngest was a toddler aged 23 months while the oldest was a 49-year-old woman.
There were five different crash sites - spread out over an area of around three miles - and officers believe the terrifying spree lasted around 30 minutes.
Here are details of the sites and the casualties:
:: Crossways, Ely
Boy, aged 9 - arm and leg injuries
Girl, aged 8 - head injury
Woman, aged 29 - walking wounded
:: Reptile Centre, Ely
Woman, aged 22 - leg injuries
Girl, aged 2 - facial injuries
Man, aged 24 - minor injuries
:: Ely Fire Station
Woman, Karina Menzies, aged 32 - killed
Girl, aged 23 months - observations only
Girl, aged 8 - head injury
:: Grand Avenue Shops
Man, aged 32 - multiple injuries
Girl, aged 10 - arm injury
Girl, aged 12 - back injury
:: Leckwith Retail Park
Woman, aged 27 - head injury
Woman, aged 49 - multiple injuries

Is Kanye going to propose to Kim this weekend? The Keeping Up With The Kardashians producer thinks so!

Ryan Seacrest says we might know by Monday if the rapper and reality star are engaged. We want to know NOW!

 

You know when people put up a really cryptic Facebook status and then refuse to tell you what it means? It's very annoying. But Ryan Seacrest has done the celeb version of that by hinting that Kim Kardashian's about to get engaged ... then stopping talking. Annoying, Ryan!
On his breakfast radio show, Ryan Seacrest's co-host was talking about a news story, saying Kanye was "desperate to propose to Kim" and had already picked out an engagement ring.

 

Ryan, who is the producer of all of the Kardashian's shows, including Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Kourtney and Kim Take Miami (which is currently being filmed) then hinted: "I think we could definitely see an update on this story on Monday." Oooh! If anyone knows, it'd be Ryan, and this is the biggest hint we've had yet.
Kim's in Rome with Kanye at the moment as part of his surprise for her 32nd birthday. "I got whisked away to Rome for a birthday week surprise," she blogged yesterday. "Italy is so beautiful! Best Birthday ever!!"

 

So if Kanye proposed, Kim's keeping quiet. He'll probably have to propose again on camera for her TV show.
Kanye's reportedly designed a ring for Kim already, and she's already talked about what kind of wedding she wants (on an island, private) . Kanye's even committed his desire to see Kim "in a white dress" to song (obviously) and Kim's tried on her sister's wedding ring for size . Oh, and they've been househunting too.           

 

There's only one thing left ... she needs to get divorced from her last husband Kris Humphries. Small detail. But not one that'll stand in the way of Kim and the Kardashian empire, we're sure.
Want to know who has got married? That'll be Justin Timberlake and the lady with the hottest bum in Hollywood, Jessica Biel. Come right this way for details.

You can't hide: Police identify Leeds United fan who ran onto pitch and attacked Sheffield Wednesday keeper

The suspect, who has been named on social media sites but not by police, has yet to be arrested after former England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland was shoved in the face


A hooligan who ran on to the pitch and assaulted a goalkeeper during a Championship football match last night has been identified by police.
The suspect, who has been named on social media sites but not by police, has yet to be arrested after former England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland was shoved in the face amid ugly scenes at the game between Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United at Hillsborough.
The FA is also investigating crowd trouble at the Yorkshire derby and is awaiting the referee's report.
Kirkland, who was playing for Sheffield Wednesday, was assaulted by a Leeds fan after the visitors had equalised.
The shocking scenes were broadcast live on Sky Sports and fans were quick to condemn the trouble on Twitter and Facebook. That led to a suspect being named on sites, and a mobile phone number being circulated.

 

  South Yorkshire Police's senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Mark Monteiro, said: "With the public's assistance we have clearly identified the offender who ran on to the pitch during last night's game between Sheffield Wednesday FC and Leeds United FC and who is suspected of assaulting the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper.
"We are dealing with the complaint made by the player and we are currently taking statements, collating evidence and making inquiries to locate and arrest the offender.
"We are also using CCTV footage from around the ground to identify suspects who may have been responsible for other offences before, during or after the match.
"I'd like to thank the supporters and general public who have provided information and assisted with our inquiries."
An FA spokesman said: "The FA condemns the scenes at Hillsborough last night. We have begun an immediate investigation and have been in contact with both clubs.
"We would call for the authorities to identify and bring before the courts anyone who was involved in any form of criminal disorder."

 

Kirkland required medical treatment before he could continue.
There were five arrests for various offences including public order before and after the game, while three people were ejected from the ground and 12 were subject to dispersal orders.
Leeds issued a statement after the game pledging to identify the man involved in the incident.
It read: "Leeds United Football Club would like to publicly apologise and condemn the action of the fan who came on the pitch and attacked Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.
"The club will fully co-operate with the police and the football authorities in identifying the individual concerned.
"After the week football has endured there is no place for this type of behaviour and the majority of Leeds supporters will be ashamed of his actions."
The match was marred by vicious chanting from some Leeds fans about Wednesday manager Dave Jones, who was cleared of child abuse allegations in 2000.
Wednesday fans replied with songs about two Leeds fans killed in Turkey in April 2000. Leeds supporters responded by throwing bottles on to the field and clashing with police.
Jones called for Leeds fans to be banned from "every away ground".
He went on: "You talk about racism, the chanting, that's a form of racism. And then (for the Leeds players) to go and wave at them... not in my book. You don't wave at them after that.
"I thought it had gone out of our game. The authorities have to look at it and sort it. I'm talking about an incident when we should be talking about the football. We're talking about vile animals. That's what they are. We talk about racism, but that, we need to sort that."
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Caught by the real boys in Blue: Chelsea star Frank Lampard fined and given points after admitting speeding

The footballer's lawyer urged the court not to ban Lampard as he needed to drive regularly to see his children who live with his former partner

England and Chelsea footballer Frank Lampard has been fined £850 and handed six penalty points on his licence after he admitted speeding at 84mph on a 50mph road.
Staines Magistrates' Court was told that the 34-year-old midfielder had changed his plea from not guilty to guilty after being sent video footage of the offence, which happened on the London-bound carriageway of the A3 Esher Bypass in Claygate on January 17 this year.
Prosecutor David Owen told the court a police "speed scope" caught Lampard's Land Rover travelling at 34mph over the limit, and the player later confirmed in writing that he had been at the wheel.
Lampard, who was absent from court, was defended by Nick Freeman who urged the bench to consider points rather than a ban, as the footballer needed to drive regularly to see his children who live with his former partner.
Mr Freeman said: "I think this is one of the few roads where there is a 70mph limit one way and a 50mph limit the other.
"To be honest, he [Lampard] doesn't recall the offence."
In March 2011 Lampard served a 60-day driving ban after being clocked at 91mph on the same stretch of the A3.
Mr Freeman told the court that more points on his licence would act as an incentive to drive within the law, because any further offence inside three years would mean an accumulation of 12 points and a 12-month ban.
He said this was "hugely significant", adding: "He [Lampard] had made a massive effort since the offence you heard about, to comply with the speed limits.
"He has been using his cruise control and is particularly disappointed in himself. He has had his driving licence since he was 17.
"This will be a Sword of Damocles hanging over him and it would be a very heavy sword, as he would be off the road for 12 months rather than six."
Lampard, of Tregunter Road, Chelsea, west London, was also ordered to pay £130 costs and a £15 surcharge.

House fire tragedy: Two neighbours arrested on suspicion of murder after mum, 20, and two young children die in blaze

The woman and two relatives - a boy aged four and a two-year-old girl - were pronounced dead by firefighters while a 23-year-old man and a 15-month-old baby were taken to hospital

 

Detectives investigating a house fire which killed a young mum and two children have arrested their neighbours on suspicion of murder.
The victims - a 20-year-old woman, a boy aged four and a two-year-old girl - died after the blaze broke out in their first-floor flat in Maes Y Groes, Prestatyn, last night, a North Wales Police spokeswoman said.
She added that the arrested pair live underneath them on the ground floor and were a man, aged 45, and a woman, aged 42.

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The force said the female victim was related to the two children but was not their mother.
The dead woman's 15-month-old baby boy is in a critical condition in hospital and her 23-year-old boyfriend is also in hospital being treated for serious injuries.
The man is not related to the two dead children, North Wales Police said.

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Detective Superintendent John Chapman said: "We would appeal for anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the Maes y Groes area of Prestatyn yesterday evening to get in contact as soon as possible by calling us on 101.
"We are deploying family liaison officers to work closely with the next of kin at this difficult time.
"There is a team of dedicated officers working on specific lines of inquiry in relation to this incident."
Firefighters were called to the scene at 10pm last night and recovered the five people.