- WPC Tracy Watts admitted drink-driving and was warned she faces jail
- Crashed car in Southend, Essex, after downing bottle of vodka
By James White
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Drink-drive crash: Tracy Watts was four times over the legal alcohol limit when she crashed her sports car
A police officer is facing jail after she admitted crashing a sports car while four times over the drink-drive limit after binge drinking on a bottle of vodka.
Tracy Watts was arrested after crashing her MG TF into a bollard along Southend seafront, Essex, while heavily drunk.
Watts admitted she had drunk a bottle of vodka when questioned by cops at the scene of the early evening crash.
The 31-year-old appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court today wearing a black suit, white blouse and sky blue jumper.
She hung her head as she appeared in the dock and pleaded guilty to a single charge of drink-driving.
Watts, who worked as a WPC for City of London Police, was warned she faces up to six months in jail when sentenced.
Lead magistrate Roger Harbidge said: 'This makes for very disturbing reading and it is only good fortune you did not injure anyone else.
'You must understand a custodial sentence is very likely in this case.'
Watts will now have to wait to discover her fate while a full probation report is prepared.
The court heard how Watts collided with a bollard along Eastern Esplanade, in Southend, at around 7.15pm on March 26 this year.
Police and an ambulance rushed to the scene where Watts admitted to officers from Essex Police that she had consumed a bottle of vodka before the crash.
No other people were injured and Watts was rushed to a local hospital and a blood sample was taken.
She recorded a blood-alcohol level of 320mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood - four times over the UK drink-drive limit of 80mcg per 100ml.
Watts, from Shoeburyness, Essex, resigned from her role as a City of London police officer less than a fortnight after the crash.
Crash site: The seafront in Southend, Essex, where Tracy Watts crashed her car in March. Today she admitted drink-driving and warned she faces jail
Miss Bo-Eun Jung, mitigating, said her client had underlying drink problems and was working to deal with them.
She told the court: 'My client has underlying psychological and alcohol problems which are being looked at.'
Watts was given unconditional bail and received an interim banning order meaning she is disqualified from driving until the outcome of the case.
She is due to be sentenced at Southend Magistrates’ Court later this year.
Sporty: A 2002 MG TF car similar to the one driven by the Tracy Watts when she was arrested
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Event raises bags of cash for Mystery Plays (From York Press) - The Press in York
Event raises bags of cash for York Mystery Plays
8:32am Monday 18th June 2012 in News 
SHOPPERS at a Morrisons store in York were helped in packing their bags by Lady Gibson, wife of the supermarket group’s chairman, Sir Ian Gibson.
Lady Gibson helped pack at the Foss Islands Road branch to raise money towards the cost of staging this summer’s York Mystery Plays.
She was joined by more than 30 members of the plays’ cast and crew in packing bags at the check-outs in return for a small donation into buckets.
All the money raised will go towards the cost of making 3,250 garments needed to costume the 600-strong cast of actors in the plays, which will be staged amid the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in the Museum Gardens throughout August.
“I was delighted to help Morrisons’ customers pack their shopping to help raise money for York Mystery Plays 2012,” said Lady Gibson. “This is such an important project for the city of York and one that I am very much enjoying being a part of.
“I am one of the 1,700 volunteers, many of whom I’ve discovered today are Morrisons shoppers!
“Everyone’s pulling together and helping in any way they can to support the project.”
A strong connection is building between the supermarket chain and the production after Morrisons helped organisers to get hold of 3,000 numbered T-shirts and fleeces for Mystery Plays cast and crew.
Organisers are still looking for donations of vintage, or vintage-looking, clothing and fabrics to create costumes for the plays, which are set this year in the post-war era.
Anyone who is able to help with costumes should bring items to the York Theatre Royal reception between 10am and 4pm on any weekday.
Source: www.yorkpress.co.uk
Delay hitch hits £7m Bacup supermarket (From The Bolton News) - The Bolton News
Delay hitch hits £7m Bacup supermarket
3:14pm Monday 18th June 2012
WORK on Bacup’s new £7million Morrisons supermarket will not begin until September — four months behind schedule.
Architects at Race Cottam Associates, working on the store on behalf of Morrisons, said that Rossendale Council has still not vacated the site and therefore demolition work had been delayed.
But leader Alyson Barnes said they were not to blame.
She said that a hold-up in the transaction of the land was the reason for the postponement of work that was due to begin in May.
The council currently has a waste unit at nearby Henrietta Street and has been waiting for cash to be released to build a new depot.
She said: “In a situation like this the complexity of several ownerships means site acquisition is a difficult process.
That completion of that deal is imminent and the council is certainly not to blame for this.” Paul Nolan from Nolan Redshaw Chartered Surveyors said all demolition work needed to be done in one go.
He said: “We are chomping at the bit to start work but we had hoped it would be a bit sooner than September.
“This demolition can’t be done in stages.
“We’ve made the commitment and were hoping to start something in July or August.”
Stuart Sugarman, an executive director at Rossendale council said there were ‘justifiable reasons for the delay but not on the council’s part’. It is thought that the 2,020 sq metre store, which is due to open on the site of the former Horace’s nightclub in January next year, will create around 110 jobs.
The development in Lee Street has been touted since 2006 and permission was finally granted in March this year.
The deal originally hit a stumbling block when it was revealed the Co-op held a protective covenant stopping another major retailer from using the land off Lee Street and Gas Street.
Council chiefs were forced to step in and use their compulsory purchase powers to buy the land, remove the covenant and sell it on to Morrisons.
Source: www.theboltonnews.co.uk
Administrators axe 180 Coryton staff - The Guardian
Administrators in charge of Britain's largest independent oil refinery at Coryton are to axe 180 staff amid warnings that it is "highly unlikely" the plant will survive in its current form.
PricewaterhouseCoopers said approximately 180 of the site's 500 permanent staff will be made redundant next week following the cessation of refining activities.
"The administrators have been clear there would likely be a substantial number of redundancies from the 500-strong workforce. The administrators met with staff and announced that approximately 180 staff will be made redundant next week," said PwC. "Conversations will take place over the following days with affected individuals. Following cessation of refining activities last week, the programme to safely wind down operations at the refinery continues."
PwC said it was still in talks to sell the site, but played down the chances of it being sold as a functioning refinery, despite interest from a former Russian energy minister. Igor Yusufov, who served under Vladimir Putin, is the only suitor interested in maintaining the Essex site as a refinery, in the face of competition from Shell, which wants to convert Coryton into a storage facility that will employs a fraction of the plant's current workforce. Including contractors, Coryton employs 850 people.
"The administrators are continuing to work with various parties who have expressed an interest in acquiring the Coryton site. It is highly unlikely, however, that it will be sold as a refinery," said PwC. Last week Coryton staff lobbied the Department of Energy and Climate Change to help save the bankrupt business, but Decc has refused to use state aid to rescue the site, indicating that it has no long term future as a refinery. Decc has also reassured motorists that Coryton's closure will not affect petrol supplies in the south-east, even though it supplies about 20% of the region's fuel.
Linda McCulloch, national officer at the Unite trade union, said: "The administrators are moving far too fast with their redundancy programme, when we understand negotiations with a possible bidder are still taking place. There is a very strong case for short-term state aid to be provided by the government until a viable buyer is found."
Coryton, owned by Swiss company Petroplus, has struggled in the face of overcapacity in Europe and competition from new sites in the Middle East and Asia. Any would be-buyer must also commit to a multimillion pound capital expenditure programme to overhaul the refinery, a 59-year-old fixture of the south Essex landscape.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Delay hitch hits £7m Bacup supermarket - The Bolton News
Delay hitch hits £7m Bacup supermarket
3:14pm Monday 18th June 2012 in North West
WORK on Bacup’s new £7million Morrisons supermarket will not begin until September — four months behind schedule.
Architects at Race Cottam Associates, working on the store on behalf of Morrisons, said that Rossendale Council has still not vacated the site and therefore demolition work had been delayed.
But leader Alyson Barnes said they were not to blame.
She said that a hold-up in the transaction of the land was the reason for the postponement of work that was due to begin in May.
The council currently has a waste unit at nearby Henrietta Street and has been waiting for cash to be released to build a new depot.
She said: “In a situation like this the complexity of several ownerships means site acquisition is a difficult process.
That completion of that deal is imminent and the council is certainly not to blame for this.” Paul Nolan from Nolan Redshaw Chartered Surveyors said all demolition work needed to be done in one go.
He said: “We are chomping at the bit to start work but we had hoped it would be a bit sooner than September.
“This demolition can’t be done in stages.
“We’ve made the commitment and were hoping to start something in July or August.”
Stuart Sugarman, an executive director at Rossendale council said there were ‘justifiable reasons for the delay but not on the council’s part’. It is thought that the 2,020 sq metre store, which is due to open on the site of the former Horace’s nightclub in January next year, will create around 110 jobs.
The development in Lee Street has been touted since 2006 and permission was finally granted in March this year.
The deal originally hit a stumbling block when it was revealed the Co-op held a protective covenant stopping another major retailer from using the land off Lee Street and Gas Street.
Council chiefs were forced to step in and use their compulsory purchase powers to buy the land, remove the covenant and sell it on to Morrisons.
Source: www.theboltonnews.co.uk
Sam Faiers and Joey Essex plotting third TOWIE spin-off show - Metro.co.uk
The recently reunited Essex couple were spotted at the W Hotel in London talking over a new show, The Sun reports, in a bid to increase their celebrity credentials beyond TOWIE.
'Sam and Joey were talking about how they were going to do their own spin-off show and how they'd love it to be on ITV2,' a source revealed.
'Joey said he thought Sam would be perfect starring in her own show, and that people would finally get to see her funny side.'
The pair would follow former TOWIE co-stars Amy Childs and Harry Derbidge, who secured their own reality show on Channel 5, and Mark Wright whose Hollywood Nights vehicle is currently airing on ITV2.
The insider added to The Sun that Faiers has reservations over 'coming across as stupid' in the spin-off, but that the couple 'both seem very excited' about the idea.
Joey's manager refused to confirm the existence of a new TOWIE show, but hinted that Essex is looking for new opportunities, saying: 'There is nothing official being discussed yet and there are no plans for Joey to go anywhere at the minute. But the guys may chat about ideas they have.'
Faiers and Essex may want to exercise caution with regards to leaving the show, with TOWIE regular Kirk Norcross having all but disappeared after exiting to appear on Celebrity Big Brother.
Source: www.metro.co.uk
TOWIE's Lauren Goodger: - The Sun
But the 25-year-old reality TV star says she is currently happy being single.
She declared: "I’m not locked away in a relationship where I’ve felt a bit insecure. I’m getting the old me back that I lost.
"I feel good again. I’m the person I want to be again. I can’t stop smiling."
The brunette added: "When you’re in a relationship, you lose your identity. It’s always been 'Lauren and Mark' and now it’s 'I’m Lauren'."
The childhood sweethearts dated for ten years and even got engaged at one point before splitting last August.
Mark is now seeing US volleyball player Chelsea Rashoff, 22, after meeting her during his recent stint in LA filming new show Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights.
Meanwhile Lauren has been flaunting her bikini body in Marbella after dropping a dress size.
The Only Way Is Essex star was in the Spanish resort with her ITV2 castmates filming a one-off special episode of the show.
And Lauren was seen cosying up to a host of hunky men, which she believes would have irritated Mark no matter who he is now going out with.
She said: "Yeah, of course he will be bothered. I would be too, I won’t deny it. It’s a natural feeling.
"We’re never not going to care. We’ll always have that history."
Lauren, who was spotted at the same club as Mark last Thursday night, also revealed that they are still in touch, admitting: "Yeah, up and down. It’s difficult because we’ve still got a lot of feelings for each other, but it’s just not right."
However Lauren didn't rule out a reunion with Mark in the future.
She said: "At the minute, I’m going forward. If we were together, I don’t think we’d be able to do the things we want to do.
"Would he have gone off and done his show? No, he wouldn’t – it would probably have been me and him doing a show.
But she added: "Everything happens for a reason. Whatever’s meant to be will be."
Read the full story in this week's new! magazine - out today.
Source: www.thesun.co.uk
Kent State eliminates top seed Florida from College World Series - Sporting News
OMAHA, Neb.—Kent State scored four unearned runs and another on a wild pitch, then held off Florida's comeback bid in the ninth to eliminate the top-seeded Gators from the College World Series with a 5-4 victory Monday.
The Gators loaded the bases with one out in the ninth against shaky relievers Michael Clark and Josh Pierce.
Pierce fought back from a 3-0 count to strike out Casey Turgeon when Turgeon couldn't check his swing and got called out on an appeal to the third-base umpire. Justin Shafer flew out to right to end the game, with Pierce pumping his right fist once the ball landed in right fielder T.J. Sutton's glove.
The Gators (47-20), who reached the CWS finals last year, committed five errors in two games after coming to Omaha seventh in the nation in fielding.
Florida's Hudson Randall (9-3) left after the first inning because of heat-related symptoms. Ryan Bores (10-3) got the win for Kent State (47-19), making its first CWS appearance. Pierce earned his third save.
Kent State had 12 hits against four pitchers, but it was Florida's continuing problems in the field that allowed the Golden Flashes to build a 5-1 lead.
George Roberts drove in runs each of the first two innings after shortstop Nolan Fontana and third baseman Josh Tobias committed errors.
Florida scored in the sixth and added two more runs in the seventh to make it 5-4.
Three outs away from a pulling the upset, Clark walked Preston Tucker on four straight pitches to start the ninth. He was 2-0 against Mike Zunino when Kent State coach Scott Stricklin called on Pierce, who also struggled with his control and put Zunino on.
After pinch hitter Cody Dent moved over the runners with a sacrifice, Pierce hit Daniel Pigott in the shoulder to load the bases.
Pierce fell behind 3-0 to Turgeon before throwing a strike. It looked like Turgeon would walk — TV replays indicated strike two was outside — but he couldn't hold back on his check swing on the next pitch and third base umpire Jeff Henrichs called him out.
Shafer put a good swing on Pierce's next pitch, but Sutton was able to chase down the fly to end the game.
It was 95 degrees at the start of the game, making it the warmest first pitch at the CWS since June 11, 2001. Before Monday, Kent State hadn't played a game in weather warmer than 82 degrees all season.
It was Florida's Hudson who was bothered by the heat and humidity. At one point in the first inning, Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan made a mound visit and athletic trainers brought water to Hudson.
Hudson finished the inning with one unearned run scored against him. O'Sullivan wouldn't let him come out for the second because it was apparent he was ill.
Bores, a 27th-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers, turned in a third straight strong performance in the NCAA tournament. He worked six innings and allowed two runs on six hits.
Source: aol.sportingnews.com
Kent State stuns Florida in College World Series - USA Today
Stony Brook couldn't make it past its first two games of the College World Series, but the event's other upstart, Kent State, is very much alive. The Golden Flashes knocked out No. 1 national seed Florida Monday, stunning the Gators 5-4 in Omaha in an elimination game.
The Gators failed to win a game in the CWS, also losing their opener to defending champion South Carolina. It was only the second time in 13 years that the tournament's top overall seed didn't win a contest in Omaha.
Right-hander Ryan Bores (10-3) gave up two runs on six hits in six innings for the Flashes. The Gators then reached reliever Brian Clark for two runs on three hits in the seventh inning, but Casey Wilson induced a double-play grounder and a line out to end the inning.
Florida then put two runners on in the eighth but didn't score and had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth when Josh Pierce struck out Casey Turgeon and got Justin Shafer to fly out to right to end the game.
Pierce fought back from a 3-0 count to strike out Turgeon when Turgeon couldn't check his swing and got called out on an appeal to third-base umpire Jeff Henrichs.
"I don't think many people gave us much of a chance today," said Kent State coach Scott Stricklin. "But there are 27 players and five coaches and a lot of fans that believe we can win, and we felt that. We felt that we could win this game."
Catcher David Lyon went 3-for-5, keying a 12-hit attack for the Flashes, and shortstop Jimmy Rider scored three runs. Kent State will next play on Wednesday against the loser of Monday's later game between South Carolina and Arkansas.
"We definitely feel like we deserve to be here, and hopefully we showed that out there today," said Lyon. "We kind of used the Cinderella story to our advantage. We had to jump on them early and kind of shock them with that."
Kent State scored four unearned runs and another on a wild pitch in the first four innings as the Gators' defense betrayed them.
The Gators, who reached the CWS finals last year, committed five errors in the two games after coming to Omaha seventh in the nation in fielding.
Florida's Hudson Randall (9-3) left the mound after the first inning because of heat-related symptoms.
It was 95 degrees at the start of the game, making it the warmest first pitch at the CWS since June 11, 2001. Before Monday, Kent State hadn't played a game in weather warmer than 82 degrees all season.
"He looked fine before the game," coach Kevin O'Sullivan said of Randall. "I could tell he was laboring a little bit. I went out to give him a little breather to catch his breath. Then when I went out there, it was obvious he was having a little trouble breathing. So we brought the trainer out, and kind of slowed things down. Then I asked him in the dugout if he was okay to go back out.
"He looked me in the eye, and I could tell he wasn't ready to go."
Contributing: The Associated Press
Source: content.usatoday.com
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