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BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
Family tribute to boy, 16, after Sutton Park lake death
The family of a 16-year-old boy who died in a lake have described him as "handsome, funny and talented".Daniel Drewitt was found in the pool at Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, on Thursday and in a statement they said: "His family and friends are all devastated from this awful tragedy."He had so many dreams and aspirations, and he had his whole life ahead of him."West Midlands Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious and it was liaising with the coroner. The 16-year-old was reported missing in Powell's Pool, one of seven at the 2,400 acre (971 hectare) park, at about 18:00 on emergency services were called in a bid to rescue him, but he died before his body was recovered from the water, ambulance crews a statement, released through the police, his family said: "Everyone wanted to be his friend and he was popular because of the beautiful spirit he had."They described him as a big Birmingham City fan who loved going to the games with his grandad and friends. Flowers and other tributes were left beside the water and the family said: "We want to thank the community for all of the kind messages, love and support. "It has given us all comfort knowing just how loved he was by so many people and shows they all saw what we saw in him."They said they would miss his "cheeky smile" and added: "He has been taken from us way too soon and we still can't process what is happening right now." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Sun
31 minutes ago
- The Sun
I came face-to-face with Bullseye Killer John Cooper hours after he brutally murdered couple… my blood ran cold
CHILDREN chortle as they splash around in the cool, blue waters on the Pembrokeshire coastline - blissfully unaware of the horrors that took place on the cliff path above. It is 36 years since John Cooper murdered holidaymakers Peter and Gwenda Dixon as they walked along a coastal footpath that runs through Little Haven. 14 14 The 1989 incident became known as the Pembrokeshire Murders or the Coastal Murders, and Cooper himself the Bullseye Killer because he'd appeared on the TV show weeks before. Four years earlier, at a farmhouse just six miles away in Milford Haven, he had also murdered siblings Richard and Helen Thomas. He infamously evaded justice for around two decades but was finally convicted of all four murders thanks to advancements in forensic techniques - and given a whole life order in 2011. Cooper was arrested in 2009, just weeks after being released early from prison for other crimes. He had previously been jailed for 16 years in 1998 for the rape of a 16-year-old girl and sexual assault of another girl, aged 14, in 1996, as well as a spate of robberies and burglaries, before being released in January 2009. That April, however, cops would begin carrying out a cold case review of his murders, and the following month he was finally detained on his way to the shops. 'How wrong can you be sometimes?' At Little Haven pub, The Castle, a bar worker told The Sun how she came face to face with the evil killer the day after he murdered the Dixons in 1989. The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: 'I was walking through a village near here, Martletwy, a couple of days after the murders and he came cycling slowly towards me on his bike. 'I remember looking at him and thinking this was a man out enjoying a bike ride and he looks like he doesn't have a care in the world. How wrong can you be sometimes? 'I knew him vaguely, and by name, because we lived in the same area and I sometimes saw him out and about, but never really talked to him.' She also saw Cooper years later at his brother Edgy's pub, The Avondale in nearby Hakin, after he had been released from jail in 2009. She said: 'I was with my husband and it was the first time I'd been inside this particular pub. 'We walked in and Cooper was sitting on a barstool at the bar with a pint in his hand. I saw him immediately and my blood just ran cold. The sad thing is that his brother and the rest of his family still believe Cooper is completely innocent and did not carry out the killings. His family are in denial Staff member at The Castle pub "He had that effect on me. It was just something evil about him and all I wanted to do was leave. I think we stayed for one quick drink and then I couldn't get out of the door fast enough. 'The sad thing is that his brother and the rest of his family still believe Cooper is completely innocent and did not carry out the killings. His family are in denial.' 'Winnings went to his head' The killer, now 80, was born on September 3 1944 and - aside from the four murders, rape and sexual assault, he was also convicted of 30 burglaries, as well as a string of other crimes in his life. Between the ages of 17 and 21, Cooper was charged with theft of a vehicle, assaulting a police officer, being drunk and disorderly, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. In 1978, aged 34 and while working as a farm labourer, he scooped £90,000 and a £4,000 car in a newspaper competition. A pal previously described how the windfall saw Cooper develop a drink problem and gambling habit, as the "winnings went to his head". Where is 'Bullseye Killer' John Cooper now? WELSH serial killer John William Cooper was given four life sentences for a series of grisly murders in Pembrokeshire in the 1980s. Cooper, a diagnosed psychopath, was eventually convicted in 2011 for the double murders of Richard and Helen Thomas, and Peter and Gwenda Dixon, following a cold-case review that started in 2005. Who is John Cooper and where is he now? John Cooper, 76, is a serial killer with a long history of crimes which include 30 robberies and violent assault. He was sentenced to 14 years in 1998 for burglary and robbery but was released in 2009. Through a cold case review, he was arrested and convicted of two double murders dating back to the 1980s. Cooper, who unsuccessfully tried to appeal his convictions in September 2011, is still behind bars in an undisclosed prison. When did Cooper murder four people in Pembrokeshire? Cooper was referred to as the Bullseye Killer because he appeared on the popular game show four years after killing two siblings in Scoveston Park. He murdered brother and sister Richard and Helen Thomas then burned down their house on December 22, 1985. On 28 May 1989, Cooper participated in a recording of the ITV game show Bullseye. Just one month later, he robbed Peter Dixon of £300 and shot him and his wife Gwenda in the face at point blank range. The murders became known as the Pembrokeshire murders. How long was the investigation into the deaths? Cooper infamously evaded justice for around two decades but was finally convicted using the most advanced forensic techniques of the time. On May 26, 2011, Cooper was given a whole life order for the 1985 double murder of siblings Richard and Helen Thomas, and the 1989 double murder of Peter and Gwenda Dixon, following an eight-week trial. His first prison sentence allowed cops to collect further evidence against him to convict. The unnamed friend told The Mirror in 2011, following his life sentence: "It was a life-changing amount of money and I saw a real change in him. "He spent most of it in pubs and bookies... People were scared of him and he got into a lot of fights. As his money dried up he started the robberies." They added: 'I dread to think how many people he attacked. I expect the court case was just the tip of the iceberg. The murders do not surprise me. He is evil.' All four of his murder victims were blasted to death with a shotgun at point blank range. On December 22 1985, Cooper targeted a three-storey farmhouse at Scoveston Park, near Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, intending to burgle it, but killed millionaire farmer Richard Thomas, 58, and his sister Helen Thomas, 56, and then burned down the home. On June 29 1989, Peter, 51, and Gwenda Dixon, 52, were on holiday in the county and set off for a walk along the coastal path but never returned. Their bodies were later found - the couple had been tied up. Cooper had held them at gunpoint and forced them to disclose their PIN numbers, after snatching their bank cards. He robbed Peter of £300 and shot both him and his wife in the face. In March 1996 Cooper attacked five youths, threatening them at gunpoint before sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and raping another, aged 16, in a wooded area behind the Mount Estate in his hometown of Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. Cooper was arrested in 1998 after a bungled armed raid and was jailed for 16 years. Detectives suspected him of the four killings at the time but had no evidence. But it was not until 2006, after significant advances in technology and forensics, that Dyfed-Powys Police were able to link microscopic DNA and fibres from the murders to other serious crimes. Those included the rape and robberies that Cooper was already serving time for. DNA evidence revealed a drop of Peter Dixon's blood on a pair of khaki shorts taken from Cooper's home and the police managed to recover the shotgun used in both double murders. In 2009, just a few months after Cooper was released from prison, he was re-arrested as he walked to the shops in his home town of Letterston, near Fishguard. Alarm raised and six-day manhunt In Little Haven this week, locals recalled the six-day manhunt for the Dixons after the alarm was raised by their son when they did not return to their Oxfordshire home after their holiday in Wales. Among those searching for the pair, who Cooper had robbed before dumping them in bushes alongside the coast path, was Howard Jones, then a young reporter on his local weekly newspaper, the Western Telegraph, Howard, who joined hundreds of locals, police officers and RNLI lifeboat teams scouring the Pembrokeshire coastline, told of the personal struggle he faced, balancing his professional obligations with his responsibilities to the community where he lived. 'It was a very delicate balance because on the one hand the disappearance of two people was a big story for us, but at the same time it was uppermost in my thoughts that I had to be sensitive to the feelings of local people, who were my friends and neighbours," he told The Sun. 'We searched for days, with little sleep, until we found the bodies. My role had been to support the lifeboat crews. 'When we found the bodies, it was a horrible moment. Everyone here was absolutely devastated. "None of us could understand how such a beautiful, peaceful part of the world could be a place where a double murder could take place. A second double murder, in fact. 'Little Haven was absolutely swarming with police." Howard, who later abandoned journalism for a career in corporate communications, both in Hong Kong and Dubai before returning to Little Haven several years ago to live and work as a taxi driver, is one of the few residents from that time still living in the coastal village. He said: 'I try not to think about those murders now, but sometimes the memories come flooding back and it is still distressing after all these years. 'On a sunny day like this, seeing everybody on the beach and in the sea enjoying themselves, it seems unthinkable that anything so awful could ever have happened here. 'I think most of these holidaymakers here today are oblivious to what happened here, and nearby in Milford Haven, and to be honest I'd be very happy for them to remain oblivious. Let them enjoy their time here." 14 14 During the lengthy police investigation into the Pembrokeshire murders, Howard's loyalty to his community, desperate to have the killer caught, was tested when he overheard police officers reveal they believed the culprit had been using a credit card stolen from the dead couple at cashpoint machines in the area. Cops, who by now had artist impressions of the murderer, were lying in wait at numerous cashpoint locations and wanted to keep this information secret. He said: 'They asked me to keep it under my hat so I didn't scupper a potentially significant line of enquiry and I reluctantly agreed to keep quiet about it, not least because I felt I owed it to my local community. "I didn't want to write anything that might prevent the police from finding the killer." 14 14 Reflecting on the impact Cooper had on the community in Pembrokeshire, Howard, now 63, said: 'I think the fact that his poor, long-suffering wife, Patricia, died of a heart attack in the bath the night Cooper was released from jail in 2008 for a string of other hideous crimes says everything about what kind of man he is. "The stress of him returning to live with her literally killed her.' Detective Chief Superintendant Steve Wilkins - played by Hollywood actor Luke Evans in miniseries The Pembrokeshire Murders in 2021 - previously spoke to WalesOnline about what happened to Patricia. He said: "She'd had 10 years away from this man who was an absolute beast and suddenly he was back in the house. She had massive heart conditions but I think the poor lady just gave up.' He said there was "nothing" linking her death to her husband, but recalled getting a call at 3am from the control room telling him Cooper had just phoned up to say his wife was dead. Det Ch Supt Wilkins added: "You can imagine what went through my mind. But she had three different heart conditions that would've killed her. There was nothing suspicious in it." She'd had 10 years away from this man who was an absolute beast and suddenly he was back in the house. She had massive heart conditions but I think the poor lady just gave up. Detective Chief Superintendant Steve Wilkins Most of the holidaymakers we spoke to in Little Haven were aware of the Pembrokeshire murders, but many did not know that two of the killings took place in the village. One, Jan, now 82, and a retired personal assistant to a former boss of Welsh rugby at the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), said: 'I'm here for two weeks holiday and I went online to read all about the Pembrokeshire murders last night because I met someone earlier in the day who told me that these awful killings happened here. 'I was aware of the Pembrokeshire murders back in the day because I've always kept up with the news, but it hasn't registered two of them happened in Little Haven and the others very nearby. 'It must have been devastating for the village at the time. It seems so completely incongruous that something so awful happened in a place like this, with all its natural beauty and peace and charm." 14 14 Cooper was only arrested after Senior Investigating Officer Steve Wilkins was put in charge of a cold case review of the Pembrokeshire murders in 2005. Advances in DNA and forensic evidence meant that when police finally questioned Cooper, they were able to link a gun used in a robbery he had been convicted of to the murder weapon used to kill the Dixons. Just weeks earlier, Cooper had mentioned his love of the Pembrokeshire coast during his appearance on Bullseye. After an eight-week murder trial at Swansea Crown Court, Mr Justice John Griffith Williams said Cooper was 'a very dangerous man, highly predatory who, but for advances in forensic science, may well have continued to evade capture.' The whole life order means he will never be released from prison. In September 2011, he launched an appeal against his convictions. His appeal was rejected in November 2012. 14
The Sun
40 minutes ago
- The Sun
London's shocking phone snatching hotspots where thugs target 37 tourists DAILY – settings EVERY visitor must switch on
THUGS are taking over the streets of London's most popular tourist hotspots snatching £50million worth of phones last year. Data obtained by The Sun reveals the worst hit areas across Greater London, with one popular tourist hotspot hit by as many as 37 mobile thefts daily on average. 3 The Metropolitan Police has warned that gangs are pocketing millions, with phone thefts "on an industrial scale". Almost 80,000 handsets were stolen last year - that's up by about 16,000 on 2023. Perhaps unsurprisingly, tourist hotspots tend to rank highest, which is especially worrying for anyone planning on venturing into the capital over the summer. However, hundreds of incidents were reported in typically residential areas up and down Greater London, too. The data from the Met Police is broken down in wards and includes both robbery offences and theft offences. It doesn't include areas represented by the City of London Police. Among these, the West End comes out as the worst place for phone thefts, with a staggering 13,578 cases logged - the equivalent to 37 handsets every day on average. St James's - which covers areas around Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and all the way along the famous Stand - ranked second with some 6,693 recorded incidents. Bloomsbury, Holborn & Covent Garden, Borough & Bankside, as well as Waterloo & South Bank also clocked up more than 1,000 reports in total. Other popular areas to be targeted include Hyde Park with 550, Stratford Olympic Park with 865 and Camden Town with 906. Met Police seize 1,000 stolen phones in a week and arrest 230 people The Met Police told The Sun that criminals behind the problem are making millions by being able to easily sell on stolen devices either here or abroad. "We are seeing phone thefts on an industrial scale," a Met Police spokesperson told The Sun. "In response, we have increased patrols in hotspot areas while officers are using phone-tracking data and intelligence to pursue those responsible. "By intensifying our efforts, we're catching more perpetrators and protecting people from having their phones stolen in the capital. "The Met is also working with other agencies and government to tackle the organised criminality driving this trade and calling on tech companies to make stolen phones unusable. "We are reminding victims to report their phone as stolen as soon as possible to maximise the chance of catching the perpetrator, too often thefts are reported hours or days later." 3 TAKE ON THE PHONE THEFT GANGS There are many obvious ways to avoid falling victim to phone snatching gangs, such as being aware of your surroundings and putting your phone away when you've finished using it. But there are settings on your mobile you need to switch on. Primarily, you should have location tracking activated to help police pinpoint where your mobile is. On iPhone, it's known as Find My and on Android it's Find My Device. You can find these within the settings. There's also another important trick to try available on Android. It may not result in you getting your phone back, but can prevent thieves causing more devastation by raiding through your banking apps to steal money. Theft Detection Lock cleverly uses motion sensors to pick up on the sort of movements associated with a phone being snatched and whisked away. When it's detected, your phone automatically locks so criminals can't dig around your device. While iPhone doesn't have the same feature, there is Stolen Device Protection. This kicks in when you're away from familiar locations like your home and work. It means that if someone steals your device while you're out and about after seeing your passcode, they can't make "critical" changes. So accessing your stored passwords and credit cards will require Face ID or Touch ID. There's no option to use a passcode instead. And there's also a Security Delay feature. So if you want to change your Apple Account passcode, you'll have to wait an hour and then perform a second Face ID or Touch ID scan.
