Headlines: Trees removed from high street and free bus tickets
Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media.
Our pick of local website stories
Most of the trees on Weston High Street have been removed because of vandalism. The Weston Mercury reports eight out of 10 of them - planted in 2023 - are gone.Burnham-on-Sea.com says the Minor Injuries Unit in the town is being relocated rather than shutting down.News that a hedge in Castle Cary has been "ripped out" for a new housing development has caused quite a stir on the Somerset Live Facebook page.And a woman from Cheltenham has won £45,000 on ITV's The Chase.
Our top three from yesterday
What to watch on social media
People living in the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood trial are being offered bus gate exemptions and free bus tickets to help people adjust to the changes, according to this post by the city council.Wiltshire Search and Rescue has a new canine recruit. After a year of "bonding and obedience training", Dio has officially joined the team.And a popular Tardis bin has had a makeover in Aldbourne in Wiltshire. The structure has been a fixture there for 13 years, according to this post in a local group.
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Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Nine key questions could decide fate of beef Wellington mushroom 'poisoner'
Erin Patterson has been accused of intentionally poisoning several family members and her eight-day cross-examination in the murder trial has come to an end The world has been gripped by the murder trial of an Australian woman that came after several people died after eating a homemade beef Wellington that is said to have contained poisonous death cap mushrooms. Erin Patterson denies intentionally poisoning three relatives and attempting to kill a fourth by serving them a meal containing toxic death cap mushrooms at her home in Victoria on July 29, 2023. Prosecutors have alleged she deliberately included the poisonous mushrooms in the meal, but her defence insists it was a tragic accident - saying Patterson may have accidentally included mushrooms she had foraged herself. Within a week of the meal, three of the guests had died and the fourth was in hospital. Patterson, 50, was questioned by police shortly after the deaths and she was arrested around a month later. Her alleged victims were her in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both aged 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. Ian Wilkinson, the uncle of Patterson's estranged husband, also fell seriously ill but survived after weeks of treatment. These are the nine key questions that could determine how the jury vote. Where were the toxic mushrooms from? Both the prosecution and defence have accepted the potentially deadly death cap mushrooms were in the beef wellington. During the initial police investigation, Patterson denied being a forager and her children told cops they had never seen her pick mushrooms. This completely shifted in the witness box as Patterson claimed that was untrue and said she had picked wild mushrooms since the 2020 Covid lockdown. Her lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, asked if she accepted that the beef Wellington pastries she had served to her lunch guests in 2023 contained death caps. "Now I think there was a possibility there were foraged ones in there," she replied. How did the mushrooms get into the dish? Prosecutor Nanette Rogers told the court how Patterson had posted in Facebook groups about using a food dehydrator to reduce the size of mushrooms to use in cooking. Patterson posted that she had been "hiding powdered mushrooms in everything". The jury was also shown a CCTV photo showing Erin Patterson at her local tip on August 2 - days after the fatal meal. Among the things she was seen disposing of was a large black box. When inspected a couple of days later, a staff member found a black Sunbeam dehydrator, Nanette Rogers says. Fingerprints were found on the dehydrator and compared to Ms Patterson's, Dr Rogers says - and they matched. It also tested positive for death cap mushrooms, the jury was told. Did she secretly hate her in-laws? Prosecutors have not identified a "particular" motive in this case but the court heard about issues Patterson faced with her ex-husband Simon's family. The couple were married in 2007 and separated in 2015 but initially had a close relationship even after they split. This changed in 2022 when Simon described himself as "single" on a tax return and affected her ability to claim tax breaks. Patterson asked her in-laws to get involved and they were reluctant to, which led to arguments between them. She posted a series of raging posts on Facebook around that time including: "I'm sick of this s**t. I want nothing to do with them. I thought his parents would want him to do the right thing, but it seems their concern about… not wanting to get involved in their son's personal matters, are overriding that. So f**k them." How was the meal served? The court was told the four guests were handed their meal on a grey plates while Patterson had hers on an orange plate. The suspect has denied these claims and told the court she did not own any grey dishes. She told the court the meal was served up on a mixture of black and white plates. Despite this, footage from a police search of her home appeared to show two grey plates next to the dishwasher. Did she vomit after the meal? Patterson told the court she had bulimia and ate several slices of an orange cake her 70-year-old in-law brought for dessert. She told the court: "I kept cleaning up the kitchen and putting everything away and, um, I had a piece of cake and then I had another piece of cake. And then another." She told the court she ate all of the cake and "felt sick. I felt over-full. So I went to the toilets and brought it up again". Was she genuinely sick? Patterson said she was hit with diarrhoea after the meal and suffered with it for a week. She went to a local hospital and complained of "gastro". Despite this, medical professionals did not believed her symptoms were as bad as what her four guests experienced. The court heard from nurse Cindy Munro who said Patterson "didn't look unwell" when compared to the guests. Doctor Varuna Ruggoo said tests for her liver function came back with normal results. Why did she throw the dehydrator away? The day after Patterson left hospital she went to a rubbish tip and was seen on CCTV throwing the Sunbeam dehydrator out. When asked about the device she claimed she tried to get rid of the dehydrator because she "panicked" after a conversation with her ex-husband a few days earlier. She claimed he asked her: "Is that what you used to poison my parents?" She said: "I was scared of the conversation that might flow about the meal and the dehydrator and I was scared that they [child protection] would blame me for it." Despite this, the ex-husband claimed he did not remember saying that to her. Why did she lie about having cancer? Patterson invited her in-laws for the meal on a false pretence of receiving a cancer diagnosis, as prosecutors said it was highly unusual for Patterson to hold social gatherings. She had told Gail a few weeks earlier that she found a lump on her elbow. At the dinner she suggested she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The mother of two later admitted she never had cancer, but had been worried enough by symptoms to seek tests. She then said she had been dealing with "self-esteem" issues and was embarrassed to tell her family that. How will the jury decide this case? Patterson has held that the other parties in this case, like her ex-husband, medical professionals and Facebook friends, have been wrong in their accounts. Her eight-day cross-examination has come to an end and she still pleads not guilty. Now the case is in the hands of the jury who will return their verdict.
Metro
13 hours ago
- Metro
Hunt for shooter 'posing as police officer' after US politician assassinated
A manhunt is underway after a US politician and her husband have been killed by a shooter 'impersonating a police officer'. Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed at their homes, governor Tim Walz confirmed. State senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot in their home but are expected to survive after surgeries.. Donald Trump confirmed he has been briefed on the shooting, which Walz said appears to be a 'politically motivated assassination'. Walz said an 'unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota, adding that the state has lost a 'great leader; and he has lost a 'great friend'. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: Love Island star jailed for 14 years after role in huge drug smuggling ring exposed MORE: Manhunt after woman 'sexually assaulted inside cinema' MORE: Chilling moment creep tries to snatch teenager from busy train station
Metro
15 hours ago
- Metro
Two skydivers die after tandem jump with investigation launched into fall
Two people have died after a skydive went wrong. The incident happened at Dunkeswell Airfield near Honiton in Devon on Friday afternoon. The two people were attempting a 'tandem jump' when they lost their lives. They haven't been publicly identified. The British Skydiving Board of Inquiry is investigating the death. Robert Gibson, chief executive of British Skydiving, said: 'British Skydiving has been notified of a tragic accident in which two jumpers lost their lives. More Trending 'Our deepest condolences go to their families, friends and the entire skydiving community. 'A British Skydiving Board of Inquiry will investigate the accident. 'Once complete, a report – setting out the Board's conclusions and any recommendations – will be submitted to the coroner, the police, the CAA, the British Skydiving Safety & Training Committee (STC) and any other relevant authorities. 'No further details will be provided at this time. We respectfully ask for privacy for all those affected at this difficult time.' Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: Thieves and tourists can't stop stealing Daddyhole Road street sign from seaside town MORE: The UK's mystical rainforest that's 'like a movie set' but 'haunted by a ghost dog' MORE: Fred and Rose West still haunt nation 30 years after House of Horrors was exposed
