Latest news with #BellaMay
ABC News
6 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Another Fa'arodo is shining in Solomons' soccer
We often hear about the father and son bond built through sports, but the father and daughter bond is not nearly as common in the Pacific. But Solomon Islands football legend Henry Fa'arodo Junior is trying to change that by helping eldest daughter Bella-May, who had an impressive turnout at last year's OFC Women's U16 Championship in Fiji. Despite Bella-May's footballing genes, getting out on the pitch wasn't always on the cards for her. 'I wasn't really interested in football at a young age. I was mostly more athletic and running,' she said. Her dad describes Bella-May as a late bloomer, saying she picked football and never looked back. In 2005, Fa'arodo became the first ever Pacific Islander to play professional football in the Australian A-League. The Fa'arodos moved to New Zealand almost 5 years ago, where Bella-May and her younger sister Kiah-Marie frequently found themselves at the football pitch. But now that they've returned to Solomon Islands, Bella-May is playing local club games 'In New Zealand it's more organised and here back home it's just different in terms of playing,' she said. For Bella, having her dad on the sidelines comes with consequences. 'He's always pushing me and telling me to try my best, even if it's hard, I really appreciate it because it works,' she said. As for Mr Fa'arodo he believes football is part of their story 'Football is in the family. It's here to stay,' he said. Now Bella's goal is to break new barriers for sport in the Pacific by one-day representing Solomon Islands at international level. 'My dream is to play in the Women's World Cup… now I'm training up to that now, she said.
Daily Mirror
15-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Bella May Culley 'visibly shaken' after being told she could face life in jail
Bella May Culley, 18, was allegedly caught with cannabis at an airport in Georgia - and her lawyer says she was 'visibly shaken' when told she could face a lifetime jail sentence A suspected British teen drug smuggler detained in Georgia was 'visibly shaken' when told the consequences of her alleged actions, a lawyer revealed. Bella May Culley, 18, faces a lifetime jail sentence after allegedly being caught with cannabis flying into the former Soviet state's capital Tbilisi. The teenager had vanished in Thailand before turning up in Eastern Europe where she was on TV handcuffed to an official – telling a court she's pregnant. Now her lawyer, Ia Todua has disclosed: 'When I explained to her that what she was accused of was an especially severe crime then she was concerned and visibly shaken.' Asked whether she thought Bella May realised the full extent of her alleged actions, her lawyer said: 'My impression was that she ended up in Georgia without even knowing what she was doing.' She added: 'She looked like she didn't expect it to have such severe consequences.' Bella May, from Billingham, County Durham, is accused of carrying about 12kg of cannabis and around 2kg of hashish into the country. The Brit faces a lengthy spell behind bars if found guilty — which could be life in the worst-case scenario. On Wednesday, Bella May's dad, Niel [cor] and aunt Kerrie held a meeting with the same lawyer at an office in Tbilisi. Niel faces an agonising wait to have an emotional reunion with his daughter. Bella May has written to prison authorities requesting permission for a visit from her family. The process can take up to five working days – but there is a chance she could see them as soon as tomorrow. It came as it emerged Bella May had earlier told her grandad she was travelling to the Philippines to see a lad. Back in the UK, grandad William Culley, 80, said today: "Last night they were told they could see her in the morning. 'They said they'd ring me straight after they had seen her but I haven't had a call. They must still be waiting. "It's just really important that they get to see her as soon as possible. The poor bairn must be at her wits' end. Especially if we can't see her. Everything should be done to make that happen." Mr Culley said that Bella had travelled to the Philippines with plans to meet a male who had moved to the country from the North East. "She went to the Philippines to see somebody, a lad there, who she used to go out with a couple of years ago, who was working out there,' he said. "She said, 'I'm going on my own, but I'm meeting Ross out there. Or Russ, I'm not sure what his name is. He was working out there for his father's company or something. But now I wonder if what she told me was true." Bella's father Niel lives in Vietnam but retains a property in Billingham, Co Durham. Mr Culley said he had been instructed by his son to market the house to raise money towards legal help for his daughter, who recently started doing bank shifts as a nurse. He said he was "surprised" when lawyers for Bella revealed she is pregnant. "I only found out when my daughter told me last night."
Daily Mirror
15-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Bella May Culley set for emotional reunion with dad – but faces agonising wait
Brit teen Bella May Culley, 18, could soon be reunited with her dad in Georgia where she remains in prison, accused of carrying drugs into the country from Thailand A suspected British teen drug smuggler detained in Georgia is due to have an emotional reunion with her dad — but he faces an agonising wait until tomorrow. Bella May Culley, 18, was arrested in the former Soviet state after allegedly being caught with cannabis flying in from Thailand. The Mirror understands her dad Niel has jetted in to see her at the prison where she is being held — but may have to wait until tomorrow due to a paperwork hold-up. The 'scared' teen, who was thought to be missing in Thailand, told a court in Georgia this week that she is pregnant. Bella May, from Billingham, County Durham, was held at Tbilisi International Airport. She is accused of carrying about 12kg of cannabis and around 2kg of hashish into the country. The Brit faces a lengthy spell behind bars if found guilty — which could be life in worst-case scenario. Her state-assigned lawyer, Ia Todua, has said: 'The detainee says that she is pregnant. She needs special examination and attention... In addition, in my assessment, she was depressed, confused and scared.' Todau told news outlet RFE/RL: 'When the accusation was presented, given that it was a foreign environment for her, it was her first time communicating with law enforcement officers, we agreed on such a position that she should exercise her right to remain silent in order to develop herself.' Law enforcement is expected to contact the suspect 'in a few days' in her detention jail. 'If she wishes to cooperate with the investigation in terms of providing certain information regarding the accusation, this will be agreed upon later,' reported RFE/R citing the lawyer. The British embassy in Tbilisi told the news outlet: 'We are assisting the family of the British woman detained in Georgia and are also in contact with the local authorities.' Todau told RFE/RL that according to the case materials, Bella May arrived in Georgia from Thailand and, according to her travel tickets, intended to stay in Georgia. Her granddad William Culley, 80, previously said he was "terrified" over the life sentence his granddaughter faces. He revealed his shock when family members had told him that Bella May had been detained in Georgia. He added: "I said, 'in jail? what's she doing in jail? And then she said, 'drugs'. I couldn't believe it. Who the hell has she been with? "She was on holiday with some friends, doing what 18-year-olds do - drinking and dancing. They must have met somebody who's taken advantage of her." Mr Culley continued: ""She's got sucked into something, somehow," her granddad said. "She's not an international drug trafficker. Can she even tell them who's given her the drugs to take over?"
Daily Mirror
15-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Bella May Culley: Thailand, Tbilisi and every parent's nightmare
It is every parent's nightmare. That phone call to send a shiver down your spine, spark a search for a solicitor or send you remortgaging your house. Bella May Culley's ordeal will be the cautionary tale in thousands of homes this summer as teenagers - fresh from their A-levels - push for permission to go on girls' trips or lads' holidays. Eighteen-year-old Bella May, from Billingham in County Durham, had told her parents she was travelling in Thailand. The most recent pictures, on Tuesday, showed her being led into a court in Georgia - 4,000 miles away. She is accused of smuggling dozens of bags of cannabis into the country. The Georgian interior ministry says Bella May is facing 20 years. Without knowledge of the facts of the case, there are no judgments from back here in the UK. Only sympathy for her mum, father and aunt who flew out to Bangkok last weekend after she'd failed to check in with them. And a collective empathy with the dilemma facing so many parents whose teenagers want to be let off the leash in a foreign land this summer. You can lay all the groundwork, set so many boundaries and counsel them all your can about the dangers of alcohol, drugs, reckless sex, the wrong type of friends and protecting their drinks in nightclubs. But we've seen so many cases, over the years, detailing the extent to which some young men and women can still be groomed into indulging charismatic strangers offering a bag full of cash and promising to pay for the rest of their holiday. So many, in fact, that the TV show Banged Up Abroad has dozens of examples across its 15 seasons. Furious debates have raged over the years on Facebook forums, X and other social media platforms with parents arguing over the wisdom of allowing young people, just out of secondary school, to go on holidays where the action is likely to be a far more raucous than lounging by the pool, building sandcastles and an all-inclusive menu. On the one hand is the reality that you can't shield your kids forever. On the other are the perils facing your teenagers and mine. The answer is for us parents to make ourselves even more aware of the dangers - and how to guard against them. The other is to put more work into establishing trust, so that our young people are able to make good decisions which might ultimately save their lives. ends
