Latest news with #Wirral
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Omaze's youngest ever winner is selling up £3million five-bedroom mansion for £500k less than its value
The youngest ever winner of a multi-million pound Omaze mansion is selling up - for £500,000 less than the valuation. Lauren Keene, 24, celebrated winning the spectacular six-bed Hollywood-style mansion - valued at £3million - in the prize draw in December. After winning the house and £250,000 prize money from a £20 ticket Lauren announced she was considering moving into the house with partner Ryan Mitchell, a software engineer from Liverpool. She said: 'Thanks to the £250,000 we've pocketed as part of the win we could afford to stay here for many years if we decided to, it's a great position to be in.' Lauren, from Gloucester, has been living with her dad in his two-bed flat and joked: 'He's most delighted about the fact I can finally move out now.' It's not clear whether full-time nanny Lauren did move out but she has now placed the house in Wirral, Merseyside, for sale for £2.5million. The stunning house sits in a prominent location on the edge of the sandstone outcrop of the Wirral Peninsula, bringing the surrounding countryside inside the property in a magnificent example of modern architecture and design. The exclusive, elevated plot provides stunning views from the wraparound terrace of the nearby estuary and the Irish Sea - as well as being just a short stroll away from Caldy Beach. The Rightmove listing - which describes the house as 'striking' and 'something truly special' - makes no reference to its involvement in the competition just six months ago. At the time of her win Lauren said: 'Only last week we were viewing houses we thought we could never afford, but now our first property is a £3m mansion. It's crazy to think we'll never have a mortgage. 'We've been saving for years so I still live with my dad in his 2-bedroom flat - he's delighted that I'll finally be moving out now. 'It's my boyfriend's birthday this week, I've told him the house is his birthday and Christmas present combined this year. 'Winning this house has transformed our lives forever! Whatever we decide to do long-term, we're made for life now.' Omaze winners don't have to keep the house for any period of time and are free to decide if they live there, rent it out or sell it to become a cash millionaires. Describing the moment she discovered she'd won, Lauren added: 'It was just an ordinary Friday really, I was heading for a McDonald's after work when I got a call from Omaze telling me I'd won something. I was sceptical - and hungry - but went straight home to see what I'd won. 'The next thing we knew, the Omaze team were all there telling us we'd won a £3 million mansion. I was gobsmacked. It was definitely worth missing my McDonald's for, it's made me a multi-millionaire! 'We did end up celebrating with a Maccies afterwards and it was a very, very happy meal indeed.' Lauren is far from alone in cashing in on the multi-million pound home. Out of 14 previous prize winners, only three have kept hold of the house. Among them is widow June Smith who put the luxury £4.5million Cornish mansion she won in a £25 raffle on the market in 2023 so that she can help her children and grandchildren 'with the next chapter in their lives'. Previous winners have complained in the past that the enormous mansions can be too lavish and too costly to maintain - or they are too far away from jobs, friends and family. Becca Pott, 32, was on maternity leave after the birth of her first child and was living in a two-bedroom flat in Leyton, east London, when she spent £10 on the Omaze draw. The finance analyst won a £3.5million five-bedroom house near Ascot, Berkshire, in February 2022, transforming her life. Ms Pott, who lives there with her husband Ben and their baby Ava, is one of the few to choose to actually stay in one of Omaze's stunning homes. Ms Pott told The Sunday Times: 'We always knew we were going to move in and enjoy it for at least that first summer, just to experience living in a place like this as a family, but after a few weeks we realised we didn't want to leave so decided we should keep it.' She added: 'We have a toddler, so having all the extra space and a beautiful garden for her to explore has been incredible. We love relaxing outside on the patio whilst preparing dinner in the kitchen. It all feels natural now and like it really is our family home.' Ms Pott was also given an additional £20,000 to help with running costs - while she also rents out the charming mansion - which boasts a drawing room, a family orangery, a night kitchen and a hot tub - to film crews. The other two winners to move into their incredible homes were in Wimbledon and Islington - two expensive areas of London. Kevin Johnson, a 34-year-old carpenter moved straight into his £3million four-bedroom Islington home with his wife and four sons. It is a stone's throw away from where he was renting a three-bed flat previously. He also got £100,000 in cash to help him settle in – with the house mortgage free and with all stamp duty and legal fees covered. After finding out he had won with a £50 entry, Mr Johnson said: 'We're still pinching ourselves, whatever we decide to do long term, this is going to give us so much security as a family, it's truly life-changing for all of us.' Uttam Parmar, 58, is another winner who has opted to hand the keys of his brand new mansion over to someone else. The operations manager from Ashby, Leicestershire, is selling his £3million house he won near Rock, in Cornwall. Mr Parmar said that he could not afford to keep it despite winning £50,000 cash. He also felt like he did not fit into the popular celebrity haunt, where chefs Gordon Ramsay and Rick Stein have properties. Marilyn Pratt sold her £3million house in Fulham, London, because she wanted to give her two daughters £1million each to buy their own homes. She also said that she wants to go on nice cruises with her husband, family holidays and 'fancy lunches' at exclusive hotels such as Claridge's. Widower Ian Garrick also decided to cash in on his £1million house in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire. The 58-year-old, from Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, won the first Omaze prize in 2020. But he sold the house to buy a £500,000 home near to his old home and family. NHS worker Catherine Carwardine, 60, won a stunning £3m six-bedroom house overlooking Lake Windermere – raising £1m for Alzheimer's Research UK. James Oakes, Chief International Officer at Omaze, said: 'Everyone at Omaze is thrilled that Lauren has won this wonderful house on the Wirral, whilst also contributing to the £3.5 million raised for Scouts. 'Omaze offers people the chance to win amazing houses, whilst also introducing charities to new audiences that they wouldn't normally reach - it's a real win-win for entrants and our charity partners. 'We're immensely proud that the Omaze community has now raised over £67 million for good causes across the UK.'
BBC News
6 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Wife begged husband 'don't let me die' after Wirral crash
A woman fatally injured by a careless driver begged her husband "please don't let me die" while laying injured in the wreckage of a crash, a court has heard. Christine Jones, 68, was a minute away from her home in Thornton Hough, Wirral when the vehicle she was a passenger in was struck by a Peugeot 3008 car driven by 62-year-old Ian Ashworth. She had been visiting her mother in hospital before the collision at 21:05 BST on 14 August 2023. Ashworth, of New Heyes in Neston, was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, after admitting causing death and serious injury by careless driving at Liverpool Crown Court. Her mother's partner Bryn Jones, 81, who had been driving Ms Jones home from the hospital, was also severely injured in the collisionMrs Jones' husband of 50 years, Alan Jones, rushed to the scene on Thornton Common Road after his wife managed to her phone out of her bag and call him despite her injuries, the court heard. In a statement read at Ashworth's sentencing hearing, Mr Jones said: "I kissed her, promising her she would be ok. She said she was in so much pain."She said, 'please don't let me die'. I remained with her kissing her face and holding hands." Mrs Jones, a great-grandmother, died in hospital from her injuries three days later. Her husband told the court they had met on a school bus when she was 13 and had been saving money for their 50th wedding anniversary celebrations, due two months after the he said the money had to be used for her funeral instead."I visit her grave everyday as I don't want her to be alone", he said. "She was so afraid that evening and even managed to get her phone out of her bag to call me, desperate to see me. "How she managed to do that with those injuries she sustained I'll never know."Ashworth a former Royal Navy engineer, had been driving his Ford Fiesta and crossed into the oncoming carriageway near the Seven Stars pub. Eric Lamb, prosecuting, said neither driver had any recollection of the collision but a forensic expert concluded Ashworth's car "must have intruded into the south west lane". There was "no evidence of loss of control", said Mr suffered a ruptured spleen, which was removed, and fractured vertebrae and ribs. When interviewed by police, he expressed remorse and asked for his apologies to be passed Jones suffered fractures to his upper arm, collar bone, ribs and extensive bruising and was in hospital for more than two weeks. 'Truly tragic' Darren Finnegan, defending, said that Ashworth must have experienced "a momentary lapse of concentration". Mr Finnegan said his client was in hospital for 17 days and now walks with a stick."He has been described as a shadow of his former self," he said. Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said: "This is a truly tragic case. A life has been lost and another gravely affected."He said there was no suggestion that speed was a factor when Ashworth's car crossed into the oncoming lane. Ashworth was also ordered to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities and banned him from driving for two years, with a requirement to take an extended re-test before getting back behind the wheel. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
It's still Jane Austen's world we're living in – just look at the Beckhams
One of the highlights of my year so far was talking to the brilliant Jane Austen biographer Paula Byrne at the Althorp Literary Festival, to mark the 250 th anniversary of the maestra's birth. Byrne was on our screens last night as contributor and consultant to the BBC's celebratory series Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius. What I particularly relish about Byrne's approach to Austen is that she puts family, humour and social engagement at the heart of understanding the novels – rather than the often espoused view of a shy spinster, slightly detached from the world. She makes a point of highlighting Austen's frequent travel and love of the British seaside, as helping form a literary vitality so fully realised that almost any character can walk off the page and into the 21 st century without feeling outmoded. But then Byrne was brought up a middle daughter on the Wirral in a pack of seven siblings and views Austen through the prism of domestic life, with shared jokes and confidences. This makes good sense to me, as the middle child of five, who saw my own sisters reflected in Elizabeth and Jane Bennett's bond, while my book-loving publican mother's anxieties over our marital prospects closely mirrored Mrs Bennett's. (It was mum who gave me a full set of Austen's novels aged 11, forever awakening me to the potential eligibility of vicars and the importance of witty, combative discourse in courtship.) Whenever a young man from one of the locale's land-owning families came into our rural pub, mum would loudly call for my big sister Holly or me to come and join her from our linked cottage, although it was clear only one bar-hand was required to serve a pint. We were mortified by the blatantness of her strategy, but now I see it as an immensely practical act of love. As an English Literature graduate in my twenties, I pined to be Lizzie Bennett, but recognised that I was almost certainly a less loveable, know-it-all Emma Woodhouse type, who tried to match-make friends with catastrophic results. I even ended up marrying my very own Mr Knightley, a kind, wise man 15 years my senior prepared to critique my less sensible decisions. You can't grow out of Jane Austen and her world is ever-pliable, encompassing updates and endless adaptations, of which my favourite may be Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The novels themselves withstand endless updates, makeovers and even down time tunnels, going back to the original serialisation form. This month, the Novel Magazine Company publishes a glossy 'magazine novel', three-issue version of Pride and Prejudice, 'curated' by one 'SJ King Esq', complete with imagined early 19 th -century advertisements. There are also lavish fashion plates of real Regency beauties, such as Georgiana Cavendish (the future Duchess of Devonshire, who was brought up at Althorp House), brought to life by the digital witchcraft that is AI. Volume one contains the first 23 chapters of the novel, just like Austen's 1813 first volume of Pride and Prejudice, which was published in three parts. And purists need not fear, the text is faithful to the original while the digital creator runs riot with the visuals. I must confess to a ferocious yearning for this Annie Leibovitz-style reimagining of P&P. It seems to me that Austen herself might applaud a Tatler-style rendition of her best loved novel. Her letters to her sister Cassandra betray a rich love of gossip and, if writing today, Austen would surely mull over family dramas in the public domain. Just imagine what the author's wry take would be on Victoria Bennett's – I mean Beckham's – estrangement from her feckless son Brooklyn, due to her new daughter-in-law's presumed machinations. How she would have laughed at Lauren Sánchez's staggeringly ostentatious hen night and wedding plans. The formats may change, but human folly remain the same. We are all living in Jane Austen's world.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Gross failures' and 'neglect' played part in death of newborn baby
The death of a newborn baby girl was in part caused by "gross failures" in medical care and "neglect". A coroner said she was so concerned about the circumstances surrounding the death of Etta-Lili Stockwell-Parry in 2023 that she issued a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report to the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB). Her mother Laura Stockwell-Parry was induced and Etta-Lili was born "in poor condition" on July 3, 2023,at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor having suffered oxygen starvation, according to a pathologist. She was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral but died there four days later on July 7. At a two day inquest in Cernarfon Kate Robertson, senior coroner for north west Wales, found that neglect was a contributory factor in the little baby's death. READ MORE: Council crews to search bins and hand £70 fines to rule-breakers READ MORE: Venomous snake bolts into sea from beneath paddleboard at popular Welsh beach Staff had failed to notice problems early enough and a subsequent investigation wasn't thorough enough, the coroner said. Neither a community midwife before the birth, nor maternity unit staff at Ysbyty Gwynedd noticed the baby had stopped growing at about 40 weeks, the hearing was told. Sign up for our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here. North Wales Live reported that the health board said said "significant steps" had been taken to address the failures in this case, which it said was an "isolated incident". Mrs Robertson found cause of death was hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy. She recorded a narrative conclusion at this week's inquest. In a Prevention of Futue Deaths report statement, issued after the inquest the coroner said there were "several gross failures" identified in Etta's mother's care. These failures resulted in opportunities not taken to deliver Etta before she became distressed. There were "many incidences of learning" relating to Etta's resuscitation at Ysbyty Gwynedd, she added. Mrs Robertson found: "There were several opportunities not taken by those caring for Etta's mother. "There were opportunities to identify concerns with Etta through her mother on the midwifery led unit on 2 July 2023 including properly conducting holistic assessments, properly completing partogram and manual palpation of maternal pulse which would also likely have resulted in earlier detection of distress and successful delivery. Etta's death was contributed to by neglect." The coroner also found that Mrs Stockwell-Parry ought to have been referred to the labour ward for close monitoring, but instead, she was induced and received only intermittent monitoring. Her pulse was not always taken and recorded and there was no recognition that Etta Lili's mother's pulse was being recorded as opposed to the fetal heart rate. Mrs Robertson also found the neonatal investigation was not thorough. The investigator neither obtained nor requested statements from the doctors directly involved in Etta's resuscitation, nor did they meet them to understand what had occurred. Mrs Robertson said she is concerned that staff not involved in the incident will not learn enough from events where there is inadequate sharing of learning from an incident. She issued the Prevention of Future Deaths report about her concerns. BCUHB has 56 days to respond with a timetable of how it will act on points raised. Angela Wood, Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said "significant steps" have been taken to address the issues in this "isolated incident". She said: "We would like to extend our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to Mr and Mrs Stockwell-Parry following the tragic death of baby Etta. We recognise the profound impact this has had on the family, and we are truly sorry for the pain and loss they have endured. "Since this tragic event in July 2023, we have carried out a thorough review of the care provided and taken significant steps to ensure that the issues identified have been addressed. We are committed to learning from this and have implemented a range of measures to strengthen our training and clinical oversight to ensure the safest possible care for mothers and babies." She added: "We want to reassure expectant mothers and families in our care that this was an isolated incident. Providing safe, compassionate care is our highest priority, and we remain committed to upholding the highest standards of care across our maternity services." Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
John Brogden claims the top spot and the Fred Moss Memorial Trophy
There were fantastic turnouts in respect of past members last weekend as many anglers from all over the region took part in competitions held by two of our local angling associations. First and more locally, a celebration took place on Saturday for one of the Liverpool & District AA's angling greats and a past chairman with that, Fred Moss. For this one match secretary Mike Dickson once again put together another superb open match in which many anglers who knew Fred personally, travelled far and wide to Maghull for the draw held at the MCA. With canal in fine form, particularly upon the noted areas of late, Wirral's Alan Dewhurst's emphatic win on Wednesday with a great catch of bream and skimmers for 36.8.0, alerted not only our visitors, but the many local Liverpool rods participating who were all sure to be looking to sit on a few fish in order to hopefully enjoy a great day's fishing like Dewhurst had experienced midweek. This one, which was pegged out through Maghull, was a match in which many regulars looked for a favoured draw on some historically good areas in which bream inhabit and there was no doubt at all that one or two of the field would be relishing a chance of a decent draw on the day. READ MORE: More than 100 Easter Eggs donated by anglers at the Liverpool & District Angling Association Good Friday Open Taking advantage of just that was Matrix Leigh Tackle & Bait rod John Brogden, and here landing himself on a noted peg on Maghull's cricket pitch area, Brogden made the most of it with no mistakes on taking the best weight of the day for 13.10.0 and of course the Fred Moss Memorial Trophy. Next, taking a ride out along the East Lancashire Road to Carr Mill at St Helens on Monday, this was another match that saw many anglers taking part visiting from all over the region, including yours truly, all to also share their thoughts of another past member who was also very fondly respected, Dez Lowcock. As many will recognise, this huge natural expanse of water looking out to Billinge is a terrific venue. It's full of many species of fish including double figure carp and huge bream shoals along with roach, perch and the odd tench that are rare but present. So with nearly 50 anglers present to honour Dezzy on this one, this match was spread across the venue with many options open for everyone with regards to a personal approach. One man who doesn't need any confidence on Carr Mill is Local St Helens rod Peter Tickle. A winner on many occasions within his angling career, Tickle's knowledge on the dam is second to none particularly when looking at the present form as a guide. In this one Tickle drew a very much favoured area and with a presence of mind on his approach, he made no bones about how he was going to tackle it. Opting for a long pole approach at 15 metres and a 'back-up' of using an open ended feeder on the tip, Tickle took bream, skimmers and an unexpected 3lb tench for an overall winning weight of 17.4.0 to pick up the now coveted Dez Lowcock Memorial Shield. In second place was Steve Mitchell, who, pegged nearby on peg 8, took skimmers for 11.8.0 which closely outdid Royton's Jim Evans's 11lb third place effort. Manchester's Mark Harris and Skelmersdale's Steve Wooding took 8lb for joint fourth position. READ MORE: Manchester's Mark Harris claims the top spot with an incredible 54lb net of bream READ MORE: It's all about the bream
