Corrie Le Vell 'Raped Girl On Regular Basis'

The mother of Michael Le Vell's alleged victim says she believes her daughter was raped by the actor "on a regular basis".

The Coronation Street star is at Manchester Crown Court for the second day of his child rape trial.

On Monday, his alleged victim told the court the actor first raped her when she was six years old as she clutched her teddy bear.

Her mother, who cannot be identified, was in the witness box today and cried as she recalled the moment her daughter told her about the alleged rape.

The woman told the court: "I believe he molested and abused her on a regular basis and there had been a number of rapes."

She said her daughter told her how Le Vell held a teddy bear against her mouth while raping her and he would force the girl to give him oral sex.

The victim's mother said when she confronted Le Vell about the alleged sex abuse, he replied: "You are joking. You are having a laugh."

Le Vell, 48, who plays car mechanic Kevin Webster in the ITV soap, denies committing the offences.

Le Vell, at court today, plays car mechanic Kevin Webster in the soap

Earlier, the girl, 17, was cross-examined by Le Vell's defence barrister Alisdair Williamson, who accused her of lying.

The girl, who is giving evidence from behind a screen in the court, cannot be identified for legal reasons.

During the cross-examination, Mr Williamson questioned the girl's story and her motivations.

The barrister said the girl went to an "inspirational self-help" conference where she heard a motivational speech from a woman who was raped at a young age.

Mr Williamson said the rape victim who gave the talk then went on to rebuild her life and become a success.

The lawyer said: "Is that what some of this is about? You heard this lady talking about how she was raped when she was very young and how she went on and became a model? You want to become an actress or a dancer, is that right?"

The girl replied: "I wanted to, I don't anymore."

During further questions from Eleanor Laws QC, prosecuting, the girl said she could not remember seeing the motivational speech from the rape victim.

The alleged victim also told the court that Le Vell smelt strongly of alcohol the first time he raped her.

She cried as she told the court: "I hated him because what he did was so wrong and I was so young and I did not know at the time."

Le Vell outside the court on Monday

The girl said Le Vell took her to an award show and arranged a visit to Coronation Street after he raped her.

As the girl gave evidence, Le Vell repeatedly shook his head.

Earlier, the barrister asked the girl about alleged inconsistencies in what she had told police.

Mr Williamson told the court the witness had initially told police she had never talked to anyone about the alleged abuse.

But the lawyer claimed the witness "told lots of girls" about it.

"I told two friends because they saw me crying," the witness replied.

But when police were called in the witness told the officer she had not told anyone, the court heard.

Mr Williamson continued: "The officer came to see you because ... you told people and you told the officer a little lie.

"You told him you had not told the girls, they had just guessed.

"I suggest that was a little lie?"

"No," the witness replied.

Le Vell is facing 12 charges in all - five counts of rape, three of indecent assault, two counts of sexual activity with a child, and two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

The alleged offences relate to one complainant and are said to have taken place between 2001 and September 2010. The girl was aged between six and 14.

After his arrest Le Vell, a father of two, told officers the allegations were a "pack of absolute lies" and he has maintained his innocence throughout.

Le Vell, of Hale, Cheshire, is one of TV's most famous faces after playing Kevin Webster for the past 30 years.

ITV has said he will not be appearing in any further episodes of Coronation Street pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

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Jon Venables: Bulger Killer Freed From Prison

Jon Venables, one of the killers of two-year-old James Bulger, has been freed from prison for the second time.

Venables was freed from prison after being locked up in 2010 for downloading images of child abuse after previously serving eight years for murdering two-year-old James in Liverpool in 1993.

Legal sources confirmed his release to the Press Association.

The killer has reportedly been given his second new identity at a reported cost of £250,000.

But James Bulger's father, Ralph, believes Venables, 31, will commit more crime, a friend said.

Ralph Bulger pictured in 2011

"He hasn't put a time on it but he is convinced he will reoffend," she said.

She added that James' family were given little information about Venables' release and Mr Bulger was told via his lawyer.

"As ever they are kept in the dark.

"They don't explain the terms of his release, I don't know whether they are going to.

James' mother, Denise Fergus, believes Venables should still be in jail

"But I don't think Venables can enter Merseyside, however that was one of the conditions which he repeatedly broke before."

The toddler's mother, Denise Fergus, told The Sun that Venables is "a danger to the public".

"He lies for his own sick ends," she said.

Venables was 10 years old when he and his friend, Robert Thompson, tortured and murdered James after abducting him from a shopping centre in Bootle.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "We do not comment on individual offenders."

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Rapist Discovers His Victim Had HIV

A jailed rapist will discover this week whether he contracted HIV from his victim.

Richard Thomas, 27, collapsed when police informed him about his victim's medical status and is still waiting to hear if he has contracted the virus.

Thomas knew the woman and was aware that she has another illness but had not known about the HIV.

He was shocked when he was told and asked to be taken to hospital, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

He had let himself into her home in Leigh, Greater Manchester, uninvited in the middle of the night and she awoke to find him raping her from behind.

"She froze and no words were exchanged. He pulled up his shorts and left," said Harry Pepper, prosecuting.

"He was arrested and interviewed and said he had been drinking heavily, taken cocaine and ecstasy and could not recall the incident," he added.

His barrister, Virginia Hayton, said that he still cannot recall the attack but when told about it he said that the woman "would not lie, she tells the truth. If she says I have done it, I have done it."

Jailing Thomas for five years and four months, Judge Mark Brown said he had committed "this dreadful offence" while she lay asleep, having taken a sleeping tablet, and left her distressed and anxious.

He ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Thomas, of Sandringham Drive, Leigh, pleaded guilty to raping the woman on July 20 this year.

Miss Hayton said that Thomas, who has previous convictions but none for sexual offences, "is remorseful and cannot understand why he did it and it is troubling him."

She said that he will not find out the result of his HIV test until Friday and has had the worry of the outcome hanging over him.

"It is his own fault, if he had not committed this offence he would not have placed himself in this position."

She said that he started using cannabis at the age of nine and was drinking heavily at the age of 11. He became addicted to ecstasy and cocaine at 13 and was put in care the following year.

He has been trying to contact his family but they want nothing to do with him, she said, and he will now be away from his partner and their young daughter, as well as his two other older daughters from previous relationships.

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Fukushima: Japan Builds Ice Wall To Stop Leaks

Japan is to build an underground ice wall to try to prevent radioactive water leaking from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power station.

The plant has been leaking hundreds of tons of contaminated water into the sea since the complex was damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

And in recent weeks, the Dai-ichi plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, (Tepco) has failed to contain several leaks from tanks storing tainted water.

The ice wall project will cost an estimated £301m, and its announcement is being seen as an attempt to show that the nuclear accident will not be a safety concern when, on Saturday, the International Olympic Committee chooses between Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid as the host of the 2020 Olympics.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said: "Instead of leaving this up to Tepco, the government will step forward and take charge.

"The world is watching if we can properly handle the contaminated water but also the entire decommissioning of the plant."

Contaminated water storage tanks

The government plans to spend £205m on the ice wall and £96m on upgraded water treatment units to remove radioactive elements, according to energy agency official Tatsuya Shinkawa.

The ice wall would freeze the ground to a depth of up to 30 metres (100ft) through an electrical system of thin pipes carrying a coolant as cold as minus 40 degrees Celsius.

That would block contaminated water from escaping the facility's immediate surroundings, as well as keep underground water from entering the reactor and turbine buildings, where much of the radioactive water has collected.

The project is being tested for feasibility by Japanese construction giant Kajima Corp and is set for completion in March 2015.

Some experts are still sceptical about the technology and say the running costs would be a huge burden.               

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Ray Mears Helped Track Down Raoul Moat

Survival expert Ray Mears has broken a two-year silence to speak of his role in the hunt for killer Raoul Moat.

The bush tracker and TV presenter joined a Tornado fighter jet and scores of armed police officers in the £1 million-plus search for the former doorman.

They were called in after Moat and his accomplices went to ground in woodland surrounding Rothbury, Northumberland, in July 2010.

Mr Mears, 49, contacted a police search adviser he had met at a lecture years earlier to offer his skills and after police discovered an abandoned campsite on the outskirts of Rothbury, he was called in to help.

In an interview with the Gloucestershire Echo, the bushcraft expert said that at one point he was within 20ft of the gunman after eight hours of moving stealthily through dense forest.

He described the scene when he arrived in Rothbury as like something "out of a Hollywood film set" with bright lights, police snipers, helicopters circling overhead and the Tornado making reconnaissance sorties.

Raoul Moat went in the run in the Northumberland countryside

He told the newspaper: "It was all a bit surreal. This is the first time I've talked about it and it's because I feel there has been sufficient water under the bridge."

Mr Mears, who was speaking ahead of the publication of his autobiography later this month, added: "It was such a unique set of circumstances. I have experience of tracking for 40 years.

"I can't imagine there would be that many people in the country who would have been in a position to help the police find someone who had gone into hiding who needed to be found.

"It was a real-life hunt; within my skill set but outside of my comfort zone."

Mr Mears told the newspaper that police disclosed afterwards that Moat's emergence from hiding was a direct result of his presence with armed officers.

Moat went on the run after shooting Chris Brown, 29, who had started a relationship with his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart.

Police pictured after cornering Moat near Rothbury

The spurned lover killed Mr Brown and seriously injured Ms Stobbart in theshooting in Birtley, Gateshead, two days after he was released from prison.

The following day the 37-year-old bodybuilder blasted unarmed PC David Rathband in the face, leaving him blind.

The officer was found hanged at his home in Blyth, Northumberland, in February last year.

The huge search for Moat, involving officers from 18 forces, was one of the biggest police operations seen in the UK.

The rapidly evolving manhunt gripped the nation as newspapers, television and radio stations concentrated on the search, bringing close scrutiny of the police's actions.

The 17-stone steroid addict was finally cornered at the edge of the River Coquet on the evening of July 9.

Following a five-hour stand-off with armed police the father-of-three shot himself in the head at the moment officers used Tasers to try to disable him. He was later declared dead at hospital.

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Gary Tweddle: Body Recovered In Oz Bushland

Police believe a body that has been recovered from Australian bushland may be that of a British man who went missing seven weeks ago.

Gary Tweddle, 23, has not been seen since he disappeared after a work dinner during a conference in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

Police said a body thought to be Mr Tweddle was spotted by an ambulance rescue helicopter during a training exercise near Leura on Monday.

Mr Tweddle is originally from Reading

Police abseiled about 25m down a cliff face to the site on Tuesday, and the body was winched to the top of the cliff about 4pm local time (7am BST).

Superintendent Darryl Jobson said that the man was similar in appearance to Mr Tweddle, but it could take a number of days to formally identify the body.

"What we need to do is go through our formal identification processes to make sure we identify the right male and making sure that we're notifying the right next of kin," he said.

Mr Tweddle with his girlfriend Anika Haigh

"At an appropriate time we'll be able to convey to you to the identity of the male."

He said police will examine the area where the body was found, which will help determine the cause of death.

"It would appear to be misadventure but we're not ruling anything out," he said.

Joanne Elliott, a spokeswoman for Blue Mountains Local Area Command, said the "extremely rough terrain" meant police rescue officers were not able to retrieve the body on Monday.

"The location couldn't be accessed on foot and the crew lost all light in the mountains so we're unable to get down to the ground," she said.

Mr Tweddle, who had emigrated to Australia, was last heard from when he rang colleagues also staying at the Fairmont Resort in Leura in the early hours of July 17 to say he was lost in the bushland.

Mr Tweddle emigrated to Australia with his family

As the recovery operation started, Mr Tweddle's girlfriend told friends and family that "the sun is beginning to rise on a day that we have all been hoping would never come".

Anika Haigh wrote on her Facebook page: "A body has been found in the area of Gary's disappearance and today it will be retrieved and identified.

"Please know that nothing has been confirmed at this stage but I hope in a few hours we will have an answer either way.

"One thing I know for certain is that Gary will... come home one day - his fight, determination & 'never give up' attitude that we all loved so much about him will guide him."

Mr Tweddle became lost in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney

She added that it was time for him "to come home where you belong".

The disappearance of Mr Tweddle, a computer salesman originally from Reading, sparked the biggest search ever conducted in the Blue Mountains.

His father David flew out to Australia from his home in Berkshire to help with the search effort before he returned to the UK last month.

Mr Tweddle's mother Carol Streatfield, who also lives in Australia, had also flown to the Blue Mountains to join the search for her son.

She said the phone call from Ms Haigh telling her that her son was missing was the first step in the most "heart-breaking journey" of her life.

Mr Tweddle was at a work conference in the Blue Mountains area

In a statement issued by the Foreign Office last month, she said: "On the mountain my days were filled with sirens, noise, searching, tireless walking and door knocking. I repeatedly followed the track I believed he had taken in the hopes of finding a clue.

"Every pole and tree were covered with his beautiful face, however it was on a piece of A4 paper with a 'missing' heading.

"At one point I was so exhausted I found a bench to sit on in the middle of a bush track, and as I sat down and there to the left of me was Gary's photo.

"It was a small comfort as I stroked his face, kissed him and told him how much I loved him and that I will never give up trying to find him, ever."

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Van Load Of Heroin Seized In Channel Tunnel

French customs have intercepted a van carrying 65 kilograms (143 pounds) of heroin travelling through the Channel Tunnel towards Britain.

The "exceptional" haul equals one-quarter of the total amount intercepted by French authorities in 2012. 

The heroin was discovered inside 120 packets hidden inside a boiler in the vehicle.

The van began its journey in the Netherlands and was stopped by officers on August 27.

The total street value of the haul is 2.6 million euros, (£2.2m).

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Syria: Obama Makes New Military Action Vow

The US has a plan to help Syria's rebels bring down the Assad regime after launching military strikes, President Obama has said.

Mr Obama said again that military action against Syria would be "limited" but suggested a strike would go further than simply punishing President Bashar al Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons.

The president said he was confident that Congress would vote in favour of military action and called for a prompt vote on the issue.

During a meeting of congressional leaders at the White House, he said: "What we are envisioning is something limited. It is something proportional. It will degrade Assad's capabilities.

"At the same time we have a broader strategy that will allow us to upgrade the capabilities of the opposition." 

Washington is currently assessing whether to order sea-launched strikes against Syria, with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden attempting to convince Congress of the need to intervene.

After the meeting the president received a boost when the top Republican in Congress said he would back the call for military action, and urged his colleagues to do the same.

Speaking outside the White House, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said: "This is something that the United States as a country needs to do.

Democratic Leader in Congress Nancy Pelosi said she did not expect a resolution calling for military action in Syria to be rejected. 

Mr Obama clarified his intentions after influential senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham met with him and said they expected US military action to be "more robust" than previously thought.

Mr Graham said: "It is all in the details, but I left the meeting feeling better than I felt before about what happens the day after and that the purpose of the attack is going to be a little more robust than I thought."

Mr McCain said in an interview that Mr Obama did not reveal what weapons might be provided to the opposition in Syria or discuss in what targets might be attacked.

Israel fears being targeted if Syria comes under attack from Western powers

"There was no concrete agreement, 'OK, we got a deal,'" Mr McCain said.

"Like a lot of things, the devil is in the details."

The president indicated in his meeting with the pair that the first 50-man cell of CIA-trained rebel fighters was heading for the Syrian battlefield, the New York Times reported.

The unit's deployment would be the first tangible show of support since Mr Obama announced in June that the US would begin providing the rebels with small arms.

Mr Obama's latest statement came after tensions in the Middle East were raised by Israel's unannounced missile launch in the Mediterranean.

Israel claimed it carried out a joint missile system test with the US after Russia's defence ministry said two ballistic "objects" were fired towards the eastern Mediterranean from the central part of the sea.

Israel's defence ministry said it had tested a single Sparrow target missile, which it said was "successfully" detected and tracked by its Arrow missile-defence system.

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon shrugged off a question on whether the launch might have been ill-timed, telling reporters Israel had to work to maintain its military edge.

"It is known that preparedness of the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) in the last week relies a lot on technological capabilities, that the defence establishment in its wider sense puts at the army's disposal.

"Research and development in the defence industry - engineers, scientists who work day and night - they know at the end of the day to put Israel in the front line of technology.

"This necessitates field trials and, accordingly, a successful trial was conducted to test our systems. And we will continue to develop and to research and to equip the IDF with the best systems in the world." 

Despite reports that Israel was claiming the launch as a joint test with America, a US Navy spokesman said no missiles had been fired from any of its ships in the Mediterranean.

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Walkie-Talkie Skyscraper Beam 'Melts Cars'

Blinding rays of light from a skyscraper in the City of London are being blamed for melting parts of vehicles below it.

City AM journalist Jim Waterson managed to fry an egg in the glare of the skyscraper where the temperature was measured at 92.6F (33.7C). 

Developers of 20 Fenchurch Street, better known as the "Walkie-Talkie" because of its distinctive shape, are investigating reports of the damaging glare, and a number of nearby car parking spaces have been suspended, say reports.

Businessman Martin Lindsay said he was distraught when he returned to find his luxury Jaguar XJ saloon with warped panels along one side.

20 Fenchurch Street will be completed next year (pic: Laura Lean/City AM)

The wing mirror and badge had also melted from the heat of the reflected sunlight, he claimed.

"They're going to have to think of something. I'm gutted. How can they let this continue?" he told.

The 37-storey skyscraper is still being built and the developers are trying to find a way of sorting out the problem by putting up cladding and scaffolding to cover the area of pavement on Eastcheap where the Jaguar melted.

A joint statement from Land Securities and Canary Wharf said: "We are taking the issue of light reflecting from 20 Fenchurch Street seriously, and are looking into the matter as a priority.

Businessman Martin Lindsay was 'distraught' about his car

"The phenomenon is caused by the current elevation of the sun in the sky. It currently lasts for approximately two hours per day, with initial modelling suggesting that it will be present for approximately 2-3 weeks.

"As responsible developers we are making every effort to keep local businesses informed and we have communicated with them regularly since the issue first appeared. While we investigate the situation further we have liaised with the City of London to suspend three parking bays in the area which may be affected.

"In addition, we are consulting with local businesses and the City to address the issue in the short-term, while also evaluating longer-term solutions to ensure the issue cannot recur in future."

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Syria Defector 'Exposes Assad Chemical Attack'

Syria: How Crisis Has Developed

Updated: 2:04pm UK, Tuesday 03 September 2013

:: March 2011 - Protesters stage demonstrations in Damascus and security forces in Daraa shoot dead several campaigners, leading to unrest and violence.

:: May - The Syrian military deploys tanks in a bid to quash demonstrations.

:: July 19 - The UK freezes £100m of Syrian assets.

:: August 18 - US President Barack Obama calls on Bashar al Assad to step down. The US freezes all assets of the Syrian government.

:: November 16 - The Free Syrian Army attacks a military base near Damascus.

:: February 4, 2012 - A UN Security Council resolution on Syria is rejected for a second time by Russia and China.

:: March 1 - Government troops seize the Baba Amr district of Homs after an intense battle lasting for several weeks.

:: April 12 - A UN-brokered ceasefire comes into force after fierce fighting in the country.

:: May 23 - Dozens of people, many of them women and children, die in Houla, near Homs. Foreign Secretary William Hague says they were "massacred at the hands of Syrian forces". The UN later accuses the Syrian military of committing war crimes.

:: August - Barack Obama says the use of chemical weapons against civilians would represent the crossing of a "red line".

:: March 6, 2013 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says Britain will provide opposition forces with "non-lethal equipment for the protection of civilians".

:: April-May - Britain says there is credible evidence to suggest Syrian forces have used chemical weapons in Adra, Darayya and Saraqiq and calls for an investigation by the UN.

:: April 29 - Syrian prime minister Wael Nader al Halqi survives an assassination attempt as a car bomb explodes in Damascus.

:: May 14 - Footage of a Syrian rebel commander apparently cutting out a soldier's heart is condemned by the country's National Coalition.

:: June 6 - Syrian forces, backed by Hizbollah fighters, recapture the strategic border town of Qusair.

:: June 6 - Human Rights Watch releases footage which it claims shows Syrian troops shelling school buildings.

:: July 25 - The UN says the number of people killed in the civil war has reached 100,000.

:: August 21 - An alleged chemical attack in Damascus kills 1,300 people, according to the opposition. Doctors Without Borders says 335 people died from "neurotoxic" symptoms.

:: August 25 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says a chemical attack by the Syrian government is the only "plausible explanation" for the deaths.

:: August 26 - UN inspectors brave sniper fire to gather "valuable" evidence from one site of the alleged chemical attack, as the US Secretary of State John Kerry says the Assad regime would face action over the "moral obscenity".

:: August 27 - The UK recalls Parliament to hold a vote on August 29 on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. David Cameron and Barack Obama agree there is "no doubt" the Assad regime is responsible for the alleged attack.

:: August 28 - Britain tables a draft UN resolution condemning the alleged attack and "authorising all necessary measures".

:: August 29 - David Cameron is forced to rule out military action after narrowly losing a Commons vote on the principle of intervention.

:: August 31 - President Obama says the US "should take military action" in Syria but confirms he will seek authorisation from Congress before launching any strikes against the Assad regime. He says the US is "prepared to strike whenever we choose".

:: September 2 - a French intelligence reports claims the Assad regime was responsible for a "massive and coordinated" chemical attack in Damascus.

:: September 3 - Israel says it has carried out a joint missile test with the US in the Mediterranean.

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