Teenager jailed for mobile phone theft and assault on girls near Castle Vale canal


A 16 year-old boy who put a girl in a headlock and tightened his arm around her neck to force her to hand over her mobile phone has been jailed for 12 months. The boy cannot be named for legal reasons.
He targeted his victims, two girls aged 13 and 14, as they walked along the canal towpath just off Kingsbury Road near Castle Vale at around 5pm on 11th May. The boy ran away but after police spoke to the victims he was later arrested and charged. He initially denied the offence but later pleaded guilty and was sentenced this week by Birmingham Magistrates.

In memoriam Lord Corbett: tributes from the great, the good and the ordinary, to a giant of a man who said on his deathbed: “Castle Vale is in my heart.”


Lord Corbett’s daughter Polly (left) and wife Val (right) with Ruth Miller (centre) Castle Vale’s Neighbourhood Manager, in front of a picture of Lord Corbett saying thank you to his audience


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Over 90 people gathered in the meeting room of Castle Pool this evening to pay their respects to Robin, Lord Corbett of Castle Vale who died in February this year.
Often emotional, often amusing, the audience heard eulogies from various friends and colleagues. Council Leader Sir Albert Bore talked of Robin’s humour and generosity.
Jack Dromey, Erdington’s MP, described Robin as ‘a legend locally and a massive presence nationally.’
Richard Temple Cox, CBE, former Chair of the Housing Action Trust told the audience that in 1991 Robin Corbett was at the forefront of lobbying at Westminster to get Castle Vale listed as one of the six Housing Action Trusts in the country. He managed to persuade Michael Heseltine to include Castle Vale. This decision meant that the Vale could be transformed during the 1990s and 2000s.
Richard Temple Cox said that Robin was’The Pied Piper who led the residents into the complex area of regeneration.’
Dr Angus Kennedy, OBE, former Chief Executive of the Housing Action Trust told the story of how Robin, at the top of one of the old tower blocks, was describing the plans for Castle Vale with such passion and vehemence that he knocked a cup of tea flying out of the hands of a government minister. It went all over her suit. But he convinced her, and won Vale an extra £60million as a result.
At the end of the official speeches, Steve Clayton handed over the microphone to anyone in the audience who would like to share memories of Lord Corbett.
A diminutive but passionate man, Saieed, from the Iranian Resistance spoke of his respect and affection for Robin. Lord Corbett had championed the cause of those opposed to and oppressed by the current regime in Iran. Robin had been doing so for three decades, and had realised well before most international political experts that the cradle of terrorism was the Iran regime, with its ayatollahs and mullahs. Lord Corbett had stood up for and campaigned for the oppressed in Iran. As he had on many other issues, nationally, locally and internationally.
Several others spoke. Mostly local people.
Most moving was an ex Vale resident called Forrester. Some years ago, he and his wife needed help with their daughter’s education. They wrote to Robin, their MP at the time. To their surprise, Robin Corbett turned up on their doorstep. Forrester described movingly the support that his family received from Robin over a long period of time.
The result: some years later, his daughter graduated in Law from Cambridge University. She now has a top job. After her graduation, Lord Corbett took the family to the House of Lords for dinner. He sent them a Christmas card every year, until this one, when illness prevented him from doing so.
Finally, Robin’s wife Val spoke. With warmth and a sense of humour, she recalled some fond times.  She told the audience that, in his final weeks and on his deathbed, Robin had said that he was most proud of the work he had done in Birmingham and in Erdington, and most particularly in Castle Vale.
“Castle Vale is in my heart,” he said.

Castle Vale School: new building promise; school put on Government’s priority list


Castle Vale School will get new buildings, the government has promised.
It is one of 261 schools in England that have been put on a priority list for a new buildings programme. Just five other schools in Birmingham have managed to get onto the list. They are: Hallmoor School, Heathlands Junior and Infant School,Kings Norton High School,Plantsbrook School and Turves Green Boys’ School.
42 of the schools across the country have been designated as needing urgent repairs and rebuilding. Work on these will start immediately. Castle Vale School is not on the ‘most urgent’ list.
Castle Vale School had been promised a rebuild under the Labour government’s Building Schools For the Future programme. But the Conservative government scrapped the scheme when they discovered the extent of the country’s financial problems.
They have now identified 261 schools across the country which have buildings in need of repair or refurbishment, to go onto their Priority School Building Programme.
587 schools applied to go on the list.
The first of the newly built schools will open in 2014, says the government statement.

Young Carers Week: 18th-22nd June


Some youngsters care for people in their family without realising that they are eligible for support as young carers, says Sean Jordan, a spokesperson for National Young Carers in Birmingham. There are around 150,000 young carers in the UK, aged between 9-25 years. The youngest in the Sutton and Erdington area is 10 years old.
“Many young carers see their role as an everyday duty. It can have an effect on their lives, such as making them late for school, falling behind with their education, and preventing them going out with friends,” said Sean.
National Carers Week is 18th-22nd June. There will be stalls in Erdington and Sutton Coldfield shopping areas, with information, guidance and help available for young carers and their families.

Remembering Lord Corbett


Friends and colleagues of Lord Corbett will gather at Vale Swimming Pool tomorrow evening to remember his life and achievements. The event, Memories of Our Robin, will be held in the upstairs room of Castle Pool in Farnborough Road between 6pm and 7.30pm.
Robin Corbett died in February this year.

Metal thefts: whose claims should we believe…police or insurers?


West Midlands Police are claiming that they have halved the number of metal thefts this year. The figures released by the police are in stark contrast to those released by the Association of British Insurers who are suggesting that metal thefts have reached epidemic proportions.
Insurers say that 1000 offences are being reported across the UK every week, a figure that has doubled over the past five years.
West Midlands Police are claiming that there were 1062 metal thefts recorded across the West Midlands in the three months from January to March. This compares with a total of 2222 offences over the same period in 2011.

 

Callum tragedy: driver pleads guilty to causing death by inconsiderate driving


Dale Alan O’Regan of Walmley, Sutton Coldfield pleaded guilty today to causing death by inconsiderate driving.
O’Regan was the driver of the car that fatally collided with 10 year-old Callum Henry in Farnborough Road last September.
O’Regan appeared before a judge at Birmingham Crown Court at 2.30pm this afternoon.
In a brief hearing, O’Regan was asked by the clerk to the court whether he pleaded guilty or not guilty. He mumbled his reply quietly and had to be asked by the clerk to repeat his plea.
Judge Mayo set the date for his sentencing as 20th June 2012.
Pre-sentence reports are being prepared; they include expert evidence which one of the barristers said had been delivered to him last week.
Judge Mayo warned O’Regan that a mandatory ban on driving applied from today. He also warned him that a custodial sentence was a possibility. “All options are open,” Judge Mayo told him.
In March this year, at Birmingham Magistrates Court, O’Regan had pleaded not guilty to the offence.

NB: Even though the defendant has pleaded guilty, until sentence has been passed this case is still active. Comments for this article will not be published if there is a danger of Contempt of Court