Broken Britain

A man and a woman have been charged with murdering a rough sleeper who was found dead in a car park. The body of 56-year-old Martin Dines was discovered following an 'unusual and worrying incident' at St Mary’s car park in Colchester, Essex, on Monday. It's not yet known how he died but a post-mortem examination is under way to determine the cause. Darren Miller, 45, of no fixed abode, and Heidi Kennedy, of Colchester, Essex, have both been charged...

A teenage thug who savagely battered his girlfriend who later suffered a miscarriage after she told him she was pregnant has been caged for more than three years. Michael Hurditt, 19, pounced immediately after the news was broken and screamed "I'm not having a child with you." The yob had previously held a knife to her throat, forced her face towards a hot cooker and locked her in children's handcuffs during a horrific campaign of violence. A court heard the...

A personal trainer could have been gunned down outside his home as revenge for testifying in a horrific gang rape trial, murder squad detectives suggest. Abraham Badru, 26, was given a bravery award by police for intervening in the attack and testifying in court against the gang in 2007. But on March 25 he was murdered when a man blasted him in the chest with a shotgun. He had parked his AMG Mercedes near his family home in Ferncliff Road,...

A corrupt police officer who stashed half a million pounds worth of seized drugs at his home has been ordered to pay back just £135,000 today (Tues). Disgraced inspector Keith Boots, 55, had his assets seized after he stashed enough narcotics at his home "to keep a 1970s rockstar and his band entertained''. Boots, along with his son Ashley Boots, 30, appeared via video link from Doncaster prison, South Yorks., in Leeds Crown Court today (Tues). Boots had been jailed...

A prolific swindler has been jailed for assuming the identity of a dead man to illegally claim almost £100,000 in benefits. Robert Lewis, 61, had a false driving licence and National Insurance number in the name of Mark Shales, a court heard. He was paid around £20,000 a year through a combination of benefits from Exeter City Council and the Department for Work and Pensions. But it turned out that Mr Shales had died in Jersey in 1995 aged 33....

A professional rubbish remover has been jailed for repeatedly dumping builders' waste. Robbie Frank Johnston, 32, had a licence to collect commercial waste but he illegally disposed of it in picnic areas and bridleways. The huge mounds of rubble included carpets,baths, mattresses, and garage doors which were left to rot. But much of the waste was traced back to residents who identified Johnston and even provided photographic evidence of the van he used. He was tracked via the DVLA in...

The rollout of universal credit has resulted in an unprecedented rise in demand for food banks in the UK, according to a report from the Trussell Trust. The network of 428 food banks distributed more than 1.3 million emergency parcels for three days' worth of food over the last 12 months, a 13 per cent increase compared to the previous year. They said an increasing number of people — 28 per cent of all referrals — were going to their food...

The shocking findings, from a survey of 2,000 UK adults, revealed 43 per cent are short of the cash they need to pay the bills an average of seven months each year.

Adam Bradford, 25, claims to have suffered a torrent of abuse online after sordid details of the work carried out by Hans Asperger, the eminent doctor, emerged this week