Castle Bromwich Community Website

A dad who smashed a dinner plate in his partner’s face, scarring her for life, has been jailed for more than three years.

David Gorrie hurled the plate at girlfriend Catherine Bird – who he’d been dating for18 months and is the mother of his baby son – with such force it shattered into dozens of pieces. The crockery shards left deep cuts in the 28-year-old’s forehead, cheek and chin, whilst fragments narrowly missed her left eye. She required more than 20 stitches.

And at Warwick Crown Courton Wednesday (June 30) Gorrie, who admitted GBH, was sentenced to serve three years and three months in prison. The court heard how the pair had been “generally bickering” at their home in Auckland Drive, Smiths Wood, on Saturday November 21 last year when 28-year-oldGorrie flipped and threw the plate. At first Gorrie claimed he only intended to throw his dinner over Miss Bird and that the plate had accidentally slipped out of his hand – but he later admitted deliberately using it as a weapon.

Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Craig Munro from Solihull Police, said: “They’d been arguing throughout the day, nothing too excessive, just the kind of squabbles that no doubt go on in households across the country every day. For some reason Gorrie snapped and hurled the plate. It was a big, thick, heavy plate and yet it smashed into dozens of pieces; it must have been thrown at full force to shatter in such a way.”

After the attack Gorrie went on the run for four days before officers tracked him down in Northfield, Birmingham, where he’s originally from. A restraining order was also imposed by the Judge which prohibits Gorrie ever trying to make contact Miss Bird again, unless supervised to visit his child.

Judge Orme, said: “The conclusion I have come to – which of course is one of the crucial reasons why I passed the sentence – is that at the moment he (Gorrie)…is a violent young man with an uncontrollable temper.” 

Miss Bird said she was pleased with the sentence and hoped that it would encourage other victims of domestic violence to report abusive partners. She added: “I want to reassure any women suffering at the hands of partners that the support is there – and if they’re strong, and report abuse to the police, they can put a stop to the violence. There are agencies who can offer expert support and advice, and counsellors to help you through the process. I’m pleased with the sentence that he (Gorrie) received and that he’s forbidden to come anywhere near me in future.”

DC Munro, added: “We have specialist teams dedicated to tackling domestic violence– no women should suffer in silence. We will actively pursue offenders through the courts and seek sentences that will improve the lives of victims.”

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A DRUGS den believed to have been visited more than 50 times a day by addicts has been shut down by Solihull Police.

Flat 21 in Chelmsley Wood’s Bangor House was raided by officers in March and, at Solihull Magistrates on June 22, a district judge agreed a closure order was justified due to “overwhelming evidence” the property had been used to deal Class A drugs.

PC Nicole Cummins from the Smiths Wood neighbourhood police team, who helped build the case to have the flat closed,said: “We’re really pleased with this result. It means Bangor House residents no longer have to deal with the nuisance and disorder they were previously experiencing.

“On a typical day more than 50 visitors would call at the flat throughout the day and night and would often be abusive and intimidating to residents in the lifts.

“It wasn’t uncommon to find used syringes in the stairwells, glass doors and bottles would be broken in the communal areas,and sometimes residents would see people injecting themselves with drugs.

“This closure order sends out a clear message that drugs will not be tolerated in Solihull and we will do our best to make innocent people’s lives better.”

The flat has now been boarded up and the order means it’s a criminal offence for anyone to enter the property.

The tenant has been asked to register as homeless and during the next three months Solihull Community Housing will pursue possession proceedings in order to remove him permanently from the flat and prevent him becoming a tenant of any other council premises in the area.

A BURGLAR who came face-to-face with a girl after breaking into a home he thoughtwas empty has been handed a three-year jail term.

Adam Farley stumbled across the 13-year-old, who was off school sick, hiding in her bedroom during the May 6 raid on a house in Solihull.

But on encountering the teen Farley, from Kingshurst, had a guilt attack and fled –even returning to the bedroom seconds later to try and apologise.

Unbeknown to Farley the astute girl, whose mum had nipped out to a nearby shop, dialled 999 when she heard banging on the front door and spotted a strange van on the driveway.

Local police units were given a description of the vehicle and minutes later Farley was arrested nearby.

The 28-year-old, who had no previous convictions for burglary, admitted the offence and on Friday (June 18) at Warwick Crown Court was sentenced to three years imprisonment.   

Detective Constable Dave Hollies, said: “I can’t praise the young girl enough; the second she knew something wasn’t right she phoned the police. It meant we were able to get officers on the scene quickly to apprehend the offender.

“In fairness to Farley he admitted the break-in at the first possible opportunity and co-operated throughout. I’ve never seen an offender show much remorse; as a father himself he was genuinely sorry for what he’d done and that he’d upset a young girl.

“During interview he told how he ran back upstairs to try and apologise to her, but that he just couldn’t get the words out.”

Farley had been cruising local streets looking for empty properties and, after picking his target, knocked several times to try and establish whether it was occupied.However, the girl had been told not to answer the door to anyone.

DC Dave Hollies, added: “Believing the home to be unoccupied Farley broke open the front door and headed to the bedrooms hoping to find jewellery. The moment hesaw the girl he froze and forgot about stealing anything.

“Given that this was his first offence, he’s been given a very firm sentence.

“Once you break into a property you never know what you might find. Farley took that risk and is now paying a heavy price – both in terms of his jail term and the guilt he undoubtedly feels.”

Police have arrested two men in connection with a number of vehicle break-ins – and are asking for anyone who’s had a sat nav stolen recently to come forward.

The two suspects – aged 23 and 24 – are believed to have targeted insecure cars in Knowle, Dorridge and Balsall Common earlier this month.

Several gadgets have been recovered and matched to reported thefts but one sat nav – a TomTom One 3rd Edition in a grey case – has yet to be reunited with its owner.

Officers believe the TomTom may have been taken in the early hours of Tuesday June 15.

Detective Constable Dave Hollies, said: “We believe the men were active in Longdon Road, Lady Byron Lane and Kenilworth Road in Knowle. I’d like to hear from anyone in this area, or the surrounding region, to contact us if they’ve suffered a theft, especially a sat nav matching the description.

“We’d also like any local residents with CCTV cameras to check footage overnight from 14 to 15 June and contact us if they see anything of note.”

DC Dave Hollies can be contacted at Solihull Police Station on 0345 113 5000

With England's first World Cup Game taking place today, football fans in Castle Bromwich are gearing up for the biggest football event in four years and more and more St George's flags can be seen around Castle Bromwich and Solihull as a result, and it's not just houses and cars that they are adorning. More photos can be seen in the  photo gallery album - Castle Bromwich and Solihull flying the flag for England.

Elsewhere, works at Castle Bromwich's Jaguar factory were said by The Sun to be furious that their Bosses would not allow them to wear Three Lions Shirts, display the flag, listen to the game or rejig shifts so that as many workers as possible could see the game. A spokesman for the company said, "We do not allow our employees to wear their own cloothes, wear personal stereos, listen to the radio or bring merchandise such as flags onto the production line for heallth and safety reasons."

A TEENAGER who tormented a Solihull family with insults and criminal damage has been handed a raft of court orders to put an end to his anti-social behaviour. The16-year-old from Chelmsley Wood subjected his victims, three of whom have learning difficulties, to repeated verbal abuse while fences were broken and objects thrown at their Oak Croft home.

He was arrested by Solihull Police following complaints from the family and, after admitting the offences at Solihull Youth Court, has been given a Restraining Order and must enter a Youth Rehabilitation programme. The judge also imposed a curfew ordering him to stay indoors between 8pm and 6am every day for at least the next three months. An electronic tag will alert officers if he breaches the curfew.

PC Nicole Cummins guided the family through the investigation and subsequent case with Solihull Police’s Vulnerable Persons Officer. She said:“The siblings are extremely happy at the outcome and feel much more secure knowing the offender is now prohibited from contacting them or going anywhere near their home. I’m grateful the family reported their problems to us. No-one should suffer in silence and we’d encourage anyone who’s experiencing anti-social behaviour to contact us.”

The Restraining Order means the teenager is forbidden from contacting his victims, even through a third party, approaching them, or going nea rtheir property for 12 months. And the Youth Rehabilitation Order involves carrying out unpaid work in the community and attending a victim awareness course to help him understand the affect his actions have on people. Forthe next 18 months he’ll also have to report regularly to the police’s youth offending team.

Pc Cummins, added: “If he breaches any of these orders he’ll very quickly find himself back in court. These orders are designed to support victims whilst alsot rying to alter the behaviour of offenders.”

Heavy rain lashed Castle Bromwich yesterday causing flooding and driving problems for motorists. Several roads in Castle Bromwich were awash as drains struggled to cope with the monsoon type weather and some houses he service road on the Bradford Road had to use sand bags to prevent the water entering their homes.

At the Bradford Arms part of the car park was so badly flooded it was unusable.

The flash flooding also caused extensive waterlogging on Whateley Green.

SOLIHULL Police have busted a fuel theft syndicate thought to have stolen tens of thousands of pounds worth of petrol and diesel from garage forecourts. One vehicle – a stolen Mercedes – is believed to have been used around 30 times since April alone, often being driven off by offenders after clocking-up hundreds of pounds at the pump in a single visit. It was found with 12 large fuel tanks stashed in the boot and rear seat foot-wells.

A total of nine men – from Moseley, Spark Hill, Small Heath and Alum Rock – were arrested during last week’s five-day operation at three petrol stations in Shirley: the BP, Shell and Sainsbury’s in Stratford Road. Collectively they’re known by police as the ‘Shirley Triangle’ due to the huge amount of fuel that’s disappeared from the sites.

Las tmonth Solihull Police recorded 90 offences of bilking (making off without paying) and that’s up more than 50 per cent on the same month in 2009. Inspector Farooq Sheikh, who led the Operation, said he believed most offences were carried out by a small number of organised syndicates. He added: “Stealing fuel can be big business for these offenders; they work in small groups, between them swapping stolen and cloned number plates which they use to carry out the thefts.These forecourts were being regularly targeted by thieves so we conducted a covert operation to try and identify and apprehend offenders. It’s been a huge success and we believe we’ve caught some of region’s most prolific fuel thieves.”

Three men – two aged 26 and one 25-year-old – were arrested on suspicion of the Mercedes bilkings and bailed pending further enquiries. Among their bail conditions include not entering the borough of Solihull and not to go onto any petrol station forecourt in the West Midlands.

Insp Sheikh, said: “Given the high petrol prices it’s almost impossible to eradicate bilkings completely; there will always be opportunists who drive off without paying. However,this operation underlines our commitment to stamp out organised, large-scalefuel theft. Anyone tempted to commit a bilking offence should be mindful that,in addition to the network of CCTV cameras covering station forecourts, we may well be watching over their shoulder.” 

Another suspected bilker was arrested on suspicion of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, whilst another man was arrested for shoplifting.

Solihull Rangers will be leading a walk through Yorkswood Kingshurst on Sunday; why not join them, examine the trees more closely and learn more about this local gem on our doorstep?

Yorkswood was designated a Nature Reserve in 1991 and is now home to a large variety of trees. Some are invasive species and have to be controlled to protect the local wild life. Join the Rangers and learn more. Walk starts at 2pm and will take approximately 2 hours.

Photo shows Members of Castle Bromwich & District Lions Club

Sunday saw members of local Lions Clubs enjoying the sunshine in Canon Hill Park whilst raising money to support the Hospice at Home Service by participating in a 5km sponsored pyjama parade. The event was a family occasion organised by Lions Clubs International - District 105M.

Hospice at home provides free care and support to individuals nearing the end of their lives in their own homes. Just as importantly, that support extends to the family and carers of the terminally ill at a time when they need it most.