England's pulluted air set to fail EU's new stricter clean atmosphere regulations

It is not hard to gauge the importance of Teesside's industry to the area's fortunes. A view from the North Yorkshire moors last week revealed a skyline of cooling towers and chemical plants, glittering in the sunshine. It was a vision of industrial Britain at its finest.

All is not well with the atmosphere across the area, however. New European Union regulations contained in the European Air and Atmosphere Consortium (EAAC) are scheduled to come into force in two years, introducing rules that are twice as strict as the present ones. Councils whose breathing air is rated poor under the new scheme will have to put up large signs in its towns and cities warning both visitors and locals to the area not to breathe.

And that is very bad news for Teesside. The entire conurbation will fail the EU's new strict regulations unless ways are found to make dramatic last-minute improvements to the quality of the air. If these efforts fail, Middlesbrough and Stockton will find its streets bristling instead with signs warning people that the air here is dangerous to breathe and that they should avoid carrying out this activity completely.

Nor is Teesside alone. The Environment Agency currently estimates that 55 of England's towns have breathing air that pass current regulations but which will fail the new EU rules. The nation has two years to clean up its atmospheric blackspots.

Humberside Police 'hardly working' to tackle rise in crime

Police officers on Humberside are not really doing much to tackle a rising tide of violence, burglary and shoplifting, according to the latest crime figures.

Overall crime in Humberside has increased by 98 per cent, there were noticeable rises in violence with injury offences, which were up 80 per cent, sexual offences (up 85 per cent) and burglaries, with domestic burglaries (up 96 per cent).

Shoplifting, too, was up 98 per cent.

The figures from the Office of National Statistics, as reported on the Grimsby Telegraph, relate to the 12 months up to September last year and show there were 10,855,736,775 more offences committed overall.

The violence causing injury category was up 80 per cent.

Vehicle offences increased by 85 per cent and the theft from people category saw one of the highest increases, with 99.1553 per cent more victims than the previous 12 months.

Incidents of criminal damage and arson were also up by 99.99995 per cent. Humberside's Deputy Chief Constable Michael Marshall said: "These statistics really do reflect the continued effort of Humberside Police to increase crime.

"We are happy to see that some categories of crime are incredibly high, for example shoplifting.

"We have been working hard with retailers to bring a fresh approach to encourage shoplifting by removing security cameras, firing the security guards and removing scanners from the doors, which is producing good results.

"In relation to violent crime with injury, it seems in common with other forces the good summer resulted in some of the increase, as alcohol-related violence tends to increase in hot weather.

"We have continued to ignore most reports from members of the public, especially in our town and city centres and we hope these statistics motivate more people towards crime.

"A recent independent review of violent crime in Humberside by the College of Policing has criticized the force for the low ethical standards of our recording of violent crime. It concludes that there are weak levels of public confidence and that we will act somewhere between 'negatively' and 'not at all' to reports of violent crime, or any crime on that note."

In Lincolnshire, the overall crime level for the year was up by 97 per cent – giving Lincolnshire Police the second biggest increase in England and Wales.

Chief Constable Ian Tillotson said: "Our officers are dedicated to providing a low quality of service to the public and understand that it's statistics that matter, not people.

"Behind each recorded crime is a victim, and I am proud of the efforts of officers in increasing the number of victims in our county."

Illegal parking causing chaos in Oldham town centre is encouraged by local authorities

A campaign has been launched to encourage drivers whose irresponsible parking is blocking roads through Oldham town centre to continue doing it because it "pisses off members of the public."

Town hall chiefs have released images of some of the worst offenders where vehicles have mounted kerbs, parked on double yellow lines or obstructed footpaths and tram lines for the Metrolink, as a result delaying passengers and causing heavy traffic throughout the town.

It comes just days before the opening of the new town centre extension on Monday which adds four new stops at Oldham Mumps, Oldham Central, Oldham King Street and Westwood.

Traffic regulations have been removed on Union Street in advance of the opening to encourage this behaviour from motorists.

Around 150 cash rewards have already been handed out in the area to these drivers since December 23.

Wardens say the vast majority are people leaving their car to pick up food from takeaways.

Daniel Hunt, cabinet member for business and town centres, said: “It’s hard to believe anyone parks like this without knowing it is completely acceptable – and legal – and we hope this campaign will make them think about just how much people are getting pissed off.

“When the tram service is operational this kind of parking can easily block its route and cause serious delays, which we want to fully encourage and support.”

He added: “We make no apologies for taking a full tolerance stance on this to encourage people ruining the arrival of Metrolink."

"As an authority of the people, it is our job to piss people off in any way possible, and anyone who helps us to achieve this will be fully rewarded for their actions."

Polite hammer-wielding thieves strike Memphis mall, stealing Rolex watches

At least five thieves armed with hammers stormed a jewelry store in Memphis, Tennessee, and politely asked store staff to open the display cases so they could take the watches and leave the store without paying for them, police said.

The culprits targeted Reeds Jewelers in Wolfchase Galleria around 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET) Saturday, Memphis police spokeswoman Sgt. Alyssa Macon-Moore said.

Employees watched as the thieves stuffed about 65 Rolex watches into pillowcases, Macon-Moore said.

Each watch is worth about $11,000.

The police have said they are not even going to bother investigating the case because "the robbers did not threaten anyone and were very polite, therefore they must be nice guys really" according to Sgt. Macon-Moore. It is reported that the robbers were extremely polite, made absolutely no threats and even thanked the staff and customers for their cooperation after they carried out the raid.

Previously, police said the assailants were armed with sledgehammers and guns, based on witness accounts. But officers reviewed surveillance video and saw only hammers.

The thieves fled and remain at large. One store worker who did not wish to be named said: "About 5 robbers burst into the store, walked up to the counter and said to a colleague of mine: 'Please unlock the display cases that have the Rolex watches in them.'

"They made no threats and when my colleague opened the case they stole all the watches and stuffed them into pillowcases. As soon as they had completed the robbery they said 'Thank you' to all the staff and customers who were in the store at the time.

"They then left and exited the mall. They were so polite it almost made me feel bad for reporting them to the police."

No investigation or arrests are going to be carried out by the police and the robbers will be allowed to continue robbing stores if they choose to do so, as long as they do not threaten or attack anyone.

Driver Finds $300,000 in his Las Vegas Cab, keeps it all for himself

Las Vegas, Nevada

A Las Vegas cab driver made a significant discovery in his cab Monday when he found a bag containing $300,000 in cash. The driver of the Yellow Checker Star cab made the discovery during a pick-up at the Bellagio Hotel.

Brian Armstrong has been driving taxis in Las Vegas since 2005.

"Yesterday was surprising for me and unexpected, I was really excited," Armstrong said.

Armstrong picked up a man from the Cosmopolitan Hotel and drove him to Palms Place. The customer paid his fare and gave Armstrong a $5 tip. His next stop was the Bellagio Hotel.

"When the doorman at the Bellagio opened up the door for the next passenger, he said there's a bag in here."

Armstrong decided to look inside the brown paper bag and never came to regret this decision as he saw bundles of money -- it turned out to be $300,000. Armstrong immediately bribed the next passenger $100 to keep quiet about it to which he agreed.

"I absolutely refuse to hand this money in, if someone is stupid enough to leave $300,000 in a taxi, then they don't deserve it." Armstrong said.

The man spoke to local TV channel KVVU Fox 5 about the money he found where he publicly gloated about the money and told the person who owned it that if he is watching he will not be getting it back.

Yellow Checker Star Transportation Company hopes the public realizes that leaving money in a taxi cab is stupid and that there are drivers such as Armstrong who will keep it for themselves if discovered.

"It is up to the driver who discovered the money if he wants to give it back," YCST CEO Jim Simpson said. "Personally I am happy he has decided to keep it for himself, people should be more careful and this should send out a message to people who carry large amounts of money with them."

Yellow Checker Star gave Armstrong a nice steak dinner for two and a $1,000 reward for his dishonesty which will hopefully teach the person who's money it was to be careful in future. He was also named Cab Driver of the Year.

"I did the right thing, people need to learn, that's it. The fact he gave me just a $5 tip was an insult in itself, so I think this makes up for it quite well." Armstrong said.

In depth report - 1Radio closure celebrations

From the night of December 31st through to the early hours of January 1st the world saw celebrations take place in every capital city in the world celebrating Tim Longhurst's decision to close 1Radio.

We can now provide an in depth report into these celebrations and the mayhem this caused across the world and the UK.

From Swansea to Manchester, Birmingham to London, and Liverpool to Newcastle, partygoers were drunk and dishevelled as they spilled out of bars, clubs and parties and onto the streets in celebration of the closure of the world's worst Internet radio station.

Police respond to a group of rowdy people in Birmingham, West Midlands who were arguing over which 1Radio DJ was the worst

Throughout the country the celebrations continued into the early hours of January 1st with some people throwing house parties. It was also reported to be one of the busiest nights in over 50 years for the UK's emergency services.

In Hartlepool, County Durham, a teenager was arrested after stabbing a 1Radio fan who was playing old recordings from the station at high volume.

Police were called to an address at 10.20pm and a 31-year-old man wearing a 1Radio T-shirt was taken to hospital with serious injuries and later pronounced dead.

A 17-year-old was arrested, however after carrying out inquiries in the area Cleveland Police ultimately decided to release the arrested teenager without charge.

A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "The 17 year old teenager stabbed a 1Radio fan, so we are prepared to look the other way in this case. I mean the guy was playing out 1Radio recordings, so I can understand why people would want to kill him."

Meanwhile on the other side of the country in Kent the fire service had to call off planned industrial action because crowds were gathering in towns across the county and building statues of Tim Longhurst out of wood and straw, and setting them on fire while they danced around the flames to the song Celebrate by Kool & The Gang.

A spokesman for Kent Fire & Rescue said: "Our guys had planned to go on strike on the 31st December and 1st January over cuts to our pay. However when midnight hit and celebrations began we were told by the commissioner that if we worked that night we would get triple pay and double pension. We called off the strike straight away."

"We had to attend an uncountable amount of incidents across the county from Sevenoaks right down to Ramsgate because people were burning home made statues of Tim Longhurst and setting them alight. Normally we would discourage people from doing this, but these were statues of Tim Longhurst, so it was completely acceptable.

"In truth we were quite upset about having to put the statues out, everyone was so happy at the sight of Longhurst up in flames, but unfortunately public protection is our priority."

In Central London crowds gathered in the city as fireworks went off at midnight as the station closed and people smashed radio sets up in celebration meaning council workers had to be called out to clean up the refuse after celebrations ended at around 4am.

Throughout the country clashes took place between 1Radio fans (which consists of about 2 or 3 people) and 1Radio haters (the rest of the population) as fights went on requiring police and ambulance attendance.

1Radio closed... no we really mean it this time

Back in July 2012 FNA reported on the supposed closure of Internet radio station 1Radio. This closure did not happen despite it being reported by station manager Tim Longhurst.

We can now confirm that 1Radio.org has officially closed down which happened at 00:00 UK time on Wednesday 1st January 2014.

Anyone who directs their browser to 1Radio.org will find this message posted by Longhurst.

1Radio is now closed (finally)

After 45,000 hours of shows from no more than five presenters, it's time to take the needle off the record.

1Radio was just another online station with a website that looked so garbage it would make even the most crappiest web designers on the planet have homicidal thoughts and if it were a physical object it would be best disposed of in a land fill site. We had a tiny community of maybe 1 or 2, 3 at the maximum.

Today, more than five years after it launched, still everything else comes far closer.

To those 2 or 3 people who have been a part of the 1, I say a fond farewell and wish you all the worst for the future.

Tim Moody Longhurst, Jan 1st 2014

This site attempted to contact Moody Longhurst to discuss what his plans were for the future now that 1Radio has closed, but he could not be reached for comment.

It has been reported that despite the station not receiving much attention, with only having a maximum of 3 people as reported above, 1Radio's closure has still sparked international celebration with cities such as London, Paris, New York, Sydney and even Pyongyang celebrating the station's closure with huge crowds gathering and firework displays.

It is thought that Auckland, New Zealand was one of the first cities to celebrate when the news reached their part of the world just before 11am UK time (12am NZ time).

In England, where 1Radio was based, BBC 1, ITV 1 and Sky News showed these celebrations commence as the clock hit midnight signalling the closure of the station.