PICTURED: Balaclava-clad sledgehammer gang beats teenager in brutal home attack

Hammer gang beats girl, 16

COURAGEOUS teenager Shannon James shows the horrific injuries she received when raiders stormed her home and battered her with a crowbar and a sledgehammer.

The A-level student needed plastic surgery and 22 stitches when she underwent a two-hour operation on her appalling head wounds.
Shannon, her mum and stepdad Graham Childs, 47, had gone to bed before the balaclava-clad burglars dressed in black burst in to their home claiming to be cops.
The brave 16-year-old charged at one of the thugs after they attacked her mum Rebecca, 42 — but they hit her twice on the head.
When Shannon came to, she tried to call 999 on her blood-splattered mobile while Rebecca — who was also struck in the head and hand — fled to alert neighbours.
Shannon said: “All I remember is screaming, ‘I’m going to die.”
The thugs left empty-handed, but the family has offered a £12,000 reward to help catch them.
Shannon has nerve damage and needs sleeping pills after the attack at her home in Horsham, West Sussex, last August. She said: “I still get nightmares.”
Sussex Police are still hunting the thugs, and believe they may have used a green VW Polo. Rebecca said: “These people need to be caught — they are dangerous.”

Beastly spider crawls into nurse's onesie and leaves HUGE bite on her bottom

A NURSE has become the latest victim of a flesh eating false widow spider after it crawled into her onesie and bit her on the bottom.

Catherine Moretti, 44, was chomped on at home while watching telly with her son, and left with a gaping hole on her behind.

She was unable to sit down for days as the wound went black and she started suffering necrosis, which can lead to gangrene.

Catherine, from Southport, Merseyside, said: “I felt something bite me and it became really itchy, but at first I thought it was just psychological.

“By the next morning it had swollen, become really red and felt hot and very uncomfortable.”

She flew to Switzerland later in the week, where the bite became badly infected and she was given strong antibiotics.
The wound finally went down after the treatment and she is now on the road to recovery.
Catherine added: “I don’t want to scare people but I want them to be mindful that poisonous spiders do exist in this country.”
The false widow spider has been cited as Britain’s most venomous arachnid.
It has a brown bulbous abdomen with cream coloured markings that are often said to look like a skull.

Winter's last blast: EIGHT INCHES of snow to hit Britain tomorrow on last day of winter which has been wettest in 250 years

Much of Britain is enjoying a short but sweet taste of spring today before widespread snow strikes on the last day of winter tomorrow.
Up to eight inches of snow is expected to fall in flurries that could stretch across large parts of England and Wales. The Met Office has warned snowfall starting tonight could cause severe disruption on the roads and railways.
They have issued a yellow warning which means that 'severe weather is possible over the next few days' and there is a 'strong possibility' of snow.
It is yet another extreme twist in the weather after several days of warm spring sunshine, and came as experts revealed the past winter has been the wettest for 250 years.

Tomorrow - February 28 - officially marks the final day of the winter season for Met Office records. Yet it could be the day when many parts of the country see their first snow of winter.
The Met Office website states: 'A yellow warning means that there is a strong possibility of snow and that people need to be aware of potentially dangerous conditions.
'You should plan ahead thinking about possible travel delays or the disruption of your day to day activities.
'Yellow means keep an eye on the latest forecast and be aware that the weather may change or worsen, leading to disruption of your plans in the next few days.'

Although parts of England look set to be hit by snow - Scotland will escape the bleak wintry weather. Parts of the country that are at risk of snowfall include the Midlands, the South East, the South West and Wales.
Dan Williams, of the Met Office, said: 'Areas in the South East and West as well as the south west Midlands may see some slushy snow. Towards Bristol and Wales is also similar.
'We were expecting more but we've revised our predictions. The yellow warning is in place from 2am till 3pm on Friday.
'It's likely to be slushy snow, we doubt it'll settle. We're not expecting it to be too widespread but people should look at the warning on our website.
'We might also see some slushy showers but I have to say it isn't unusual for this time of year. Temperatures are cooler than they have been earlier this month but this isn't out of the ordinary.'
'We're looking at average daytime temperatures.'
The Met Office also forecast heavy rain as well as slushy snow on Friday, cloudy conditions on Saturday and sunny intervals on Sunday.
The almost constant torrent of rain that battered England and Wales in a series of violent Atlantic storms since Christmas has left flooding chaos in its wake, particularly on the Somerset Levels, in the Midlands and along the Thames Estuary.
And the weather misery is set to continue after forecasters issued a severe weather warning for snow for tomorrow.
The yellow warning, which means 'be prepared', was issued by the Met Office for the last day of winter.
Forecasters said areas on high ground across the Midlands and north of England as well as some parts of Wales, will be most affected.
A spokesman said: 'Rain will turn to snow for a time, mainly over the high ground during Friday morning. Over low ground it is unlikely that any snow will accumulate but many areas may see falling snow and slushy deposits for a time.
'The public are advised to be aware of the potential for some disruption to travel especially during Friday morning rush hour'.
The Met Office said that it has been the wettest winter since records began almost 250 years ago.
Around 6,500 properties have been flooded this winter causing many families' lives to be turned upside down and devastation to farmland.

New immigration BOMBSHELL as number of Romanians and Bulgarians in Britain TREBLE

BRITAIN was today hit with a new immigration bombshell as official figures showed the number of Romanians and Bulgarians arriving in the UK trebled in 2013. 

The Office for National Statistics said this morning that 24,000 citizens from the two countries arrived in the year to September 2013, nearly three times the 9,000 who arrived in the previous 12 months.
The ONS said this was “statistically significant” and that around 70 per cent came to work, while 30 per cent came to study.
Their figures also showed the Government was slipping behind its target for reducing overall net migration–the difference between migrants leaving and arriving in the UK.

David Cameron wants the net number reduced to the tens of thousands but the figure soared to 212,000 in the period from 154,000 the previous year.
Figures are not yet available for the numbers of Romanians and Bulgarians who have arrived in the UK since January 1 when labour market restrictions were lifted to comply with EU rules.
Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: "The immigration targets were nothing more than spin to appease in the short term the public who are concerned about uncontrolled immigration.

"But how can you have any targets when you can't control who comes to live, settle and work in this country? It's as sensible as hefting butterflies."
Despite the sharp rise, Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire said a dip in the number of migrants arriving from outside the EU showed the Government was getting to grips with the issue.

He said: "Our reforms have cut non-EU migration to its lowest level since 1998 and there are now 82,000 fewer people arriving annually from outside the EU than when this government came to power.

"And overall figures are also well down from when we first came to government in 2010 — with nearly 70,000 fewer migrants coming to the UK. Numbers are down across the board in areas where we can control immigration, but arrivals from the EU have doubled in the last year."

Mr Brokenshire admitted the limitations of the Government's ability to restrict immigration from the EU.

He said: "We cannot impose formal immigration controls on EU migrants, so we are focusing on cutting out the abuse of free movement between EU member states and seeking to address the factors that drive European immigration to Britain."

A Home Office spokesman said reducing net migration to the tens of thousands "remains the government’s objective".

Is this what all students think of Nick Clegg? Pupil gives Clegg middle finger salute

LIB Dem leader Nick Clegg clearly has a long way to go to win back the student vote, if this pupil's apparent verdict on the Deputy Prime Minister is anything to go by.

Mr Clegg was addressing more than 500 students at Southfields Academy in south west London this morning when the student seemed to give him a surreptitious middle-finger salute.

The Lib Dem leader famously abandoned his general election pledge to vote against any increase in university tuition fees when he entered into a coalition with the Tories in 2010, a move which was seen as  a betrayal by many students.

Today, he outlined new proposals to help young people into the workplace as he warned that for many teenagers, careers advice is still a "tick box exercise squeezed into a lunchtime break".

The measures include a Ucas-style system for vocational qualifications, tougher requirements on schools to offer decent careers guidance to pupils and access to Jobcentres from age 16.

Mr Clegg said: "For a lot of the young people I meet, careers guidance currently feels like a tick box exercise squeezed into lunchtime break with a busy teacher, who no doubt already has a lot on their plate.

"So, we are issuing new guidance for schools, in the next few weeks, that will set out just what good careers advice should look like. And not take-it-or-leave-it guidance. To make sure it's being followed, Ofsted will be looking more closely at the quality of careers advice and support available when they inspect schools."

One of the "most important" changes will be a new responsibility on schools to develop links with local employers, he added.

Mr Clegg announced plans to create a Ucas-style system for those young people who do not want to study for a degree.

"

At 16, when a lot of you are having to choose whether you go to college, do an apprenticeship or train for a particular trade or occupation, we think it's only right that you get the same guidance and support as those going to university."

Teenagers will be able to apply for their preferred course through the site, and local councils will be responsible for making sure it carries up to date information.

"Ultimately, I want to see this process become a rite of passage for every 16-year-old: helping you to make an active choice about your future and set out a clear plan for the road ahead," Mr Clegg said.

He also announced that in future, young people will be able to gain help at Jobcentres from age 16, with around 3,000 16 and 17-year-olds taking part in pilot projects.

Winter's final ferocious comeback: Britain is braced for EIGHT inches of snow this weekend

WINTER is about to make a final ferocious comeback with Britain braced for eight inches of snow by the weekend.

Much of the country faces wintry showers over hills and on low ground as temperatures plunge to -5C (23F) tonight (Thursday)

The Met Office last night issued its “first proper” snow warning of winter across the south with Wales, central and northern England all at risk.

It warned commuters to prepare for  travel disruption on Friday morning when the heaviest snowfall is expected..

Spokeswoman Laura Young said: “The worst of it is going to hit on Friday morning during drive time so it could have some impact.

“At the moment it is still uncertain of what will happen but because of the expected timing there could be some impact, hence the warning.

“There could be flurries of snow on low ground and depending on the path of this system, snow could fall in more southerly parts of the country.

“This is the first proper severe weather warning for snow we have issued for the south.”

BBC forecaster Carol Kirkwood said a “potent low pressure” system hurtling towards Britain will trigger the turnaround to the bitterly cold.

She said: “As we move from Thursday into Friday there is a bit of uncertainty in the forecast.

“It looks like there is going to be some wet and windy weather possibly with some snow across some southern areas.”

Leon Brown, forecaster for The Weather Channel, said parts of the country could see up to eight inches of snow fall over the next 48 hours.

He said: “A wetter period is coming up for southern Britain later this week and at the start of the weekend.

“Colder too with overnight frost and ice this weekend. There is also a snow risk over higher ground, even over the south.

“There is also a snow risk over the south with some model solutions giving 10 to 20cm [8ins] across South Wales to the Midlands on Saturday. 

“This may be at the extreme end of the range, but don’t be surprised to see some sleet and snow by Saturday.”

Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said Britain faces another “flirtation with winter” with a bitterly cold weekend ahead.

He said temperatures will sink below freezing in the south from Friday while the north with shiver in lows of -5C.

He said: “Thursday is looking grim with blustery winds and showers but after that there is another vigorous flirtation with winter on the way with things turning much colder.

“We could see a covering of snow quite widely across central and northern parts and Wales by Friday with temperatures sinking comfortably below freezing.

“There is also a risk of ice with wet ground freezing over, and maybe the chance of snow over high ground in the south west Devon and Cornwall.”

'It's not a big deal': One punch killer's mum DEFENDS her son's actions

THE mother of Lewis Gill, the man who killed an autistic man with a single punch, has unbelievably declared that his crime was "not a big deal".

Mum-of-three Sherron O'Hagan dismissed the seriousness of the incident, saying her son punching 40-year-old Andrew Young out of the blue was an "accident".
The 41-year-old told The Mirror: "It was just an accident.
"It's not a big deal.
"All of this will be forgotten about by tomorrow."
Mr Young was seen arguing with a cyclist in Bournemouth when Gill approached him and, out of nowhere, punched him in the face, killing him in one blow.
Gill was sentenced to four years in jail but the Attorney General is now reviewing that sentence after it was attacked for being too lenient.

Mr Young's mother Pamela dismissed the sentence as an "absolute joke".
She said in a statement: "When we first heard Gill was given four years we thought it was too short. It's ridiculous.
"Looking at his criminal record he is obviously a trouble maker – we hoped he would get seven or eight years."
The 71-year-old added: "I saw the CCTV footage in court and you can see that Andrew didn't cause Lewis Gill any harm.
"I was with him when he died.
"I wish that awful man who took my son away had pleaded not guilty so he would have got a longer sentence."
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling described the killing as a "repugnant crime".