All news by author: Rachel Smith

Henry Houghton, 19, smiled and waved at his family after learning of his sentence of life, with a minimum of 20 years, for his role in the killing of Matthew Daulby

Karla Wilson was attacked in a hotel by Lewis Greenwood, who she has branded a "monster" after he was sentenced to 21 months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court

Austen West, 40, punched Stuart Lee after he told a barmaid in Thornton-Cleveleys to "go f*** yourself" when she said she was only 17 in response to Lee asking for her phone number

Fed-up residents of Griffiths Drive in Southport, Merseyside have blocked off their own road after the firm arrived to erect nine-metre poles instead of putting the cables underground

Mitchell Newns, 32, had claimed to his ex that his mother had died - but his lies were discovered when his mum wrote to her, a trial at Preston Crown Court heard

Dylan Bragger was killed in Skelmersdale, Lancashire by Felipe Figueiredo who savagely knifed the 15-year-old to death on a bridge above a motorway before chasing his cousin

Brian Scott has been left 'haunted' by the treatment his mother Aileen received from two 'pure evil' nurses when she was admitted to a stroke unit in Blackpool Victoria Hospital

The Christmas tree that was put up in Morecambe, Lancashire, was described by residents as 'an embarrassment' and some decided to decorate it with their own baubles

Two men who stole a child's electric wheelchair and dumped it in a skip have been jailed for six months each after admitting the theft

John Cooper and his wife Susan were described as 'fit and healthy' before they suddenly suffered from severe diarrhoea and vomiting while enjoying a family break in 2018

Derek Marsh was punched in the face outside the Manchester Bar in Marmaris, Turkey, after a fight broke out 'over a credit card payment' as his family raise cash to get him home to Chorley

Animals were rescued from a grim house of horrors, which was laden with faeces and sharp-sided objects which RSPCA investigators and vet experts claimed could harm the cats and dogs

Rebecca Downes was forced to jump from a window to escape the ferocious blaze, but suffered multiple injuries in the fall. The 44-year-old's partner Patrick Ramsey, in his 50s, was also injured in the fire along with one of her daughters

Residents live in constant fear of burglaries in a town with the highest number of break-ins outside of major cities in the UK leading police to launch a special operation to tackle it

In the weeks before the tragedy, Marlene McCabe pleaded with medics to get help for her grandson Conor who had displayed 'bizarre and worrying behaviour' due to untreated schizophrenia

A neighbours' row over loud music being played for "several nights" deteriorated when a man allegedly drew a knife and another resident fired two shots, a court heard

Brett Grundy promised newlyweds Brian Hall and his wife Carolyn he would renovate their home and transform it into the dreamy property they had dreamed of - but he never did

Just a year after being brutally stabbed on the side of his torso at a flat in Blackpool on September 29, 2017, Jeremy Fitzsimmons passed away. Since he has been remembered as a man 'with a heart of gold'

Billee Hopkinson, who took on work when he knew his business was folding, pocketed money from a disability grant for a job near Leyland, Lancashire and failed to complete the task

Cowboy builder Brett Grundy left customers with unsafe homes after promising renovation work, with a surveyor deeming his work at zero

A pub landlord from Morecambe attacked his 70-year-old neighbour who had cancer, following a dispute over their dustbins

Aqib Nawaz, 25, sped off from officers when they signalled for him to stop in Blackburn, before losing control of the car and ended up spinning onto a grass verge

The Attorney General has confirmed Eleanor Williams, who falsely claimed she was raped and sex trafficked, will not have her sentence extended. Williams, 22, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years in March this year

Self-taught chef and Liverpool fan Benjamin Nessling is said to be a “Jekyll and Hyde character” with anger management issues after he followed a man into the train toilets and beat him unconscious

WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES: Three men who were falsely accused of rape by Eleanor Williams told the court the allegations caused them to attempt to take their own lives - she was jailed today