This is the Birkenhead News round-up of police and crime news in and around Wirral during the previous seven days. Birkenhead News has started a new Facebook group for Birkenhead.…
AN URGENT hunt for two teenage girls who have gone missing from Leeds has been launched by cops.
Charlotte Hewitt, aged 14, and Daisy Bo Collins, aged 13, were both reported missing yesterday morning with concerns for their welfare.
Cops are continuing to carry out extensive enquiries to find them and believe they may have travelled out of the West Yorkshire area.
Charlotte is described as 5ft 2ins tall, slim build, with brown wavy shoulder length hair.
Daisy is described as 5ft 3ins tall, medium build, with long light brown hair and dark blue eyes.
Anyone who has seen the girls, either together or separately, or who has any information that could help to locate them is asked to contact Leeds District CID via 101 quoting log 213 of October 18 or online via www.westyorkshire.police.uk/livechat.
A SIMPLE tool could help to reveal if state pension households are being underpaid – and it’s totally free and takes just a few minutes.
A series of government blunders mean that hundreds of thousands of people have been paid less state pension than they should have.
The mistakes disproportionately impact women, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only group affected.
Depending on why your pension was underpaid, you might get the backdated payments automatically, or you might have to apply.
It’s possible that you fall into more than one category, as there is some overlap, so you may need to follow a couple of different processes to get what you’re owed.
We’ve put together a full list of reasons you could be owed backdated state pension payments worth £10,000s.
LCP has developed an online tool to help people understand what state pension they are entitled to inherit on top of their own state pension here.
A tool previously launched by the company to help married women check for underpayments had over one million visits.
You will need to be prepared to answer some questions about your age and marital status, as well as how much money you currently receive in state pension.
If you’re using the married woman’s calculator, you will also need to have information about your husband’s pension to hand.
If it turns out that your state pension is being underpaid because of an error, it’s worth contacting either the DWP or the Pensions Service.
Steve Webb, partner at LCP and former Pensions Minister, said: “The department needs to launch an urgent investigation into the scale of this problem.”
The DWP also has a tool to help those receiving the new state pension assess their eligibility for inherited state pension amounts on the government website.
There is also a guide on inheriting or increasing a state pension on the gov’s site.
To qualify for the new state pension, you need to have paid enough National Insurance (NI) contributions or credits.
You need at least ten years on your record to get any payments at all. To get the full amount, you usually need 35 years’ worth of contributions.
If you have gaps on your record, you can choose to buy the missing years to boost your state pension payments.
To find out whether you’re on track to get the full state pension, you can check your forecast on gov.uk.
You’ll need to sign in through the government gateway. If you’ve already got an account, use those details, otherwise you might need to set one up.
Everyone reaching retirement age now can only qualify for the new state pension, which follows the rules outlined above.
But if you are either a man who was born before 6 April 1951 or a woman who was born before 6 April 1953, you’ll get something called the basic state pension, and you might also get additional state pension.
You can read more about the basic state pension on the government’s website.
STEVE Webb, partner at LCP and former Pensions Minister, explains what state pension errors are and how they can occur:
The way state pensions are worked out is so complicated that many thousands of people have been paid the wrong amount for years without even realising it.
The amount of retirement pension you get usually depends on your National Insurance (NI) record.
One big source of errors has been cases where NI records have been incorrect, particularly for years spent at home with children.
This is a system known as ‘Home Responsibilities Protection’.
Alternatively, particularly for older pensioners, the amount you get can depend on the NI contributions made by your spouse.
Errors have arisen where the Government has failed to adjust the pensions of married women when their husbands retired or failed to increase pensions when someone was bereaved and lost a husband or wife.
Although the Government has spent years trying to fix these problems, there are still many thousands of people – many of them older women – on the wrong pension.
If you have always thought that your pension seems low, then it is worth contacting the Pensions Service to ask them to check, especially if you spent time at home raising children or if you were widowed and your pension didn’t change when your spouse died.
SIR Alex Ferguson was all smiles as he snubbed Man Utd’s clash with Brentford in favour of a trip down memory lane.
The legendary Red Devils boss was removed from his post as a club ambassador earlier this week.
Fergie loses out on his £2.16m-per-year paycheque following his surprise axe.
The 82-year-old was spotted on Saturday taking in Celtic‘s Scottish Premiership clash with Aberdeen at Celtic Park.
Ferguson grew up in Glasgow and famously managed Aberdeen between 1978 and 1986.
The ex-United boss was spotted beaming in the stands in the build-up to the game.
His axing from his ambassadorial role is said to have been accepted amicably during a meeting with fellow execs.
Ferguson is understood to be maintaining his position as a non-executive member of the board.
He is also said to be welcome at any United games going forward, as has been the case since his departure as manager in 2013.
Current United boss Erik ten Hag is fighting for his job following a dismal start to the season.
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Sir Alex has been seen regularly in the stands at the Theatre of Dreams this campaign.
Asked about Ferguson leaving his ambassador role, Ten Hag said: “Of course, it has an impact on us.
“Sir Alex is Manchester United, he built Manchester United to where the club is now, it impacts us.
“[He] wants to see a winning Manchester United.
“I’m sure he’s always available for every advice, we will need him as we did in the last two and a half years.”
Going into Saturday’s showdown with Brentford, Man Utd have won just two of seven league games this season.
The Dutchman continued: “We have a mountain to climb.
“But that is top football and sometimes you have to face challenges — sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down.
“I am sure we will make it a success as we did the last two seasons.
“We are in a direction, underneath I see good things.”
HUGE controversy erupted as Brentford stole in front at Manchester United.
United’s bloodied defender Matthijs de Ligt was forced to leave the pitch by the referee as he prepared to defend a corner – from which Ethan Pinnock headed the Bees in front.
The Red Devils were furious – with Old Trafford boss Erik ten Hag shown the yellow card for his protests.
De Ligt had first gone off for medical attention to a head cut on the brink of first-half stoppage time.
And the Dutchman still appeared to be bleeding when he returned.
Four minutes later he was told to leave the pitch for more attention.
And a major row blew up when Brentford scored while the Dutchman was on the sidelines.
A WINNING Postcode Lottery player didn’t even know he had entered the competition before a £200,000 cheque knocked at his door.
Alison and Tim Browne, from Breaston, Derbyshire, were gobsmacked when they discovered the lucrative jackpot.
The couple were one of three households who scooped the windfall in the Postcode Lottery Millionaire Street draw today.
But, Tim admitted he wasn’t even aware wife Alison have even entered the competition.
He said: “I can’t believe it. I’m just glad she didn’t phone to tell me the amount when I was driving!
“I didn’t even know she was doing People’s Postcode Lottery, to be honest.”
An overjoyed Alison added: “It’s a fantastic feeling and I can’t stop smiling. But we’re going to have a big, big party on the street.
“It’s wonderful. We’ve known George and Paul for over 30 years and we get on really, really well.
“It’s a lovely street, lovely neighbours, and a lovely place to live.
“I don’t know what to think. This is life-changing, it really is.”
The pair are plan to splurge the cash on a lavish holiday to celebrate their 40th anniversary.
And, they will finally be able to tick riding on the iconic Orient Express off their bucket-list.
Tim said: “It means everything. We always wanted to do the train trip across the Rockies in Canada and also the Orient Express.
“There’s lots of trips that we’ve never done and have never been able to do. And now we’ll be able to do them and that’s fantastic.”
Alison, a freelance school music exam coordinator, said: “We’ve been married 43 years now, but our 40-year anniversary fell during lockdown so we weren’t able to celebrate properly. Now we can do that.”
The mum-of-two said their jackpot has seen her drop half a stone within a week due to lack of sleep.
“But it’s good! You have dreams that you have won lots of money, but then you wake up and think, ‘Damn, it’s a dream’,” she added.
“This is how I felt every night this week when I managed to get to sleep at 3am. Then I woke up and thought, ‘No, it’s not a dream!’
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would win this much.”
The couple share a son Matthew, who is autistic, and hailed the win for “the security this will bring him”.
Meanwhile, older son James, joked: “I’ll be happy with a pint in Spoons. It’s £6 a pint!”
Tim revealed he also dreams of welcoming a new puppy into the family to keep Pointer Finlay company.
The musician told how a new Gore-Tex waterproof jacket wouldn’t go a miss either.
Alison laughed: “If we get another dog we’ll need a house with a bigger garden.
“My son and daughter-in-law don’t want us to get another dog because they have to look after them if we go away.
“We’re all going away to Wales on holiday together next week so we can celebrate there.”
For just £12 a month, players can sign up through the official website to have a chance of winning millions of pounds.
Once signed up, players are automatically entered into every draw and prizes are announced every day of each month.
Tickets play for the Daily Prize, worth £1000 and revealed every single day.
Tickets could also win a jackpot of £30,000 for Saturday and Sunday’s Street Prize draws.
People’s Postcode Lottery also offers a £3million Postcode Millions draw each month – where your ticket plays for a share of the cash prize fund.
Winners are notified by email, text, post, or phone call, depending on the prize they win.
Jackpot winners are visited by the lottery team in person.
It comes as another lucky player who scooped a life-changing Postcode Lottery prize refused to believe she had won – until a key sign revealed it was fate.
Meanwhile, another punter doubled their £200,000 Postcode Lottery win by using a clever trick – make sure you don’t miss out.
Jo Deighton from Shoreham, West Sussex, was gobsmacked when she scooped nearly an eye-watering quarter of a million pounds.
Elsewhere, one Brit who bagged a £410,000 jackpot told how no one believed her – not even her husband.
Leyla Eaton’s jaw dropped after discovering she’d scooped the eye-watering prize.
The mum-of-two entered when she was struck by a “strong feeling” a huge windfall was coming her way.
Britain’s Got Talent began filming again after the auditions had been previously cancelled.
The ITV series took a break following the tragic news of Liam Payne’s death aged 31.
The judging panel has returned to their jobs, but without Simon Cowell, who has stepped away to grieve.
Bruno Tonioli has stepped in to cover, who was pictured arriving at the Blackpool Winter Gardens. He appeared sombre but waved to fans and photographers.
Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon, and guest judge KSI, who was hired as a temporary replacement for Tonioli, will also continue with the programme.
Cowell, 65, was a mentor for Payne on The X Factor in 2010. Alongside his One Direction bandmates Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles, they finished in third position.
The boyband was then signed by Cowell’s label, Syco Entertainment.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Payne had died after falling off a balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The following day, Britain’s Got Talent auditions were cancelled. In a statement, Applause Store, who organised the tickets for filming, announced: ‘Due to the tragic passing of Liam Payne, BGT has decided to postpone today’s auditions in Blackpool. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.’ The series began filming earlier this week.
Cowell and Payne first met in 2008, when Payne auditioned as a solo artist aged 14.
He progressed to the judges’ house stage, but Cowell didn’t take him through to live shows. Instead, Cowell advised he take two years away and then return.
Payne followed that advice and was placed into a group alongside the four other solo artists. They went on to become one of the most successful boy bands in history, with hits including What Makes You Beautiful, Night Changes, and Steal My Girl.
The group went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, as the singers all embarked on successful solo careers.
Cowell recently shared a tribute for Payne on Instagram, in which he admitted to ‘feeling’ empty while processing the devastating news.
‘You never really know how you feel about someone until a moment like this happens,’ he wrote.
‘Liam, I am devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.
‘This is so difficult to put into words right now. I went outside today, and I thought about so many times we had together. I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me. What is Liam like?
‘And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused. And how much you loved music. And how much love you genuinely had for the fans.
‘I had to tell you when you were 14 that this wasn’t your time. And we both made a promise that we would meet again. A lot of people would have given up. You didn’t. You came back and within months the whole world knew Liam. And you never forgot the fans. I watched you spending so much time with people who had wanted to meet you. You really cared.
‘You came to see me last year. Not for a meeting. Just to sit and talk. And we reminisced about all of the fun times we had together. And how proud you were to be a Dad. After you left, I was reminded that you were still the sweet, kind boy I had met all of those years ago. I have met your son, Bear. He has your smile and that twinkle in his eye that you have.
‘And he will be so proud of everything you achieved. And how you achieved it.
‘I always thought of the 5 of you in the band as brothers. And regarding their messages today I believe you were.
‘And now Liam, I can see the effect you had on so many people. Because you left us too soon.
‘Rest in peace, my friend. And I am sending my love, thoughts and prayers to your family.’
He concluded: ‘Liam, I am devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty.’
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