News reports located on this page = 3.

Appeal after 88 year old woman dies following incident in Maghull

MERSEYSIDE  Police have launched an investigation after an elderly woman fell and died following an arson attack on a car at an adjoining property, in Maghull, at 1am, on Monday, 5 August 2019. Emergency services had received to say a black Land Rover Discovery car had been set on fire, on Highgate Road, by 2 men, who used fireworks to ignite the vehicle. It is believed the offenders then returned to a car parked in nearby Oakhill Road and made off from the area.

Soon after, both  Police along with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service attended. As this was happening, the neighbouring property was affected by the smoke, and due to fears, the fire could spread the 2 elderly occupants were advised to evacuate their home as a precaution while the fire was extinguished. During the incident 1 of the residents evacuated, a woman in her 80's, fell and sustained a head injury. She was taken to Hospital for treatment, but sadly died.

We have been informed by Merseyside  Police that 2 women have since been arrested in connection with the arson attack.  A 21 year old female, from Kirkby, and a 22 year old, female, from Huyton, have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life and released on conditional bail.

Detective Chief Inspector Gayle Rooney said:- "The actions of the people who set this car on fire are completely reckless, with no regard for the safety of people living nearby. The couple next door should have been tucked up in bed, but instead as a result of the actions of the offenders, emergency services were left with no option, but to wake them in the early hours of the morning to get them to safety. Sadly, the 86 year old lady died several hours after the incident and her family are now having to come to terms with her sudden loss. We believe this was a targeted attack and I would appeal to anybody who has any information about those involved in this despicable incident to contact Merseyside  Police as soon as possible so we can bring those responsible to justice."

We have not been informed as of yet to the elderly occupant's name, but we are told that her next of kin are receiving support from Specialist Officers.

An investigation into the arson and the circumstances of the woman's fall is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Merseyside  Police via calling:- 101, quoting:- 'Incident Reference 51, 5 August 2019' or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on:- 0800 555 111 or via their online form.

Mental health of more than 68,000 children in Cheshire and Merseyside in danger of being sidelined under NHS changes

68,632 children in Cheshire and Merseyside who have been abused or neglected could be sidelined by Mental Health Services as a result of changes being introduced by the NHS, NSPCC research suggests.

The charity is now calling on NHS England to set out how it will prioritise the needs of vulnerable children and for more transparency over how Mental Health Services commissioning decisions are made.

The NSPCC analysed the latest annual mental health plans published by NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The plans set out how they will care for children's mental health, and the NSPCC found that 82% were not properly planning for the needs of vulnerable children.

In Cheshire and Merseyside this means that an estimated 68,632 children who have been abused or neglected are living in an area with inadequate plans for their mental health needs, or with no plans for their care at all.

While some progress has been made since 2015/16, the NSPCC is warning that this could be undermined and the NHS could lose sight of the mental health needs of vulnerable children, as responsibility for commissioning decisions moves from individual CCGs to new regional NHS partnerships that cover much larger geographical areas.

In the charity's analysis, each plan produced by CCGs across England was given a 'traffic light' rating for its understanding of the needs of vulnerable children. For 2018/19, 74% were rated amber, 2% were rated red, and 6% did not publish an updated plan. 18% of plans were rated green, up from 14% in 2015/16, and the proportion of plans rated red has dropped from 37% to 2% in the same time period.

Existing evidence shows that children who have been abused or neglected are more likely to develop mental health problems such as:- depression, anxiety, eating disorders or PTSD.

NSPCC Head of Policy Almudena Lara said:- "Children who have lived through the trauma of abuse and neglect need all the support we can give them to help them recover. We know there are fantastic Mental Health Services supporting lots of these children up and down the country. But it's not enough, and a system that's already struggling to properly plan for their mental health needs will render them all, but invisible if action isn't taken now by NHS England. Millions more children could be affected unless the NHS ensures that vulnerable young people are explicitly recognised in the new commissioning arrangements."

In short... The charity feels that a commitment from NHS England to put the needs of vulnerable children at the heart of its implementation of the NHS:- 'Long Term Plan.'
Also that  they feel NHS England should have greater accountability and oversight, with more transparency from commissioners on how Mental Health Services for children are funded and planned.

Click play below to hear a audio statement  from Isobel Roberts from the NSPCC on this issue.

Please note CCG's marked green are not included in within above listings.

5 people interviewed as part of investigation into LFC ticket fraud conspiracy

3 men and 2 women have been interviewed after 8 warrants were executed by officers investigating a conspiracy to fraudulently purchase and sell tickets to hundreds of fans for Liverpool FC home games.  Officers from Merseyside  Police executed search warrants at houses across Merseyside, on Thursday, 8 August 2019. The  Police activity, which has the full support and co-operation of Liverpool FC, follows months of investigations which began in March 2018 into the fraudulent purchase and resale of tickets. Those detained were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud by abuse of position. Items believed to have been used in the fraud, including Liverpool fancards, were seized during the raids as well as a quantity of cash. This follows earlier arrests of 3 men and 1 woman during the 1st Phase of the investigation. All 9 have since been interviewed and released under investigation.  Detective Inspector Matt Kerr said:- "The victims of this fraud have been forced to pay well over the odds for tickets from third party ticketing websites, when they should have been able to purchase the tickets at face value direct from the club. Offences such as these leave a lasting, negative impression of our City on the victims and the  Police are committed to working with the club to target the criminals behind such scams and bring them to justice so that there is a level playing field for the purchase of tickets in future."