Spider girls

By DAVID LOWE

Published: Today

CONJOINED twins Ganga and Jamuna Mondal support their family with a bizarre circus act - billed as The Spider Sisters.

 

The 39-year-old pair, who have two heads, three legs and four arms, are among the rarest types of twins in the world.

And curious spectators flock to see them crawl insect-like across the stage in their native India for five hours a night - in return for just £26 in wages.

The cash is enough to feed their extended family of 22 for a fortnight.

Jamuna says: "People are drawn to us. They think we are strange."

Money-spinners ... sisters perform in circus act

Discovery Networks Picture Publicity

When the twins were born in West Bengal, two shocked midwives fainted.

Doctors found the girls were joined at the pelvis, but each has a normal upper body and one functioning leg.

Their other two legs are fused into a single limb with nine toes.Ganga says: "We don't go out much as we get nervous."

Another of the sisters' fears is being separated - after doctors warned it could be fatal.

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But US conjoined twins expert Dr James Stein said they COULD survive after testing them in TV documentary Human Spider Sisters - on Discovery at 9pm tomorrow.

Yet the sisters opted to stay together. Cuddling her sister, Ganga says: "The way God made us is the way we will live."

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Convicted Woman Says W. Va. Woman was Tortured

 

Friday, October 23, 2009

CHARLESTON, W.Va. —  A woman imprisoned for her role in the 2007 kidnapping and torture of a black woman by seven white men and women said Friday the victim wasn't telling the truth when she denied this week that the attack occurred.

Frankie Brewster told WCHS-TV in Charleston that multiple crimes were committed against Megan Williams during the attack in West Virginia's rural Logan County, about 50 miles south of Charleston.

An attorney representing Williams said Wednesday that she is now recanting statements incriminating Brewster, her son Bobby and five others. All seven pleaded guilty and six are serving lengthy prison terms.

Brian Abraham, the Logan County prosecutor in 2007, also has dismissed Williams' new story, saying the convictions were based on the defendants' own statements and physical evidence rather than what Williams said.

Williams originally said her captors, including boyfriend Bobby Brewster, beat her, raped her, forced her to drink urine and eat feces, poured hot wax on her and taunted her with racial slurs in a trailer in Logan County. Williams was rescued after a passer-by heard cries from the shed where she was kept and an anonymous caller tipped off sheriff's deputies.

Brewster is rejecting Williams' new version of events.

"It did happen," Brewster said during the interview at the Lakin Correctional Center, where she is serving 10 to 25 years. "All of us participated."

Brewster denied that race or Williams' relationship with her son started the series of crimes. Rather, she blamed a co-defendant who accused Williams of stealing.

While Brewster would not detail her own actions, she acknowledged having improper contact with Williams. Brewster pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault in the case.

Brewster also said that race wasn't a factor and she said some of the crimes did not occur at her trailer home.

"I just want the truth out and for people take responsibility for what they did," Brewster said.

The Associated Press has asked, through prison officials and lawyers, to speak with all six prisoners. So far, only Bobby Brewster has said, through prison officials, that he will not give interviews

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Pictured: The world's smallest working train set... it's the size of a fingernail

 

By Mail Foreign Service

Last updated at 3:29 PM on 23rd October 2009

Measuring a tiny eighth of an inch by quarter of an inch, this carefully crafted piece of engineering is the world's smallest working train model.

The five-carriage train, which is 35,200 times smaller than a real train, nips around an oval route even taking in a ride through a tunnel on its three-quarter inch track.

Created by New Jersey train enthusiast David Smith, the miniscule model was built using nothing more fancy than a craft knife and a steady hand.

 

Miniscule: The five-carriage train is 35,200 times smaller than a real train

 

Tiny: The moving model even goes through a tunnel on its three-quarter inch track

Part of 55-year-old David's larger model train set at his home in Tom's River, the tiny locomotive was completed two months ago.

'This model train set is going to be part of the larger train set I have at home,' says David.

'I am creating a fictitious village called James River Branch and this model train is going to be placed inside the model shop I am building as part of the re-creation.

'It is going to be a model train village inside a model, so it is very post-modern.' 

 

Pocket power: The motor powering the model can be bought in any hobby store in America

 

New Jersey model train enthusiast David Smith is the man behind the tiny treasure

Powered by a standard two-inch-long rotating motor head and carved out of moldable plastic, the model train cost David just over £6 to make.

'The motor can be bought from K-Mart or any hobby store in America,' says David.

'There is a slight optical illusion with this train model though.

'There are no tracks and the train and carriages are carved out of plastic stuck atop the motor.

'This gives the impression of a train following the oval track.

'But, still, it is impressively small.' 

With James River Branch still under construction, David has yet to install the tiny model train inside the model shop in his model village.

'To get a sense of scale you have to remember that the River Branch project is being built to the scale of 1-220,' says David.

'It has taken up two-and-a half-years of my life and is going to be very impressive once it is finished.'

 

Cheap trick: The model, including the pictured motor, cost Smith just over £6 to make

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Body of Missing Missouri Girl, 9, Found in Woods

 

Friday, October 23, 2009

ST. MARTINS, Mo. —  The body of a missing 9-year-old Missouri girl was found in a wooded area near the state capital on Friday, two days after she was last seen walking from a neighbor's home, police said.

Cole County Sheriff Greg White said a juvenile, described only as a "person of interest," was taken into custody. The juvenile was acquainted with the girl, Elizabeth Olten, White said.

The sheriff not give any details on how Elizabeth died or about the juvenile in custody except to say that the person lived in the area west of Jefferson City and was older than the girl. Police said Elizabeth's body was found just before 3 p.m.

"We were able to obtain some physical evidence and through some analysis of some of the evidence and in all honesty some written evidence, we were able to develop a person of interest," White said. "Once we reached that person and interviewed them, ultimately they led us to where we've recovered Elizabeth's body."

Elizabeth was last seen when she started walking home from a neighbor's house on Wednesday evening. A woman who answered a family spokeswoman's phone Friday said Elizabeth's family had no immediate comment.

White said had spoken with Elizabeth's mother and said the family is "deeply grieving."

"I'm a parent, and I know how I would feel. I would simply leave it to you that they are grieving," he said.

Earlier Friday, about 70 people had searched for Elizabeth on horseback, with all-terrain vehicles and on foot while another 70 investigators checked leads, White said. Several hundred people had joined the search Thursday despite a steady rain and rough terrain.

Police focused their search area after they figured out roughly where Elizabeth's phone was located. White said the phone was later found but declined to say if it had turned up evidence.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol searched by helicopter with thermal imaging radar, and the Missouri State Water Patrol checked ponds in the area with sonar.

Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. James Keathley said he wishes the outcome was better.

 

"It's been quite an ordeal for the last few days. There's a lot emotions involved in this. It's been tough on everybody involved in this case," Keathley said.

David Schulte, who lives nearby, said Elizabeth typically would walk through his front yard about 30 or 40 feet away from the road on her way back home from the friend's house. Schulte said he didn't know Elizabeth well but that she had come through the neighborhood to sell cookie dough for a school fundraiser.

Schulte, who had helped with the search, said the area around where the phone was transmitting signals was about one-quarter of a mile away from the county highway and in the middle of the woods. He said it is easy to get turned around and difficult to hold straight search lines because the terrain is all "ridges and valleys" along with brambles.

"You'd have to want to be back there," said Schulte, before police announced that Elizabeth's body had been found.

Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.

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Both pilots 'slept' for an HOUR as packed airliner flew on for 600 miles

 

By Paul Thompson

Last updated at 11:53 PM on 23rd October 2009

An airliner with 144 passengers onboard flew 600 miles as its pilots slept at the controls for more than an hour, it was claimed yesterday

The pilot and co-pilot are believed to have nodded off as the plane flew on autopilot at 37,000ft, causing it to overshoot its destination by 150 miles.

In the meantime, F-16 fighter jets were readied to escort or even shoot down the jet over fears it had been hijacked.

Snooze cruise: How the drama unfolded as the two pilots 'slumbered at the controls'

After a tense hour and 18 minutes of radio silence contact was finally made  -  and the Airbus A320 from San Diego in the U.S. landed safely in Minneapolis, with its passengers blissfully unaware of the drama.

The pilots insisted they had been engaged in a 'heated' argument about airline policy.

By the time their 'discussion' had ended  -  or they had woken up  -  the plane was 150 miles off course and flying over the neighbouring state of Wisconsin.

Instead of being above Minneapolis, population 380,000, it was instead over the town of Eau Claire, population 61,000.

When it eventually landed at Minneapolis police and FBI agents stormed the plane, ordering passengers to remain in their seats while they went to the cockpit.

Reassured that there had been no security breach, the passengers were allowed to leave.

One, Andrea Allmon, said nobody knew anything was wrong.

'Everybody got up to get their luggage, and the plane was swarmed by police as we were getting our bags down from the overhead bins,' she said.

She added that they were kept on the plane briefly while police talked to the crew.

Mrs Allmon said she was ' horrified' to learn what had happened and it was 'unbelievable to me that they weren't paying attention. Just not paying attention'.

Missing your mark: Northwest Airlines jets at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (file photo). Two pilots are being investigated after they overshot the airport by 150 miles

Officials said controllers had tried repeatedly to make contact with Northwest Airlines Flight 188.

Airline officials had also tried to raise them through a secure link to the cockpit, but had failed.

The U.S. National TransportationSafety Board has admitted it is looking into pilot fatigue as the reason for the overshoot on Wednesday.

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data from the 'black box' are being examined by aviation officials to determine what happened.

Both pilots, who have not been named, have been suspended pending an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the NTSB.

An FAA spokesman said the situation grew increasingly alarming from a safety and security standpoint as the pilots could have been in distress or the plane hijacked.

'When you aren't speaking to a commercial airliner, that's a big issue for us,' he said.

'We see them on the radar, but not being able to talk to them is a problem.' Aviation experts poured scorn on the pilots' story that an argument had distracted them.

John Nance, a former airline pilot, said there was a 'less than 1 per cent' chance that the crew were not asleep.

'This is unprecedented in terms of being so unaware of where you are and what you're doing,' he said. 'This is virtually off the charts. The far more likely explanation is they fell asleep.'

William Voss of the Flight Safety Foundation, an independent research body, said: 'This is an extraordinary, unusual case.

'I can think of very few times in recent history where we have seen this type of really extreme overflight.'

Delta Airlines, which owns Northwest, said in a statement that it was co-operating with investigators as well as conducting its own internal inquiry.

'The pilots have been relieved from active flying pending the completion of these investigations,' a spokesman added.

It would not be the first time a flight crew have dozed off in flight.

Last year two pilots from Go! Airlines on a flight from Honolulu to Hilo in Hawaii fell asleep for at least 18 minutes while in the air.

The plane flew past the airport and out to sea before air traffic controllers reached the pilots, who turned the plane around.

The captain later was diagnosed with a sleeping disorder.

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Sex Offenders Not Suspects in Florida Girl's Murder; Mom 'Won't Sleep' Until Killer Found

 

Friday, October 23, 2009

Detectives have interviewed all registered sex offenders living near a murdered Florida girl whose body was found buried in a mound of trash, but none of them are suspects in her death.

Clay County Sheriff's spokeswoman Mary Justino said Friday that investigators have talked to all 161 of the sex offenders residing within a 5-mile radius of 7-year-old Somer Thompson's house.

"Homes have been searched, properties have been searched," she told reporters. "We feel at this time that we do not have any suspects who are members of that group. That part of the procedure has been completed."

So far, police have not made an arrest in the first-grader's killing in Orange Park, a suburb of about 9,000 people just south of Jacksonville Naval Air Station.

Justino declined to comment on reports that detectives were focusing on a white van in the case.

"That is not something we're interested in divulging," she said. "We're not interested in corrupting this investigation."

Justino also said Friday that no witnesses have come forward to say they saw the little girl attacked or abducted.

Her body was found Wednesday by investigators sorting through tons of garbage in a Georgia landfill.

She vanished while walking home from her Orange Park school on Monday. Justino says investigators are collecting evidence from a vacant home along that road because the girl was last seen in front of it.

An autopsy has been completed, but authorities won't disclose their findings.

Her funeral will be held Tuesday in Orange Park.

LIVESHOTS: Police ID Body as Missing Florida Girl

SLIDESHOW: Somer Thompson Disappears on Walk Home From School

Earlier Friday, Somer's mother Diena Thompson made a promise on national TV to the still-unknown killer: "We'll get you."

Thompson made tearful appearances on three network television morning shows the day after investigators identified her daughter's body.

"We're coming for you. We'll get you, and hopefully justice will be served," she said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Somer vanished on her one-mile walk home from school Monday in a heavily populated residential area in the Jacksonville suburb of Orange Park. Searchers combed the area before investigators, following garbage trucks that collected trash Tuesday, spotted her lifeless legs in a landfill about 50 miles away.

Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler would not say if Somer had been sexually assaulted or answer other questions about the condition of the body.

The child's distraught mother vowed to not rest until the killer is tracked down.

"I want you to know that I will not sleep until this person is found," Thompson said. "I hope they get you and I hope they make you pay for a long, long time. You don't take from somebody. And you don't do this to a little baby and put my baby in the trash like she's nothing. That's not OK, this is not OK."

Thompson said she does not know any details of the investigation. She said she hopes the killer gets the death penalty.

"I hate him. I hate him," she said on the CBS "Early Show."

"Every morning when I get up, I just get up thinking it's just all a bad dream, and you come out and you see everything that everybody's brought and you know it's real," she said.

Missing child posters featuring Somer's face, with chubby cheeks and thick brown bangs, still plaster nearly every utility pole along the mile-long route from her elementary school to her home.

Investigators on Thursday searched a vacant home a couple of blocks into Somer's daily route, just past a wooded area and across the street from a playground and baseball diamonds.

"It's crazy to think something like this could happen here," said neighbor Andrew Carlson, 17, as he watched officers in protective white suits go in and out of the empty house and comb through a construction trash bin outside. Construction crews had been working on the house, which was damaged in a fire several months ago, he said.

Authorities say Somer squabbled with another child Monday and then walked ahead of the group of kids and was never seen again.

Justino said Friday that the argument was verbal and began at school.

"Somer became agitated by that," she said.

At an intersection about halfway into her walk, where Somer would have crossed the street and turned right on the road that led straight home, a purple ribbon — which supporters and family members have been wearing — was tied to the pole of a stop sign.

On Thursday evening, a steady flow of people — many of them parents, clutching the hands of young children — walked down that same road toward Somer's house to support her grieving family with a candlelight vigil.

Around a tree across the street from the girl's house, supporters had created a memorial, leaving hundreds of stuffed animals, flickering candles, signs and balloons.

Thompson came out with purple ribbons tied in her hair to thank the group who sang "Amazing Grace" and "You Are My Sunshine," then recited the Lord's Prayer.

"I wish I could hug every one of you," Thompson said. "I love every one of you."

Cries of support came from the crowd of about 200: "The community is behind you!" and "We're here for you. You're in our prayers."

The sheriff said the quick discovery of Somer's body, two days after she disappeared, may have saved precious evidence that could lead to her killer.

"Had we not done this tactic, I believe that body would have been buried beneath hundreds of tons of debris, probably would have gone undiscovered forever," Beseler said.

The girl disappeared in a heavily populated residential area about a mile from a stretch of fast-food restaurants and other businesses. Investigators will presumably try to pinpoint the trash bin or garbage can where she was dumped, based on the trash around her and the truck's pickup route.

"I fear for our community until we bring this person in. This is a heinous crime that's been committed," Beseler said. "And we're going to work as hard as we can to make this community safe."

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UFO alert: police officer sees aliens at crop circle

 

A police officer contacted British UFO experts after seeing three aliens examining a freshly made crop circle near Avebury, Wiltshire.

 

By Alastair Jamieson

Published: 11:36AM BST 20 Oct 2009

Many crop circles, including this one in May 2009, have appeared near Silbury Hill, Wiltshire Photo: APEX

The sergeant, who has not been named, was off-duty when he saw the figures standing in a field near Silbury Hill, and stopped his car to investigate.

However, as he approached the 'men' – all over 6ft tall with blond hair – he heard "the sound of static electricity" and the trio ran away ''faster than any man he had ever seen''.

The officer returned to his home in Marlborough, Wiltshire, and contacted paranormal experts and told them he had spotted a UFO.

Wiltshire Police has refused to comment on the incident, saying it is a ''personal matter'' for the officer involved.

Crop circle researcher Andrew Russell, who is investigating the bizarre sighting on behalf of the officer, described the moment his sighting was made.

He said: ''At first he thought they were forensic officers as they were dressed in white coveralls. He stopped his car and approached the field.

''The figures were all over 6ft and had blond hair. They seemed to be inspecting the crop. When he got to the edge of the field he heard what he believed to be a sound not dissimilar to static electricity.

''This crackling noise seemed to be running through the field and the crop was moving gently, close to where the noise was.

''He shouted to the figures who, at first, ignored him, not glancing at him. When he tried to enter the field they looked up and began running.

''He said; 'They ran faster than any man I have ever seen. I'm no slouch but they were moving so fast. I looked away for a second and when I looked back they were gone.

''I then got scared. The noise was still around but I got an uneasy feeling and headed for the car. For the rest of the day I had a pounding headache I couldn't shift.''

The bizarre incident occurred on the morning of July 6 this year as the police officer was driving.

The officer claims the three figures were examining a crop circle, which had appeared several days earlier, when he stopped his car and began walking towards them.

However, the mysterious beings disappeared when he ''looked away for a second'' and he contacted UFO experts after witnessing other paranormal activity.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: ''The police officer was apparently off duty when this happened so we have no comment to make because it is a personal not a police matter.''

Crop circle expert Colin Andrews, who investigated the incident alongside Andrew Russell, said he is ''convinced'' by the police officer's story.

He said: ''I am quite convinced the officer had an experience that day and one that we have not fully explored.

''I think with the unusual movement of the being and the poltergeist experiences there is too much additional information to say that is something in nothing.''

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Father dies of heart attack and brain haemorrhage after a single heavy sneeze

 

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 1:32 PM on 24th October 2009

A father died after suffering a brain haemorrhage and a heart attack caused by a heavy sneeze, an inquest heard.

Retired design engineer John Oram, 79, collapsed after he was seen sneezing 'violently' by care home staff.

The force of the sneeze caused brain and heart trauma and he died in hospital two days later on July 18, an inquest was told.

 

The town of Shaldon in Devon where John Oram died after sneezing

His son Mark, 50, said his father was 'sorely missed' and it was surprised something as 'innocuous' as a sneeze could have killed him.

He said: 'It does seem to be unusual demise from sneezing but his medical history of having heart condition 30 years necessitated him being on medication.

'I guess as you get everything gets weaker more susceptible to being damaged.' 

John, of Torquay, Devon, had a heart condition and diabetes and was taking Warfarin, a drug which thins the blood.

He was seen sneezing by nursing home staff shortly before he fell ill, an inquest in Torquay heard.

Care home owner Michael Burnham told the hearing: 'On July 16 he was seen to have had a very violent sneeze. It was violent enough it to be noticed by two members of staff.

'I can only image the sneeze combined with the Warfarin could have been the cause of death.' 

Dr John Bridger, who performed the post mortem, said no 'underlying trauma' or skull fractures was found.

Coroner for Torbay and South Devon Ian Arrow said John died of subdural haematoma  - trauma to the brain - and coronary artery disease.

Retuning a verdict of accidental death, he said: 'The presence of Warfarin means the body is more susceptible to bleeding which means it could have been a minor trauma which lead to his death.

'He would have suffered a minor trauma and on the balance of probably it was likely it was the sneeze which lead to his death.' 

South Devon Coroner officer Ric Parsons said it was the first case of 'death by sneezing' he had come across in 24 years.

He said: 'It was just a very sad end to his life.'

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Journalist to Receive 60 Lashes for Involvement With Saudi Sex Talk Show

 

Saturday, October 24, 2009

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia —  A Saudi court on Saturday convicted a female journalist for her involvement in a TV show, in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex, and sentenced her to 60 lashes.

Rozanna al-Yami is believed to be the first Saudi woman journalist to be given such a punishment. The charges against her included involvement in the preparation of the program and advertising the segment on the Internet.

Abdul-Rahman al-Hazza, the spokesman of the Ministry of Culture and Information, told The Associated Press he had no details of the sentencing and could not comment on it.

In the program, which aired in July on the Lebanese LBC satellite channel, Mazen Abdul-Jawad appears to describe an active sex life and shows sex toys that were blurred by the station. The same court sentenced Abdul-Jawad earlier this month to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes.

The man's lawyer, Sulaiman al-Jumeii, maintains his client was duped by the TV station and was unaware in many cases he was being recorded.

On Saturday, he told the AP that not trying his client or al-Yami before a court specialized in media matters at the Ministry of Culture and Information was a violation of Saudi law.

"It is a precedent to try a journalist before a summary court for an issue that concerns the nature of his job," he said.

The case has scandalized this ultraconservative country where such public talk about sex is taboo and the sexes are strictly segregated.

The government moved swiftly in the wake of the case, shutting down LBC's two offices in the kingdom and arresting Abdul-Jawad, who works for the national airline.

Three other men who appeared on the show, "Bold Red Line," were also convicted of discussing sex publicly and sentenced to two years imprisonment and 300 lashes each.

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Caught on camera: Shocking moment teenagers launch racist attack on Asian shopkeeper

 

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 12:02 AM on 24th October 2009

This is the moment three teenage thugs launched a savage racist attack on a terrified Asian shopkeeper.

Twins Luke and Justin Lovedale and Nicholas Gardener, all 16 at the time, beat up four shop workers in a series of assaults while screaming abuse.

CCTV footage shows the yobs wrestling one shopkeeper to the floor before stamping on him as they shouted 'f****** Paki' while a terrified female shopkeeper desperately tries to fend off them off.

 

Vicious racist twins Justin and Luke Lovedale launch an unprovoked and sustained racist attack on Asian shopkeeper Ashok Selvam

CCTV grab of the moment racist youths Nicholas Gardener and twins Justin and Luke Lovedale launched an attack on Asian shopkeeper Parakram Zala

In another clip, they are seen battering two shopkeepers before repeatedly stamping on them.

The three attackers, all now 17, sneered, joked and laughed as the images were shown to Bristol Magistrates' Court.

They admitted the attacks but denied they were racially motivated  -  despite Luke Lovedale telling police after his arrest: 'I ain't beaten up no Paki. F****** **** needs to go back home.'

District Judge David Parsons found all three guilty of racially aggravated common assault in two shops on June 6 this year.

He agreed to lift an order banning their identification, saying the protection of the community outweighed the teenagers' interests. He told them to expect a jail term.

Racist youths Luke and Justin Lovedale (left) who have been convicted of attacking Asian shopkeepers

The court heard that Gardener, who has 19 previous convictions, stormed into Costcutter in Bedminster, Bristol, with a friend on April 5 and attacked shopkeeper Hardik Patel. He punched him to the ground before hitting him twice more and shouting racist abuse.

Nicholas Gardener was held in custody after being found guilty

The other youth then kicked Mr Patel three times in the stomach. As they ran off, Gardener shouted: 'I will kill you, you f****** Paki.'

On June 6, the Lovedale twins and Gardener went to Bargain Booze at 10.30pm to buy cigarettes and vodka.

When staff refused to serve them they launched a sickening assault on Ashok Selvam as a female member of staff frantically tried to fight them off with a broom handle.

They pulled Mr Selvam's T-shirt over his head and, as one brother held him in a headlock, the other repeatedly punched him in the face as they shouted racist insults.

Less than an hour later, the three teenagers went to nearby Costcutter, and snatched a bottle of wine.

As shopkeeper Parakram Zala tried to call police, Gardener

Colleague Girish Patel tried to fend of the youths, before all three began hitting him. CCTV footage shows them continuing to punch and kick the two shopkeepers as they lay on the floor.

Mr Patel was left with such serious injuries he feared he may lose the sight in his left eye.

Gardener and the Lovedale twins will be sentenced on November 11.

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