Good evening, these are the latest ECHO headlines on Thursday, April 21.
Girl ,11, rushed to hospital in air ambulance after being hit by car
An 11-year-old girl was rushed to hospital by air ambulance after being hit by a car.
READ MORE: Football coach branded 'serious risk to boys' after abusing child
Emergency services rushed to Carr Lane in Birkdale at around 4.20pm on Thursday, April 21, following reports of a child being hit by a car. Once Merseyside Police arrived at the scene they found an 11-year-old girl had suffered serious injuries after being hit by a blue Honda Civic.
The North West Ambulance Service and an air ambulance were also called to the scene and the girl was taken to the hospital.
The driver of a blue Honda Civic has stopped at the scene and is assisting officers with their enquiries. Road closures are in place while emergency services attend the incident.
People told to keep windows shut for hours as over 50 firefighters tackle blaze
Residents were told to keep their doors and windows shut as over 50 firefighters tackled a blaze for over four hours in Runcorn.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service rushed to the scene of a fire near a scrapyard Percival Lane in Runcorn at around 1.30pm on Thursday, where wooden and plastic pallets had caught fire and produced an inferno which covered an area around 60 square metres. Residents were asked to close their doors and windows while smoke plumes filled the air, while drivers were asked to avoid the area.
Smoke was visible from Frodsham and many emergency service vehicles descended on the scene. Ambulance and police attended the scene, while the fire service used several special appliances including an aerial ladder platform, the Scorpion high reach extending turret and a high volume pump.
According to a witness, nobody was hurt, but businesses were evacuated by the fire service as the blaze spread to an adjoining building. North West Ambulance Service has been contacted for comment regarding the incident.
Football coach branded 'serious risk to boys' after abusing child
A former teaching assistant was jailed after he deliberately used his position as a football coach to groom and abuse a young boy.
David Jones, described by a judge as a "serious risk to boys", first met the young boy when he was working at his primary school as a teaching assistant. The 33-year-old took an "instant liking" to the child and invited him to join a football club that he coached, with the young footballer doing so.
He began to groom him with text messages and lifts in his car with him integrating himself into the life of the boy's family. His parents innocently thought that the friendship was good for their son and improved his confidence but Liverpool Crown Court was told that his sexual abuse of the young boy led to him attempting suicide and has devastated his life.
When jailing Jones, Judge Anil Murray told him: “Your actions were carefully planned and designed to groom a child to take part in sexual activity with you for your sexual gratification.” The court also heard that some years later, in 2018, by which time Jones was a fully qualified teacher, he created a fake Instagram profile posing as an 11-year-old girl to contact a boy one year older.
He sent him messages that included "you're fit" and asked him to send naked photographs of himself. Fortunately, the boy was sceptical and told his mum about the messages who then contacted the police.
Officers managed to track the IP address of the account to a home of a couple where Jones had been house sitting at the time of the offence. He originally denied being to blame when interviewed and then wrote to the couple saying he had developed an addiction to pornography. He said that this had led to an increased interest in boys aged 12 and 13, however, when he was re-interviewed he made no comment.
