These are the latest ECHO headlines this morning.
Pair rampaged through pub battering landlord, staff and customers
A pair of security guards battered a landlord, his bar staff and customers during a rampage through a Merseyside pub.
George Harper and Joshua Kehoe terrorised the Manor Farm pub in Rainhill as it hosted an 18th birthday party to which they weren’t even invited. They knocked a customer out before kicking his unconscious body, punched a man on crutches at the bar and thumped the licence holder so hard with a wine bottle his nose was left disfigured.
The landlord was so traumatised by the incident he handed in his licence and left the pub entirely.
READ MORE: Man banned from calling 999 after year of drunk hoax calls
Nick Cockrell, prosecuting, said Harper, now 30, and Kehoe, now 28, went to the pub on Saturday, May 29, 2022 as their then boss was running security for an event, though they were not set to work at the pub that evening. CCTV showed the two arriving late at night and then getting drinks at the bar. While things were initially calm, they became involved in an argument with Lunt’s partner, Samantha Casey, who believed she saw Kehoe rifling through a barmaid’s handbag.
Things escalated rapidly. Kehoe accused Casey of having “a bad attitude” and became embroiled in an argument about what he had been doing. Mr Lunt asked the pair to leave and, while they did so, Kehoe shouted to him: “You need to sort your f***ing bird out.”
Read the full story here.
'I just want his face melted' - Hidden messages lift lid on brutal world of gangland hitmen
Hidden messages between some of the most vindictive and violent criminals on the streets of Merseyside exposed the chilling world of gangland hitmen trading in extreme violence.
Kirkdale gangster Jonathan Gordon, aka EncroChat user 'ValuedBridge', was involved in a number of breath-taking conversations which laid bare the sheer ruthlessness and cruelty of what he was prepared to do for a payday, detectives found.
At Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, known 'Deli Mob' member Gordon, 34, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 24 years and eight months in prison. A jury had convicted him of hurling acid into the face of St Helens dad Lee Deakin, plotting two other similar attacks which were aborted at the last moment, and a series of shootings across Liverpool and Warrington.
READ MORE: Kidnap, acid attacks and the downfall of the brutal 'Deli Mob' class of 2011
In encrypted text conversations with an unidentified gang boss using the EncroChat handle 'AceProspect', Gordon set out plans to "cook" their enemies with acid, while gloating over the strength of the chemicals they had obtained to carry out the sick attacks. The pair shared pictures of metal canisters overflowing with frothing acid, as well as handguns.
After Mr Deakin was attacked on April 14, 2019, Gordon was ordered to carry out two further attacks in April 2020. A plan to travel to Blackpool and hurl acid into the face of a man called Joe Bradley was aborted due to the coronavirus lockdown meaning the deserted roads would leave them too exposed to police attention.
Read more here.
Heartbreak as baby stillborn after mum gets covid late in pregnancy
A mum has spoken of her heartbreak of losing her baby girl after contracting Covid-19 late into her pregnancy.
Toni Dennan, 31, was seven months pregnant when she caught the virus and became very unwell in 2020. At the time covid vaccines were unavailable for people in her younger age bracket.
Toni, who lives near Chester with her husband Lee, went into hospital for monitoring and when the situation became more critical she was rushed into theatre for a c-section. Tragically, little Darcey Dennan was stillborn on December 28, 2020, and Toni was discharged from hospital without her little girl three days later. Tests later revealed Covid-19 had destroyed the placenta.
READ MORE: All areas of Liverpool City Region see rise in Covid infections
Now Toni and Lee have filmed a powerful video talking about their experience and want to warn people of how dangerous Covid-19 can be for pregnant women and their babies. They want to encourage other women to make sure they get vaccinated to protect themselves and their babies.
Toni said: "About three days after getting Covid I went downhill very quickly. I had acid skin, I was tired, I could barely walk. I just felt really, really, ill. And with that the baby’s movements were reduced. It was a full-on emergency. But unfortunately it was too late by that point, and Darcey didn’t make it.”
Read the full story here.
