These are the latest Liverpool ECHO headlines this morning.
Thug gave girlfriend 'frenzied' beating as she slept in her own bed
A young thug launched into a "frenzied" and prolonged beating of his girlfriend as she slept in her own bed.
Patrick Schofield, 19, attacked the victim, who the ECHO have chosen not to name, after sneakily trawling through her phone messages when she went to bed on January 14 this year. Distressing images of the victim's bloody and battered face were shown on TV screens in Liverpool Crown Court where Schofield, of East Albert Road, Sefton Park, appeared for sentence on Tuesday.
Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, told the court the pair had been in a relatively short relationship, but the victim said Schofield began to have issues with jealousy towards the end of 2021. Mr Baxter said: "The defendant was becoming more and more accusatory in respects of his beliefs about infidelity.
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"On January 11 this year the victim described an argument where he was accusing her of speaking to other lads on social media, including Snapchat and other messaging apps. He was unable to accept that she could have male friends."
The court heard Schofield attended her flat and smashed a window, before riding away on his bike, later calling her a "slag" over the phone.
However things calmed down and two days later the victim invited Schofield back to her flat. Initially, there were no problems and the pair drank together before she went to bed in the early hours of January 14. Read the full story here.
Heroin dealer caught with drug wraps and cash lurking in woods
A drug dealer was caught with 139 wraps of heroin and crack after a plain clothes police officer spotted him lurking in woodland.
Jay Patton, 22, of Granary Way, Liverpool, drew the attention of the authorities while he was among some woods near Windmill Hill in Runcorn on Tuesday, October 11. A Cheshire Police spokesman said officers stopped and searched Patton, who was on foot.
They found him to be in possession of 83 wraps of crack cocaine worth about £830 and 56 wraps of heroin worth about £530, with a total value of around £1,390. Patton also had a phone and £300.40 in cash.
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He pleaded guilty the day after his arrest to two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, namely heroin and crack cocaine.
At Chester Crown Court, sitting at Chester Magistrates’ Court, on Wednesday, November 9, Judge Michael Leeming sentenced Patton to 40 months in prison and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs, while the seized cash was to be committed to causes in the fight against drug crime. Read more here.
Mum fears for kids as family live in 'health and safety hazard house'
A mum says she fears for her children as her home is a "health and safety hazard" despite battling for improvements.
Lauren Groves, of Malpas Road in Croxteth, says she faces a "constant battle" as she brands her current living conditions as "horrendous". With mould and damp, plug sockets "coming loose" and cupboard doors "hanging off", the mum-of-two said it all started with a leak around three years ago.
She told the ECHO she contacted Cobalt Housing when she first experienced a leak from the ceiling of her kitchen, which is "yet to be looked at". She added: "Someone came out and said I needed a new kitchen, the cupboard doors are hanging off and the toilet needed to be checked, but no-one came back out.
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"I was eventually told I couldn't get a new kitchen for five years because I wasn't eligible, but it's not safe. My kitchen is falling to pieces. I fell pregnant with my son and was unwell, after I had him I got them back out.
"One of the doors fell on him, it keeps falling off, every day I have to screw it back on when I wake up because it hangs off. A surveyor recently came out and said I did need a new kitchen and toilet. The plug sockets are loose and could come away at any moment." Read the full story here.
