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Get other British Mysteries hereGet other Titan Books Staff here NO MAN IS ABOVE THE LAW In this story written by future President Theodore Roosevelt long before The Great Detective’s first encounter with Dr Watson Holmes visits America to solve a most violent and despicable crime. A crime that was to prove the most taxing of his brilliant career… Recently discovered in the basement of the New York Police Department “The Stalwart Companions” is one of Holmes’ most exciting and unusual chronicles. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s timeless creation returns in a new series of handsomely designed detective stories. From the earliest days of Holmes’ career to his astonishing encounters with Martian invaders the “Further Adventures” series encapsulates the most varied and thrilling cases of the worlds’ greatest detective. Comments (0)

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Hip-hop star Savage has revealed he lost 27 relatives in the previous month’s Samoan tsunami.

“It’s really personal for me,” he told the Samoa Observer newspaper.

Savage, real name Demetrius Savelio, hails from Lalomanu, the epicentre of the tsunami which killed 143 people in Samoa.

Savage’s relatives at Poutasi, further along the coast, lost their houses.

He told the newspaper of his connections with the Taufua family which lost 13 members and on his mother’s side which lost 14 members.

Some of the killed relatives and the beach at Lalomanu feature in Savage’s video made earlier this year, I love the Islands.

“All that put in a nutshell is hard to swallow,” said Savage. .

The Samoa Observer said Savage was in tears recalling the memories of pristine sandy beaches and breathtaking views of the south coast when he made the video. He helped organise ther recent fundraising concert in Auckland at Vector Arena, called I Love the Islands.

“It’s a video clip I take a lot of pride in.

“My single I Love the Islands was like the last raw footage of what the beach was like,” he said.

“It’s hard for us Samoans in New Zealand because we’re so far away watching the news in the comfort of our homes to see the devastation of our families and villages. To now see it on TV gives you a bit of sorrow and sadness because you know now what we were standing on back then is all gone,” he told the Observer. It was important for us to come back here. It was important for us to come back here

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A 25-year-old man has been arrested following an hour-long police pursuit of a stolen bread delivery truck through the Manawatu overnight.

The incident began in Foxton shortly before 3am, when a bread delivery man had his truck stolen by a man wielding a hammer, central police communications Inspector Paul Jermy said.

Shortly afterwards, police spotted the truck on State Highway 1, south of Foxton and attempted to stop it.

Despite the tyres deflating, the driver continued driving and the chase returned to SH1. .

The pursuit lasted an hour and five minutes – but did not exceed 110kmh as the truck was incapable of travelling any faster, Mr Jermy said.

The driver eventually stopped when the truck became more difficult to control.

A 25-year-old Palmerston North man had been arrested and faced numerous charges, including breach of bail, dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving whilst forbidden and robbery.

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Two teenagers have pleaded guilty to bashing to death a New Zealand man at a Sydney sporting oval.

The offenders, who were 16 at the time of the man’s death in 2007, were originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the NSW Supreme Court.

A court had previously been told Christopher Leichester, 20, was on his way to a party in Woolooware in Sydney’s south on November 24, 2007.

According to a police statement of facts, Mr Leichester suffered a severed artery between his brain and central nervous system.

As the New Zealander crossed an oval he was set upon by a group of teenage boys who punched him to the ground and kicked him several times in the head.

Court documents revealed the attack appeared to have occurred because the teenagers mistakenly believed Mr Leichester had abused them a short time earlier. .

But a witness told police it was two other men who chased and hurled abuse at the teenagers’ car.

– AAP

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Both youths remain in custody

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The death of a forestry worker in the Waikato tonight is the second workplace death in the area in 24 hours, police say.

Te Kuiti sub-area manager Senior Sergeant Rob Van Kalken said police and ambulance staff were making their way to a remote location in the Rangitoto Ranges, east of Te Kuiti, after reports of a forestry worker being killed about 5pm.Mr Van Kalken said police hoped once preliminary investigations were completed the body could be taken back to Te Kuiti and identified.There was little radio and cellphone coverage in the area and police were attempting to establish what had happened.A contractor working on a sewage line replacement was killed about 24 hours earlier after the trench he was working in collapsed.The dead worker’s name would not be released until next-of-kin had been notified. .Piopio father of three Mark Williams, 43, was digging a trench with colleagues on Williams Street, Te Kuiti, when the trench suddenly collapsed, burying him chest-deep in dirt about 5pm.Mr Van Kalken urged workers in the area to ensure their safety while working.Department of Labour inspectors were at the trench site today carrying out an investigation.”Obviously these incidents are unrelated, however we don’t want to be facing any similar tragedies and we’re asking people to ensure safety is their number one priority.”

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A morbidly obese fraudster who argues he needs specialised medical treatment that can’t be provided in prison has lost his bid to be freed while he awaits further court action.

Max Heslehurst, who has been reported as weighing close toly 200kg, was earlier this year found guilty on 41 counts of fraud and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison a term partly reduced as a result of his obesity-related health problems.

But Heslehurst widely known as Mad Max or Fat Max has appealed the convictions, saying a note outlining one or more of his previous convictions was mistakenly handed to the jury. . He applied for permission to await the appeal’s outcome at home.

It was reported at the time of his sentencing in May that his obesity meant other prisoners had to help with his personal hygiene when he used the toilet.

Heslehurst had been found guilty by a South Auckland jury of fleecing at least 30 victims across the North Island of $344,000.

Meyrick told the Sunday Star-Times he would not appeal Heslehurst’s failed bail application to the Supreme Court, but his client’s condition meant he was “degraded” in the prison setting.

Heslehurst reportedly duped his victims including a solo mother, a dentist, a racedog trainer and a group of Hamilton bankers by offering to sell them cars or televisions for bargain prices. He did not believe the Corrections Department was equipped to care for prisoners like Heslehurst who effectively had a disability. But there were no televisions or cars.

He told one of his victims he could get seven wide-screen televisions cheaply because they had belonged to failed finance company Bridgecorp and were to be auctioned the next day. A treatment plan was in place which “covers all aspects of his healthcare needs and he has an appointment scheduled with a cardiovascular specialist at Auckland Hospital shortly”.

In opposing bail, counsel for the Crown said health workers were monitoring Heslehurst’s condition daily. There was also an emergency care plan to transport him to hospital if necessary. There was also an emergency care plan to transport him to hospital if necessary.

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She added that evidence from Corrections Department health bosses suggested Heslehurst’s health needs were not enough to “tip the scales” in favour of granting bail

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A memorial book for victims of the Mt Erebus air disaster in 1979 has been brazenly stolen from an Auckland church.

The book was taken yesterday afternoon from St Matthew In The City, in downtown Auckland, by a male wearing a cap.20pm, but it’s hard to identify the offender.
Church spokesman Clay Nelson told tonight the book was inside a glass case, which it appears was not locked, below the Erebus memorial windows at the church,
“We have security camera footage of it being taken about 12.
The leather-bound book contains the names of all the victims in calligraphic writing.”
The book was put together for a memorial service for the 257 people who lost their lives in the Air New Zealand plane crash on Mt Erebus, Antarctica on November 28, 1979. He said he was not too hopeful it would be returned.
Mr Nelson said the book had no value to the offender.
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An inquest into the death of a loader driver on a Taranaki farm has been adjourned after the coroner took the unusual step of urging the Department of Labour to reconsider laying charges.

The inquest into the death of Paul Edwin Orin Robinson, 36, of Tapawera, 58km south-west of Nelson, was due to be heard in the New Plymouth Coroner’s Court yesterday.

She told the court she was “surprised” no charges had been laid by the department and put Mr Robinson’s former employers, Nelson-based South Pacific Movements Ltd, as well as the owners of the land where the fatal accident happened “on notice” that they might need to take legal advice. .

Forestry workers jumped into the water in an unsuccessful attempt to save their trapped colleague.

Mr Robinson died after his machine tumbled off a farm bridge and into the Mohakatino River, near Mokau, in June last year.

Ms Nagara said she was not prepared to proceed with the inquest, given the amount of evidence she had in front of her, and was concerned that proceeding with the hearing could prejudice the case.

Farm owner Ben Hutchinson was cleared in December of any blame, following an investigation by the Department of Labour, while no charges were laid against South Pacific Movements Ltd.

“The features of this case are such that I’m surprised that charges were not laid.

“I don’t consider I would do Paul any justice if I was to rush it [inquest] through,” she said.

Mrs Gichard then asked if the coroner had fresh evidence that the department was not in possession of.”

Department of Labour health and safety inspector Gail Gichard responded in court by telling the coroner that the case had been extensively peer reviewed before the decision not to lay charges was made.

“My concern is very much to do justice to Paul and get to the bottom of what happened,” she said, before adding that it was a difficult decision to adjourn the case, knowing that a number of Mr Robinson’s family had travelled from Nelson.

Ms Nagara responded that she was not prepared to discuss that in open court.

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Mrs Robinson said she did not want to comment on the coroner’s decision until after the case was closed.

Barbara Robinson, Paul’s mother, said after the adjournment that she “just wanted closure” to the case.

“The next step will be to discuss a number of issues with the coroner, and that’s pretty much as far as I can go,” he said.

Department of Labour Taranaki manager Brett Murray was also reluctant to talk about the decision.”

South Pacific Movements Ltd director Anthony Bamford, of Nelson, was not available for comment. “I don’t really want to say any more until I’ve discussed it with her.

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New car rescue method tested

Monday, 16 February 2009

Crash victims trapped in cars could have a better chance of survival, with the fire service testing a new method of pulling wrecks apart.
Five fire stations in Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and Porirua areas with some of the highest front-impact-crash rates are involved in the trial.
It involves anchoring the wreck to a tree or truck before chains attached to the fire truck's hydraulic system pull away sections of the vehicle as its roof and door pillars are cut with the jaws of life.
Masterton station officer and trial coordinator Garry Nielsen said the rescue method was revolutionary.
A Masterton firefighter was sent to Norway last year to learn the new technique, which was tested in Wairarapa last week at a bad car crash. This is ground-breaking. "In the past, the techniques we have used could take up to an hour or more to free someone. We can have them out in 15 minutes. Every second is critical. For every 10 minutes someone is trapped, there is 10 per cent less chance of survival. ."
On Wednesday, Greytown firefighters used the chains to free a 74-year-old woman trapped in her car after it crashed into a bridge on Cape Palliser Rd close to Ngawi.

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If the trial is successful, it will be rolled out nationwide at a cost of about $500 per set of chains for each rescue fire-truck

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New car rescue method tested

Monday, 16 February 2009

Crash victims trapped in cars could have a better chance of survival, with the fire service testing a new method of pulling wrecks apart.
Five fire stations in Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and Porirua areas with some of the highest front-impact-crash rates are involved in the trial.
It involves anchoring the wreck to a tree or truck before chains attached to the fire truck's hydraulic system pull away sections of the vehicle as its roof and door pillars are cut with the jaws of life.
Masterton station officer and trial coordinator Garry Nielsen said the rescue method was revolutionary.
A Masterton firefighter was sent to Norway last year to learn the new technique, which was tested in Wairarapa last week at a bad car crash. This is ground-breaking. "In the past, the techniques we have used could take up to an hour or more to free someone. We can have them out in 15 minutes. Every second is critical. For every 10 minutes someone is trapped, there is 10 per cent less chance of survival. ."
On Wednesday, Greytown firefighters used the chains to free a 74-year-old woman trapped in her car after it crashed into a bridge on Cape Palliser Rd close to Ngawi.

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If the trial is successful, it will be rolled out nationwide at a cost of about $500 per set of chains for each rescue fire-truck