Local News
I never thought I’d mention my hometown with pride, but it looks like for once the remarkable genetic mistakes that populate Weston super Mare have finally made interest worldwide (even attracted some LJ users interests). It appears that unlike the mishaps of Bournville estate people, teen mothers and Jeffery Archer, Weston has finally found a fan favourite : A FROG!
But wait…this isn’t any old frog…it’s a mutant.
- Six-eyed monster
A freak frog with three heads, six legs and one body made some curious nursery school children jump out of their skin.Shocked youngsters ran to tell stunned staff about the discovery of the weird amphibian at the Green Umbrella Nursery in Weston.
Leader of the Milton group, Rebecca Twin, said: “We thought there were three frogs on top of each other. Then it leapt up and we realised it was the same creature, with three bodies fused together. We think it’s pregnant, so who knows what might come out.”
(Source : Weston & Somerset Mercury, 05 March 2004)
Example of Local Residents
- Body found after seven months
A 61-year-old woman was found dead in bed after lying undiscovered for seven months.
A 61-year-old woman was found dead in bed after lying undiscovered for seven months.
The skeleton of 61-year-old Jackie Smith was spotted under the bed sheets after police officers broke in to her Weston home on February 21.
The former British Aerospace aircraft inspector, who had an acute drinking problem, had not been seen for over half a year.
Her mother, 86-year-old Margaret Redfern, drove to Weston with her son on February 20 in a bid to find her daughter. She had not seen or heard from her since August 3, 2003.
But Mrs Redfern said her worst fears were confirmed when officers fought their way through a giant mound of post at the privately-owned flat in Devonshire Court, Moorland Road, and found her decaying body.
Mrs Redfern said: “I just keep asking ‘why?’ I can’t understand why nobody raised the alarm.
“One of the neighbours in the development even told me they pushed her mail through every day, onto the growing pile of letters, for security reasons.
“People should have been asking more questions.
“Although Jackie was married I don’t know where her husband is. She married Alan, who was 75-years-old, about eight years ago and I think they were happy together.”
Mrs Redfern says she called her daughter every morning and evening without fail since August, after returning to her home after visiting the resort.
“Jackie didn’t answer her phone but I thought she just needed some space.
“There comes a time in a mother’s life when you have to let your children make their own decisions.
“I thought she just needed to get away and have some time on her own.”
Jackie moved to Weston four years ago after she was found unconscious following a binge drinking session at her home in Kingston-upon-Thames.
She spent nearly two years in a rehabilitation centre and a ‘dry house’ before buying her own flat in Devonshire Court.
She attended the YMCA Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) home group, at one time visiting on a daily basis.
Mrs Redfern said: “She was incredibly popular and had many friends in the area.
“She knew she had a problem but she was trying to do something about it.
“She loved the theatre and regularly went to see shows at The Playhouse.
“I feel like a huge part of meis missing and it’s devastating to think of how she has spent the last seven months.
“It took over a week to identify her. It is awful not to be able to arrange your daughter’s funeral because she cannot be recognised.
“The police officers wouldn’t even let me cross the doorstep because the smell and sights were unbearable, even for them.”
Staff at addiction support group ACAD issued a statement which read: “Jackie was a lovely lady and she will be missed by us all. She is no longer in pain.”
Members from the YMCA AA group also said it was a tragic loss and said they would miss a ‘kind and gentle lady’.
An inquest was opened on Monday. It is expected to be re-opened and concluded in May.
(Source : Weston & Somerset Mercury, 05 March 2004)
As I pointed out to Kristina, it comes to something when not only someone is not seen for seven months, but that Weston obviously stinks bad enough that no-one notices a seven month rotting corpse.
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