Thursday, October 8, 2009

Inventor from Aldridge

Inventor digs in with new idea for Dragons A West Midland inventor who survived a grilling on TV’s Dragon’s Den is busy cooking up a new money-making invention. Peter Neath and Ian Worton, from Aldridge, were seen by millions presenting their Grillstream machine on the popular BBC show. But after failing to secure the £120,000 investment they were looking for, 47-year-old Mr Neath said he was hoping to return for the programme’s next series with his latest brainchild, an easy-to-use garden fork. He and former Barr Beacon School friend Ian, aged 46, originally from Pheasey, attracted interest in the low fat cooking device from a number of the dragons, with millionaire businesswoman Deborah Meaden admitting that turning it down could a big mistake And Mr Neath, who is the UK director for car parts firm Magneti Marelli, said his experience of dealing with executives from major international firms such as Volvo and Ford had stood him in good stead. “They set it all up to make you feel very nervous, but we managed to hold our own,” he said. “The grill is designed to make sure none of the fat drips through and Deborah Meaden decided to have a closer look, so we were happy it worked when she tested it. “I think because it worked and they could all see it was a good product. They were really quite polite with us. “We did get the old line from Theo Paphitis, asking what we were going to spend his kids’ inheritance on. But in the end, I think they were only really looking at it as a licensing deal, rather than the retail product we see it as.” But Mr Neath said they had already secured deals with three big retailers, including Lakeland. Mr Neath said his easy-to-use garden fork had also been accepted to appear. “I think it just goes to show that traditional Black Country skills picked up in the automotive industry can be put to good use in designing so many different things.” # - Dusan Popratnjak - 10/8/09; 11:09:26 PM - Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Aldridge mansion to be sold

Fraudster’s mansion to be sold A convicted fraudster’s £1.8 million country home in the West Midlands that was ravaged in a suspected arson attack will be rebuilt and sold, it has emerged. The palatial five-bedroom home on Chester Road, Aldridge, was left in ruins following the huge blaze, with police estimating £400,000 of damage. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) had confiscated the property, and another in the palatial grounds, under the Proceeds of Crime Act because they alleged it had been bought from ill-gotten gains. The arson attack came just a week after SOCA released pictures of the site. But SOCA spokesman Stuart Hadley said the fire would not prevent the sale going ahead. “The property will be repaired under insurance and sold as normal,” he said. “The proceeds will then be split between SOCA and the treasury, 50-50.” He said that extra security measures had been put in place since the blaze, to prevent any repeat attacks. The house was previously owned by David ‘Nipper’ Harris, who was jailed for six years in 1994, aged 44, for being the ringleader in a £35 million mortgage fraud. Pictures of the home in the days after the attack showed the conservatory doors and windows had been blown out, the roof ripped off and the once bright decor and furnishings replaced by a blackened shell. A converted barn in the grounds escaped the blaze, along with an artificial football pitch with floodlights. Police were alerted when a badly-burned man staggered into Bloxwich police station on the night of the fire last April. # - Dusan Popratnjak - 10/8/09; 11:00:13 PM - Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Classic boat for sale

Fast sale hope on classic boat It was the “E-Type Jaguar” of the boating world in the 1960s designed to cut through the waters at speed. So when Aldridge businessman Gordon Whiston bought his 12ft 6 Light Craft Graduate racing dinghy 42 years ago for £300 he was the envy of his Dudley Yacht Club pals. Now moored in his Portland Road home’s front garden and decades since it touched water, Gordon is keen to see the handmade dinghy go to a good owner. The father-of-one said: “I bought it when it was nearly new, I was a member of a yacht club and sailing was all the fashion. In those days once you were accepted into the clubs you then had to buy the boat they sailed or you couldn’t join. “I was a member at Dudley Yacht Club which used the Netherton Reservoir, I also took it to the seaside a few times to Wales. “But it hasn’t been used in nearly 30 years now and I no longer have anywhere to keep it, so I would like to see it go to a good owner.” The dinghy was made by Wyche & Coppock Ltd in Nottingham and Mr Whiston still has all of the original books and certification which describe the dinghy as perfect “for the discerning helmsman.” “It is still in its original varnish, though probably needs a new coat now,” he added. “The original wooden mast was stolen and has been replaced with an aluminium one, aside from that it is all original. In modern terms it is probably not that fast, but it was the E-Type Jaguar of its day. Mr Whiston has the boat, its trailer and cover up for sale for offers over £300. Anyone interested can contact him on 01922 454782. # - Dusan Popratnjak - 10/8/09; 10:54:37 PM - Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Reg's Mobility Scooter stolen

Anger as thieves take mobility scooter An 87-year-old war veteran has lost his independence after thieves stole his mobility scooter worth £2,500 from outside his home. Retired teacher Reg Snell from Aldridge has been left distraught after he discovered it missing on Tuesday morning. He had only owned the vehicle for two weeks and said it had become his lifeline. The great-grandfather has made an emotional appeal for the culprits to hand it back, saying he is now confined to his Walsall Road home. Mr Snell, a widower, fought for his country from 1940 to 1946 while a member of The Royal Engineers, serving in Italy and Egypt. He has two sons, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He worked as a teacher at Lindens Middle School in Streetly, retiring in 1986. “It really has upset me,” he said. “I have lost my independence. I can walk about the house but I simply can’t walk very far. I rely on my scooter to go into the town. “I couldn’t believe it when I got up on Tuesday and discovered it had been stolen.” His 62-year-old son, also called Reg, added: “He has to park the scooter outside his front door because the distance from his garage to his house is too far for him to walk. Stealing a mobility scooter from an elderly, disabled man is cruel and despicable. My father has been left really upset by this. “This scooter gives him independence and he lost that now.” People with information should call Aldridge police on 0845 113 5000. # - Dusan Popratnjak - 10/8/09; 10:49:17 PM - Comment [0] Trackback [0]

Daughters lose Court Battle.

Daughters lose court battle over will money Two daughters who said their father promised them his house when he died – only to leave it to his new wife in his final will – have failed in a High Court bid for inheritance. Averil Macdonald, aged 51, and her sister Deborah Bannigan, 48, said they gave their father Joseph Frost £100 a month for 20 years in the belief he would leave them his house in Harborough Drive, Aldridge. But instead, the widower, a popular man known locally as the Mayor of Aldridge for his community involvement, wrote a will soon after he married his second wife Marion in 2002. He left his £231,000 estate to her and his daughters got nothing. At the High Court, lawyers for the sisters said they were entitled to the house under the legal principle of “proprietary estoppel” – claiming he had made a firm promise to them that the property would be theirs. Ms Macdonald, who lives in Winchester and is a professor at Reading University, and Ms Bannigan, of Rugby, both agreed that, if they won the case, Marion would have to be provided for, but said they should get whatever was left of Harborough Drive when their step-mother died. But Judge Geraldine Andrews rejected the sisters’ case yesterday, and said monthly payments they had made to their father – and their mother when she was still alive – were made “solely in return for an advance on their inheritance”. The judge added that she was “disappointed” that both sides had not been able to reach a compromise in the case, adding she had got the impression she “had not been told the full story”. Mr Frost had not invited his daughters to his wedding to Marion in November 2002, while Deborah did not attend his funeral – “indications of far greater family tensions than anyone was prepared to admit”, said the judge. Mr Frost, who died aged 83 in 2006, was a member of the local Conservative Club, the Royal British Legion and an active member of Aldridge History Society. His late wife, Clare, died in 1995.   # - Dusan Popratnjak - 10/8/09; 10:40:21 PM - Comment [0] Trackback [0]