A temporary postman who hoarded almost a tonne of mail at his home in Birmingham has been ordered to do 250 hours community punishment.
So many items were found at Vinay Pattni's address that they could not be counted although by weight it was estimated there were almost 46,000, the City's Crown Court heard.
Pattni, 41, of Coplow Street, Ladywood, who admitted charges of delaying the post and opening a quantity of mail between December 2004 and May 2005.
Mary Loram, prosecuting, said during the time of his employment he mainly worked on the eastern side of the city although he was sent to other areas as well including Handsworth and Kitts Green.
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A rail operator has apologised to a Midland MP after leaving him stranded in Oxford as he tried to get home.
Peter Luff (Con Mid Worcestershire) uses First Great Western's trains to travel between his Worcester home and London.
But twice in the past two months, services have stopped in Oxford - with passengers told the train would go no further.
It meant the MP, returning from a week at work in the House of Commons, was late for appointments with constituents.
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After a recent survey revealed how little the British knew about its cultural history, Chris Osborne tried to discover whether we really do know our Elgars from our elbows.
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The RSPB has welcomed a four-month jail sentence handed to a Coventry man branded Britain's most convicted wild bird egg collector.
Gregory Peter Wheal admitted two charges of possessing 75 wild birds' eggs and keeping equipment capable of collecting them - including books, maps and an egg blowing kit - at a hearing in December.
The 42-year-old, whose collection was seized by Warwickshire Police officers during a raid on his home in October last year, was sentenced today at Coventry Magistrates' Court.
His collection included the eggs of kingfishers and little ringed plovers - of which there are only around 1,000 pairs in the country.
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Police investigating the murder of Pc Sharon Beshenivsky have arrested two people in Birmingham in connection with firearms offences.
West Yorkshire Police said detectives carried out a number of search warrants in the Birmingham area as a result of ongoing inquiries into the shooting of the 38-year-old officer in Bradford on November 18.
The force said it is continuing to search for 25-year-old Mustaf Jama in connection with the shooting.
A force spokeswoman said the raids were carried out in conjunction with West Midlands Police.
See Friday's Birmingham Post for more on these stories
