Category: Thame news

A WHEATLEY man on trial for murdering his wife by cutting her throat, has been found dead in his cell.

Russell Yeates, a 49 year-old carpenter, of Bell Lane in Wheatley, denied slitting the throat of 47-year-old Deborah Smith at their home last May.

His trial at Oxford Crown Court, was due to begin hearing evidence from the defence today, but Yeates was found dead in his cell at Bullingdon prison early this morning.

A spokesman for the Prison Service is reported to have said: “HMP Bullingdon prisoner Russell Yeates was found in his cell at 5.30am. Mr Yeates was pronounced dead at the scene. As with all deaths in custody, the prisons and probation ombudsman will conduct an investigation.”

During Yeates’s trial, a jury heard a 999 call which recorded the moment a neighbour, Denise Jones, found the bloodsoaked body of a woman whose throat had apparently been cut at the bottom of the stairs.

She told the court she had gone to look for Mrs Smith after Yeates staggered to her door with blood pouring from a neck wound.

Yeates was accused of slitting his wife’s throat with a knife following a confrontation, before using the blade on himself.

He denied murdering his wife on May 26 last year.

Photo: Bullingdon prison where Russell Yeates was found dead in his cell this morning.

THAME Town Council has questioned the validity of a report that says that the once popular Royal Oak at Moreton, near Thame, could no longer be viable as a pub.

The report, commissioned by the current owner of the property who has applied for planning permission for the building’s change of use to a residential building, concluded that Moreton is “too isolated a population with no passsing trade” and therefore not viable as a pub.

The Royal Oak, Moreton, closed 9 years ago, as a failing up-market restaurant, having previously been a profitable and very popular pub and live music venue called Paddy McGinty’s.

Councillors at last night’s meeting of the town council’s Planning committee, said that they remembered the Royal Oak as “a very vibrant pub” with a full car park most weekends, and a favourtie destination for people walking from Thame.

Cllr David Dodds said that he saw no reason why the council should not “stick to its guns”, having previously rejected the plan for change of use, on the grounds that “Members were of the opinion that it had not been proved that the premises would not be viable as a public house.”

“Nothing has changed,” he said. “They need to go through a proper independent marketing excercise, as stipulated by planning rules, and not depend on a paid agent’s view.”

The committe recommened refusal of the application on those grounds.

A RED phone box in Thame, that the town council wants to get rid of, cannot be removed because it is apparently ‘listed’.
The rather sad-looking red phone box, that stands in front of the town hall, is one of three in the town that BT has given the town council the option of adopting for the sum of

A THAME woman, who admitted a sexual relationship with a fourteen year-old in her care, changed her plea to guilty at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

Special Needs Advisor, Catherine Armstrong, befriended the boy when he sought help for learning diffulties over the internet.

The boy told the court how he often felt “scared” and would go to his carer, who he called Kate, often laying on her bed bedside her for comfort.

He admitted that he was a willing partner in what became a two-year sexual relationship.

After pleading guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child and admitting one count of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, 33 year-old Armstrong was released on conditional bail and asked to sign the sex offenders’ register.

She will return to court for sentencing on February 27.

Photo: Catherine Armstong (courtesy of http://www.metro.co.uk)

THE Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was seriously injured after a traffic collision on Thursday (1/1)new year’s day.

A black Renault Clio was travelling along Lower Road between Haddenham and Aylesbury around 1.15am when it was involved in a collision.

A 20-year-old man was found lying in the road and it is believed he was ejected from the vehicle. He was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital where he remains in a critical condition.

Anyone who witnessed the collision is urged to contact PC Julia Stroud at Aylesbury Roads Policing Department via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505.

If you do not want to speak to the police, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

You can also give information to the police in person by visiting any police station. To find out the opening times and location of your local station please call 0845 8 505 505 or visit: www.thamesvalley.police.uk/bcu/buckinghamshire/bcu-info/stations.htm

THE trial of a Wheatley man, accused of murdering his wife with a kitchen knife after chasing her through the village’s streets, began today.

Deborah Smith, 47, was discovered at her home in Bell Lane, Wheatley, with wounds to her kneck on Bank Holiday Monday, May 26, 2008.

Read full report
from the Oxford Mail.

Photo: Deborah Smith

FOR the first time on record, the number of people killed on the roads in the Thames Valley has dropped to below 100.

There were 95 road deaths in 2008, 19.7 per cent lower than in 2007 and 34.3 per cent lower than in 2006.

Sue Brown, Chairman of the Safer Roads Partnership Board, said: ?The impact of a fatal crash cannot be underestimated. To have witnessed the reductions in road deaths that we have seen, in the last year in particular, marks a dramatic change on our roads. The challenge that lies ahead is maintaining those reductions and aiming to go further.?

Whilst road safety bosses are delighted with the progress this represents their message to motorists is still one of caution.

Mick Doyle, Superintendent of Roads Policing at Thames Valley Police, said: “The reduction is wonderful news but no comfort for those families that have lost a loved one this year. Far too often officers have to break the news to somebody that their son, daughter, wife or husband is never coming home again.
?The reduction comes as a result of the dedicated commitment of many agencies: Intelligence led police enforcement and education initiatives like The Young Driver Scheme and Safe Drive, Stay Alive make important contributions. We have led the way nationally with our innovative diversion schemes used as an alternative to prosecution for errant drivers, but there is still much to do.”

Richard Owen, Operations Manager for the partnership praised the work of professionals in the field: ?It is a great credit to the work of all our partners that today?s results are the lowest on record; a just reward for the incredibly dedicated road safety officers, emergency service personnel, engineers, analysts, administrators and volunteers whose work is rarely seen.
“There are, of course, some key areas that remain of concern to the partnership. Over 30 per cent of those who died were under the age of 25, 18 per cent of the deaths were motorcyclists and 14 per cent were over the age of 70. Relative to the amount of time in which they occupy the roads these groups are more at risk than many and it is hoped that greater progress can be made in improving safety for these groups.”

In a statement today, Thames Valley Police said that the need for coroners to finalise their investigations into the causes of some of these fatal collisions could result in the death toll attributable to crashes being altered, but this will only affect a small number of cases.

A THAME man, accused of causing grevious bodily harm with intent to another man in a street fight in the town, was given bail by Oxford Crown Court today.
Robert Newitt was charged after a 31 year-old man was hospitalised with an arm injury, following an incident in the Hight Street on Friday, December 19, 2008.
He is due to appear at the court again on March 2.

IT is with great sadness that we report the death of Denis Manners MBE, from a heart attack, on January 02, 2009.
As well as being the founder of the now huge, annual Towersey Festival, Dennis was ‘Mr Folk Music’ on Radio Oxford, and a former prisoner of war who helped found the Ex-Servicemen’s CND to campaign for nuclear disarmament.

Tribute

“Denis and Sheila moved to Towersey nearly fifty years ago. Denis was a member of the small committee which started fund-raising for the provision of better facilities in the village hall, particularly the toilets. As part of the fund-raising effort he held the first Village Festival 45 years ago in his own garden (where we live now!). The Oxford City Morris Men, of which he was a member, came to dance at that Festival, which gave rise to much sniggering from the local youths, so Denis challenged them to try a bit of Morris dancing themselves, and thus founded the Towersey Morris Men.

Towersey traditions have gone from strength to strength, and have been continuously supported by Denis and his family ever since.

During the late 1960s Denis, together with Louis Rushby, Frank Honiball and Ernie Warland,
negotiated the purchase of ten acres of land, which they, as Trustees of that property conveyed to the village as the Towersey Playing Fields.

Denis?s service to the community was recognised by the award of an MBE for services to Morris dancing, presented by the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire in 2002, at a very festive occasion in Thame Town Hall (Ed. at the request of Denis himself because he wanted Morris dancers to be present and he didn’t think they would be allowed at Buckingham Palace) followed by a lunch in the Towersey Memorial Hall.

Denis and Sheila moved to Nottingham (from Cedar Crescent, Thame) about three years ago, to be near their daughter. Sheila passed away last year. We can assure their family that they will never be forgotten in Towersey where they made such an enormous contribution to the life of this community.”

Photo: Denis Manners outside one of his favourite ‘watering holes’ The Three Horseshoes, Towersey, with John Wilson (Courtesy of Towersey Morris website)

THE emergency services were called to an incident in the early hours of new year’s eve, when a car left the road, between Haddenham and Aylesbury.
The driver of the vehicle was looked after by passers-by until paramedics arrived on the scene, treated the man and then took him to hospital with serious injuries.

The incident happened on Lower Road between Haddenham and Aylesbury, at around 2.30 am.