Katie Dickinson

Patricia Hewitt, who had schizophrenia, a history of drug abuse and previous convictions, admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility after fatally stabbing wheelchair user Angela Lloyd 47 times in her Newton Aycliffe home. The killing occurred hours after Hewitt received a suspended sentence for assault and shortly after police community support officers spoke with her. The court accepted psychiatric evidence that Hewitt was experiencing clear symptoms of schizophrenia and imposed a hospital order rather than a custodial sentence. Lloyd's family condemned the decision, arguing that Hewitt's responsibility was diminished but not extinguished, and criticised organisations for failing to protect a vulnerable woman whose repeated emergency calls went unanswered.

An England football supporter, Michael Hewitt, has been missing for more than a week after leaving Leeds on 20 June to travel via Barcelona to Boston for a World Cup match. His family last heard from him in the early hours of 21 June when he was in Barcelona, after which his phone went out of service. Relatives have appealed for information and contacted the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, while Interpol has been notified as authorities work to determine whether he reached the United States or remained in Spain.