Guest critical after assault at wedding

A man could be left with permanent brain damage after he was attacked during a wedding reception at a London pub. The wedding was paid for by TV show...

A man could be left with permanent brain damage after he was attacked during a wedding reception at a London pub.

The wedding was paid for by TV show GMTV, and the station has since handed their footage of the event to police.

A 51-year-old man has been arrested, but not charged, in connection with the incident at the Shillibeer's pub in Holloway on Saturday 20 August. The man has been released on bail.

Billy Corroll, 47, the groom's second cousin, was found with serious head injuries in the pub toilet at 9.30pm. His condition is described as 'critical.

The £10,000 wedding, which was paid for and filmed by GMTV, was held earlier in the day at St Dominic's Church in Gospel Oak. The film crew, which was led by GMTV presenter Keith Chegwin and BBC London DJ Jono Coleman, left about three hours before the attack. GMTV has decided not to broadcast the show.

Acting detective chief inspector Lorraine Dillon said: 'We are very disappointed at the lack of witnesses. We would like to appeal to any of the guests who may hold any photographs or video footage of the wedding to come forward.

Anyone with information can call Islington police on 0207 421 0289.

Man jailed after guns in pubs incidents

A man who carried a gun into two West Yorkshire pubs has been jailed for five years.

Paul Walkington, 48, of Plain Fields, Nelson Street, Sowerby Bridge, admitted two offences of possessing a prohibited firearm, and one of possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate. He was jailed at Bradford Crown Court last week.

The court heard that Walkington was seen carrying a gun in the Lock Keepers Tavern, Sowerby, and the Trigger Guns, Luddenden Foot, on 1 April.

Police were called and armed officers raided his house. They found four handguns and ammunition, and there was evidence that one of the guns had been fired.

Walkington originally denied owning any guns, but later said he had been asked to dispose of them for his mother-in-law.

Michael Greenhalgh, mitigating, said Walkington had 'no intention of committing criminal activity. He took these weapons with the best of intentions of disposing of them.

Blaze at pub was arson, say police

Police are treating a fire that gutted a recently-refurbished Newcastle pub as arson.

The Corner House in Heaton suffered extensive damage, with more than half of the building destroyed, after a fire at around 12.30am on Sunday.

The pub, which is located on the corner of Heaton Road and Coast Road, had recently undergone a £300,000 revamp.

Anyone with information can call Northumbria Police on 0191 214 6555.

Brighton pub-goers warned about thefts

Brighton police have issued a warning to female pub-goers after new figures showed eight handbags are stolen each day from the city's pubs and clubs.

Police said 342 bags have been stolen since 1 July. As a result, officers are to continue sticking notices saying 'virtually stolen on unattended handbags and mobile phones.

Police said the bags are often stolen when they are left unattended on the backs of chairs in pubs.

Hosts help in search for missing girl

Licensees in Richmond, North Yorkshire, are helping police find missing teenager Jenny Nicholl, who left her parent's home in Richmond on 30 June and has not been seen since.

Police described the 19-year-old as a 'sociable person who enjoys pubs, and officers last week visited every pub in the Richmond area to see if anyone had seen her.

'Our hope is to find Jenny safe and well somewhere, so it makes sense to extend the search to the kind of places she enjoys visiting, said detective inspector Pete Martin.

The missing teenager is described as 5ft 6ins, slim with green eyes, fresh complexion and fair shoulder length hair. She was last seen carrying a dark grey rucksack. Anyone with information can call the Witness Line on 01423 539334.