VIDEO: Man Hits Armed Gunman With Chair,Foils Robbery

Martin Richardson stopped the robbery attempt

A robber who carried out a series of gunpoint raids at betting shops in England was finally caught when a brave customer struck him with a chair and then sat on him till police arrived.

Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday Azar Sulman had already targeted the William Hill shop in Kirkstall Road, Leeds, once, and the Hyde Park Road branch on two previous occasions before he returned there again on January 28.

But this time when he brandished a pistol at terrified staff the court heard the raider met his match in 38-year-old Martin Richardson.

After checking outside that the robber did not have any accomplices Mr Richardson closed the door to keep him inside and then struck him in the face with a chair.

Michael Smith, prosecuting, said when that did not appear to have any effect on Sulman, Mr Richardson struck him again. This time he went down and the customer grabbed his wrist forcing him to drop the weapon, kicking it out of reach before sitting on him until help arrived.

The gun turned out to be an air pistol but Mr Richardson told police he felt he had to act: "I was scared, I couldn't be certain whether the gun was real or not, I thought the male might shoot me anyway for getting in his way."

Sentencing Sulman to six years in a young offender institution, Judge Scott Wolstenholme paid tribute to Mr Richardson's bravery and awarded him $375 from public funds.

Sulman 20, of Brudenell Road, Headingley, admitted three charges of robbery and one of attempted robbery.

The court heard he was a model student while attending Notre Dame College in Leeds but had then turned to crime to pay off drug debts.

Judge Wolstenholme said he was an intelligent young man with good prospects who had brought shame on his family because he was also "an immature fantasist who did not think through the consequences of his actions".

At one point he admitted spending up to $300 a week on marijuana and said he was then advised to commit robberies by his dealer to pay debts.

The judge told him courts had to deter those targeting premises such as off licences and bookmakers "because through greed they see them as soft targets."

One woman employee had been so traumatised by her ordeal she had given up working at the bookmakers.

Mr Smith said Sulman first struck on November 26 at the Hyde Park Road premises when staff were getting ready to close.

Cashier Emily Porecka was suddenly aware of a man wearing a scarf to disguise his features who said "Give me your money."

He had a gun pointing at her chest and gestured to where the manageress Patricia White, 41, was standing and again demanded money. He made off with $525.

On December 22 he struck at the Kirkstall Road branch, again with a scarf over his face, pointing the gun at Lee Monaghan and Leanne Brierley. He demanded they open the safe but was told no money was kept there. He was then given all the coins in the tills before he left.

Mr Smith said he returned to Hyde Park Road on January 14 but the manager realizing what was about happen, ordered another assistant out the exit door and followed her. Sulman then demanded money from the only customer present, counting down from 10 as they lay on the floor as though he was going to shoot, but left empty-handed.

The same manageress was again present on January 28 and rushed to ring police when Sulman demanded money from another cashier, only to be stopped by Richardson.

Paul Williams, for Sulman, said he was a naive young man who had been too ashamed and humiliated to tell his family about his drug involvement and debts. He regretted what he had done.

VIDEO: 6-year-old student was handcuffed by an armed school security guard

A New Orleans elementary school is under fire after a 6-year-old student was handcuffed by an armed security guard on campus.

Ja'Brieil Weston, a first grader at Sarah T. Reed School, was handcuffed after getting into a fight in the lunchroom. His parents say Ja'Briel's feet were also cuffed.

The school district issued a statement stating they are investigating the incident.

The family said Ja-Briel was suspended after his father complained at a meeting last Friday.

VIDEO: Texas Teacher Fired For This Attack On Student

Sherri Davis, a science teacher at Jamie's House Charter School in Houston, backed 13-year-old Isaiah Johnson into a corner and began beating him while his classmates watched.

Janiqua Johnson, one of Isaiah's classmates, filmed the attack on her mobile phone. In the footage, which has made its way onto the internet, Ms Davis cane be seen dragging Isaiah across the floor before kicking and slapping him.

The video shows that the children initially thought that Ms Davis was joking with the boy after he teased a female classmate.

At the beginning of the video the children laugh and clap, but the laughter stops abruptly when Ms Davis starts hitting the boy.

She "just started beating him up," Janiqua Johnson told KHOU. "His behavior may have been bad but he didn't deserve that," she said.

Ms Davis was placed on administrative leave when school officials learned of the incident, but was fired when officials saw the video.

Isaiah's mother Alesha Johnson said the video was now in the hands of Harris County Sheriff's investigators and she has filed criminal charges.

She said: "I'm horrified. I just can't believe something like that would happen to my child."

"It was horrifying," said Sue Jones, a spokesman for the school.

"There's just no other word for that."

Dog on the menu for Chinese astronauts

Yang Liwei, the 44-year-old military pilot who commanded the Shenzhou Five mission in 2003, revealed the menu on-board the spacecraft in his autobiography, The Nine Levels between Heaven and Earth.

"Many of my friends are curious about what we eat [in space] and think that the astronauts must have some expensive delicacies, like shark's fin or abalone," he wrote. "Actually we ate quite normal food, there is no need to keep it a secret," he added

He listed a menu including braised chicken, steamed fish and dog meat from Huajiang county in Guangdong, which is famed for its nutritional benefits in China.

A local proverb in the south of China is that "Huajiang dog is better for you than ginseng", referring to the medicinal root that plays a vital role in traditional Chinese medicine.

He added that the diet had been specially drawn up for the astronauts by Chinese nutritionists and that the food had been purchased from special suppliers in Beijing. Dog is widely eaten in northern China, where it is believed to help battle the winter cold. The menu was still in use last year, when Chinese astronauts conducted their first ever spacewalk. China has plans to land a man on the moon by 2020.

Aussie Critical After Eating Slug On a Dare

A Sydney Australia man is critically ill after eating a slug as a dare, leading authorities to issue health warnings on devouring raw gastropods.

The 21-year-old contracted rat lungworm disease - a rare form of meningitis - after the stunt.

Rat lungworm disease is caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a parasitic worm that is carried in the pulmonary arteries of rats. Larvae are excreted in the rat's droppings, which are often eaten by slugs and snails.

The disease can cause fatal swelling of the brain and spinal cord.

However, Jeremy McAnulty from New South Wales Health said most people do recover. He said the worm goes away by itself because the body's immune system eventually gets rid of it.

Dr McAnulty said people should not eat raw slugs or snails and should ensure they wash their hands after touching them.

"It is also important to thoroughly wash and cook any produce that could be contaminated by animals," he said.

The worm was found mainly in Asia and the Pacific Islands. It was rare for people to contract rat lungworm disease in Australia, but it occurred occasionally from eating an uncooked slug or snail, Dr McAnulty said.

Infected people may have no symptoms or only mild short-lived symptoms, he said.

Sometimes the infection causes meningitis, with symptoms such as headaches, stiff neck, tingling or pain in the skin, fever, nausea, and vomiting, Dr McAnulty said.

"Even if infected, most people recover fully without treatment," he said.

"However, it can sometimes cause severe meningitis.

"Because humans are not the natural host of the parasite, the parasite eventually dies without treatment."

Rat lungworm infection cannot be passed on to other people.

VIDEO: I HOPE THIS WAS A STUNT

Thieves steal hearse with body but leave note so corpse could be found

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Thieves who stole a hearse with a corpse inside early Wednesday from a Cleveland crematory left a note behind when they abandoned the vehicle so police could find the body.

The 2009 Chrysler was taken from Greenfield Crematory on Lake Court. Police received a call Wednesday about 7 a.m. about an abandoned vehicle in a driveway on East 55th Street, north of St. Clair Avenue.

A dispatcher told a cop that a body should be inside the car. The crematory had reported the theft and the missing body.

The officer did not find the body but found a note saying where the corpse was left. Another officer found the gurney and female corpse about two miles away at Ashland Road and Tivoli Court, police said.

Detectives took pictures of the gurney and corpse before crematory workers retrieved the body.

The thieves also took computer equipment from the crematory. Police are exploring whether the thieves stole the van to haul away the computer equipment, Sgt. Sammy Morris said.

Funeral homes and crematories are sometimes targeted for embalming chemicals, which when mixed with other drugs produce a potent high. It was unclear if any chemicals were taken from Greenfield in the theft.

No one had been arrested in the theft as of late Wednesday.

The corpse was not harmed, said Jim Murphy, president of Schulte & Mahon-Murphy Funeral Home in Lyndhurst. The company owns the van and part of the crematory, officials said.

The corpse was left on the gurney in the vehicle inside a locked building and was scheduled to be cremated Wednesday, Murphy said. He refused to discuss the theft at length.

"Everything is fine," he said. "No harm done."

Man, 84, accused of running down brother-in-law in money spat

An 84-year-old Sevier County Utah man was being held in Garfield County Jail Wednesday on a charge of attempted murder after allegedly running over his brother-in-law with a car -- and then beating him with a cane.

Purportedly enraged by a dispute involving family finances, Carl Lewis, of Redmond, allegedly drove to his brother-in-law's home in Old Hatch Town to confront him Monday about 3 p.m., Garfield County sheriff's spokeswoman Becki Bronson said.

Lewis purportedly pulled up to the residence, motioning Kelly Johnson-- who apparently did not immediately recognize his brother-in-law -- toward his car. Lewis then allegedly floored the accelerator and hit Johnson head on and driving over him, Bronson said.

Lewis then allegedly exited his car, grabbed his cane and, while shouting he was going to kill the man, began to beat Johnson.

Johnson, described as being in his 70s, sustained a broken hip and multiple abrasions on his arms and head. He was transported by ambulance to the Cedar City hospital Valley View Medical Center in serious but stable condition.

Bronson said Lewis was arrested by deputies in neighboring Sevier County after he drove back to Redmond, and later turned over to Garfield County law officers.

Lewis was being held on $40,000 cash only bail. His initial 6th District Court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.