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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2009 www.birminghamnews.co.uk 44p

By Dave Danton Carlyle

INSIDE TODAY

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FULL STORY: PAGE 4

FULL STORY: PAGE 13

Bodybuilding killer jailedGerman market

is back in Brum

MARKET HATS UPFORGRABS

A BIRMINGHAM body builder, Damien Fergusson was jailed yes-terday for the murder of his person-al trainer, Benjamin Humphreys. The two men had been working together for the past seven years and had enjoyed success with competition wins in a number of body building events in England and Scotland. It is suspected that Fergusson has been suffering with mental prob-lems caused directly by, ‘illegal substances’, he has been using to gain muscle. Recession worse than fearedThe recession has hit Birming-ham worse than any other city in the UK, government statistics revealed yesterday. This is extremely bad news for the 1000s of unemployed people in who are already struggling in England’s second capital. The unemployment numbers are also likely to increase over the next few weeks as many of the citys big companies are going to have to cut back on staff num-bers to counter-act there losses. Local MPs are currently trying to find a solution to the problem.

BIRMINGHAMNEWS

BIRMINGHAMNEWS

O’Clothes

OShow

Christmas comes early!GERMAN MARKET RE-OPENS

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By Che Ali Clarke

Wednesday, December 2nd. 2009

Yesterday saw the return of the Birmingham Frankfurt Christ-mas market. Despite the weather being bit-terly cold and raining heavily for most of the day it didn’t stop hundreds of brummies making their way to the city centre to get their first taste of the Christmas spirit this year. The Frankfurt Festive market, for many, has become a staple part of Birmingham’s culture over the past few years and turns the New Street and Town Hall area into an even more picturesque view than it already is. The market is the sixth largest festive market of its kind in Europe and it is clear to see why it is so popular with people and attracts as many customers as it does One of the stall owners who has had a pitch for the past four years selling hotdogs said, ‘the atmos-phere this place creates can’t be beat anywhere else in the world. This is my job, this is what I do and I get a real buzz from coming down here and I look forward to it all year round’. The market this year has around 180 stalls which is a considerable increase on previous years. It has also been extended onto Centenary Square and further down New Street towards the Palisades. This is likely to make it that lit-tle bit harder for those Christmas Shoppers trying to get the perfect present for friends, family and lovers, as the range of choice is so much greater now. As well as the retail lovers it is also bound to be highly popular with romantics, as the location and setting has become a must-see place for couples. One couple, who first met at the market beer bar, when it first ar-rived in Birmingham, talked about how they had been there together with each other every year since. ‘It is sort of a tradition with us now’, Claire giggled. ‘We love it here and obviously it has a lot of meaning to us because without it we wouldn’t have met’, said her partner Mark. With the 180 stalls another positive the market brings is the amount of jobs for locla people. The market is estimated to em-ploy just under a thousand people, the majority being from Birming-ham. The market will be open until the 23rd December, so get yourself down there to make this Christmas a memorable one.

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Winter wonderland: A collection of photographs of some of the joyous scenes from yesterdays Frankfurt market opening.

Young rugby ace killed in plane crashThe grief stricken family and friends of a highly talented young rugby player were attending the 20 year olds funeral yesterday. The young man, Lewis Dy-lan, had been playing for local team Moseley and was being chased by up to three profes-sional teams trying to get his contract. His girlfriend Chloe de-scribed how, ‘he was always laughing and kind to people

around him. He really had dreams of making it with rugby, he said he would take me around the world’. There was many people attending the service includ-ing family, friends, girlfriend, fellow rugby players, old teachers and work mates. There will be a memorial game played at the Moseley ground on December 10th.

Teacher sacked for drug possession A teacher who worked in a local Northfield school - Shenley Court Secondary and Specialist Arts college - has been sacked after being found in possession of the class C drug cannabis. Shamed Miss Joyce had been teaching there for seven years and was the head of the science department. Fellow teachers had become suspicious of her after notic-

ing a decline in her enthusi-asm for lesson preparation and quality of her teaching. Miss Joyce’s career is now in debate and she will have to attend meetings in front of a board at the tda to decide what further actions will be taken. The teacher has spoke out about the suspension, ‘I know what I have done is wrong and I am deeply sorry’.