Good afternoon, these are the ECHO lunchtime headlines on Friday, April 1.
'Beautiful' mum who 'fought till the end' dies aged 27
A 'beautiful' mum who died of ovarian cancer has been described as a 'warrior' who 'fought till the end.'
Estelle Wignall was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was 22 years old and had a tumour 'the size of a watermelon' removed. But just months after doctors told her there were 'no signs' of her cancer returning, she received news in November 2020 that the cancer had returned and spread to other parts of her body.
The mum-of-one, from Wigan, said she knew something wasn't right when she started to get symptoms again just months later. Doctors then discovered it has spread to her lungs and pelvis. Estelle was told she may only have two to three years left to live, the MEN reports.
READ MORE: 'Juveniles' arrested after police raid drug den
National Minimum Wage and Living Wage rates rise - here are the new amounts
From today (April 1), millions of UK workers will receive a pay rise as the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage are both increased. The uplift in wages, which will benefit around 2.5 million people, includes the largest ever increase to the living wage. It will put £1,000 a year more into full-time workers’ pay packets, helping to ease cost of living pressures.
Workers in sectors such as retail, hospitality and cleaning and maintenance will particularly benefit from the rise. Apprentices will also get a large 11.9% increase to their minimum hourly pay, with 21-22 year-olds seeing an immediate 9.8% rise.
Drug courier who feared he'd get 5 years given 'pleasant surprise'
A drug courier who transported heroin from Cornwall to Merseyside thought he was going to get five years in jail but was given a "pleasant surprise" by a judge.
Joseph Duffy was caught transporting £22,000 heroin and £8,200 cash into Merseyside and told police: "I’ll get five years for this". A judge at Exeter Crown Court told Duffy that he had a nice surprise for him and then jailed him for less than half the time he expected.
Recorder Mr Kevin de Haan, QC, reduced the sentence after hearing that Duffy had been exploited by a County Lines gang because he suffers from ADHD, dyslexia and suspected autism. Duffy was recruited by the gang to transport the drugs to the South West and to return with cash but police learned of the trip and intercepted him.
