These are the latest ECHO headlines this morning.
Beauty queen told police burglars had stolen her car after 4am crash
A beauty queen who told police burglars had stolen her car after she crashed it at 4am was once part of an in-house pop band at one of the country's top cabaret clubs.
Victoria McInerney smashed her Mercedes into a set of traffic lights on a main road, fled the scene then falsely reported the vehicle as stolen. She punched the air in delight after walking free from Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday.
The ECHO can now reveal the sales director and pilates studio owner's notable history in the entertainment world. Not only was the now 38-year-old crowned Miss Liverpool in her first beauty pageant as a teenager, McInerney also competed for the title of Miss England in 2003.
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The then 19-year-old ultimately lost out to Miss Poole Jackie Turner in a glittering ceremony at the Hammersmith Palais, with judges having included Alex Best, Dean Gaffney, Richard Blackwood and Simon Webbe. But that was far from the "award-winning dancer" and aspiring model and singer's only involvement in the industry.
McInerney, known as Vicky, also beat off 2,000 other entrants from across the country to join Cloud Nine - a six-piece boy and girl act which was house band at the Star in Blackpool. This venue sat in the shadow of Blackpool Pleasure Beach's the Big One and was regarded as one of the best in the UK for cabaret.
Read the full story here.
Man stabbed 12 times by thug just metres from busy music festival
A man stabbed 12 times in a vicious assault just metres away from a music festival has spoken about the lasting effects of the attack.
Stuart Newton spent the afternoon of Saturday, July 13 2019, at SonFest in Southport, a live music festival, with people he supported who had drug and alcohol issues. He said the day was going well up until a number of altercations between Colin Howard and strangers blighted the afternoon as Stuart needed to step in and ask Howard to calm down.
Later, at around 3.40pm, Howard approached the now 43-year-old and asked if he had forgiven him for kicking off, to which Stuart said yes before Howard stabbed him twice in the neck. Howard began to run from the scene before spotting Stuart still standing.
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He then returned and stabbed him another 10 times across his upper body from behind. Stuart, from Maghull, didn't realise the extent of his injuries until he managed to sit down at a nearby bench on the Promenade across the road from the Royal Clifton Hotel. People sprinted over to help pack the stab wounds, with his clothes quickly becoming saturated with blood.
He said: "Luckily there was someone there who was a first aider so he started packing my neck and other people started coming over and pointed and crying. My beige pants were blood-stained right the way down my right leg and all up the left-hand side of the top I was wearing. People then started to notice all the other injuries so everyone was trying to pack those wounds as well. That's when an ambulance arrived."
Read more here.
Shut windows and doors as firefighters tackle huge blaze in Rainford
Residents in Rainford have been warned by firefighters and police to keep their doors and windows closed as they tackle a large blaze.
Five fire engines rushed to the fire at Lords Fold, Ormskirk Road, Rainford, in the early hours of this morning after a large number of calls from the public.
Crews arrived on scene at 0.53am to find a farm building around 10m by 20m ablaze and acted quickly to secure water supplies and cool boundaries.
Firefighters are tackling the fire with main branch hoses. The incident is ongoing and is likely to continue for some time.
Follow the live updates here.
