These are the latest Liverpool ECHO headlines this morning.
Burglar's shocking crime spree ended when he killed nurse
A burglar's shocking eight-month crime spree came to an end when he killed a much-loved nurse.
Shaun Rimmer committed nearly two dozen high-value burglaries during the early part of 2021, with his victims including then Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti. Then, in the summer of last year, he fatally struck a dad-of-three at speed while behind the wheel of a stolen car then drove off with a shattered and bloodstained windscreen.
Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday that the 29-year-old and partner in crime Adam Hastings - from Netherton - led a "team of highly-organised, professional burglars" which targeted the now Real Madrid boss' address in Blundellsands on February 12 last year. Michael Scholes, prosecuting, described how Ancelotti's young daughter "screamed" out in horror when she realised that two men had entered via a first-floor balcony at around 6.30pm on the day in question.
READ MORE: Neighbours heard 'almighty bang' as house went up in flames
A quantity of jewellery, a designer leather bag worth in the region of £2,000 and several credits were taken during the incident. The intruders then carted their loot off in a pillowcase.
This was one of a serious of break-ins, in which the crooks also targeted houses where firearms including shotguns were kept - hoping to steal the guns to sell on to the criminal underworld. Rimmer, Hastings and fellow burglar Callum Martin - from Bootle - ransacked countless secluded homes to steal tens of thousands of pounds of jewellery at a time.
Read more here.
Merseyrail last trains for Christmas and New Year's Eve
There will be changes to Merseyrail's timetables as the festive season gets into full swing.
As with every year during Christmas and New Year, there will be some rail alterations during the busy period and people are urged to plan their journeys in advance. Merseyrail has released the festive timetable so people can plan ahead - whether it is for last minute Christmas shopping or a night out.
READ MORE: Christmas in Liverpool to be saved as company steps in
There will also be a special Boxing Day timetable. On Christmas Eve train services finish early and on Christmas Day there will be no trains running. Due to planned industrial action by RMT members of Network Rail, timetables have been changed between the December 24 and December 27.
A 30-minute service was planned to run across the network on December 26, but Merseyrail said this is no longer possible following the industrial action announced by the RMT. This also means that the last trains on Christmas Eve will now finish earlier than originally planned and final services will run at approximately 4.30pm on December 24.
Read more here.
Alder Hey chief nurse issues urgent 'super spreader' warning after rise in children hospitalised
An Alder Hey Children's Hospital nurse has issued a warning following a surge of serious flu cases among children.
The chief nurse said it is impacting children under-five in the North West and has urged parents and guardians of young children to take up the offer of the flu jab this winter, amid rising flu hospitalisations.
Nathan Askew has urged parents to help “keep us all safe this winter by getting your children vaccinated.”
READ MORE: Neighbours heard 'almighty bang' as house went up in flames
He said: “We have seen a rising number of young children with flu recently and children under five are most likely to be hospitalised with flu. They are also ‘super-spreaders’, which means they can pass it on really easily to other members of the family, especially those who are vulnerable.”
Across England, hospitalisations in young children are over 44% higher than the last pre-pandemic year (2019/2020), with around 650 children under five in hospital with flu this week compared to around 450 at the same time in 2019/20. This time last year there were less than 20 children in hospital with flu. Read the full story here.
