These are the latest ECHO headlines this morning.
Dad's emotional speech from the dock as he faces years behind bars
A dad fought back tears as he told a judge he had "lost everything" to drugs after running up £2,500 debts to his dealers.
Drug addict Peter Spencer was threatened and pressured into allowing his suppliers to dig up the concrete in the yard of his home in Chiswell Street, Kensington, and install a safe containing £180,000 worth of heroin, cocaine and cannabis. The organised crime group also set up a small cannabis farm in his loft and cajoled him into operating two "graft phones".
The drugs were found during a raid by Merseyside Police on September 6, 2019, and Spencer admitted he had allowed his home to be used as a stash house. He later pleaded guilty to possessing Class A and B drugs with intent to supply and a charge of cultivating cannabis.
READ MORE: 'Depraved' former teacher had 60,000 child abuse images on his computer
Spencer was unrepresented during his sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, but when asked by Judge David Potter whether he wanted to ask the court to give him time to find a lawyer, he replied: "I won't be asking for an adjournment, I just need this over with today."
Judge Potter said he had received a pre-sentence report prepared by the Probation Service, which described how Spencer was "fearful" over prison but was "under no illusions" and felt he would be able to cope. Judge Potter asked if that was still his view.
He replied: "What I did was wrong, I have to pay for it don't I?". Read the full story here.
Mum's warning as girl, 3, 'lucky to be alive' after horror scooter crash
A child is "lucky to be alive" after falling from her scooter while not wearing a helmet.
Robyn McAreavey, three, suffered a bleed on the brain, multiple fractures to her skull, cheek bone and another break above her nose. She also had air on the brain as well as a bad black eye.
Now, in a bid to raise awareness, the three-year-old's family, who live in Belfast, are appealing to all parents and carers to know of the importance of wearing a helmet. They said this time they were lucky.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Robyn's mum Lindsey said: "We were at our caravan on Saturday and there there is a bit of a hill. The road is new so it's really smooth, so all the kids were going down it on their scooters.
"We think Robyn has just hit a stone or a different part of the road and come off her scooter. At first, we thought she had maybe hit her eye, but about 15 minutes later she started to vomit. Then she had a nose bleed so we took her straight to Antrim Area Hospital.
"Looking at her, you would have thought she just hit her eye but because of the vomiting, she ticked the boxes to get a CT scan. When the doctors and nurses came back, they were shocked at the amount of fractures she suffered." Read more here.
Man steps in after thief targets 86-year-old woman outside Asda
A passerby stepped in when an 86-year-old woman was targeted by a "calculating" thief outside Asda.
Mary Rishworth had popped to the shops to buy a newspaper on April 26 this year when she fell foul of career criminal Stephen Carmody. Carmody, 39, had spotted Ms Rishworth going into the Asda store on Kirkland Street, St Helens, and lurked outside waiting for her.
Ms Rishworth noticed something tugging at her bag and realised Carmody had dipped his hand inside, but he was able to snatch her purse and house keys before fleeing the scene, leaving her on the ground.
READ MORE: Dealers buried safe stacked with £180k of cocaine and heroin in addict's yard
Liverpool Crown Court heard Ms Rishworth was not seriously hurt and called for help, grabbing the attention of bystander Carl Molyneux. He gave chase and found Carmody rifling through the purse.
Carmody then threw it to the ground and said "sorry" before fleeing the scene. The purse was returned to Ms Rishworth, who confirmed loose change of between £5 and £10 had been stolen.
Carmody was arrested and initially charged with robbery, which he denied, however the charge was reduced to theft from the person due to the fact he did not use force during the incident. Carmody, of College Street, St Helens, then pleaded guilty.
Read the full story here.
