Good afternoon, these are the latest lunchtime ECHO headlines.
First picture of gun found stashed in Nike bag next to gravestones
A semi-automatic handgun was discovered in a Nike bag among gravestones yesterday.
Hundreds of graves were cordoned off in West Derby Cemetery as forensic investigators conducted an examination of the site after the weapon was reported. Today (October 19) Merseyside Police has released pictures of the weapon, as well as of a number of bullets and a clip also found in the bag.
Merseyside Police are in the process of forensically examining the weapon to see if it is linked to the August murders of Sam Rimmer, Ashley Dale or Olivia-Pratt-Korbel. Police were called to the cemetery, on Lower House Lane, at around 1.15pm after a member of the public found the bag.
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Detective Inspector John Mullen from the Firearms Investigations Team, said: “Every weapon we seize makes our communities safer, and this gun was stored with ammunition, which could have been used to cause serious harm. We will now conduct forensic work to establish if this is a weapon which has been used before and who has had it in their possession.
Read the full story here.
Liz Truss reduces Parliament to laughter with just two words
Liz Truss made Parliament burst into laughter today.
Ms Truss clashed with Sir Keir Starmer during today's Prime Minister's Questions, after scrapping her economic strategy in a huge U-turn. In a square off against the Labour leader in PMQs, Ms Truss made a public apology.
However, during her speech she was forced to stop. The Prime Minister told MPs: "I have been very clear that I am sorry and that I have made mistakes."
Read the full story here.
Urgent warning over gang targeting elderly shoppers at Aldi and Lidl
A gang have been targeting elderly and disabled customers as they shop.
A spokesperson for the force said: "Officers have release CCTV images of five men they wish to speak to following a series of bank card thefts from elderly and disabled shoppers in Leigh and Tyldesley.
"The offences occurred between June and October 2022 in various shopping retail parks. The bank cards were stolen after the offenders distracted elderly and disabled shoppers and then used the cards to make several contactless transactions, the maximum transaction being £100."
Read the full story here.
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