These are the latest Liverpool ECHO headlines this morning.
Bar worker drove for six miles down motorway with no wheel after drunken crash
A bar worker drove for six miles down a motorway with one of her car wheels missing following a drunken crash.
Jenni Smyth downed bottles of Smirnoff Ice and Jagerbombs during her shift in a nightclub before getting behind the wheel and smashing into a parked vehicle. But the 26-year-old was spared prison due to the "untold effect" the murders of both her dad and uncle had on her as a child.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Tuesday, that a disabled resident of New Hey Road in Woodchurch, Wirral, was "woken by a loud crash" at 5.30am on February 27 this year. The woman looked outside to find a small grey car had smashed into her vehicle and "shunted it up the road".
READ MORE: Murderer jailed for 18 years for killing boyfriend after night in the pub
Joanne Moore, prosecuting, described how the defendant's vehicle "became stuck inside her car", but she reversed out and drove away from scene and onto the M53. Roughly an hour later at around 6.30am, an off-duty police officer, who was on her way to begin her shift, spotted Smyth turning right onto Woodstock Road in Liscard from Mill Lane.
The PC described how "sparks were coming from" the motor, which had suffered "extensive damage". She was "surprised the vehicle was capable of being driven at all", and reported the incident upon her arrival at work.
Read the full story here.
'Bubbly' woman dies an hour after Facetime to partner to say goodnight
A woman with a "beautiful heart" who would "do anything for anyone" suddenly died at the age of 49.
For the last few years Allison Lawlor was in and out of hospital as she "didn't have a working immune system" and had been diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND). But after going into hospital earlier this year with an infection, partner Paul Gallacher said it was "just like any other time".
Back in July of this year, Allison was receiving hospital treatment for an infection when she became forgetful. But the day before she died, she was "much better", with plans for a visit from Paul the following morning.
READ MORE: Paedophile who filmed half-naked young girl on phone spared jail
She even video called her partner at 11.30pm to say goodnight, something she hadn't managed that week, and said she was "feeling much better". But just over an hour later, Paul received a devastating phone call from the hospital.
At around 1am on July 25, Paul was told Allison had "taken a bad turn" and she had passed away. Despite managing to resuscitate her, Allison had been left brain damaged. Paul told the ECHO: "The last hour I spent with her, she wasn't Allison anymore. She didn't die from the infection, she died from a pulmonary embolism. It shouldn't have happened, it was completely out of the blue."
Read more here.
Inside the land deals at the centre of massive police investigation
A property developer spent £1,825,000 on acquiring two sites that are now subject to a police investigation.
Liverpool businessman Elliot Lawless was arrested on December 18, 2019 on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, bribery and corruption. The developer has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and has successfully challenged the legality of the warrants used by police to search his home and office.
The ECHO has now seen a legal document submitted to the High Court as part of his judicial review which has revealed how much the developer paid for two council owned sites. Both transactions now form part of a police investigation into council land and contracts codenamed Operation Aloft.
READ MORE: Developer's 'gun to the head' comment to senior council officer
A witness statement by Michael Murphy, a partner at solicitors Hill Dickinson, says that Mr Lawless paid £1.5m for Percy Place and £325,000 for a former college on Falkner Street.
Mr Murphy states that in relation to Percy Place Mr Lawless paid the £1.5m in instalments. Liverpool council charged Mr Lawless interest at five percent for deferring the payment over three instalments between September 2019 and April 2020.
Mr Murphy also states that the transaction did not cause a financial loss to Liverpool Council. In relation to the site on Falkner Street Mr Murphy states that Mr Lawless agreed to pay £425,000 to the council for Toxteth Community College. Read the full story here.
