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News in brief

  • Sports journalist Justin Allen is joining the Daily Star as page editor and writer after two yearswith the Evening Argus in Brighton.
    Justin, (24), had previously worked for BBC Radio Kent and Kent Messenger Group title, the East Kent Mercury, where he won the BT Southern Counties Sports Journalist of the Year and Kent Young Journalist of the Year awards.
    Justin said: “I would recommend the East Kent Mercury and Evening Argus to any young journalist who wants to learn his or her trade. They are bothexcellent stepping stones and they’ve done me a world of good.”

  • A second concert it to take place next month in memory of Philip Bates, a reporter at the Sutton Coldfield Observer.
    He died in a car accident on holiday in Switzerland last year and will be remembered at the concert – A Touch of Basil – on September 8.

  • A bride-to-be whose big day looked doomed when she could not pay for her wedding dress has been offered more than 30 gowns after her story got an airing in Bedfordshire on Sunday.
    Melanie Greenland’s disappointment when she was turned down for a £1,000 loan weeks before her marriage to fiancee meant she could not afford the £325 dress she had set her heart on.
    But since then, big-hearted readers came to the rescue. They included the former owner of a wedding shop, who has offered a choice of 30 gowns.

  • Families are being offered the chance to race at grand prix venue Donington park in a bid to raise cash for the Magic cancer appeal, backed by the Derby Evening Telegraph.
    The snag is that they won’t be able to use motorised vehicles.
    Funds raised will help the City General Hospital’s cancer department.

  • The Bristol Evening Post got results for a family in the city which was without hot water after moving into a home with no gas meter.
    The Post stepped into action when it was revealed the gas supplier took the meter out after the previous tenants ran up a huge bill.
    The firm didn’t know a new family was moving in and put the problem right straight away.

  • Potential reporters, TV presenters and sports commentators are in with a chance of experiencing media work at Cambridge United, as the search for volunteers to help behind the scenes is stepped up at Abbey Stadium.
    A pitch-side announcer, disc jockey, photographers and a crew to produce the club’s cable TV show are all required.

    Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or
    e-mail [email protected]