UK News: Children of jobless facing life on the dole

Young people from jobless families are more likely to end up in the dole queue themselves.

The children of unemployed parents also tend to feel far less confident about their own future, a Prince's Trust report revealed. Its findings showed that 70 per cent struggled to find a job.

Mum on murder charge

FRIENDS of a woman being questioned on suspicion of murdering her two-year-old son described a "doting" mother.

The 39-year-old, named locally as Melanie Ruddell, was arrested when she walked into a County Durham police station yesterday carrying her "unresponsive" son Christy.

Retailers report sharp drop in sales growth

Retail sales growth slowed sharply last month as fears over Government spending cuts saw consumers focus on essential purchases, according to figures out today.

The British Retail Consortium said retail sales grew 0.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis in July - a steep fall from the 1.2 per cent hike in June and the worst since April.

Non-food sales were the worst hit, with shoppers shunning so-called big-ticket items.

Food 'allergies' soaring

Hospital admissions for food allergies among children rose by 500 per cent in the past 20 years but many youngsters are being wrongly diagnosed with the condition due to unreliable testing kits, the NHS watchdog said.

Between six and eight per cent of European under threes now have food allergies - a dramatic increase since 1990.

Drive to stop benefit cheats

AN "uncompromising" crackdown on benefit cheats will be unveiled in the autumn, David Cameron pledged today.

He said credit rating agencies could be recruited to help identify false claims and reduce the 5.2 billion annual cost of fraud and error.

London: A 20-year-old man died when he was struck by a train as he attempted to evade police. The man was killed after hurdling a level crossing barrier following a pursuit in Enfield, north London, at about 5.30pm yesterday. Two other men were arrested.

Isle of Wight: The bodies of a man and woman, believed to be a married couple in their 30s, were found in a flat in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight.

The pair were discovered inside the flat at 6.27pm yesterday by police and officers are investigating how and when they died.