UK News: Dogs brought in to hunt for nightclubber

SPECIALIST dog teams were today being drafted in to help search for nightclubber Sian O'Callaghan, after police revealed they were "very close to identifying" her whereabouts.

Experts have been examining "hotspots" in the 4500-acre Savernake Forest, Wiltshire.

Rail franchise cut costs

TERMINATING a key rail franchise will result in the Department for Transport receiving 330-380 million less in premium payments, a National Audit Office report said today. But the termination of National Express's East Coast franchise was the best means of protecting taxpayers, it said.

UK faces pledging 3bn for Portuguese bail-out

BRITAIN may have to pledge more than 3 billion towards an emergency EU bail-out for Portugal, it was claimed today.

The warning came as a new economic crisis overshadowed an EU summit in Brussels.

David Cameron was travelling to the summit today for talks on strengthening European economies. But Portugal looks set to demand a massive bail-out after the collapse of its austerity plans and the resignation of prime minister Jose Socrates.

'Child soldiers' slammed

TENS of millions of pounds are being wasted because the Ministry of Defence continues to recruit "child soldiers" who are more likely to drop out of the armed forces, said a report.

Soldiers under the age of 18 are also being jailed after going absent without leave, despite a policy which gives officers the discretion to discharge "unhappy juniors", the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers said.

CBE honour for Hancock

ACTRESS Sheila Hancock was to be made a CBE by the Prince of Wales today in recognition of her glittering stage and screen career.

The 78-year-old, who made her name in the BBC sitcom The Rag Trade, receives the honour for services to drama.

OXFORD: The family of an Oxford student whose flat was burgled just days after his death have pleaded for the stolen items to be returned. Exeter College PhD student William DeJanes, 33, was found dead at his home on March 15 and two days later the rented flat was burgled, with thieves taking a laptop which contained photos of him and his family and his thesis.

ISLE OF WIGHT: A teenager was rescued from a cliff ledge after slipping 30ft trying to rescue her cat, emergency services said. The 18-year-old female was recovered from the cliff at Atherfield Point, Isle of Wight.