Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 28, 2019 Page 25
A MOTHER has told how
she fought off robbers
armed with a crowbar to
stop them stealing her car
with her young son inside.
Amy-Leigh Hill, 24, wrestled
with the masked men, kicking
and pushing them as they
screamed: ‘Give us the keys.’
The trio had sprinted towards
Miss Hill and a friend who was
with her moments after she had
parked on her driveway.
One threatened her with the
crowbar as they pushed over her
friend and demanded the keys to
the £55,000 Audi SQ5 containing
her three-year-old son Ronny.
However, Miss Hill refused and
CCTV footage shows her fighting
back and shouting at them before
they fled empty-handed.
She recalled later how her pro-tective instinct took over when
the gang struck in Moseley, Bir-
mingham. She said: ‘They had a
crowbar and started shouting at
my friend to give them her bag.
‘She said she didn’t have any-
thing in her handbag so they
turned to me screaming “Give us
the keys, give us the keys”.
‘My instinct was to protect the
two people with me and I did eve-
rything in my power to do that.
‘They pushed my friend over and
she was yelling at me to just give
them the keys but I said, “I can’t
because my baby’s in the car”.
‘Then they started attacking me
from all sorts of angles. I was push-
ing them off. They pushed me up
against the window of my house
by the throat.
‘I kicked them off and wasscreaming at them to get off. I was
saying, “My child is in the car” but
they weren’t paying attention. I
did everything in my power to
stop them.’
Miss Hill, a former social media
executive, said at one point she
put her handbag between the wall
and a plant pot, and sat on it so
they could not get to her keys.asking where the baddies are.’ She
had noticed the three men in their
car nearby minutes before but did
not think anything of it.
Last October, two Audis belong-
ing to Miss Hill and her boyfriend
were stolen from the driveway of
their home. One was later used in
a ram raid and too damaged to
return. The second was returned
by police only three months before
the crowbar gang tried to steal it.
Miss Hill said: ‘We’ve been told
our Audis are very desirable
because they’re high speed and
very valuable for parts. All our
friends and family say “Why don’t
you just get a cheaper car?”
‘But why should we? We love
them and worked hard for them.’
She is speaking out about the
incident on July 26 to try to help
catch the gang. Anyone with infor-
mation can call police on 101 or
Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.By Claire DuffinGET AWAY FROM THAT CAR
- MY CHILD’S IN THE BACK
Grubs up...
Put insects in
pet food ‘to
help climate’
PET owners are being encour-
aged by vets to feed their
animals insects.
Dog and cat food containing
creepy crawlies could reduce
the amount of land and water
used by farming, the British
Veterinary Association said.
Pets are estimated to con-
sume more than 10 per cent of
the meat produced globally.
If the protein in pet food were
supplemented with insects, this
could mean lower levels of
methane, which is produced by
cows, and less use of fertilisers.
The BVA recently published a
new position recommending
further research on insect-
rearing for pet food.
However a recent study by the
Pet Food Manufacturing Associ-
ation found more than a third of
pet owners would ‘not be happy
at all’ to feed their animal food
containing insect powder, even
if it was of nutritional benefit.
Simon Doherty, from the BVA,
said: ‘It is important to think
outside of the tin and we wel-
come further research and
understanding in relation to
insect farming and the role
that insect products can play
in animal nutrition.’MORE than £1.5billion in old
paper fivers and tenners has still
not been cashed in more than a
year after the last of the notes
ceased to be legal tender.
The Bank of England says
118million paper £5 notes and
94million £10 paper notes have
still not been returned.
The £5 notes were withdrawn
in May 2017 and the £10 notes in
March 2018. Both were replaced
by polymer alternatives.
While the old notes are no
longer accepted in shops – peo-
ple can still go to the Bank of
England building in Threadnee-
dle Street, London, to exchange
the outdated notes for the pol-
ymer ones, or can post them to
the Bank to be replaced.
A Bank spokesman said:
‘There is no fee for this service
and there is no expiry on the
period in which we will
exchange old notes.’By Victoria Allen
Science Correspondent‘Attacking me
from all angles’Pop star’s cousin is stabbed to death
McIntosh and cousin Andre BentTHE cousin of a former pop
star has been killed in the lat-
est stabbing to hit the streets
of Britain.
Bradley McIntosh, 38, who was
in S Club 7, told fans of his heart-
break after 21-year-old Andre
Bent died in Maidstone, Kent, in
the early hours of Sunday.
During his performance later
that day at a festival in Worcester-
shire, the star told the audience:
‘I’d rather be here performing for
you, than moping at home.
‘But please can we have a
minute’s silence for my cousin.’
Footage taken at the time of
the stabbing shows a group ofthugs from a nightclub fighting
in Maidstone High Street, leav-
ing a man sprawled on the
ground. Another clip shows how
several people try to help the
stricken victim up as he is sur-
rounded by a crowd.
The footage cuts to another
brawl in which a thug sprints
towards a man and launches
into him. It is not yet known if
those in the video clips are
linked to the stabbing.
Kent Police said two knives
were seized at the scene. Four
other men were seriously injured,
three with knife injuries. Fourmen have been arrested on sus-
picion of violent disorder.
McIntosh was part of S Club 7
from 1999-2003, and had hits
including Reach and Don’t Stop
Movin. Since 2008 he has been in
S Club 3 with former bandmates
Jo O’Meara and Tina Barrett.
n A mother was stopped from
climbing into the ambulance
where her dying son was being
treated for stab wounds. The
distraught mother screamed,
‘my son, my son’, as paramedics
fought in vain to save the 18-
year-old’s life. She had to be held
back by police. The teen was
knifed on Monday on an estate
in Newham, east London.Daily Mail ReporterMum fights off
crowbar gang
trying to steal
her £55k Audi
Menacing: One of the robbers holds
the crowbar (above) as Miss Hill
battles to protect her son (right)‘I think we can take it he
prefers chocolate drops’Our £1.5bn
hoard in old
paper notes
‘I kept thinking, if they were
going to use that crowbar they
would have by now so I just sat
there,’ she said. ‘I also knew my
friend had phoned the police.’
Miss Hill said Ronny has been
left traumatised by the ordeal. ‘He
was crying his eyes out when he
got out of the car,’ she added.
‘It’s just so scary He is always