A bogus care worker who preyed on defenceless old ladies by tricking her into their homes to rob them of their life savings, incl ding a wheelchair-bound 84-year-old, was jailed for six years. Anna Marie Richards, 42, also mugged an 80-year-old pensioner on the street during her vicious crime spree, in which she used violence to steal money and valuables from her terrified victims in over 22 offences. While on bail for another mugging, Richards carried out the spate of burglaries by posing as a nurse or social worker to prey on her over 22 vulnerable targets in November last year.

Few areas of Leeds have as many contrasts as Moortown. Take a stroll down some of this north Leeds suburb’s leafy streets and you find yourself gazing at homes worth upwards of £350,000. Walk a bit further, however, and you will come across some of the most deprived areas the city has to offer. Meanwhile, employment has climbed by around 50 per cent in recent years. But the area also has an ageing population, with an above average proportion of pensioners. All of which throws up interesting challenges for the Government if it is serious about improving the lives of those who live here.

Adults with learning disabilities in Pendle, Lancashire, are being moved into new purpose-built houses within the local community. And the transfer has been welcomed by Dave Custance, head of learning disability services at Lancashire County Council, who branded the old hostel, which is set to close, “out-dated” and “old fashioned”. The home, Boulsworth Hostel, Colne, is owned and managed by the county council, and currently supports adults who have complex needs relating to their learning disability, physical care, or challenging behaviour.

Health and child care services in some of Leeds’s most deprived inner-city neighbourhoods are to receive a £15.7m boost. The council has been given the go-ahead to build three centres providing a wide range of services in Harehills, Chapeltown and Kirkstall. They will be built under the Private Finance Initiative programme, under which the private sector will build and maintain the buildings for up to 25 years in return for annual payments. Coun Mark Harris, executive councillor for customer services, said: “This is exciting news. A great deal of work has gone into developing these plans, and now we’ll be able to continue working with the three communities to ensure their new centres get the right mix of services.

New rules will mean people on benefits who volunteer will no longer have to bear the cost of their meals announced Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, John Hutton today. Unlike childcare costs and special clothing, meal time costs have never been an expense that could be disregarded for benefits purposes when an individual is volunteering. The change will mean that in future, meals will be treated as an expense that volunteers can claim back. Previously, they were expected to meet the cost of meals out of their benefits.

Young people face a “physical and mental illness time bomb” unless they get more chance to play outside, a conference has heard. Professor Lamine Mahdjoubi, of the University of the West of England (UWE), said a lack of outdoor exercise caused heart problems and diabetes. Councils must create more open spaces, he told a conference in Bristol. The comments come as a survey suggests British children are among the unhealthiest and unhappiest in Europe.

Gina Ford, the childcare expert whose advocacy of strict rearing techniques attracts critics and devotees in equal measure, has threatened to have a website used by 250,000 mothers shut down, claiming it has published allegedly defamatory remarks about her. Lawyers acting for the author and former maternity nurse have moved to “disable” www.Mumsnet.com – a site run part-time by seven mothers – because she says numerous “highly defamatory” postings have been carried in its chatrooms.

A retired social worker has picked up a prestigious national award after 10 years as a volunteer at Carlisle’s Eden Valley Hospice. Lorna Hadden, 64, of Carlisle, was presented with the Badge of the Order of Mercy in a ceremony at the Mansion House in London. Only 25 of these awards are handed out each year. This year’s recipients included Baroness Betty Boothroyd.

Companies that bid for multimillion-pound Government contracts will be rejected if they do not employ enough black and Asian workers, under new proposals seen by The Times. A powerful committee that includes seven ministers has drawn up plans to question competing companies about their attitudes to race before choosing which to employ.

The number of homeless people suffering from mental illness has more than doubled in the past 15 years, new figures show. The percentage of homeless people judged to be homeless and vulnerable due to mental illness or disability rose from 3.25% in 1991 to 7.8% in 2006 – a rise of 3,040 people. In all, some 93,980 people were classified as unintentionally homeless in 2005-06 – a fall of almost 30% on the 132,280 recorded in 1991-2. But the number of mentally ill people amongst them rose from 4,300 to 7,340 over the same period.