Good afternoon, these are the latest lunchtime ECHO headlines.
Mum launches legal fight to free son 'locked away from the world'
A mum has launched a legal fight to free her autistic son who is locked up alone inside a private hospital and has been fed through a wooden hatch for years.
Nicola Cassidy, from Walton, said she feels "people would not treat an animal" the way her now 24-year-old son is cared for and claimed she is not allowed to "hold his hand or hug him".
When Nicola, 49, makes the two-hour round trip to visit her son, she can only speak to him through a perspex screen.
READ MORE: From bent coppers to bingo cashiers: 259 people locked up in Merseyside
She said: "We fully appreciate that my son has complex needs but he’s being treated terribly."
Read the full story here.
Little girl finds note from stranger in Asda
A dad was blown away after his little girl found a note from a stranger in Asda.
The man was at Asda in Liscard, Wirral, yesterday with his daughter when she stumbled across a 'lost' object with a note attached to it.
It was soon clear that the mystery object, which appears to be a knitted Christmas item, was intended to be a gift to whoever found it.
The mystery object had a message attached to it.
Read the full story here.
Omicron symptoms: Five key symptoms to look out for including sore throat and runny nose
Scientists are urging the government to add several key symptoms of Omicron to their official list.
A further 137,583 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases were recorded in England and Wales as of 9am on Sunday.
This was down on the 162,572 cases recorded in England alone on Saturday.
But Omicron, the new variant of the virus, comes with some additional symptoms.
Read the full story here.
