The deadly superbug Clostridium difficile has struck at a third hospital in Britain, it was confirmed last night. One person died after 10 patients were infected with CD at Oldchurch hospital in Romford, east London, over the past six months. A Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust spokeswoman said: 'Each case has been isolated and treated, and has not led to a spread of infection on the wards.' There was 'no cause' for alarm. Last week the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital in Exeter confirmed the bug had contributed to the deaths of 13 patients there since last January, and earlier this month an inquiry was ordered into the deaths of 12 patients who contracted the infection in Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire.
Barristers threaten to strike
Barristers have threatened to stop taking on new cases unless the rates of pay they receive for criminal trials are increased. Bar Council chairman Guy Mansfield QC said the Lord Chancellor must meet a commitment to begin considering a fees update by 14 July.
Failure to comply with the deadline could lead to barristers refusing to take on work, leading to huge problems in the courts and a major embarrassment for ministers. Barristers' pay for cases lasting up to 10 days - which make up more than 95 per cent of Crown Court trials - has been frozen since 1997, said Mr Mansfield.
Koh-i-Noor copy to go on show
A replica of a famous diamond presented to Queen Victoria more than 150 years ago is set to go on public display. The Koh-i-Noor diamond was given to Queen Victoria in 1850 following the British annexation of the Punjab. Despite thousands queuing to see the 186.1 carat stone at the Great Exhibition of 1851, Prince Albert had the Koh-i-Noor - which means 'mountain of light' - re-cut into an oval. But the Natural History Museum has had an original plaster cast of the stone in its collection for more than 150 years and it has joined forces with American gem artist John Hatleberg to create a replica.
Midlands house prices 'will fall'
Property prices are set to fall by up to 11 per cent in some areas of England during the coming five years, it was predicted. Your Mortgage magazine said the Midlands would be worst hit.
Break wrecks charity plans
Jane Tomlinson, who suffers from terminal cancer, has pulled out of two fundraising triathlons after breaking an ankle near her home in Leeds. It was her first training run after four months of chemotherapy.
Air fares up
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have raised their fuel surcharge levy on long-haul flights by £8 to £24 per leg because of soaring oil prices.
Back in jail
Alan Steele, 58, a killer who escaped from Leyhill open prison in Gloucestershire on Tuesday, has given himself up to police in Coventry.
And another thing ...
A couple with a combined age of 186 became one of the world's oldest to marry yesterday. Raymond Robson, 96, proposed to Faye Webber, 90, after a whirlwind romance at the Grange residential home in Goring, Berkshire. The couple clicked when Raymond moved in last summer, and love blossomed when he read the newspaper to short-sighted Faye. He popped the question out of the blue and Faye agreed - even though he was unable to go down on one knee. After walking down the aisle, they held a marquee reception for 120 guests in the garden of the Grange, a 42-resident private home where they will share a room.
