In this Wednesday’s Mirror Daily Digest, we’ve pulled together the biggest stories of the day from the devastating arson attack at Princess Diana’s home to the Liverpool parade miracle
Welcome to the Mirror’s Daily Digest, where we’ll be pulling together all the best stories of the day from our News, Showbiz, Royal teams and more. This Wednesday, we’re bringing you the biggest stories from the heart of the newsroom, with coverage of the arson attack on a farmhouse at Princess Diana’s Althorp House to the baby who miraculously avoided serious physical injury after being dragged 15ft in his buggy by the Liverpool parade car.
Our Showbiz team has also been following the inquest into the death of Hollyoaks star Paul Danan, who tragically died on January 15 after taking a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and heroin. We’ve also got the latest on Nigel Farage being branded a “poisonous man” after the Reform UK leader tried to justify a “racist” advert released by his party.
Paul Danan found dead on sofa by friends with TV still on, inquest hears
Our Showbiz team has been following the inquest into the death of Hollyoaks and reality TV star Paul Danan, who was found unresponsive at his home in Bristol on January 15. The late star, who also appeared in Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Love Island, died from a cocktail of drugs, including cocaine and heroin.
The inquest heard that friends of Paul raised the alarm after not seeing him. They could not get hold of him for two days before he died, so got a ladder to look through an open window, and a neighbour entered to find him. There he found Paul, dead sitting slumped at the edge of his sofa, with the television still on.
Paul’s mum, Beverley Danan, paid tribute to her son saying: “Paul helped so many people from all walks of life but just could not help himself in the same way.” She added: “His smiling face and love for life will always be remembered.”
Coroner Debbie Rookes recorded a conclusion of misadventure. She told the coroner’s court in Bristol: “I do not have any evidence before me that Paul planned to take his own life.”
Read the full story here.
Baby dragged in buggy by Liverpool parade car avoids serious injury
This morning, our News team reported on the baby who was dragged 15ft in his buggy by the Liverpool parade car and miraculously avoided serious physical injury. On Monday night, a Ford Galaxy ploughed into pedestrians in the city centre, including Daniel Eveson’s infant son and partner.
Daniel “thought he had lost everything” when baby Teddy was “chucked” down the road after the impact, while his partner went under the wheel of the vehicle. It has now been confirmed the baby escaped without significant physical harm.
A Good Samaritan in a nearby restaurant rushed to make sure Teddy was safe and then looked after the infant while Daniel tended to his spouse, it has now emerged. The dad’s partner was taken to hospital, where she spent at least Monday night.
Daniel said: “To me looking and finding his pram. To not knowing if he was alive. To seeing him alive. It was a lot to take on… I thought I had lost everything, I really did.”
Teddy was “chucked about 15ft down the road” in his pram. It is understood he remained inside the buggy, which buffeted any subsequent impacts. He did not need treatment at hospital, it is believed.
Read the full story here.
Brit found sleeping rough on Peru street after ‘terrifying’ ordeal
In other news, a British tourist who was feared missing in Peru has been found. Hannah Almond, 32, was on a yoga retreat to the South American country but after being attacked she was found slumped on a pavement by well-wisher friend Piero Villanueva who she had met briefly in Lima earlier in her trip.
Hannah travelled to Peru in March on a yoga retreat to “find herself,” friends say. However, Hannah lost contact with her friends there and thugs allegedly burned her possessions. She lost her phone, passport and was left penniless after she was attacked in the city of Cusco.
Friends have said that Hannah, a fashion graduate from Grimsby, suffered a mental health crisis after being attacked and may require psychiatric care before flying home. It is said she initially refused to accept assistance, with psychosis triggered by the trauma of being violently robbed leaving her too frightened to engage closely with officials or locals.
Piero told a local TV station late yesterday: “I have just found her. She is safe and well. I’d like to thank the authorities and the people who contacted me to so I could help her. A friend of Hannah is arriving in Cusco today and I’m talking with him to be able to assist her.”
In an update on a GoFundMe page set up over the weekend to help bring Hannah back to the UK, a friend Sophie Wallace said: “Due the help of everyone sharing the story, Hannah has thankfully been found and one of her friends is on the way to Cusco to persuade her to accept support and come home.”
Read the full story here.
Diana’s family left devastated after fire rages at estate where she’s buried
This afternoon, our Royal team reported on the fire that destroyed a building at the estate where Princess Diana is buried. Taking to social media, the late royal’s younger brother Earl Spencer revealed that a farmhouse at Althorp House had been targeted by vandals and had burned down.
In the post, he shared pictures of the blaze as well as the aftermath showing the destroyed building. He penned on X: “Stunned to learn that one of @AlthorpHouse’s farmhouses – fortunately, unoccupied at the time – was apparently burnt down by vandals last night. With thanks to @northantsfire for doing their very best. So very sad that anyone would think this a fun thing to do.”
Althorp’s conservation manager, Adey Greeno, later shared on the platform that the farmhouse had to be “razed to the ground” for “safety reasons”. Althorp has been the ancestral home of the Spencer family for 500 years and it was where Diana grew up after her parents divorced before she married the now King Charles. The 13,500-acre estate was where she was laid to rest after her untimely death in 1997.
Read the full story here.
Farage savaged as ‘poisonous’ after defending ‘racist’ Reform ad
Finally, the leader of Scottish Labour has branded Nigel Farage a “poisonous man” after the Reform UK leader tried to justify a “racist” advert released by his party. Our Politics team reported that Mr Farage yesterday defended his party’s attack ad which claimed Anas Sarwar, who was born in Glasgow to Pakistani Muslim parents, will “prioritise” Pakistani people.
That attack prompted Mr Sarwar to brand the MP a “poisonous man who doesn’t understand Scotland”. At a press conference that was televised to the nation on Tuesday, Mr Farage played a clip of the Labour politician which he said supposedly justified Reform UK’s advert.
But the video did not show Mr Sarwar saying what the ad had claimed, with it instead showing him saying the Pakistani community should be represented in politics. “Pakistanis need (to be) represented in every mainstream political party in Scotland and across the UK,” the Scottish MP said in the video.
Mr Farage accused the leader of Scottish Labour of introducing “sectarianism into Scottish politics”. Mr Sarwar branded Reform UK’s attack “a blatant attempt from Nigel Farage to try and poison our politics here in Scotland”.
Read the full story here.
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