BBC1's The Voice live quarter finals were dull and lacked pace

It was great to see our local girl Sasha Simone secure a semi final place on The Voice UK after being picked by her coach Sir Tom Jones.

Eager to shake off her reputation as a tearful, shy singer, the 25 year-old from Handsworth certainly smashed it with an amazing rock ballad, belting out a version of Awolnation’s Sail.

She won a well deserved standing ovation from all four coaches, some feat given she was up against the bouncy and immensely talented Howard and the soul diva Lara, who delivered a great version of Coldplay’s God Put A Smile On Your Face.

Sasha’s rock goddess performance - complete with flowing black dress and hooded dancers - was a highlight of a TV talent show which over all lacked intensity and sparkle.

Yes the contestants are all talented - Lucy, Vikesh, Howard, Clarke - being my personal highlights but with a live final you would expect some fireworks and passion.

The judges are all a bit nicey nicey (no one ever gets a negative comment here) and quite frankly dull.

The format is boring and the general discussion that everyone is “amazing” gets a little tedious after a while.

There was an excruciating moment when Will.i.am couldn’t decide who to pick from his team (because they are all amazing).

While the three singers bit their lips in anticipation, he chose to judge it on how big the audience’s cheer was like some kind of crude Opportunity Knocks clap-o-meter.

The pace finally picked up in the results show which kicked off with the coaches bursting onto the stage singing Unbelievable.

We were then reminded of who won this show last year (yes I couldn’t remember either) with a performance from Jermaine Jackman, who is releasing a well-timed album next week.

This was followed by a more successful TV talent show contestant - X Factor runner up and international star Olly Murs.

Perhaps there is a valuable lesson to be learned here. While X Factor stars have had a great deal more success (even if short lived) we have yet to see a big star come out of The Voice.

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Bournville schoolgirl Abbi Bennett so fragile she is blown over by a gust of wind

Bubbly Abbi Bennett loves singing and playing with her three sisters just like any other seven-year-old.

But the schoolgirl from Bournville is in fact a one-in-a-million child.

She is so fragile that she could be blown over by just a GUST OF WIND.

Abbi, a pupil at Bournville Infant School, suffers from Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy – a rare muscle-wasting disease which means she can’t run or jump or climb the stairs, and must spend time in a wheelchair.

The chatty schoolgirl, who loves joking with her sisters Ashleigh, 15, Amber, nine, and Ava, four, will become more dependent on her wheelchair as she gets older and the muscles in her lungs struggle to cope.

“Abbi loves singing and is very chatty and confident,” says mum Sarah Bennett. “But she gets very frustrated, and hates being in her wheelchair, especially as she gets older.”

Abbi was first diagnosed when she was two years old by specialist Helen Roper at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Parents Gary and Sarah noticed she was struggling to hold her own body weight, and had extremely flexible joints.

“She was never able to crawl,” says Sarah, 34. “When she did eventually start walking at 18 months old, it was more like a waddle, and then she’d fall over.

“When we first found out what was wrong, it was incredibly isolating.

“We didn’t know anything about it, and neither did anyone else we knew.”

Abbi’s UCMD was caused by a random mutation, rather than a genetic inheritance, which means that other family members are not carriers.

The disease can affect people in different ways, and while some people are able to walk, others suffer severe mobility problems and difficulty in breathing.

But despite the debilitating disease Sarah and Gary say that Abbi is a fighter, and has an amazing positive attitude that keeps her striving forward.

“Abbi loves life, and is incredibly caring,” says Sarah. “She hides any negativity.

“But the other day she told me the most touching thing as I put her to bed.

“She said ‘I’ve wished 100 times for my muscular dystrophy to go away, but it’s just not coming true.”

“It was heartbreaking.”

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Ashes of 24 unknown people found at fraud probe funeral directors

A SEARCH has begun to reunite loved ones with the ashes of a staggering 24 people, the remains found on the premises of a defunct funeral directors at the centre of a major fraud probe.

The ashes were salted away at the Acocks Green headquarters of Samuel James and Sons, a company immersed in a heart-breaking £150,000 fraud investigation. Boss Tony Johnson, died last October from a massive stroke.

Last month the Sunday Mercury revealed funeral plans sold at the parlour were found not to exist, despite pensioners paying thousands of pounds to ensure final farewells were paid for.

It is feared as many as 50 individuals may have been affected.

Bonbshell news of the unclaimed urns is the latest sickening twist in a saga that detectives have described as complex.

The hunt to find owners has been launched by Powell and Family undertakers, which moved into the empty Fox Hollies Road premises in 2013. They have absolutely no links with Samuel James other than the misfortune of moving into the shamed company’s old address.

Yet, in a show of compassion, Powell and Family have taken it on themselves to help those affected by the alleged scam. Catherine Powell has pored over documents, helped victims and even contacted police on their behalf.

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The Birmingham X-Files revealed - police receive 150 calls about paranormal encounters

IF there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call...?

West Midlands Police, apparently.

Because the boys in blue have received a staggering 152 calls about X Files encounters.

And they haven’t just been about little green men or UFO sightings.

Over the last five years there have been reports of ghosts, witches and zombies, too.

But if the truth really is out there, the cops have yet to uncover it.

A Freedom of Information request by the Sunday Mercury has revealed there are plenty of people who believe in things that go bump in the night.

Or sometimes even in broad daylight. Alien abductions can happen any time.

Most of the paranormal claims, stretching from 2009 to 2014, seem to be a load of warlocks, however. Most were filed under “no further police action required” or “advice given”.

But officers took a February 2010 report of a witch in Brierley Hill a little more seriously.

That led to an arrest – and we don’t think it was the witch.

In all, the force received 29 calls from members of the public who endured a Close Encounter of the Third Kind with aliens.

No fewer than 43 folk were spooked by ghosts, and 73 were the victims of witchcraft.

Other incidents are simply labelled “paranormal” because they were unexplainable.

The supernatural stampede has moved the force to issue some down-to-earth advice.

If you see lights in the sky or a headless horseman, don’t use the force.

Similarly, contact a clairvoyant, not your local constabulary.

Below: Gallery of images sent in by readers of ghostly images they've snapped

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Jayden Wright funeral fund reaches £3,000 target

A fundraising page that was set up to help fund a funeral for a 10-year-old Aston Villa fan who collapsed and died at home has already reached its £3,000 target.

Jayden Wright was found collapsed in a bedroom at the family property in Holloway, Northfield, last Saturday.

Paramedics spent more than an hour trying to revive the much-loved youngster but the Bellfield Junior School pupil was pronounced dead at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Heartbroken sister Elise, 19, paid an emotional tribute to her little brother after launching the online donation page to raise cash towards his funeral.

She said: “Jayden was a very happy, bubbly boy who loved his football. He was full of energy and full of life.

“I’m always going to miss him. He will be missed by all his family and friends.”

The fundraising page broke through the target just hours after the Mail told Jayden’s tragic story.

The target amount was reached on Saturday with a final anonymous donation of £392 taking it up to £3,000.

Tributes have been pouring in for the youngster from Villa fans. The club itself also tweeted: “We are saddened to hear of the death of 10-year-old Villa fan Jayden Wright. Thoughts are with his family. RIP Jayden. #AVFC.”

A post mortem has been carried out but a cause of death has not yet been determined by doctors.

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Robbers jailed for 14 years after snatching cashbox from supermarket

A PAIR of bungling Birmingham robbers have been jailed for 14 years after being found red-handed with a cashbox they had stolen just 30 minutes earlier.

Theodore Mullings-Fairweather and William Mooney were found hiding out on a Ladywood industrial estate less than an hour after they had snatched the cashbox from a security guard outside a Tesco Express store in Oldbury.

During the robbery outside the supermarket in Bristnall Hall Road last July, the security guard was rugby-tackled by Mullings-Fairweather who grabbed the box and made off in a getaway car.

Enquiries led police to the Ladywood industrial park where Mullings-Fairweather, 25, and 26-year-old Mooney were seen standing next to a Peugeot.

As the police helicopter circled overhead the pair sped off, pursued by a traffic car, before crashing and abandoning the car to roll dangerously down a road.

Only the swift actions of an officer, who jumped behind the wheel and pulled on the handbrake, stopped it causing more damage or injury.

Police said the pair fled the scene, but left behind plenty of evidence linking them to the robbery.

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Chelum Sharif memorial for Sufi Muhammed Abdullah Khan - as it happened

Thousands of mourners are expected at a gathering of remembrance for Sufi Muhammed Abdullah Khan in Birmingham on Saturday.

Mr Khan was the original founder of the Central Jamia Masjid Ghamkol Sharif mosque, in Small Heath in 1996. Thousands of people attended his funeral on February 14th.

Saturday's memorial gathering is known as "Chelum Sharif" which takes place approximately 40 days after burial. Many spiritual leaders and religious scholars from across the UK will address the gathering, the main part of which will run from 5pm until 8pm.

We'll be carry live updates from the event from about 6.30pm
6:28 pm

Welcome to our coverage of the Chelum Sharif memorial for Sufi Muhammed Abdullah Khan.

Around 5,000 people are expected to attended today's special remembrance event to pay their final respects to a Birmingham mosque founder and “pillar of the community”

The gathering, referred to as the “Chelum Sharif”, is taking place at Birmingham’s Central Jamia Masjid Ghamkol Mr Khan was the original founder of the mosque, located on Poets Corner, Small Heath.

The 92-year-old died last month and the thousands of people who are due to attend this evening's service will hear tributes about his life and work before a final prayer is due at 8pm.
6:29 pm

Spiritual leaders and religious scholars from across the UK are expected to attend to address the gathering and pay tributes to Sufi Sahib.

It started at 5pm and runs until 8pm where a final prayer will be performed.

The service will also include tributes about the life and work of Sufi Sahib, which is due to start at 6.45pm

Around 15,000 mourners, including Muslim leaders from across the country, were in Birmingham last month to pay their final respects to the mosque founder for his funeral on February 14.
6:33 pm

The streets around Central Jamia Mosque are completely filled with parked cars as thousands of people arrive at the Poets Corner building to pay their respects to Sufi Sahib in time for the final prayer.
6:41 pm

Today's gathering marks the end of the 40-day period of mourning and will be marked on an annual basis in tribute to Sufi Sahib.

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