JULIE Emms, aged 14, had turned her bedroom at her parents home in Mount Lane, Fairfield, into a shrine to the popular TV series Star Trek. The walls were covered in pictures of Captain Kirk and crew of the Enterprise and she belonged to four clubs and regularly travelled long distances to attend conventions. Stories about her passion for the programme had been published and she hoped eventually to run her own club and magazine.

HEDGE hopping jets and fighters were becoming more common in the skies over Hanbury, to the consternation of villagers and farm animals. Many villagers complained of being buzzed by aircraft doing 500 mph at less than 250 feet when the pilots could clearly be seen in the cockpits.

BIRMINGHAM property developer Barratt had applied to Bromsgrove District Council for permission to build 19 bungalows, 32 houses and 15 one or two person homes on land formerly occupied by Sagebury Terrace at Stoke Works. However, doubts about the suitability were being voiced because of the likelihood of subsidence and the close proximity of the canal and railway as dangers to children.