WATCHDOG SLAMS HUGE MOBILE BILLS
WATCHDOGS yesterday ordered mobile phone firms to stop customers being hit with huge bills for downloading music and video.
Communications ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith said the problem is getting worse as more and more people use smartphones — and download ever bigger files. Many users believe their contracts include unlimited data downloads — but this is rarely true. Brits have been hit with bills up to £31,000 after using smartphones abroad. Mr Shand Smith said: “There are three things opera-
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By JANE HAMILTON, Consumer Editor
tors need to do. First, they must be very clear what they mean by ‘unlimited’ in advertisements; secondly, give advice to consumers so they know when they are actually reaching their limit; and thirdly, give people advice on the amount of data that’s being downloaded.” The ombudsman’s office said many customers do not realise there is an asterisk next to the word “unlimited” which points to small print stating that in fact there IS a limit. Ernest Doku, tech expert at uSwitch.com, said: “Unlimited data should mean exactly that.”
Flat £80k for week A WEALTHY homeowner is renting out a penthouse during the Olympics for £80,000 A WEEK. The six bedroom flat in posh Knightsbridge, West London is the world’s dearest rental home ever. The apartment — marketed by Harrods Estates — has a library, cinema. gym, spa and terraces. Experts predict rents will hit £100,000 before the Games, starting in July.
8 DIE AT WAKE
Eight mourners were killed at a wake when the house of the man who died collapsed in Yuejin, Hunan province, China.
DAUGHTER TELLS By
SHARON HENDRY
OF HEARTBREAK CAUSED BY M5 CARNAGE
SO DEVOTED . . . Anthony and Pamela as teenage sweethearts in 1956 and, below, in the Eighties
HEARTFELT messages of love alongside flowers rustling in the breeze on the motorway bridge are poignant reminders of one of Britain’s worst crashes ever. Just two weeks ago the 100-yard stretch of the M5 snaking through some of Somerset’s most spectacular countryside resembled a scene from Armageddon.
The charred, burned-out carcasses of cars and lorries lay strewn across the north-bound carriageway in the 34-vehicle pile-up. Soon frantic families were slowly coming to terms with the devastating news that loved ones were either dead or injured. There are many unanswered questions around the horrific event that took place at 8.30pm on November 4. But for one woman, the answers about the cause of the accident will never be enough to heal her pain. Just 20 minutes before the crash Tonia White, 47, and her husband Phil, 46, hugged her beloved parents Anthony and Pamela Adams, goodbye after a happy family gathering at their Taunton home. By 9pm the next day she had received the devastating news that they were dead. The couple had seven children, 24 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Speaking in depth for the first time about her bereavement, Tonia, a McDonald’s manager, said: “We are a very close family. Even though mum and dad lived in Newport, South Wales, they tried to get over to see us at least once a month. We spent most of the day poring over old photos. We were also planning excitedly for Christmas.
FIREBALL . . . crash scene and, right, victims Anthony and Pamela Adams
Sickening
“Mum and Dad left us at around 8.10pm — but only after I’d told them I loved them and gave them a big hug. I also shouted, ‘Call me when you get home’. ” Sadly, Tonia, a mum of six, lost her sister Dale, 46, in a motorbike accident four years ago. She said: “Since then I’ve always felt nervous when anyone close to me is making a journey.” On November 4 a sickening feeling began to grip her. She said: “My daughter Terri came down the stairs and said, ‘You ought to turn the telly on — there has been a crash’. “My stomach began churning as the scenes unfolded and I immediately left a message on Mum and Dad’s home phone telling them what had happened. ‘I need to speak to you’, I begged.” Eventually, Tonia, right with Phil, called a helpline for worried families, describing her parents’ Skoda Fabia car and their appearance. She kept phoning through the night. It wasn’t until 9pm the next night that a knock on the door confirmed her worst fears. She said: “My dad was a soldier in the Royal Artillery for 22 years so I’ve always known what that sort of knock means. “My daughter said, ‘There’s a policeman at the door mum’ and I said to them, ‘I’ve been expecting you’. She fights back
tears as she reveals that the bodies of her beloved dad Anthony, 73, and mum Pamela, 70, were deemed “unidentifiable” after their car was involved in the carnage. She said: “The only comfort I have is that my parents only ever wanted to be together and they were together when they died. “They fell in love and got married aged 16 and 18 and never stopped holding hands. They have always been in love and they were in love when they came to visit me. “Perhaps it was fate but Mum told me about their wedding day. She said, ‘Your dad promised me he would look after me and be there for me and he’s been true to his word every single day since’. ” Most poignant of all for Tonia is a poem she found. Her mum wrote
it to her dad while he was serving in the Forces. It reads: “We strolled the lanes together Laughed at the rain together. Singing loves’ refrain together And we both pretend it would never end. You’re gone from me But in my memory we will always be together.” On the bridge over the M5 19 bouquets and several letters serve as solemn reminders of the seven dead and 51 injured in the crash. One reads: “To the most amazing dad anyone could wish for. I really can’t believe I’m writing this. Life isn’t fair — why, why, why?’ Another says simply: “To Daddy, words cannot begin to explain how much I’m missing you and how much I love you. For as long as I
live, I’ll never accept the fact you’re gone.” Wedding photographer Roger Neno, 54, and his Spanish-born wife Ciara, 39, from Weston-superMare, Somerset, rescued many motorists after finding themselves in the thick of the crash scene.
Mangled
Ciara said: “It was like stepping on to the set of a movie. You don’t think it’s real for a minute. There were just mangled bits of metal everywhere.” The cause of the crash is still unknown. Police are investigating whether fog was to blame — or if a fireworks display at a nearby rugby club had any effect on driving conditions. Meanwhile,
more heartbreaking stories of the other victims have emerged. Terence Brice, 55, of Patchway, Bristol, was a passenger in an articulated lorry. The cause of death is still unknown. Kye Thomas, 38, from Gunnislake, Cornwall, the driver of another lorry, was also killed. Cause of his death is also unknown. Michael Barton, 67, from Windsor, Berks, was a back-seat passenger in a car who died from chest injuries. His daughter Valerie, 30, also from Windsor, died from neck, chest and abdominal injuries. Michael’s surviving daughter Emma, 19, woke from a coma this week to the horrific realisation that she is now an orphan. Emma, who lost her mother,
Teresa, to cancer six years ago, shed a single tear and cried: “No!” Another victim was Malcolm Beacham, 46, of Woolavington, Somerset, who worked for Calor gas suppliers. He had been at a Holiday Inn with his wife and daughter. They left for home in a separate car. Mr Beacham died from a head injury. Taunton Lib Dem MP Jeremy Browne said: “This was a particularly traumatic incident and must be exceptionally devastating for the families and relatives involved. “People across Britain have admired the response of the community to this disaster. There were inspiring examples of heroism and human kindness.” s.hendry@the-sun.co.uk