A MONSTER migrant who sexually assaulted a 15-year-old while waiting to be deported was given another chance to stay – because of European human rights laws.
Sarmad Raza Sheikh, 46, claimed to have depression and psychotic episodes, with a judge siding with his claim he cannot be treated well enough in his native Pakistan.
It means the case must be heard again to determine whether deportation would violate mental health regulations in the controversial European Convention of Human Rights.
Sheikh came to Britain in 2006 as a mature student before overstaying and refusing to leave once his visa ran out in 2011.
The migrant even attempted to stay by submitting a fake degree diploma which he had never actually achieved, according to Tribunal papers seen by The Sun.
In October 2012, the crook was cautioned by cops over an undisclosed sex offence committed while his third application to stay was being processed.
He made two more bids to remain in Britain, though they were also turned down when he refused to cough up the necessary fees.
Finally in May 2017, six years after his leave to remain expired, Sheikh was served with a deportation notice for overstaying.
But the fiend had not been flown home by September 2018 when he was convicted of a depraved sex attack on a 15-year-old teen.
The monster was handed only 12 weeks in prison with Home Office officials deciding the offending did not meet the threshold for automatic deportation, which could have sped up his flight home.
Sheikh was set free from jail after only six weeks and began working illegally for a tech firm in 2020.
At the time he was attempting another appeal against his asylum claim being refused.
A tribunal hearing last month heard the brute had presented at Charing Cross Hospital this August – a month before his final hearing – claiming to be suffering from depression.
He was said to be not well enough to attend his hearing over video link.
Siding with Sheikh, Judge Fiona Lindsley ruled the case must be heard again “in light of new medical developments”.
She warned his removal may violate Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as judges previously did not consider the impact of deportation on his mental well-being.
The judge added other rulings had not considered whether he could be treated abroad to an acceptable standard.
And Ms Lindsley said no findings from earlier hearings could be preserved — including a ruling his sex crime conviction made it “not conducive to the public good” for him to remain in the UK.
It comes after Albanian robber Ardit Binaj, 32, also used the Euro human rights charter to stay in the country – despite already being deported.
And documents released yesterday also showed how alleged murderer Fatmir Bleta, 64, also avoided being sent to Albania despite already being in prison here.
His solicitors successfully claimed any extradition would breach his Article 6 rights to a fair trial under the ECHR.
The Home Office was asked to comment.
AS the leaves begin to turn and a chill creeps into the air, the country is transforming into a playground of eerie delights.
From pumpkin patches to haunted castles, this year’s Halloween attractions promise thrills and chills for all ages.
Whether you are seeking family-friendly fun or scream-your-lungs-out scares, Jacob Lewis has found the best bewitching Halloween events across the country.
FOR those watching their wallets, Pembrokeshire’s Milford Water-front offers a free Halloween trail from October 28 to November 3.
To make it a full getaway, Hotel Ty Milford Waterfront is offering a “kids stay free” deal when sharing a family room, with prices from £116 per night.
In Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, history meets mystery with the Ghostly And Macabre guided walking tour.
Running every Friday from Halloween until March, the 90-minute journey through the town’s darkened streets uncovers centuries of grim history.
Tickets £7.50 for adults and £4 for children (aged 14 and over).
See visit-burystedmunds.co.uk.
Or head to Derby for a free event that begins family-friendly but, as night falls, sees the atmosphere shift to an adults-only March Of The Vampires.
Go to visit derby.co.uk.
EXTREME scare experience PrimEvil at ROARR! in Norfolk is not for the faint of heart.
Running between October 17 and November 2, the fully immersive event features five terrifying haunts, including Werehouse 51: Toxic Mutation, and roaming street actors.
Other attrac-tions include high ropes courses and zombie archery. Tickets from £28 at primevil-scare.com.
Ghost hunters will find their perfect Halloween treat at Hever Castle in Kent.
This year, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn invites brave souls on an after-dark tour, delving into the castle’s most unfortunate owners and their gruesome fates.
The experience begins with a glass of prosecco (or a non-alcoholic alter-native) at the Moat Cafe, setting the stage for a truly haunting night.
Strictly for over-16s.
Tickets from £35.26 at hevercastle.co.uk.
DODDINGTON Hall in Lincolnshire is the UK’s best pumpkin patch, according to an in-depth ranking by Outdoor Toys.
The free-entry wonderland boasts 30 varieties of pumpkins, squashes and gourds.
See doddingtonhall.com.
In second place was Tapnell Farm on the Isle of Wight, offering a pumpkin trail and plenty of spooky photo opportunities.
Tickets, £14.50, tapnellfarm.com.
Or check out Millets Farm Centre in Oxfordshire, which secured third spot, thanks to its low £2 entry fee and annual Halloween Spook-tacular that includes pumpkin-picking, a Halloween circus and a spooky disco.
For a dog-friendly adventure, head to Cotswold Farm Park.
But as night falls, the patch transforms with live music and UV pumpkin displays.
Tickets from £10.95 at cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk.
HAILED as one of Europe’s most- haunted cities, York delivers an immersive experience at its Hallowscream fright nights at York Maze.
The award-winning attraction features five horror mazes, more than 100 live actors and extra-jumpy scare zones.
Strictly over-16s.
Tickets from £28 at yorkmazehallowscream.co.uk.
In Blackburn, Scare Kingdom Scream Park is pushing the boundaries of fear.
Running on select nights to November 9, it boasts 80 scare actors across 130 themed spaces around five scare mazes promising pulse-pounding adventures.
Minimum age of 13 (accompanied by an adult).
With tickets starting at £27.79, this one is an intense experience that’s not for the faint-hearted.
For details, see scarekingdom.com.
DRAYTON MANOR in Staffordshire has transformed into a Spooktacular Halloween wonderland until November 3.
Included with regular admission, visitors can enjoy the Carnival of Spooks walk-through and daily shows.
Tickets from £27.50 at draytonmanor.co.uk.
The Halloween in the City festival returns to Manchester on October 26 and 27, when the city centre will be overrun by giant inflatable monsters, including eight-metre-long Leech.
As darkness falls, buildings across the city will glow an eerie green, while thousands of pumpkin lanterns line the streets.
See visitmanchester.com.
Warwick Castle is also joining the Halloween fun with ghostly inhabitants taking over the grounds.
Families can enjoy quizzes, discos, songs and sorcery.
Tickets from £22.
For more details, see warwick-castle.com.
FOR those who prefer their scares with a side of natural beauty, Moors Valley Country Park in Dorset is debuting a Halloween illuminated trail.
Running from October 25 to November 3, the after-dark adventure winds through the forest, revealing hidden surprises including a secret cemetery, ghostly undertakers and tree demons.
With thunderstorms, wicked witches and giant spiders along the way, it is a multi-sensory experience that blends the beauty of nature with Halloween theatrics.
Tickets from £12 at moors-valley.co.uk.
Just outside Port Talbot, Margam Country Park is launching Fright Nights – a spine-tingling experience that draws on the location’s haunted history.
The trail begins in the ruins of the gardens where visitors encounter 7ft Cistercian monks before venturing into a forest rumoured to be home to the ghost of a murdered gamekeeper.
The journey continues into the 19th-century castle, considered one of the UK’s most haunted places.
With two scare levels available – one for younger visitors and a more intense version for those 15 and up – it’s a customisable fright fest for those with different terror thresholds.
Tickets from £12.50 at www.margamcountrypark.co.uk.
STARING at the gigantic copper cauldron where the King of England used to bathe, I kick myself for forgetting my swimmers.
It’s not often you get the chance to share the same hot tub as the supreme ruler of the British Empire.
I’m in a spa town deep in a Bohemian forest, unearthing areas of the Czech Republic I’d never heard of.
For three exciting days I would be exploring this beautiful central European country entirely by rail.
My journey begins in Prague. The beautiful capital city on the Vltava River is packed with history.
Climbing the hill up to Prague castle is a must.
The fortress is the largest castle complex in the world. Inside its towering walls are historical buildings and museums including the Old Royal Palace and the city’s gothic temple, St Vitus Cathedral.
That evening I catch a train west.
Unlike those in the UK, trains in Czechia run smoothly and are dirt cheap.
Prague is soon far behind as the IC 558 train trundles along, following the Berounka river’s meandering path through the countryside.
I catch snapshots through the window.
Paddle boarders punt down the river.
Giggling kids tumble down a giant inflatable slide at a village fete.
As the sun sets the train pulls into the serene spa town of Marianske Lazne in the deep Bohemian forest.
Since local monks discovered the mineral-rich springs in the early 19th century, people have been coming here to drink, bathe in, and even inject the healing water and gases that bubble out of the ground.
The town’s heyday was in the Victorian era when spa treatments were popular among high society.
One such spa obsessive was King Edward VII, who visited Marianske Lanze nine times for weight-loss treatments in a purpose-built room at the Nové Lázně spa.
The hotel is still there and for a hefty price, guests can book a session in the large copper bath he used.
My own treatment takes place at the Falkensteiner hotel and spa, a five-star resort with a 2,500sq metre spa complex, 162 rooms, heated pool, excellent restaurant and stylish bar.
After a buffet breakfast, I’m ushered into a dimly lit wood-panelled room where a bath of warm water the colour of milky tea is waiting.
The slightly sparkling mineral-rich water is pumped directly from the hotel’s own Alexandra Spring, 800 metres away.
The treatment is said to widen blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and improving circulation to relax the mind and body.
The health benefits of spa treatments like this are taken seriously.
Drinking fountains dotted around the town deliver water from the local springs.
Iron-rich and metallic- tasting it is believed to help alleviate inflammation. I hope it does, because it tastes revolting.
Staying at the spa resort hotels is pricey.
But there are plenty of cheaper hotels in the town and treatments at the spa complexes are available for walk-in customers too.
Czechs are the world’s most prolific beer drinkers, consuming 184.1 litres of it each every year.
Nowhere is this obsession more obvious than in my next stop, the city of Pilsen.
It’s just over an hour away by rail and my train ticket costs the equivalent of £6.
Home of the world-famous Pilsner beer, the town is swimming in the stuff and by the end of the day, I will be too — literally.
Among the most popular brews is the famous Pilsner Urquell. The first ever pilsner beer, it has been brewed here since 1842.
A tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery is fascinating.
The 90-minute walk-through shows the original brewing method and vats from the early 19th century.
Then, the modern, vastly scaled-up operation, where staggering amounts are brewed, bottled then shipped worldwide.
The tour ends in the miles of subterranean tunnels where the beer was once stored.
Here, brewmasters keep the traditional method alive, brewing the Pilsner in oak barrels.
Comparisons are regularly made to the modern method to ensure it tastes authentic.
And you can judge for yourself, with a glass of cold Pilsner poured straight from the barrel at the end.
I head off to soak up some more beer, this time through my pores.
On the outskirts of Pilsen, at the Purkmistr Brewery, an interesting mash-up has spawned the “beer spa” — a big wooden bathtub full of warm, hoppy lager, minus the alcohol (it dries out the skin).
Submerged up to my neck in barley, hops and yeast with a large keg of pilsner within arm’s reach and Oasis’s Wonderwall playing over the complex’s sound system, I feel I have achieved lager-nirvana.
GETTING THERE: Wizz Air flies from Luton to Prague from £17.99 each way.
See wizzair.com.
For Czech Railway tickets see https://cd.cz.
STAY THERE: One night’s B&B at the 5* Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa is from £162.45 per night.
For more information see falkensteiner.com.
BRITISH middle distance Robbie Fitzgibbon has died at the age of 28.
His tragic death was announced by his club, Brighton Phoenix, on Friday evening.
The team confirmed he had died on October 7 as they paid tribute.
A statement from chairman Mike Townley and vice chair Josh Guilmant said: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of one of our most cherished athletes, Robbie Fitzgibbon.
“A friend to many, and a source of motivation for all who had the privilege of knowing him, Robbie was the epitome of a runner’s runner, embodying everything we value at Phoenix.
“Though Robbie will no longer run alongside us, share his stories, or lift our spirits with his humour and kindness, his presence will continue to be felt in everything we do as a club.
“His contribution to Phoenix is enduring, living on through the countless memories we have shared.”
Fitzgibbon had been a standout talent at junior level, winning the English schools 1500m title in 2014 and finishing fifth in the 1500m final at the European Athletics U20 Championships.
He finished 13th in the 1500m in the London Anniversary Games in 2017.
Fitzgibbon had originally joined Phoenix at the age of 12, and continued to represent Great Britain at international level, including several Diamond League events.
“In recent years, Robbie took a step back from the intense nature of track running moving from middle-distance to becoming a key member of our distance group, finding enjoyment again not just in racing cross country and road but being part of the team and wider Phoenix community.
“He would always be the first to put his hand up for another race.
“This summer, he was part of the South Downs Way Relay team, setting a leg record along the way, medalling in the County Cross Country Champs at Goodwood where he started his club running career and running Christmas day parkrun at Preston Park on a monumental hangover.
“Robbie gave so much to the club, and we know the club meant just as much to him.
“It is difficult to find the right words in moments like these.
“Robbie was not just an athlete to us; he was a friend, a team-mate, and an irreplaceable part of our Phoenix family.”
More to follow.
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