NOTTINGHAM Forest’s dream season continued as they snatched away the best home record in the Premier League with a clinical win at Brentford.
Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga scored the goals as Forest became the first side to not only take all three points at the Gtech Community Stadium, but also to silence a Brentford attack that had scored 26 goals in eight previous home games.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side and the Forest fans can tuck into their turkey dreaming of Champions League football next season if they can maintain this remarkable form.
Only Chelsea have picked up more points on their travels this season than Nunon’s men.
Forest travelled to west London having visited Arsenal and the two Manchester clubs on their previous three away days.
Given that Brentford had collected 22 points out of a possible 24, scoring 26 goals in eight home games so far this Premier League season, a date at the Gtech was an even more daunting task for Nuno’s men.
There were some worrying signs early on. With only four minutes gone, Yoane Wissa played in Mikkel Damsgaard only for the Dane to scuff his shot and see it pushed away by Forest keeper Matz Sels.
Brentford then forced a succession of corners. One of them came out to Bryan Mbeumo. His curling cross picked out Kristoffer Ajer whose header skimmed inches wide.
Yoane Wissa then took advantage of hesitation by Morato and Neco Williams to nip between the two Forest defenders and hook in a shot which landed on the roof of the net.
Having soaked up the Brentford, Forest carved out a chance of their own just after the half-hour.
Elliot Anderson combined with Williams before crossing for Chris Wood to head goalwards, being denied only by a plunging stop by Mark Flekken.
Williams was involved again when the visitors took a 38th-minute lead. He sprinted onto a Callum Hudson-Odoi pass, beat Ajer and pulled the ball back cross the Brentford area where Ola Aina was waiting to steer home his second goal of the season.
It was the fourth time this season that Brentford had gone behind at home. They won each of the previous three.
If that suggested a comeback by the home side, Forest clearly hadn’t read the script. After all, they had already won at Anfield and Old Trafford this season, and secured a draw at Stamford Bridge,
Nuno’s side have dispensed with their inferiority complex that marked their first two Premier League campaigns.
Within six minutes of the restart they doubled their lead. Keane Lewis-Potter, converted into a left-back in recent weeks by Brentford boss Thomas Frank, made a has of controlling a long punt forward. The ball bounced into the path of Anthony Elanga, who immediately drove infield found the far bottom corner with a curling shot.
The winger might have made it 3-0 three minutes later, but this time his shot was beaten away by Brentford keeper Flekken.
His opposite number Sels then produced one of the saves of the season as Brentford tried to respond, albeit that the Forest stopper used his head.
Mbeumo headed a cross into the path of Ajer whose shot was turned away at point-blank range by Sels’s head as he threw himself in the way of the ball.
For Brentford, the loss of their proud unbeaten home record this season compounded the disappointment felt by their tame Carabao Cup exit at Newcastle in midweek.
But the day belonged to Forest who will spend Christmas Day in the Champions League places.
THE gruesome murder of a teenage girl over 50 years ago could finally be solved thanks to a clue overlooked by cops.
Jacqueline Johns’ naked body was discovered close to Battersea Power Station in southwest London in 1973 – but her killer has never been caught.
The 16-year-old’s shoes were left behind at the scene and criminologist David Wilson believes modern forensics could provide “opportunities that weren’t available at the time”.
He told The Sun: “It would be interesting to know if the family actually identified that they were her shoes or not.”
He said the fact the footwear was left but the rest of Jacqueline’s clothes were taken “could be significant”.
“It could be instrumental, which means they didn’t have time to take off her shoes, or it could be psychological in that the shoes were something that turned them on.
“They enjoyed viewing the body after the girl had been murdered with her shoes on.
He added: “It’s an era before CCTV and DNA but have her shoes been retained, there could be soil samples and so forth?
“I would have thought there are lines of enquiry that could be pursued that would help this poor family get justice for Jacqueline.
“She was found within 48 hours – this strikes me as something much more opportunistic and spontaneous, not planned – is there any forensic evidence on the body that was of use to the police?”
Jacqueline’s sister Susan Church previously said her and her siblings have had no contact with cops for more than 30 years.
The last public police appeal for information was made just months after her death – and the killer remains a mystery.
Mr Wilson said it is baffling that the Met Police haven’t reviewed the case more regularly.
“There didn’t seem to be that concerted effort,” he continued.
“Were there no posters of the woman who was seen talking to her? Was there no appeal done?
“Were her shoes kept and may they offer forensic opportunities that weren’t available at the time?”
He continued: “How was she strangled? From behind or from the front? Manually or with a ligature?
“These are the questions we need to ask. They are important details.
“An unsolved murder case is supposed to be reviewed regularly every two years. I would be encouraging her family to ask the Met Police when they are going to review the case.”
The Met confirmed to fellow criminologist Robert Giles last year that the case “remains unsolved” after he submitted a Freedom of Information request.
Insurance clerk Jacqueline had attended her work colleague Susan Baynes’ wedding party on the Essex Riviera on September 29 1973 – and after thanking the bride for a “lovely time” she headed for home in Thornton Heath, south London.
But the teen – later dubbed the Girl in the Yellow Dress – never made it.
Her body was stripped of the bright lemon-coloured dress and sheepskin coat she’d been wearing and was dumped in a railway siding.
The grim discovery at Spicers Wharf – on October 1 – was made by workmen just across the Thames from Victoria Station, where she was last seen alive by witnesses.
Jacqueline was raped and strangled. Apart from her yellow and blue shoes, her clothes were never recovered.
She’d missed the last train home from Victoria just before midnight, and a woman she was seen talking to on the platform has never been traced.
At the time, police suggested she walked across Chelsea Bridge, possibly trying to hitchhike home.
Her loved ones fear she may have been a victim of notorious serial killer Robert Black.
Susan, who lives in Heysham, Lancashire, previously said police did tell the family in the early 1990s that Black may have been involved – but have not been in touch since.
She said: “The police contacted us about Robert Black after they found some friendship bracelets.
“But I don’t think my mother knew if they were hers or not.”
Susan added that Black’s was the only name cops ever gave to them.
Black kept a bracelet in his flat which may have been a souvenir, a police source previously told the Daily Mail.
Jacqueline’s sister Annette Belcher said detectives had previously shown her a bracelet with coloured beads but she couldn’t be sure it was her late sibling’s.
Criminologist Robert Giles – the co-author of The Face of Evil: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert Black – said Black had discussed his desire to rape women with a fellow sex offender while in borstal in the late 1960s.
Robert Black, from Falkirk in Scotland, was in 1994 given 12 life sentences for murdering four girls aged between five and 11 in the 1980s.
He died aged 68 at Maghaberry prison in County Antrim in January 2016.
During the 1970s and 1980s he worked as a delivery driver, during which time he abducted and killed his victims.
He was eventually caught by police in 1990 with a barely alive six-year-old girl in the back of his van in Stow, Scotland.
Remarkably, she was found by her policeman dad.
Black was convicted of the murders of 11-year-old Susan Maxwell, from the Scottish Borders, five-year-old Caroline Hogg, from Edinburgh, and Sarah Harper, 10, from Morley, near Leeds, as well as a failed abduction bid in Nottingham in 1988.
In 2011, he was found guilty of the 1981 murder of nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy, from Ballinderry, County Antrim.
He died in prison, aged 68, in Northern Ireland in 2016.
However, Mr Wilson said he’s not so sure.
He explained: “In my opinion it definitely was not Robert Black. It just shows that probably lots of people tried to abduct young girls in our culture, but not all by Robert Balck.
“16 was too old for him. He tended to go for pre-pubescent girls. He would go for eight, nine, 10, even younger.
“Occasionally, there was an older one who was 13 or 14 but that was unusual for his pattern of offending.”
Mr Wilson went on to say: “He did live in London at the time but he was a delivery driver and he tended to abduct and kill girls outside of London.
“My sense is that Robert Black is a bogey man figure in our culture and people want to say it could have been him.
“From everything this does not strike me as the MO Robert Black would go on.”
In 1974, police said due to the location of Jacqueline’s body she may have been abducted by two men.
Speaking about that possibility two people were involved, Mr Wilson said: “It’s not uncommon.”
He continued: “The Railway Rapists, who went on to murder, worked as a pair, there’s often something called a folieadeux, which means ‘a madness shared by two’.
“There have been killer couples, it is something that’s not unheard of.
“It might very well have been two people but back in the 1970s what we’re really talking about is the generalised vulnerability of young women of that age.
“At 16 a lot of young women were already going to pubs, our culture was different, and indeed there are a number of unsolved cases from the 1970s.”
In terms of solving the cold case, he added: “There is hope here, this didn’t happen a century ago, in terms of the family trying to draw attention to the case.”
AN ICONIC bakery chain famed for its cinnamon buns and sourdough loaves is set to open 40 new locations in the UK.
The beloved upmarket bakery has soared in popularity over the last few years – and currently has over 150 stores.
The new Gail’s sites will launch in 2025, CEO Tom Molnar hopes, upping the company’s targeted sales to £300 million.
It follows the launch of two new sites in London St Pancras and one in London Bridge station – the first Gail’s cafes to be introduced in train stations.
Before that, the chain opened its 150th store in Watford in October.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Tom credited the company’s rapid high street expansion to cheap real estate.
He said: “There are lots of empty sites on the high street.
“You get really attractive deals. That’s been really fundamental to us.”
However, Tom also admitted that he might have to put prices up on the already luxury coffees and baked goods.
This is due to a rise in employer national insurance contributions introduced in the latest Budget – and an increase in the minimum wage, he said.
Gail’s is renowned for its bread, which is baked at sites in Hendon, North London, Milton Keynes, St Albans, Manchester and Bath.
Its pastries are also a favourite among TikTok users, who frequently post eat-with-me videos featuring the snacks.
Several videos have gone viral recently showcasing the impressive array of Gail’s snacks that can be enjoyed when you order a Too Good To Go package.
However, the chain has not been without controversy – with hundreds signing a petition to block a new site in Walthamstow Village, amid fears that the neighbourhood was being “gentrified”.
The petition was created with a view to “protecting the unique identity of our community and safeguarding the soul of a beloved neighbourhood”.
Similarly, residents in Knutsford, Cheshire, where a Gail’s branch was due to open, told the Sun last year that the chain was “too expensive” and could drive out independent traders.
Nigel Cowl, 58, said: “I won’t go in there. I work at the Co-op and can pick up some cheaper bake-at-home things instead.
“To be honest, I prefer some jam or marmite on toast to a fancy croissant.”
He added: “I think the bakery will get a lot of customers because Knutsford has become so upmarket.
“But I don’t think it’s a good thing – it’s too expensive.”
By Laura McGuire, consumer reporter.
MANY Food and drink chains have been struggling recently as the cost of living has led to fewer people spending on eating out.
Businesses had been struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, only to be hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.
Multiple chains have been affected, resulting in big-name brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing branches.
Some chains have not survived. Byron Burger fell into administration last year, with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.
Pizza giant, Papa Johns is shutting down 43 of its stores soon.
Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, said it will shut sites as part of major restructuring plans.
NEIGHBOURS have expressed their fury over a newly converted holiday home, claiming naked guests roam freely and can be seen from all angles.
The controversial conversion at Penisarwaun, in Gwynedd, Wales, features a large gable end window overlooking a lane and nearby home.
It can be reached only by a narrow road and is advertised as a “haven of tranquillity” in the Welsh countryside.
But those living nearby have dubbed the development, which was built without planning permission, an “eyesore” – and insist they can see everything from the outside.
Janet Gayther, 82, whose home is overlooked by the giant window, says she frequently sees guests in the buff – and it’s making her life a “misery”.
“I’ve seen all sorts,” she told The Sun Online. “People coming out and getting in the hot tub without clothes.
“I’ve driven past in the car and visitors have been sprawled out in the nude on the sofa.
“They also climb in and out of the bath on the mezzanine floor.”
The great gran added: “There’s the noise when they are having fun and games in the hot tub, having a drink and playing loud music.
“It’s making my life a misery at times.
“I’ve been here more than 50 years and didn’t expect this. What has happened is wrong.”
The property is said to attract partying guests and lights from the building, it’s claimed, make it shine “like Blackpool illuminations.”
Neighbours say they’ve had visitors knocking on their door at 1 am trying to find it.
And just a few months ago police were called when a lost couple disturbed the peace with an angry bust-up – seemingly because they were unable to find the accommodation.
“People sometimes can’t find the place,” Iain Burden, 61, said.
“If I had a quid for every time I had to direct people, I would be a millionaire.”
Visitors have been accused of failing to recycle and leaving locals to pick up armfuls of rubbish.
Michael Sharp said people “behave really badly” and that it’s the luxury hot tub that seems to “provoke bad behaviour”.
“We can hear the noise inside the house, even with the doors closed,” the 72-year-old said.
“People are coming for a good time. We have had drones flying above our property.
“Some people are completely selfish and not community-minded.”
He added that he and his fellow neighbours have complained about the council planning department.
“It’s making the lives of locals a misery,” he said.
“At times we can’t go out in the garden because of the noise.”
The owners have applied for retrospective permission to convert the outbuilding into a holiday let – but councillors turned it down, against the advice of officials.
Gwynedd councillors were told it had been completed without planning consent.
Jean Williamson, 70, said she was “furious” about the situation and the council response had been “inadequate.”
She said: “We get hen parties and birthday parties.”
Linda Jeavons, 75, added: “The owners have come along and more or less ignored all the rules and regulations.
“This is a nice quiet residential area and they are turning it into something more commercial.
“The lane isn’t very accessible, and the property creates a lot of problems litter-wise.
“The window isn’t in keeping with the area.”
Another local man said there had been a “significant increase in traffic” along the narrow lane leading to the holiday property.
He asked: “Have the council got the money to fight it?”
A Cyngor Gwynedd spokesperson told The Sun: “At a meeting of the Gwynedd Planning Committee held on 9 December, a retrospective application to convert an outbuilding to holiday let at Plas Coch, Penisarwaun was refused due to the fact that the development is contrary to policy PCYFF 3 of the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan 2011-2026.
“It was deemed the development would have an adverse effect on residential amenities and the gable windows would cause an over-looking and an intrusive effect on neighbouring properties.
“The Council’s Planning Service has written to the applicant to inform him of the committee’s decision and is investigating the matter further.”
The Sun has reached out to the holiday home’s business for comment.
