Defiant card shop owner fined £17k for staying open
4th lockdown breach as boss makes point
AMIDLAND card shop owner has been fined a total of £17,000 for repeatedly ignoring lockdown rules and opening for business.
Grace Cards and Books in Droitwich was open again last week – just 24 hours after boss Alasdair Walker-Cox was handed his latest fine of £10,000.
He has now been fined four times since the start of the year for continually breaking the rules.
He claims his business can legally open as he sells items offered by shops that are still allowed to trade, like newspapers and confectionary.
But the authorities disagree. Wychavon District Council said he must close as the core of the business was selling cards, gifts and other non-essential items. It could legally continue to trade online and offer a delivery service.
The shop was previously ordered to close during the second national lockdown on Saturday, November 21 and later fined.
Mr Walker-Cox said: “We are open at the moment. Going forwards, we will see what happens day-by-day.
“I am not prepared to make any comment at the moment as my legal team are looking at it.”
A spokesman for Wychavon District Council commented: “All nonessential retailers must close as part of the national lockdown for
England introduced to bring down Covid-19 infection rates, protect the NHS and help save lives.
“While the majority of retailers have complied with the legislation, Grace Cards and Books has refused.
“The shop’s owners were issued with a £10,000 fixed penalty notice on Wednesday, February 10.”
The authority said the shop had been fined three times previously since the start of 2021, receiving £1,000, £2,000 and £4,000 fixed penalty notices for continuing to trade.
A prohibition notice was issued at the start of the January lockdown ordering the business to close, which prompted the store to shut temporarily before opening again.
The authority added: “Discussions are taking place about further action, including a forced closure or court action, due to concerns about the risk the shop’s continued opening poses to public health.”
The council said attempts had been made to support the business, including encouraging the owners to apply for financial support which was available.
Council leader Coun Bradley Thomas said: “Despite the impact coronavirus regulations are having on businesses, the vast majority of our traders are following the rules because they want to play their part in bringing infections down to help protect our NHS and save lives.
“It’s disappointing this one particular business feels the need to flout the rules and we will work with our partners to take further action, if needed, to protect the public.
“Financial support is available to businesses and we are working hard to get that money out as fast as possible.
“While infections are coming down in Wychavon, they are still high, and our local NHS remains under significant pressure.
“We have a plan to support businesses to rebuild once this pandemic is over. That day will come much faster if we all follow the rules and help get back on top of this virus.”
AFATHER and his accountant son have been found guilty of mistakenly killing their own relative with a crossbow as they murdered a cannabis farm burglar just seconds later.
Omar Ramzan, his father Saghawat Ramzan and family friend Mohammed Sageer were all unanimously found guilty of murdering kickboxer Khuzaimah Douglas.
A three-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of the moment Saghawat Ramzan shot his brother Waseem Ramzan in the stomach with the crossbow during a four-on-one punishment beating intended to kill or maim Mr Douglas.
A second bolt travelling at 270ftper-second was fired at Mr Douglas less than a minute later, causing fatal internal injuries.
Jurors also convicted Saghawat Ramzan of murdering his own brother, who was mistakenly hit by a bolt aimed at 19-year-old Mr Douglas. Omar Ramzan and Edinburghborn Sageer were cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter in relation to Waseem Ramzan’s death. Saghawat Ramzan, 47, Lancaster
University graduate Omar Ramzan, 24, and 33-year-old Edinburgh-born Sageer all claimed to have been acting in self-defence.
Mr Douglas, 19, was shot while being held on the ground and died at the scene outside the Ramzans’ home in Pensnett Road, Brierley Hill, Dudley, in the early hours of February 20 last year.
Waseem Ramzan, 36, died in hospital after the bolt that struck him was removed and hidden near the scene.
The defendants were charged with murder after police recovered CCTV footage from cameras set up to protect the cannabis farm from raids by rival gangs.
All three defendants denied any knowledge of the cannabis farm, with Saghawat Ramzan claiming that he feared the burglars were targeting his home containing Cartier and Rolex watches.
Opening the case last month, prosecutor Adrian Keeling QC said the property was being used to grow cannabis worth up to £225,000 a year. Telling jurors a rival gang had attacked the rear of the cannabis factory at 2.30am, Mr Keeling said of Saghawat and Omar Ramzan: “Despite the time of night, these two defendants were immediately aware of the attack and the fact it was taking place.”
CCTV initially captured Saghawat Ramzan firing a crossbow at the rear of the cannabis factory, but he missed the would-be intruders, striking a shed.
Finance worker Omar Ramzan, who graduated in 2018 with a first class BSc in accounting and management studies, was caught on CCTV brandishing a knife and a smaller crossbow, as well as holding down Mr Douglas.
Sageer drove to Pensnett Road to join efforts to protect the drug-growing operation after a nine-second phone call from Waseem Ramzan.
CCTV footage, which Saghawat Ramzan tried to delete, showed Sageer, of Gorsty Avenue, Brierley Hill, handling a second crossbow during the fatal struggle.
At the start of the trial, Mr Keeling said: “They sprang into violent defence of the drug-growing operation. Rather than let them (the rival gang) retreat into the night, they blocked their retreat and effectively boxed the raiders into the house.
“The raiders had no real choice but to smash a window at the front of the house... and try to get away.”
Mr Douglas, the court heard, had the “fatal misfortune” to be caught by
Waseem while attempting to flee. Saghawat Ramzan, who was already holding a sword, went back to arm himself with a large crossbow.
Mr Keeling told the court that as Mr Douglas struggled to fend off four assailants, Saghawat Ramzan fired the first of two crossbow bolts.
The barrister told jurors: “He didn’t need to do so. He fired the bolt from almost point-blank range and, in doing that, he must have intended at least really serious harm, if not to kill.”
Waseem Ramzan suffered a wound to his flank, which caused massive blood loss and severe injuries to multiple internal organs.
The Recorder of Wolverhampton, Judge Michael Chambers QC, adjourned sentence in the case until March 12. Mr Chambers QC told the three men that they would face mandatory life sentences.
Judge Chambers told the: “This is a case which will require reflection for sentence. You have obviously all been convicted of offences of murder.
“Although the sentence is set by Parliament as life imprisonment, I will need to set a minimum term to be served before you can be considered by the Parole Board.
“I don’t consider this is a case in which I need reports.”