THE BIG SHOT
A terrified ginger tom clings to the back of a Thai navy officer after being rescued from a burning boat. The cat was one of four abandoned by the crew of a fishing vessel after it caught fire and capsized in the Andaman Sea. The fishermen were rescued but the navy crew spotted the kittens on the sinking boat. One officer leapt in and swam to safety with each of the cats on his back. The animals were unhurt.
The man convicted 23 years ago of the hammer murder of a mum and her six- year- old daughter has vowed to refuse early release until he is cleared.
Michael Stone was 37 when he was jai led for bludgeoning Dr Lin Russell and her daughters Megan and nine-year- old Josie – who survived.
Stone, who could go free as early as July next year, says he will not seek parole until his conviction is quashed.
He believes Levi Bellfield, 52 – who murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler – carried out the attack.
Stone’s sister Barbara, 58, said: “He has fought since day one. He’s not going to give in now.”
Stone was given three life sentences after Lin, 45, and her daughters were tied up and beaten in Chillenden, Kent, in July 1996.
Josie sur v ived w ith appalling injuries. Stone, who had a history of violence and drug abuse, was arrested a year later. DNA at the scene did not match his, but he was found guilty in 1998 based on evidence from three other prisoners, including pal Damian Daley.
Stone, now 60 and held at HMP Frankland in County Durham, is laying his hopes on a dossier of new evidence his solicitors submitted to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2017.
Bellf ield, also at HMP Frankland, is serving life for killing Milly Dowler, 13, Marsha McDonnell, 19, and Amelie Delagrange, 22. He denies he carried out the Chillenden attack.