Criminals and the Liverpool community are being urged to “examine their consciences” and give up the gunman who killed a nine-year-old girl.
Merseyside Police confirmed that the girl – who has officially been named as Olivia Pratt-Korbel – died on Monday night when a 35-year-old man, who was unknown to the family, ran into her home on Kingsheath Avenue, in the Notty Ash area, as he tried to get away from a gunman.
Her mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, was also shot in the wrist as she tried to close the door on the gunman while Olivia stood behind her.
Olivia suffered a gunshot injury to the chest and was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in a critical condition, where she later sadly died.
In a news conference delivered yesterday, Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen explained that Olivia had been at home with her two older siblings and mother when Ms Korbel opened the door after hearing gunshots fired outside.
DCS Kameen said a figure – who was wearing a black padded jacket, a black balaclava with a peak, dark trousers and black gloves – fired shots at two men walking along Kingsheath Avenue, which prompted them them to run away, and one of the men ran towards the open door of Olivia’s home and forced his way in.
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The gunman also suffered gunshot wounds to his upper body, before he was picked up and taken to hospital by friends driving a car has since been seized by police.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy has called Olivia’s death an “absolute tragedy” in a plea urging the criminals to come forward.
She said: “I know that the murder of Olivia has rocked our communities, who are quite rightly upset and outraged that such an abhorrent crime has occurred here on the streets of Merseyside… [but] the people of Liverpool and Merseyside are known for their compassion and pulling together in times of crisis, and I know that in our communities, people are wanting to help the family in any way possible.”
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“This is not the time for anyone who knows who’s responsible for this shooting to remain tight-lipped,” she added.
“It is time for our communities to come together with us and make Merseyside a place where the use of guns on our streets is totally unacceptable, and those who use them are held to account.”
Kingsheath Avenue in Liverpool, where a Olivia Pratt-Korbel was fatally shot / Credit: Google Maps
Merseyside Police is appealing to “members of the criminal fraternity” and is asking them to “examine their consciences” to give up the gunman and come forward with any “vital information that can help” in their ongoing investigation.
“The killing of a nine-year-old child is an absolute tragedy and crosses every single boundary, and I would urge them to do the right thing, so we can put this person behind bars,” Chief Constable Kennedy concluded.
Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or call Crimestoppers UK on 0800 555 111 quoting log 1083 of 22 August.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
24th August 2022 
