MURDER - UTTING AVENUE SHOOTING

MERSEYSIDE Police on Monday, 10 January 2011 launched a murder investigation after the death of 20 year old Edward Pybus (known as Eddie) who had been shot in north Liverpool on Monday, 3 January 2011. Eddie, who was from the Norris Green area, died on Sunday, 9 January 2011, in hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for his injuries. He had been taken to hospital by a third party at around 3.30pm on 3 January 2011 with a single gun shot wound to his chest and arm. A Home Office post mortem examination will now take place to establish a cause of death. Detectives investigating the fatal shooting believe it occurred in the Utting Avenue area earlier that afternoon. Three men arrested shortly after the shooting on suspicion of attempted murder were released on Wednesday, 5 January 2011 on Police Bail, pending further enquiries.   The men are:- a 23 year old man from Kirkby, a 21 year old man from Walton and a 20 year old man Aintree.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Clark from the Force's Major Incident Team is leading the enquiry said:- "This young man has sadly died and we are now treating his death as a murder. He has lost his life in tragic circumstances and we are determined to bring those responsible for his murder to justice. His family are understandably devastated and our condolences go out to them. It is not clear at this stage how the victim came about his injuries on Monday and I would appeal for anyone out there with information about what happened to come forward. We will treat any information in the strictest confidence and witnesses can come to us anonymously if need be."   Call the Major Incident Team on:- 0151 777 8676 or Crimestoppers on:- 0800 555 111.

IT'S snooker, but not as you know it!  The world of snooker is set to take over Blackpool at the end of this month when the world's top 64 snooker players descend on the popular seaside town to compete in the exciting new snooker game at Blackpool Tower's Circus Arena between 28 January to 30 January 2011.

Snooker Shoot Out is a completely new event which has been created by World Snooker chairman, Barry Hearn. The 3 day tournament will see the best snooker players in the world race against the clock in one-frame knock out games lasting no more than 10 minutes each. There's also a shot clock to keep the action at full throttle; for the first 5 minutes it's 20 seconds, and for the last 5 minutes it's 15 seconds.

Players will go head to head in knock-out games, and the winner of each match will go on to the next round where the prize money doubles. The overall winner will go home with a prize of £32,000.

Amongst the big names set to play this new format for the first time are Ronnie 'The Rocket' O'Sullivan, current World Champion Neil Robertson, former World Champions John Higgins and Mark Williams, Masters Champion Mark Selby, along with snooker legends such as Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Whirlwind Jimmy White.

The Northwest has a number of top class snooker players representing the region including Manchester's Shaun Murphy, Lancashire's Ian McCulloch and Stuart Pettman, Chester's Ricky Walden and Merseyside's Rod Lawler and Andrew Higginson.

The game is part of a new era for the sport and is expected to open up snooker to a new audience; it'll be fun and fast, with high tension drama, and fine displays of snooker skills from some of the best players in the world. In a complete contrast to the traditional game the players will be walked on by glamorous girls, and losers will have to exit via the walk-of-shame.

It's a great event for a group of friends to enjoy a lively, non-traditional snooker atmosphere over a day, evening or the whole weekend, whilst enjoying the talents and fast-potting skills of the best snooker players in the world.

Snooker Shoot Out is at the Circus Arena in Blackpool. Tickets start from £10 and are on sale now. Discounts are available for groups of 6 or more. VIP tickets offering a chance to get up close to the players are also available.

For further information or to book tickets visit:- worldsnooker.com or go to:- theblackpooltower.co.uk.