TOP STORY
Millionaire was 'drunk' hours before his £1.2m mansion was destroyed in arson attack
Troubled businessman Christopher Foster got drunk at an all-day clay pigeon shooting party hours before his country mansion was destroyed in an arson attack, it was claimed today. The 50-year-old went to the party at a neighbour's house with his wife Jillian, 49, and 15-year-old daughter Kirstie where they all seemed in good spirits.
Click through today in pictures
Today's headlines
Most Read
- Millionaire was 'drunk' hours before his £1.2m mansion was destroyed in arson attack
- First picture of Mercedes executive found murdered in her blazing home
- British student gang-raped by asylum seekers in Calais squatter camp they call 'The Jungle'
- Microsoft launches 'porn mode' browser that lets you surf the web without leaving a trace
- House prices plummet by more than 10% in a year ... the biggest drop since 1990
- Two million Britons could be out of work by Christmas, Bank of England warns
- Boris Johnson: Chinese ordered me to smarten up at Olympic ceremony
- Finally! Prepare for a sweltering Saturday as temperatures set to soar to 27C
- Parents sue school for not telling them their daughter had been taken ill two weeks before she died of heart attack
- Met chief tells force's most senior Asian policeman to 'shut up' after he launches race claim against Scotland Yard
- Obama God! Democrats build a temple for Barack
- Ex-England football star Mick Channon and teenage son hurt in death crash
- Muslim council leaders ban ALL members from 'traditional tea and sandwiches' in meetings during Ramadan
- Boyfriend fights for life after throwing himself in front of car to save his girl's life
- Crash and carry: Caught on CCTV, the moment a pensioner smashed his car through a supermarket window
- Pictured: The British mother whose daughter was taken into care by Portuguese police after she 'went out drinking' near Madeleine resort
- Magistrates say they have little to do because of the massive rise in number of on-the-spot fines
- Email etiquette: Why your response time reveals details of your personallity
- Tesco reveals UK's first 'OAP-friendly' supermarket - with magnifying glasses and trolley seats
- Cheap fuel bills are over, warns Cabinet minister as he rules out windfall tax on energy giants
- Cocaine deaths hit record high as it becomes a 'dinner party' drug of choice
- Deaths from hospital superbug C.diff soar by a THIRD in just one year
- HSBC to stop paying interest on current accounts in bid to save £7million a year
- Briton who hacked into secret U.S. military network faces extradition to America within weeks
- MORE HEADLINES
- Millionaire was 'drunk' hours before his £1.2m mansion was destroyed in arson attack
- British journalism student gang-raped by asylum seekers in Calais squatter camp they call 'The Jungle'
- Two-headed baby dies after family take him home because they are too poor to keep him in hospital
- On the run again: Paedophile Gary Glitter seeks police protection after hate mob discovers his seaside bolthole
- Pictured: The Mercedes executive found 'murdered' in her burning home
- British mother whose daughter was taken into care by Portuguese police after she 'went out drinking'
- Oh I say! Tennis star wears yet ANOTHER revealing outfit at the U.S. Open
- Pictured: The quick brown fox who jumped on the family sofa
- X Factor girl who made false rape claim against her ex-fiance walks free from court
- Muslim council chiefs ban ALL members from 'tea and sandwiches' in meetings during Ramadan
- Bride-to-be in hospital after swallowing a one-inch nail in her Tesco Value macaroni cheese
- Teenager in fight for life after throwing himself in front of car to save his girlfriend's life
- Finally! Prepare for a sweltering Saturday as temperatures set to soar to 27C
- Pictured: Horrific scars suffered by boy, 8, stung by deadly Man o' War on British coast
- Spider 'kills' pet dog after paratrooper accidentally brings it home from Afghanistan
- Boris Johnson: Chinese ordered me to smarten up at Olympic ceremony
- Parents sue school for not telling them their daughter had been taken ill two weeks before fatal heart attack
- 'Escape goats' and 'laxative enforcement policies': Student howlers in age of 'dumbed down' degrees
- British families pay almost £800 per year in 'dishonest' green taxes
- 'Little Mozart', 9, will make BBC Proms debut on weekend
- MOST READ IN DETAIL
EDITOR'S SIX OF THE BEST
British journalism student gang-raped by asylum seekers in Calais squatter camp they call 'The Jungle'
More than 100 asylum-seekers are being held tonight after a British student was gang-raped by illegal immigrants in Calais. The woman was writing on asylum seekers for her journalism course when she was attacked. Up to 100 men were rounded up as potential witnesses to the crime, which is alleged to have taken place in a squatter camp nicknamed 'The Jungle'.
Parents sue school for not telling them their daughter had been taken ill two weeks before she died of a heart attack
The parents of a student are to take legal action after teachers failed to tell them that she had experienced heart palpitations days before her death. Kasia Ber, 17, was at home when she collapsed with a heart attack caused by an undiagnosed condition.
Finally! Prepare for a sweltering Saturday as temperatures set to soar to 27C
With another dismal August Bank Holiday fresh in the memory, the news that Britain is to bask in a heatwave this weekend may come as a relief.
Boris Johnson: Chinese ordered me to smarten up at Olympic ceremony
Chinese officials ordered Boris Johnson to smarten up at the Olympic handover ceremony, he revealed today.
Microsoft launches 'porn mode' browser that lets you surf the web without leaving a trace
Microsoft has launched a new internet browser that will let people surf the web without leaving a trace of which sites they have visited.
Unemployment rate could hit two million by Christmas, Bank of England warns
Two million Britons could be left unemployed by Christmas and big cuts in interest rates are needed to stop the economy heading into a deep and prolonged slump, the Bank of England has warned today.
House prices plummet by more than 10% in a year... the biggest drop since 1990
House prices are falling at their fastest rate for nearly 18 years as potential buyers stay away from the market, figures showed today.
Muslim council chiefs ban ALL members from 'tea and sandwiches' in meetings during Ramadan
Muslim council leaders have sparked outrage after trying to ban all councillors eating in meetings until sunset during the holy month of Ramadan.
Teenager in fight for life after throwing himself in front of car to save his girlfriend's life
A teenager is fighting for his life in hospital today after bravely pushing his girlfriend out of the way of an oncoming car and being hit himself.
Pictured: The Mercedes executive found 'murdered' in her burning home
A mother-of-two found dead in her blazing house yesterday was an executive for luxury car company Mercedes. It has also emerged that she may have died up to six hours before the blaze. Her partner of four years, Alan Jermey, was detained by Surrey Police's Major Crime Team today for questioning.
EDITOR'S SIX OF THE BEST
- Pictured: Horrific scars suffered by boy, 8, stung by deadly Man o' War on British coast
- VIDEO: The panda that makes giving birth look easy
- Two-headed baby dies after family took him home because they were too poor to keep him in hospital
- How a housewife came up with a simple solution to a sticky problem - and sold it to Sellotape
- Male author set to top bestsellers list with book telling women how to get a man - keep slim, stay at home and cook dinner
DON'T MISS
FANCY THAT
Scroll through for the most amazing stories from around the globe
-
HEN-ORMOUS! CHICKEN LAYS MONSTER EGG
Teenage poultry farmer Dean Sambers was stunned when one of his hens laid a huge egg - weighing four times as much as a normal one -
DRUGGIE PRETENDED TO BE TWIN IN CON
A homeless heroin addict, who pretended to be his pillar-of-the-community identical twin to con trusting pensioners out of money, has been jailed -
MEET THE MOGGIES WHO'VE GROWN WINGS
The cats began sprouting bumps on their backs, which turned into wing-like growths, during a recent spell of hot weather in China -
THE SEAL WHO'S AFRAID OF THE COLD
Sahara the hooded seal has already been rescued twice after spurning his cold native waters in favour of warmer seas of the Mediterranean -
PARALYSED MAN IS GIVEN ROBO-LEGS
A man who has been paralysed for the past 20 years is able to walk again thanks to a revolutionary electronic exoskeleton -
ANCIENT MUMMIES UNEARTHED IN PERU
'The Lady of the Mask' and sacrificed children, dating back 1,300 years, were found in the heart of Peru's capital city Lima -
ANCIENT SHIPWRECKS FOUND IN THAMES
The largest-ever post-war salvage operation on the Thames has discovered seven shipwrecks up to 350 years old -
HEN-ORMOUS! CHICKEN LAYS MONSTER EGG
Teenage poultry farmer Dean Sambers was stunned when one of his hens laid a huge egg - weighing four times as much as a normal one -
DRUGGIE PRETENDED TO BE TWIN IN CON
A homeless heroin addict, who pretended to be his pillar-of-the-community identical twin to con trusting pensioners out of money, has been jailed
IN FEMAIL TODAY
- FASHION: Smoulder in antique golds and burnished metallics for a luxe late summer look
- INTERIORS: Sumptuous pink silks and cool monochrome prove a perfect match for boudoir chic
- BEAUTY CONFIDENTIAL : Restore your holiday glow with Elsa McAlonan's rescue remedies
- LIFESTYLE: Revealed: The mystical symbol that holds the key to your personality and could change your life
- STYLE: Trinny and Suzannah: Who'd trust these two when they don't know what to wear themselves, says LIZ JONES
Obama God! Democrats build a temple for Barack
Barack Obama was mocked in the American press today for making the most important speech of his life on a set decked out like a Greek temple. Finally nominated as the first black candidate for the U.S. presidency, he moved the Democratic Party Convention from the conference hall to an 80,000-seater football stadium for his landmark address.
Three arrested over Gordon Brown 'assassination plot' charged with terror offences
Three men questioned about an alleged plot to assassinate Gordon Brown have been charged with terror offences, Lancashire Police have confirmed.
Email etiquette: Why your response time reveals details of your personallity
The familiar 'ding' of an e-mail landing in a colleague's inbox has become as common a sound in offices across Britain today as the ring of the telephone.
Deaths from hospital superbug C.diff soar by a THIRD in just one year
The number of people dying who were suffering from C difficile has risen by 28 per cent in England and Wales, say new figures.
TODAY'S POLL
Did the Olympics closing ceremony embarrass you or fill you with pride?
POLL RESULTS
Bride-to-be in hospital after swallowing a one-inch nail in her Tesco Value macaroni cheese
A bride-to-be is in hospital after swallowing a one inch nail in her TV dinner.
Devastated mother reveals how her one-in-a-million little boy drowned in garden pond
A mother has described how her 16-month-old son drowned in a garden pond. Kailin Tucker, pictured, was playing with his cousin Callum, who is a month older, in his grandmother's back garden.
IN OUR OPINION
OTHER SHOWBUSINESS HEADLINES
FANCY THAT
Scroll through more of the most amazing stories from around the globe
-
BURGLAR HANGS AROUND TO BE CAUGHT
A bungling burglar was left dangling by his shoelaces after he was caught in a bay window -
MEET BICASSO: THE ARTIST WITH A BIRO
A former engineer has turned his life around after a stroke rewired his brain and turned him into an artist -
FIN-TASTIC: RARE ALBINO WHALE SHARK
The photo was taken by naturalist Antonio Moreano off the coast of Darwin, the northernmost island of the Galapagos -
WORLD TRADE CENTRE SEVEN YEARS ON
After 9/11 the World Trade Centre is still more than 80ft below street level - work goes on 20 hours a day there -
THE CHINESE LOVE TEA... FROM CORNWALL
A Cornish tea plantation - the Tregothnan estate, near Truro - is doing a roaring trade selling tea to China -
VROOM 2,000 MILES ON ONE TANK
The 200mph Trident Iceni can travel to Venice and back without a fill-up - and reach 60mph in under four seconds -
DASHBOARD PYTHONS: CAR THIEVES BEWARE
A car owner in Durban has found a way of combating spiralling vehicle crime: leave two deadly pythons on the dashboard -
WORLD'S OLDEST MAN DIES AT 138
The great-grand father believed to be the world's oldest man passed away after a brief illness at his home in India -
DOLPHIN TEACHES PALS TO WALK ON WATER
The 23-year-old has taught up to half a dozen wild dolphins how to tail-walk -
BURGLAR HANGS AROUND TO BE CAUGHT
A bungling burglar was left dangling by his shoelaces after he was caught in a bay window -
MEET BICASSO: THE ARTIST WITH A BIRO
A former engineer has turned his life around after a stroke rewired his brain and turned him into an artist
Pictured: Horrific scars suffered by boy, 8, stung by deadly Man o' War on British coast
An eight-year-old boy was left in agony with horrific red weals on his leg after being attacked by a Portuguese Man o' War. Jonathan Asplin was lucky to get out of the water alive after being stung by the huge jellyfish-like colony animal as he swam in a giant rockpool. He needed hospital treatment for the sting - and was only spared even more serious injury because he was wearing a cut-off wetsuit which protected the top of his leg.
Magistrates say they have little to do because of the massive rise in number of on-the-spot fines
Magistrates and youth court hearings are being cancelled because of the massive rise in the use of on-the-spot fines.
Met chief tells force's most senior Asian policeman to 'shut up' after he launches race claim against Scotland Yard
One of Scotland Yard's most senior officers has told Britain's top Asian policeman 'to shut up' about his public dispute with Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair.
THE BEST OF THE WEB - DIGESTED
Briton who hacked into secret U.S. military network faces extradition to America within weeks
A computer expert who hacked into top secret U.S. military networks has lost his last-ditch legal appeal and will be extradited to America in the next two weeks.
Cocaine and Ecstasy deaths up 1,200% since records began in 1993
The number of people killed by cocaine overdoses is at a record high, it was revealed today.
BEST OF OUR BLOGS
- PETER HITCHENS: If we ran our Olympic team the way we run our state schools, we wouldn't win a single medal
- KATIE NICHOLL: Never again will I assume that Lewis Hamilton has an easy time on the track!
- BENEDICT BROGAN: Heat and plots in Afghanistan
- PAUL REVOIR: China crisis over sounds
TOP SPORT STORIES
WORLD NEWS
- Russia warns U.S. naval build-up may lead to war and accuses America of shipping arms to Georgia
- Young British journalism student 'gang-raped by illegal immigrants in Calais'
- Book telling women to stay skinny, cook, and do whatever he says is tipped as new U.S. bestseller
- Pope's fury as crucified frog statue goes on display at Italian museum
- Horror at 'Clockwork Orange' attack on elderly Italian monks
- New Orleans braces for Gustav to become a 'powerful hurricane' as it strikes city almost three years to the day after Katrina
- Hillary Clinton's dramatic intervention seals Obama's nomination as husband Bill declares he is 'the man'
- Obama God! Democrats build a temple for Barack

