Crusader joins trade

The founder of Mothers Against Drink Drivers, who wants all learner drivers to be shown a video detailing how her own daughter was killed by a car driven by someone over the limit, is now the landlady of a pub. Lynn Hilton, who runs the Shady Oak in Tiverton, near Chester, said: "It probably seems a strange trade for someone like myself to go into, but people throughout the trade have to start thinking, and I see no problem with being a caring landlady." Nichola Hilton, 10, was run down and killed instantly as she walked with her father in her home town of Wigan in May 1993 when a car carrying seven people ran into her and her father. Lynn's husband, Jeffrey, was left brain-dead with three breaks to the spine. Chef contest starts Top cooks from the Chef & Brewer group will be pitting their culinary skills against each other in the coming month in a national cookery competition. More than 100 chefs will be competing to win the title of "Chef & Brewer Chef of the Year". Contenders need to produce a starter, a fish course and a main course. One of the dishes must have a French influence to reflect the top prize ­ a study trip to Paris and the Champagne region. Punch wine growth Dramatic growth in wine sales has prompted Punch Pub Company to increase its Connect to Wine range by more than 50%. The range now includes more than 150 choices, as well as a new selection of premier wines from countries like France, Italy, Argentina, Chile and Australia. The Connect to Wine range was launched last year, offering free wine menus for all retailers. More than 200 pubs took up the offer of the free menus and, overall, sales of wine within Punch's 4,500 pubs increased by more than 20%. ID cards delay The introduction of identity cards is still some years away, according to reports this week. Prime Minister Tony Blair said that although he supported ID cards in principle, there were still huge logistical and cost issues to be resolved. The Home Office has proposed introducing the ID card gradually over a 13-year period at a cost of between £1.3bn and £3.1bn. Traffic control cost The Mayor of London's office has admitted that the congestion charge is hurting businesses in central London by up to £50,000 a day. The report, by the Greater London Authority's economics unit, said the fee was deterring up to 30,000 shoppers a month. However, it insisted that the cost was insignificant compared to the damage caused by the closure of the underground network's Central Line.