Two injured in shooting

Two men suffered gunshot wounds after two masked men walked into the St Nicholas House pub in Bristol, fired a few rounds, then fled to nearby Newfoundland Road. The shooting happened at around 10.30pm last Thursday and the injured men are being treated in hospital. Their condition is said to be serious but not life threatening. The attack came just four days after two men were shot following an incident at the Black Swan in Easton. A man was hit on the head with a champagne bottle in the pub toilets. He ran outside and was chased by two men who shot him in the groin and the leg. A passer-by was shot in the leg. Bulldozed pub to open An Oxfordshire licensee, who bulldozed his own pub after he was refused a drink on New Year's Day, expects the pub to re-open within weeks. Robert Tyrrell was ordered to do 200 hours community service and pay £2,800 compensation at Oxford Crown Court for wrecking property and endangering lives after he partially destroyed the North Star in Steventon. Damage to the 17th-century, grade-II listed building was estimated at more than £70,000. Project manager Lawrence Rogers added that some re-roofing work still has to be done. "It has been a particularly tricky operation, not just because of the damage caused on 1 January but because of the decaying structure that made the damage worse then made it more difficult to repair," he said. Host killed in break-in The funeral of a West Midlands licensee murdered during a break-in three months ago took place on Friday. Michael Hughes' body was found in the living area of the canal-side Royal Oak in Pelsall, near Walsall, on 27 April. Police believe the 59-year-old was killed during a burglary in which the safe was stolen. It was later recovered from the Wyrley and Essington Canal in nearby Bloxwich. Detectives are still trying to trace the joiner, known as Alan, who fitted the safe at the pub. Detective Inspector Ian Bamber said he hoped the funeral would "focus the minds" of anyone withholding information. Barmaid's gun terror A 19-year-old barmaid was held at gunpoint while robbers broke into the safe in a Norwich pub. Student Jessica Howard-Armstrong was waiting for a taxi home outside the Marlborough Arms when a masked gang forced her back to re-open the pub. A police spokesman said: "Jessica is extremely shocked and distressed by the incident and has been saying she doesn't want to go back to work." He added it was possible the robbers had been drinking in the pub beforehand to plan the raid. Police probe mystery Police in Dorset have been using helicopters and sniffer dogs to search for a 29-year-old diver who disappeared in mysterious circumstances after leaving a pub. Jon Cornford had been working as a diver on a coastal protection scheme at West Bay. He was last seen drinking with colleagues at the George Hotel, Bridport on Wednesday 13 August. He left the pub at around 9pm, leaving his drink. Thirty minutes later his red Renault 5 Campus was found abandoned with flat tyres outside the Spar shop in Main Street, Chideock. Chief Inspector Charlie Eggar said Cornford had just started his new job and had no obvious problems. The disappearance was completely out of character. Fire alarms save inn Devon licensee Nigel Heath believes fire alarms and smoke detectors fitted during a £300,000 refurbishment of his pub probably saved it after fire broke out in the early hours. A smouldering cigarette in a bin caused a blaze in the bar at the Cricket Inn in Beesands at around 3am last Thursday. The blaze, which melted the plastic beer lines beneath the floor, set off the new alarm and 10 people were evacuated. While waiting for firefighters to arrive, guest Sammy Bachus, who had experience with firefighting in the Royal Navy, rushed back into the building and sprayed the fire with water from the soda hose.