Boy Dies On Slipway

A four-year-old boy has died after he was hit by what police described as a 'sea scooter' while standing on a slipway at a Highlands. The accident happened at Kilchoan in Ardnamurchan at about 2.15pm on Saturday. The child, who lived locally, was airlifted to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow with head injuries but later died after the jet-ski accident.

Minister Boosts Housing

Housing Minister John Healey has confirmed a further boost for affordable housing with almost £250 million to provide 3,400 affordable homes and create around 5,000 jobs. Every region of the country will receive funding which is shared between 43 housing associations and other bodies operating across 97 local authority areas.

Genetic Link To Disease

A factor in the human immune system that fights disease has been discovered by UK scientists. It causes stem cells in the blood to become disease-fighting "Natural Killer" immune cells. Researchers, from Imperial College London, University College London and the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research have created mice that lack the key gene - E4bp4. It is hoped the discovery will lead to new ways to boost the body's production of these frontline cells - potentially creating a new way to kill cancer. The Nature Immunology study may also help development of new treatments for type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. These conditions are caused by a malfunctioning immune system turning against the body's own tissues, and it is suspected that faulty NK cells play a key role in this process.

Builders' Confidence Grows

The Home Builders Federation's (HBF) latest survey released shows that July's new homes reservations were up strongly on a year ago, the fourth successive month of year on year growth - and that builders expect a rise in their new homes sales in 2009. And with builders already reporting a busy August, the survey demonstrates the clear improvement in both the market and industry confidence and comes as a major boost for the industry as it launches New Homes Week 2009. The week will see events taking place on 2,000 housing sites across Britain as builders demonstrate the many benefits of new homes.

Mortages 'On The Up'

Lending for house purchase showed its first material annual growth in July for the first time since early 2007, according to the latest Council of Mortgage Lenders' (CML) survey. At £14.5 billion, total gross lending rose significantly for the second month running, but was still 42% lower than in July last year. Within this, house purchase lending accounted for 56,000 loans totalling £7.5 billion - up from 47,000 loans totalling £7.1 billion in July last year.

(BMcC/KMcA)