CHESTER

A rapist who attacked a 'vulnerable' drunk student just eight minutes after she got into his taxi fled the country before he could be jailed.

Syrian-born Sultan Amari emailed Warrington Crown Court to say he wouldn't be returning to hear the verdict after disappearing part way through the trial.

Amari picked up the woman who was 'obviously' intoxicated in Chester city centre on July 11 this year. 

He took her to a house he owned in Sealand Road, Chester that was unfurnished except for a mattress. 

There, he raped her twice over a period of eight hours.

A jury of seven women and five men took just over six hours to find him guilty by majority of two counts of rape today.

But 46-year-old Amari, from Flint, fled to Turkey midway through giving his evidence.

The father-of-one, who was on bail, was due to continue being questioned by the prosecution on Monday.

He sent an early morning email to the court telling them he had no intention of returning.

https://goo.gl/iWboh7

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BELFAST

A dissident republican has received a nine-year sentence for carrying a sub-machine gun in a Belfast taxi.

Vincent Kelly, 31, formerly of Hawthorn Street in Belfast, was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court.

The court heard that Kelly was stopped while travelling in a taxi towards the Falls Road in Belfast in November 2014.

The judge said it was fair to assume the "only purpose" of the weapon would have been to allow dissident republicans to target security forces.

The court heard that Kelly was found with a holdall that contained a reactivated sub-machine gun wrapped in a fleece, three rifle magazines inside a pillow case, and 30 rounds of ammunition inside a sock.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-37496625

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NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE

ONE of the city's biggest taxi firms has launched a new app – so customers can track the location of their cab.

Lucky Seven's new application also allows people to check the price of their fares during the journey – with the option to pay by cash or card – and leave feedback about the service.

The move comes just weeks after global taxi firm Uber started operating in North Staffordshire

https://goo.gl/FYcXuA