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Riot on

"The riots in England last August saw some of the worst anti-social behaviour ever witnessed in the country," booms the latest press release in our inbox, "and the images were absolutely terrifying. Rioters and looters injured many, destroyed people's homes and businesses, and even killed on the streets of Britain."

Come out from behind the sofa, dear reader, because someone is here to save us all. Thanks to a revolutionary form of 'kill or be killed' self defence training by a man who has instructed the most elite fighting forces in the world - including Navy Seals and the SAS - ordinary citizens in Birmingham and the West Midlands can do just that.

Tim Larkin set up Target Focus Training (TFT) to teach people the brutal skills of combat to survive in an increasingly hostile society – and turn the tables on those that set out to do harm – by using a full-force attack calculated to injure, maim or even kill, using any means possible.

And Larkin is bringing these training courses to England to help defeat gang culture and clean up the streets of 'Broken Britain'.

Dubbed the "Riot Tour", this month Larkin is bringing his deadly training seminars to secret locations in some of the worst affected areas – including Birmingham.

Larkin said: "I want to speak to the victims and spread the message that this need never happen again in the UK, if people stop taking the soft option and start to fight back with no holds barred."

Larkin maintains the only way to counter violence is with even stronger violence, and he says that people who are defending their lives and property should be able to use whatever force and means necessary against an assailant or intruder.

He said: "In my book, using your bare hands to kill or injure an assailant or an intruder can be regarded as perfectly reasonable force. It’s not a question of how far is too far. These predators lose their human rights as soon as they break into your house or attack you."

Steady on, Tim, lad.

In cider

It's all apple and pears at the drpgroup, along with plums and damsons. The drpteam have been reaping the benefits of one of their ongoing CSR programmes, which includes looking after and restoring its five acre, ancient Worcestershire orchard acquired two years ago when it purchased the company's training and team building centre at the edge of the Wyre forest.

The site is a special site of scientific interest due to it providing habitat to a number of native species and was in need of restoring back to its former glory as a producer of many traditional English fruits. As part of the drpgroup's 30th anniversary in 2010, the team embarked on a huge restoration project at the site and planted 30 Cherry trees, as well as working to clear and replant the orchard. This year's harvest has not been a disappointment with an abundance of fruit from the established trees and huge progress towards returning the orchard back to its best.

The harvest from this year's fruiting season has not gone to waste as clients in both the Hartlebury Head office and the London office have been treated to the freshly grown produce, picked direct from the Greensleeves orchard.

"It's a great facility to have for the team. Our hospitality team has been producing mini apple pies for meetings, which the clients have loved. The next challenge is to see if we can make cider," says Dale Parmenter, managing director.

Load of rubbish

You might have seen those singing bins on the news in the last few days – well, they came from the Midlands. The UK’s first singing rubbish bins, which are being installed on the streets of Liverpool this week were made by Amberol. The bins feature the voice of Mike McCartney, formerly of The Scaffold and The Beatles' Sir Paul McCartney's brother, as part of a nationwide initiative to clean up Britain’s city streets.

Anyone who deposits litter in the Amberol bins will hear Mike singing his 1967 hit 'Thank you very much….for binning your litter'. The singing bins, which will play three different versions of the message, will be positioned on Liverpool’s Mathew Street, including one opposite The Cavern. Each bin has a sound card installed which is triggered by motion sensors inside the bins.

"We have already installed around 1,000 talking bins in schools across the UK, including one in every junior school in Liverpool." explains Amberol’s marketing manager John Williamson. Who knew eight-year-olds were such big fans of The Scaffold?