The BMX craze is sending prices over the moon as collectors chase dream

AS MEN get older, the toys just get more expensive, but few would have thought the contents of a Pascoe Vale garage would spark a global frenzy.

Stewards link calls to bets

A PROFESSIONAL punter laid "a substantial amount of money" which "far exceeded his usual or historical betting pattern" on at least eight of Dan Nikolic's mounts shortly after speaking on the phone with the jockey, racing's judiciary heard yesterday.

SPORTING LIFE

Port puts sleepover in mothballs

Sharks fan faces another 22 charges

CRONULLA'S most notorious fan, Clint Elford, faces a further 22 charges of creating fake medical and legal documents in order to defraud life insurance companies. Elford, of Goulburn, became a key player in the Sharks' nightmare season when it was revealed he had given then chief executive Tony Zappia $30,000 to help the struggling club. Zappia did not tell the club about the money, which is alleged to be the proceeds of crime. Elford allegedly obtained the funds by fraudulently convincing an insurance company he had a terminal illness. Elford, 27, made another brief appearance in Goulburn Local Court yesterday via video link from Goulburn jail. It is alleged he defrauded $525,000 from American International Assurance Company (Australia) Ltd and dealt with that money knowing it was the proceeds of crime. It is also alleged Elford made false statements to try to claim $1.5 million from Allianz Australia Life Insurance Ltd. In total, he faces 29 charges related to making fraudulent insurance claims using false medical and legal documents. Elford has also been charged with writing a letter threatening grievous bodily harm to Zappia. The letter, intercepted by Goulburn Corrective Services staff, was destined for a man with links to the Rebels motorcycle gang, it was alleged. "I don't want him permanently hurt but he needs to be taught a lesson," the letter allegedly says. Elford's parents, Graham and Lesley Elford, have been charged with recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime, and all three will appear in Goulburn Local Court again on January 27.

'Oh my God, I'm going to die'

CHASE Weir swears, then screams, as he jumps on the brakes of his runaway vehicle. He has used his mobile phone to call 000, after trying €” and failing €” to slow his 2002 Ford Explorer on the Eastern Freeway.

Farewell girlhood, hello cruel world

MELBOURNE photographer Carla Gottgens' portrait exhibition of teenage girls in transition to adulthood marks her attempt to throw light on what she sees as forgotten years.

The surgeon who draws bad blood

Paddy Dewan evinces admiration from his supporters and censure from his critics.

Hockey in hot seat

LIBERAL PARTY powerbrokers are trying to dump Malcolm Turnbull for Joe Hockey in a bid to unify the party and block the emissions trading scheme - a move that will give the Rudd Government a trigger for a double dissolution election.

New Optus BlackBerry Plans

Two Optus Blackberry plans offer unlimited email from $9.99.

Modern guru

Danny Katz answers readers' questions about 21st-century ethics, etiquette and dilemmas.

Phone Firms Told To Stop Being Pests

DON'T call me, I'll call you. That oft used line is not getting through to phone companies, who are responsible for most nuisance phone calls to private numbers in Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Authority says.

People Power Saves Phone

TELSTRA will spare a pay phone at North Wollongong Beach it wanted removed after residents opposed the plan.

A Number Of Japanese Mobile Phone Companies

A NUMBER of Japanese mobile phone companies have shown off new handsets that use similar motion-detecting technology to the Nintendo Wii video-game console.

Crackdown On Mobile Phone Use In Schools

STUDENTS are banned from bringing mobile phones to some primary and high schools as part of moves to stop bullying and playground theft.