A REFUGEE support group has called for calm after mob violence forced a family of Romanian gipsies to flee.

The asylum seekers' refuge was targeted by youths firing airguns and throwing stones.

A concrete paving slab was thrown through the front window of the house in Carisbrooke Avenue, Middlesbrough, missing a baby in a pram, by inches.

It is understood the violence was triggered after children among the Romanian group were accused of taking sweets from a shop. The Romanians have been moved for their own safety.

castle re-opens: Raby Castle in County Durham is to re-open after a five-month closure due to the foot-and-mouth epidemic. The ancestral home of Lord Barnard will open its gates to the public again on Sunday.

ISLAND CRISIS: Violence in Jamaica moved closer to tourist areas last night as UK travel chiefs kept a close watch on the worsening political unrest on the Caribbean island.

Yesterday, a police officer was killed in a parish neighbouring the holiday area of Montego Bay. More than 20 people have been killed in the clashes between rival political factions since Saturday.

early memories: Sounds heard in the womb are remembered more than a year after birth, researchers have discovered. A study led by Dr Alexandra Lamont from Leicester University's School of Psychology, demonstrated that year-old infants recognised music they were exposed to for three months before they were born.

facing the boot: Big Brother's Paul Clarke yesterday ended his run of eviction nominations when Josh and Helen were named to face this week's public vote. Josh picked up four nominations while Helen was nominated by three of the housemates. The two will now face a vote by TV viewers, the results of which will be announced on Friday.

plastic dunces: Credit cardholders have an "alarming lack of knowledge" about their own credit cards, a survey shows. According to Halifax Card Services, 91 per cent of cardholders did not know their card's annual percentage rate.

pilots strike: Striking pilots yesterday forced Spanish airline Iberia to cancel 230 flights worldwide. Iberia appeared to harden its position by refusing to discuss salary improvements "under blackmail" of further threatened stoppages.

cancer probe: Scientists are to investigate whether people's genetic make-up makes them more likely to develop cancer, it was announced yesterday. A team of geneticists at St Andrews University has been awarded £400,000 to study the role genes play in determining susceptibility to cancers.