City news in 250 words

A DOCTOR who stopped at a road accident to help a pensioner who had been knocked down by a bus, has had her car stolen. The medic left her keys in the ignition as she rushed to help the 70-year-old man. As she attended to his injuries a thief jumped into her Renault Clio and drove off. The accident happened just before 4.50pm yesterday, on Eccles New Road, Salford.

A LEVEL results are out today and teachers are denying claims that the exams have been dumbed down. Instead, they say that pass rates are improving because of the effort of pupils themselves. This year over a quarter of papers have been award A grades and the overall pass rate has risen beyond 97 per cent. Next year, a new A* grade will be introduced.

A MANCHESTER POSTMAN has been jailed for three months for stealing post and selling it on eBay. Andrew Spragg, 37, from Wythenshawe was found with over 400 packages in his home. Spragg's defence said he had been suffering from sleep deprivation and had not set out to commit the offences.

BUS COMPANY, R Bullock & Co has sold its passenger bus routes to Stagecoach Group, with the exception of the heavily subsidised service along Oxford Road in Manchester. The company will transfer 22 buses and 45 staff to Stagecoach. This deal will add £1.8m to Stagecoach's annual revenues. Alan Bullock said the rise in fuel prices had made it tougher for small operators to compete.