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She was up against the daunting proposition of a police force and two barristers. But this did not deter factory cleaner Tracey McCourt from getting justice for her brother-in-law. A three-week inquest was held recently into the death of Lenny McCourt, who died of a heart attack in a cramped cage at the back of a police van.

At the inquest, Durham Police had their own barristers and the Police Federation - the police officer's trade union - also supplied another. However, the McCourt family were unable to obtain legal aid and so did not have any legal representation. But this did not deter brave Mrs McCourt who decided to take actions into her own hands. The grandmother-of-one took the bold decision to go up against the two barristers herself and ask questions on behalf of her family. And following her legal representation, Durham coroner, Andrew Tweddle launched a criticism into the police actions which led to Lenny, 44, dying in the cramped cage.

Mr Tweddle also praised Mrs McCourt's quizzing of the officers she blames for Lenny's death, saying she had 'missed her vocation' as a lawyer.  Mum-of-two, and grandmother to Logan, one, Mrs McCourt is married to Lenny's brother Gene, 49. Lenny was the youngest of five brothers and the close-knit family was left devastated when the 44-year-old, who had been drinking heavily, died on his way to the cells at Peterlee Police Station on the afternoon of Saturday, September 11, 2010. 

Mrs McCourt, from Eastlea, Seaham, said: 'I thought the world of Lenny. We were the same age and went to the same school. We always got on well together.' 

Mrs McCourt describes 6ft 3in tall Lenny as a 'gentle giant' but accepted he had 'issues' and could sometimes drink to excess. It was while he had been drinking that neighbours called police following a disturbance outside his home in Seaham. Police arrived at his house and told the hearing they thought they had managed to calm him down.  But he followed them out to their car and the officers claimed that he became aggressive. After spraying him twice with pepper spray, two male officers and one woman special officer bundled him into a van.

Mr Tweddle called for a review into the size of cages in the back of police vans where prisoners are held, after Mrs McCourt insisted that the inquest jury inspect the van Lenny was put into. Other errors highlighted by Mr Tweddle included a failure to tell Lenny why he was being arrested, a failure to keep him under observation while he was being transported to Peterlee and a failure to apply prompt medical action aid when they realised he was unconscious. 

The jury decided that Lenny died of a heart attack in the van, Mr Tweddle added: 'I think anyone who saw the footage at Peterlee police station could not fail to be moved by the fact that for what seemed like an eternity, nothing seemed to be done. 'I found it distressing to see officers standing with their hands on their hips for a considerable period of time, an inappropriate length of time in my view.'

Mrs McCourt said she felt vindicated by the coroner's comments after spending three weeks questioning witnesses on behalf of her family.

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Strikes flew across the Gaza border in rapid succession Thursday, as Israel responded to an onslaught of militant rocket attacks by targeting "terror sites."

The sudden increase in violence has raised fears of a widening conflict that could lead to an Israeli ground assault. At least 245 rockets from Gaza have been fired into Israel since "Operation Pillar of Defense" began Wednesday, the Israeli military said. Israel's Iron Dome defense system has intercepted more than 80, the Israel Defense Forces said. And Israel has responded by targeting 156 "terror sites," the IDF said.

Sources with Hamas, which controls the government in Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad gave similar figures, saying more than 140 strikes have hit Gaza and that more than 160 rockets and shells have been fired into Israel. At least three Israelis were killed and four were wounded when a rocket struck an apartment building in the town of Kiryat Malakhi on Thursday, an Israeli police spokesman said. "Good morning to our friends in America," the IDF tweeted. "While you were sleeping, 3 Israelis were killed when a rocket hit their house."

Thirteen people, including two children, were reportedly killed in airstrikes in Gaza on Thursday, said Dr. Asraf el-Qdra of Medical Aid for Palestinians. Of the casualties, nine were Hamas militants, he said. But Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told CNN that the 13 dead included five children. He identified only two as Hamas militants. Hamdan also insisted that Israel "started the war."

"We are defending ourselves," he said, arguing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was looking to cement support in advance of an election in two months. People have been wounded on both sides as well. Palestinian officials said more than 120 people have been wounded since the Israeli strikes began this week in Gaza. Israel has reported several people wounded, and another three soldiers injured Thursday morning by rockets from Gaza.

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