An EbbwVale woman was remanded in custody yesterday, after admitting stabbing her neighbour in the chest. Paula Williams, 43, of Tredegar Road, Hilltop, appeared in Newport Crown Court and pleaded guilty to wounding with intent following an incident on December 26 last year when a 54-year-old man was stabbed.

Prosecutor Owen Williams told the court Gerald Coffey was in his bedsit in Tredegar Road on Boxing Day last year, when there was a knock at the door and Williams was stood on the doorstep with an eight-inch bread knife.

He said Williams made an accusation about Mr Coffey and then stabbed him in the chest. The court heard the knife caused a wound two-centimetres deep in the man's chest. Officers were called to Tredegar Road, at around 12.45pm, after reports a man had been stabbed.

The man was taken to Abergavenny's Nevil Hall Hospital, where he received treatment for his injury. Williams's counsel, Jeffrey Jones, asked for the case to be adjourned while psychiatric and pre-sentence reports were compiled.

The Recorder of Cardiff, Nicholas Cooke QC, remanded Williams in custody and ordered the reports be carried out.

Williams will be sentenced on April 16.

Interior designer Meg Mathews swaps her celebrity lifestyle for unemployment in Ebbw Vale for a new BBC TV series. Famous Rich And Jobless takes four celebrities out of their comfort zone to survive on less than £10 a day. Meg found fame when she married Oasis rock star Noel Gallagher, though the couple divorced within four years.

Actor Larry Lamb, gardener Diarmuid Gavin and former model Emma Parker Bowles also appear in the programmes on BBC One Wales on Tuesday and Wednesday. Meg has to hand in her £8,000 diamond earrings as the celebrities are stripped of everything they value to be left with some old clothes and a Jobseeker's weekly allowance of £39 to live on.

They are guided and assisted by employment expert Emma Harrison and Craig Last, a former youth worker for the charity Centrepoint, who has helped many homeless young people find jobs. At the beginning of their eight-day experience, they are sent to four unemployment blackspots across the country where they spend their first four days surviving on benefits and looking for work.

Larry goes to Hartlepool, Diarmuid to Hackney, Meg spends her time in the Ebbw Valley and Emma tries to find work in Wolverhampton. Meg succeeds in earning some money by making friends with the locals in her community. A tiny rented flat in Ebbw Vale is a far cry from her £1m London home, and she admits she doesn't know how much electricity costs.

After earning £52 for a nine-hour shift on a market stall she says: "I think I will be a lot more economical in every way when I get home." But she perseveres and even inspires a former prisoner to ignore a stream of job rejections and find confidence to keep looking for work. A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2009 found that Blaenau Gwent - the county which includes Ebbw Vale - had the highest rate of joblessness in the UK.

A Valleys site which makes steering columns for cars will close later this year at the cost of 55 jobs. ZF Steering Systems Nacam Limited on the Rassau Industrial Estate in Ebbw Vale will close after discussions opened in early December. The plant is owned by ZF Lenksysteme GmbH, a joint venture between Bosch and ZF Friedrichshafen.

General manager Trevor Fox said the international economic crisis and problems affecting the automotive industry have seriously impacted the business. He said the recent crisis comes on top of a reduction in activity due to a lack of new contracts and financial losses in the Rassau plant stretching back several years. The company has been reviewing options with representatives of the workforce since discussions started last year.

He said they have come to the conclusion that continuing operations in the Rassau plant was no longer viable. Mr Fox could not say exactly when this would be as it was subject to review with the workforce, customers and suppliers, but would be this year. He said discussions with the workforce representatives regarding the timing and terms of the closure will be opened immediately.

He stressed the decision to close the plant was no reflection on the performance of staff. Independent Assembly Member for Blaeanu Gwent, Trish Law, said she was highly disappointed that such a quality company offering well-paid jobs is going out of existence. She had intervened and invited the Minster for the Economy and Transport, Ieuan Wyn Jones, to offer any assistance but she now accepts there is very little prospect of rescuing the company.

MICHAEL Foot, ex-Blaenau Gwent MP and former leader of the Labour Party has died at the age of 96. Mr Foot was first elected as an MP in 1945, but became a Gwent MP in 1960 for the seat of Ebbw Vale, which later became Blaenau Gwent.

He succeeded Jim Callaghan as Labour leader in 1980, and stood down after losing the 1983 election.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw told the House of Commons of the ex-Labour leader's death this morning.