A "charismatic and beautiful" girl who suffered brain damage due to treatment delays as a newborn has been awarded a multimillion-pound compensation deal at the High Court.

The 12-year-old, who cannot be named, was born healthy at Warrington Hospital, but became ill shortly after.
Delays in her care left her with extensive needs, the High Court heard.
Judge Mr Justice Goss awarded her a one-off payment of £2.5m and an annual allowance of £260,000.
This yearly allowance will rise to £312,000 when she reaches her nineteenth birthday.
Christopher Johnston QC told the court she would have suffered no lasting effects if she had been swiftly diagnosed.
However, alleged delays in diagnosis and treatment left her needing extensive help.
Mr Johnston added that despite her severe difficulties, the girl's intellect is unaffected.
He said her mother had described her as "charismatic, sociable and beautiful" and hoped she would see Professor Stephen Hawking, who suffers from Motor Neurone Disease, as a "role model".
Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which manages the Cheshire hospital, admitted liability and agreed to settle the girl's claim, which was made through her mother.
Representing the trust, Margaret Bowron QC said an apology had been made to the family and it was hoped the financial settlement would bring them "peace of mind".
Addressing the girl's parents, Mr Justice Goss said it would be "a small measure of comfort".
"Nothing that the law can do can undo what has taken place, as you well know, and I am sure not a day has gone by when that hasn't crossed your minds," he said.
"Your daughter is clearly a remarkable child and that, in a sense, is a blessing for you - it is also plain to see that the love and affection you have for her is remarkable."


Critics of wind turbines argue vehemently that they are ugly and inefficient - a blot on the landscape and an expensive folly to boot.

Efficiency has always been a strange critique given that the fuel driving turbines - wind - is free. And while electricity generated from wind may currently be more expensive than that from some fossil fuels, costs are coming down fast.
Eyesores? That is simply a matter of opinion.
But a new wave of turbine technologies is looking to end the debate once and for all, by making wind power cheaper, more flexible and, in many cases, less intrusive on pristine countryside.
Some won't make it to market, but those that do could revolutionise wind power.
One of the simplest ideas being developed is the wind lens. Inspired by "experience and a eureka moment", Prof Yuji Ohya from Japan's Kyushu University is leading a team designing a conical structure placed round the turbine blades to generate low pressure and accelerate wind speed.
Prof Ohya says the wind lens turbine develops two to three times the power output of its traditional counterpart, while reducing noise substantially - potentially removing one obstacle to more widespread use in populated areas.
Compact turbines producing 1kW-3kW are at the "final stage for global distribution", says the Prof, while two larger 100kW test turbines have been running since 2011. The next stage is to build a 300kW version.
But not everyone is convinced. Dr Gordon Edge at Renewable UK questions the amount of additional material needed for both the lens and the structure to support it. Besides, he says, "this idea has been around before and didn't make the grade".
A more radical idea is being trialled by US company SheerWind.
While researching how to reduce noise and vibrations from traditional turbines for the US Department of Energy, Dr Daryoush Allaei thought there had to be a better way to harness wind power.
In 2009, he and his team set about designing a system for collecting wind much closer to the ground. The resulting Invelox system captures wind at speeds as low as 2km/h and funnels it to increase speed before passing it through a small turbine. Not only is the design able to capture winds at low speed, thereby "making wind power viable in most of the world", but the system is smaller, simpler, cheaper and quieter than traditional turbines, says SheerWind's Carla Scholz.
Sceptics point to the small surface area and lack of height, but the company claims the cost of electricity generated by Invelox is almost three times less than that from an equivalent, existing turbine.
Rather than focusing on the ground, however, there are many more companies looking to the skies. As Dr Edge says, "there are definite advantages to going further up", where the winds are both stronger and more consistent.
Research by the Politecnico di Torino, for example, has found that wind speeds at 800m are more than twice those at 10m, with power 10 times greater.
A series of articles looking at how the world will meet increasing demand for energy and the need to cut CO2 emissions linked to global warming, using old and new technologies
One company pioneering flying turbines is Germany's EnerKite. The team has designed a carbon fibre wing that is "controlled to fly crosswind in turning eights, pulling strong on the tether, driving reels on the ground", explains co-founder Alexander Bormann. The wing is then reeled in and the process begins again.
Dr Bormann says a 100kW kite produces the same amount of electricity as a 200kW-300kW turbine, which means cheaper power. He argues the design is low maintenance, can be serviced on the ground and is easily transported. And like all flying wind generators, it uses far less materials than tower-mounted turbines.
At small scale, the kites are most suitable for more remote communities that may rely on diesel generation to fulfil some or all their power needs, but, in the longer term, they could "be scaleable to utility-level production", says Mr Bormann.
Italy's KiteGen Research is working on a similar design, while others are looking at balloon technologies to carry turbines hundreds of metres into the sky.
US-based Altaeros Energies uses a helium-filled shell within which sits a traditional but lightweight turbine. It can be raised or lowered to seek out the optimal wind speed and is attached to the ground by three tethers, one of which transmits the power generated back to earth. The company says the design produces two to three times the power output of standard turbine, with installation and transport costs 90% lower.
Canada's LTA Windpower is developing a similar concept, but using an airship designed to contain hydrogen.
The notoriously secretive Google X is also getting in on the act, having bought wind power company Makani in 2013. Its solution involves a tethered, carbon fibre glider flying in circles at an altitude of up to 350m, carrying up to 8 small turbines producing 600kW of power. Makani claims each glider can generate 50% more energy than a traditional, fixed turbine.
With variability one of the key drawbacks of wind power, the logic of going higher is indisputable. But Jan Matthiesen at the UK's Carbon Trust argues there are "a lot of questions and a lot of risks with airborne power".
"A lot more work and testing needs to be done for these companies to build up a track record, and with very high [development] costs it will be difficult for new technologies to break into the market."
He believes it will be at least 10 years before flying turbines reach widespread commercialisation.
Developments in offshore floating turbines are happening far quicker.
There are already prototypes operating off the coast of Norway, Portugal and Japan, while a number of companies are working hard to unleash the potential of technologies that could transform wind energy generation.
For countries where the coastal seabed drops steeply, such as Japan and the west coasts of the US and France, traditional offshore turbines fixed to the seafloor are simply not an option.
Not only, then, do floating turbines open up possibilities for wind generation in new places, but they hold some advantages over their fixed counterparts. They can be built and assembled onshore and then towed out to sea, and if repairs are needed they can simply be towed back again, making maintenance easier and cheaper.
As Dr Edge says, "they have the potential to reduce costs massively".
For to increase wind power generation, bigger turbines are needed, and these will always be restricted onshore by public opposition, not only to their appearance but to the noise they create - already big blades are often run at sub-optimal speeds onshore to keep the noise down.
Offshore, there are no limits. Stronger winds help bigger turbines generate more power, thereby lowering the unit cost of the electricity they produce.
"For wind energy to really make a difference, it needs to be up-scaled, and to really scale up you have to go offshore, there is no other way," says Mr Matthiesen.
Flying turbine developers may disagree, but with such an array of new technologies, the case against harnessing the wind's power appears to be weakening by the day.


A Premier League footballer convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend will no longer have to complete unpaid work due to press intrusion.

Leicester City's Danny Simpson denied strangling the mother of his child but was convicted last May.
However, the 29-year-old's lawyer complained that journalists had found where he was carrying out his community service, making it impossible.
A judge revoked the sentence and ruled he should serve a curfew instead.
Simpson's lawyer Gary Ryan asked if the millionaire footballer could instead pay a fine, arguing that a curfew would be "unfair and unjust", and would interfere with his football commitments.
But this was rejected by District Judge Alexandra Simmonds, at Manchester Magistrates Court.
She said while press intrusion was to blame for Simpson not completing the work, a fine would be "no punishment", given his financial position.
The judge said Simpson's sentence for assaulting his ex-partner Stephanie Ward was a "richly-deserved punishment".
The former Manchester United player's community sentence was revoked, and a curfew imposed.
Simpson must wear an electronic tag and stay indoors at his home in Salford between 22:00 and 06:00 for the next 21 days.
Mr Ryan said Simpson had work commitments in the next 10 days, including end of season parades and functions with the rest of his team which were not to be regarded as "a jolly for the players".
He also said Simpson was expected to fly out to Thailand with the club's owners on Tuesday, but the judge rejected any plea to defer the curfew.
The right-back, who also played for Newcastle and QPR, was arrested on 29 December after a reports of a row at a house in Worsley, Greater Manchester.


Police in Spain have released details about a raid on an internet service provider suspected of hosting an illegal TV streaming business.

Y Internet allegedly provided unauthorised online subscription services for pay-TV channels.
The investigation was initiated by the Premier League as part of a crackdown on illegal redistribution of its live football broadcasts.
The ISP has not responded to requests for comment.
According to police, the ISP, which was based in Malaga, allegedly sold subscriptions to pubs, hotels and individuals on the Costa del Sol.
No-one was arrested in the raid, which happened in September, but equipment was seized and the investigation remains ongoing, according to the police.
Two individuals believed to have run the ISP from the UK had been charged with "intellectual property-related offences", the BBC was told, but their names have not been released.
Premier League director of legal services Kevin Plumb said: "The raids conducted by the Spanish authorities... are a positive example of law enforcement taking piracy and IP infringement seriously.
"This approach is essential for organisations like the Premier League - and other creative industries - as our model is predicated on the ability to market and sell rights and protect intellectual property.
"It is because of this that clubs can invest in star players and managers, and world class stadiums - the very things fans enjoy about our competition."
The Spanish raid follows a recent case in the UK where an individual who supplied IPTV devices that showed Premier League football matches illegally was sent to prison for four years.


A homeless man has bought chocolates and a Christmas card for a police officer who helped his injured dog on her last shift before retirement.

Rocco, a Rottweiler, had broken free of his leash and run in front of a car, injuring his hind leg.
PC Lou Richards found him while working her last shift in the mounted branch of the Metropolitan Police.
She managed to track down a vet who treated him free of charge, to the joy of his owner, Darren Thornton.
Three days later a box of chocolates and a Christmas card addressed to the "Three Angels", PC Richards and her fellow officers PC Claire Twig and PC Holly Hine, arrived at the police horses' stables from Mr Thornton.
PC Richards said the card and presents meant more to her "than anything else I've done in my career".
PC Cath I'Anson, of the Met's mounted branch, said Darren had become Rocco's owner after he started walking him on behalf of an elderly lady who went into a care home.
"Since then the two of them have been inseparable and it has meant a lot to Darren that our officers were able to ensure Rocco received the care he needed," she said.
"Life is pretty tough for Darren at the moment and it is really heart-warming to see local officers and residents coming together to help out."


Katie Taylor will continue her push towards a shot at a world title by facing former IBF super-featherweight challenger Milena Koleva on Saturday.

The fight is on the undercard of Anthony Crolla's world lightweight title rematch against Jorge Linares in Manchester.
Irishwoman Taylor, 30 stopped Italian Monica Gentili on 4 March.
Bulgarian Koleva, 31, was stopped for the first time in her career when contesting the IBF title in January.
"She has been in with some of the best girls in the world and always pushed them very hard," said Taylor, who turned professional in October.
"I headed back to the US the day after the last fight and got straight back into training and sparring for this one. I definitely feel like I've made some adjustments and improvements again in the last few weeks."
Taylor's promoter Eddie Hearn is hopeful of landing a world title fight by the end of the year.
The London 2012 Olympic champion has so far produced two stoppage wins and, in an eight-round contest, will again be expected to overcome an opponent who has been beaten seven times in 18 professional bouts.


Darren Cave has strongly defended the World Cup displays of fellow Ireland centre Jared Payne following criticism from ex-Scotland coach Matt Williams.

TV pundit Williams claimed that Payne made "really poor decisions" and kicked too much in Sunday's 44-10 World Cup Pool D win over Romania at Wembley.
Cave, 28, said that he would have been "pretty annoyed" by such criticism.
"It can be frustrating when guys are just throwing out opinions which aren't based on facts," said Cave on Tuesday.
"Suddenly that becomes everyone else's opinion - the guys who've had a couple of beers and watched the game.
"Then after a week it's the perception of half the nation and it's just completely false.
"At the end of the day it can be frustrating at times but Jared will do the right thing, he'll keep his head down, he'll keep working hard and he'll keep playing well for Ireland."
Cave was Payne's centre partner in Sunday's game at Wembley after the the New Zealand native lined up in midfield alongside Luke Fitzgerald in Ireland's opening World Cup win over Canada.
"I actually thought the Canada game was potentially Jared's best game in green."
Cave was surprised by former Ulster coach Williams's complaints about Payne's kicking in Sunday's game at Wembley.
Williams's criticism of Payne, 29, followed comments from ex-All Blacks star Justin Marshall last week which described the Kiwi native as a "makeshift centre".
Prior to his move to centre by Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, Payne played the majority of his rugby at full-back.
"It's just opinion at the end of the day, it's not really based on fact," added Cave.
"I heard about him apparently kicking the ball away too much but I think he kicked the ball twice and both times it was penalty advantage, and both times we went back for the penalty.
"I really enjoyed playing alongside him when I was named at 12 and he was named at 13 beside me, I knew I'd feel very comfortable in there."
Williams made his comments about Payne in his pundit's role for Irish channel TV3.
In a tweet on Tuesday, former Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris vehemently disagreed with Williams's comments on the Ireland midfield.


Changing the names of some of Wales' health boards might help solve a shortage of junior doctors.

That is the view of the man in charge of training, with 400 places unfilled.
Prof Derek Gallen believes a perception of Wales is a problem, with junior doctors knowing Cardiff but not sure where Hywel Dda or Betsi Cadwaladr is.
But, Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething disagreed, saying changing health boards' names was not the solution to attracting junior medics.
Prof Gallen also says a shortage of junior paediatricians puts pressure on rotas and in turn hits the quality of their training.
As the postgraduate dean for the Wales Deanery, Prof Gallen oversees training for doctors across the country from when they qualify until they become fully fledged GPs or consultants.
He says geography and perception of Wales are issues he comes across, and recruiting to north and west Wales is a particular problem.
Prof Gallen also believes some junior doctors think they have to speak Welsh to work here.
"There's a perception they don't understand the geography, that they will have long commutes between trusts on their rotations and that they will have to speak Welsh," he said.
Prof Gallen believes students and junior doctors are struggling to easily identify areas of Wales outside Cardiff and the Vale due to the health board names.
"When you're applying for jobs you'd have to work quite hard to find out where that is in Wales, and what it's near, so that is certainly an issue.
"In a collective sense it's difficult for people to know the whole of the Pembrokeshire coast is Hywel Dda. Most of middle class England holiday here but there's a perception they don't want to work and live here - and the work-life balance is fantastic.
"It would be good to try [changing the names] to see if would make a difference."
However Mr Gething disagreed, saying training was the key factor in attracting junior doctors.
"Junior doctors look at the quality of training opportunities as the biggest factor on whether they're going to go and train somewhere," he said.
"That has to be the primary focus for the NHS in Wales."
After they qualify from medical school many junior doctors return home, or gravitate towards the big hospitals of London.
So to compete, Prof Gallen argues the NHS in Wales needs to prove it can provide better training than elsewhere.
There are worries of a vicious circle existing in some specialist areas - like paediatrics - with shortages of junior doctors meaning they are pressed hard on to rotas, leaving less time to study.
It has led to "unacceptably low" exam results in the specialism.
Three years ago, the imbalance in training and having to care for patients saw junior doctors withdrawn from places at one south Wales hospital - with medical wards forced to close.
Dr Phil Banfield, chair of the British Medical Association in Wales, said that situation could happen again.
He told BBC Wales that there are "discussions going on daily" on how to cover rotas as trainees are moved around hospitals.
"There's a potential collapse of service in as little as six weeks time," he warned.
Prof Gallen said the pressures facing junior doctors adds to the argument to centralise more specialisms.
He told BBC Wales that in order to compete with popular places like London, Wales needs to offer better experience for junior doctors.
He argues that plans to centralise some specialist services at fewer large hospitals need to go further.
There are currently 400 vacancies for the 2,900 places in Wales, with the problem worse beyond the M4 corridor.
But quality is still more important than quantity.
"Filling the posts is secondary to filling them with the best people," said Prof Gallen.
"I'd have fewer and better rather than filling all 2,900 posts."
The Welsh government said it invests more than Â£350m supporting more than 15,000 students studying a range of health-related programmes.
"We are committed to working with Welsh NHS organisations and others such as the Deanery to continue to recruit and retain staff," a spokesman added.


Eccentric comedian Ken Dodd was one of the biggest recording artists of the 1960s, new research has revealed.

His 1965 track Tears was the third biggest-selling single of the decade, according to a newly compiled chart.
The Beatles occupy the top two places in the chart and have an additional three records in the Top 10.
DJ Tony Blackburn counted down the Top 60 best-selling records of the 1960s in a special programme on BBC Radio Two, broadcast on Bank Holiday Monday.
According to sales data compiled by the Official Charts Company, the biggest selling single of the 1960s was She Loves You by The Beatles.
I Want to Hold Your Hand, recorded by the Fab Four in 1963, came second.
The Unswinging Sixties
The other Beatles records in the Top 10 are Can't Buy Me Love at four, I Feel Fine at five and the double A-side We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper at seven.
Yet Dodd's track - which topped the UK singles chart for five weeks and was the biggest-selling single of 1965 - outsold them all.
"It comes as no surprise to see the Fab Four at number one, but other aspects of the chart are perhaps a little unexpected," said Blackburn.
Jeff Smith, Radio 2's head of music, called the chart "a nostalgic reflection of the enduring appeal of the music of the '60s and the artists that defined the decade."
Dodd, now 82, has been in showbusiness for more than 50 years.
Born in Liverpool in 1927, he is best known for his buck teeth and frizzy hair, tickling stick and his creation of the Diddymen.


Hundreds of cyclists took part in a charity ride in Huddersfield to support a cyclist who was left in a coma following a collision with a car.

John Radford is in a critical condition after being airlifted to hospital following the incident last week.
The 69-year-old is the chairman of Huddersfield and District Cyclists and was promoting a campaign calling for better investigation of road accidents.
Two men have been arrested and bailed in connection with the collision.
The route passed the scene of Mr Radford's accident on the Huddersfield Road in New Mill.
The ride was organised by Mr Radford's two daughters.
His daughter Helen Gorman said the last week had been "horrendous" and that she hoped the ride would raise awareness of cycle safety.
Ms Gorman said: "If this and the campaigning can stop any other family going through what we've been through this week, and what we are going to have to go through over the next few months if dad pulls through, if it helps anyone else then it will be worth it."
The ride raised money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
West Yorkshire Police said a 21-year-old man and a 43-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of causing injury by dangerous driving.
The pair have been released on bail.


The Ivory Coast government says it has reached a deal with soldiers involved in a four-day revolt over pay.

Defence Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi appeared on state TV to announce a settlement had been reached.
But only minutes later two spokesmen for the rebels told Reuters there was no agreement. Mr Donwahi gave few details of the accord.
The dispute, over what the mutineers say are unpaid bonuses, began on Friday and spread through major cities.
Defying a government order to lay down their weapons, the soldiers opened fire in four cities on Monday.
Shots rang out near the presidential palace in the main city, Abidjan, the second city, Bouaké, and in areas vital to the cocoa industry.
The mutineers helped the president take office in 2011. The former rebels make up about 8,400 of Ivory Coast's 22,000-strong army.
Announcing the putative deal, Mr Donwahi said: "After talks, an agreement has been reached on ways of ending the crisis.
"As a result, we appeal to all soldiers to free up the corridors (town entrances), return to barracks and respect peace".
Rejecting the latest government announcement, two spokesmen for the rebel soldiers told Reuters they wanted more money.
One, Sgt Seydou Kone said: "They proposed five million CFA francs (each) to be paid tomorrow. But we want seven million to be paid in one payment and immediately."
It is unclear how many of the soldiers the men are representing.
Pro-government forces had backed off from advancing towards Bouaké, the epicentre of the mutiny, apparently because they want to avoid a fight, the BBC's Tamasin Ford reported earlier from Abidjan.
On Sunday, armed forces' chief of staff General Sékou Touré vowed to end the mutiny, but the mutineers said they would fight back if loyalist troops intervened.
Mutineers at the army headquarters in Abidjan's financial district, near the presidential palace, had been shooting in the air, forcing schools and offices to shut, our reporter says.
Gunfire was also heard at the Akouédo barracks, in a suburb where many middle-class Ivorians and expats live, she says.
Pro-government forces responded by closing roads in the city, while French troops were deployed to guard French-owned transport firm Bolloré, a major investor in Ivory Coast.
Sustained gunfire also broke out at the entrance and centre of Bouaké, which for many years was the main rebel-held city.
One person was killed by a stray bullet on Sunday after mutinous troops seized control of Bouaké.
Other areas hit by unrest include San Pedro, the biggest cocoa exporting city in the world, and Daloa, a major trading hub in Ivory Coast's cocoa belt.
Cocoa is the West African state's main foreign currency earner.
The mutiny has raised fears of a resurgence of the violence seen during Ivory Coast's 10-year civil war, which ended in 2011.
Pro-Ouattara forces from Bouaké swept into Abidjan at the time, helping Mr Ouattara take office after his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat in elections.
Many of the rebels were rewarded for their backing by being given jobs in the army.


A Finnish court has sentenced the former head of Helsinki's anti-drugs police to 10 years in prison for drug-smuggling and other offences.

Jari Aarnio was found to have helped a gang to import nearly 800kg (1,764lb) of hashish from the Netherlands and sell it in Finland in 2011-2012.
Aarnio, 59, was found guilty of five drug crimes and 17 other offences.
These included trying to frame an innocent man for being in charge of the drug ring.
An accomplice of the former senior policeman, described as a top local criminal, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Aarnio spent 30 years in the anti-drugs force and was arrested in 2013.
He denied all the charges against him, claiming his actions were all legal and undertaken in a policing capacity.
His legal team said Aarnio plans to appeal the district court's sentence in the Helsinki Court of Appeal.
In a separate case in September, Aarnio was sentenced to three years in jail for fraud.
Crime rates are relatively low in Finland compared with most other European countries.
It ranks as the second least-corrupt country, after Denmark, in the global index compiled by Transparency International.


An unofficial slogan for Australia's Northern Territory has been declared "obscene" by a standards watchdog, two months after it swept the internet.

The advert used an acronym for "See You in the Northern Territory" to effectively spell a profanity.
Many believed it was an official tourism campaign after it went viral in November, but the territory's tourism authority said it was not involved.
The Advertising Standards Board ruled the language was not appropriate.
The creators of the ad, NTOfficial.com, describe themselves as a brand that aims to "represent the true spirit of the Northern Territory".
The campaign won fans for capitalising on perceptions of the territory as having an irreverent sense of humour, but it also attracted criticism.
Various complaints described the slogan as "crass", "highly offensive" and "derogatory", the industry watchdog said.
Some also expressed concerns the ad promoted misogyny and projected a negative image of Australia to overseas tourists.
The brand, which sold the slogan on a range of merchandise, had argued the board would set a "dangerous precedent" if it was found to breach advertising codes.
It said provocative acronyms were used by well-known brands such as French Connection UK.
But the Advertising Standards Board, which has no legal powers, said the language was "obscene and not appropriate in advertising in any form".
The Northern Territory's official tourism department said although it did not condone the language, the slogan - which was also sold on T-shirts - had resonated widely.
"We do agree with the Advertising Standards Board that their key slogan is obscene," tourism executive Valerie Smith told the BBC.
"I think it did perhaps tap into a bit of the larrikinism [mischievous] sense of humour. It did get a lot of people talking about the Territory."
Some local observers agreed, with Mashable writing: "Turns out swearing can get you a pretty long way."
Pop culture website Pedestrian mused: "Don't be surprised if a couple of those tops are smuggled away in the NT tourism department's headquarters."


Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty has died at the age of 63 after suffering a long illness.

His career high came in the 1970s and included the anthemic Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle with You, recorded with his band Stealers Wheel.
Rafferty had battled a drink problem and spent time in hospital in Bournemouth with liver failure.
He was born in Paisley and began his musical career as a busker on the London Underground.
Rafferty died peacefully at his home in Dorset, with his daughter Martha at his bedside.
It is understood his funeral will be held in Paisley later this month.
Rafferty had recorded and toured with Billy Connolly as part of the Humblebums, before forming Stealers Wheel with his friend Joe Egan in 1972.
Stuck in the Middle with You was a hit in the early 70s and also appeared on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's debut film Reservoir Dogs in 1992.
Baker Street charted in the UK and US in 1978 after Rafferty began his solo career and still achieves airplay on radio stations around the world.
Musican Raphael Ravenscroft, who played the song's famous saxophone melody, described Rafferty as "a fantastic writer" who "wrote some of my favourite songs of all time."
In a statement, Billy Connolly called Rafferty "a hugely talented songwriter and singer who will be greatly missed".
He added, "I was privileged to have spent my formative years working with Gerry and there remained a strong bond of friendship between us that lasted until his untimely death.
"Gerry had extraordinary gifts and his premature passing deprives the world of a true genius."
Music journalist and BBC Radio 2 presenter Paul Gambaccini said it was a cruel irony that Baker Street, about Rafferty's unhappiness with being a star, brought him more of the fame he hated.
Gambaccini said: "He just wasn't of the constitution to deal with the music business, or to respect it.
"And thus he found fame and artistic success incompatible, and he became a wanderer, a lonely man, allegedly a drinker. And now we have this unhappy end."
Musician and BBC 6 Music presenter Tom Robinson said Rafferty would be greatly missed.
"I'm deeply saddened to hear that Gerry has lost the battle with his failing health," he said.
"His early work with Stealers Wheel was an inspiration to a whole generation of songwriters in the 70s, including me.
"Many of us had hoped his recent album Life Goes On in 2009 would lead to a full-time return to writing and performing for a lyrical and highly gifted artist."
BBC News website readers from around the world have sent in their tributes:
Don't Speak of My Heart was my favourite. His voice was like velvet.  Calmed me down just listening to him. I cannot believe he has gone. Susan Miller, Kilmaurs, Ayrshire, Scotland
Have followed his releases from Stealers Wheel to present. He wrote beautiful songs and he and Joe Egan, who sadly didn't get the same recognition, have left me some great musical memories. George Morris, Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland
As a muso myself, I loved the arrangement of the haunting Baker Street and often performed Stuck In The Middle With You with a band I was a part of in the 80s and 90s in England. Both songs are played frequently on New Zealand radio stations. Gerry will be sorely missed. Tony Last, Hastings, New Zealand
My first LP was Can I Have my Money Back, which I still have. My favourite song is The Ark from City to City with Jerry Donahue on guitar. He wrote about life itself, things one can relate to. He brought musical quality into life at times when there was not much around. Keith Dhan-Weller, Nuertingen, Germany
Baker Street is probably my favourite song. I'm a songwriter and I teach creative writing. Baker Street is about Gerry's own experience with the music industry but he wrote the lyric in the third person. This makes the story more interesting and sad. The song works on so many different levels. Musically and lyrically. Richard Abbott, Limavady, Northern Ireland
I was a young radio producer with BBC Scotland in the late 1960s when a couple of lads came in to Queen Margaret Drive to take part in some programmes. They were the Humblebums, and they made brilliant music. Rehearsals attracted all sorts of excuses from staff to absent themselves from their desks to go and listen in the studio cubicle. Little did we know... Alan Muirhead, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, England
My eldest daughter was in school with his daughter Martha when Gerry lived in Kilmacolm. My husband and I were great fans of his music and songs and are sorry to hear of his death. Rita Walker, Greenock, Scotland
Gerry Rafferty had depths beyond his two best-selling singles. A talented and open-minded musician who supported other talents - he will be missed. Alastair, Northampton, England


An Abertay University athlete who survived a "terrifying" showjumping accident is preparing to compete for Scotland after switching to hockey.

Katie Robertson, from Fife, had been selected to compete for Great Britain when she was seriously injured in a fall at a show in Wales.
Aged 14 at the time, she never regained the confidence to ride competitively.
But the 20-year-old sport and psychology student is now playing hockey at full international level.
Ms Robertson, a former pupil at Kilgraston School, made the Scotland Under-18 team at 16 - just two years after her accident in 2010, which left her unconscious and with a broken shoulder and collar bone.
She said she had refused to let the fall from her horse, Atlantic Swift, put her off pursuing a career in sport.
"I did ride a couple of times after that but I didn't have the confidence to really go for it," she said.
"I took up hockey because I wanted something to fill up my time and it has just gone on from there.
"We are training just now for World League 3 in Brussels in June and if we reach the quarter-final stages then we qualify for the World Cup in London next year."
The third-year student is on Abertay's elite athlete development programme and is completing her course part-time to allow additional training time for both club and country.
After graduating, the Grove Menzieshill player hopes to stay in sport both as a competitor and a coach.


On Tuesday's Today Programme, Phones4U founder John Caudwell said: "We suffer an £8bn net loss to Europe."

He was referring to the level of the UK's contribution to the EU Budget - there have been loads of figures for this bandied about, so here are some of the amounts you may have heard and where they come from.
The figures that most people are using are HM Treasury figures from 2014, because the figures for 2015 are only estimates at the moment.
So what are these figures?
Well, the top line is the gross contribution. Some exit campaigners have described that in recent weeks as being the amount the UK hands over to the EU, but it isn't, because before the contribution is paid the rebate is deducted, to give the amount in the second line.
Now, £88m a week is paid back to the UK in the form of payments to support things like agriculture and regional development, leaving a net contribution of £188m a week.
Out of that, £26m a week goes directly to private sector organisations in the UK such as universities to fund research, leaving £161m a week going to run EU institutions, pan-European projects and projects in other countries.
And that £161m rounds to about the £8bn to which John Caudwell was referring.
Mr Caudwell was also asked about whether we would have to continue to contribute to the EU Budget in order to retain access to the single market, as Norway and Switzerland do.
"The contribution would be a lot less than we pay," he replied.
It's a slightly difficult comparison to make, but fortunately a paper from the House of Commons Library from 2013 did it for us.
It says that Norway's contribution to the EU in 2011 was £106 per capita, compared with the UK's net contribution of £128 per capita in the same year.
The paper says that Switzerland's contribution as a member of the European Free Trade Areas (Efta) has been about £53 per head in recent years.
So both countries contribute less than the UK does - whether Norway contributes "a lot less" is a moot point.
This chart shows what's happened to some of the figures for the UK contribution since 1987.
Both sides of the debate have been using the figures for 2014, although we do have an estimated figure for 2015, which is a gross payment of £17.8bn, which is £12.9bn if you subtract the rebate and £8.5bn if you deduct public sector receipts.
You may find it a bit strange that we still only have estimated figures for the UK's contribution in 2015, given that 2015 has been over for some time.
Countries' contributions are based on their economic output. The amount the UK contributed last year was based on forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
We won't know whether that was the right amount until December this year, and the figures are occasionally revised years later.
The OBR has already estimated how much the UK will contribute until 2020-21.
This chart shows the OBR's forecasts for gross contribution minus rebate .
READ MORE: The facts behind claims in the EU debate


China's former energy chief Jiang Jiemin has gone on trial for corruption, a Chinese court says.

Jiang Jiemin has been charged with bribery and abuse of power during his time at the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), according to Xinhua news agency.
He was arrested in 2013, shortly after he left to head a government body overseeing state-owned companies.
China is currently conducting a widespread crackdown on corruption.
A statement on the microblog account of the Hanjiang Intermediate People's Court in Hubei province said that Mr Jiang was accused of "accepting bribes and large amounts of assets of unclear provenance, and misusing his authority as an employee of a state-owned company".
In another later statement it said that Mr Jiang pleaded guilty to the charges, and quoted him as saying he had "caused great losses to the country's assets" and "damaged the management and development of the country's oil and gas fields".
In the late 1990s and 2000s he rose through the ranks of CNPC, which is the parent company of Asia's biggest oil producer PetroChina, to become chairman.
Xinhua said he was accused of using high-level positions in CNPC between 2004 and 2013 to help others get promotions and access to projects in return for bribes.
It reported prosecutors saying that as of August 2013, Mr Jiang and his family possessed assets whose value "clearly far outstripped" what they were supposed to have, and he was "unable to give the sources" for the extra income and assets.
He left CNPC in April 2013 to take his highest position yet, as head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission - a Cabinet-level position.
But five months later he was fired and accused of corruption.
It is not clear how long the trial will last, but similar cases have taken only a few days.
The BBC's Celia Hatton in Beijing says that CNPC has been one of the main targets of a widespread anti-corruption campaign that has led to the arrest of thousands of Chinese government officials.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who launched the campaign in 2012 when he took office, has warned that corruption threatens the Communist Party's grip on power.
Several top figures are either being prosecuted or investigated.
The most senior of these is former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, who was once a member of China's highest decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee.  Our correspondent says that Mr Jiang is a protege of Mr Zhou.
He has been charged with bribery, abuse of power and the intentional disclosure of state secrets, state media reported earlier this month.


Alibaba, China's biggest online retailer, said a US investigation would not affect next week's Singles Day - its biggest shopping day of the year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining the accounting methods the company uses for Singles Day sales.
Last year's event generated record-breaking sales of more than $14bn for Alibaba's sites such as Taobao.
Singles Day, held every year on 11 November, is also referred to as Double Eleven because of its date.
Alibaba said in late May that the SEC had begun its investigation earlier this year.
Some merchants in China have questioned whether results from Singles Day, where consumers are offered big discounts, are as high as Alibaba has reported.
Last year's total exceeded the combined sales of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events in the United States.
The SEC had told the company that its investigation did not mean it had breached any laws.
Former English teacher Jack Ma founded Alibaba, which floated on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014. Its shares soared 38% on the first day of trading to $93.89, valuing the business at $231bn.
The stock fell below $60 in September last year, but has since recovered. Shares were 1.7% higher on Wednesday at $102.67 after Alibaba reported a better-than-expected 55% rise in revenue to $5.14bn for the three months to September, while net profit rose 41% to $1.94bn.
That was the second successive quarter of strong results, suggesting the company can still generate robust growth despite concerns about the Chinese economy slowing down as consumers curb spending.
Alibaba - by far China's biggest online retailer - said e-commerce sales rose 41% to $4.27bn compared with the same period last year.
Revenue from its digital media and entertainment division soared just over 300% to $541m, while the cloud computing unit posted a 130% rise in sales to $224m.
Daniel Zhang, chief executive, said the group saw "huge potential" in the newly integrated media business, which includes Youku, the third most popular online video site in China.
"By combining engaging online experiences with highly relevant content, we delivered impressive financial and operational results in the quarter," he said.
Maggie Wu, chief financial officer, said Alibaba expected the two divisions, along with its "innovation initiatives" unit, to "drive long-term value for both our customers and shareholders".
The company has also been seeking growth outside China as that market becomes increasingly saturated. It bought south-east Asian online retailer Lazada Group for about $1bn in May.


Check out this turtle-ly amazing story of survival...

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27 November 2014 Last updated at 17:38 GMT
Izzy the green sea turtle has survived being hit by a boat, fought off a crocodile attack, and spent more than a year in hospital.
But after being cared for by staff at the Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, she's just been released back into the wild of the Great Barrier Reef.
They've attached a satellite tag to her so they can keep an eye on how she gets on.
Watch Ayshah's report for more on Izzy's extraordinary journey.


Jamie Murray has set his sights on topping the world doubles rankings after partnering Bruno Soares to the Australian Open doubles title.

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Murray, who helped Britain win the Davis Cup in November, is ranked second, behind Brazil's Marcelo Melo.
"The Davis Cup last year gave me a lot of trust in myself, confidence in my game," said the Scot, 29.
"I got to number two so why not get to number one? It's one final step to try to get to number one."
Murray became the first Briton to win the Australian Open men's doubles title in 82 years when he and Soares, 33, beat Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek 2-6 6-4 7-5 in Saturday's final.
The Brazilian only teamed up with Murray in January, and the man from Dunblane has been pleasantly surprised how quickly their partnership has taken off.
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"It was only our third tournament together so I guess it was unexpected that it clicked so fast but it's been brilliant," Murray said.
"Obviously you go in with the best intentions. You want great things to happen but it can take time or sometimes it doesn't happen at all.
"We played our first match in Doha at the start of the year and we felt really good on court with each other. We understood what each other was trying to do on the court."
Brother Andy Murray lost his fifth Australian Open singles final against Novak Djokovic in straight sets on Sunday.
However, the elder Murray believes his younger brother's exploits in recent years - which include two Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal - have driven him to push his own career to greater heights.
"Seeing how hard Andy has worked to get to where he is in the game and all the successes that he had, that motivated me and inspired me to work hard and dedicate myself further to my sport," added 2007 mixed doubles champion Murray.
"I think the last 18 months or so, that has really started to pay dividends. Being brothers as well, you want the best for each other but there's still a part of you that wants to be doing the same stuff he's doing.
"I'm watching him on TV or live at tournaments playing in semi-finals [and] finals of these amazing events and I wanted to be parted of that too."


Scores of Turks have taken part in a peaceful protest in central Istanbul calling for justice over the murder of a transgender woman, Hande Kader.

They held signs and chanted slogans for Kader, 23, an LGBT activist, whose burned body was discovered in a forest after she went missing.
According to one report, opposition MPs were among those who attended the rare protest by LGBT activists.
Police with water cannon were on duty nearby, AFP news agency said.
Ms Kader, a sex worker, was last seen entering a client's car one night. Her flatmate found her body in a city mortuary earlier in August.
Read more: Turkey reacts to Hande Kader's death
No arrests have been made so far in the case.
"We will not stop until we find those responsible for Hande Kader's murder," said Ebru Kiranci, spokeswoman for Istanbul's LGBTI Solidarity Association,
Rengin Arslan of BBC Turkish says that LGBT individuals and their allies hope that Hande Kader will be a turning point in the response to trans murders in Turkey.
The death of Kader is the second murder to rock the LGBT community in Istanbul recently - the headless, mutilated body of a gay Syrian man, Muhammad Wisam Sankari, was identified by housemates in late July.


The fraternity at the centre of a discredited Rolling Stone article about a campus rape has threatened to sue the magazine for its "reckless" reporting.

The move comes after an independent review concluded the magazine failed to follow basic journalistic safeguards before publishing.
The November article described a gang rape at a University of Virginia (UVA) fraternity house in 2012.
A four-month police investigation found no evidence that the incident occurred.
However, police chief Timothy Longo has said that did not mean "something terrible didn't happen" to the student known as Jackie.
In a statement, UVA's chapter of Phi Kappa Psi said they would "pursue all available legal action against the magazine".
The chapter said its members were ostracised and the fraternity house was vandalised as a result of the article, which was read by millions.
The Columbia School of Journalism report, commissioned by Rolling Stone, described the article as "a story of journalistic failure".
Written by journalist Sabrina Erdely, the 9,000-word article A Rape on Campus relied on Jackie as the sole source to tell the story of an alleged rape at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house.
Subsequent investigations by other reporters and Ms Erdely herself identified errors in the reporting of the piece.
Rolling Stone has apologised and officially retracted "A Rape on Campus" after the review.
Managing Editor Will Dana apologised to readers and "all of those who were damaged by our story and the ensuing fallout".
The Columbia School of Journalism report said the magazine failed to use "basic, even routine journalistic practice" to verify the details after Ms Erdely failed to contact the alleged attackers.
"The failure encompassed reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking", and there were "systematic failures" at the magazine, the report said.
The report went on to suggest that the article had undermined work to stop sexual violence as it "spread the idea that many women invent rape allegations".
During a press conference on Monday, Steven Coll, one of the authors of the report, said Rolling Stone had hid behind sensitivity to Jackie to explain their lapses in reporting.
"We do disagree with any suggestion that this is Jackie's fault," Mr Coll added.
Mr Dana described the report as "painful reading", and said the magazine was committing itself to a series of recommendations in the report, but said no-one would be fired for their involvement in the story.
He apologised to all those affected by the story, "including members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and UVA administrators and students".
Columbia said that Jackie had declined to answer questions for the report and that her lawyer said it "is in her best interest to remain silent at this time".


Carlisle United manager Keith Curle has credited his club's "phenomenal" away support for their 2-1 win against Morecambe on Saturday.

A total of 1,454 Carlisle fans travelled the 68 miles to Morecambe, making up 47% of the attendance.
"They were sucking the ball into the net - you could feel it," Curle told BBC Cumbria.
"It's phenomenal - the noise you can hear from behind the goal. You can tell there's a unity growing."
Carlisle came from behind and sealed victory with two goals in two minutes - a 83rd-minute Charlie Wyke penalty followed by a close-range finish from substitute Derek Asamoah.
"The pleasing thing is that at 1-0 down coming off the pitch at half-time, the supporters were with us," Curle, 52, continued.
"The supporters stayed with us because they knew there is a level of commitment within the players and within the staff that we want to do well for them and I think that shone through."
Carlisle sit 11th in League Two, three points below the play-off places, but with games in hand on many of the teams above them.
"I'm very proud to be manager of Carlisle United. I know there's a journey for this club to go on and I'm desperate to be a massive part of it," former Manchester City defender Curle added.
"I've said to the players - if we make the play-offs, we go up."


A woman thought her husband had "lost the plot" when he woke her up to tell her there was a raccoon on their roof.

The runaway critter was spotted on top of the house in Cambridgeshire.
Fenland Animal Rescue was called in, but it was "a bit of a wrestle as he was not the friendliest of raccoons", said the charity's Josh Flanagan.
"That said, I've never met one before, and we don't train in raccoon rescue techniques," he added. They are hoping to locate the animal's owner.
Click here for more news from Cambridgeshire
"Raccoons aren't native to this country, so he must have escaped from somewhere," Mr Flanagan said.
"You can imagine their surprise when the householders saw one on their roof.
"The woman thought her husband had lost the plot, but when she looked out, there it was, staring back at her through the window."
With the animal jumping from the house to a garden shed roof, it was a short game of "cat and mouse" as Mr Flanagan tried to catch him.
"At one point I was sat on the rooftop with him, and we were both eating bananas. I don't think I'll ever experience anything like that again, but it's why I do this job," he said.
Eventually the animal was brought down safely, using a control pole.
A few days after its ordeal, the racoon is settling in - but "causing havoc" - at the rescue centre's Whittlesey base.
"He's a devilish boy, a bit vicious," Mr Flanagan said. "They look all cute and adorable, but they're not."
If no one comes forward to claim him, he will be moved to a specialist rescue centre "where he can live his life in a safe and secure environment with other raccoons to call friends".


Ni fydd cyflwynydd BBC Radio Cymru, Andrew Thomas, neu Tommo, yn darlledu ar yr orsaf am gyfnod yn dilyn cwyn yn ei erbyn.

Mae BBC Cymru ar ddeall bod y gwyn yn deillio gan aelod o'r cyhoedd, ac yn ymwneud â sylwadau honedig gafodd eu gwneud gan y cyflwynydd mewn gŵyl gerddorol, ac nid unrhywbeth gafodd ei ddweud ar ei raglen.
Roedd Tommo yn un o'r cyflwynwyr fu'n annerch y torfeydd yn ystod Gŵyl Nôl a Mla'n yn Llangrannog ar benwythnos 7 ac 8 Gorffennaf.
Dywedodd llefarydd ar ran BBC Radio Cymru: "Rydym wedi derbyn cwyn ac yn ymchwilio i'r mater.
"Tra bo'r ymchwiliad yn parhau, ni fydd Tommo yn darlledu ar BBC Radio Cymru."
Nid oedd Tommo am wneud sylw ar y mater.


Hundreds of players have competed in the UK's biggest ever quidditch tournament, playing a sport adapted from the Harry Potter books.

Wollaton Hall and Park in Nottingham, known for being used as Wayne Manor in a Batman film, was chosen to host the second British Quidditch Cup (BQC).
Organisers hope the public location has helped raise the profile of the sport.
Quidditch players do not fly as they do in Harry Potter, but they do run around with broomsticks between their legs.
Sixteen teams competed when the British Quidditch Cup was first held in Oxford in November 2013, and 23 teams have competed this time.
QuidditchUK president Amy Maidment said: "We want people to discover what we do and see us as a legitimate sport rather than imitating Harry Potter, so we put it in a public place to get that exposure."
Ms Maidment has previously played for Nottingham Nightmares, a team from the University of Nottingham.
She initially became interested because of her love for Harry Potter, but now sees the sport as separate from the books.
"It's like rugby mixed with dodgeball," she said.
"There are a few injuries but we are currently working on re-evaluating the rules to minimise that, because if the injury rates continue as they are people aren't going to carry on wanting to play it.
"I haven't had a bad injury apart from a concussion. I got accidentally kicked in the head by my captain."
Radcliffe Chimeras, from Oxford University, were favourites to win the competition, due to end at about 18:30 GMT.


The TUV leader Jim Allister has raised questions about a former DUP's special advisor involvement in the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scheme.

Mr Allister accused Stephen Brimstone -  under parliamentary privilege -  of using a non-domestic boiler to heat his home.
He questioned whether it was "morally the right thing to do" and he asked if it was permitted under the RHI scheme.
Mr Brimstone has so far not responded to the allegations.
Speaking under parliamentary privilege Mr Allister said:
"In Mr Brimstone's case, he built a new house some years ago, he had a biomass boiler in it.
"He took it out to qualify for this scheme because you have to have a new boiler and he put in a new non-domestic scheme boiler under this scheme in order to qualify.
"That is the sort of rip-off that brings disrepute to all of the scheme."
The DUP has said Mr Brimstone is not intending to make a statement about Jim Allister's allegations.
Mr Brimstone was former adviser to the first minister but resigned from his role in November.


The Paris terrorist attacks and political instability in Europe are making companies more reluctant to invest, the chief executive of Siemens has warned.

Joe Kaeser told the Financial Times: "Investment is about believing, about the future, and [when] events like that happen, people will wait."
Siemens is Europe's biggest industrial conglomerate with 350,000 employees.
Mr Kaeser's comments were echoed by Italy's finance minister.
Pier Carlo Padoan said the 13 November attacks in which 130 people were killed threatened the eurozone's fragile economic recovery.
"The biggest economic damage from these attacks is on confidence and confidence is a crucial element in this phase," Mr Padoan told the newspaper.
"It is indispensable to help countries exit the crisis. Any elements that undermine confidence are very dangerous."
Although eurozone economic sentiment rose slightly to 105.9 in October compared with the previous month, the impact of the terrorist attacks in Paris and the heightened security in Brussels this weekend could cut the November figure when it is released by the European Commission next week.
Economic growth in the eurozone slowed to 0.3% for the three months to September, official figures released earlier this month showed.
That was lower than expected, and worse than the 0.4% expansion recorded for the previous quarter.
Siemens said earlier this month that it expected moderate revenue growth despite "continuing complexity in the geopolitical environment" in the 2016 financial year.
Net profit for the German company, which focuses on electrical engineering and electronics, fell by almost â‚¬500m to â‚¬1bn for the 2015 financial year.
Eurozone finance ministers will go ahead with an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on Monday afternoon despite an ongoing high security alert in the Belgian capital.
The ministers will review national budgets, the impact of the refugee crisis on public finances and a bailout payment to Greece.


A woman and a man have been arrested on suspicion of murdering an 18-year-old in the Moss Side area of Manchester.

Abdul Hafidah was stabbed after being hit by a car on Moss Lane East on 12 May. He died two days later.
Thirteen other people, including boys, aged 14 and 17, have previously been arrested in connection with his death.
The woman, 20, and man, 18, have been bailed pending further inquiries, Greater Manchester Police said.
Police believe Mr Hafidah had been chased near Greenheys Lane before being struck by a blue Vauxhall Corsa and then stabbed,
He was taken to hospital with stab wounds to the neck and abdominal injuries.
Detectives are continuing to appeal for witnesses.


Sainsbury's is ramping up the fight for a bigger share of the online grocery market by launching a same-day delivery service.

The supermarket will test the service at three stores and plans to expand it to 30 outlets by Christmas.
Amazon recently raised the pressure on UK supermarkets with the launch of same-day deliveries in London.
The online retail giant signed a deal with Morrisons and now sells 130,000 products, including fresh goods.
Sainsbury's stores in London's Streatham Common, Richmond and Brookwood in Surrey will try out the service which will allow people who order their shopping by 12.00pm to receive their goods within six hours.
At present, customers have to order the day before to receive their shopping.
Britain's second largest supermarket group said: "Assuming the trials are successful, same-day online grocery delivery will be available in 30 stores by Christmas."
The UK retail sector has been under growing pressure to retain and build customer numbers as more shoppers have turned to discount supermarket chains Lidl and Aldi.
Recent figures from analysts Kantar Worldpanel showed that total supermarket sales fell in the three months to 19 June. The combined market share of Aldi and Lidl hit a record high of 10.5% with both reporting rising sales. In contrast, the big four - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons - all reported falling sales during the period.
The online grocery business is forecast to be worth Â£9.8bn by the end of this year, according to market analyst Mintel, and could grow to Â£15bn by 2020.
Sainsbury's is hoping a new distribution centre in Bromley-by-Bow in east London will help "enable its customers to shop whenever and wherever they want and will cater for the growing demand in the capital for Sainsbury's online groceries service".
The company is looking to fill 470 jobs at the centre which will open in the autumn. It hopes to recruit a further 430 people by 2020.


A mechanic became trapped in a car in Cambridgeshire when "thousands" of bees swarmed around it.

MOT tester Sean Reddington was driving the car into a workshop on Ivatt Way, Peterborough, when it was surrounded for about 10 minutes.
Elsewhere, Woodston Ponds nature reserve in the city has been shut until Monday because a swarm of honey bees has settled in a tree.
It is not known if the two reported swarms are connected.
Mr Reddington, who saw the first swarm on Thursday, said: "At first there were just a couple of bees, then suddenly there were thousands.
"I made sure the car's air vents were closed. I don't mind bees - just not that many bees."
He said the swarm moved on but he did not know to where.
Since then, the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire has closed its Woodston Ponds nature reserve on Wharf Road.
A spokesman said a swarm of honey bees arrived at about 11:00 BST and settled in a tree.
The site was closed for public safety reasons and to ensure the bees were not disturbed before they could be safely removed.
The British Beekeepers Association said bees can swarm when a hive is full and some leave to form a new colony.
A swarm contains a queen bee and up to 20,000 worker bees.
The swarming season is from April to July but the peak is from early May to mid June.
Swarms are not dangerous unless disturbed or aggravated - for example if sprayed with water, the association said.


Nearly 1,000 revenge porn images have been taken offline following calls to a national helpline, figures show.

The Revenge Porn Helpline told BBC Radio 5 live it had received almost 6,000 calls and emails since it launched in January 2015, with three-quarters of callers women.
However, it warned it does not have government funding beyond March.
The government said more than Â£180,000 had been invested in the service and it would make a decision "in due course".
Revenge porn refers to the act of a partner or ex-partner deliberately distributing images or videos of a sexual nature without the other person's consent.
It became a crime in England and Wales in April 2015, with a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment.
Laura Bullock was 19 when she became a victim after an ex-boyfriend had hacked into her Facebook account.
She discovered that nude photos, meant for a new partner, had ended up on a number of porn sites.
"Initially I just broke down, I just didn't know what I was supposed to do," she told 5 live.
"My mum took me to the police station the next day, but that night I was in so much of a state and had to sleep in her bed because I just couldn't cope."
She advised victims of revenge porn to speak to someone as it was "the best thing" she did.
"If I didn't have my family and my friends, I don't even know if I would be sitting here today."
Ms Bullock added: "After everything that happened, I just couldn't be close to [my new partner].
"In my head I'd have people's comments from the sites and it just tore me up... I just had to end it."
She shared her diaries from the time with 5 live.
In one entry, she wrote: "I've never been 100% on the way my body looks because of spinal surgery in 2010, so thousands of people seeing my body was horrifying.
"Your body should be for you and close acquaintances to treasure, not for the pleasure of revenge porn site users."
In another, she wrote: "I feel like all these men who have seen me and left comments on the sites have been intimate with me, without my consent."
The helpline said revenge porn was a problem that affected teenagers to people in their 60s.
The helpline said it could not quantify the number of images online as new ones were uploaded every day across the world, but estimated it is many thousands.
It also shared anonymous examples of some of those who had sought help.
One person said: "I broke up with my ex about a year ago. He is messaging me constantly and ringing me.
"I don't like him, I don't want to be with him, but I have to pretend I do only because he is threatening to send my nudes to my sister and best friend and post them online.
"Yesterday he messaged me saying he will put me online and show everyone who I really am.
"I'm scared to tell anyone. I don't want my parents to find out anything."
Another said: "I broke up with my ex-partner in November.
"A few weeks afterwards, he told he had a concealed camera in his bedroom, and he had nude pictures of me and a video tape of a sexual nature.
"He began threatening me. In the beginning of January, he sent some images that he had.
"They were nude pictures taken of me whilst I was getting dressed in his bedroom,
"I was unaware at the time pictures were being taken of me and did not give my consent.
"The following day he contacted some of my work colleagues via Facebook, describing the images he had and asking if they wanted to see them."
The Revenge Porn Helpline, which is run by three people, offers support to victims and advice on how to gather evidence.
Laura Higgins, the helpline's manager, said it also contacts sites that are hosting revenge porn images to ask them to take them offline.
She said some sites "begrudgingly take down the images" while others refuse to do so, but social media sites have "really strong reporting" mechanisms to help.
Ms Higgins said the helpline was "extremely grateful" for the government's financial support, but said: "Without alternative funding in place, we are sadly at risk of losing this vital service.
"We are looking at various avenues of support, including charitable grants and commercial businesses, and will be launching a crowdfunding project shortly."
Ms Higgins added: "It's such a harrowing thing to find out that someone has abused your trust in some way.
"While some people are able to manage some of it on their own, don't suffer in silence."
A report released last autumn by the Crown Prosecution Service said that more than 200 people had been prosecuted since the revenge porn offence was brought in.
The Ministry of Justice said there had been 64 convictions for revenge porn in 2015.


A flood-hit cancer patient who feared he would die in a hotel while waiting to be moved into a new home, has been found a place to live in West Yorkshire.

4 February 2016 Last updated at 12:03 GMT
Michael Davison and his wife spent six weeks living at a Premier Inn after their home in Mytholmroyd was flooded on Boxing Day.
They were told it would be up to nine months before they could return home, but a housing association has found a bungalow in Halifax for the couple.
BBC Look North's Charlotte Leeming reports.


A senior French minister has criticised Turkey after plans to arrest suspected jihadis returning from Syria collapsed when they were put on the wrong flight.

As security agents waited at a Paris airport, the three suspects were flown to Marseille in southern France, where they left the airport unchallenged.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said there had been a "mix-up".
The three suspects have now handed themselves in to police in southern France.
Two of them are linked to Islamist mass killer Mohamed Merah, who died in a police siege in 2012.
The three men are believed to belong to a jihadist recruiting network and are considered dangerous by the French security services, French media report.
Imad Djebali, a childhood friend of Merah, was jailed for four years for terrorism in 2009 while Abdelouahed Baghdali, who is married to Merah's sister Souad, is known to police for his links to an Islamist school.
The third man, Gael Maurize, is known to French intelligence for his "implication in a jihadist network", French media say.
According to Le Monde newspaper, the three left for Syria in February to join the Islamic State (IS) group but became disillusioned and surrendered to Turkish border police at the end of August, asking to be repatriated to France. They were detained for three weeks for "violations of the right to abode".
On Tuesday, the captain of the plane due to fly the three men from Istanbul to Paris refused to allow them aboard because they lacked the necessary Turkish documents.
Instead, Turkish police put them on the next flight to France, bound for Marseille, without informing their colleagues in France, Le Monde reports.
Amid confusion over their whereabouts on Tuesday afternoon, some French media reported that they had actually arrived in Paris and had been arrested.
In reality, they left Marseille airport unhindered and were free to wander the city's main avenue, the Canebiere.
When the French authorities realised what had happened, arrest warrants were issued for the three men, Le Monde reports.
Late on Wednesday morning, all three turned up at a police station in Le Caylar, a small village about 230km (140 miles) west of Marseille.
When they rang the doorbell, they found nobody inside as the gendarmes had already left to arrest them, a lawyer told French media. However, they are now in custody.
The three men, the lawyer added, had been willing to "explain themselves to the police and justice system" all along, and were surprised that they were not questioned on their arrival.
Mr Le Drian said on Wednesday that the Turkish police's decision to change flights was "unfortunate".
He told France Info radio that the incident has been largely due "to the lack of good collaboration with the Turkish services".
"This mix-up shows that we have to strengthen relations, methods and actions with the Turkish authorities," the minister said.
What makes the security fiasco all the more embarrassing is the timing.    This is a week in which the French have been told to be on heightened alert because of the danger from returning jihadists. Islamic State has specifically called for French people to be targeted, and in Algeria a Frenchman has been kidnapped by an IS affiliate.
And yet at this moment of all moments, three alleged jihadis returning from Syria are missed at the point of arrival in France.
Basic communication with Turkish intelligence failed to function, so no one in Paris knew they were flying to Marseille; and once on French soil either their passports were never checked, or - perhaps worse - they failed to trigger an alert.
French indignation at Tuesday's events was reflected in media headlines like "The incredible non-arrest of three French jihadists" in Le Figaro.
Some 350 French citizens are now fighting in Syria while some 180 recently returned from there to France. Le Monde reports.
France joined US-led air strikes on IS targets in Iraq last week. Since then militants in Algeria have abducted a French tourist, Herve Gourdel, and are threatening to kill him if the French do not halt their air campaign.
France has recently seen extremists take up arms close to home.
Mohamed Merah was killed in a police siege after a string of gun attacks in the Toulouse area of south-western France, which left seven people dead including an adult and three children at a Jewish school in the city.
Another Frenchman, Mehdi Nemmouche, is the chief suspect in an attack on the Jewish Museum of Brussels in May that killed four people.


The AA is calling on councils to "get to grips" with road maintenance after a survey found 39% of UK drivers reported pothole damage in the past two years.

The motoring organisation also called for extra funding for road repairs in the chancellor's Budget next week.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said there was a £12bn backlog in road repairs that would take councils "more than a decade" to clear.
The UK government said it was providing "unprecedented levels of investment".
In an AA survey of 25,208 drivers, 39% said their tyres, bodywork or other parts of their vehicles had been affected after hitting a pothole in the past two years.
AA president Edmund King called on local authorities to "get to grips with fundamental road maintenance" such as poor drainage and crumbling surfaces.
He also said Chancellor George Osborne should allocate extra funding for road repairs to "reverse the toll on vehicles and their owners' pockets".
LGA transport spokesman Peter Box said current funding levels and the repairs backlog meant councils "can only keep pace with patching up our roads and filling potholes".
"Long-term and consistent investment in local road maintenance is desperately needed," he added.
Road maintenance is devolved to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Transport Minister Andrew Jones said the government had allocated a "record £6bn to councils in England to improve local roads over the next five years".
"We topped this up with £250m last year specifically to tackle the blight of potholes," he said.
A Scottish Government spokesman said in the last financial year more than £220m was allocated for the maintenance of motorways and trunk roads, which it said was 20% more than five years ago.
The Welsh and Northern Irish authorities have been approached for comment.


Timed tickets are being introduced at Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge to deal with crowds at the world-famous north coast attraction.

The National Trust hopes the plan will improve visitors' experiences, keep people safe and address conservation requirements.
The new system will mean tourists are allocated a one-hour slot to cross the bridge.
The tickets will be sold at the site are only valid on the day of purchase.
The popularity of Northern Ireland's Causeway Coastal route, which boasts links to HBO's Game of Thrones, has increased in recent years and record numbers visited the bridge in 2016.
"With tremendous visitor growth to the site over recent years we were keen to identify solutions that will enhance the visitor experience; ensure that we are keeping everyone safe whilst also addressing the important conservation requirements," said Frank Devlin of the National Trust.
"The introduction of timed tickets will enable us to manage the increasing volume of visitors to the Carrick-a-Rede island.
"All visitors will be required to present their tickets at their allocated time period, before crossing the bridge."
The bridge is 18 inches wide and can only accommodate eight people at one time.
It is Northern Ireland's sixth most popular tourist attraction and was visited by 354,000 people in 2015.


"It's bio-magic," says Dell's head of packaging, Oliver Campbell, with a big smile.

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He's holding a mundane-looking plastic bag. But this isn't just any old piece of future landfill. This bag has literally been plucked from the air we breathe.
Normal plastic is made from oil, but this is made from AirCarbon - carbon drawn from methane from cattle farms (cows having, shall we say, a gassy disposition), common landfill or anywhere really that produces the gas.
It is grabbed before it enters the atmosphere, so not only does this avoid the use of fossil fuels, it actually removes greenhouse gases from the environment.
It's made by a Californian company called Newlight that Dell is working with.
"It reacts with this bio-catalyst, and that starts a reaction to separate carbon and the oxygen in that gas stream, and then goes through a fermentation process to further derive the material," says Mr Campbell.
"And from that we can go make various types of plastics."
The process has been certified as carbon negative by Trucost and NSF Sustainability, and actually costs less to produce than oil-based plastics, says Mr Campbell.
It's one of the sustainable packaging materials - including bamboo, wheat grass and even sponges grown from mushroom spores - the computer giant is now using in its supply chain, all introduced on Mr Campbell's watch.
"I think this really shows what happens when sustainability is done right, you can make things that are better for the environment and cost less," he says.
"Because that's really what's going to propel these technologies forward."
Making packaging greener is an increasing preoccupation for big business around the world. Although Dell is not alone in this, the company has actively tried to innovate and get involved in the development of these new technologies, in partnership with small start-ups with good ideas.
The initiatives have won both Mr Campbell and Dell a slew of awards, and he is now a regular on the conference circuit.
Mr Campbell stepped into his role in Dell's packaging department in 2006 - and has been instrumental in implementing the company's '3 Cs' - cube (reduce packing size), content (what it's made of), and curb (meaning to limit something that is not wanted).
"When we started to listen to customers, and social media played a big role in this, we were getting beat up about some boxes that were too big," he says.
"I am just glad my mother never read all that stuff. Because as you know social media can be, shall we say, direct and crude in its opinions.
"What people wanted us to do was to care as much about something as they did."
Drawing on his background in farming, the first material Mr Campbell decided to try was bamboo.
"I drew from that agricultural experience to say, 'Hey, what ideas could we creatively borrow or steal and apply to packaging?' Bamboo came to mind.
"Not only because of its rate of growth, but because of the mechanical properties, tensile strength equivalent to that of steel, and we felt that would be a good way to protect our hi-tech products."
It wasn't just a question of working out how to turn raw bamboo into cardboard boxes though. Other considerations cropped up, such as: can you recycle it? (It actually improves recycled paper streams thanks to its long fibres and strength.)
And then there are the pandas.
"I didn't want to be known as the guy who was ripping bamboos from the mouths of  baby pandas, and end up on the BBC!" says Mr Campbell.
As result, all Dell bamboo is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and sourced far away from panda habitats.
It proved to be very successful, so much so that even two years ago, about 70% of Dell notebooks were shipped in the material.
Then prices started to rise.
"[We were a] victim of our own success I think. By popularising bamboo, others really start to take a look at it."
Polystyrene is non-biodegradable and rarely recycled, a figure of hate in environmental circles, making finding an alternative something of a priority.
The material they're now starting to use is pretty much the polar opposite. The packing sponges are "grown" using mushroom spores, leaving large white blocks that feel unnervingly like mushroom skin. And in a way it is - it's actually the mycelium, the root system.
"The question was, what if you could eat your packaging," says Mr Campbell.
Old substrate is collected from mushroom farms - at the moment for free - and used to form the shape of the sponge.
"[The structure] is placed on a mould, and then it's injected with mushroom spawn, so that's like mushroom seed. The spawn utilises remaining carbohydrates and sugars in the plant material to grow."
Not only is it completely biodegradable and compostable - it appears to be even more durable and flexible than the man-made alternative, and is also flame retardant.
"We tested the entire supply chain, in terms of does the product arrive there safe? And that's the number one consideration, because if it arrives in a damaged condition it's just like the least sustainable solution," says Mr Campbell.
"We were actually surprised when we looked at the cellular structure under a microscope, you are looking at a root structure and these roots have little tendrils and they are interlocking, it's kind of like Velcro and it's flexing and absorbing the energy in ways that your foam can't.
"Sometimes Mother Nature has a few tricks up her sleeve, right?"
Dell is working with a small start-up called Ecovative to produce the packaging, and has been involved from the start in developing the product, and trialling it with a Fortune 500 company.
The technology is being used by companies such as furniture chain Crate and Barrel, but Dell remains the only technology customer, according to Mr Campbell.
"We've realised the benefit of what small entrepreneurial companies can do," he says.
"It means my team don't have to be ergonomists or chemists or experts in all these different things, we really just have to go out and find some of the people in the areas that we're looking for.
"It's okay to go ask for help."
Mr Campbell's team holds regular innovation days, where ideas are bounced around, and start-ups and suppliers are given an opportunity to showcase themselves.
Another company the multinational has partnered with is YFYJupiter, creating packaging using wheatgrass, an agricultural by-product.
"In countries like China they burn this material, so they are contributing to particulate matter in the atmosphere, it contributes to smog," says Mr Campbell.
"So farmers in rural areas in China now are getting paid for something that they didn't before, so it's increasing incomes, [it helps] keep people in rural areas, and having grown up in a rural area myself I really understand that."
But is there really enough wheatgrass produced each year to keep Dell in cardboard? Apparently so, according to Mr Campbell.
He says research indicates that there's enough waste straw material in China to potentially produce enough paper to satisfy global demand. And again, the wheatgrass cardboard is cheaper to produce.
As with the other packaging, the process has involved following through the entire supply chain and being involved in the development of the packaging, as well as gauging the opinion of the Chinese authorities on the environmental benefits.
"I think people intrinsically know that if it costs more, it is probably not really sustainable, and you're probably not doing a good job with the technology, so when it costs less, it's something that can stick," says Mr Campbell.
"When I speak at conferences, I often ask people: who thinks sustainability costs more? And several years ago most of them [would] raise their hand.
"Now it's more like 50-50. So we are making progress and I would say it's due to technologies like [these] coming online."


Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez became Chile's all-time top scorer with his 38th international goal in Thursday's draw with Germany at the Confederations Cup.

Sanchez capitalised on a mistake by Gunners team-mate Shkodran Mustafi to open the scoring.
Lars Stindl stabbed in an equaliser for Germany just before the break.
The result means Chile remain top of Group B, ahead of Germany on goal difference.
"I'm very happy to be Chile's top scorer. Our dream is to win this tournament and we feel we have a chance," said Sanchez, who has been linked with a move away from Arsenal this summer.
"We played well in the first half, but Germany adapted very well to how we were playing."
Chile and Germany need just one point from their remaining Group B games against Australia and Cameroon respectively to progress to the semi-finals.
Earlier on Thursday, a Mark Milligan penalty cancelled out an Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa goal as Australia and Cameroon drew 1-1.
Match ends, Germany 1, Chile 1.
Second Half ends, Germany 1, Chile 1.
Offside, Chile. Alexis Sánchez tries a through ball, but Mauricio Isla is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Emre Can (Germany) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Julian Draxler.
Substitution, Chile. Francisco Silva replaces Charles Aránguiz.
Foul by Sebastian Rudy (Germany).
Alexis Sánchez (Chile) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Emre Can (Germany).
Charles Aránguiz (Chile) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Martín Rodríguez (Chile) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Arturo Vidal with a through ball.
Substitution, Chile. Martín Rodríguez replaces Eduardo Vargas.
Attempt missed. Matthias Ginter (Germany) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Julian Draxler following a set piece situation.
Jean Beausejour (Chile) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Joshua Kimmich (Germany) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jean Beausejour (Chile).
Attempt blocked. Julian Draxler (Germany) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Joshua Kimmich.
Foul by Julian Draxler (Germany).
Pablo Hernández (Chile) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt saved. Lars Stindl (Germany) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Sebastian Rudy.
Lars Stindl (Germany) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Marcelo Díaz (Chile).
Substitution, Chile. Paulo Díaz replaces Gary Medel because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Gary Medel (Chile) because of an injury.
Attempt missed. Lars Stindl (Germany) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Sebastian Rudy with a headed pass following a corner.
Corner,  Germany. Conceded by Gonzalo Jara.
Attempt missed. Matthias Ginter (Germany) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Niklas Süle following a set piece situation.
Sebastian Rudy (Germany) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Marcelo Díaz (Chile).
Alexis Sánchez (Chile) is shown the yellow card.
Offside, Chile. Arturo Vidal tries a through ball, but Alexis Sánchez is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Eduardo Vargas (Chile) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Arturo Vidal.
Sebastian Rudy (Germany) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Arturo Vidal (Chile).
Attempt missed. Arturo Vidal (Chile) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Charles Aránguiz with a cross following a corner.
Corner,  Chile. Conceded by Shkodran Mustafi.
Foul by Julian Draxler (Germany).
Mauricio Isla (Chile) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Sebastian Rudy (Germany) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Sebastian Rudy (Germany).


A cyclist rode his bike for more than 10 miles on a busy stretch of motorway before being stopped by police.

Balin Hobbs, 52, was cycling on the hard shoulder of the M5 when police forced him from the road and into a service station near Cullompton, Devon.
He admitted riding a pedal cycle on a motorway and resisting arrest, at Exeter Magistrates' Court.
He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a Â£20 victim surcharge.
More on motorway cyclist and more Devon stories
The court heard how Hobbs cycled to Devon from London to attend the court hearing because it was against his spiritual beliefs to be driven in petrol or diesel vehicles.
It took him three days and he slept on the courtroom steps the night before.
Hobbs was heading towards Bristol on the M5 on his bike during the afternoon of April 29 when police caught up with him.
He overtook the police car, and they forced him from the road after a further two miles when he went into a service station at Junction 28.
He wrestled with officers as he was arrested and put into a police van, the court heard.
Hobbs, whose address was given as Hennock, Devon, but who is living in London, said: "You are putting me in shackles for no reason."
Hobbs, who had no previous convictions, defended himself in court, and said: "I was definitely on the M5 on my bike."
But he claimed the police had "intimidated, harassed and harangued me" adding: "I did not intend to cycle on the M5 but I had to try and find my way to Bristol and then London."
Following the hearing, he mounted his bike to begin the journey back to London.


Work to improve safety on a stretch of river where an 11-year-old-boy went missing is to take place, the Welsh government has said.

Cameron Comey, from Carmarthen, is believed to have fallen into the River Towy on 17 February after playing with his brother nearby.
The fire service, police, coastguard, mountain rescue and lifeboat teams were involved in the search operation.
The Welsh government said it plans to improve safety following the incident.
A spokesperson said: "As the registered owner of the land we intend to work with all interested parties to identify how to improve and manage safety in the area."


A woman who was convicted of trying to smuggle £1m of high-purity cocaine into the UK has been jailed for seven years.

Wheelchair user Myrtle McCreath was caught with the haul in her luggage at Glasgow Airport after returning from Brazil on 26 February 2014.
The High Court in Glasgow heard how the 53-year-old, from Ayr, was lured into making the trip through an online romance with a man she had never met.
McCreath denied wrongdoing but was convicted of supplying cocaine.
Jailing her, judge Lord Bonomy told McCreath that it appeared there were "shadowy figures" behind the trafficking operation she had become involved in.
Bu he said a jury had rejected her claims that she did not know she was transporting drugs.
The judge went on: "I have to make sure that the people behind these crimes do not manipulate naive individuals like yourself, who provide great cover going through an airport in a wheelchair.
"I have to deter the big boys as well as the smaller individuals, who might be tempted by the money on offer."
The court heard that McCreath had struck up an internet romance with a man called John Edwards, who was said to be from Ghana, after splitting from her husband.
Edwards claimed to have ran a gold-mining business in Africa and later introduced McCreath online to another man, Philip Okoko.
Edwards claimed Okoko had been left $50m by his "ancestors" but the banknotes were stained and he needed someone to go abroad and transfer a special solution to clean them.
McCreath agreed and believed that she would get a share of the cash and be able to live with her online boyfriend, Edwards.
In December 2013, she travelled to Melbourne, Australia, where she handed over a case to two men called Ben and Matthew.
McCreath had hoped to meet Edwards for the first time there but he never turned up.
She then agreed to carry out a second trip in February 2014 to Sao Paolo in Brazil.
On her return, McCreath - who had a liver transplant years earlier - was wheeled off the plane into arrivals at Glasgow Airport.
When UK Border officers searched her luggage they found dozens of cosmetic containers with cocaine hidden inside.
After being convicted of drug trafficking, judge Lord Bonomy told McCreath that her ill health meant the jail term could be restricted from a double-figure sentence.


Scotland's largest council is to increase council tax for the first time since 2005.

Glasgow City Council said it planned to put up the tax by 3% after the national council tax freeze ended this year.
Council leader Frank McAveety said while the increase would raise more than £7m, the council faced a budget gap of £67m.
Most councils have yet to confirm plans, with about a third indicating they may propose a 3% increase.
Further details of Glasgow's budget proposals are expected later.
Mr McAveety said: "Raising Council Tax will support frontline services while protecting the most vulnerable in our city.
"One-in-four households will not pay a penny more - and we can avoid around £7m of the most difficult cuts, which would otherwise hit every community across the city."
The average bill in the city - in the Band D category - is £1,213, compared to the national average of £1,149. All other bills are a set proportion of this figure.
But changes this year mean those in bands E, F, G and H properties will automatically pay more - even before the 3% across-the-board rise is factored in.
Increases are due to take effect just weeks before May's council elections.
BBC Scotland's local government correspondent Jamie McIvor said: "Inevitably, close attention will be paid to decisions taken by councils in the west of Scotland where the SNP is hoping to make big inroads into Labour's council powerbase.
"Privately, some Labour councillors believe they are caught between a rock and a hard place.
"They argue a rise in council tax would merely limit cuts rather than end them, so they would risk asking voters to 'pay more and get less'.
"However, they also believe that if they did not raise the council tax, they would be accused of failing to use the means at their disposal to at least attempt to mitigate cuts."
Labour-run South Lanarkshire has said it plans to freeze bills this year but the leader of West Dunbartonshire Council has indicated a rise is likely.
There have been no public declarations yet from Labour-run Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire.
The Scottish government has said more money would be available in the coming financial year for local services across Scotland.
For example, there will be new money through the council tax changes and cash which will be given to headteachers to spend on schemes to raise attainment.
A final decision on the council tax in Glasgow is likely to be made in February.


The authorities in an eastern Chinese city sent local officials on enforced tours of a prison, as a warning against the temptations of corruption.

The group of 70 officials and their wives visited the facility in the city of Shiyan in Hubei province on 15 May.
China launched a crackdown on corruption shortly after President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.
Since then thousands of officials have been investigated, with many jailed for bribery and abuse of power.
The jail visit was first announced by the country's anti-corruption agency, the Central Commission of Discipline and Inspection, in the Saturday edition of its newsletter.
The move was meant as "an educational warning... allowing them to experience life behind high walls and steel windows", it said.
Photographs show the officials and their partners  visiting the prison grounds, where they got a chance to speak to former bureaucrats - some of them former colleagues - who had been convicted of charges such as abuse of power.
They also toured an exhibition featuring photos and written accounts from jailed officials.
The CCDI report said the group let out "sighs" as they recognised several of their "old mentors, colleagues and friends" in the exhibition.
They were also sent to an auditorium where they listened to testimonials delivered by prisoners convicted of corruption.
China has been waging an intense campaign against corruption. Authorities have urged officials to live a more frugal lifestyle and eschew expensive gifts and lavish banquets.
Local media have made much of the arrests and investigations into thousands of officials from low-ranking public servants to senior figures, most notably former security chief Zhou Yongkang.
But critics say that deeper structural reform of the political system is needed to eradicate corruption.


Warrington made it two wins from two in The Super 8s Qualifiers as they comfortably saw off Catalans Dragons at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Five first-half tries, including two for full-back Stefan Ratchford, put Wire 30-6 ahead at half-time.
The visitors almost matched them after the break, but ended up well beaten.
Ratchford, Ryan Atkins and Tom Lineham all crossed twice, with Wire's other tries from Matty Russell, Peta Hiku and Declan Patton, who kicked eight goals.
Krisnan Inu scored twice for Catalans, who also crossed through Remy Casty and Lewis Tierney, while Luke Walsh added four goals.
Veteran England forward Benny Westwood returned from a three-game suspension to make his 400th appearance for Warrington since moving from Wakefield in 2002.
Warrington began the qualifiers last weekend with victory at Widnes, while the Dragons edged home against London Broncos.
Warrington coach Tony Smith:
"The way Benny Westwood performed was instrumental in our good start. He hasn't played for a month, but he put his hand up and showed his class. He's tough and uncompromising. I like coaching him and like having him in the team.
"I'm not just mentioning him because it's his 400th game, but that is a massive achievement in this day and age in a sport like ours.
"Our attack in the first half was as good as we've shown this year. The second half was scrappy and disjointed. It was difficult to get into the flow. But overall I'm pleased to get that sort of scoreline against another Super League team."
Catalans coach Steve McNamara:
"They blew us away physically at the start of the game and the scoreboard went way too far against us.
"There was a response from us in the second half and we showed some resolve but ultimately we were clearly second best.
"We played a good team, who played very well. We were flat at the start and we paid the price."
Warrington: Ratchford; Russell, Hiku, Atkins, Lineham; Patton, Brown; Hill, Clark, Sims, Jullien, Hughes, Westwood.
Replacements: Philbin, Smith, Savelio, G King.
Catalans Dragons: Tierney; Inu, Garcia, Wiliame, Duport; Walsh, Myler, Moa, Aiton, Casty, Anderson, Horo, Bird.
Replacements: Yaha, Bousquet, Baitieri, Margalet.
Referee: Robert Hicks (RFL).