#!/usr/bin/perl -w

my $string = '<a href="page.cfm?objectid=11933900&method=full&siteid=50144"> Costly false alarms </a> <a href="page.cfm?objectid=11933890&method=full&siteid=50144"> Mindless yobs terrorise OAPs </a> <a href="page.cfm?objectid=11933879&method=full&siteid=50144"> Road deaths </a> <a href="page.cfm?objectid=11933842&method=full&siteid=50144"> Twisted porn pervert caged for life </a> <a href="page.cfm?objectid=11933800&method=full&siteid=50144"> Greenbelt homes plan appeal thrown out </a>';

while ( $string =~ m!(<a[^>]*>)(.+?</a[^>]*>)!ig )
{
        print "1st match: $1 \n";
        print "2nd match: $2 \n\n";
}