Brothers found guilty of
murder of father-to-be
by court reporter
TWO brothers from Warrington have been found guilty of murder after a trial at Chester Crown Court.
Colin Charles Algie, 19 and David James Algie, 21, were convicted of the murder of 22-year-old Michael John Theaker, of Festival Avenue, Orford, Warrington.
A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had previously pleaded guilty to the murder and all three now await sentence.
At the time of his death, Michael Theaker was waiting to become a father and his girl friend, Shelly, has subsequently given birth to a girl, Ellie May.
The court was told that Michael had been out socialising with friends Brendan Barnes and Daniel Willis in Warrington on Tuesday, January 24. Around 4.30 they got on a Number 21 bus, bound for Capesthorne Road, Orford.
They sat owards the rear of the bus and the Algie brothers and the 16-year-old also got on the bus. They became abusive toward Michael and his friends, accusing them of being ‘grasses’. The prosecution believe this was following a court case in 1998, during which Michael and Brendan gave evidence.
At Hallfields Road they all started to get off the bus and a fight started., Michael was punched in the head, falling to the ground, where he was further attacked, kicked, punched and stamped upon repeatedly. This vicious attack occurred on a busy road close to the rush hour. Witnesses described the attack as ?full blooded? and ?horrific?.
Two men, who had been driving along Hallfields Road, saw Michael being kicked repeatedly about the head and body. They stopped and tried to intervene. One tried to shield Michael from further blows while the other, physically restrained one of the defendants.
Their actions were met with abuse and aggression but eventually the three defendants walked away, boasting of their exploits. Michael was then assisted to a nearby pharmacy, where members of staff helped him.
A few minutes later, as Michael was walking home along Smith Drive with his friends, he collapsed and never regained consciousness. An ambulance was called and he was taken to hospital. Five days later, on Monday January 30 he died of head injuries in the Intensive Care Unit of Warrington Hospital.
Colin Algie and the 16-year-old were arrested on the day as the attack. David Algie was arrested in the early hours of the following day. They were at first charged with assault, but were later charged with the murder.
Michael lived with his father Michael, mother Jackie, brother Craig, 21 and sister Zoe, 20. He worked as a labourer on building sites. At the time of his death, Michael’s girlfriend, Shelley, 21, was pregnant with his child.
Detective Insp David Blood, leading the investigation said: “The verdict of the jury highlights the vicious nature of this alcohol fuelled attack, which left a baby without a father and a family without a son. This was a ferocious attack against Michael, whilst he was lying unable to defend himself on the ground. More chilling is the callousness of the defendants, who left the scene, congratulating each other on their exploits.?
Insp Blood paid tribute to Michael?s family for the strength and fortitude they had shown throughout the case.
The Theaker family issued the following statement: “Michael is our first child and this Friday would have been his birthday. Because of this vicious assault our son has been taken from us by these three people who have never shown any remorse for their actions.
?Michael was very much loved son and brother. He was excited about the imminent arrival of his baby daughter with his partner Shelley. Our family have had Michael stolen from us and Ellie May will never know her father.
?We are glad that justice has been done, however our life sentence started the day Michael was murdered. We will never get over our loss but will have to learn in some way to live with it.”
Campaign to legalise
the green machine!
by James Balme
A WARRINGTON man is leading a campaign to legalise an innovative new “green machine” which is proving popular with enthusiasts who use them as personal transporters.
The machine known as ‘Segway’ could become the latest form of hi-tech transportation after sweeping America.
But the British Government is not so keen upon the idea even though the machine is environmentally friendly and could offer a solution to helping to reduce emissions of harmful pollutants spewed out by thousand of motor vehicles in the Warrington area every day.
One Bewsey resident who owns the latest version of the Segway machine has started his own campaign to get the machine legalised for use on the streets of Britain.
IT manager Gareth Brandwood, aged 27, said “They’re great for short trips. They’re electric so don’t pump out any pollution and they’re quiet. They operate where people do and are best suited to the pavement. They’re not here to replace walking, bicycles or cars, they are just a sensible option for people to choose.”
Powered by an electric battery and retailing at ?2,750 they can travel up to 24 miles at a top speed of 12 mph.
Gareth added : “An 1835 Act of Parliament renders the Segway illegal on footpaths in the UK. But lots of places outside of the UK have already legalized them, and I think Germany will be next. I think that with congestion the way it is, and the price of petrol, they’re a great piece of the puzzle to help solve some of the transportation problems we all face.”
Explaining how the Segway works Gareth said: “All the magic happens in the base with a series of solid state gyroscopes and liquid tilt sensors making sure the on-board computer knows which way is up relative to the floor. The hard part is trying to wipe the grin off your face!
“The Department of Transport currently recognizes it as a vehicle and therefore it must be taxed, registered, insured etc. and only used on the road. The only problem is you can’t license them because they don’t meet other regulations for road vehicles!”
Gareth concluded: “A classification will eventually be found or created, as with electric bikes and hopefully the regulations created to will treat them as bicycles.”
Anyone who is interested in supporting the campaign to legalise the transporters should visit www.LegaliseSegways.co.uk .
Bar’s offer to help
solve parking problem
by Lesley Wilkinson
A STOCKTON Heath bar bidding to extend its opening hours has offered to hold fund raising events to help pay for traffic wardens to alleviate parking problems in the village.
John Cansfield, of The Viper Lounge, told Stockton Heath Parish Council that plans to extend opening from 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays until 1.00am, were not a “stepping stone” to even later hours.
Councillors were concerned that late hours would add to disruption in the village at the weekend, including parking problems, litter and late-night revellers, and binge drinking.
Mr Cansfield said the prices did not encourage people to binge drink.
“We also plan to serve food until 1am as this helps with the consumption of alcohol – but we would not do take-aways,” he added.
At the end of the evening he planned to play “soft music” to calm people as they left the premises. There were five security staff, a strict dress code and he was prepared to do everything possible to ensure there was no disturbance from the premises.
He was also willing to pay people to collect litter and to organise community fundraising events to help the parish.
“There is a strong community feeling here, people do care about the village,” said Mr Cansfield. “There is a perception that we don’t care, but it is in our interest to keep the high standards in Stockton Heath.
Coun Lynn Pester said: “There are a lot of restaurants in a very small area, quite near residential properties. There have been complaints
about loud music played late at night.”
But Mr Cansfield said problems arose when windows were open. His premises had air conditioning and there was no need to open windows, so music could not be heard outside.
Coun Peter Walker said: “I applaud your attempts to be a good neighbour.”
Drama group “had a good
deal” – council told
by Lesley Wilkinson
THE Playmakers drama group, which is moving out of Stockton Heath after 60 years, had a “good deal” from its former base, it has been claimed.
The group is moving to Cinnamon Brow Farm, on the other side of Warrington, where a new community theatre has been built ? as reported in Warrington-Worldwide on November 15.
But Patrick Mullee, caretaker at St Thomas?s Church Hall said: “The group has had a good deal out of the church for many years.
“They have been getting it on a peppercorn rent for years and for 10 or 11 days during the play everyone else was denied use of the hall.”
Other residents called for the parish council to fund the church hall, which is used as a meeting place for many groups.
Coun Wendy Emsley said: “It is a church hall and belongs to the church – it is not a community centre.”
Chairman Coun Celia Jordan said: “If we were asked for a grant we would consider it. We do consider funding requests carefully.”
The Playmakers have stressed that they have no dispute with the church but are moving because the church could no longer allow them to have exclusive use of the premises during the run of a play.
They point out that better facilities are available at Cinnamon Brow ? and that members of The Playmakers now come from a much wider area than Stockton Heath.
Storm over “wanton
vandalism” to trees
by David Skentelbery
A STORM has broken over the felling of trees in a small copse near the junction of Grammar School Road and Longbutt Lane, Lymm.
Nearby residents are up in arms over what they describe as the ?wanton vandalism? caused by contractors who arrived unannounced at the scene and starting felling the trees.
Attempts to persuade the workmen to stop were met by abuse ? and later a bulldozer arrived on the site and began uprooting the remains of the trees.
Borough council officers and representatives of the Forestry Commission have visited the scene. But the copse has been almost totally destroyed.
Parish councillor Neville Woodyatt said: ?The matter has angered a good number of people. But no-one seems to know who owns the land now. At one time it was owned by a local resident, but we understand it was sold some time ago.
?There is a rumour that someone wants to build two houses there, but there has been no application for planning permission.?
Highways chiefs are investigating because a stretch of distinctive metal fencing ? known as Cheshire Railings ? has been torn down.
None of the trees were protected, but the copse formed an attractive entrance to a public footpath leading over the fields to Oughtrington.
Scaffolding blaze
at power station
by staff reporter
FIRE crews from Warrington and Widnes were called to a blaze involving scaffold at the Fiddlers Ferry Power Station at Cuerdley.
Breathing apparatus was worn by firefighters to tackle the fire which was beneath stored scaffolding board 100 ft above the ground.
About one and half tons of scaffolding board were involved and fire crews worked alongside works firefighters to extinguish. Scaffolding board were later restacked, revealing a hole in the floor which was repaired by works personnel.
No-one was hurt.
Fifty new jobs for
revamped warehouse
by John Hendon
FIFTY new jobs will be created following a major revamp at a Warrington DIY warehouse.
The jobs will be at the B&Q warehouse at Delph Lane, Winwick, which is to unveil the new-look store in February.
With an extra 150,000 sq ft of floor space, the store is looking to fill a range of part-time customer facing roles. These include customer service and kitchen and bathroom showroom advisors, who will join the current team of 230.
With an exciting new layout, additional kitchen and bathroom displays and more customer service staff on hand to assist customers with their home improvement projects, the store will have a real ?wow? factor when it opens its doors in February, according to general manager Mark Brown.
He will be guiding his new team through a 13-week induction period.
Mr Brown said: ?The 50 jobs we?ve created call for a diverse team to work with us at B&Q Warrington. The flexible working scheme allows a wide range of community members including students, older members of the community and mums to get into work. We encourage positive, friendly applicants with a ?can do? attitude of all ages to come and join the team.
?We are getting more and more excited as the re-launch day approaches, and can?t wait to improve our store further, with even better service and a greater range of products.?
Kitchen fires
FIRE crews were called to a house in Peasley Close, Longbarn, Warrington when fire broke out in the kitchen.
Upon arrival firefighters found the blaze, which involved an unattended cooker, was already out. No smoke detectors were fitted in the house and crews carried out home fire safety assessment.
Fire fighters were also called to a kitchen fire in Warrington Road, Risley.
[ 19.12.2006, 09:23: Message edited by: DS ]
