Shafilea murder: family
members are arrested
by David Skentelbery
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THE five people arrested in connection with the murder of Warrington teenager Shafilea Ahmed are all members of her family, police have revealed.
They all come from the Bradford area – and they are being questioned on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.
Tomorrow (Thursday) marks the first anniversary of Shafilea’s disappearance from her home in Liverpool Road, Great Sankey.
Her badly decomposed body was discovered in April at Sedgwick, near Kendal in Cumbria. Forensic tests have so far failed to establish the cause of death.
But police are satisfied she was murdered.
The five people arrested in Bradford were brought to Warrington police station for questioning.
They are a man in his sixties, three men in their thirties, and a woman in her early twenties. Inquiries are still going on in Bradford, but police say further arrests are not expected in the immediate future.
Det Chief Insp Geraint Jones, leading the inquiry, visited the home of the teenager’s parents, taxi driver Iftikar Ahmed, 44, and his wife Farzana, 41, to tell them of the new arrests.
He said it was possible some members of the extended family may have failed to provide information to police for reasons of privacy.
DCI Jones said: “It will be 12 months to the day that Shafilea disappeared on Thursday, and we are using this anniversary to again appeal to the general public to assist us in finding the person responsible for this dreadful murder.” Police were convinced within days of her disappearance that Shafilea had been unlawfully killed.
She disappeared on September 11 last year from her semi-detached family home in Great Sankey, Warrington. Her parents said they had last seen her at 11pm when they went to bed.
In February, 2003, she had visited Pakistan for a family wedding and, it is understood, was introduced to a would-be suitor. She is believed to have turned him down and, while still abroad, apparently swallowed bleach as a protest. This seriously damaged her throat.
In early December police, revealed they had found poems or song lyrics written by Shafilea which spoke of her bringing “shame” on her family and wishing she were dead.
Shortly before Christmas, detectives arrested Shafilea’s parents on suspicion of kidnap. They were bailed pending further inquiries.
But in February, the couple’s solicitor, Milton Firman, said they “strenuously” denied any involvement in the death.
They were released from their bail in July and indicated they might sue the police. The following week they put up a reward of ?5,000 to catch their daughter’s killer.
DCI Jones said it was possible some of Shafilea’s relatives might know the identity of the killer.
He stressed that the family members arrested were not being questioned over her murder, but for their failure to co-operate with the inquiry.
“They are being questioned about the alleged lies they have told,” he said.
“I would suggest they have told lies for one of two reasons. Either they know who the killer is and are covering up or don’t want us to speak to people that may cause embarrassment.”
Pictured are Shafilea and her father, Iftikhar Ahmed.
Last Post for
base parade
by Gary Skentelbery
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THE last ever “Battle of Britain” parade is set to take place at the former RAF Burtonwood base near Warrington. More than 200 people from a variety of services are expected to be on parade to remember “the few” at the former base, which was once the largest military depot in Europe and supplied Spitfires used in the Battle of Britain. This year’s parade at Warrington on Sunday September 19 will be the last, as the final part of the base is demolished to make way for the new Chapelford urban village. The base was once a second home for thousands of Americans, playing a vital role in the Berlin Airlift and last saw active service during the first Gulf War. During the second world war American GI’s were entertained by Hollywood legends including Bob Hope and James Stewart, while big band leader Glen Miller made one of his final appearances at the base. Members of RAFA Burtonwood, along with other local branch’s from Warrington, St Helens and Widnes will join forces to Remember The Few. Brian Murphy, Chairman, RAFA Burtonwood Branch, said: ” On Parade for the last time will be former servicemen and women from the RAF, Navy and Army. This will be a unique service as we have veterans from the three services who are mostly in their 70’s or 80’s marching ahead of the youth of today.” Taking the Last Salute will be former Station Commander, Sqd Ldr Jim Young MBE who held the post in 1985-1988. Brian said: “We will be asking members of the public to dig deep and donate as much as they can afford on behalf of those men and women of the Royal Air Force and their dependents who have fought and continue to fight to secure the freedom we enjoy today. “RAFA receives no public funding. The money donated during the Wings Appeal allows us to continue providing welfare, care and support for the serving and ex-serving RAF personnel and their families.” During the day there will be a display of military vehicles and the museum run by the Burtonwood Association will also be open.
Festival “friends” thanked
ORGANISERS of this year’s highly successful Lymm Festival, near Warrington, threw a “thank you” party for the Festival Friends – local people and organisations who supported the event.
The evening was, for the second year running, at the home of enthusiastic festival supporter Jean Scudamore.
Thanking the “Friends”, festival chairman Ian Marks said this year’s event had been extremely successful with most of the individual events extremely well attended.
“We are obviously appealing to a very broad section of the local population because of the wide variety of events we have put on,” he said.
Two new features, the Sculpture Garden and the Scarecrow Competition had been extremely popular, as had the orchestral performances and some of the regular features such as the photographic competition, the “food fest” and the Lymm Hall picnic, which had been over-subscribed.
The festival had been able to donate ?250 to the SOC Children’s Villages, which works with orphans and abandoned children throughout the world.
Picture shows chairman Ian Marks (second from right) with festival organisers Honor Giles, Jackie Marshall, Su Williams, Mark Brown, Jean Scudamore and Denis McAllister.
Pupils asked to help
keep parish tidy
by Lesley Wilkinson
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YOUNGSTERS at schools in Great Sankey, Warrington, are being invited to take part in a new Litter Awareness Project to ensure their environment looks good.
The scheme, run by Great Sankey Parish Council, has two separate sections.
The first is a Tidy Sankey Award that can be gained by every school invited to take part. A member of the parish council and a representative from the street scene section of Warrington Borough Council will visit the school to do a presentation on the problems of litter and set standards of tidiness.
If the school meets standards for a year they will receive a certificate and an award of ?300 at a special ceremony. The parish council will provide the school with necessary equipment to help with tidying.
Schools interested in joining in should contact parish council clerk Cheryl Wakefield, at the office at Whittle Hall Community Centre, Lonsdale Road, telephone 712279, before September 30.
The second part of the competition is a Project for Pupils – where groups of four pupils can work together to present projects on keeping Great Sankey tidy. Prizes will be awarded to the best projects.
Mrs Wakefield said: “The whole project is to promote an awareness amo
ng staff, students and pupils of the need to reduce litter and the development of a sense of responsibility for this.
“We are also promoting the maintenance of a litter free environment at the schools and the approaches to schools,” she added.
Drink drivers still
putting lives at risk
by staff reporter
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DRIVERS in Warrington are risking their own and other’s lives by getting behind the wheel whilst under the influence of alcohol.
A two month drink drive campaign which ended after the August Bank Holiday resulted in 80 people being arrested after failing a breath test.
During the campaign, 463 tests carried out which proved negative.
A spokesman for the Warrington Road Policing Unit, said: “Despite our high profile campaign to educate motorists about the dangers of drink driving, 15 per cent of all drivers stopped were over the drink drive limit. It is apparent that the problem of drink driving is still very prevalent in our society and we will continue to target those people who persist in getting behind the wheel of a vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol.”
For the next month Warrington Road Policing Unit will be targeting drivers and passengers who refuse to “belt-up”.
During September traffic officers in Warrington will be stopping motorists and passengers who are not securely strapped in as part of a county-wide campaign to raise awareness and educate drivers and passengers about the importance of wearing a seatbelt.
Offenders will be issued with a non-endorsable, fixed penalty ticket of ?30.
Homes plan gets
the go-ahead
by Lesley Wilkinson
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AN OUTLINE plan to build five houses on a site in Manchester Road, Woolston, Warrington was approved, despite claims by Woolston Parish Council that it would mean over-development of the site.
The application, by Briden Construction Ltd, for land at 326 to 334 Manchester Road, was approved by Warrington’s Development Control Committee. It involves demolishing five terraced houses and replacing them with the new buildings around a central access point.
Neighbours had also complained that hedges may be removed. They were concerned that the height of buildings was restricted to two-storey and that the gable end of the wall was kept away from the boundary.
The committee asked for detailed plans to be submitted before development commences, to alleviate concerns from objectors.
