Eleven banned from
town centre pubs
by David Skentelbery
ELEVEN troublemakers have been banned from entering pubs and bars across Warrington.
Licensees who are part of the police led ?Pub Watch? scheme have imposed the bans to protect their customers and to send out a strong warning that anti social behaviour and drink related disorder will not be tolerated in their premises.
Members of the town centre Pub Watch met earlier this month and for the first time decided to ban people from all the pubs and bars involved in their scheme.
The banned people, in their late teens and 20s, from Northwich, North Manchester and Warrington are now prevented from entering all 35 premises involved in the scheme, following separate incidents of abusive and violent behaviour.
Pubwatch chairman Andrea Ross, said: “These bans will send out a collective message that this behaviour, which may have been tolerated by licensees in the past, will not be tolerated any longer. These people are now banned from all pubs and bars in the town centre.”
At Lymm, two local men, aged 20 and 18, have been banned from village pubs by members of the local Pub Watch. The men had been abusive and threatening towards bar staff in separate incidents.
The Lymm scheme was set up in September of this year and these are the first bans in the village.
Community Action Team Sergeant Michael O’Carroll, said: “The licensees of Lymm have decided to show the disruptive element that their behaviour will not be tolerated. This action will have the effect of making a night out in the village a more enjoyable experience for customers and staff alike.”
Stuart Mason, of the Green Dragon pub and chairman of Lymm Pub Watch, said: “With the new licensing laws now in force, more onus than ever is being put on pub landlords. We will not accept troublesome or unruly customers in our pubs and our newly introduced Pub Watch scheme has already seen six month bans imposed on two people.”
Bans can vary from three months up to a life time ban.
Pub Watch is currently expanding in Warrington with the majority of the town’s 109 licensed premises covered by the scheme.
‘Challenge 21’ also operates in Pub Watch premises to deter under age drinkers.
Any customer who appears to be under 21 years of age is asked to prove they are 18 years old by showing an acceptable proof-of-age card before they are served alcohol.
Joe Mullin, Warrington’s licensing sergeant, said: “We are currently working together with licensees and Trading Standards, carrying out test purchases to ensure the new licensing laws are being adhered to.
“We are also continuing to run training sessions in conjunction with Trading Standards for off licence and pub bar staff to reduce the number of underage sales. The course teaches them how to manage confrontation and how to say no to under 18s attempting to buy alcohol.”
Man killed after
chase with police
by David Skentelbery
A MAN was killed on the M56 near Warrington after apparently running onto the motorway in a bid to escape from police.
He was struck by a car driven by a woman who suffered head injuries and was taken to Warrington Hospital.
A second man, arrested at the scene, was also taken to hospital for a precautionary check-up.
The east bound carriageway of the motorway was closed for several hours, causing huge tailbacks and also causing congestion on the A49.
Police said the incident started with a collision between two cars on the roundabout above the motorway at its junction with the A49 at Stretton.
Two men travelling in a silver Renault Clio – one of the cars involved in the collision – ran from the scene.
A lone police officer in a patrol car at the scene arrested one man. But the other ran onto the motorway where he was struck by a car.
Police have issued an appeal for witnesses of the incident. Anyone who can help is asked to call 01244 350000.
The incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission because an officer was present at the time.
School’s glowing
inspection report
by Gary Skentelbery
PUPILS and staff at St Wilfrid’s Primary School, Grappenhall are celebrating after receiving a glowing report from Ofsted – the Office for Standards in Education.
The school was inspected in November, using the new framework and inspectors were particularly impressed with the children’s academic achievements and their personal development.
They described the children’s attitude to learning as “outstanding” and emphasised that St Wilfrid’s was a good school where teachers enjoy teaching and children enjoy learning.
Headteacher Glenda Davies said: “We are delighted with the report and feel it has recognised and celebrated our strengths.
“Staff work hard to ensure children have fun at school, while maintaining high standards of achievement.”
Chairman of governors John Bygate said: “The outstanding attitude of the pupils is one of the many reasons St Wilfrid’s is such a good school.”
Dickens of a day as
Peter says farewell!
by Gary Skentelbery
THOUSANDS of people flocked into Lymm village for the annual Lymm Dickensian Day which proved to be a huge success.
An estimated 5,000 people packed into the village centre to watch the festive parade which included steam traction engines, local school children, a wide variety of vintage cars and vehicles, morris dancers, marching bands and the Rotary Club of Lymm float.
Many thousands more visited the village during the day as local traders turned back the clock to the days of Charles Dickens.
“Great Expectations” were certainly met as everyone entered into the spirit of the occasion.
It was a grande finale for festival organiser Peter Critchley who announced it would be his final year in charge.
Photographs from the event can be seen by clicking here LYMM DICKENSIAN DAY PICTURE SPECIAL
Garden centre scoops
“best retailer” award
by staff reporter
BENTS Garden Centre at Glazebury, near Warrington has once again taken the honours for Best Garden Retailer at the third annual Britain’s Best Retailer Awards.
Bents was recognised as a Gold Winner in the Garden Retailer category beating off competition from other centres throughout the UK.
The awards, which are hosted by DIY Week, Hardware and Garden Review and Housewares Magazine, recognise Britain’s best retailers from a number of different categories including Best New Retail Business and Best Retail Training Initiative. Gold Awards are presented to each outright winner with a number of Silver Awards given in each category.
Bents was presented with its Gold Award by BBC TV presenter Kate Silverton at a gala dinner at the Manchester Midland Hotel. The judges commented that: ?Bents is a hugely impressive business which sets itself high standards in everything it does?
Retail Director Matthew Bent said: “Each year the Garden Centre Association carries out a very detailed inspection of every area of the centre including all our departments and people and then presents us with a breakdown of their findings.
?This not only shows us where our strengths and successes are, but it also indicates areas for improvement, which is something we are always willing to take on board. We focus on these areas of the business and ensure standards improve year on year – an approach which has been rewarded by this latest accolade.”
Picture shows (left to right) Matthew Bent, Jane Lawler from Bayer Home and Garden, category sponsors and BBC TV presenter Kate Silverton.
SatNavs – the “must have”
gadget for car thieves
by David Skentelbery
SATELLITE Navigation systems have become one of the latest ?must have? gadgets ? for car crooks.
Thieves are keen to get their hands on these expensive devices and motorists are making it easy for them, according to po
lice.
In Warrington, 23 have been stolen since October l.
Drivers have been leaving the valuable technology on display on their vehicles? dashboards for opportunist thieves to see. And even security conscious motorists who carefully place the device in their glove box for safe keeping could be inadvertently leaving a trail of clues for the thieves.
Det Sgt Sharon Case said: ?Crooks know where to look to find expensive gadgets drivers have left behind. You may think that the glove box is a safe place out of view, but if you have left the cradle that the device sits in on the dashboard, thieves will know you own such an item. They may try to get into the car to see if it has been left somewhere inside.
?If you have a portable satellite navigation system, make use of the fact that it?s portable and take it with you and think about the possible clues you could be inadvertently leaving the thieves. Our advice is to remove everything associated with the device from your vehicle when it?s unattended. It could save you an expensive bill of replacing the item and fixing the damage that?s been done to your car.?
Crime Reduction Advisors are also reminding people of the need to invest in a property marking pen so that if a device is stolen and police recover it, it can re-united with its rightful owner.
Crime Reduction Advisor, Phil Buckley, said: ?Security marker pens are inexpensive to buy and easy to find in local DIY stores. Don?t have your Christmas spoilt by an opportunist thief who will cash in on your loss. Think before you leave your car unattended and make sure you remove any valuables.?
Officers are also warning people not to buy if they are approached on the streets and offered a ?new? or ?second hand? satellite navigation system. They will often have been stolen – and the thing to do is inform police.
Santa Claus visits
his accountant!
by staff reporter
FATHER Christmas will be paying a visit to a chartered accountants on Monday (December 19) ? but not to have his books examined.
Santa will be in a grotto at WatkinsonBlack accounts in Orford Lane, Warrington, to meet local children between 2-5pm.
All youngsters will receive a present and entrance to the grotto will be ?2, with the balance going of the entrance fee going to Claire House Childrens? Hospice.
WatkinsonBlack have adopted Claire House as their chosen Charity for the past two years and have now raised more than ?2,500 towards their funds. Claire House offers support to children with life threatening illnesses and their families. They rely solely on voluntary donations to raise the ?200 required each hour to provide this support.
The grotto is already on show, and will remain open during normal office hours until Christmas. Everyone is invited to view it and to make a donation to Claire House.
Jackpot prize
goes unclaimed
THE prospect of a bumper jackpot prize in the week before Christmas is looming in the lottery run by the League of Friends of Warrington Hospital.
The winning numbers this week for the ?260 jackpot were 2,5, 8 and 9 and for the ?100 second prize they were 3, 6, 8 and 9 ? and nobody won either of them.
As a result, the jackpot will be ?rolled over? to next week when it will become ?450, with the second prize remaining at ?100.
Two ?25 consolation prizes were won by E Cross and A Weaver.
