Transport police ready
for Easter holiday yobs
by John Hendon
OFFICERS from British Transport Police will be cracking down on yobs who throw stones at trains and ‘mess about’ on the railway this Easter holiday.
A list of prominent areas for these incidents has been drawn up and BTP officers will be on regular patrol throughout the Easter holidays.
Warrington has suffered a number of incidents on railways in recent years and patrols will be active in the area.
Known as ?route crime?, offences such as stone throwing, putting obstructions in front of trains, trespassing and line-side vandalism traditionally increase at this time of year with children off school and the onset of the light nights.
Officers from BTP will patrol with a mixture of high-profile and plain clothes operations. They will also deploy motorbike patrols to gain access to the more remote locations. CCTV will also be monitored in and around stations.
Paul Robinson is a train driver with Northern Rail who has first-hand experience of stone-throwing.
“When you are driving a train it is extremely frightening to have stones hit your window or strike objects lying on the track. Unfortunately I know only too well what it feels like having received a number of facial injuries after being showered with glass when an object came through my cab window.
I don’t think people realise the implications of what they are doing or what it is like to be a driver or passenger inside a train when an object smashes through the window. If they experienced this for themselves I’m sure they would not do it again.”
Inspector Tony Fitzpatrick of British Transport Police said. “We know that incidents increase at this time of year and we hope that by targeting the most prominent areas we will reduce the number of incidents and catch some of the mindless individuals responsible.
?I cannot emphasise strongly enough the dangers associated with this type of crime. BTP officers are regularly called to incidents where youngsters are badly injured and in some cases killed because they were messing about on or near the railway. I am urging parents and responsible adults to emphasise these dangers and ensure youngsters keep away from the track this Easter.?
Inspector Fitzpatrick added. “It is worth remembering that if you are convicted you could face a maximum life imprisonment.”
In March and April last year there were a total of 157 incidents of route crime across the North West.
High school pupils’
day at the theatre
by staff reporter
YEAR 10 pupils from high schools across Warrington dropped in at the Pyramid Centre to immerse themselves in the study of Spanish through the medium of theatre.
Pupils from Birchwood, Woolston and Culcheth high school were in attendance for the event organised by Priestley College in conjunction with the 14-19 pathfinder initiative.
The play which the pupils saw was entitled ?Mi padre no me entiende? and was performed by the Onatti Theatre group.
It told the fairytale story of a 15-year-old girl and her birthday wishes. The hilarious play was well devised and looked into key vocabulary areas covered in GCSE and Key stage 3.
The latest piece of travelling theatre was just one example of how school pupils from across the borough are benefiting from the flourishing relationships that are being pioneered by Priestley.
Carol Mtitimila, head of modern foreign languages at the college said: ?The latest Spanish play served up by the Onatti team was nothing short of superb.
?They really brought a sense of fun and laughter to the process of learning languages which is usually the key to engaging young people.
?It is great for us as a college to lead the way in organising such events and it?s very positive indeed to be able to bring a range of schools together from across town for a celebration of languages.?
Maldwyn’s lucky day
gives hospital a boost
by David Skentelbery
IT was Maldwyn Forshaw’s lucky day when he bought a raffle ticket in Culcheth’s Pack Horse pub for a hamper full of Easter goodies.
But he decided the hamper full of chocolate eggs and other delights would be better going to some worthy cause – and promptly donated it to the children’s ward at Warrington Hospital.
Maldwyn, aged 47, lost a leg four years ago as a result of a road accident.
He said: “I spent two years, on and off, in Warrington Hospital and I used to regularly pass the children’s ward.
“I know what a wonderful job the hospital and its staff do for the children and other patients so I thought I would like them to have the hamper.”
Maldwyn is a regular at the Pack Horse and is very appreciative of the help he gets from mine hosts Ken and Monica Hayes and Colin and Carol Platt and all the staff and customers.
“I have lived most of my life in Culcheth, went to school here and know lots of people. But I am really made to feel at home at the Pack Horse where they really look after me.”
New business support
agency launches
by David Skentelbery
A NEW organisation aiming to support business launches today (Monday) ? replacing five sub-regional groups which have carried out the work for years.
Business Link North West replaces, among others, the Cheshire and Warrington Business Link and will provide a one-stop regional service.
It now comes under the auspices of the North West Development Agency ? and its aim is to increase the number of businesses and individuals accessing business support across the North West.
The new service will provide businesses and individuals with a primary access point for business support, better integration of business link and skills brokerage services, and more resources for front-line delivery. Crucially, it will have improved alignment with the priorities set out in the regional economic strategy to ensure a greater economic return.
Peter Watson, managing director of Business Link North West said: “Transforming Business Link allows us to provide a more efficient service on the ground which focuses on the needs of businesses and supports regional economic growth. The new service will be a step-change from the one we are all familiar with. Perhaps most importantly, the new service will have more customer facing brokers available to businesses to give expert information and support.”
Mark Hughes,of the North West Development Agency said: “The transfer of responsibility for Business Link services to the NWDA provided an ideal opportunity for the agency to review the whole spectrum of business support provision in the region.
?It allowed us to rethink how this service should be delivered to ensure that it reflects regional priorities through alignment with the Regional Economic Strategy and provides customers with a consistent and high-quality service.
New “safe house” gets
a welcome from charity
by Lesley Wilkinson
A WARRINGTON charity that supports young runaways has welcomed the opening of a new “safe house” – which is only the third of its kind in the country.
The Warrington project, Talk..Don’t Walk, is managed by charity The Relationships Centre.
Alison McCausland, project manager of Talk..Don’t Walk, said: “Runaway children often run straight into trouble. With many having being forced to sleep rough or with a stranger they’ve just met.”
She said Warrington was fortunate to have the service which works with young runaways and their families to ensure that the issue of why they have ran away in the first place in resolved.
The newly opened centre in South Yorkshire will serve people from throughout the country and will offer safe, confidential accommodation for young people.
Alison said: “Runaway children are at serious risk of becoming victims of sexual exploitation, crime or drug and alcohol abuse.
“Statistics show that an alarming number, one in nine, of children under 16
run away from home or care each year. According to research carried out by the Children’s Society, the national average is 100,000.”
Project tackles obesity
through sport and the arts
by staff reporter
WARRINGTON Positive Futures – part of a national social inclusion programme – is tackling obesity by demonstrating to young people the benefits of good health and building healthy relationships.
They stress that tackling obesity is not just about diets ? there is much more involved.
The project, funded by the Home Office and supported by Sport England and the Football Foundation, is offering activities such as judo, football, rugby, smoothie making and dance to children across the borough.
It has developed a strong partnership with the NSPCC and the Participation Through Sport Project which has led to the development of a Friday night Community Football league with more than 70 boys taking part, holiday sports programmes and an alternative curriculum programme training young people to become sports leaders.
Following its success at building relationships with young people, Positive Futures is now demonstrating that healthy eating, regular exercise and living a healthy lifestyle is a vital part of building healthy relationships and a healthy future.
Gary Stannett, director of the Positive Futures programme, said: “This is a good time of year to push the idea of healthy living with our young people. For Positive Futures, being healthy is about building and maintaining good relationships as well as eating properly and keeping fit.
“We are also reinforcing the importance of healthy living through our peer mentors, who act as positive role models to other young people involved with the positive futures projects.”
The programme includes a varied sports and arts programme, Warrington Community Football Partnership, information sessions on smoking, drinking, drugs, healthy eating, sexual health, anti-bullying, sports leaders awards, alternative curriculum programmes and volunteer development.
