Family shocked to find death due to alcohol-induced liver damage


A GRIEVING family was stunned to be told by a pathologist that a 31-year- old wife and mother had died from alcohol-induced liver


damage. Sharon Joan Wilkinson, of Myt-


ton View, Clitheroe, had been treated for years for a potassium deficiency, which had ended her hopes of a career as a nursery nurse and, more recently, created gynaecological problems. But Home Office pathologist Dr


the inquest in Blackburn that Mrs Wilkinson, a mother of two, had died from an acute fa t ty liver brought about by alcohol. He said her liver was twice the


normal size and he could find no other reason for her death. Her father, Mr David Stanley, of


Chatburn Avenue, Clitheroe, told assistant coroner Mr John Birch: "One can't argue with the experts, but quite frankly, I am staggered.” In response to questions from


Richard Prescott, who conducted the post- mortem following her death at her parents' home, told


her family and her GP, Dr John Saunders, Dr Prescott said the potassium deficiency could have contributed to the liver disorder. And he said that Mrs Wilkinson


could have had a genetic predispo­


sition, which meant alcohol affect­ ed her more than normal. Dr Prescott added: "Acute fatty


liver is a recognised cause of death and I have seen it before, but th exact mechanism isn't terribly we


Wilkinson had been in hospital for a liver biopsy a week before her death, but she had died before the results were known. Earlier, her husband, Mark, had


The inquest was told that Mrs


the house. Mr Stanley said that his only


daughter trained as a nursery, nurse a t Accrington and Rossendale College, but had to give up her studies because of the potassium deficiency, which made her seriously ill. The day before her death she


told the inquest he occasionally ■ suspected his wife of drinking, but she denied this and he had never found any evidence of it around


Just fancy that - as pupils enjoy Christmas event


RUDOLF, Shaun the sheep, Captain Pug- wash and teletubbie Po were just some of the guests attending Brookside County


Ramblers’ circular tour under the


shadow of Pendle


THE shortest day of the year saw thick mist shrouding Pendle Hill from view, but a circular route from Pendleton was still undertaken by 14 members of Clitheroe Ramblers.


gradual ascent of Pendle, pausing at Wymondhouses for a brief history lesson about its former uses as a Congregational chapel as far back as 1667, over The Nick and Apronful Hill, towards Ogden Clough. Despite the mist, the


The walkers made a very


group traversed the sum­ mit of Downham Moor to reach the western slopes of Pendle and sa t down to lunch facing Clitheroe and Longridge Fell, but the only visible building was the top of the smoking cement works chimneyl As they ate, the sun


path was clear underfoot, but the party could only imagine the countryside below in the Ribble Valley, and had to try describing to two visiting Australians the views they were miss­ ing. They then turned North-East and followed


the steep banks of Ogden Clough for about a kilome­ tre, before reaching the s ta r t of the new stone flagged pa th to the Big End. Previously this stretch of Pendle was a quagmire of muddy peat and the whole group, many of whom had not seen this path since its construction, was veiy impressed. At the Big End the


rolling cloud was starting to break, giving the odd glimpse of Barley beneath. Continuing northward, the


C o u p le 's d iam o nd o c ca sio n


A JEWEL of a romance resulted in diamond wedding anniversary celebra­ tions for Mr Ralph Goldsmith and his


wife, Dorothy. The Queen sent a con­


gratulatory telegram to the couple, who live in Mitton Avenue, Clitheroe. Mr and Mrs Gold­


came out and caused great interest by creating "Brocken Spectres", magni­ fied shadows of them­ selves, surrounded by halos of light thrown on to the bank of cloud below. After lunch the party


Primary School's annual Christmas party. Anyone not-in-the-know might be forgiven for


thinking they had indulged in a little too much pre-Christmas sherry on seeing the spectacle, espe­ cially when confronted by a talking Christmas


tree. >But on closer inspection the famous characters revealed themselves to be pupils from the school enjoying a fancy-dress contest. Nearly 70 children aged between seven and 11


took part in the competition, which was watched avidly by pupils and staff alike.


The winners claimed some dazzling prizes in the


shape of chocolate Father Christmases, tubes of jelly beans and bumper bags of sweets. There was something for the juniors too — Mr


Father Christmas and his wife, Mother, dropped by to shower gifts on the four to seven-year-olds. Deputy head teacher Mrs Judith Metcalfe said. "This event has long been a Brookside tradition. It


really is the highlight of the year." In our pictures, Sarah-Louise Tomlinson takes.


to the parade (below) to add a little bit of the Ori- ent (CAT 15136) and, for Luc Davies and Matthew Hollingsworth, it is a case of move over David Attenborough, as they make an appearance as a wildlife film crew (CAT15138).


was due to have a hysterectomy, but the operation had to be can­ celled. She was a t her parents' home when she collapsed and paramedics could not revive her. Mr Birch recorded a verdict of death from natural causes.


Horse. neglect . man loses appeal


i A RIBBLE VALLEY man jailed for horse neglect told Preston Crown Court he want­ ed to keep some again as a hobby, as soon as he could provide ade­


quate premises. But appeals against a life


ban on keeping horses and dogs and a £10,000 com­ pensation order by John. Robert Layland (62), of Newsholme near Gisburn were dismissed by the


1 court. Layland did not chal­ i -


lenge the three^month prison sentence imposed by


magistrates a t Blackburn for two cases of neglecting horses, with nine,others taken into consideration. But he asked Deputy Circuit Judge Frances


Horses and Ponies,Protec­ tion Association;had:})een called to remove; 15 horses and a foal fromLayland's


The court heard how the , :v


premises. The cost of look­ ing after them in thefirs t


few weeks was £26,000. Representing himself,


Layland said he wanted to keep horses again, and as an undischarged bankrupt was unable to pay the com- j pensation within the 150


that he hoped to start a job | as a salesman in a car deal­


days specified. Layland-told the bench


smith chose the Three Fishes Inn, Mitton, as the venue to mark their remarkable achieve­ ment. There they enjoyed the sumptuous four-course "Oliver Twist" carvery, washed down with a "drop of champagne." The couple were


continued to the Scout Cairn, from where they used the concessionary path to descend to Angram Green and returned to Pendleton via Little Mear-


ley Hall. The members’ next


event is planned as an anti­ dote to over-indulgence on Christmas day. They plan to meet on Boxing Day at 10 a.m. at North Street car park for a six-mile walk from Barley, led by Pat Parrot. This is a popular family occasion and mem­ bers of the public are most welcome to attend.


ership next year, when he is released from a prison sen­ tence he is currently serv­


ing for motoring offences. Announcing th a t the


appeal would he dismissed,


| the judge said th a t the horses had been'kept in "awful" conditions and the orders made by the magis-


accompanied by two of their three children, Keith and Caroline. Their other daughter, Ann, who lives in India, sent her best wishes for the occasion. In addition, Mr Gold­


-cm- &


Aglionby, sitting with two magistrates, to set aside the


| ban and the compensation order.


| trates had been the correct ones. I t was open to Lay- land to have the life ban reviewed in court once a


| year.


smith (81) and his 85- year-old wife have four grand-children and two great-grand-children. Mrs Goldsmith


Christmas mood for meeting


explained the secret behind 60 years of happy marriage. "You've just got to pull together and make sure you enjoy it,” she said.


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MEMBERS of Grindleton County Primary School's junior soccer squad are stripped for action. They received new strips, donated by Trutex, after the nine to 11-year-olds outgrew their old oncs.The strips were pre­ sented by Mr Henry Thompson from the company's marketing department. (CAT 14412)


GISBURN AUCTION MART PRICES (81.4p), medium to 104.84p


Forward in the fatstock sec­


dairy cows and heifers forward at Gisbum Auction Mart's Thurs­ day sale with first-quality cows making to £950 (average £806) and first-quality heifers making


to £950 (£914). Second-quality cows made to


£710 (£663) and second-quality heifers to £700 (£617). There were two in-calf dairy cows and heifers forward, with


heifers r.w.b making to £710 and bulling heifers to £235. There were 143 rearing calves


forward. Top prices for calves under four weeks were J. D. Cap- stick, Continental Belgian Blue bull (£178), G. B. Holt, Conti­ nental heifers (£128); G. E. Swinbank, Friesian bulls (£110). Calves: Charolais X bulls


tion were 324 cattle (including 174 young bulls, 150 steers and heifers) and 2,115 sheep (includ­ ing 1,709 lambs, 406 ewes and rams). Top kilo price for bulls was


127.5p for 555kg, £707.63, E. M. Baldwin. Bulls: Continental X light


bulls made to 124.5p (108.9p), medium to 127.5p (100.7p), heavy to 124.5p (98.8p); other light bulls to 77.5p (73.8p), medium to 103.5p (88.3p), heavy


to 93.5p (854p). Top sale price for steers and


heifers was £627, T. L. Fell and top kilo price was 118.5p for 525kg, £622.13, R. W. Todd. Steers and heifers: Continen­


made to £150; Limousin X bulls to £178 (£109.95), heifers to £128 (£41); Belgian Blue X bulls to £195 (£111.50), heifers to £80 (£50.80); Simmental X bulls made to £120 (£108), heifers to £22 (£21.50); Blond d’Aquitane X bulls to £130 (£117), heifers to £55 (£41); Hereford X bulls to £97 (£94.50); Friesian bulls to £110 (£74.50); Angus bulls to £92.


tal X medium steers made to 118.5p (99.5p), heavy to 105.5p (91.68p); other light steers to 85p, medium to 86.5p (80.7p), heavy to 93.5p (76.6p). Conti­ nental X light heifers made to 95.5p (85.6p), medium to 108.5p (84p), heavy heifers to 108.5p (91.9p); other medium heifers to 83.5p (73.Ip), heavy to 78.5p (69.3p). Sheep: Light lambs made to 90.4p (72.6p), standard to 101.4p


(84.2p), heavy to 91.3p (76.1p), overweight to 72p (71.5p); horned ewes to £28 (£20.50); other ewes to £43.50 (£27.35); rams to £43.50 (£30.25). There were 40.29 tonnes of


straw forward in the produce sec­ tion with wheat straw making to £28 per tonne and barley straw to £40 per tonne. Forward in the Beacon


North-West (Gisbum) Electron­ ic Auction last week were 5,234


sheep and 36 cattle. Standard lambs made to


200p, medium to 191.5p, heavy to 1684p; steers to 182p; young bulls to 185p; heifers to 168p. There were 78,189 litres for


sale and 391,720 litres for lease at the milk quota sale. In the milk


quota lease 3.8 to 4.33% made to 10.2p a litre (lOp). In the milk quota sale 3.86 to 4.02% made to 45palitre(44.5p). There were 389 units LFA for


sale and 478 units LFA for lease a t the sheep quota sale. The sheep quota for sale made to £28 per unit and the quota for lease made to £8 per unit.


Intruders strike at the Old Stone House


INTRUDERS forced their way into the Old Stone House, Mitton, early on Friday morning. Cash and various items of property, together worth £200, were stolen. Police are investigating and say that entry was gained through the conservatory.


TH E p re -C h r is tm a s meeting of Ribblesdale Camera Club was, as expected, one of the most relaxed and enjoyable ses­ sions of the year. F ir s t the Inter-Club


Photographic Alliance's black and white folio was shown. This included a number of prints from the Ribblesdale Club. A quite unscheduled, b u rs t of Christmas jokes followed, with the traditional glass of wine and mince pies to finish the evening. The next meeting of the


club is on Jan u ary 6th, with a recorded lecture on judging. The audience will then be invited to try their


| .hand at this difficult art. If anyone's New Year


Resolution is to join the club, the secretary and chairman can both be reached on 01200 423474. New members will be made very welcome.


Farm theft


A SHEEP shearing machine was among £700 worth of property stolen from an isolated farm building at Slaidbum. All the buildings in the


complex were searched and various items, including a 50-metre heavy duty wire extension cable, removed. The burglary was on Fri­ day night and police are investigating.


Young players get strip from Trutex


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