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Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, November 4th, 1999 3 dlitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified), www.eastlancsnews.co.uk


Jury decides Darwen than was acting in self-defence in ‘tragic accident’case


by Ben Carlish


iTHE crux of the case surrounding the "pole-axing" of popular Down- ham villager Mark Hall by a single jblow, came down to whether or not •the defendant, Neil Morton, (27), of [Broadhead Avenue, Edgeworth, Dar­ wen, believed himself to be acting in iself-defence, a jury was told at Pre- 'ston Crown Court, i ! Members of the jury appeared to [decide from all that they had heard in ■the course of the intense five-day trial [that either Morton, an unemployed 'plumber, believed he was going to be [attacked by keen amateur sportsman 'Mark Hall (24), during the incident on [Lowergate car park, or that there was sufficient doubt in their minds as to .what Morton's motives really were. , • They found Morton not guilty and he was acquitted of thecharges of caus­ ing unlawful grievous bodily harm to ,Mr Hall.


in the carpark, Mr Hall died from a fit, although it was made clear in court .that no scientific link could be estab­


Several moments after the incident ___


lished between the punch which felled Mr Hall in June last year and his fatal fit in September. The Crown Court verdict brought


cries of joy from Morton's relatives and gasps from Mr Hall's family and


friends. Judge Townend, who presided over


the case said in his closing remarks: "What the jury has to determine is what essentially might have been in the defendant's mind. It doesn’t necessari­ ly reflect what Mark Hall was actually doing on this particular night. It con- cerns the state of the defendants mind, whether or not he thought he might be attacked. You have heard many wit­ nesses say they didn't think Marie Hall was doing anything aggressive. That is not the test, the test is what the defen­ dant might have had on his mind." He added: "I have heard nothing to


night of the England v Columbia World Cup football match, Mr Hall's girlfriend, Miss Angelina Metcalfe of Woone Lane, Clitheroe, "flew" at Mor­ ton in the Keystreet bar, on Lowergate, and struck him.'She was dragged away by Mr Hall and Morton was restrained by Mr Jason Dewhurst who encircled him at the bar.


_ . . 1 •


Morton told him to keep Mr Hall away from him "or (he) would kill him" - a claim dismissed by.Mortori under cross-examination as "rubbish". The couple left Keystreet to see a


Mr Dewhurst alleged in court that a


appeared that he was going to strike me, so I just hit him. His knees sort of gave way and he keeled over." Under an exhaustive cross-examination, he described the punch as being of "medi­


um" force.' Other witnesses who saw the incident


•


said Mr Hall had shown no signs of aggression, one said he appeared to be "trying to calm things down." Witness Mr Peter Adcroft said: "He


(Morton) hit him with a really hard blow. He knocked him off his feet and he fell like a rigid board. He fell back­ wards and hit his head on the floor with


friend in the Dog Inn, but when they could not gain entry, they doubled back to go to Miss Metcalfe's house. At the same time, Morton was making his way back across the Lowergate car park to his lodgings at the Starkie


discredit Mark Hall. It was obviously a tragic accident." When defence counsel Mr John


Arms Hotel. He claimed that Miss Metcalfe came


Woodward offered the family Morton's sympathy, Mark's father, Mr Keith Hall, was seen to shake his head and say: "We don't want it. The court had heard that on the


Solicitor to face fraud and forgery charges


A FORMER local solicitor accused of forging a ’will and fraud faces three separate trials m the


■New Year. . Following legal argu­ ment, the cases against John Burrows (51), former­ ly of Crossnapend Barn, Chipping, were on Monday adjourned by Judge Eliza­ beth Steel at Liverpool


'Crown Court. The judge ordered that


'in three different trials, the first starting on February


the sets of charges be heard


'21st. Burrows, now living at


Harrowside, Blackpool, and a second defendant, 'Thomas Webb (66), of St [Hubert's Street, Great Har­ wood, deny joint charges of forging a document pur­ porting to be the last will and testament of Leslie


cheque for £647 issued by Clitheroe solicitors Steele and Son by falsely repre­ senting that Herbert Ellis had endorsed the back of the cheque. Burrows alone, a former


employee of Steele's, denies four similar charges involv­ ing client account cheques totalling £2,347, allegedly cashed at the Clitheroe branch of the then Midland Bank between January 28th, 1994, and August


11th, 1995. Burrows also denies two


-false document with intent ;to induce another to accept it as genuine on September


'•Barnes between September -1st, 1993, and September 5th, 1995, and using that


.5th, 1995. Both men also deny that


on May 24th[ 19.94, they procured the execution of a


charges of conspiring with Ian Golding to secure the remission of outstanding liabilities orr properties in Trentham and Blackburn between January 1st, 1993, and December 31st, 1994. Golding, of Cheadle,


running at him again, hurling abuse. She was seen by witnesses to be hitting out at Morton, in what was described as a "frenzied" attack. At first Mr Hall stood back from the


a sickening crack." The court had heard that some


weeks previously a near altercation in a kebab shop in Clitheroe between the defendant and Mr Hall had been nar­ rowly averted. Mr Hall had had to be physically restrained from "going for "


Morton. Morton claimed that Mr Hall was


fracas, but then he moved towards the grappling couple. Morton said: "It


jealous of his relationship with Miss Angela Kay, a previous girlfriend of Mr Hall's. She was expecting Morton’s child and Mr Hall erupted when he was told of this news in the kebab shop, claimed Morton.


*


1 , V


mind on the night he punched Mr Hall, he told the court. "I thought he might try to attack me again. It was in my mind, it was self-defence. I just hit him. 1 wasn't going for a fight." But in his summing up for the prose­


The incident was in the back of/his


cution, Mr Richard Haworth described the "brutal blow" as an act of "pure aggression." "The reality of the situa­ tion is that the defendant lost his self- control when he delivered that blow — to stop an on-coming man in that way does not support the defendant's ver­ sion of events," he said. Mr Woodward, summing up for the


defence, countered: "The best evidence you can rely on is that of Mr Morton himself. He has never tried to deny he hit Mark Hall. He says he did hit him, but he did not'think he was doing any­ thing wrong. He is dreadfully sorry for the consequences of what happened." Before retiring to consider their ver­


Legal Advice


On all areas of Law including:- Matrimonial & Family


dict, members of the jury were told by Judge Townend that they had to decide if Morton believed that he was going to be attacked and if so whether the amount of force used to defend himself | was reasonable.


A NEW flag is currently fly-1 ing over Clithcroe from the I


Flying the flag Castle keep.


Official authority has I


been given for the Royal British Legion Poppy Flag to be run up civic and similar! flagpoles in the period before Remembrance Sunday.


I However, it will be


replaced by the Union Flag 1 on • November 11th, I Armistice Day and aisol Prince Charles’ birthday, and on Remembrance Sun­ day itself.


tle has been bought by the I Ribblc Valley Borough Coun­ cil from the RBL.


, The flag flying at the Cas­ I INE T R IN POLE PE V CO O @ A QUALITY SOMCE ■ " ITHN N FOM F WALY MOST COMPETITIVE PRICES iN THE RIBBLE VALLEY


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. Burrows and Webb. All three men are on bail.


Tributes paid to Bishop educated at Stonyhurst


- TRIBUTES have been paid to one of the most senior ■ churchmen to have been educated at Stonyhurst College, ;:the Rt Rev. Geoffrey Burke.


" He was second-in-command of the Salford Diocese of '/•the Roman Catholic Church for many years and lived in [[accommodation at the cathedral after retiring when he


,


*'U799 f j [i Bishop Burke was at Stonyhurst from 1928-31 and was


‘'(ordained in 1937 after six years at college in Birmingham. -tHe later graduated in history at Downing College, Cam-


’ bridcG.Consecration as a bishop in 1966 followed many years


[jat St Bede's College, Manchester, 16 of them as head. •; Bishop Burke was highly regarded as a good listener ; and keen behind-the-scenes organiser. He was auxiliary to ithe Rt Rev. Thomas Holland, who dedicated his memoirs


[•to him, and who died only two weeks before him, and then 'to the Rt Rev. Patrick Kelly, now Archbishop of Liver-


Although he was devoted to his diocese and disliked


leaving it, Bishop Burke had various national offices in the church. Up to his retirement he was chairman of the 'Bishops’ Committee for Catholic-Jewish Relations, r. The Stonyhurst community was represented at Bishop ;Burke's funeral by the Superior of Jesuits there, Fr


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Village choristers help launch last stamps of the century


CHORISTERS from a rural church in the Rib- ble Valley have helped herald th e h is to ric launch of this century's last Christmas stamps. The setting of St Helen’s


senes. Sarah,..the only member


.......


CE Church in Waddington and the traditional nature of its 25-strong choir cap­ tured the eye of officials from Royal Mail North West. They asked members if they would help publicise a set of festive stamps which celebrate the impact and influence Christianity has had on the country's


history. Choir director Mrs Jean


Hartley chose junior choris­ ters Sarah Blenkinship (10) and Dale Hartley (eight) to represent the choir for the local photographic launch of the second-class stamp from the Christians' Tale


of the more advanced chil­ dren’s group, known as the "quirister" group, not old enough to take recent diocesan examinations in Bradford, and Dale, who has been a choir member at the church for the past year, were photographed outside St Helen's with a giant­ sized replica of the 19p stamp, which went on sale for the first time this week. The second-class stamp


Mail North West said that, because the ’ Christmas stamps are always popular with the public, officials always try to organise a local launch to publicise them. "Because of the sub­ ject matter, we thought it would be appropriate to ask some choristers to help us. We knew this was a lovely church in a lovely setting with a traditional choir and we asked if they would help us out, and we are delighted


, A spokesman for Royal . • • •


pays tribute to the Wesley brothers — John, the evan­ gelist who founded-the Methodist movement in the Church of England; and his hymn writer brother Charles, who wrote more than 4,500 hymns during the 18th Century. Featured on the colourful stamp are lyrics from one of his best- known works, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".


that they did." Mrs Hartley said it was


an honour for the choir, which sings every Sunday at the church's morning ser­ vice, to be chosen by the Royal Mail to take part in the launch of the festive stamp series. As well as singing on a Sunday, the


suna on Saturday evenings, for illgUL C 111U 1 Uiw ■-* ------ m 1 _r»__A 1 . l. ! 1


children. A few vacancies are currently available in the choir, and anyone inter­ ested in finding out more should ring Mrs Hartley on 01200 422209. Our photograph taken


A fniir iroi


outside the village church shows Sarah and Dale with the stamp.


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‘Be patient’ is the message as work starts on rail/bus interchange


I A PLEA for patience and co-opera tion has gone out to residents and businesses around th e s ite of Clitheroe's new rail and bus inter­


change. Contractors moved in this week and will . . . . , ...


spend the next 18 weeks constructing shel­ ters, taxi bays, bus stands, a cycle store and passenger information facilities to cre-


| ate a multi-transport centre around the town's existing railway station. The project is costing more than


| £300,000 and will also involve the resur­ facing of Railway View Road. Although Wirral-headquartered builders John


Mowlem and Company has agreed to take


all efforts to minimise disruption, Ribble Valley Borough Council Engineering Manager Mr Graham Jagger warned: "Because of the nature of the work to be undertaken, the shape of the site and its proximity to the adjoining roadway, it is inevitable that some inconvenience will be caused from time to time to people who live or have businesses in the immediate area around the site and to motorists using


ii r e i i. _ dier'imfinn 1


nearbyroads. "The roads leading to and from the site


will from time to time no doubt have standing traffic on them due to the opera­ tion of temporary traffic lights. We arc therefore asking for people's patience and


co-operation."


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