Thursday, September 4th, 2003 No. 6,113 Flowers


just keep growing!


page 14 AT A GLANCE


The church must not give up on the younger generation, says a Clitheroe vicar.


page 5


There was a surprise for a Mal­ tese fund-raising cyclist when a family friend turned out to wish him well.


- ............ --------:— ...... page 2


A Clitheroe author has put pen to paper to produce his first walking books in 10 years.


........■■ ■— page 4


A church, closed for almost two years, is to open again at Christmas.


page 11


Hundreds turned out to hear Lord Hattersley when he spoke to Ribble Valley audiences.


------------— page 9


Clitheroe Tennis Club celebrat­ ed double league success at the weekend.


i n ip ......... ...... page 18


There was a league and cup double for Read CC.


page 40


WEATHER: Showers and sunny intervals, dry and .bright on Sunday..


FOGGITT’S WEEKEND


SUNRISE: 6-21 a.m. SUNSET: 7-56 p.m.


LIGHTING UP TIME: 7-56 p.m.


CALLUS


News: 01200 422324 Advertising: 01200 422323 Classified:''' 01282 422331 Fax: 01200 443467


Editorial e-mail: vivien.mcath@ eastIancsncws.co.uk


Youngsters celebrate success


GARDENERS turned out in force for the highlight of Clitheroe Garden Club's calendar - the annual horticul­ tural show. The venue was again St James'


School hall and admission was free. Special guest was Clitheroe Mayor


Coun. Mrs Joan Knight who present­ ed the main trophies and spent sever­ al hours admiring the exhibits, talk­ ing to visitors and those who were dis­ playing produce in the various sec­ tions. Youngsters Caroline and Juliet


Taylor, pictured, enjoyed success with their decorated plant pots in the chil­ dren's section and Deborah and Christopher O'Reilly swept the board in the photographic section, garden and other children's classes for eight to 11-year-olds. (T010903/12e)


Pilot (25) died enjoying the sport he really loved


by Geraldine Baybutt


A FLYING enthusiast was killed when his microlight crashed in a Ribble Valley field in blustery con­ ditions. A local couple tried to help Mr


.Christopher Batchelor-Wylam (25), but he died shortly after his machine came down in a field at Dutton, near Hurst Green. The aeronautical engineer, who


services on his mobile phone and the air ambulance was sent, but Mr Batchelor-Wylam, of Kirkham, was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Turner said: "The weather was


noise like a breath and then that stopped. I tried to hold him to get air in, but then I couldn't find a pulse." Mr Turner contacted the emergency


"There was kind of a constant little


worked at BAE Systems at Warton, was flying back from Yorkshire after a visit to his family home near Doncaster. An inquest at Clitheroe heard that


extremely blustery that day and I needed to shelter behind the wing because I could not hear the operator. That was because of the power of the wind." In a statement, witness Mr Alan


Andrew and Judith Turner, of Chipping, tried desperately to help the dying pilot after the crash on Sunday, April 13th. The Turners were returning home


ty checks before leaving the air strip close to their home at Pickbum, Don­ caster. He said there was nothing unto­


ward about his son that day, adding: "Christopher seemed very happy and was his normal self." Air accident investigator Mr Keith


Hargreaves, from Langho, said he had seen the microlight close to Stonyhurst College shortly before it crashed. The gusty conditions had seemed to


with their children after a walk along the River Ribble when they spotted the microlight on a small ridge with its cra­ dle on its side. Mrs Turner, who has basic first aid


training, said: "I could see he had quite a lot of injuries, but as I was talking to him, he made a noise and I knew he was alive.


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knots with gusts up to 27 knots and, combined with the hilly terrain, caused turbulent conditions. He said gliders based at nearby


be boosting the speed of the microlight and it appeared the pilot was having to concentrate hard to control it. The dead man’s father, Mr Timothy


Conradi said the south-easterly wind had been a significant factor on the day of the crash. I t had been blowing around 18


Samlesbury Aerodrome had ceased flying at 4 p.m. on the day because of the blustery conditions.


Batchelor-Wylam, told the inquest that his son gained his flying licence in 2001 and bought a microlight, flying in it on a "considerable number of occa­ sions". Mr Batchelor-Wylam said he had watched his son carry out normal safe­


Richard Ross said there had been no defects with the Chaser S microlight which had passed an inspection on March 29th. He added it was possible the engine


Fellow air accident investigator Mr


may have stopped, but he could find no obvious reason for that. The fuel lines were still in place and


Business boss reveals the secrets of his success


A CLITHEROE businessman who has recently become a "property mil­ lionaire" revealed the key to his suc­ cess to a television audience of mil­ lions. Mr Kevin Horkin appeared on


BBC2's "How I Made My Property Fortune," explaining to viewers how


he left school with one CSE in art, bought his first terraced home when he was 20 for £4,500 and today owns a six-bedroomed country house, recently valued at £lm. Mr Horkin, of optician chain Spex,


with premises in King Street, Clitheroe, also owns Ken Varey's in New Market Street. He bought his dream home on the


outskirts of Clitheroe, with four bath­ rooms, its own gymnasium and a two- bedroomed guest house, the whole set in two acres, for £750,000. Estate agent Ian Lloyd, of Mor­


MR HORKIN and his dream home in the Ribble Valley (190400/10/17a)


timers, told the TV audience how the property which had been on the mar­ ket for £850,000 for 18 months, would have a potential of £lm. once the swimming pool Mr Horkin wanted was added. The businessman, who owns a


number of shops, runs a successful pet agency and is a partner in dog show magazine "Our Dogs." He sold his first home to buy a three-bed detached in Accrington, which he


then placed on the market after two years. By the time he was 25, with two


houses behind him and already in profit, he bought a farm for £139,000, with a £70,000 mortgage. Climbing nicely up the rungs of the property ladder, he acquired a ter­ raced house and made another £12,000, then bought four shops on Accrington's High Street for £110,000 and, after three years, sold three for £210,000, retaining one of them. Having purchased Ken Varey's, he


extended the shop premises to an adjoining car park, and added a flat which now offers him additional income. The farm, bought in 1988 for £139,000, went on the market for £500,000 as he began his house search in the Rihhle Valley - prices here, the audience heard, being dou­ ble those in Accrington and Oswaldtwistle. Having watched the progress of


the house he now owns, he was aware that it had been on the market for


there was enough fuel for the journey to be completed. Later tests on the engine showed no evidence of defects.


Richard Prescott carried out a post­ mortem on Mr Batchelor-Wylam's body at Blackburn Royal Infirmary. He said Mr Batchelor-Wylam's


Consultant histopathologist Dr


chest cavity had a considerable amount of blood in it due to a tear in the aorta. He had also suffered broken bones in his leg and ankle. A jury returned a verdict of acci­


Mrs Carolyn Singleton, deputy coro­ ner for Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley, said: "I am a parent myself and no parent should have to bury their child. "I can barely begin to imagine the


dental death. Addressing the dead man’s parents,


grief you will have been caused by this event. "It may be of some small solace


that he died doing something he clear­ ly loved." Speaking after the inquest, Mr


Fred Curtis, solicitor for the Batche- lor-Wylams, said: "The family has been hugely distressed by these events. "They know that Christopher died


doing something he really loved. That is a measure of comfort to them."


Taxi driver feared for life


A CLITHEROE taxi driver who was assaulted by teenage passengers returning home from a Whalley nightclub has vowed never to return there for work. Mr Bernard Tunney (57) picked up several


tant to take them. Once in the car they started spitting and arguing. He asked them to calm down and they began swearing at him. When he arrived in Clayton-le-Moors, the


teenage boys from Rendezvous Nightclub in the early hours of Saturday. They were rowdy, he said, and he was reluc­


boys got out and one made his way to the front of the taxi and spat in Mr Tunney’s face, before another hit him in the face. Mr Tunney, who has driven taxis for 10


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years and is self-employed, said he feared for his life. During a subsequent struggle, he fell to the floor and suspects he was hit and kicked some 20 times. He said: “Youngsters often clown about a


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bit, but to attack someone as ferociously as that is meaningless. It blew up out of nothing; it was horrendous. “I’m lucky in that I ’m 6ft. 3in. tall and 16


stone. If the attack had been as ferocious on someone small, then the police would have been on a murder hunt.” As he was being assaulted a car stopped and


said the attack was totally unprovoked and violent. I t was, he said, the seventh serious assault on a taxi driver in East Lancashire in the past 12 months.


taken the taxi driver’s mobile phone. DC Ian Proctor, of Great Harwood CID,


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two Asian men rushed to his aid and the boys fled. The men dialled 999, as the attackers had


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Ideas sought for ways to


clean up gum


TESTS are to be carried out to see if there are any economic and effective methods of remov­ ing chewing gum from local streets. Ribble Valley Borough Council has revealed


its test plan after receiving a letter about the problem from Clitheroe Town Council. Leading gum maker Wrigley's has also replied to the town council, sharing residents' frustration and suggesting litter fine enforcement and more education in good behaviour. As previously reported in the Advertiser and


Times, the issue was raised by election candi­ date Mr Ron Loebell at a meeting of the town council. Members accepted that there would be no chance of a chewing ban, but suggested writ­ ing round for other ideas and asking schools about bans. The borough council's Director of Commer­


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cial Services, Mr John Heap, states: "We intend to test proprietory methods of removal of chew­ ing gum to see whether research and develop­ ment has made any of the methods economic and effective." However, he does not say when the tests will


be carried out and town councillors are now waiting to see what happens. Their approach for ideas to Wrigley's head­


quarters in Plymouth received a detailed letter from Head of Communications Jo Hartup. She emphasised that only a small minority of chew- ers are irresponsible and drop their gum, and that the firm does target them through a national schools' programme. I t promotes responsible environmental behaviour and fits within the Citizenship requirement of the National Curriculum. "Over 28 million people regularly chew gum


for the variety of health and social benefits it delivers," says the letter. "Indeed, 90% of den­ tal professionals recommend chewing sugarfree gum to their patients for the significant dental benefits it delivers." Wrigley's product packs carry a good gum


do not allow gum. At St Michael and St John's RC Primary School, the ban has been in place for many years. Headteacher Mr Vincent Mur­ ray has written to the town council explaining that all sweets are banned, with possible aller­ gic reactions and wrapper litter potential being additional reasons.


partnership approach are being sought. Locally, several schools at least, if not most,


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disposal message and the firm is investing sig­ nificant amounts of money in research to devel­ op a product which is easier to remove. Other new ways of tackling the issue in a


9 __________________


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