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1 Thursday, December 4th, 2003 No. 6,126 ;.••• if ••••*. s ' .. • ... * *


Fashionable fund-raiser for children's charities


Two-page look at the equestrian world


V’- AT A GLANCE


A Clitheroe pensioner accused of child sex offences has appeared in court.


i ........... 'i M page 3


Local government changes are given the thumbs down;


'' i. page 2


Think-tank addresses teenage concerns for their future.


page 5


Sabden is home sweet home for Miss Elizabeth Britcliffe (90).


M M ip a g e 17


Moorland School pupil Theo Coleman has won a major tri­ als trophy.


mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm page 32 CALLUS


WEEKEND WEATHER: Colder and remain­


ing cloudy, but dry with some sunshine on Saturday.


SUNRISE: 8-06 a.m. SUNSET: 3-52 p.m.


LIGHTING UP TIME: 3-52 p.m.


News: 01200 422324 Advertising: 01200 422323 Classified: 01282422331 Fax: 01200443467


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


Story and picture by Julie Wintle


AT 27 years old Konrad Bisping had the world a t his feet. He had a happy family life, a beau­


tiful three-year-old son and a promis­ ing career in the Army with promo­


tion to Corporal on the cards. But his life was to be turned upside


down las t January when he was attacked with a pickaxe by a fellow sol­ dier. L/Cpl Bisping suffered horrendous


injuries and was rushed by Army heli­ copter to the intensive care unit at Southampton Hospital, where he remained for a week on a life support machine. His mother, Mrs Kathleen Bisping, of


Henthom Close, Clitheroe, has spoken to the Advertiser and Times about her son’s future following the attack. She has talked about the effect the


incident has had on her son’s life, and of Her reaction'to a jury’s decision to clear


the soldier who attacked L/Cpl Bisping of attempted murder. “This incident has ruined what was a


promising career for Konrad in the Army,” said Mrs Bisping. “He used to play rugby for the Army


and he was even picked to play in ‘Ciwi Street’. The Army was going to pay to fund that because he was so good at it.” She added th a t her son was now a


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shadow of his former self and was too scared to go out.


Jobs shock as factory


plans closure PHILIPS is to close its glass fac­ tory in Simonstone with the loss of 265 permanent jobs. The Dutch electronics giant


announced the bad news this week as part of a major restructuring of its European production infra­


structure. The Simonstone plant, built in


1960, is due to close in mid-2004. More, jobs will go a t other


Philips plants across Europe, including around 1,000 at Aachen, Germany, with the closure of a cathode ray tube factory there. Announcing the restructuring, a


company spokesman said: “The measures, in line with the compa­ ny’s continuous drive for optimis­ ing business performance, are nec­ essary to remain competitive in a mature and consolidating indus­


try.” Mr Steve Dodd, plant director


at the Simonstone factory, said: “A worldwide overcapacity of glass for picture tubes has forced us to take this disappointing, hut inevitable


decision. “Our priority now is to support


and assist our employees who need or want to find alternative work by helping them to develop the skills to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the employment


market.” Announcing the job losses, the


Philips spokesman said the compa­ ny would work closely with trade unions and workers’ councils to help employees develop skills and opportunities to find new jobs.


axe victim’s mum out after verdict


He also suffers from epilepsy and has


limited eyesight because of damage to his optic nerve caused by the attack. “He’s really really frightened of peo­


ple. He has lost all his confidence and has some kind of stress syndrome. “He’s jus t a different person now.


Before this happened everybody knew Konrad. If we went into town, everyone knew him. He was larger than life. He was always on the go and could do any­ thing sports-wise.” Mrs Bisping said her son could not


remember anything about the incident and when he first came round in hospi­ tal, he thought he had been in a car crash. She added he had been shocked by


the result of the trial, which he had not been able to attend due to his poor health. “We’re just all glad it’s now out of the


way.” Mrs Bisping went on to say: “He’ll


■never get back to the way he was. ' T- , “Still, you never know what the


future holds. Medical science is marvel­ lous these days.” L/Cpl Bisping, who has three broth­


ers and two sisters, is still being treated at an Army rehabilitation unit at RAF Headley Court, near Epsom, Surrey. A former pupil of St Augustine’s RC


High School, Billington, and Blackburn College, L/Cpl Bisping was also a Great Britain international canoeist. I t is hoped he will be allowed home


never fully recover. I just hope and pray he will get better gradually, but he will •,


MRS BISPING with a photograph of Konrad taken in his school days (CR021203/2)


for three weeks over Christmas to spend Christmas and boost his morale can time with his wife, Claire, who used to send a card to Mrs Bisping at 6 Hen- bean Army medic, but is now studying thorn Close, Clitheroe, Lancs, BB7 to become a doctor, and his son,' 1DU, and she will forward them on to Declan.


her son.


• Anyone who would like to send • Court case and verdict - see page their best wishes to Mr Bisping this 3.


Art centre comes a step closer


A STEP nearer the provision of an arts centre for the Ribble Valley was


made this week. At a meeting of Ribble Valley Bor­


ough Council Overview and Scrutiny (Services) Committee, councillors heard that a firm of architects has been com­ missioned to draw up a design study for the parish hall site in Clitheroe. The study will examine the refurbish­


ment and improvement of the existing building, and add an extension which would provide a new cinema structure as well as other arts-related facilities. The design study progresses the over­


all work towards an arts centre for the Valley. '


This work included a fe a s ibil ity


study for a completely new building on the old gas works site, to be known as the GasWorks. This was completed in May, but to


prevent unnecessary duplication of fa c i l i t ie s , an ex am in a tio n of th e p a r ish h a ll fa c i l i t ie s was made a requirement of the overall study. Trin ity Community Partnerships


has been involved with proposals a t both sites and has chosen IWA Archi­ tects to undertake the design study at the parish hall. Should th e design fu lf il all th e


requirements for arts, community and church-related activities , then the


development would be known as the Arts and Community Resource Centre, reflecting its varied function in provid­ ing for all aspects of community and cultural life in the Ribble Valley. The design brief will be complete on


February 28th, 2004, a fte r which a decision will be made on which scheme is the best for the area. To ensure th a t the design provides


what is required by local people, IWA Architects is keen to hear from every­ one wishing to p articipate and con­ tribute to the project. The co n ta c t number is 01200 or


423487, . LWilson@charis.co.uk Eid celebrations prove a hit with youngsters


MULTICULTURAL tod­ dlers from Ribblesdale Nurs­ ery School got into the party spirit by taking part in the Eid celebrations. “Eid-ul-fitr”, the festival


to mark the end of Ramadan, (a month-long fast for Muslims), was well marked by the youngsters, who indulged themselves in a variety of authentic Asian


foods. Play assistant at the nurs­


ery, Miss Farzana Hussain, guided her audience through the elegant costumes worn on the special day and talked to the children about the fes­


tival. Our picture shows Miss


Hussain talking to the chil­ dren about Eid. (B281103/2)


We announce the bonniest Ribble Valley babies - page 9 and


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Tow-away threat to illegal parkers


ANYONE who has noticed a distinct lack of traffic wardens in Clitheroe recently and decid­ ed it is safe to flout parking regulations could be in for a costly surprise. In the run-up to Christmas, when trade in


the town is brisk, police officers will be paying particular attention to those who choose to ignore the parking regulations. Drivers who park where they should not or


stay too long in restricted parking zones could find themselves facing a fine or even having their vehicle towed away and impounded. Insp. Bob Ford, of Clitheroe Police, explained


that next year the responsibility for enforcing parking regulations will switch from the police (who currently employ traffic wardens) to the


council. In the run-up to that change, many of the


traffic wardens have been gradually redeployed to other duties in order to avoid a large number of redundancies when the handover happens. Others have not been replaced when they retired, meaning there has been a steady reduc­ tion in the number of wardens. Clitheroe has been without a traffic warden


for some time and some drivers have started to take advantage of the fact, often parking all day in places restricted to a stay of one or two hours.


• But Insp. Ford stressed that responsibility


for enforcing parking regulations is still with the police and it is a problem his officers will tackle head-on in the run-up to Christmas.


.■


> ! “Police officers have teen out patrolling the worst affected areas and th a t effort will be sharpened over the coming weeks. “We will be robust with drivers who ignore


the rules and we will adopt a ‘ticket and tow it away’ policy if necessary,” said Insp. Ford. Insp. Ford added that anyone whose car is


towed away for being parked illegally or dan­ gerously will face a basic cost of £105 to get it back, that cost rising with every day that it is kept in secure storage.


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