i f ? * %


4 < H * v V*<~ft't


I m S w $ r •i'SMjfl


, m $M T 1! >,y > ^ ' - 'y ^ - s f Clitheroe Thursday, January 23rd, 2003 No. 6,081 news and views from the Centre of the Kingdom imes \(S>' page 5 AT A GLANCE


•Ribble Valley Borough Council receives full marks, but its offi­ cials need more help.


”—■■ ■■ ' ■" " 1 . " page 2


The appearance of a witch in a tree has prompted a lollipop lady to write a poem.


page 3


One of the Valley’s most suc­ cessful exiles has executed a £100m. deal.


A young company with - promising future moves into Clithertfe.


........ . h ■i...■


page 14 a


........... page 5


Hundreds of mou­ rners a t te n d the funeral of a resp­ ected and leading local personality.


page 3


Four young chefs compete against the clock in a Rotary competition.


i ■ ■ page 10 The blues are through to the


last 16 after success in the FA Vase.


i i ■■ ■


FOGGITT’S WEEKEND WEATHER: Remaining wet and windy.


SUNRISE: 8-11 a.m. SUNSET: 4-32 p.m.


LIGHTING UP TIME: 4-32 p.m.


i page 40 CALLUS


News: 01200422324 •'


< Advertising: 01200422323 Classified: 01282422331


Fax: 01200443467


Editorial e-maii: vivien.meath@ eastiancsnews.co.uk


DOWNHAM'S "adopted sec- consolation prizes of £5 each. ond daughter", television actress Naomi Radcliffe, was this week urging Ribble Val­ ley people to "spend, spend, spend". Naomi joined celebrities


Lord Clitheroe, hospice


on board a carriage pulled by two magnificent dray horses from Thwaites Brewery which toured the streets of Clitheroe on Monday pro­ moting the new East Lan­ cashire Hospice Lottery. During a short ceremony


in Ribble Valley Borough Council chamber, she declared the East Lancashire Hospice Lottery well and truly "launched". "This is a fantastic way to


raise money for a fantastic cause," she declared, urging everyone to dig deep into their pockets and commit themselves to a pound a week. The new lottery is to be


run on a membership basis and starts in April. Each week there will be


three main prizes of £1,000, £250 and £100, along with 30


patron, told assembled guests, including the Mayors of the Ribble Valley and Clitheroe and MP Mr Nigel Evans, that the hospice was vital and very important to the whole community. Naomi, who appears in the television drama "Born and Bred", had become, he said, "the. second daughter of Downham". Hospice chairman Mr


Geoffrey Braithwaite paid. tribute to the expertise of the doctors and nurses and superb staff. Thanking every­ one, he made particular men­ tion of the Clitheroe Adver­ tiser and Times for its on­ going support. Hospice fund-raising man­


ager Mr Stuart Andrew emphasised to civic guests that, despite the hospice being based in Blackburn, it covered Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley. "It is impor­ tant that the lottery is as suc­ cessful in this area as it is everywhere else and we do


need to draw more money


in," he added. The area's MP urged all his


constituents to support the new lottery. With 70p from each ticket going direct to the hospice and excellent prizes on offer each week, it was, he said, an excellent fund-raising initiative. Around 75,000 leaflets


have been circulated, and lot­ tery manager Mr Harry Grayson hopes to sign up 2,300 members by the first draw in April and 7,000 by the end of the year. A form will be appearing in this newspaper each week - see page 10 - and, from April, we will also be printing the win­ ning numbers weekly. Pictured launching the lot­


tery outside Ribble Valley Town Hall is actress Naomi Radcliffe with, from the left, Mr Braithwaite, Lord Clitheroe, Mr Grayson, Mr Evans, Clitheroe Town Crier Mr Roland Hailwood and the Mayors of Ribble Valley and Clitheroe. (K200102/2)


Parents’ bedside vigil after attack on their second son


by John Turner


THE parents of a murdered Clitheroe man found themselves applying life-saving first'aid to


their remaining son. He had been allegedly attacked


and left with 10 deep stab wounds in his back. So severe was the alleged attack on


Darren Leecy (34) th a t one of the blows punctured a lung and deflated it, leaving him fighting for breath. The life-threatening drama occurred


at 2-30 a.m. on Monday. Mr and Mrs Tonyand Ann Leecy were watching television in the living room of their semi-detatched home a t Standen Road, Clitheroe, and Darren, who nor­ mally lives in a caravan on the drive­


way, was in the kitchen cooking himself some supper when the door burst open and the three men came in. The alleged attack* lasted only a


matter of seconds, giving Mr and.Mrs Leecy no time to react. Darren, badly bleeding, stumbled


into the living room. Mr Leecy, a former first-aider, and


his wife, an auxiliary nurse, rendered first aid until an ambulance took him to Blackburn Royal Infirmary. :; Mrs Leecy said on Tuesday: "When


I realised what had happened I tried to keep calm, and the only thing going through my mind was that I had lost one son and I didn't want to lose another." Mrs Leecy, who works as a nursing


auxiliary at Clitheroe Community Hospital, said the first signs of any­ thing wrong was when Darren's terrier,


Taffy, started barking, and there was a sound of breaking glass. Then they saw Darren in the hall­


way with no shirt on. He was "covered with blood. "Fortunately we had stayed up late


reading and watching television. If we had been in bed it could have been a lot worse. We were able to raise the alarm straight away. The ambulance was there in two minutes and he was in a Blackburn hospital in 15 minutes," she added. "He is now poorly, but stable, in the


high-dependency unit. His injuries are not life-threatening, but he is in pain." Immediately, a major police man­


hunt was under way with an incident room set up in Clitheroe Police Station, headed by Det. Insp. Peter Broom. Within hours, three Clitheroe men, two aged 30, another aged 43, were


Soldier in axe horror on the road to a ‘miracle’ recovery


A CLITHEROE soldier given a 50-50 chance of survival after being hit on the head with a pick­


axe is recovering in hospital. L/Cpl Konrad Bisping (26) regained


consciousness a t the weekend and, although he is still seriously ill, his condition is stable and he is described


as “improving”. Following the incident, members of his


family travelled from their homes in the Ribble Valley to maintain a bedside vigil at Southampton General Hospital, where L/Cpl Bisping, pictured, is being treated. A soldier with the Queen’s Lancashire


Regiment, he was injured on Salisbury Plain during a military exercise. This week, his eldest brother, Stephen


(31), spoke of the family’s relief at his recovery. “He has been getting better ever since he came round,” said Mr Bisp­ ing. “When Konrad woke up he said he had a sore throat and a bit of a headache, but he is in good spirits.” . “Everyone is relieved and over the


moon. We thought we were going to lose him. At first, he was given a 50-50 chance whether he would make it or not. Obviously the hospital is now very pleased with him.” He added that med­ ical staff had described his brother’s recovery as a “miracle”. Mr Bisping, who is in daily contact


with both the hospital and relatives, said he was hoping to travel to Southampton to visit his brother. Among those already at the lance corporal’s bedside are his wife of two months, Claire, his parents, Kathleen and Jan, and his two-year-old


son, Declan. Keeping a close eye on his condition are siblings Michael (22), twins Adam and Maxine (18) and Shirein (17). A former pupil at Clitheroe’s St


Michael and St John’s RC Primary School and St Augustine’s RC High School, Billington, Konrad decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and, at the age of 19, after studying at Blackburn College, he joined the Army. During his time with the Queen’s Lan­


cashire Regiment, he has undergone tours in Cyprus and Germany, as well as spending time at Aldershot and Catter- ick.


He married his wife in Barbados two


months ago, and the newlyweds moved into quarters at Catterick in North Yorkshire,


As a teenager, L/Cpl Bisping hit the


headlines when he took part in Europe’s largest ever canoe race. He joined more than 1,500 competitors from all over the world who had entered the Liffey Descent in the Republic of Ireland, fin­ ishing third in the K1 Spring Junior Class. He also won several medals at ju- jitsu, but now Rugby League is his


sport.. As he continues to recover, his family


hope he will be transferred nearer to his home town, possibly to Walton in Merseyside or even one of the Black- bum hospitals. Mr Anthony McNamara, head­


teacher at St Augustine’s, said the for­ mer pupil and his family had been “very much in our prayers” over the past few days. He added: “Whenever his name has come up among staff, it is always with great affection. He was very popu­ lar with the staff and is remembered for


• being really nice and well-mannered. Teachers here" always had a lot of affec­ tion for him and were really devastated when they heard about what had hap­ pened to him. I think they are all feeling relieved that he is on the mend.” And head of art Mrs Wyn Craig said:


“Konrad was a very popular with both his peers and the teachers. I have heard it said that he was considered to be a gentle giant because he was very tall in stature, but a very gentle person.” • A 17-year-old youth, who has been


charged with attempted murder, appeared at North Wiltshire Youth Offenders' Court in Chippenham on Monday and was further remanded in custody.


arrested and helping police with inquiries. Det. Insp. Broom said: "It was a sus­


tained and ferocious attack. As a result of our inquiries, three men were later arrested in the Clitheroe area and are being interviewed at Blackburn." He said part of their inquiries was to


try to ascertain a motive for the attack. • At the time of going to press, no


charges had been brought. • Darren’s brother, Anthony, then


aged 29, was found dead in Mearley Brook on April 1st, 1999. He had severe head injuries. The 6ft. 4in. weaver, who worked at Thombers, was alleged to have been involved in a late- night altercation with one, or maybe two, other men. A man from Accrington was later


tried for the murder, but acquitted by a jury.


Heartbreak at lack of help


GOVERNMENT figures on hos­ pital waiting lists and promises of investment in new services are cold comfort for Paythorne couple Mr Clive Preston and his wife, Mary. Farmer Mr Preston was diag­


nosed with chronic multiple sclerosis in 1986, and Mrs Preston has been caring for him at home ever since, apart from several weeks of the year when severely ill Mr Preston went to Skipton General Hospital for respite


care. But changes at Skipton have


ruled out the week-long respites. Now, if Mrs Preston wants respite


from the round-the-clock nursing her husband needs, she has to wait until a death occurs in a private nursing home to make a vacancy for respite care. There are no normal vacancies for


respite care in local care homes. They prefer the long-term use of their beds. She said: "At first my husband


went to the young disabled unit at Skipton General Hospital for respite care, but two years ago it changed to become a physical rehabilitation unit." She said care homes were run on


business lines and preferred long­ term patients. They all had waiting lists and the only chance of respite care was when someone died. "Where do we go from here?" she


asked. "We don't know. The doctors, nurses and social workers don't know. -They recommend I should write let­ ters, but I don't know who I should


Your ch an ce to win a fabulous diamond - se e page 14


TF RE E.+F RE E E T 1 3 1WZ E


S um m e r 2 0 0 3 h o l id a y s ' X ' f s j


Orthopaedic Surgery at


an all-in-price


Fixed Price Surgery puts you in the hands of Specialist Consultants at the healthiest possible terms.


Contact us now for more details m


Deer herds fall foul of poachers


with off-roaders THE deer population of the Ribble Valley is falling foul of a modem day predator - lurchers set on them by criminals from towns and cities driving expensive 4x4 vehicles. The poachers’ activities have been reported on


land off the A59 on to which they have driven after smashing down field gates. One hotspot is Sawley where local resident Mr


Ken O’Brien recently chanced upon the remains of two young deer which had obviously been caught by poachers and butchered on the spot. He said: “I keep an eye on the fields near my


A la .


house for the owner, who lives some distance away. We are constantly in touch with the police, but because of the distances involved the poach­ ers are long gone by the time the police arrive. We are a fair distance from any police vehicles and the poaching is difficult for the police to stop. “These poachers come at two or three in the


ing his gates. “Of course, another problem is the danger


caused on the A59 when broken gates allow stock to escape,” said Mr O’Brien. Sawley animal lover Mrs Mandy Lord urged


people to be on the alert. “Some of the farmers are afraid to talk about


it because poachers make threats”. Solicitor Mrs Lord added: “I love to see the


deer out and about. They should not have this threat. The poachers are not only a threat to wildlife, they are a threat to humans, because of the danger from road accidents caused by cattle which have strayed because gates have been left open or damaged.” The farmer, who asked not to be identified,


said: “It is a problem and has been for five or sue years. They come in and smash straight through


gates.” He said he had to resort to stacking large


square bales in gateways, but the poachers still get through on foot. “My top priority, though, is the safety of the


public through animals straying onto the A59. It did happen once, about five years ago and an accident was caused,” he added.


STARTING next week, we will be focusing on the reception class children at the Ribble Valley's primary schools with our "Class of 2003"feature: We will spotlight schools each week for the next month'and'will be coming "down your way" photographing the new starters.Tf your child's face is ringed. there will be a chance to win tickets to see a film at the Grand Cinema'.. ,


www.clitheroetoday.co.uk Price 52p


Three pages of home and garden advice


r ,W " „ ’W ' ■


sr *


morning. They just break open the gates with their vehicles and drive off over the terrain. “The farmer is constantly repairing or replac­


Abbey Gisburne Park Hospital Gisburn, Lancashire BB7 4HX


Tel: (01200) 445693 Fax:(01200)445688


RANSPORT INSURANCE I A Genuine Independent Travel Agent on selected


20 King Street, 01200^27136


"_ ^ 1*429977 977096336508904


s .................................... ..


ski Accessories also onSale


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40