The Clitheroe


Thursday, June 26th, 2Q03 No. 6,103 M R H S m


at the club.


< page 5 AT A GLANCE


Road casualty numbers in the Ribble Valley have dramatical­ ly fallen in the last five years.


page 3


A pedestrian escapes serious injury when he is involved in an accident with an out-of-control car beside the A59.


page 5


A Clitheroe Muslim says re submitting plans for a mosque in Holden Street is “a waste of money”- Letters Page.


page 8


Neighbours win the day with the surprise refusal of plans for a cinema oh a mill site.


page 9


An athlete is helped on the path to a gold medal by the expertise of a Clitheroe physio­ therapist.


— -»i»' - ...... '


WEEKEND WEATHER:


I t will be dull, cloudy and cooler, bu t dry, with light winds.


SUNRISE: 4-40 a.m. SUNSET: 9-44 p.m.


LIGHTING UP TIME: 9-14 p.m.


..... page 3


Ribble Valley children “dab­ bling in witchcraft”.


page 2


A young Clitheroe canoeist takes a European silver medal.


page 44 CALLUS


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


01200 443467


Editorial e-mail: vivien.mcalh@ castiancsncws.co.uk


H " .... ....................—


news and views from the Centre of the Kinqdom' — :


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back in time


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feast of football


■ > - * * page7-


Snowy day in flaming June!


IT WAS th e coldest Ju n e day in Downham in living memory - or, at least it looked like that. People driving through the village


could have been forgiven for believing th a t th ey had to wrap up warm ag a in s t th e b i t te r cold of a June afternoon in Downham. Our Christmas card scene is cour­


tesy of the BBC whose experts made th e tran s fo rm a tio n ou ts id e the Assheton Arms on Wednesday after­ noon last week. Machines liberally spread artificial


snow over the forecourt and roof of the old inn so th a t the village could accurately portray a winter scene of a future episode of the hit BBC Sun­ day night series “Bom and Bred”. Even the fake war memorial had a


realistic dusting of “snow”. Two hours later there was a mirac­


ulous “thaw” as BBC technicians returned the village to its normally overcast and damp June dayl (B180603/5d)


Praise for paramedics as they rescue biker doused in petrol


by John Turner


A BADLY-INJURED motorcy­ clist was turned into a human timebomb when his machine demolished a wall in the Ribble Valley. The force of the impact split open


th e fu e l ta n k on th e m o to rc y c le , spewing petrol over the h ot machine and the lower p a r t of the rider’s body. Ignoring the danger to themselves,


two paramedics from Clitheroe, John Ski and Bob Massey, removed th e in ju red r id e r ’s le a th e rs and boots,


before stabilising th e ir p a tie n t and helping fire-fighters from Clitheroe take him to the West Yorkshire Ambulance Service helicopter waiting in a field n e ar th e a c c id en t scene between Whitewell and Dunsop Bridge. Mr Ski admitted it was a dangerous


situation. He said: “If anybody had been smoking in the area it could have made it a dangerous situation, but we didn’t think about it a t the time.” The accident happened a t 9 a.m. on


Saturday as three motorcyclists were negotiating the humpbacked Langden Bridge, south of Dunsop Bridge on the Whitewell road. Two n eg o tia ted i t safely, b u t th e


th ird , M r Graham H u n te r (57), of Marlewood Avenue, Southport, lost control and the machine hit a wall. Mr Hunter was airlifted - in a criti­


cal condition - to Royal Preston Hospi­ ta l w ith back, head an d in te rn a l injuries. He spent most of Saturday in the operating theatre. Clitheroe Fire Station Officer Dave


McGrath said: “If there had been a spark i t could have been an absolute disaster.


good job.” I t was the third motorcycle accident


Clitheroe fire-fighters had attended in recent days.


“The ambulance personnel did a A rider and his pillion passenger were


slightly hurt when their machine went out of control on the A59 near Sawley. And late on Friday night a rider was


h u r t when he lo s t co n tro l of his machine and collided with a wall and a tree in Clitheroe Road, Chatbum. Mr McGrath said: “The trouble is at


the time of year when there are lots of motorcyclists out and about. “There are also lots of tractors and


farm machinery moving about. The bikes don’t seem to be slowing down.” On Tuesday, the hospital reported


Mr Hunter’s condition had improved from critical to stable.


Ex-police driver slams school speed act as akin to ‘demanding money with menaces’


THE action of pupils from Ribblesdale High School Technology College was likened to the Red Guards of the Chi­ nese Cultural Revolution this week. The comparison came from former


police driving instructor Mr Adrian Shurmer.


He also claimed th e o p e ra t io n 0 Jie


fAWSON'S dio& e


mounted by th e schoolchildren and police to interrogate 10 motorists who exceeded the 30 m.p.h. speed limit out­ side the school was illegal and “consti­ tu te d demanding money with men­ aces”. M r Shurmer, who now runs Drive


Awareness L td with five other former police colleagues, said: “All my col­ leagues speak with the same voice over this issue. “What happened outside Ribblesdale


School last week was totally and utterly wrong and totally unlawful. I am not condoning speeding in any way, b u t


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they took perfectly ordinary motorists and threatened them and said you can either have a fixed penalty ticket or go into th a t school and be humiliated by these children.” He accused the Road Safety Partner­


ship of allowing councillors to use the police as their political slaves. “I can’t p u t i t into words how dis­


gusted I feel. To force motorists to go into th a t school and be humiliated by. those children is disgusting. “These motorists are victims” added


M r Shurmer, a former in s tru c to r of VIP protection drivers, who was for­ merly with the police task force work­ ing from time to time in the Ribble Val­ ley.


He criticised the legality of the fixed


p e n a l ty n o tic e s which “demanded money with menaces” by threatening even bigger penalties for those who did not pay promptly.


Warm welcome for special children


THE people of the Ribble Valley have once again opened their hearts to the children of Chernobyl. The 20 youngsters from Belarus, who come from


an area decimated by a massive nuclear power sta­ tion accident, have been enjoying the trip to the Clitheroe area laid on each year by the Friends of Chernobyl’s Children charity. The area’s people, particularly the children have


been suffering from the effects of the massive leak­ age of radioactivity and regular trips to England by groups of children aged between seven and 12 have been regarded as top therapy for the children from Belarus.


visit to the Royal Armouries a t Leeds by rail. In our picture, Mr Brian Haig, of the Friends of


Among the many trips for this year’s group was a Chernobyl’s Children (left) and Mr Peter Moore,


of Ribble Valley Rail check the children’s tickets a t Clitheroe Station. Further details on page 3. (s)


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During the exercise on Tuesday last


week each of the 10 motorists who were found to have exceeded the limit opted to avoid the £60 speeding ticket by fac­ ing the panel of six 14 and 15-year-olds. One of th e questions th e children


asked the drivers was: "If you had killed me this morning what would you say if you were face to face with my mum and dad?” PC A ndy K e n t , whose id e a th e


scheme was, said: " I t was absolutely fantastic. I didn't think we would have been so successful. We s to p p ed 10 motorists a t speeds up to 48 m.p.h. and they all agreed to go and face the chil­ dren. "When they came out, one woman


was in tears." All age groups were trapped by the


mobile speed cameras and the guilty drivers included an off-duty ambu­ lanceman and a schoolteacher.


The pupil panel asked the motorists


questions about their driving based on th e police Roadcraft Manual. Then they hit each erring motorist with the big question. "Some of them couldn't answer it"


said PC Kent. "When I took them back to their cars


I a sk ed th em how effective th ey thought the exercise had been. “They all said it had made them take


stock of their driving and the conse­ quences of it. I t has even had an effect on the children who are all coming up to the driving age. They have said it has made apparent to them the dangers of speeding." Now PC K e n t is p la n n in g to


expand the exercise over a wider area an d he is prepar ing a rep o rt for his chiefs who are considering carrying o u t th e operation th ro u g h o u t Lan ­ cashire.


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Cancelled due to lack of support


THE two remaining Clitheroe Sunday Mar­ ket spectaculars have been cancelled. A joint decision was taken by Ribble Val­


ley Borough Council and organiser Mr Ray Barker, following losses of £90 and £100 on the first two events in May and June. They were to have held a clogs and cloth


caps Sunday and a Roundheads and Cava­ liers Sunday in Ju ly and August in an attempt to boost trade in the town. The council statement said: “I t is with


considerable regret that Ribble Valley Bor­ ough Council have, in conjunction with Ray Barker, the Sunday market organiser, decid­ ed th at it is necessary to cancel the remain­ ing Sunday Markets programmed to take place on Ju ly 13th and August 10th on Clitheroe Market. “Unfortunately, the events held in May


and June proved to be not sufficiently popu­ lar, have only received limited success and they have proved to be on balance unviable to continue with a t the present time. If in the future, there is sufficient public interest and demand and support from cabin traders, then the matter can be revisited.” They s t i l l p lan to go ah ead w i th th e


event earlier this month was hit by warm sunshine which, organisers believed, per­ suaded too many people to head for the sea­ side.


Mr Barker said: “The support of the pub­


lic has been good, but if you don’t get the support of the business community behind you, you’re flogging a dead horse”, he added.


AFFORDABLE MOBILITY


Christmas Spectacular on Sunday, Decem­ ber 7th, on similar lines to last year. Attendance a t the witches and wizards


9 ___________________ •■V. ■ f c '■ *?' I


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