i| •


The Clitheroe Thursday, November 27th, 2003 No. 6,125 liae 3 y AT A GLANCE


Veteran broadcaster Sir Jimmy Young proves a popular guest at a Langho literary lunch.


page 3


Caravan owners fear a bleak winter as row brews over resi­ dency regulations.


page 5


“Calendar Girls” pay a VIP v is i t to a packed meeting of Downham WIv


?. page 6


Head teacher’s praise for former pupils.


p a g e 1 2


A Whalley author launches a new- book about her life from the comfort of her living room.


_ _ _ _ page 10


A controversial new village hall plan for Slaidbum is once again withdrawn.


page 11


Three former Stonyhurst pupils reached the pinnacle of their sporting careers as part of the v ic to r iou s England Rugby World Cup squad.


.. WEEKEND


WEATHER: Cloudy, wet and cold, with moderate SW winds. :


SUNRISE: 7-55 a.m. SUNSET: 3-58 p.m.


LIGHTING UP TIME: 3-58 p.m.'


page 42 CALLUS


News: 01200 422324 Adverlising: 01200422323 Classified: 01282 422331 Fax: 01200443467


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


Seenandsafe


PEOPLE across the Rib- ' ble Valley go in to the Children in Need spirit on . Friday, helping the annual BBC charity event to break all previous records. , By the time the telethon ended at 2 a.m. on Satur­


day, more than £15m. was already in the pot and


organisers hope that when all the money is.in, it will


top last year’s £25m. total. The Ribble Valley played


its part; with people young and old raising money in a variety of ways. Shoppers in Moor Lane


were surprised to find traders there dressed as


nuns, schoolgirls and French maids. The people a t Moor'Lane


news and views from the Centre of the Kingdom na y e 13


Valley goes Children in Need crazy


Motor Spares were behind the stunt, roping in friends across the road at the Strawberries and Cream


; caf6 and Hair By Trix. Together they raised more


; than £200 through a raffle and donations from cus­ tomers and astonished passers-by.


. . • For news and pictures of more Children in Need events in the'Ribble Valley, turn to page seven. Pictured, from the left,


are the Moor Lane mon- eyspinners Lisa Barker, Tracy Blain, Andrew Hutchinson, Neil Young, Dianne Woodcock and Abi­ gail Fletcher, with Julie Watson (front) as Andy Pandy. (CR211103/1)


Axe embedded in young soldier’s


b y C o u rt R ep o r te r


A Y OU NG so ld ie r em b ed d ed a p ic k a x e in to th e h e a d of a Clitheroe Lance Corporal a f te r a


bus t-up during an A rmy tra in in g exercise) a co u r t he a rd yesterday. The axe struck Konrad Bisping


(26) with such force that the point pierced his skull and embedded itself an inch-and-a-half into his brain. L/Cpl Bisping, whose family live in


Henthorn Close, slumped to the ground with the metal tool still lodged


in his head. He survived, but suffered serious


brain damage. Private Grant Kenyon (18), who has


an IQ of 78, is on trial for his attempt­ ed murder at Bristol Crown Court. The pair, of the First Battalion the


Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, based in Catterick, North Yorkshire, clashed during a three-day training exercise on Salisbury Plain in January. L/Cpl Bisping was leading a platoon


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near Imber village, a “ghost” training settlement used for military exercises. He told the court that the private


had blood coming from the side of his mouth and told him: “Cpl Bisping.hit


me.'” Pte Stubbs added: “He was quite


angry, quite mad. He was just stand­ ing there, hacking the pickaxe into the floor quite aggressively. : “He said:.‘He is picking on the


wrong guy - but he won’t get away with this’.” He said the accused soldier looked at


the pickaxe and told him: “You know where this is going? I t ’s going in his


head.” Shortly afterwards, as the soldiers


congregated at the bottom of a hill, Kenyon crept up behind L/Cpl Bisping and swung the axe into his head. The weapon was a 3ft. long Army


issue pickaxe with a 1ft. wide blade head.


Eye-witness Pte Robert Gore said: ' .


“He was fuming. He was pacing up and down. He was bright red and


on an exercise codenamed Wessex War­ rior in preparation for possible war with Iraq. Kenyon, then aged 17, hurt his


ankle and began lagging behind his colleagues during an attacking move. L/Cpl Bisping dropped back to


remonstrate with him, during which Kenyon claims he was punched in the face.


Colleagues told.the jury that he was


“snarling” with rage after the incident. Pte Daniel Stubbs was resting with Kenyon towards the end of the exercise


snarling. “He walked up to him (Bisping) - he swung the pickaxe and struck it in his


head. “I heard a crack and the Lance Cor­


poral dropped to his knees. The pick­ axe stuck into Bisping’s head.” Pte Damian Nightingale was stand­ ing next to Bisping at the moment of


the attack. He described how the private swung the axe over his shoulder before strik­


ing L/ Cpl Bisping. He said: “I was standing next to L/


Cpl Bisping, talking to him. He was


looking away from him. “He just walked over towards him - calm and with an angry face. After--


wards he just walked away.” Father-of-two L/Cpl Bisping under­


went brain surgery at Southampton . Hospital and spent five days in a criti­ cal condition. He was left with “devastating


injuries” including substantially reduced eye-sight, the court heard. He also has a “false sixth sense” of someone always being at his shoulder. . Kenyon denies attempted murder,


but has pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm with intent. Mr Robert Davies (prosecuting) told


the jury of five men and seven women: “The fact that Mr Bisping was not actually killed is down to luck and to the skill of the neurosurgeons at hospi­ tal in Southampton. "The prosecution say he intended to


kill the man he hit with the axe. If you had seen that happening, what you would say is that he was trying to kill


him.” (Proceeding)


• A FORMER pupil at St Michael and St John's RC Primary School, Clitheroe and then St Augustine’s RC High School, Billington, Konrad joined the Army at the age of 19, after study­ ing at Blackburn College. During his time with the Queen's


L/CPL BISPING - suffered devastating injuries (s)


He married his wife, Claire, in Barba­ dos just two months before the incident,


' and the pair moved into married quar­ ters at Catterick in North Yorkshire. As a teenager, L/Cpl Bisping was a


Lancashire Regiment, he underwent tours in Cyprus and Germany, as well as spending time at Aldershot and Cat­ terick.


keen canoeist and took part in the Liffey Descent in the Republic of Ireland, fin­ ishing a creditable third place in the K1 Spring Junior Class.He won medals at ju­ jitsu and later took up Rugby League.


Castle’s fuel plans: ‘surgery’ will address public concerns


THE Environment’ Agency is holding, a “surgery” in Clitheroe for people who want to discuss Castle Cement’s application to bum fuel derived from agricultural waste. Agricultural Waste Derived


Fuel (AWDF) is produced from meat and bone meal, a by-prod­ uct from the preparation of meat for human consumption. , The company has applied to


the Environment Agency for a variation tolts existing permit, which would allow AWDF to be burned at its Ribblesdale plant,


in Clitheroe. The agency is carrying out a


Driver hurt after lorry overturns


TRAFFIC ground to a halt and motorists were delayed for several hours, after a 40-ton lorry overturned on the A59. The incident occurred on Tuesday around noon, result­


ing in the trapped driver of the HGV, Mr Chris Simpson, of Victoria Street,. Clitheroe, being airlifted to Royal Pre­ ston Hospital. His injuries were not


believed to be'serious and he was conscious when taken to hospital. The road-from the A67


Bramley Mead junction was closed for hours. (K251103/7c)


consultation oh the company’s proposals, before deciding wether to grant the necessary variation. 1 As part of the consultation, a


surgery will be held on Wednes­ day, December 3rd, from 2 p.m. until;7-30 p.m., at St .Magde- lene’s Parish' Church: Hall, Church Brow, Clitheroe. I t will give people an oppor­


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Valley’s heritage is being stolen


, court told


THE heritage of the Ribble Valley will soon disappear, if witnesses do not come forward according to Clitheroe’s police chief. After numerous incidents of stone thefts


from the Read, Simonstone and Sabden areas, police are seeking help from the public to come forward as soon as they see anything


suspicious. Despite the police patrolling the affected


areas, working carefully with farmers, and taking various measures to prevent these criminals from stealing, there has been an increase in the number of stone thefts over the


month. Insp. Bob Ford, from Clitheroe police,


explained: “We need help from citizens to track down these thieves who are taking away the heritage of the area. * “A major project where the stones have been marked with a liquid called “smartwa- ter” in order to identify them once found, is


still underway. “Thefts are taking place not only at night


but during the day as well. “Members of the public must report any­


thing suspicious as the offenders can be dressed as workmen and look legitimate.”


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