The Clitheroe


9


by Julie Wintle and Faiza Afzaal


MUCH-LOVED local te a ch e r Miss Heather Schofield has died in a diving accident in southern Ire­ land two days after celebrating her 26th birthday. Miss Schofield, of Whalley Road,


Hurst Green, who joined Clitheroe’s Moorland School in September as a geography teacher, became separated from friends on a diving expedition off the coast of Dingle, in County Kerry on Monday. Her body was pulled from the sea two


hours after the alarm was raised. A rescue helicopter rushed to the


MISS SCHOFIELD


scene along with coast guards and emer­ gency services who found Miss


Schofield’s body further down the coast


at Bull Head. Respected for her position as presi­


dent of the Ribble Valley Rotaract Club, the promising charity champion had been holidaying in the area with her mother, who lives in Billington. Former president of the club and cur­


rent district chairman Mr John Garner, said he was deeply saddened by her death. “Heather was a very committed and


enthusiastic member and always keen to recruit new members to the club; “We at the Rotaract are deeply sad­


dened and she will be greatly missed throughout the district. “Our sympathies go out to Heather’s


family." Mr- Gamer said Miss Schofield’s first


love had been diving. He added that she was also an active member of the Stony- hurst Leisure Club. Mr Paul Smith, head teacher at


Moorland School, said: “We are abso­ lutely devastated. “She had only been with us for two terms, but it was like she had been here


for ages. “She was just an incredible person


and so full of life. We have lost a real all- rounder.” He added that Miss Schofield, an


only child, was taking her dive master’s qualification and could have gone on to become a diving instructor. Miss Schofield was also due to take


students from the school along with Mr Smith on a diving trip to Gozo, Malta, in November of this year.


for looking after a do;


Story and picture by Andrew Bellard


A MAN aged 68 h a s been ja iled fo r looking a f te r


another person’s dog. Blackburn magistrates heard


that John Robert Muir Lay- land, pictured, was banned for life from keeping horses or dogs


after being convicted of cruelty and neglect charges involving racehorses and dogs in 1997. And he was deemed to be in


breach of the ban when a grey­ hound belonging to his girl­ friend ran out of his farmyard and killed a neighbour’s cat. • The magistrates imposed an


immediate prison sentence, despite hearing from defence


solicitor Mr Graham Tindall that the breach was a technical one and that prior to the inci­ dent in May, Layland had spo­ ken and written to the police to check that it was all right for his girlfriend to have her 30 dogs at his house. “He is guilty because on the


day of this incident he was the only person home and he was


technically in charge of this dog,” said Mr Tindall. “He has to accept that he is guilty of a technical offence, but this is not a flagrant breach of the order.” But the magistrates imposed


an immediate 30-day sentence on Layland, of Demesne Farm, Settle Road, Newsholme, near Clitheroe, after he pleaded guilty to having custody of a


dog in breach of a disqualifica­ tion order under the Protection of Animals Act. Mr Tindall immediately lodged an appeal against sen-


• tence and applied for bail pend­ ing that appeal. - But bail was refused despite his contention that because of


“She lived for her mum, Rotaract,


swimming and diving,” he commented. Mr Trevor Roberts, who is the


Rotary Club of Clitheroe’s representa­ tive for Rotaract, said Miss Schofield was a “great asset” to the club and that everyone in the Rotary Club thought a lot of her. “It really is a tragedy,” he added. Miss Schofield had been president of


Rotaract since July last year. Previously she had been a member of


the Blackburn Rotaract Club. Ribble Valley Rotaract’s monthly


meeting at the Edisford Bridge pub was cancelled last night as a mark of respect. Arrangements were being made for


Miss Schofield’s body to be flown back to the UK yesterday prior to funeral arrangements being made.


H A N S O N


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