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The Clitheroe


Thursdays November 3rd, 2005 No. 6,224 news and views from the Centre of the Kingdom . ^ www.ciitheroetoday.co.ulc Price. 58p., dvertiser and 1 imes rp


‘We watched club paedophile closely’


__________ by Vivien Meath


THE president of Ribblesdale Wanderers Cricket Club this wpek stood by his club’s decison to allow a convicted paedophile


to teach young boys cricket. On Monday, John Gidlow, of Chatburn


Road, Clitheroe was sentenced to six months in prison having admitted three offences of breaching a Sex Offenders Prevention Order. Preston Crown Court heard tha t Gidlow


had been coaching at Ribblesdale for eight or nine years during which three thousand boys passed through the coaching that took place. Shortly after Gidlow arrived a t Ribblesdale, the club had received an anonymous tip that a


paedophile had joined. Through a process of elimination, Gidlow was singled out and was then watched, “far


closer than normally would be th e< ^e”. The Oxford graduate had been sentenced to


nine months imprisonment, three of them sus­ pended, for indecent assaults against boys under 16 while a housemaster a t a boys’ boarding school in the 1980s. Following this week’s appearance at Preston


Crown Court, questions were being asked as to why Gidlow was allowed to continue as a junior coach at Ribblesdale Wanderers Crick­ et Club and why, despite being subject to a Sex Offences Prevention Order, he was still allowed to attend the public areas of Ribbles­ dale club. Police successfully sought an interim order


in 2004 following concern about his behaviour when he moved his allegiance to Clitheroe Cricket Club. In March, when the interim order was made into a full one, Gidlow was prohibited from


having contact or trying to contact anyone under 16 or attend or join sports or leisure clubs - the one exception being Ribblesdale. Following the case, club president Mr Denis


Birch said that during 15 years at Ribblesdale, Gidlow was “never on his own with kids.” He was, said Mr Birch, much respected and


there was no inclination whatsoever, either from children or parents, of any problem. “To say we knew was not totally true,” he


added. “He was under supervision and never alone


with kids. Do you ban everyone with a past record, whatever it might be?” Cricket was, said Mr Birch, Gidlow’s life.


Suggesting that there could have been “a lit­ tle bit of victimisation,” he reiterated that those at the club who were involved in youth cricket had received no complaints. • Turn to page 5 for court case.


Yankee mum is ‘Truly British’ Heart of the Kingdom winner


AN American now owns a one-year lease to the “Heart of the Kingdom” ^ te r winning a competition run by Harrods. Gail Lederman (42), who is originally from


New England and was living with family in New York before moving to the UK almost five years ago, scooped the top prize in the ironically named “Truly British” promotion. Harrods was given permission to offer the


one-metre square piece of land, which is the centre of the UK according to Ordnance Sur­


vey, by United Utilities, which own the 11,400- hectare Bowland Estate that it is situated in. Mother-of-three Gail commented: “We’d


like to put a Fulham FC flag there, because we’re season ticket holders. We hope that won’t antagonise the local supporters of Black- bum and the like. “We’re visiting residents here, and Great


Britain and England have won our hearts, so we’re thrilled to be part of all the hoopla.” The whole Lederman family will enjoy a


luxury weekend stay a t the Dunkenhalgh Hotel and a trip to the “Heart of the King­ dom”, where a deed -will be presented. The centre of the UK is four miles north


west of Dunsop Bridge on Brennand Farm, where Geoff and Margaret Walker have been the tenants for the past 35 years.They hit the headlines after declining an all-expenses paid trip to London and a shopping spree in Har­ row offered as a thank you for their co-opera­ tion, saying they would rather stay at home.


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Proud grandad bets on ‘next Wayne Rooney’


PROUD grandad Robert Kay has placed bets with the local bookies that his nine-year-old grandson will become the next Wayne Rooney. Mr Kay, of Shireburn


Park, Edisford Road, Clitheroe, has placed a £20 bet a t odds of 250 to one with William Hill book­ makers that his grandson, Elliott, will one day play premiership football. He has also staked £10 at odds of 1,000 to one that Elliott will play for England. A pupil at Pendle Prima­


ry School, Elliott, of River Lea Gardens, plays for


Clitheroe Wolves under 10s, of which his father, Garry Kay, is manager. He also acts as mascot for Clitheroe FC away games. Elliott plays every Sun­


day in the North Valley League for Clitheroe Wolves with his admiring grandad watching from the sidelines. For the Kay family, “the


beautiful game” is in their blood. Dad Garry is a for­ mer defender for Clitheroe and Clitheroe Reserves and now plays for Barn- oldswick. Eiven young Max, at the tender age of five, is showing promise.


VILLAGE NEWS... PAGES 11,12,13 ■f-I O E/1.S


MR KAY with foolbulling grandson Elliott


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