2 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, March 24th, 2005
INSIDE YOUR CLITHEROE ADVERTISER AND TilVIES
Valley Matters.............. Village News ................ . 11,12 and 13 Letters...........................
Weekendplus................ ___22 and 23 Weekend T V ................ ___24 and 25 Family Notices.............. Readersplus.................. J ob s ..............................
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27 46 50
Propertyplus................ ..........29 to 47
IMotorsplus.................. ..........55 to 69 1 Sport ............................ ..........70 to 72
AT A G L A N C E ...
Mother’s tragic plea - page 5 Headteacher writes - page 6 Home’s milestone -- page 9 Sleepwalk inquest - page 28
INFORMATION
Duty chemist: Good Friday - Heyes Chemist, 35 Moor Lane, Clitheroe: noon to 1 p.m. Easter Sunday - Lloyds Pharmacy, 5 Church Street,
Clitheroe: noon to 1 p.m. Eas ter Monday - Boots the Chemist, 15-19 Castle
Street, Clitheroe: noon to 1 p.m. Police: 01200 443344. Fire: In emergency 999 and ask for fire service. Electricity: 0800 1954141. Gas: 0800 111999. Water: 0845 462200. Councils: Ribble Valley Borough Council, Clitheroe 425111. Clitheroe Town Council, 424722. Hospitals: Blackburn Royal Infirmary: 01254 263555. Queen's P a rk H o sp i ta l , Black b u rn : 01254 263555. Airedale General H o sp ita l, Ste eton: 01535 652511. Clitheroe Community Hospital: 427311. Alcohol Information Centre: 01282 416655. Aidsline: 01282 831101 (7 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Domestic Violence Helpline: 01282 422024. Cruse Bereavement Care: Blackburn, Hyndburn and Rib ble Valley 01254 207999. Environmental Agency: Emergencies - 0800 807060. Drugs: Local confidential advice and information line: 01200 444484. National: 0800 776600. Ribbic Valley Talking Newspaper: 01200 428604. Samaritans: 01254 662424. Monthly Volunteer Helpline: 01200 422721. Lancashire Rural Stress Network: 01200 427771. QUEST (specialist smoking
ce.ssalion service): 01254 358095. Ribble Valley Citizens’ Advice Bureau: 01200 428966.
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Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified) Please forgive me
Childminder’s plea for compassion over death of Joshua
by Andrew Bellard
JUST hours before she was jailed childminder Wendy Barlow made an impassioned plea for understanding and for
giveness. The mother-of-three told
how she had loved Joshua like one of her own and had never meant him any harm. And she said the tragic
consequences of her actions would haunt her for the rest of her life. “I can never forget what
happened,” she said. “I watched a little boy die in front of me, a boy who had been entrusted to me. I let Joshua down and I let his mum down. “But what I want people
to understand is th a t I never deliberately hurt Joshua. I loved him dearly and could never have done anything to harm him. I am not making excuses for what happened that night, I was wrong and I will pay the penalty. “I know Emma and her
family have paid the ulti mate price, but I have been labelled a baby killer, some kind of monster who would deliberately hurt this baby and that is not true. “I deserve to be pun
ished for what happened, but I want people to know I have not done anything malicious or deliberate. I have made a terrible mis take that I will have to live
with for the rest of my life. I know my pain is nothing compared to Emma’s and I just want her to know how sorry I am.” Barlow told how Joshua spent many hours at her home outside the contracted, Ofsted- approved childminding hours and how her daugh ter, Carmen, now 14, had baby-sat Joshua three times when she was 13 years old. On the night of Joshua’s
death his mother had asked Barlow to baby-sit so she could have a night out. “Emma and I had a
glass of wine when she came tp collect Joshua at tea time and i t was only because Carmen was going to a party and could not go round and baby-sit that I eventually agreed to look after him,” she said. “Its hard to accept that I set out to help somebody by doing them a favour and ended up causing so much pain and heartache. Look ing after him th a t night was something done out of friendship and nothing to do with my work.” Barlow spoke of the pain
she has caused her own family, including husband Paul, who has had to give up his job as an off-shore marine engineer, and chil dren Carmen, Heather (10), and three-year-old Max. “Our suffering can’t be anything compared to theirs, but two families have been ripped apart by this,” said Barlow. “I know
'X 1 W m [ Si*.., ".t
I will be going to prison, but I just wish I could put it away until my children grow up and then do it. “They haven’t done any
thing wrong but they are going to be punished. Things were said to the girls a t first, but the schools have been brilliant. Max still asks where Joshua is, they were like brothers.” Reliving the night of
Joshua’s death, Barlow said she had left him asleep on the sofa while she went for a bath. He came into the bathroom and to soothe him she lifted him into the bath with her. Joshua slipped and banged his head and went face down into the water. “One second he was
breathing and next he was n’t,” she said. “I watched a little boy die in front of me. When you do your first aid training they tell you how to do mouth to mouth, but they don’t tell you the child might die. I was in shock. Carmen was asking why Joshua wasn’t breathing and she fainted. It was like a bomb had blown up in
my face. I know I should have dialled 999 straight away, but I didn’t for over an hour and I don’t know why,” said Barlow. “I put Joshua in bed, I was willing him to breathe again. I made some bad decisions, some because of drink and some because I was in shock, but none because I wanted to hurt him. Bar- low said that despite her vilification in the media she had received tremendous support from her family and friends and even from the parents of other chil dren who had been trusted to her care. “They have all said they
would be happy for me to look after their children again and that is a great comfort to me,” said Bar- low. I have never deliber ately hurt a child in my life and I never would. I made some bad decisions on that night, but I never intended Joshua any harm. I am not a baby killer or some kind of beast. I loved Joshua like he was one of my own and I will never forget him. I want Emma to know how sorry I am.” Husband Paul
said that when his wife is released from prison they will sell their home in the village of Sabden and make a fresh s ta r t somewhere else. “Everyone around here,
everyone who knows Wendy, has been very sup portive and we can’t thank them enough, but this house holds too many memories now,” said Mr Barlow. Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans raised the case during Prime Minister’s Questions last week and called for information to be given to parents about childminders. But Mr Barlow revealed
that the MP had wriiien on his wife’s behalf when her Ofsted registration had not come through as soon as expected. “They seem to be mak
ing an issue out of the fact that Wendy was not regis tered to look after children overnight, but everyone knew that beforehand, said Mr Barlow. Our picture shows
Wendy Barlow with her husband, Paul, and three children.
Grandmother’s ‘Justice for Joshua’ campaign by Julie Magee
THE campaign spearheaded by Joshua’s grandmother, Cathy Massey, calling tor tougher legis lation for childminders gained national coverage this week. Mrs Massey (50), of Riverlea
I SLAIDBURN I-i( . r GIHATBURN W S l i
HALLEyV'v' ■ READ
■ BURNLEY '■ACCRINGT 1'
WEEKEND WEATHER: SUNNY spells are predict ed for Saturday, while Sunday will remain dry, with some bright spells..
SUNRISE: 6-03 a.m. SUNSET: 6-30 p.m. LIGHTING UP TIME: 6-30 p.m.
Clocks go forward tine hour on Sunday. British Summer Time begins.
■ GISBURN
Gardens, Clitheroe, highlighted the family’s Justice for Joshua campaign on GMTV yesterday morning and quizzed Children’s Minister Margaret Hodge at Westminster about more strin gent regulations regarding regis tered childminders. Speaking to Mrs Massey after
Barlow’s sentencing on Tuesday, she said: “We heard in court that Ofsted had concerns about Wendy Barlow’s binge drinking and it is that binge drinking that killed Joshua. “He was an innocent child, only
19 months old who could not defend himself or shout for help. Someone should have stood up
and admitted that this woman had a binge drinking problem and should have thought this is too much of a risk to let her look after a child. Ofsted has failed badly. “Someone did not do their job
properly. They had information in front of them that could have saved a child’s life and they did nothing with that information. “I want the law changed so that
parents are allowed to access childminders’ records and decide whether they would want to leave their child with that person.” She called on everyone in Eng
land, Scotland and Wales who has a childminder or is thinking of employing one to write to Ofsted calling for changes to be made. Mrs Massey is also calling for
childminders to undergo more thorough training. “Whatever changes are made
will not bring Joshua back, but what it will hopefully do is save another child from the same fate. To get Justice for Joshua the law
needs changing and the law will not change itself. That is why I’m
committed to campaigning for change.” Mrs Massey is being backed by
Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans, who is calling for an independent inquiry to be conducted into Ofst- ed’s handling of the case. Mrs Massey also wants to open
up the debate on sentencing and the way children’s post-mortems are conducted.
She ^id: “Wendy Barlow took
Joshua’s life and nothing is more important on this planet than life, as it is something we cannot give back, buy or replace - it’s unique. “My personal opinion is if
someone takes the life of another human being, they must have a minimum length of sentence - pleading guilty to manslaughter should carry a minimum sentence of 10 years.”
Mrs Massey also believes the
Government needs to overhaul the post-mortem procedures in
place when a child dies. She said: “There’s an awful long time to wait between post-mortems. “The legal system should speci
fy that if two post mortems are needed, like they were for Joshua, they should be completed within a week. We had to wait four to five weeks. “When a child dies, you need to
have the funeral because it’s part of the grieving and healing pro cess.” Mrs Massey said the family now wanted to move on and start their grieving process. “We must draw a line under
Tuesday’s court case and look for ward. “There is not a moment goes by
th a t we do not think about Joshua, but we all, especially Emma and Simon must start looking to the future.” On behalf of all the family, she
expressed her heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported them through this horrendous period in their lives.
Ofsted statement - page 28 ■ MP’s call to Prime Minister for inquiry -page 28
Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)
www.clitheroetoday.co.uk
Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, March 24th, 2005 3 End of the road for ‘royal’ bus? by Julie Magee
THE award-winning rural bus service Bowland Tran sit is under serious threat of folding due to lack of fund
ing. The flagship service, which
was unveiled by HRH Prince Charles in 2003, pictured right, has secured less than half of the funding it needs to keep going. At the moment, the service
is a lifeline to those who live in Bowland - one of th e most remote areas of the Ribble Val ley, which has no other trans port network. I t acts as the only vital link
between Bowland’s small rural communities, a life-line to those who need transport to local health centres and an essential service for local stu dents who attend a variety of the county's schools and col leges. The successful service, which
has smashed its passenger fig ures for two years running, has not yet been able to secure con tinuation funding for the next financial year.
I t currently has £100,000 in
the coffers, but needs another £150,000 to maintain the same level of service. The money the project has
will be used to provide an extension of two of its services over the next two months. This is ironic considering the
celebrated award-winning ser vice smashed passenger figures in its first year realising 19,000 passengers instead of the pre dicted 10,000. In its second year, the ser
vice transported 21,000 pas sengers around the area - 2,000 more than predicted. The lack of secure funding
means that several services will be cut this summer. They include the BIO
Clitheroe to Settle service via Slaidbum, which runs on Sun days or Bank Holidays and includes the Three Peaks circu lar; the B15 Colne to Lancast er service via Clitheroe and the Trough of Bowland, which runs on Sundays or Bank Holi days; the B16 Clitheroe to Pre ston service, which runs on Saturdays; and from May 21st onwards, the BIO service from Clitheroe to Settle including
the Three Peak Circular, which runs on Sundays or Bank Holi days. Bowland Transit's demand responsive service 1645, which picks up Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School and St Mary's College, Blackburn, students, will also only contin ue in its present format until May 20th. AJfter this, it is proposed the
service, which picks up stu dents from Clitheroe Inter change after they have trav elled by train from Blackburn, will leave half an hour later. Two other services will con
tinue in their present format for the next two months. These include the BIO Clitheroe to Settle via Slaidburn seven-day week service and the B12 Clitheroe to Garstang Thurs day's only service via Chipping and Whitechapel. Out of the initial funding
partners, only Lancashire County Council and the Gov ernment's Rural Challenge Fund are willing provide con tinuation funding, beyond Bowland Transit's initial two- year contract. At the moment, the service
provides employment for five full-time positions and three part-time positions. Many in the local communi
ty have been dismayed by the news including local parents whose children will suffer
Lucky escape for canoe group
FIVE kayakers were lucky to escape serious injury after they got into difficulties in the River Hodder while on a canoeing adventure. The incident, on Saturday night,
sparked a massive 40-man rescue operation involving members of the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue team, fire-fighters, two ambulances together with police officers and a pohee helicopter. The team of kayakers, believed to
be from the North Manchester area, consisted of two women and three men, who had set off on the river from Whitewell at 4 p.m. on Satur day, expecting to get back to their car before nightfall. However by 6 p.m. a couple of the
party had got into difficulties in the dark, getting increasingly cold and wet and not making the progress they expected. A full-scale rescue operation was
launched just before midnight and the alarm was raised when one of the party members, Simon Tetlow, of Middleton, was able to send a
text message to his sister calling for help. Simon and his friend, Rachel Vincent, were eventually spotted by the rescuers at 4-30 a.m. close to their ultimate destination huddled for warmth on the river bank. However emergency crews con
tinued the search for fellow kayak ers Richard Lyons, Joanne Nichol son and her 13-year-old son, Dan, who had set on foot to get help At 5-30 a.m on Sunday, the trio
were spotted by the police heli copter and had lit a fire to keep warm. The team did not need any hospital treatment, but were exam ined by paramedics at the scene. Mountain rescue team member,
Mr Andy Binstead, said the quintet was extremely lucky to escape seri ous injury as the incident could have led to serious consequences. He added: “I fear things may
have ended very differently. Apart from spending the night in the cold and wet, fortunately all five were unharmed after their ordeal. “The group was not equipped for
the night in the'open and it was lucky they managed to get a mobile signal to call for help.” Mr Binstead also urged people to
inform relatives and friends of their whereabouts and to allow them selves enough time when embarking on a canoeing adventure. “The reason the kayakers got into
trouble was because they set out at 4 p.m. with only two to three hours of daylight left,” stated Mr Bin stead, who has been a team member for over 14 years. “Their problems really started
when they became disorientated in the dark. Since it was a mild evening and it was a dry night, they got away with it lightly. Otherwise, they would have been found serious ly ill and could have ended up in hospital.” After the incident, kayaker
Joanne said: “We feel so embar rassed with the trouble we have caused. I never expected there to be so many people helping and we are relieved to be back.”
Car thief traced through throwing litter
POLICE who collared a teenage lit ter lout who threw a piece of cloth on the floor were eventually able to link him to the theft of a car which was subsequently set alight. Blackburn magistrates heard the
officers became suspicious when they found a set of car keys in Jack
Gowers’ pockets. And subsequent forensic exami
nation proved the cloth he said he had used to blow his nose matched the rag that had been stuffed in the car petrol tank and set alight. Jack Gowers (18), of Gordall Cot tages, Stonyhurst, pleaded guilty to
theft of a car belonging to Stephen Thompson, and arson. He was made the subject of a
community rehabilitation order for 12 months and ordered to pay £1,600 compensation and £50 costs. Mr Neil White (prosecuting),
said Mr Thompson had parked his car outside his uncle’s house and left the keys in the ignition. When he returned the car was
there, but the keys were gone. Min utes later, after he went into his uncle’s house to tell him what had happened, the car was driven away. It was later found burned out.
“The police caught Gowers
because he threw a cloth on the floor,” said Mr White. “He was told to pick it up and the
link with the stolen car was eventu ally established. The defendant has no previous convictions and was certainly not a suspect.” Elizabeth Parker (defending),
said his client was very remorseful. “On the day of the incident he
had been drinking with friends in Clitheroe and had drunk a mini mum of 10 pints,” she said. “He doesn’t really remember what hap pened.”
Health services under the spotlight - see page 4 181:01200 429029
fax;01200 442991
www.ultraframe-consetvataries.co.uk
u l t r a Reqistsred Company M i Ill through the cuts to the school
service. Dr Neil Wilson, who is based
at Slaidburn Health Centre, commented: "We've got patients scattered throughout a rural area and they are not
all car owners and so a reliable bus service is vital for access to the health centre." Ribble Valley MP Nigel
Evans is also taking up the cause
(j090103/30)
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