The Clitheroe Thursday, August 31 S t , 2006 No. 6,266 news and views from the Centre of the Kingdom www.clitherpetoday.co.uk vertiser andTimes


Hat-trick for club


PAGE 56


Nicola comes out top


PAGES


'We all thought we were going to die’


_____by Marcia Morris_____


“I REALLY felt we were not going to get out alive. I thought we were going to die”, said Mrs Catherine Lawson after returning to the Ribble Valley from a family holiday in fire-ravaged Halkidiki, in Greece. Mrs Lawson, together with her


husband, Philip, and daughter Emma (15) live in Fountains Avenue, Simonstone. The family was staying at the


Lesse Hotel, in the resort of Han- ioti, on the Cassandra Peninsular, when they spotted a red glow in the distance while standing on their balcony at 6 p.m., a week last Monday. As the glow drew nearer they


could see smoke and flames. As concern mounted, Mrs Lawson suggested they put together a small bag of their valuables, such as passports, travel documents and money in case they had to flee quickly. They decided to go to the pool


bar to see what information they could gather and were told by


staff to keep calm and relax in the reception bar with other hotel guests. However, it quickly became


apparent that all was not well, and Mrs Lawson said that when she looked out of the window she could see trees surrounding th e . front of the hotel already in flames with burning embers drop­ ping on to the ground. Within two hours the family


collected the bag they had pre­ pared earlier, secured their hotel room and made their way to the back of the hotel. There they dis­ covered iron railings barring their way to what they hoped would be a safe route towards the beach. Mr Lawson, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, could not climb over, so with the help of other guests they flattened the railings enough to escape. As they ran for the beach, they said trees were burning all around them and there was the sound of tyres bursting as parked cars were caught in the flames. The fright­ ened family ran along the beach with the flames following for 200 to 300 yards before they found a clearing at the sea edge, where they could see boats moored 50


BURNED-OUT cars littered the route to the beach (s)


yards away. “Emma coped with the ordeal very well”, said Mrs Lawson. “The heat was so intense and


as we stood there we watched a beach bar go up in flames and heard the gas bottles exploding. It was very frightening”. Suddenly the wind changed


and the flames veered off in another direction, but the family stayed on the beach until 6 a.m. when they made their way back. “The devastation at the three- year-old hotel was unbelievable,” said Mrs Lawson. “There was no


greenery left, umbrellas had been burned, sun beds and chairs had melted and towels left on bal­ conies were just burnt to a crisp”. Rumours were rife about how


the fire started. One source said it was lightening, another said the heatwave was the cause while arson was also speculated. The family was eventually


evacuated to Thessaloniki for two nights before returning home, with smoke inhalation af te r ­ effects and a few cuts and bruises received while trying to move the iron fence.


Cash pours in for Castle


WITHIN a month of a plea going out to the Ribble Valley’s business community for financial support for the Clitheroe Castle scheme, the sum of £89,000 has been pledged. The news was con­


veyed to members of the community group, Keep­ ers of the Castle, by Lan­ cashire High Sheriff Mr Peter Robinson. Expressing his delight


from the town who may wish to donate and have their name on a plaque in the Castle Museum,” he added. The council’s Commu­


nity Development Man­ ager Chris Hughes explained th a t the £3.2m. scheme was now moving forward apace. Archaeological work


at being able to spear­ head the Keepers of the Castle cause in his year of office, he told the group th a t “it is going fantastically well.” “I am delighted by the


response we are getting from all over the place. There is still a lot to do.” Those wishing to be


involved financially included, he said, a for­ mer Clitheroe resident now living in the south of the country who had read about the appeal in the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times and contact­ ed the council to see how they could help. “I wish we had a data


base of all the people who have moved away


would shortly be carried out on site and the pub­ lic would soon notice engineers and archaeolo­ gists in the vicinity of the museum. November would see


final submissions for the scheme to English Her­ itage Lottery and the final decision was expect­ ed on Valentine’s Day 2007. The council was still


looking at May 2008 as the official opening date. • ANY past or pres­


ent residents who would like to contribute to the scheme either via the £500 Community Chal­ lenge, which would see their names on a plaque in the refurbished muse­ um, or in other ways, should contact Rebecca Kay, tel. 01200 414496.


FAMILY NOTICES... PAGES 24,25 ■ AT YOUR SERVICE... PAGES 4,5 i m iA G E NEWS... PAGES 12,13 You're Fit!! You will be if you join L .C .


LEE CARTER LEADING THE WAY IN


FITNESS & HEALTH


Call in for a FREE guest pass - we wopld love to show yo round...open Z1Qam-9.30 seven days


Off Lowergate, Clitheroe. BB7 1AD T: 01200 424475 & 424472 F: 01200 444075 W: www.lee-carter.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29