: Thursday, October 11 th, 2007 y No. 6,324


news and views from the Centre of the.


Diamond couple celebrate


PAGE 11


www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk; ' Price 62p >.


Has Dominic ‘Lost’ his local roots?


PAGE 17


Mum betrayed by the daughter she trusted


STEALING her sick mother’s identi­ ty to rack up nearly £21,000 of debt almost put Clitheroe woman Char­ lot te Louise Dibb behind bars this


week. Instead the 26-year-old insurance clerk


walked free from court, partly due to a let­ ter outlining her “qualities” - a letter writ­ ten by the trusting mother she so cruelly


betrayed. Dibb, pictured, of Bracken Hey, was


sentenced at Preston Crown Court to nine months in prison, but suspended for 12 months. She was also ordered to do 200 hours’ unpaid work after admitting nine counts of deception. The court heard how she used the per­


sonal details of her mother, Mrs Gail McGibbon, to get credit in her name, then went on a massive spending spree with her


boyfriend. Mrs McGibbon, in her 50s, had given


Dibb responsibility for her banking because she was suffering from cancer. She trusted her daughter absolutely and sus­


pected nothing. But when she tried to remortgage her


home Mrs McGibbon was stunned to be turned down because of unpaid credit card balances which she knew nothing about.


After learning that the loans were linked


to another address, Mrs McGibbon played detective and discovered the home belonged to a friend of her daughter. She went to the house in Great Harwood and peered through the letterbox to find post addressed to her piled on the doormat.


When Mrs McGibbon confronted her


daughter, Dibb broke down in tears and admitted the scam, devised to help her pay off her existing debts. I t emerged Dibb had also stolen the indentity of her sister, Sarah, to obtain another credit card. In addition the the nine counts of decep­


tion admitted by Dibb, her counsel asked for a further 75 offences to be taken into account. The court heard how, in January 2004,


Mrs McGibbon was faced with taking over the whole mortgage for her home in Clitheroe after splitting from her partner. Mr Francis McEntee (prosecuting) said:


“By May 2006 she (Mrs McGibbon) was in the process of clearing her outstanding debts. “Having previously remortgaged her


home, she set out to do the same again. “However, on July 11th she was advised


by the company to which she made the application that her application was to be refused because there were outstanding unpaid credit card balances and a loan from the Alliance and Leicester. “She was extremely shocked at that


information. She knew nothing about the • continued on page 2


Minister promises aid package


DOWNHAM farmer Thomas Binns played an influential role in securing a £12.5m. aid package for livestock farmers nationwide hit by the effects of the foot and mouth restric­ tions. Mr Binns, left, the


NFU’s national Livestock Chairman, welcomed Secre­ tary of State Hilary Benn to his Ribble Valley Farm, where a forthright discussion took place across the kitchen table. • Full story, see page 3.


FAMILY NOTICES... PAGES 18,19 ■ AT YOUR SERVICE... PAGES 6,7 ■ VILLAGE NEWS... PAGES 12,13,14


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