+2 Clitheroe Advertiser &Times, Thursday, January 31st, 2008
INSIDE TOUR CLITHEROE ADVERTISER AND TIMES
a Valley Matters........ ...................... 6,7 i Village News............................... 14,15 i Letters............................................. 13 a Weekendplus.............................23,24 a Thursday feature ...........................17 a Family Notices ...............................18 a Whalley news ...................................4 a Motors Today .................................27 B Sport...........................................46-48
AT A GLANCE...
Councillors demand action - page 4 Lifetime climb on ice - page 5
Chernobyl children latest - page 8 New Rotaract Club - page 19
INFORMATION
Duly
chcmi.sl; Buckleys Pharmacy, 4 Railway View Road, Clitheroe: Sunday, noon to 1 p.m. Police: 01200 443344. Fire: In emergency 999 and ask for fire service. Elcclricity: 0800 1954141. Gas: 0800111999. Water: 0845 462200. Councils: Ribble Valley Borough Council, Clitheroe 425111. Clitheroe Town Council, 424722. Hospitals: Royal Blackburn Royal Hospital: 01254 263555. Airedale General Hospital, Steeton: 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: Ribble Valley 01200 429346. Environmental Agency: Emergencies - 0800 807060. Drugs: Local confidential advice and information line: 01200 444484. National: 0800 776600. Ribble Valley Talking Newspaper: 01200 428604. Samaritans: 01254 662424. Monthly Volunteer Helpline: 01200 422721. Lancashire Rural Stress Network: 01200 427771. QUEST (specialist smoking cessation service): 01254 358095. Ribble Valley Citizens’ Advice Bureau: 01200 428966.
CONTACT US! News: 01200 422324
Advertising: 01200 122323 Classified: 01282 422331
Family Notices and Photo Orders: 01282 426161, ext. Ill) Fax: 01200 443467 editor e-mail:
vivien.mealh@
easllancsnews.co.uk news editor e-mail:
Dimcan.sniith@
eiistlancsncws.co.uk sports editor e-mail:
edward.lec@casllancsnew.s.co.uk
WEATHER
DUNSOP BRIDGES
I SLAIDBURN
CHIPPING B c C ) CLITHEROE S
LANGHOB
'oo°o a CHATBURN
Bt WHALLEY BREAD
GISBURN Bridge latest Walk for charity SgS?!, B BURNLEY " ACCRINGTON BLACKBURNB
WEEKEND WEATHER: Forecasters predict light snow showers on Saturday with heavy snow on Sun day'. Temperatures will fail as low as -1°
SUNRISE: 7-57a.m. SUNSET: 4-46 p.m.'^ LIGHTING UP TIME: 4-16 p.m.
................
WINNERS at Clitheroe Bridge Club on Monday evening were NS Jean Martindale and Tony Stokes, Geoff Wharfe and Kath Thompson. EW Adrian Norris and William Norris, Lillian Wharfe and Linda Wilkinson. Cn Thursday evening
winners were NS Adrian Norris and-William Nor ris, Jean Martindale and Janet Bailey. EW Doreen Blake ;
and-.Deanna Atkinson, Brenda'Wilson and John Renton.
GP
A SPONSORED walk has raised more than £4,500 for two cancer charities. The walk, organised by Mrs Sheila Fer
guson, of Ferguson’s Deli, Clitheroe Mar ket, raised £4,7106.70. The fund received an additional boost
with a contribution from this year’s Christmas market. The proceeds liave been split between
two charities treating people in the advanced stages of cancer, the Rosemere Cancer Foundation and Sanctuary Heal ing.
Mrs Ferguson said: “I would like to
thank everyone, including the market traders and all those who supported the event.’ “I am, as'always, very grateful.’”
Pendle Club
BRIDGE winners at the Pendle Club were: Mrs Eileen Wood, Mrs Marilyn Wood, Mrs Doris Farnsworth, Mrs Dorothy Jackson. Experienced players welcome
every Monday at 1-30 p.m. Solo whist winners at the Pendle
Club were: Mrs J. Thornton, B. Wood, Mrs D. Underwood. New players welcome every Mon
day at 7 p.m. Dominoes: R. Seed, joint 2, J.
Sagar and J. Pye, joint 4, R. Knight and J. Oddie.
New members welcome every Fri
day at 7 p.m. Line dancing is held every Thurs
day at 1-30’p.ih. ■ ■ ” ’
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Ciitheroe 422324 (Editoriai), 422323 (Advertising), Burniey 422331 (Classified)
From a workhouse to 21st Century hospital
__________ by Faiza Afzaal__________
CLITHEROE’S Community Hospital began life as the area’s workhouse. It was opened on April 21st, 1873, as
Clitheroe Union Workhouse - built for up to 200 inmates and equipped with a small and very basic 36-bed hospital wing. It was taken over by Lancashire County
Council in the 1920s and after 1930, it became Coplow View Public Assistance Infirmary. In 1948, it became part of the new
National Health Service and known as Clitheroe Hospital. Surprisingly, it was only in the 1960s that
accommodation for people “on the road” was discontinued. At one time, in return for chopping firewood, cleaning or gardening, travellers could obtain a meal, bath and bed for the night! Its role changed considerably over the
years. In November 1983, Ribble Valley resi
dents welcomed a new era in health services as Clitheroe Community Hospital became open to all patients over 16. Prior to this, places were mainly filled by
geriatric patients. The move resulted in a tremendous
advantage for local people as they were able to access a wide-range of health and com munity services and visit their friends and relatives regularly without leaving the town. Among other services, the hospital, in
Chatburn Road, boasted an occupational therapy and physiotherapy department and three main wards, plus a 28-place day hospi-
ir -
bring health care closer to the community and assure the long-future of assets, such as Clitheroe’s Community Hospital - seen as the jewel in the CommuniCare of the Trust crown.
' x Cfficials were looking at the hospital’s out
patient department, developing services and also looking at the hospital as a gateway to other services. To help that process, they were inviting consultants from the Black burn hospitals to hold their outpatient ses sions. The year 2001 saw some modernisation of
RIBBLE VALLEY resident David Peat, chief c.xecutive of the Primary Care Trust who has announced the new hospital this week.
tal. Open to acute and rehabilitation cases, post-operative and pre-convalescent, as well as holiday relief patients, another attraction was a special rehabilitation flat, paid for by the Friends of Clitheroe Hospital. In December 1993, hospital consultants
began holding outpatients’ clinics at Clitheroe. Initially they were run as general surgery
clinics and there were talks that they could be followed by clinics held by eye and gynae cology specialists. Exciting developments were under way in
1994 to improve the hospital and widen its use. Health chiefs were holding talks to
the premises with the launch of new consult ing and examination rooms for use by both hospital consultants taking clinics and Rib- blesdale Emergency Medical Services doc tors handling telephone calls outside surgery hours. The attractive new £331,000 building,
funded by CommuniCare and the Ribble Valley Primary Care Group, also provided a bright, welcoming waiting area and staff facilities. It was opened to cope with the demand for outpatient sessions. The building has seen many changes in its
135 years. Welcoming the move for the new hospital,
Mr David Morris, chief executive at Ribble Valley Borough Council, said: “This is a shot in the arm for rural healthcare, particu larly at a time when other rural services, such as post offices, are under threat. “This redevelopment of Clitheroe Hospi
tal heralds the extension and modernisation of health services in Ribble Valley and I am absolutely delighted for local residents.”
Workshop given
thumbs up
A WOMEN’S free health and well-being event with a laughter workshop proved to be just the tick et for local residents. The event included
activities such as medita tion, reflexology and massage, and for the more adventurous, belly dancing and self-defence. Robin Graham has
been developing laugh ter-related work since 1988 and the laughter sessions are said to “encourage a sense of playfulness and fun which can be directed towards team building, confidence b u i ld i^ ' comunication and lem solving”. B B r Two workshops took
place at St James’s Church Hall. Pictured are some of those who attended.(s)
For Ribble Valley news online go to...
www.clitheroe
advertiser.co.uk
e I '
Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)
LATEST LOCAL NEWS & SPORT
^ ONLINE 24 hours a
AN unemployed ch a r i ty worker from Clitheroe who waged a million pound black mail and bomb hoax campaign against Tesco has been jailed for sue years. Philip McHugh (52), of Milton
Avenue, forced the closure of 14 supermarkets - costing the giant firm £1.4m. in lost business. In letters to Tesco bosses, first
at its call centre in Dundee and then a t its head office in Cheshunt, Herts, he used the name “Arbuthnot - the sign of the spider”. He even Sellotaped dead spiders inside some of the letters and threatened a “Black Satur day” for the company. McHugh appeared on Monday
for sentence at St Albans Crown Court having earlier pleaded guilty to three sample offences of blackmail and two of making hoax bomb threats between May and July last year He launched his campaign while
suffering from clinical depression, had tried to take his own life and had built up £37,000 of debt by online gambling, the court heard. Prosecutor Mr Patrick Fields
said McHugh, who had no previ ous convictions, had married a Russian woman in March 2003 while he was teaching English in Russia. She and her two teenage children had moved into his home in Clitheroe and he had been working for charities and care organisations. But by September 2006 he left
his job mth a Catholic care home, was suffering depression and his debts were mounting. His wife was teaching Russian to English stu dents, but he had become addict ed to online gambling. As far back as 2005 he had men
tioned to his stepson the possibili ty of extorting cash from super markets by claiming their produce had been contaminated, said the prosecutor. But it was not until May last
■
again saying “All Hell would break loose”. He went on: “Ignore me and you won't know what hit you. You can't conceive my despera tion.” He prepared for “Black Satur
'•
day” by sending 76 letters to addresses all over the country say ing Tesco stores in those areas had bombs that would go off. Due to a postal strike only 14 of
year that he put his plan into action by sending three letters to the Tesco call centre in Dundee threatening to contaminate food with caustic soda. He first asked for £100,000, but said it would increase to £200,000 as his demands were ignored. In June he sent four letters to
bosses at Tesco head office in Cheshunt, saying he would not wait much longer and that the demand had increased to half-a- million pounds. He told the company to respond
by putting a small ad in the per sonal column of The Times. Having received no response, he
sent another letter on July 2nd threatening a “Black Saturday for Tesco”. Again the letter was signed “Arbuthnot, the sign of the spider”. Money was to be paid into a Tuxedo pre-paid debit card account he had set up and he would then withdraw it at the rate of £200 a day. Tesco arranged for money to be
paid into an account, but because of a hitch it was not available until 9 a.m. on the morning of July 6th. McHugh was angry because he had already tried to withdraw £200 after midnight from a bank near his home. On July 7th he wrote to Tesco
the letters were opened on the Sat urday, resulting in the evacuation of stores in Grimsby, Pontefract, Dyfed Powys, Fife and Strath clyde in Scotland, as well as branches in Suffolk, Leicestershire, Humberside, Herefordshire, West Yorks, Nottinghamshire and Lon don. Even the Tesco store in
McHugh’s home town of Clitheroe was one of the 14 forced to close. Mr Fields said one distinctive
feature of the letters was that they bore novelty or speciality stamps, which McHugh had collected in the early 1990s. Some included Dennis the Menace, a Cheshire Cat and the Laughing Policeman. In a letter to the chief executive
of Tesco, Sir Terry Leahy, McHugh wrote: “How did you like Saturday - just a taster of what is to come.” He said his demand had now
increased to £lm. and threatened that blood would flow unless his demands were met. The store paid money into
McHugh's Tuxedo account and he withdrew £200 each day for four consecutive days from cash points at Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley and from a post office in Carlisle. He made a mistake at Burnley as his face was not covered, he said. McHugh was arrested in
Clitheroe on July 23rd at his home. A book called “The Black Book of Revenge” was among items seized from his home, together with computer equip ment. Mr Fields said had all 76 stores been shut, Tesco would have lost
Plea for ‘a return to sanity’ has a hollow ring 7
^K-2-37 p.m. on July 5th, 2007, -^Rp McHugh e-mailed a letter to the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times expressing his “horror” at the anti-social behaviour of local youths and calling for the return of corporal punishment for those who overstep the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. Less than 12 hours later, just
before midnight, he crept from his home in Milton Avenue under cover of darkness and, with the hood of his coat pulled up to cover his face, tried to withdraw money from two cash machines in Clitheroe. I t was money which he had
demanded Tesco pay into an account to prevent him bombing the company’s stores and killing its staff and customers. Just over a week later, 14 of
those stores across the UK were evacuated and closed as McHugh’s sinister campaign of extortion culminated in what he called “Black Saturday”. Bizarrely, McHugh’s letter to
the Clitheroe Advertiser was, in his words, “a plea for a return to
sanity”. It condemned an unprovoked
attack on a local young man by a group of teenagers and the crimi nal activities, of another local
youth, both reported on the front page of the previous week’s paper. Advocating a return to “the
reasoned application of corporal punishment”, McHugh claimed the moral high ground, while simultaneously trying to black mail Tesco to the tune of £lm. by threatening innocent lives. Given his own level of criminal activity, his call for “decent people” to “stand up and be counted” now has a hollow ring to it.
• The full text of his letter,
printed in our edition of July 12th last year, is printed on our two- page special on pages 10 and 11.
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Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, January 31 st, 2008 3 Rihhie Valley under water
online picture .special - log on lo our website at
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7 days a week... log on to
www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk •Six years for bomb threat man
in excess of £10m. business. Defence barrister Mr Richard
Simons said McHugh had an impeccable character until these offences, having worked for Shelter and Oxfam. “He clearly felt a level of despair
and hopelessness,"”he said. McHugh told a doctor: “I know what I did was wrong. It was my last gamble. I thought I would get my life straight.” Mr Simons said he was “crimi
nally naive”, saying that if he had extracted the £lm from Tesco it would have taken him 13-and-a- hah years to withdrawe money at the rate of £200 a day. McHugh had been drinking to excess, had abused sleeping med
ication and was suffering from severe clinical depression, he said. Judge Marie Catterson told
him: “You were at the time emo tionally, domestically and socially isolated and increasingly detached from reality. “You are an intelligent man.
You devoted your organisational talents previously deployed for lawful purposes to this criminal endeavour. It was by no means a perfect crime. You made a number of errors which were your undoing. For all its flaws it was a substan tial and serious effort to extort a large sum of money from Tesco by instilling fear that the public were at risk.”
SEE the police
evidence in a power point
presentation at WWW. clitheroe
advertiser.
co.uk
« Turn lo pages 10 and 11 for
background to the case
r ~ r ' i
As.siir51 L■ - i ■
m y e r ;s (
OPEHIHG TIMES Mon-Sat 9am-5pm'SUtiDAY-BLACKBURN STORES CHLY Itam-4pni
wvm.prestigebciis.co.nl! Red Lion Roundabout
10-14 Burnley Road Mill Street Padiham
01282 774993
Top of Cicely Lane/Hart Street Blackburn
(next to Tommy Balls) 01254 2655S5 . .
Burnlev Road, Blackburn
(Jct6 M&5 - opp McDonalds) 01254 696777
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