Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified) 4 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, January 31st, 2008 www.cIitheroeadvertiser.co.uk Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)


Urgent action for safety measures on death road


by Faiza Afzaal


URGENT action is being demanded by two borough coun­ cillors in a bid to cut down on the number of car crashes a t an accident blackspot. The notorious AC71 Accrington


Road, in Whalley, has been branded a “danger road” after two fatal acci­ dents and a serious car crash this month alone. The first accident came shortly


after the New Year when Barrow pensioner Mrs Elizabeth Jephson (79), died after a head-on collision with a Mercedes just yards from the Spring Wood picnic site. The road, between the traffic


lights and the junction with the A59, then claimed the life of a teenage holiday-maker. Tomas Flasar (19), from the


Czech Republic, died in the colli­ sion, which occurred near the traffic lights, at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Janu­ ary 19th. The accident involved a white


Skoda saloon and a silver Vauxhall Vectra saloon. The driver and three passengers in the Skoda, all Czech Republic


^^afient heard voices


A PATIENT at Calderstones Hospital, in Whalley, punched a male nurse, break­ ing his £450 designer glasses. Paul Turner (27), pleaded guilty at


Blackburn Magistrates’ Court to assaulting James Stuart Lees. He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £500 in com­ pensation to Mr Lees. Miss Emma Keogh (prosecuting) said


that as a result of being punched twice, Mr Lees suffered a cut to his eye and another to his lip. Mr Michael Singleton (defending) said


Turner would be detained at Calder­ stones until a psychiatrist decides he is fit to be released into the community. “At the time of this offence my client says he had voices in his head,” added Mr Sin­ gleton.


^Mum granted bail


WHALLEY woman Susan Reed (53), of Clitheroe Road, was remanded on bail by Hyndbum magistrates charged with assaulting her 27-year-old daughter, Brit- ta Reed, causing her actual bodily harm. Mr Peter King (defending) said his


client had made certain admissions in interview and because she had no previ­ ous convictions he felt she could have been dealt with by way of a caution. He requested an adjournment to make rep­ resentations to the Crown Prosecution Service.


Now have your say


RESIDENTS in Whalley are being invited to have their say about problems in their local community. The next Whalley, surgery will take


place on Saturday between 10-30 and 11- 30 a.m. at the village hall, enabling vil­ lagers to'speak to councillors Joyce Hoi-, gate and 'Terry Hill about issues affect­ ing them and their neighbourhood.


nationals aged between IS and 19, were taken to Royal Blackburn Hos­ pital where Tomas (19), who was the back seat passenger, died from multiple injuries. The driver of the Vauxhall, a 49-


year-old taxi driver from the Clitheroe area, was lucky to escape serious injury. The A671 Accrington Road was


the scene of yet another car smash last Tuesday evening. A 76-year-old man driving a


Honda FRV was in collision with a Suzuki Jimny being driven by a 46- year-old man. The elderly motorist was taken to


hospital as a precaution and the driver of the Suzuki was treated at the scene for minor injuries. The accidents have prompted


Whalley councillors Joyce Holgate and Terry Hill to write to officials at Lancashire County Council calling for safety measures to be brought in immediately to allay the concerns of local residents and motorists. Coun. Holgate added: “It’s a bad


stretch of road and very poorly lit. The number of accidents that have occurred on the stretch show that the road is obviously very haz­ ardous, especially in the hours of


0


v™™.clitheroeadverliser.co.uk


Climbing trip of a lifetime for mountaineers on ice


story and picture by Robbie Robinson


MOUNTAINEERS from the Ribble Valley have just returned from one of the world’s finest ice- J0Kbing locations.


'^Mountaineering instructors Tony Halliwell and Chris Barrow, who runs the Onward and Out­ ward equpiment shop in Clitheroe, organised the trip to Rjukan, in south-central Norway. They were joined by former Clitheroe Adver­ tiser and Times reporter Robbie Robinson, also from Clitheroe, and Tim Hogan, who lives in Great Harwood. The four men, two of whom are


TH E (raffic lights at Spring Wood near Wlialley (B22()108/2)


darkness. County council needs to install more lighting so motorists can see clearly when they are driv­ ing.” # An inquest has opened into the


death of Tomas Flasar. Coroner Michael Singleton said police were still investigating the incident and charges might follow against one of the drivers.


0 DUE to a production problem,


this article and others were omitted from page 68 of last week’s Clitheroe Advertiser and Times. We apologise for the omission - Editor.


Judge praises have-a-go heroes after armed raid on home


A SENIOR judge has praised the bravery of a have-a-go family dur­ ing an armed raid on their Clayton- le-Dale home by five intruders. Restaurateur Mohammed Ali,


having been confronted by the gang, put up a struggle to stop his mouth being gagged. His wife, Johandra Begum,


shouted for their 21-year-old son as attempts were made to muffle her cries. The burglars desperately


smashed their way out of the detached property at Clayton-le- Dale after the son, Zubair Ali, launched a counter attack, which included smashing a guitar over the head of one of the intruders. One of those involved, Rupon


Miah, was jailed for seven years at Preston Crown Court. Judge Anthony Russell QC, the Recorder of Preston, recommended that Zubair Ali should get a £500 reward as a token of the public's esteem at his exemplary courage. The ordeal took place at the fam­


ily home behind the Shazan restau­ rant - a well-known and successful business on the A59 at Clayton-le- Dale - in July last year. Miah, of Neath Street, West- wood, Oldham pleaded guilty to


©A PLANNING application has been subrnitted to Ribble Valley Borough (jouncil for The Grand Performing Arts Centre. The application relates to the demolition of existing extensions.


aggravated burglary Restaurateur Mr All’s wife and two adult children were in bed when he finished work on July 28th. The court heard that the burglars must have sneaked into the property at some point. Mr Ali was sitting down in his


locked premises when he was sud­ denly confronted by the men rush­ ing towards him. Mr Bob Elias (prosecuting) said


the intruders were wearing dark clothing, their faces covered by jackets and clothing, had gloves on and one had a six-inch bladed knife. The weapon was then held to Mr All's chest and stabbing motions made as two of the men tried to restrain him in his seat. Mr Elias told the court; “He


thought he was going to be stabbed. Their intention was to gag him by taping over his mouth, the tape having been brought with them. “Mr Ali bravely struggled so that


the tape could not stick. He wrig­ gled and fell to the floor, but was again restrained and overpowered.” Mr Ali was saying that he did not


keep money in the house. His wife heard shouting and was horrified to see what was happening to her hus­ band. She shouted to their son, Zubair, for help.


internal alterations and new extension, conversion to offices, catering facilities and caretaker's accommodation. Comments on the submission at 14 and 16 York Street, Clitheroe, (number 0055


Two of the intruders restrained


her to try to muffle her cries, but the son woke up and bravely launched a “counter attack”, said Mr Elias. The family’s 18year-old daughter,


Zaria Ali, appeared with a guitar and held it out to try and defend herself. Mr Elias added: “Despite being


outnumbered, Zubair put up what the Crown say was an effective struggle. He punched out at the intruders,


one of whom had a knife, and smashed a guitar over one of the intruder’s heads. “They smashed a utility room


window and climbed out in order to get away. One of them was the defendant.” Miah’s DNA was found in blood


on a broken pane of glass, on top of a cupboard and on a scarf. The gang had left behind a screwdriver, glove and a scarf. They got away with a watch and a mobile phone. Miah had previous convictions


for burgling two homes and at the time of the offence had been put on a suspended sentence just over a month earlier, for burglary Mr Abdul Iqbal (defending) said it did not seem that the motive had


and Listed Building consent 0056) must be made to the council by February 15th. Other applica­ tions submitted include: Clillicroc: Proposed extension to existing terraced patio, including


been to harm anyone. “Their motive was to enter that property and to steal from it. It seems the defendant and the others fled the scene relatively quickly. His family are very upset, annoyed and ashamed of the defendant’s offend­ ing.” In passing sentence, the judge


said the case had involved a planned attack. He told Miah: “This must have


been a truly terrifying incident for the family of Mr Ali. “It is the sort of crime which is


fortunately quite rare, but it causes a genuine fear of crime in the com­ munity You came out of your home territory to do this burglary, which indicates a high degree of premedi­ tation and planning. “This was a very serious crime


indeed - one of the most serious offences of burglary to come befc g- this court for some time.” The judge went on to add: “It


seems to me that all members of this family showed exemplary courage in this incident, particular­ ly Zubair Ali, who really deserves a special mention. It was really his intervention that was the turning point in what took place.”


two new 4m jumberellas and balustrade at Station Hotel, King Street (0013). Relocation of river level monitoring station adjacent to River Ribble, Low Moor (0072).


NOVAKS i 'ClCMpli'tii: ?;< 1^3 3


members of Clitheroe Moun­ taineering Club, tested their skills on the frozen waterfalls which line the valley and gorges in and around Rjukan. The town is becoming famous for this array of fine ice-climbs, which range from short 30 metre ascents to long multi-pitch routes hundreds of metres high, all of varying grades of difficulty from two up to six. ■ Although they arrived in sub­


zero temperatures, this soon changed to mild, wet and snowy conditions. However, they were able to climb many routes, culmi­ nating in the very fine water-ice grade five, three-pitch waterfall called Nye Vemorkfoss. This 400 ft. route ends in the trees at the fence surrounding the old Vemork


I o "•A\V , ■ ' . ^ m m


hydro-electric power station, now a museum, and is the frozen out­ flow of the water supply which used to drive the turbines. The power station is famous for


its place in Second World War his­ tory when German scientists were producing heavy water at the plant as part of their effort to build an atomic weapon. Norwe­ gian saboteurs, trained in Eng­ land, successfully attacked the plant, wrecking machinery, and in a later raid, destroyed stored water when it was being shipped to Germany. The story of the raids was made into the classic war film “The Heroes of Telemark”. Mr Robinson said: “It was a


great trip. Although weather con­ ditions were not perfect, the ice was good and we all made some fine climbs, adding greatly to our experience. The location is an ideal place for ice-climbers to chmb real­ ly steep test-pieces and for Alpin­ ists like myself to push their limits on hard ice, which is superb train­ ing tor the longer, less steep routes which I climb in the Alps.” It is planned to show photo­


graphs of the trip at a Clitheroe Mountaineering Club meet in the coming months. Our picture shows Mr Halliwell


leading the first section of Nye Vemorkfoss a tew hours before fly­ ing back home.


Make a stand for rural dwellers


valley MP Nigel Evans has called for village schools to be protected. Mr Evans has tabled an Early Day


Motion to demonstrate the importance of the area’s rural schools. I t says: “That this House recognises


the importance of village schools to their communities; notes that plans to close village schools across the UK represent yet another example of the systematic dismantling of the rural way of life; and calls on the Government to honour their pledge made in 1998 for the ‘protection of village schools’ and to provide Local Authorities with the requisite support.” Speaking from Westminster Mr Evans said: “This Government seems deter­


mined to erode the traditional rural way of life. Many farmers are at their lowest ebb, the heart of the Post Office Network is being destroyed and now we hear of plans to close village schools. “We must make a stand on behalf of


those who live in rural communities. It is not fair and it is not right that we should experience a lower level of service or funding. The Government cannot con­ tinue to treat villages across the UK in this dismissive manner.” However, a spokesman for Lancashire


County Council confirmed this week that no schools in this county would be closing, adding that there were no plans to review the provision.


Scouts will soon be able to climb the walls!


LOCAL Scouts could soon be climbing the walls, literally. Members of the Lancashire Local


l i r a DON’T JUST TAKE


-what we do is SlMPlP vVe buy cancelled orders and customer relumed


1® ^ ' furniture from a number of I, the UK's major department stores THEN wwe sell them


to the public at half the high street retail price.


Homebrands is our favourite outlet and has products that are 100% branded from M&S, Laura Ashley and John Lewis all reduced by up


Alison Cork THE DAILY TELEGRAPH


riMMEDIATE.DELIVERT^AVAlLABLEfiv NEVyiSTpCK^rARRiyiN^^^^^


BeonMi n Hswolmslt T9l»


331 iBurnley Road,'.RawtenstaUBB4'8LA ! 01706 224374


Imi AM


etsmfswBsoei


Ribble Valley approved cil. The funds will buy an application for a £650 and install a climbing grant from the Clitheroe wall at a permanent cen- and District Sout Coun- tre at Bashall Eaves.


Jo “ 1 W® t o w i) m / M


Clitheroe Advertiser &Times, Thursday, January 31st, 2008 5


For Ribble Valley news online go to... www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk


f § W S © l lV A T O I ^ t l^


■...... TRADE COy?aTER WOW OPEW


FOR ALL YOUR SUPPLY ONLY & ANCILLIARY PRODUCTS CALL 01282 877280


■ I


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