ISSUE NO. 6,841 YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE
www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk TALKTOUS
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THURSDAY JUNE 12TH, 2014 '
(75P IF YOU SUBSCRIBE -SEE PAGE 2)
£1
VIV* mme** L < V‘V. * v 'A . v ,;r ' < 2
VALLEY MAYOR WILL ‘BEAT THE BOUNDS’ FOR CHARITY
' ' - . SEE PAGE 3 9
Slaidburn insteam; for bumper
weekend SEE PAGES 22 AND 23
Hospital is
now open Clitheroe’s brand new £7.8m. Community Hos pital was officially opened this week. See page 8.
byCourt Reporter
www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk . Twitter @clithadvertis‘er .
Specialist police from across Lancashire were drafted in to deal with a blackmail threat made by aretired soldier from Clitheroe, whosaid a bomb woujdgo off in “a very busy place in Lancashire” if bankstaff did nothand over £150,000 cash.
Detectives,counter-terrorism officers and intelligence offic-, ers scrambled to the incident after bank staff reported Clif ford Fleming’s threats. Former soldier Fleming
(65) was jailed for three years atPrestonCrownCourtforhis terror plot. He told staff from BarclaysBanktodepositused notes in a carrier bag in an al leyway in Billington. . The lifelong gambling ad
dict was snared when officers from Lancashire Constabu lary followed him to his Clit heroe home and spotted that the handwriting on a newspa- <
Anger over ambulance
per crossword, left open on a coffee table, matched that on a note deposited in the bank’s letter box overnight. In a chilling letter, opened
by a female member of staff, Fleming wrote: “This is a cod- ed message. A bomb has been timed to explode at 1-30 pm in a very busy place in Lanca shire unless you follow this re quest to the letter.
“Multiple deaths and inju ries will occur unless you fol
lo w these demands.” The letter, which had been
deposited in the bank’s mail box overnight, went on to or- . der bank staff to deposit the cash in a bag plac ed at the side of Billington Village Store at 12-15 pm. It wenton: “Ourpeoplewill
be listening to the police and watching you. Don’t try to be a hero or carnage will ensue.” The horrified bank worker
thought the letter was a prank but as she read on she became fearful the threats were real. The court heard she contact ed her manager at Barclays in
Behind bars: Clifford Fleming
Clitheroe who told her to in form the police. . At 12-15 pm officers from
Lancashire Police were wait ing at the drop-off. One minute before the deadline, Fleming was seen walking towards the alleyway. Five minutes later he picked up a carrier bag and walked away. Officers watched CCTV
takenfromthebankwhichap- peared to show the same man
posting a letter to the branch. When officers went to
Fleming’s home in Billington Gardens, Clitheroe, the pen sioner denied any involve ment, but when one of the officers spotted the similari ty between the writing on the crossword and on the black-
/
' mail letter, Fleming admitted he was behind the threat. During a police interview,
Fleming, a father-of-four, said he had a gambling addiction and had run up huge debts. He had lost the equity in the family home, an inheritance from a family member and had a £13,000 credit card debt. He now feared he would not be able to afford healthcare or funeral costs for himself or his ailingwife. Passing sentence, Judge
Heather Lloyd said: “It maybe that this is seen to be a hope less attempt at blackmail by a 65-year-old man under stress and in debt. “It is undoubtedly the case
that you were under stress and in debt. You do suffer ill health,
both physically and mental ly, but how did you think the bank emplyees were going to react? You wanted them to be lieve the threat. “You made it appear that
this wasn’t a plain prank and that there was some sort of or ganisation behind it. You must know, particularly bearing in mind your army background, that in this day and age the au thorities have to be particu larly wary of threats of bombs arid terrorism. “We have heard evidence
from the Chief Inspector of Lancashire Police about the significant resources that were deployed as a result of your stupidity. “Theamountofmoneysaid
to have been spent is signifi cant. Forty staff and officers were deployed, the duration of the operation was seven hours. During this incident resources in Lancashire were redeployed to the area.” Flemirig pleaded guilty to
blackmail and was jailed for three years.
response Clitheroe town centre was left gridlocked on Friday after a multiple sclerosis sufferer Had to wait almost an hour for an ambulance. Sabden resident Mrs Mari on Parfitt (67) fell out of her wheelchair on Wellgate on Friday afternoon. See page 4 for the full story.
Accused of
robbery A man charged with a rob bery in Clitheroe has been remanded in custody by Burnley magistrates. Daniel Nelson (31), of
Chapel Street, Nelson, of fered no pleas to a charge
' of robbery in Clitheroe on June 1st, arid two assaults in thp Royal Blackburn Hospital on May 26th and 31st. He will appear at Burnley Crown Court on June30th.
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