Teenage girl raped in
alleyway allegation
by David Skentelbery
A 16-year-old girl is alleging she was raped in a darkened alleyway at Warrington.
The offender ? one of a group of three young men ? is believe to have then boarded a Runcorn-bound train at Warrington Bank Quay Station.
Police are appealing for witnesses of the alleged attack in an alleyway at the rear of the Bold Street Medical Centre between 9-10pm on Wednesday.
Police say the girl was walking along Rylands Street when she saw three men ? one of who she thinks knew her name.
She walked with them to the rear of the medical centre where she alleges one of the three raped her.
He is described as about 5ft 9 inches tall, of medium build, with mousy or blonde hair, short on the sides and long on top and gelled. He was about 19 and was wearing a dark grey tracksuit.
Another of the trio was about 5ft 7 inches tall, with short dark brown or black hair. He was in his late teens or twenties and may have answered to the name ?Deano.?
The third man was about 5ft 6 inches tall, of heavy build and with blue eyes.
At least two of the three may have had Liverpool or Merseyside accents.
After the attack, the three men are believed to have gone to the station and boarded a train travelling in the direction of Runcorn.
Anyone who can help police is asked to call DC Stuart Eales on 01244 613833 or contact the confidential Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.
Picture postcard Warrington
WARRINGTON at last got its first significant fall of snow early today.
Residents awoke to picture postcard scenes with snow more than an inch deep in outlying parts of the borough.
But even in the town centre, one early riser commented: “It looks really lovely.”
The bulk of the snow fell sometime after 5am and by 7am it had stopped.
Police appeal after man
dies in mystery crash
by David Skentelbery
POLICE have appealed for help from the public following a mystery road crash near Warrington in which a man died.
A car was found early in the morning at the foot of an embankment off the A533 Northwich Road at Dutton, near Warrington.
The driver was found dead inside the blue Vauxhall Vectra, which had apparently careered off the road and collided with a tree before ending up at the moment of the embankment.
A police spokesman said: ?We would like to hear from anyone who knows anything about this incident and we do not know how it happened, nor when it happened.?
It appears that the car was travelling in the direction of Runcorn when it left the road.
Anyone who can help is asked to call Sgt Yvonne Williams on 01244 613928.
Tragic death of
active pensioner
by John Hendon
AN elderly women killed in a road crash earlier this week has been named by police.
She was Audrey Addison, aged 82, of Lymm, near Warrington, who died after being involved in a collision with a car in Massey Brook Lane, Lymm.
Her family have released a statement following the tragedy, which occurred as Mrs Addison was walking home after visiting a friend.
They described her as one of Lymm?s most active pensioners, a member of Lymm Jubilee WI, the Lymm Twin-Town Society and the Scottish and Country Dancing Club.
She also played badminton, was a keen swimmer and took part in yoga, walking and other sports. She was a member of Marbury Park Swimming Club and a volun teer at the Oxfam shop in Warrington. She worked for some years in the patients’ bank at Winwick Hospital.
Mrs Addison had lived in Lymm for 34 years and is survived by her husband, Joseph, two sisters who live in Australia, three children, Brian, Paul and Sheila and four grandchildren, Timothy, Martin, Sean and Kenji.
She was involved in a collision with a red Fiat car driven by a 21-year-old Lymm man.
Police are appealing for witnesses of the incident and anyone who can help should call Sgt Mike Jones on 01244 613813.
Victoria will be a
very busy Queen!
by staff reporter
VICTORIA Powell will be crowned Thelwall Rose Queen at the annual festival in June.
The 14-year-old from Woodlands Drive, Thelwall, near Warrington, is looking forward to the ceremony but will have to squeeze into a very busy life.
Apart from studying at Lymm High School, she plays the piano and bassoon, is a member of Warrington Youth Orchestra and the school band, sings with Lymm Young Voice and the school choir and does tap and modern dancing at Grappenhall Community Centre.
A member of All Saints Church, Thelwall she is also in the Pathfinders Youth Club and is a member of the 4th Grappenhall Guides.
She is very keen on the fair trade movement and sometimes helps her mother, Trish, on the Fair4All stall on Warrington Market – and to cap it all she plays football for Warrington Town Ladies Under 14 team!
Five years ago she took part in the Rose Queen festival as one of the Queen’s attendants and last year she helped run a fair trade stall at the festival.
Victoria is the younger child of Mr and Mrs Bob Powell – she has a brother, Jonathan, aged 15.
As an active member at All Saints Church, she hopes to play a full part in church activities during her year as Queen – although she’s also squeezing in a holiday visiting her Uncle Nick in the US, taking in Wyoming and Montana.
Fire crews battle
riverside blaze
by JOhn Hendon
FIRE crews at Warrington were called out during the night to tackle a blaze involving a derelict warehouse building at Howley.
The building, on the banks of the Mersey, was left in a dangerous condition after the fire which is believed to have been started by vandals or someone sleeping rough in the building.
A Fire Service spokesman said: “The building was boarded up and surround by fencing, but someone managed to get in.
“It was in a dangerous condition before but it is now highly dangerous and we would advise anyone to keep out of it.”
Library closed all
month for facelift
by staff reporter
WARRINGTON’S Orford Library will be closed until the end of the month while maintenance work is carried out.
The building is being rewired and the work is taking place in order to make the building safer and more energy efficient and the lighting will also be enhanced.
The library will re-open on Friday March 31 at 1.30pm.
During the closure, Padgate Library will open extra hours on Monday evenings between 5pm and 8pm. Also, the Mobile Library will be available outside Orford Library on Saturdays March 11, 18 and 25 between 9.30am and 12.30pm.
Users can borrow extra items, and also use their tickets at any other public library in Warrington, during the closure. Overdue charges will not be made for the period of the closure.
Further details are available from Cheryl Roberts at Padgate library on 01925 818096.
Motorists face six
weeks of delay
by staff reporter
MOTORISTS face six weeks of hold-ups on the A574 Cromwell Road at Old Hall,Warrington as structural maintenance work goes on.
Work is due to start on Monday March 13 when diversions via Westbrook Way,Whittle Avenue, the A57 Sankey Way and the A574 Cromwell Avenue will be signposted.
Cromwell Avenue will be closed between 9.30am and 3.30pm Monday to Saturday, from Old Hall Road / Cavendish Close junction to Twenty Acre Road / Shackleton Close junction (Gullivers World).
Twenty Acre Road and Old Hall Road will remain open at all times for local traffic and buses.
Temporary traffic lights will be used while work is taking place on the roundabouts at Old Hall Road / Twenty Acre Road and Old Hall Road / Cavendish Close.
This will enable carriageway resurfacing works (replacement of existing worn-out road surface with new material) and cycleway works at Old Hall Road South roundabout to be carried out.
Bus routes will not be affected.
“Don’t advertise to
thieves” say police
by John Hendon
POLICE at Warrington are once again appealing to motorists to think before they leave their vehicles unattended.
Even if the vehicle is locked, valuable items left on display will attract opportunist thieves who will think nothing of smashing the vehicle’s window and making off with valuable property.
Items like Sat Nav systems, mobile phones, handbags, lap tops and even loose change can be tempting for a thief on the look put for portable, valuable items either for themselves or to sell on.
Despite repeated warnings from police crime reduction advisors, motorists in Warrington are continuing to leave valuables on display in unattended vehicles.
At the weekend there were two thefts in the Grappenhall area of Warrington where loose change was stolen from vehicles. There were also two thefts of in-car DVD systems in Great Sankey on one day three Sat Nav systems were stolen from vehicles the Great Sankey area.
Crime reduction advisor Phil Buckley said: “All of these thefts could have been avoided if motorists had just taken a second to think about their vehicle’s security before leaving it unattended. It’s not enough to just lock the car in the hope that thieves won’t see your valuable belongings. If you can see them, the thief can see them and the chances are they won’t be there when you return to your vehicle.
“I would urge everyone to stop advertising their valuables to thieves and to report anyone who attempts to sell you ‘cheap’ goods on the street or in the pubs. If people don’t buy these items, which often turn out to be stolen, then there will be no market for the thieves.”
