Nearly 2,000 knives
surrendered in amnesty
by staff reporter
NEARLY 2,000 knives were handed in during Cheshire?s month-long knife amnesty ? including 371 in Warrington and the rest of the Northern area.
Now anyone caught with a knife will be arrested and charged.
The amnesty ended at midnight on Friday, June 30 with a total of 1,987 bladed weapons placed in special bins at police stations.
Now police are to embark on a strict enforcement period, lasting until the end of the year, the aim of which is to confiscate weapons and arrest offenders breaking the law.
Assistant Chief Constable David Baines said “The knife amnesty might have finished but this isn’t the end of it for us. We have now got an enforcement period which will involve targeted operations involving the stop and search of high risk groups. There will also be a campaign through Crimestoppers which will encourage people to give us information about people they know to be carrying knives.
“All this work has been made all the more poignant after the weekend, which saw an 18 year old man killed in a knife related incident in Winsford. This shows the problem is still there and we have more work to do.”
ACC Baines added: “If you know of anyone who routinely carries a knife, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
There were 92 knife related offences recorded in uring the knife amnesty period (May 24 to July 1), an increase of 24.3 per cent on the same period last year, when there were 74 offences.
Police say this was due to increased enforcement.
The amnesty has now switched to a high profile knife enforcement campaign with the message that carrying knives is not acceptable.
Among weapons handed in were two Second World War daggers and scabbards with date and insignia, which could be of historical Interest, a crossbow, a dagger with a multi bladed “Star Trek” design and a “Lord of the Rings” styled sword with end-hook.
The maximum penalty for selling a knife to an under-16 is a ?5,000 fine and/or six months in prison.
A ‘Grand Day
Out’ success
by Gary Skentelbery
A GRAND Day out organised by Warrington Market at Queen’s Gardens to help launch Culturefest ’06 has been hailed a great success.
Animation characters Wallace and Gromit joined traders from Warrington Market, Lymm Market and Hatters Row to present a traditional outdoor market, with stalls, side shows, children’s rides and games and craft demonstrations.
They joined forces with Warrington Borough Council’s Cultural Development Service and town centre traders and management to stage what could become an annual event. As well as providing free family entertainment, the event also highlight how important market facilities are to the culture and communities of Warrington.
Traders and management were highly delighted with the response from members of the public, with many discovering more about what is on offer at the market.
Market Manager Steve Pickering said: “The event itself was a good example of joined up working between several sections of the council utilising existing resources to create a successful attraction for the town centre.”
Coun Fiona Bruce – new executive member with responsibility for the Market attended the event and gave her support to traders.
The traditional fairground carousel was a big hit with approximately 5,000 rides being given away during the day.
Many traders are already asking “when are we doing it again?”, Future proposals include holding the event again next year and considering moving it to different venues within the borough.
Local charities operated sideshows to raise funds for their causes and all were delighted with how the day went. These included, the Mayors charity, MS Society, Disability Partnership, and the 13th Warrington Scout Group.
At the close of the event families were invited into the Pyramid to view the England V Portugal Wolrd Cup match match live on the big screen – this was very successful as well – apart from the England result!!!
The market’s event is part of Culturefest ’06, a celebration of local culture that runs throughout July. There are free concerts and family fun days each Friday and Saturday in Queen’s Gardens, plus a free jazz concert in Golden Square in Saturday 19 August. Full details can be found at www.culturefest.info or by calling Pyramid on 01925 442345.
Carnival capers
by Gary Skentelbery
WARM sunshine ensured a bumper turnout at the annual Croft Carnival where they were joined by characters of comic legends “Laurel and Hardy”.
Villagers paraded through the village on floats with various themes before the crowning of the local carnival queens on the local playing field.
They were joined by queens from the neighbouring villages of Culcheth and Winwick.
It was an emotional day for local school teacher Jenny Wilcock who is retiring from Croft primary School.
Her colleagues and pupils entered a float with the theme “I’m a celebrity teacher get me out of here!”
The parade had plenty of comic capers especially from Laurel and Hardy tribute act Haurel and Lardy!
Howley “dumped on
by planners” – claim
by David Skentelbery
WARRINGTON Community Action Party has stepped into the row over plans for what they call a ?young offender? institution at Howley.
CAP leader Mike Hughes ? who lives in the Howley area ? said: ?This is another case of Howley being dumped on by the planners.?
Mr Hughes, former Labour leader of the borough council, said many residents of Howley were naturally upset by the plan for a four-storey building on the site of John Morris House to house young people.
He said: ?This is yet another blow in the unfettered developments of Howley, presided over by New Labour councillors, who don’t even live in the Fairfield and Howley Ward.
?With it’s close proximity to the attractions of town centre night life, one could not imagine a less ideal location for this type of provision”.
The controversy over the scheme was reported by Warrington-Worldwide yesterday (Monday).
A planning application will be submitted to the borough?s development control committee tomorrow (Wednesday.
It involves demolition of the existing four-storey John Morris House, off Mersey Street, which was one of Warrington?s first multi-storey flat developments went it was erected more than 40 years ago.
Applicants Anchor Housing say the development will cater for ?vulnerable? young people and will act as a half-way house where the youngsters can receive training before being settled in their own homes.
Anchor are prepared to contribute ?106,000 for sports facilities, ?6,000 for footpaths and ?15,000 to provide CCTV cameras. In addition to the flats, the development will include a training facility and offices on the ground floor.
The young people will be in the 16-25 age group. There would be 24-hour staff cover and the youngsters would have the benefit of in-house learning programmes, individually tailored action plans, life skills sessions and basic skills provision.
Neighbours claim the development will be a ?prison-type? building which could lead to noise, increased traffic and disturbances close to their homes.
Overflowing bins can
be dangerous – council
by John Hendon
OVERFLOWING bins at Warrington have led to a number of injuries to refuse collectors.
As a result, residents are being asked to support refuse workers and help improve the image of the town.
In future, bins with the lids left open – even only a lit bit open ? or with additional rubbish left alongside them, will not be collected.
The borough council’s Environment Services provides households with a weekly refuse collection service. The new bin lid policy is being introduced following a number of accidents to refuse collectors and property, w
hich are caused by overflowing bins.
The new policy comes into force on Monday July 17 and residents are being asked to make sure that the bin lid is flat when they put it out for collection.
Environment Services chief Paula Darlington said: ?The council is making great efforts to remove waste from our streets and improve the environment.
“The health and safety of our workers is paramount and because of the problems that overflowing bins can cause and the threat of serious accidents, we can’t allow the current system to continue. While we accept that this is a change for residents and may cause some inconvenience at the beginning, I do hope that residents can see the reasoning behind this policy and get on board.”
This new way of working also aims to help improve the image of the town by reducing the amount of waste and litter left in the streets. It is also hoped that this policy will encourage more people to recycle more and help the borough reach its recycling targets.
Information leaflets are being delivered to households and stickers are being placed on bins.
Coun Brian Axcell, the council?s executive member for Environment Services, said: “We want everyone to be proud of the town and its cleanliness.
“A town filled with overflowing bins and waste left in the streets can be unsightly, leads to litter problems and has a negative affect on the town’s reputation. I would ask residents to seize this opportunity to help improve the image of Warrington and also help to ensure the safety of refuse workers.
“Many of the things that take up room in bins such as plastic bottles, cans, cardboard can all be easily recycled and I hope people will be encouraged to recycle more.”
