Woman robbed of
car at gunpoint
by James Parr
A WOMAN has been robbed at gunpoint at Warrington while attempting to sell her car.
The robbery took place in Golborne Road, Winwick as the woman was giving two men a test drive in her red Vauxhall Astra SXI coupe.
She was ordered out of the car and left at the roadside as the offenders drove off in the car.
The robbery took place at 3.30pm yesterday (Wednesday).
Police said the two men threatened the woman with a black handgun and told her ?Get out.?
The first male, who was driving the car at the time, is described as being 19-20 years of age, of proportionate build with a spotty complexion.
A second man ? who brandished the gun and sat in the back of the car, was also aged 19-20, of similar build and had short mousy hair.
Another man, of similar description, who was driving a dark purple, X registered, Vauxhall Tigra is believed to have been involved in the robbery.
Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the attack to contact DC Gary Langrish on 01244 615 589.
Council clamp down on
careless dog owners
by James Parr
DOG owners across Warrington are being warned that they could face prosecution and a court appearance if they fail to scoop their pets’ poop.
Warrington Borough Council has vowed to clamp down on offending owners who allow their dog to foul on prohibited land.
Officers have been told to enforce the rules that were established under the Clean Neighbourhoods Act 2005 and the Dogs (fouling on land) Act 1996, which mean offending owners will face a verbal warning, a fixed penalty notice of ?50 that could rise to ?1000 or a court appearance if they do not comply.
The main aim of the crack down is to stamp out dog fouling because dog faeces cause a serious threat to human health through the disease that it carries – toxocariasis.
Toxocariasis comes in two forms, the first, visceral larva migrans, attacks the abdomen and enflames the liver, the second, ocular larva migrans, damages the retina and in some cases causes blindness.
Council chiefs are warning that dog owners should take more care.
Dog wardens will be on the look out for offenders who don’t remove the faeces while out with their dogs.
Record crowd for Reds’
first game at new home
PAUL Cullen and Roy Keane were just two of a record breaking 3,403 crowd as Liverpool Reserves kicked off their first-ever game at Warrington?s Halliwell Jones Stadium.
It was the Reds? first home league game of the season ? and it attracted the highest attendance for any Premier League reserve team game this season.
Wolves chief Cullen and controversial ex-Manchester United star Keane spent most of the match in deep discussion as the experienced Sunderland side overcame the Reds by a goal to nil.
However, it was the other 3,401 people in the crowd who made the headlines for the record turnout.
Kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes because of the volume of people wanting to get into the stadium, and it was necessary to open the Martin Dawes Stand to ease crowd congestion.
It is hoped that a similar mumber of fans will be in attendance at the next reserves home game, when Gary Ablett’s side host Newcastle Reserves on October 25.
Prior to this season, Liverpool Reserves have been playing their home games at Wrexham.
Art student crowned
“best in the UK”
by James Parr
A WARRINGTON art student has been crowned the best in UK after he didn’t drop a single mark over a two-year course at Priestley College.
Danny Cheung, 18, from Birchwood, performed flawlessly in art and completed three other A-Levels in physics, geology and maths, gaining A-grades in them all.
The former student union president at the Loushers Lane college has been able to accept an offer from Cambridge University to start a seven-year study and training programme in architecture because of his academic excellence.
Danny returned to Priestley to speak to more Oxbridge hopefuls from the Warrington area during an afternoon event at the college.
He said: “To learn of my success this summer was the realisation of an ambition. I can’t wait for the new experience to begin at Cambridge and looking back I wouldn’t have changed anything about my time at Priestley, the staff were great and really put me on the right track.”
Art teacher at Priestley and Danny’s former mentor, Steven Lane said: “All of Danny’s work was outstanding and the external moderator noted with us that it was highly unusual to see work of such maturity and sophistication at A-Level.
“From my perspective his work would have held its own on a second or third year BA Fine Arts course and his “triptych paintings” were particularly evocative. I am convinced his place at Cambridge for Architecture will mean that we will all be hearing a lot about him in the coming years.”
Students are now being encouraged by Danny to brush up on their skills if they want to follow in the talented teenagers’ footsteps.
Danny added: “It was great to be able to return to Priestley and speak with students who are hopeful of following a similar path to me. My best advice to anybody thinking about applying to Oxbridge would be to be true to yourself and be confident.”
Old soldiers will march
on Regimental Sunday
by Lesley Wilkinson
REGIMENTAL Sunday, the annual service of remembrance and thanksgiving to mark the end of the Second World War will be held in Warrington on Sunday October 7.
A march past of the old comrades will take place along Church Street, accompanied by a regimental band. Major General Hamish Rollo, the colonel of the regiment, will take the salute, accompanied by the Mayor of Warrington Coun Celia Jordan.
Prior to that there will be a parade on the north lawn of St Elphin’s Parish Church starting at 10:25am, followed by a service in the church at 11am. It will include a full regimental procession and music from the Duke of Lancaster’s regimental band.
A civic reception and regimental reunion will follow at the Parr Hall.
Coun Jordan said: “It will be a great pleasure to welcome to Warrington civic heads from across Lancashire to remember those who lost their lives for us all and to give thanks for continuing sacrifice.”
Road closures will be in place during the march past with Church Street closing from the Fennell Street junction to the junction with Manchester Road. A diversion is available for through traffic via A49 Fennell Street, Brick Street, A57 Manchester Road, A50 Kingsway North and Farrell Street and vice versa.
Police team study
sign language
by Lesley Wilkinson
POLICE in Warrington are undergoing special training to help them communicate better with deaf and hard of hearing people.
A small team of officers is studying advanced skills in British Sign Language.
During the next few months a direct link to the police will be opened so that people who are deaf, deaf and blind or hard of hearing can communicate with officers trained in these skills. This is in addition to using other forms of contact such as minicom, text and e-mail.
To promote the scheme an open evening is being organised at Cheshire Police Headquarters at 4pm on Wednesday October 3.
Detective Sergeant Pete Cash said: “It is hoped that members of the deaf community and people working within this area will attend the evening to establish contacts between Cheshire Police and the deaf community.”
Further details of the scheme are available from DS Cash by e-mail on [email protected]
Youngsters plan fundraiser
for Himalayas adventure
by Lesley Wilkinson
A GROUP of youngsters are planning a fundraising event in Culcheth on Sunday October 14 to help raise funds for an expedition to the Himalayas.
The fundraiser “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” will take p
lace at Culcheth Sports Club at 2pm and most of the performers are sixth form students from Culcheth.
One of the organisers Nick Bloomfield said: “We are raising funds for an expedition we are undertaking to the Himalayas in July next year.
“We are going for between four and six weeks. We will be participating in valuable volunteer work in areas of Rajasthan, Northern India.”
Fundraisers and performers Nick, Jennie Bailey and Rhiannon Finn are hoping that local people will support the event.
