Political storm breaks
over post office closures
by David Skentelbery
A FURIOUS war of words has broken out at Warrington after a Labour councillor accused the council of ?hypocrisy? over the battle to save threatened post offices in the borough.
Bewsey and Whitecross councillor Hitesh Patel slammed the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition after claiming to have discovered a report in which the council appeared to have given Royal Mail the green light to close post offices.
But an angry Ian Marks, Lib Dem leader of the council, hit back by describing Coun Patel?s statement as ?disgraceful and dishonest.?
He said Coun Patel had completely distorted the report ? the council?s official response to the consultation on post office closures ? by quoting sections out of context.
Coun Marks said: ?We should remember it is a Labour Government that wants to close 2,500 post offices across the country ? including five in Warrington.
?The council letter says that Warrington has too few post offices.
?We will continue to campaign to save the post offices in Warrington because of the vital role they play in the community and their importance to all our citizens, particularly the elderly.?
Coun Patel said: “With power comes responsibility. The ruling administration could and should have put up a proper fight to save our post offices. I am calling on them to be honest with the people of Warrington and tell us why they said there is scope for post office closures and which ones they had in mind when they wrote this report.”
He said Labour councillors In Bewsey, Whitecross, Fairfield and Howley ? where some closures are proposed ? were not consulted about the contents of the council?s letter.
Coun Patel accused the Lib Dems of concentrating their campaign on their ?heartland areas? ? Stockton Heath and Lingley Mere.
In a separate development, Dr Jo Crotty, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Warrington South accused the borough?s two Labour MPs, Helen Jones and Helen Southworth, of failing to fight the closures.
She said the MPs? claims to be fighting the closures were ?just the usual Labour spin.?
Meanwhile, David Mowat, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Warrington South said post office operators had received a letter from Post Office management, warning them not to complain or their compensation would be affected.
The letter informed post offices that “anonymous inspectors have been appointed to ensure that complaints are not made to members of the public about the closure plan…any failure to act in a professional manner will result in compensation being withdrawn…”
Mr Mowat said: “While the last thing I want is to cause offices to lose money it seems unreasonable that they should be gagged in this way…anonymous inspectors pretending to be members of the public are like secret police…this is wrong…”
Hair students prove they
can cut it with the best
by James Parr
HAIRDRESSING students from Warrington Collegiate proved they can cut it with best as they picked up five medals in a top UK industry awards ceremony.
They managed to pick up the medals in the northern heats of the competition against some of the country’s top stylists, with 19-year-old Jess Bailey, from Westbrook, winning a gold.
The teenage stylists had to create fashionable new and themed looks in a fixed time period under the watchful eyes of competition judges.
Hairdressing tutor Helen Foster said: “I’m so proud of the students and how well they did. The competition was of a very high standard. For such a small team of Level One and Two students, walking away with so many prizes was a superb achievement.”
Jess said: “It’s fantastic to win such a prestigious competition and to be part of such a successful team.”
Man rescued from
smoke-filled flat
by David Skentelbery
FIRE crews wearing breathing apparatus led a man to safety after fire broke out in a flat in Poplars Avenue, Orford, Warrington early today (Thursday).
A blaze was raging in the kitchen, smoke was filling the property and a smoke alarm was sounding.
But the male occupant was asleep in the living room and was only awoken by firefighters who had to break into the flat.
Cause of the fire was a pan of food left unattended on the cooker.
The fire at at 3am and left the property seriously smoke-damaged.
A Fire Service spokesman said: “We can only repeat the advice we have given so often that it is dangerous to leave a pan unattended on a cooker.
“The food on this occasion was so badly charred we could not even tell what it had been.”
Dr Who fans to travel
through time at museum
by Lesley Wilkinson
DOCTOR Who fans will be flocking to Warrington Library and Museum on December 1 ? as part of the library and museum?s 150th birthday celebrations.
The library and museum was officially opened in 1857, although the foundation stones is dated two years earlier.
But one or two years is nothing much to Dr Who so the celebrations are spanning a two year period.
Visitors on December 1 between 10am and 3pm will get to meet a look-alike Dr Who and see a model of the Tardis during a fun day of time-travelling adventure.
There will be a time traveller trail, a chance to make a Dalek and Tardis to take home or create a monster mask. There will also be a time capsule prize draw.
All activities are free and people can have their photograph taken with the Doctor – for a donation to Children in Need.
Teenage vandals
terrorise pensioners
by David Skentelbery
POLICE have been asked to target an area of Appleton where teenage vandals are terrorising elderly residents.
Appleton Parish Council has alerted police after receiving complaints from people living near a footpath which links the shops in Dudlow Green Road with Longwood Road.
Residents say gangs of youngsters are creating disturbance as late as 1am.
Some elderly residents have had bricks thrown through their windows late at night and others have had their fences and walls kicked over.
The problems are particularly bad on Friday and Saturday nights. While in the past, they have caused problems around the Dudlow Green Road shops, disturbances now seem to be more common at the children’s playground off Longwood Road.
Residents are calling for CCTV cameras in the area.
A police spokesman said the area was already being given special attention. Three youths had been cautioned for possessing drugs.
On one occasion, police found 60 youths at the playground off Longwood Road, which was littered with cans and bottles.
Traffic chaos after
four-vehicle pile-up
by John Hendon
RUSH hour traffic was brought to a standstill in many parts of south Warrington last night(Wednesday) after a four vehicle pile-up caused a complete closure of the southbound carriageway of the M6.
Two people were injured in the crash, near the Lymm interchange, which involved three cars and a Transit-type van.
Police said neither of the injured people were in a life-threatening condition.
It was several hours before the motorway was re-opened.
Exhibition launches
“year of the garden”
by Lesley Wilkinson
VISITORS to an exhibition in Warrington will have the chance to decorate a Tree of Life with flowers and symbols to mark key dates.
Art in Gardens at Warrington Museum, from December 1 to April 5, will launch Cheshire’s Year of the Garden.
And a focal point will be the tree, which can be decorated to mark key dates such as Christmas, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Chinese New Year, Valentine?s Day and Mothers’ Day.
The exhibition will feature garden scenes depicted in work by a collection of artists from the Cheshire Artist Network including sculpture, painting a
nd prints. Work is inspired by their interaction with their natural surroundings in gardens and open spaces.
