Woman, 84, attacked
and robbed by thugs
by David Skentelbery
TWO thugs attacked an 84-year-old woman at Warrington ? knocking her unconscious and robbing her of money she had saved to buy a new pair of reading glasses.
The attack took place in Dewhurst Road, Birchwood as the woman was walking towards Birchwood Railway Station.
Police say it was a vicious, unprovoked attack and have issued an appeal to the public for help in tracking down the culprits.
It was around noon on Friday, January 26 that the woman walked along Admiral?s Road, Birchwood.
She noticed two men waiting at a bus stop near the junction with Winchat Drive and assumed they were waiting for a bus. But when a bus came they made no attempt to board it and, instead, started following her.
As she turned into Dewhurst Road she was confronted by one man and, at the same time, felt a blow from behind. She fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
The next thing she knew she was being covered up by a passerby who had come to her assistance ? and her handbag containing money she had saved for a pair of spectacles had gone.
She suffered a dislocated shoulder in the attack, was badly shaken and spent a night in Warrington Hospital.
Police say the two offenders were seen to run off along an alley at the rear of Lister Close.
Both were in their early 20s and about 5ft 3 or 5ft 4 inches tall. They wore dark clothing ? and one had some kind of red emblem on his clothing.
Anyone who can help police, including passengers on the passing bus, is asked to call DC Ian Hampson on 01244 613845.
Work starts to solve
flooding problem
by Gary Skentelbery
WORK to solve flooding problems at Burford Lane, Lymm, came too late for this luckless van driver.
The depth marker shows the water at 3ft 6ins deep, and the driver is still sitting in the van.
The driver of a lorry following said: “I was following him in when he started to float and hit the side of the bridge, so I thought I’d better stop.”
Local councillor Sheila Woodyatt said: “Major works have at long last been started to resolve the problem and the road will be closed for around three weeks.
“I have been campaigning for improvements here for some time and the previous remedial works have not proved successful. I am pleased that the pressure I have put on the Council has come to fruition.
“This flooding has caused serious nuisance to local residents for a long time especially the residents of Caution Cottage.”
The road closure covers Burford Lane from its junction with Warrington Lane and its respective junctions with Stage Lane and Bradshaw Lane.
The alternative route will be via Burford Lane, Higher Lane, Church Road, Eagle Brow, The Cross, New Road, Rushgreen Road, Birch Road, Mill Lane and vice versa.
The closure is required to allow for drainage works on the existing carriageway and work is expected to be completed by February 19.
Trophies for youngsters
on sporting challenge
by Lesley Wilkinson
TROPHIES have been presented to youngsters who took part in a sporting scheme aimed at challenging racism and getting diverse communities to play together.
The awards were made at a special presentation at Great Sankey Leisure Centre.
Guests included senior members of the Warrington Hindu Cultural Organisation, leader of the borough council Ian Marks, executive board members Coun Roy Smith and Coun Liz Smith and the Rev Stephen Kingsnorth.
For the past three years the council has run a community coaching session at the centre in partnership with Warrington Hindu Cultural Organisation.
Sessions are held on Sunday mornings and are aimed at youngsters from diverse communities. Football is the main sport but a range of other activities take place.
Up to 30 children, boys and girls, aged between six and 13 have attended each session.
Various campaigns have been held including “Kick Racism Out Of Football” and a re-enactment of the Ashes victory over Australia.
Coun Roy Smith said: “This activity has come a long way since it first started and has proved to be very popular among youngsters. It’s great to see so many kids get involved not only from a sporting point of view but also from a health and well-being and social point of view.”
Health cuts – where
the axe will fall
by David Skentelbery
A CLEARER picture of the damaging impact of cuts imposed by Warrington Primary Care Trust on voluntary and community sector groups across the borough has emerged today.
Total value of the cuts is not known ? although it is more than ?200,000. But the cost in terms of lost services to many vulnerable people is likely to be huge.
As reported exclusively by Warrington Worldwide yesterday (Tuesday), the 152-year-old Warrington YMCA faces possible closure.
Warrington Volunteer Centre is also likely to close and the town?s Council for Voluntary Service faces a 25 per cent cut in its total grant funding and a 50 per cent reduction in funding for its Advocacy Project.
The YMCA alone will lose grant aid of ?50,750 and other groups facing cuts include Home Start (?56,959), Care and Repair (?5,300) and Groundwork Mersey Valley (?33,000) Nigel Bacon, chief executive of Warrington Council for Voluntary Service, said: ?The first we knew of this was a phone call to say a letter was on its way.
?We are extremely disappointed at the decision to stop the funding, and the lack of consultation with those who deliver the services and those who will be affected – the service users.
?Clearly our greatest concern is for the service users who will suddenly find that their services are no longer available. It would appear that no alternative services are planned for some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our society.
?At least one other organisation is seriously considering closing down while others have seen a cut in funding of 50 per cent as a result of this decision. This has undoubtedly damaged the partnership working arrangements which we have enjoyed until this point, and one of the challenges for the future will be to rebuild bridges and strengthen relationships.
?We are firmly of the view that joined?up thinking and planning are essential for the future of Warrington.?
Mr Bacon said the CVS was urging the PCT to reconsider the decision, pointing out that the savings are is very small, at little more than 1 per cent of the budget, while the impact on the organisations and the service users would be nothing short of devastating.
? We are also looking for alternative sources of funding, but there is huge competition for increasingly scarce resources and the chances of success are small. We have also asked our MPs to help persuade the PCT to change their minds and are working on other means of putting pressure on the PCT to reverse this damaging decision, which seems to be driven purely by the need to reduce spending, and with no thought to the longer term consequences, including on people?s health and therefore on the future demands on PCT services.?
The PCT says it has reached the ?difficult? decision only after a long and careful review designed to find savings which would have a minimum impact on clinical services.
Acting chief executive Jon Tomlinson said the PCT had a duty to achieve financial balance.
He said: “Part of the PCT’s budget historically has been allocated to a number of local voluntary organisations in the form of grant aid which contributes to their core funding. We have scrutinised these grants and have taken the difficult decision not to renew the grants of five organisations when the present agreements come to an end in April. We are continuing the grants for eight organisations.
?We have also looked very carefully at the discretionary funding we allocate to set up pilot projects with partner organisations. These projects, which predominantly do not provide direct hea
lth care, all receive short-term funding on the understanding that funding will not be renewed. With much regret, we have decided to cease funding four of these short-term initiatives. Two initiatives will continue to be funded as short term projects and three initiatives have been given long term funding from the PCT.?
Anger over five hour
wait at toll bridge
by Lesley Wilkinson
AN angry motorist who queued for five hours at a 12p toll bridge near Warrington gave staff ?5 to let 50 cars through free to try and end the gridlock.
Hundreds of drivers were held up at Warburton Bridge, near Lymm when motorway closures brought chaos to roads across the North West on January 18 ? the day of the big storm.
Now they are complaining that the Manchester Ship Canal Company, who own the bridge, should have waived the 12p toll to help ease the congestion.
Sue Gee, of Lymm, who uses the bridge twice a day to get to and from work in Culcheth said she was “amazed” that staff were still taking money as the bridge was extra busy due to motorway closures.
She has written to the canal company to complain about the “unnecessary delays.”
“Quite often there are jams backing towards Eccles and Partington due to cars having to stop and pay their toll money. But that Thursday was the last straw,” she said.
“Drivers became angry and then all hell let loose. I spoke to the personnel on the bridge but all they could say was that they hadn’t been told not to take any money.?
She said one driver so annoyed after five hours queuing that she gave staff ?5 and asked them to let the next 50 cars through free.
Her daughter, returning from the Trafford Centre, was queuing back to Carrington but traffic cleared once she passed the Saracen’s Head pub – indicating that the bridge was causing the problem.
Sue, who was travelling from Culcheth, queued for one and a half hours.
“When there are motorway closures or accidents the canal company should act responsibly,” she added.
A company spokesman said: ?The bridge is a privately maintained crossing of the Manchester Ship Canal. When other routes closed to traffic on the day in question, the bridge was chosen by many motorists as the viable alternative to spending many additional hours reaching their destinations.?
Bus company offers
money back guarantee
by John Hendon
WARRINGTON Borough Transport will be the first bus company in the North West to offer passengers a no-quibble money back guarantee.
The council-owned firm carries more than eight million passengers a year and is so confident in the standard of the service offered that it is offering refunds to anyone who isn’t fully satisfied with their bus journey.
Managing director Nigel Featham said: “We believe in the quality of the service we offer and take our passion for customer service seriously. So seriously in fact, that we are inviting passengers to write to us if they are not happy with our service. If the circumstances were within our control, we will refund the fare.”
In the past year, WBT has made a significant investment into a new “easy-access” bus fleet, introduced new bus routes and played an integral part in the redevelopment of Warrington’s new bus station.
Mr Featham added: “We strive to deliver the best bus service for Warrington and work hard to maintain it.”
Arson attack on
engineering works
by John Hendon
YOUTHS are believed to have started a blaze which caused extensive damage to an electricity sub-station at a Warrington engineering works.
Pallets were piled up against the sub-station door at Blease Engineering, in School Street, Warrington – and then set alight.
A group of youths were seen leaving the area.
Fire crews tackled the blaze after breaking into the property. The engineering works suffered heavy smokelogging.
A Fire Service spokesman said the risk posed by the blaze was substantial because of the involvement of the electricity sub-station.
Police are investigating.
