Archive

  • Please help to save this job service

    I AM writing to express my concern about the closing down of both the Jobclub and New Careers Training in Winsford. I am about to complete my training course with New Careers Training and I feel I have benefited a great deal from it. I have gained an

  • Report was just all balderdash!

    THE author of the book, part of which the Guardian used for the front page headline story last week should have been around at the latter end of the last century. Fletcher Boss, a well known traveller and writer of that period, wrote of cycling through

  • Problem of geography

    I READ your recent Page 1 story about the criticism of Winsford in a Cheshire canals travel guide with a great deal of interest. I can well understand the sense of outrage that greeted it. No one likes to feel under attack and people will usually seek

  • Vikki steps up her battle against cancer

    WINSFORD worker Vikki Hogan is helping the fight against cancer by speaking out about her own experience of the disease. The 18-year-old, who works for the Jiffy Packaging Company Ltd on the town's industrial estate, has been appearing on television to

  • Don't call us the new Spice Girls!

    WINSFORD could soon have its own girl group pop stars! Three Woodford Lodge pupils have won through to the final stages of a competition set up by former Take That manager Nigel Martin-Smith and Virgin Records which could see them clinch a record deal

  • Plan puts the town's future on the agenda

    AFTER two years of preparation a vision of an ideal future for Winsford has been unveiled More than 4,000 people have contributed to the final version of the borough's Local Agenda 21, A Vision for Vale Royal, which was first launched in January 1995

  • Search for the stars

    THE search is on for stars to appear in a talent show to be held at the Winsford Civic Hall. If you think you have got what it takes and you could be the next Madonna, John Travolta, Tom Cruise or even Jimmy Cricket - start rehearsing. The closing dates

  • Catch Jools Holland at the Parr Hall

    ONLY a few tickets are left for a Jools Holland concert at Warrington Parr Hall. With all his TV appearances and having worked with famous musicians, he is sure to be popular. At aged eight his Uncle Dave started to teach him how to play Boogie Woogie

  • Brighten your day at a fair

    ALL the colours of the rainbow can brighten up your day at the United Reformed Church in Winsford. This year's spring fair theme is Rainbow and stalls around the hall will be coloured red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. There will also be a special

  • Millennium could be countdown to computer disaster

    BUSINESS people who rely on computers will generally have become aware of the Year 2000 problem with their computer software. But solicitor, Alex Megaw, who lives in Northwich, has issued a warning to those who may have remained complacent about the danger

  • Crowd of 93 in new low

    THE Blues finally won their first home game of 1997 last Saturday in a subdued one-nil victory over Frickley Athletic with the winning goal coming just 40 seconds into the match. The game was watched by just ninety-three people, the lowest attendance

  • Swatch this space

    MYSTERY surrounds the theft of an £8,000 "prototype" Swatch watch from a Middlewich firm - because the giant Swiss manufacturer has revealed it doesn't exist! Police are investigating reports that raiders broke into Epsom Ltd on Aston way and escaped

  • Priest slashed in church attack

    MASKED burglars battered a former Winsford priest in a sickening attack which left his face slashed and body bruised all over. Father James McGrath was beaten with an iron bar before the two men slashed his face with a knife. The 63-year-old Catholic

  • 'Grey town' jibe was just a joke!

    THE author of a travel brochure that described Winsford as "the greyest of grey towns" has claimed that the review should be "taken with a pinch of salt." Last week the Guardian revealed how a booklet entitled "Cheshire Canal Companion" had attacked Winsford

  • Passengers safe after copter crash

    TWO helicopter passengers escaped injury when their aircraft plunged into a field near Winsford. Police said the two seater helicopter fell from the skies in an accident reminscent of the Matthew Harding tragedy. The Robinson RH22 helicopter was forced

  • 400 evacuated in club blaze

    A NIGHTCLUB boss evacuated almost 400 revellers from his premises after a fire broke out in a chimney stack. More than 250 clubbers at Galahads in Warmingham Grange were led to safety along with 120 diners in the Lancelot restaurant after Chris Wright

  • DRIVER HURT

    POLICE are investigating an accident in Hale Road which left one man seriously injured. The crash occurred at 7.15pm on Monday near to the junction with Ditton Road. The driver of a Vauxhall Astra was injured when his vehicle collided with a Ford Fiesta

  • BOGUS CALLER ALERT

    A man is trying to con old women out of their money and jewellery. He claims to be from the water board and tries to get into pensioners' homes with a view to stealing from them. He struck five times on Friday afternoon but his victims did not let him

  • ATTACK ORDEAL

    A WOMAN was grabbed by the throat while walking home from a night out at the Top of The Town club. The incident happened shortly before 2.30am on Sunday as she walked down steps towards the Commercial pub in Page Lane. The man grabbed the woman, who is

  • Wids wreck Wrexham

    Widnes u14s 12 Leigh u14s...24 JOHN COOMBES, normally a second row, thundered through for a winger's try and Mark Eley dashed in for the final score of the year. Biggest cheer of the day went to Stevie Quayle who received a five year long service award

  • Junior enrolment

    WIDNES CC juniors will enrol at Beaconsfield Road on Monday 21 April, u13s will commence at 5.00pm, u15s at 6.30pm, all are welcome. Youth coach, Peter Hewitt said: "The club is delighted to be bolstered by the return of Bob Blair. "His vast experience

  • ARL Round Up

    Albert force showdown Heysham Atoms 18 Widnes Albert 28 WIDNES ALBERT completed their league programme with an excellent victory at Heysham and in doing so finished joint top in Division Two forcing a play-off with Leigh Miners. Brian Hunter sold a dummy

  • Gareth has the life of Riley

    Widnes 2XV 74 Warrington 0 WIDNES ran in 12 tries which included a hat-trick from winger Gareth Riley who also knocked over seven conversions. Scrum-half Phil McCaughren opened the scoring wide out before Les Whitfield, in the line from full-back, found

  • VIKINGS: Depression deepens for Vikings fans

    FALSE PROMISE Widnes Vikings 4 Wakefield Trinity 12 Report by Andrew Kirchin THERE was a time at Naughton Park when a mischievous youngster up to no good could have easily lost any pursuant plod by simply blending into the throng. But in these difficult

  • Bears tame Lions

    West Bank Bears u9s 40 Leigh East Lions u9s 10 MAN of the match was Andy Beswick with Chris Butler taking the top tackler award and debutante James Walters picking up the player of the week award. Tries came from a Chris Miller hat-trick, plus two from

  • Play it

    again lads OLD Transporter and Cherry Sutton will have to battle it out again for a place in Bob Orme Memorial Cup final after Sunday's penultimate clash ended in a draw. The ICI Sunday League's top two sides were all square at the final whistle and couldn't

  • Halton run out of gas

    Halton 3 Prenton 36 EMPTY read the tank in this end of season friendly and the players admitted they couldn't motivate themselves. Prenton, champions of the league Halton will compete in next season, scored at their leisure to the tune of 36. Corker's

  • Darts & Doms

    Betz Dearborn WDDL Results: RTB Division One: WRUFC 2 Moorfield A 7; Ball 2 Clock 7; Queens 8 St Bedes 1; Moorfield B 6 Wings 3. RTB Division Two: Village 1 Sporting Ford 8; WVFC 3 Albion 6; Ditton SC 2 St Michaels 7; USC 3 ICI 6. Cheshire Roof Trusses

  • KIDS

    COLOUR pic x 70 mils The Widnes Schoolboy RL Squad pictured during their recent undefeated tour of Yorkshire. (FL). All go for amateurs THE coming week sees the Widnes open-age cup semi-finals when West Bank meet the winners of the Farnworth and Widnes

  • BIKE ROBBED

    POLICE are hunting a masked teenager who tried to rob a youth's bike. The 15-year-old victim was riding his pedal cycle along the footbridge towards Hallwood Park at 8pm on Friday night. The offender stopped him and tried to steal it. His attempt failed

  • £1m FOR ROADS

    MORE than a million pounds is to be spent on improving Runcorn's roads. The work is aimed at revitalising commercial activity in the area and relates to three schemes due to start during 1997/98. Funding from the Single Regeneration Budget will cover

  • NEEDLE FEARS

    DISCARDED needles used by drug addicts are a major problem on Runcorn's Windmill Hill estate, the Halton Police Forum was told. A representative from the area said children were in real danger of being infected. He said police advice in the past has been

  • £6m ARTS CENTRE LOTTERY BID

    A £6m lottery bid was submitted by Halton Council this week to create a new arts centre. Planning chiefs have been working closely with professional Arts Board architects to design a state-of-the-art community development for the borough. It includes

  • EXPRESSWAY DEATH CRASH

    A RUNCORN man has died in a car crash on the Bridgewater expressway. The 24-year-old victim was driving his Ford Sierra along the A533 towards Widnes at 7.50pm on Monday. It is believed his car crossed the central reservation and collided with a Peugeot

  • PUB RIOTS

    ALCOHOL has been blamed for a violent fracas outside a Runcorn pub which left 10 officers injured. A gang of around 150 men and women surrounded a small number of police outside The Cherry Tree, Grangeway, and several of them kicked, punched and butted

  • SHOP RAID HEROES

    A 54-YEAR-OLD man who helped nab an armed raider took the man's shoes and socks off to stop him from running away. The quick-thinking shopper was one of six have-a-go heroes who chased, captured and disarmed the gunman in a busy Old Town street. The group

  • Up the hill to Wharton...

    MR CURZON is seeking clarification regarding the location of Winsford Hill. The first picture of his article depicts its location. It was a single sided street facing Wharton Road. There were approximately 30 houses in the street. To the rear of Winsford

  • Simply the best

    TINA Turner look alike Suzette Dorsey will have no problem convincing audiences that she is Simply The Best at the Crewe Lyceum. The American singer has appeared all over the world including Las Vegas and Atlantic City. And during her last sell out tour

  • Workshops hone interview skills

    MORE than 80 students from Mid Cheshire College took part in interview training delivered by a trio of experienced ICI personnel staff as part of a careers education and guidance programme. Stuart Greenfield, Alan Ventham and Trevor Stephenson gave two

  • Safety is order of the away day

    A SERIES of safety away days for contractors have been hailed as a success by ICI. The events broke new ground with three half days attended by a total of more than 100 different representatives from the business's key contractors who service the Northwich

  • BINGHAM: I MAY QUIT

    Exclusive by ALLAN LEDWARD JOHN Bingham has admitted he may leave Barton Stadium at the end of the season. The Winsford United boss has faced an unrelenting campaign to oust him as manager from fans as well as some officials at the club despite losing

  • Prince Chris comes to town

    SHOPPERS in the area watched as television star Chris Barrie was repeatedly assaulted by an old lady wielding a handbag on Friday afternoon. Fortunately it was all part of the plot as Chris was filming for his new six part sitcom "A Prince Among Men".

  • Police fears over mystery women

    POLICE officers investigating a woman they believe may be trying to abduct Winsford and Middlewich toddlers say there could be two of them operating together. And detectives are now warning parents in Northwich to be on their guard after a mother was

  • Neighbourhood Centre offers a helping hand

    WINSFORD'S Neighbourhood Centre could be set to step in to save the town's unemployed. After Winsford's jobless suffered a double blow with two separate schemes being closed due to a funding squeeze recently, the Cheviot Square-based centre is considering

  • 60 JOBS AXED BY COUNCIL

    THE AXE has fallen at Winsford-based Vale Royal Borough Council, slashing almost 60 jobs to save £800,000 a year. Two directors and a team of senior officers are out in what has become the biggest restructuring programme to hit the council since its formation

  • BOMB HOAX CHARGE

    A WIDNES teenager has been charged with making a hoax bomb call. The 15-year-old was arrested on Monday morning after his call was traced to a phone box in Queens Avenue. The juvenile, who will appear before the town's youth court next month, is alleged

  • CARE HOME NURSE HIT RESIDENTS

    A BULLYING nurse in a Widnes care home cuffed mentally handicapped patients around the head, a disciplinary hearing in London was told. Linda Jean Gray, who was deputy manager at the nine-bed residential care home run by Alternative Futures Ltd in Moorfield

  • Widnes

    open account WIDNES Cricket Club cruised to a comfortable five wicket victory in an impressive start to the new season. New captain Sean Higgins could be well pleased with his first league match as captain as there were no negative aspects of the sides

  • Unbeaten

    run at an end Leigh Harriers 20 Widnes Albion 16 ALBION'S 18 match unbeaten league run come to an end but they went ahead with an Andy Friar try. Harriers hit back with a converted try before Albion, playing their best rugby of the game, saw Paul Davies

  • New boys

    wanted HALTON Royal British Legion Under 9s are looking to recruit new players for the start of next season. The team play in the Runcorn and District Under 9s League and anyone interested in joining can telephone John on 01928 564573. Converted for the

  • Hale and

    hearty Local cricket HALEBANK FC 1997 Sportsmans Evening at the United Services Club, Prescot Road, Widnes on Wednesday 30 April, 1997, 7.30pm start, with guests Duncan McKenzie, Jackie Hamilton and our very own Tommy Sutton, £10, hotpot and apple pie

  • Arms and Lion

    meet great expectations AS expected Norton Arms and Lion Doo Waps made certain of their respective section championships on the final day of league fixtures for the 1996/97 winter league. Norton Arms who had Section Two for most of the season finally

  • Halton hit big 40

    Shaw Tigers u10s 12 Halton Hornets u10s 40 TRIES scored were from top tackler, Shaun McWhirter, Adam McCabe, Paul Hunt, Chris Nanson, Shaun Dourley and man of the match, Matthew Little. Rob Shone kicked the goals. Converted for the new archive on 13 March

  • Golf

    results RECENT Competition Results: 21 April: Mid Week Medal: Division One: 1 Alan Tudor 78-11=67; 2 Mark Hughes 80-10=70; 3 John Williams 86-12=74. Division Two: 1 Steve Parker 83-16=67; 2 Jeff Holland 81-14=67; 3 Dot Bird 90-19=71. Division Three: 1

  • Tavern on the town

    IN the AgrEvo Widnes and District League Tavern won the Griffin Challenge Cup in a closely contested final with Albert. Meanwhile W Raymond and K Lobley from the Holy Family on winning the pairs championship. In Section A Tavern beat RNA B and in Section

  • NEW STORES FOR HALTON LEA

    NEW stores will be opening soon at Halton Lea shopping centre. Walmsleys Furnishing have exchanged contracts on Units One and Two. They will start fitting out the store shortly and plan to open within two months. The former Burger King site, which closed

  • POLICE MERGER BENEFIT

    THE MERGER of Runcorn and Widnes police divisions is already proving successful, it was revealed this week. Supt Peter Hindle told members of the Halton Police Forum that his officers are already feeling the benefit of the changes. He said: "This is an

  • NO ASYLUM

    A TURF CUTTING ceremony has marked the launch of a new £7 million mental health unit. It will increase the size of Halton Hospital by a third and is the biggest building project since Phase 2 opened in 1986. Halton Hospital now provides 206 beds and has

  • DRIVER PLEA REJECTED

    THE DRIVER of a double-decker bus which collided with a low bridge on a busway at Murdishaw, Runcorn in July last year appeared at Warrington Crown Court on Monday. Geoffrey Bell, 41, of Stones Manor Lane, Hartford, near Northwich, denied a charge of