Monday 11th April 2011 Sandbank warning as tide traps 93 people
93 people had to be rescued after getting trapped by incoming tides at
Blackpool. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the people
were caught out by the tide while on sandbanks off the beaches near
the seaside resort. Coastguards have urged people to check tide
timetables before they go out and to be aware of just how fast the
tide can come in. The Coastguard Team had a busy weekend as sunny
weather at the start of the school holidays brought lots of people out
to enjoy a leisurely weekend by the sea all along the North West
coast. Lancashire

Wednesday 9th March 2011 Blackpool has potential
A company at the heart of redeveloping Blackpool’s top tourist
attractions thinks Blackpool could become one of Europe’s top
family-friendly resorts. Merlin Entertainments, which operates the Sea
Life centre on the promenade, is working with the council to redevelop
the iconic Blackpool Tower. Speaking in Blackpool recently, Merlin
Entertainments' global CEO Nick Varney said: "Only last week the
Government launched its tourism strategy, one element of which is to
encourage visitors to the UK to see beyond London, and to experience
some of the other wonderful elements the UK has to offer. Blackpool
and the North West should be at the heart of that policy.” Lancashire

Friday 7th January 2011 MP faces seven year stretch for expenses fraud
Former Labour MP David Chaytor faces a maximum term in prison of seven
years for making £20,000 in fraudulent expenses claims. Chaytor, 61,
the former MP for Bury North, admitted three charges of false
accounting and is due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court. One of
the charges related to Chaytor claiming £12,925 between 2005 and 2006
for renting a flat in Regency Street, near Westminster. It was
subsequently discovered that he owned the flat and had used a fake
tenancy agreement to claim £1,175 a month rent. At one stage in
proceedings Chaytor described the false claims as an ‘accounting
error’. Lancashire

Tuesday 28th December 2010 Mountain rescue team member injured while sledging
A man who had to be evacuated by air ambulance after a sledging
accident on Boxing Day turned out to be a member of Bolton’s mountain
rescue team. The 21 year-old is one of the 17-strong Bolton Mountain
Rescue Team who were taking advantage of a quiet Boxing Day by
tobogganing on Rivington Pike, a steep hill on the West Pennine Moors.
It is understood that an old mountain rescue stretcher was being used
as a sledge. The 21-year-old man was released from hospital later in
the day with severe bruising. Mountain rescue team leader Garry Rhodes
said: "It was just an accident – we had been so busy with all the jobs
that we thought we would have a day sledging. Sledging is dangerous,
but it is also good fun." Lancashire

Tuesday 14th December 2010 Preston taxi drivers told to slim down and smarten up
Taxi drivers in Preston are being urged to slim down and smarten up
their appearance as part of a campaign by local authorities. Central
Lancashire PCT and the city council are trying to improve the health
and image of the the 300 taxi drivers across the region. Tracy Sutton,
from the PCT, said: "It's really important because the job they do is
already very sedentary. They work shifts, have funny eating patterns
and they also work through the night when takeaways are often the only
food available.” Mark Selley from the Preston Hackney Carriage
Association said: "We have had a positive response so far, many
drivers do want to get fit and shed those pounds." Lancashire

Wednesday 10th November 2010 Tributes paid to former England captain
Blackburn Cathedral hosted a service held to pay last respects to
former England and Blackburn Rovers football player Ronnie Clayton.
Fans, football players and current Rovers boss Sam Allardyce were at
the cathedral for a service of thanksgiving. The Preston-born former
right half died in Royal Blackburn Hospital last week aged 76. Clayton
played more than 600 times for Rovers and was capped 35 times for
England, including many appearances as captain. Former Rovers player
and present chief executive of the Professional Footballers'
Association (PFA), Gordon Taylor said: "He was just a tremendous human
being as well as being a great player. When I came to Blackburn in the
1970s he'd finished but he was still around and he had a welcoming
word for everybody. You still felt he was the captain of that team, he
was fiercely loyal to Blackburn. He was to Blackburn what Matthews is
to Blackpool - and Jimmy Armfield - and Lofthouse to Bolton and Sir
Tom Finney to Preston.” Lancashire

Friday 15th October 2010 Bus drivers told to “lose weight” in Blackpool
Bus drivers working at Blackpool Transport have been told to lose
seven pounds (3kg) each in four weeks. The bus company is allegedly
disciplining two drivers unless they lose weight. The company has
come under fire for the move with Councillor Simon Blackburn, leader
of the Labour Group on Blackpool Council, calling the firm's
management "heavy handed". Blackpool Transport has defended itself and
is claiming that it is acting on medical advice in the interests of
customer safety. A statement from Blackpool Transport said, "Following
professional medical advice the company is dealing with some sensitive
and personal issues confidentially with some individual members of
staff through internal procedures so that our customers and staff are
not put at risk." Lancashire

Friday 14th May 2010 Council lists brothel on website
Blackpool Council were forced to remove a listing on their “Where I
live and Work” website section when they discovered a beauty salon
advertised there was in fact a brothel. The council subsequently took
legal action against Joanne Andrew, 42, who ran Natalie's Sauna, in
Cookson Street, Blackpool. She admitted four counts of keeping a
brothel for prostitution at the town's magistrates' court.

Blackpool Council said it has removed the listing and an investigation
is now pending. The council bought in the listings, which include
information about local services, from a private company.

"We received the information in good faith," said a council
spokeswoman. "This has highlighted our need to find another layer of
investigation before services are listed." Lancashire

Monday 22nd February 2010 Thornton Little Theatre to enjoy £220,000 makeover
£220,000 will be spent to overhaul Thornton Little Theatre in
Lancashire. The refurbished theatre will become the national
headquarters for the Paul Nicholas School of Acting, the children's
acting school. The work planned to start on 1 March at Thornton Little
Theatre includes construction of a new entrance, foyer and multi-use
function room.

Just Good Friends Councillor Peter Murphy, portfolio holder for living
communities, said: "The council is making the investment in the
facilities in support of a new management arrangement with the Paul
Nicholas School of Acting. This will in turn reduce the ongoing
subsidy of the venue and lead to new programmes for local people to
enjoy." Lancashire

Friday 6th November 2009 Students escape bus fireball
Students from a Lancashire school watched in horror as the bus they
were about to board went up in flames. The double-decker bus was due
to collect students from the Runshaw College in Leyland when it
suddenly caught fire. The students looked on as the bus was destroyed
in a massive blaze.

A witness, 16 year-old Sam Davey said the bus “seemed to explode into
flames” causing those at the bus stop to run for cover. The bus and
the bus shelter were both completely destroyed by the blaze which is
thought to have started in electrical circuits under the driver’s
seat. Lancashire