CARING READERS BRING CHRISTMAS CHEER
Kind hearted readers of the Wigan Evening Post made this Christmas extra special for one Wigan couple.
After a report in the Post David and Margaret Cookson were deluged with calls from concerned readers anxious to help when they read that the Cookson's beloved Border collie Megan went missing after their car was stolen with the dog inside.
Scores of people had spotted an injured Megan wandering around Platt Bridge, after she had been dumped by the thieves who took the car. And following the quick response of readers Megan is now safely back home with her family.
The stolen vehicle which is being checked over for fingerprints by police was eventually found abandoned in Little Hulton over the weekend.
Margaret, of Lilian Drive, Beech Hill said, "We just couldn't believe the number of people who phoned up with offers of help, advice and information about Megan after the newspaper report on the Saturday. The phone literally never stopped ringing and we just can't thank people enough for their compassion. The way people hiave showed that they cared was really stunning and really does show that the Christmas spirit is genuinely alive and well in Wigan. The car has been damaged but it was insured and can be repaired, Megan, on the other hand, is irreplaceable. She has been with us since she was a pup and she and David are inseperable and we are just so relieved that she is safely back home with us."
Megan was found subdued and bedraggled, with a cut to her mouth-possibly caused when she was hit by the car thief- and a limp but, all things considered, she is in remarkably good shape.
ANGELA LIGHTS UP HER STREET
A Wigan woman has set up a Christmas display to rival the famous Blackpool Illuminations!
Angela Leyland
of Baclaw Close, Whelley, has been decorating her house with festive lights for several years but this year she says the collection is the biggest ever.
The 'illuminations have proved
to be a great success and don't just attract onlookers from the local community, people from as far afield as Ormskirk and St Helens come to view the display each year.
Angela said,
"We decorate the house with lights every year, but this year's are the biggest we've ever done. I've even had people from Ashton-Under-Lyne visiting saying I've really excelled myself.
Every year I save the lights I have and when I see some more I like I pick them up and add them to the collection. It just keeps developing like that."
MORE TOWN CENTRE TRAFFIC CHAOS
Wigan Metro has announced a series of major roadwork projects which are set to cause headaches for drivers in the New Year.
Traffic congestion is expected when work gets underway to construct a new junction and install traffic lights at the junction of Greenough Street and Central Park Way, at the site of the new Tesco supermarket. Work will begin on 4th January and is expected to take two weeks. A spokesman for the Metro said, "Lane closures will be required and traffic congestion can be expected. It is expected that any lane closures will be confined to off-peak times."
Norweb will also undertake a major cable-laying project in Ince in early January. The scheme which is expected to last several months will involve Warrington Road from Westwood Lane to Neville Street and then along a route involving Liverpool Road, Whistley Street, Rivington Avenue and Langdale Grove before crossing open land to Beaumaris Road in Hindley.
METRO TO GO GREEN
Wigan Metro have turned to green power to fuel their vehicles.
The council now have 16 vehicles on Liquid Petroleum Gas after the council
announced the addition of six new vans. The success of the alternatively fuelled vans and small minibuses follows the launch of a pilot scheme of LPG fuel in April 1998.
And the vehicles,
used by the Land and Property Department and the Environmental Health Department have proved so good that the council are investigating the possibility of converting more of their vans to
the environmentally friendly fuel.
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