WIGAN SAILOR ON MURDER CHARGE
Murder squad detectives have charged a Wigan sailor with the murder of a man at a Plymouth bedsit. Lee Taylor, aged 20, from Langton Avenue, Standish this week appeared before the city's magistrates accused of murdering jobless Simon Ford.
The victim, also 20, died from a single knife wound and was found in a basement flat in Saltash Road in the Keyham district of Plymouth by his girlfriend on Tuesday 8th February. She fled to the nearby Drake Primary School to report the death to staff and once police were contacted, they immediately sealed off the area around the home.
Door-to-door enquiries were carried out and forensic examinations made of the scene. A search was also made for the weapon responsible.
Tatylor. a rating on the destroyer HMS Birmingham, was questioned by detectives the day after Mr Ford's body was found and was charged on Thursday. He appeared in civilian dress and was remanded in custody by Plymouth magistrates.
Taylor's commanding officer was with him in court.
GUN RAID ON INCE POST OFFICE
An armed robber held a customer at gunpoint during a terrifying post office raid.
The man,
who was wearing a balaclava, entered the Higher Ince Post Office in Manchester Road, Ince just shortly after 9.15am on
Saturday.He grabbed a 47-year-old woman customer and pointed a handgun towards her head while demanding cash from the 54-year-old postmaster.
During the raid the robber banged on the security glass to reinforce his demands, and smashed it. The postmaster handed him an undisclosed amount
of cash before the man made his escape.
Detective Insp Steve Baldwin of Wigan CID said, This man tried to put as much fear as possible into
the postmaster and the customer. The woman was being served at the time and the offender held her round the neck while pointing a gun towards her
head. He must have been very intimidating. This was a very frightening experience for all concerned.
Two people, believed to be a husband and wife
or a couple, left the post office just before the raider entered. Police believe they could have seen the offender before he put his balaclava on.
DI Baldwin added, "We would appeal for these people to come forward and anyone else with any information should ring Wigan CID on 0161 856 7151 or ring
Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The offender who spoke in a local accent, was white, 5ft 10ins, of medium build, and was wearing a dark nylon jacket
and a dark balaclava.
WHELAN THREATENS TO QUIT LATICS AND WIGAN RL
Dave Whelan has sensationally threatened to quit both Latics and Wigan RL. A furious Whelan told the Wigan Observer that he has been so angered by a council decision to severely restrict the JJB Stadium capacity for a forthcoming game that he is seriously considering selling up and ending his involvement with both clubs.
"This decision is giving me great, great concern," he said, "I am going away for 10 days and I am going to give it very, very serious thought as to whether I stop supporting Wigan Athletic and Wigan Rugby League."
The multi-millionaire businessman's statement, which will stun fans of both clubs and send shockwaves through the town, came after council chiefs refused Wigan Athletic permission to raise the capacity of the stadium from 10,000 to 12,000 for the visit of Stoke City on February 26th.
"I can't go on with not getting the support of the local authority," said Whelan. "It has cost me something like �40m putting this stadium together for our town, which gets Wigan so much publicity, and then for Wigan Athletic to be told 'no, you can't have 12,000 instead of 10,000 for an hour and a half on a Saturday afternoon.' I have to ask the question, 'Where am I going and hwere is the club going?' Is it any use me keep putting money into this club, when we are refused when we ask for a little help?"
Wigan Metro planning commitee had put a 10,000 restriction on the gate for the Stoke match due, it stated, to concerns over the amount of traffic using the Saddle Junction, which is presently undergoing major modifications which have disrupted motorists using the area.
Latics club officials applied for a temporary raising of the limit to cater for what it was anticipated would be a big crowd for the Stoke game, but Whelan was informed this week that the application had been refused.
"In essence, the current view of the commitee is that in view of the traffic issues, the original limit should be adhered to." said the Metro's Director of Planning and Development John Sloane in a letter.
But Whelan is outraged at the blocking of the plan, and his anger centres on what he claims are a group of councillors led by Coun Christine Hitchen, who he believes do not have the interests of the Latics at heart.
"She has led the bamdwagon to refuse our application and that in my mind raises very, very serious concerns," he said. He explained that he was at a loss to understand how in his view Wigan Metro supported the Asda superstore's application to have 24-hour opening for six days a week yet they would not approve an extra 2,000 capacity for an event which lasted only one and a half hours.
JEAN PLEADS FOR HELP
A woman is appealing for help to discover the identity of two pictures found in a locket
which was bought four years ago.
Jean Higham, 53, is aiming to discover who the mystery figures are after reading how Evening Post
reader David Houghton found a picture of a woman in military uniform when it fell out of his newspaper last week.
Mrs Higham received the locket as a Christmas gift from
husband Eric. She said, "We didn't realise it had two pictures in it until we had bought it and the shopkeeper didn't know either. They look like mother and daughter to me.
I've been wearing the locket every day since I got it and I have never known who they are. I'd love to find out. When I read that someone else had found an old picture
they didn't know anything about, it reminded me of them."
WOMAN ATTACKED IN CEMETERY
Detectives at Wigan have thanked people who have contacted them with information on an attempted rape, but have appealed
for more help.
A 35-year-old woman managed to escape from her attacker as she walked through Gidlow cemetery and details of the incident
and an E-fit of the man responsible has led to calls coming in thick and fast to the police.
det Insp Mick Darwin, of Wigan CID said, "We have been encouraged by the
large volume of calls received in response to this incident. We are currently sifting through sightings of this man from people who say they might have seen him before."
Police are still very interested in hearing from anyone who may recognise the man or who noticed him acting suspiciously on the day of the incident- Sunday February 9th.
The woman was walking down a path with her two dogs , connecting Gidlow cemetery to the Beech Hill estate, and was close to Barley Brook when the man jumped on her and
pinned her to the ground. As she struggled the man produced a knife and slashed her three times on the arms, then one of the woman's pets, a collie-labrador cross bit the
attacker and he ran off towards the Milliken factory.
The woman said, "I honestly thought I was going to die. If someone is prepared to go armed with a knife, who knows
what they could do?"
The man is described as white, about 5ft 10ins tall, of heavy build and aged between 34 and 38. Clean shaven, he has brown hair and brown eyes and
on the day of the attack was wearing a blue Adidas jacket, black tracksuit bottoms and a black bobcap. He spoke with a deep local accent. The man's trousers would have been
covered in mud. The attack happened at around 12.45pm on Sunday and a neighbour of the victim said that she saw a man answering the description acting oddly at around 3pm on
the Saturday.
Anyone with information should contact Wigan CID on 0161 872 5050.
Check here for reports you may have missed
