FURY AS RUBBISH PILES UP
Furious resident's staged 'dirty' protests when two council tips were closed causing mayhem at both sites.
Tippers arriving at Wigan Metro's Frog Lane were greeted by signs which told them the dump was full and drivers were re-directed to Amberswood tip three miles away. Traffic congestion at the Slag Lane tip in Lowton became so bad that local police temporarily closed the site, telling people to return later.
But frustrated drivers, annoyed at the tip's closing yet again, continued to dump bags and within hours the boundary wall of the Frog Lane site was covered by a six-foot high mound of stinking rubbish including fridges, television sets, household debris and Christmas decorations.
One angry driver said, "I've got four young children and my bin is overflowing. This is the second time I have been to this tip this week and it has been closed. I am not putting that rubbish back in my car. It can stay there. I don't like to do this, but the council should sort this out. It's the same every Christmas."
John Sephton, whose Markland Court home faces the site said, "It's disgusting, it started with a wheel and a couple of bags of rubbish and it's just grown from there. Usually the tip is closed for an hour, but it will take much longer because the gates have been blocked up. I haven't seen any rats but when you've got kids you have got to worry about things like this. If it stays there for any length of time it will begin to smell."
A spokesman for the Metro said, "This is one of the sites where we use skips. They have to be empited more frequently by lorry. While they are being empitied we need to keep traffic out of the site because it is dangerous. The problem caused by huge amounts of rubbish from the New Year was exacerbated by the lorry getting bogged down at Kirkless tip, so it took longer to get to Frog Lane to empty the skips. It was an unfortunate combination of circumstances. We apologise to anyone who has been inconvenienced."
FUNERAL OF TRAGIC ACCIDENT VICTIM
Friends and family gathered this week at St Aidan's RC Church to say goodbye to the teenager who was tragically killed
on his way home after a night out.
Steven Green,who was knocked down by a police patrol car as he was crossing Scot Lane the day before New Year's
Eve, was known and loved by many people. The 19-yr-old former St Thomas More High school pupil touched the lives of everyone who met him and will be sadly missed by all who
knew him.
Steven was on his way home after a night out with friends when he was hit by the police vehicle. The police car which was attending a homelink alarm call at
Andy Gregory's Clubhouse pub in Scot Lane, was travelling at speed towards Martland Mill at around 2am.
Steven was rushed to Wigan Infirmary suffering from multiple
injuries and despite desperate attempts by paramedics, he died later in hospital.
Steven, of Cavendish Drive, Winstanley had qualified just two weeks previously as a joiner at
Hap Construction in Billinge, after a three and a half year apprenticeship. The night out was to celebrate getting his first proper job.
St Aidan's church was packed for the
funeral where his many friends, family and colleagues paid tribute to him. His mother Pauline, 54, said "We were amazed by the number of people who turned up at Steven's funeral-
we didn't know how popular he was. It was so lovely to receive support from all his friends. They made the day special."
His father, 58 yr-old Derek said, "He touched the
lives of everybody who met him. Everyone liked him and respected him. He was a fantastic person. We can't believe he isn't with us anymore. His friends have given Pauline and
me the strength to get through this, without them it would have been unbearable."
PRIMARY SCHOOLS RECEIVE �250,000
Five primary schools are to see class sizes fall thanks to a �250,000 windfall for Wigan Education Authority.
The money has been awarded as part of the government's initiative to cut to 30 or fewer the number of pupils in classes for five to seven year olds. It means that Wigan has received almost �2m of Whitehall cash with 25 primary schools across the borough getting new buildings.
The latest recipients are RL Hughes at Ashton-in-Makerfield, Sacred Heart RC Atherton, St Andrews Springfield, St John's CofE Infants at Leigh and St Catherine's Lowton. Education chiefs says the Metro is now on target to meet it's commitment to the government that no infants will be taught in a class of more than 30 pupils after September this year.
But the announcement received a mixed reaction from Ken Rees, headmaster of St Andrews. He said, "The money will pay for the conversion of a shared area in the school into a fourth classroom, meaning that classes will be smaller. To that extent it solves the mathematical issue. The problem it poses is that in reducing class sizes we will end up with vertical age grouping as we split three classes into four. We would rather not have children from different years in the same class but the only alternative would be to reduce numbers to 30. However, we do not want to do this because we are a popular school and do not want to put extra pressure on places."
FLU BUG STRIKES WIGAN
Replacement ambulance crews are being drafted into Wigan to replace staff struck down by the 'flu bug.
Resources from Billinge ambulance
station on Upholland Road have been transferred to Wigan station on Pottery Road to help cover for absent staff although ambulance bosses have assured the public that the level of service
will not be affected.
A spokesman for the Greater Manchester Ambulance Service (GMAS) said, "Flu does seem to have hit the ambulance service hardest in the Wigan area of Greater Manchester,
although the reason for this is difficult to say. An ambulance crew have moved from Billinge station to operate out of the Wigan ambulance station. It is not unusual for resources to be moved
to a main centre of activity in these circumstances but GMAS wants to stress that all areas of Wigan, including Billinge, will still receive cover. This is a practical measure to ensure
resources are used to maximum effect and does not affect response times to incidents in Billinge or any other area of Wigan."
BIGAMIST FACES PRISON SENTENCE
Christopher Webster is facing up to seven years in jail after admitting bigamy.
Webster,who is from Wigan was
caught out when one of his wives spotted his picture in a newspaper after he was reported missing. Neither of his wives knew about the other- and he has a son with each of them. His secret
was finally revealed when he went missing and the second woman he married, Rebecca Draper, contacted police.
His first wife, Pauline Holding, saw the story appealing for his whereabouts
and the police were contacted again.
Webster,41, who now lives in Blackpool, pleaded guilty to the charge of bigamy when he appeared before magistrates in Wigan. His punishment, which
could lead to seven years behind bars, was delayed for a pre-sentence report to be compiled. He will appear in front of the magistrates again on February 2nd.
Mr Adrian Dugdale, prosecuting,
said the case was not the sort of thing you hear about every day. Webster's first married life began on December 2 1988, when he tied the knot to Pauline at Wigan Register Office. They had a son
but in 1995 Webster left the family home. They had only seen each other on two occasions in the last four years and she heard he was living with another woman. The next year he met Miss Draper
and they moved to the Blackpool area before returning to Wigan. She later had his son and October 1, 1997 they were married at the town's register office. Webster had not told her about his first
wife or his other child and gave his marital status as bachelor.
It was only when he went missing in May 1998 that the truth began to unfold. His first mother-in-law spotted the story in a
newspaper and the police were informed. Officers finally arrested him on his way to Blackpool last month after appearing as missing on the police National Computer.
Mr Dugdale said, "He told
officers that he thought Pauline had divorced him, but that seems incredulous considering they had only seen each other twice since he left."
Mr Tony Stock, defending, said the bench mmay want
to read a pre-sentence report on Webster before passing sentence and the case was adjourned.
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