The Fag Trade
It’s linked to serious organised crime, it’s costing the country millions each year and sees deadly cigarettes of dubious quality sold to people of all ages – including children.
The trade in illegal cigarettes is on the increase and whilst the bloke down the road selling cheap fags may appear to offer a bargain or be just a light-hearted cheat against the system,...More
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A Library Festival That Would Be Criminal To Miss!
A TRIO of celebrated crime writers are heading to Wigan and Leigh later this month for a “literary festival of felony”.
Libraries will delve into the dark underbelly of society with a special series of events organised in recognition of one of the borough’s most read genres.
Organiser Carole Ogden from Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust said: “We know crime nove...More
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Evicted! – Wigan and Leigh Housing ends ‘Living Hell’ for residents
Families who made life a misery for the community on a Wigan estate have been given their marching orders by Wigan and Leigh Housing.
Sandra Browitt of Gidlow Lane and Philip King of Tulip Drive, both on the Beech Hill estate, have been evicted following the conclusion of a three-day court case.
Browitt and King faced legal action because of the anti-social beh...More
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Watch and car stolen in robbery
A man was thrown to the ground and had his watch worth thousands of pounds stolen in a robbery in Wigan.
On Sunday 17 January 2010, the victim was at an antique fair, which took place in a hotel on Chorley Road, Worthington.
Around 5.30pm, the victim walked back to his BMW and was grabbed from behind by a man who demanded the keys to his car.
The victim w...More
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Trade is Good!
The borough’s very best traders are in town.
Around thirty local businesses, all of which are members of the council’s Good Traders Scheme, gathered this week for a ceremony to celebrate excellence in customer service led by senior councillors.
Launched just over a year ago by trading standards officers, the scheme allows the public to recommend firms which the...More
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The £200 cigarette – Smoker cough’s up after litter snare
There’s no smoke without…fine!
That’s the lesson one Marsh Green smoker has just learnt after a carelessly discarded fag end resulted in him being up before the bench.
Lewis Ashcroft of Comet Road, Marsh Green, was spotted dropping a cigarette butt outside Marsh Green library last June by a council officer.
And after being reported for the offence, Ashcroft ...More
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Wigan And Leigh Remember Holocaust Victims
Wigan and Leigh united on Wednesday (January 27) to remember those killed in the Holocaust and other genocides.
In a packed atrium at Wigan town hall, Rector of Wigan, Rev Ray Hutchinson spoke of the “common humanity” we all share that goes “beyond race and nation” as the borough’s tenth Holocaust Memorial Day was held.
At Leigh’s Turnpike Centre, Bill Hampso...More
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Bob's back at school
It was a case of back to the classroom for Bob Aspey of Newtown this week.
The retired chartered engineer was an apprentice at Wigan’s internationally renowned mining college from 1952 and left with an HNC and a long career as a designer. This week the 72 year old was one of a group of students of a very different kind who returned to the same building for a guid...More
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Action Against Underage Sales
Two local shopkeepers have been in court for selling cigarettes to children following test purchases by volunteers working with council officers.
16 year old girls, acting on behalf of trading standards officers, attempted to buy cigarettes from 17 local shops during a two day operation in November 2009. In total the girls were able to make 6 purchases which offi...More
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Apprenticeships – Opening doors to a brighter future
“I knew what I wanted – I wanted a job.”
So says Shaun Shepard from Beech Hill. He left school at 16 with very few GCSEs, but was keen to earn and look after himself. With help from Connexions, the council’s information, advice, guidance and support service for young people, Shaun has gone on to great success as an apprentice in local firm ATG Willand.
“Shau...More
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Man shot in the face
A man was shot in the face by a pellet from an air rifle.
It happened when the 39-year-old victim was in his back garden on Bor Avenue in Hawkley Hall, Wigan, shortly before 4pm on Monday 25 January 2010.
The man's garden backs onto open fields in the country park surrounding 'Scotsman's Flash' where it is believed the weapon was fired.
The pellet lodged its...More
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Stuart Maconie helps Wigan youngsters make the transition
Leaving school is a big milestone in the life of any young person. With an increasing array of post-school options available, the decision about which direction to take can be one that raises many questions. And for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities in Wigan, it’s no different. With an often bewildering array of options available, it can be di...More
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On with the show
It’s Golborne’s panto season (oh yes it is!) and the historic St Thomas’s Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society are really centre stage.
Front of house, their performances are splendid, but back in the wings, the company were short of resources to properly stage their shows.
The society had built an outhouse at St Thomas's school for its equipment, but funds ra...More
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There's no Monopoly over the Community Chest
Need some new kitchen equipment at the community hall? New instruments for the band? Or even some cash for leaflets and posters?
The Community Chest may be just for you. It’s not just a square on the Monopoly board next to the Old Kent Road, it’s a real resource providing small grants for community groups who encourage people to take part in recreation or leisu...More
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All the World’s a Stage...
...and the best craft skills are ‘top of the bill’ right here in Wigan.
Some of the country’s finest craftsmen and women – including the builders of the modern replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre – are coming to Wigan to demonstrate their skills and inspire the next generation as part of the council’s ‘Back to the Future’ programme of conservation and construct...More
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World Record Bid For Wigan’s Food Festival!
A HEAD chef is hoping to set a new World Record as part of this year’s Wigan Food and Drink Festival.
Faisal Ali Choudhury will be cooking up a massive batch of fish curry at The Royal Saffron , Lowton with a huge Tigerfish as part of the food festival celebrations in March.
The 39-year-old is already a Guinness World Record holder in the kitchen. In 2000 he ...More
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'Banned' Aid – Council-seized counterfeits help the world's poor
Who says that crime doesn’t pay?
Because some of the world’s poorest communities are certainly benefiting from the proceeds of criminal activity, thanks to Wigan Council.
The council’s Trading Standards team is at work through the year tracking down villains and con-artists in our borough who are trying to exploit the lucrative trade in illegal counterfeit good...More
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Avoid the Christmas debt hangover
Unify Credit Union is warning people in Wigan and Leigh to avoid doorstep lenders and loan sharks as a way of dealing with the post Christmas financial hangover. A report by Circle Anglia has shown that over 100,000 people resorted to loan sharks to finance their Christmas spending and many more have obtained loans from high interest doorstep lenders charging in exc...More
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Woman killed confronting car thief named
The woman who died after being hit by a thief stealing her car has been named.
Lynda Hankey, aged 42, from Wigan, died after she was hit by her own car as it was being stolen from outside her home.
At about 4.20pm on Thursday 14 January 2010, Lynda spotted someone in the driver's seat of her yellow MG parked on Prestt Grove.
As she walked to the front of ...More
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Man arrested following woman's death
A man has been arrested following the death of woman who attempted to
confront a car thief in Wigan.
The 22-year-old man, from the Wigan area, has been arrested on suspicion of
murder and remains in police custody for questioning.
At about 4.20pm on Thursday 14 January 2010, the woman spotted someone in
the drivers seat of her yellow MG parked on Prestt Grov...More
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