• On frosty mornings don’t leave insecure cars unattended whilst defrosting. Many motorists will start their car and leave it running with the fan turned on to help the defrosting process whilst they go inside. If you cannot garage your car overnight, either stay with it whilst the windscreen clears or cover it with a protective sheet so that the windscreen does not get frosted up.
• Leaving the engine running whilst out of the car on a public highway is an offence known as “quitting” and this gives criminals the opportunity to take the vehicle. Quite a few people do this whilst calling into a newsagents first thing in the morning but will also leave their keys in a switched off vehicle when filling up with petrol – an open invitation to an opportunist thief.
• Insurance companies request details of auto crimes from the police to assess each individual’s claim. These details help to establish whether the aggrieved has been contributory to the loss and ultimately whether the insurance company will pay out.
• In the run up to Christmas do not leave valuables on display in your car and avoid leaving bags of presents on view. This also applies not only to Christmas presents but other items such as laptops and bags – if you don’t need it don’t leave it in your car.
• Ensure your car is safe, secure and properly alarmed at all times. Leaving high powered and valuable vehicles on driveways attracts attention and incidents have happened where thieves have broken into insecure properties and stolen the keys to vehicles – these crimes have not just happened overnight. Keep your property secure and your car keys out of sight.

• 17% increase in gas prices and 10% for electricity from 10th July 2006
  
• Sixth hike in gas prices, totalling 84% by ScottishPower since 2004
  
• Customers to pay an extra £125 a year for energy bills, taking the average energy bill to £983

The May 4th vote for West Lancashire District Concil North Meols Ward is set to be hotly contested as four people have been nominated for election.

Cllr John Baldock (Conservative Party), Portfolio holder for Recycling, has put himself forward for re-election with Joan Draper (independent) of Schwarzman Drive Banks, Sarah Keegan (Labour Party) of Skemersdale and Nicholas Kemp (Green Party) of Hesketh Bank all contesting the position.

West Lancashire District Council

A competition to beat the record for the heaviest pumpkin was officially launched today at Tarleton High School. Pupils from the High School and Tarleton Holy Trinity Primary School planted their pumpkin seeds under the watchful eye of competition organiser Trevor Wilson.

The Mere Brow Giant Pumpkin Competition has become an institution in the North West with competitors from the small agricultural village and its surrounds using fair means - and occasionally foul - to attempt to grow the heaviest pumpkin.

Last year's winning pumpkin was a massive 702lbs and the year before the winner was a staggering 912lbs which shattered the UK heaviest pumpkin record. This year the competition organisers are joining forces with the NSPCC and throwing down the gauntlet to children across the country, challenging youngsters to get involved and raise money for the children's charity at the same time.

Trevor Wilson of Mere Brow, said: " This is the twelfth annual Mere Brow Giant Pumpkin Competition and it promises to be the most competitive yet as we have decided to this year include prize money to the competition winners"

"People living within a ten mile radius of Mere Brow can compete for the Mere Brow & District Shield, but anyone can enter the All England Shield competition.

"The variety of pumpkin we encourage people to grow are 'Atlantic Giants' and they grow so fast you can virtually watch it happening. Some people take the competition very seriously and keep the location of their pumpkin a closely guarded secret. Giant Pumpkin growers will often try all sorts of weird and wonderful techniques to get an edge over their fellow competitors - last year one competitor fed his pumpkin just Guinness directly from the barrel. It didn't win but it grew well!"

"This year we wanted to get more children involved; it is fantastic for children because the pumpkins grow so fast it holds their interest and the rate of growth can be almost magical. We contacted the NSPCC because we wanted children to benefit all ways round" Trevor said.

Hazel Russel, Community Appeals Manager for the NSPCC in Lancashire, said "We are really grateful that the competition organisers thought of the NSPCC. The proceeds will make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children."

For details of how to enter the competition and tips on growing your pumpkin log on to the competition website at www.merebrowgiantpumpkins.com

Mere Brow Giant Pumpkins | NSPCC

Wanted – groups of friends at breaking point for new television programme.

With Friends Like These… Channel 4 is currently looking for people to take part in a brand new primetime series.

Is one of your friends or work colleagues just a little too assertive, too opinionated and too controlling? Is this person making you and your other friends’ lives a misery? Do you often find yourself saying, “I can’t believe she just said that / did that!” Are you at breaking point?

This new programme will take this individual, put them through their paces and show them how their over-domineering traits can be turned into an asset – hopefully making your group a happier place for everyone.

You can nominate someone individually or as a group and will be as much a part of the programme as the nominee.

To find out more, please contact: friends@silverriver.tv or call 020 7307 2720. All emails and calls are confidential and no commitment is necessary at this stage.

Latest price rise makes the average household energy bills for British Gas customers leap 66% from £606 to £1005 since start of 2004.

British Gas has today announced a record price hike since privatisation - its fourth price rise since 2004, and its second in six months. It has increased gas prices by 22% and electricity prices by 22% for its customers. The increases will add £1.08 billion to UK domestic gas bills, taking the average household energy bill past the £1000 mark for the first time ever.

The announcement comes as no surprise as Centrica, British Gas’ parent company, had already stated that its pricing policy for 2006 would be to pass on the full cost of wholesale increases to its customers. However, like all major energy suppliers, British Gas’ trading policy on the wholesale gas market should have insulated them from the worst of the effects of the drastic price increases seen this winter.

The continuing cost of loyalty for the average British Gas customer is now a staggering £374. In spite of the fact that prior to this announcement the company had already raised its gas prices by 36% since 2004, half of all UK households still haven’t switched to another supplier, according to independent comparison and switching service uSwitch.

Alan Tattersall, Director of Home Services at uSwitch.com, comments: “This is one of the biggest social scandals in recent memory. It is misleading for British Gas to hide behind wholesale gas prices as the reason for these latest increases. Even before this latest round of energy price rise announcements British Gas charged their customers on average 12.5% more for gas than their main competitors. The volatility of the wholesale gas market affects all other gas and electricity suppliers, and yet British Gas is now 25% more expensive than other suppliers’ standard tariffs, and 37% more expensive than the average cheapest tariff.
“The alarming fact is that there are still over 11 million gas customers who are prepared to pay the premium rates now being charged by British Gas. We would urge consumers to shop around for the best deals.”

Click here for independent energy price comparison - See how much you will save!

Lorraine Fullbrook, who hopes to represent Rufford, Banks, Tarleton, Hesketh Bank, Mawdesley and Eccleston at Westminster for the South Ribble constituency after the next general election, has challenged The Lancashire Police Authority to re-run it’s recent consultation on the merger of Lancashire Police with other forces, which she believes is fundamentally flawed.

Mrs Fullbrook believes that the merger is being pushed through without local people being given a say on retaining Lancashire as a stand-alone force. She also believes that the impact of a merger is not being properly explained to local residents. In particular the impact a merger may have on local jobs, council tax and the future of the Lancashire Police Head Quarters at Hutton.

In a letter to the Chairman of the Lancashire Police Authority Lorraine says..

Amadeus, the 6 year old brown and white Leonberger x Bernese Mountain cross breed was today reunited with his owner.

The extensive poster campain and media coverage (2005 News Archive 29/12/05) has led to many people reporting sightings and allowed the search party to track his movements throughout the villages of West Lancashire.

A telephone call this morning pin-pointed him in a field and a team of 15 people were mustered to close the net and catch him. After over 7 weeks of being "on the run" he was described as being fit and well.

Southern Division’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Team have taken delivery of five new motorbikes in their fight against crime.

The ANPR team, which consists of one Police Sergeant and six Police Constables will now be using the latest BMW RS 120cc sports motorcycles to police the highways of the division. The team also use a covert vehicle and high performance Vauxhall Vectra with all officers trained to the highest level of police advanced driving techniques.

The ANPR system identifies suspect vehicles that may have been stolen and may be driven by offenders. When a vehicle is identified officers stop the vehicle and speak to the driver and occupants. The information contained about the vehicle on the intelligence system provides the officers with the necessary edge that allows them to deal with suspects more efficiently. The device is able to monitor traffic flows on even the busiest roads and even in the heaviest of traffic, can read every passing registration plate to pick out those worthy of police attention.

Sergeant Steve Moon who is in charge of the ANPR team commented,” In the last year the team have been responsible for the arrest of 212 persons for crime and kindred offences. They have recovered numerous stolen vehicles and property and large quantities of class ‘A’ drugs. The use of this technology provides us with a really efficient method of policing the Division’s Roads.”