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LANDLADY GOES BUST
A Wigan landlady locked in a test case battle with a brewery has gone bust.
Former Miss Great Britain beauty queen Wendy George closed Orrell's Abbey Lakes Hotel for the last time four weeks ago and has handed the lease back to owners, Thame-based Entrepreneur Inns.
Wendy, who has been at the pub for 15 years, says her business has been killed off by a combination of a new demand for monthly rent and her spiralling health problems which has meant her having to employ staff in her place. She is now pinning her hopes on the joint legal action she and almost 600 other landlords have launched against the tied-lease system operated by the pub firm which they have been jointly fighting for the last five years. This legally obliges them to buy beer and drinks from their landlords, rather than pay open-market prices for them in a market where consumption is falling every year.
The publicans claim the tied-house system is a breach of the European Community's Treaty of Rome guaranteeing free trade within member states. They hope the case will go before the European Court in the Hague by the end of next year.
Wendy has taken out a £250,000 writ for damages for the restriction of her trade at the Abbey Lakes and the other pub she leased from Entrepreneur, Standish's Lychgate Tavern The Abbey Lakes is likely to be re-opened later this month, minus it's well-known landlady. Wendy and her 83 year-old mother are now leaving the living quarters at the Abbey Lakes to rent a small house locally.
She said, "I have made many, many friends since taking on the Abbey Lakes, and to finish this way, with nothing left but a few fixtures and fittings is very upsetting. But if this action for damages is a success I hope that Wigan won't have seen the last of me because that could fund a new pub business."
38 YEARS FOR "UNTOUCHABLES"
Four Wigan Drug dealers, branded the "untouchables" were jailed this week for a total of 38 years.
Brothers John and Thomas Pownall,
John Rasburn and Wayne Lockett, who ruled the Wigan drug scene through fear and intimidation, were sent down after a massive undercover police operation which netted nearly £200,000
worth of Class A drugs.
Wigan police now believe people in their community will no longer live in fear and the heavy sentences will send a strong message to others who dare to deal in drugs.
Sentencing the four men at Bolton Crown Court, Judge William Morris said, "Those who deal in such drugs as heroin, cocaine and ecstasy must be dealt with severely."
John Pownall, 38, of
Downall Green Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield was jailed for 12 years on three charges of conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and ecstasy and offering to supply cannabis.
His 34 year-old brother,
Thomas, of Westcroft, Platt Bridge was sent down for ten years for conspiracy to supply heroin.
John Rasburn, 37, of Millers Lane, Platt Bridge was jailed for nine yearsfor two charges of conspiracy,
one of heroin, the other cocaine, and 27 year old Wayne Lockett, of Strines Close Hindley, was sentenced to seven years for offering to supply ecstasy, possession of ammunition, possession of cannabis
and intent to supply cocaine.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Lay, of Greater Manchester Police said, "These people put themselves up as the untouchables and we have proved they are not.
They have been known to be the main drugs suppliers in Wigan for some time. They have ruled Wigan through intimidation. Because of this it has been very difficult to gather evidence but we wanted to
bring them to justice. That is why we used an undercover officer to buy drugs off all the defendants. People can now walk the streets without fear of upsetting the Pownalls. We are pleased for the
people of Wigan- who will not see these people for a very long time."
LAP DANCING CLUB FOR ASHTON
Shocked residents have blasted plans for Wigan's first ever strip club.
Steave's Bar in Ashton-in-Makerfield is set to be the borough's first ever lap-dancing venue if it is granted an entertaining licence by Wigan Metro's Licensing sub-commitee.
But the prospect of topless dancers entertaining hordes of ogling punters has already upset the locals- the council have already received dozens of letters of objection and a petition opposing the plan. The deacon of St Oswald's Church, John O'Brien, said the proposed development was symbolic of the "declining moral standards of the country."
The old Vincent Peet's pottery shop in Gerard Street is to be transformed into the controversial night spot complete with 30 dancing girls.
One of the men behind the scheme, Steve Knowles, claims there is a huge market for a lap-dancing club in Wigan. He said, "I am not especially proud of opening a lap-dancing bar, but it will make plenty of money. I have never been in one myself but I am sure that we are ready for the first one in the area. If they can open one in St Helens then there's no reason why we can't have one here in Ashton.Churchgoers and other people may object, but they are not the type of people who would go into a strip club anyway."
Wigan Metro say they have received strongly worded letters of objection and a petition signed by hundreds of Ashton residents appealing for the licensing commitee not to grant them a licence.
St Oswald's is round the corner from the proposed club and John O'Brien backs residents calls for banning the venue. He said, "It's a sign of the times that Ashton is getting it's first ever strip club. There is probably a market for it, but that in itself is sad. It's probably symbolic of declining moral standards, although the frequent exposure to this kind of thing means it has lost it's sensation."
If given a green light, Steave's Bar will see bouncers manning the doors, a £5 entrance fee and a strict 'no touch' policy for punters.
A Wigan Metro spokesman said it wasnt their job to act as moral guardians in this case. He added, "The licensing sub-commitee have not yet had the chance to debate the matter. An application has been received for this club, but so has a petition and many letters of objection. Residents will be invited to be heard at a meeting that may be held in December or January. It is very important that this matter is not pre-judged by members of the commitee until all the evidence has been heard."
The application for an entertainments licence will be heard on November 19th.
GRAVESTONES FOUND BEHIND FIREPLACE
DIY enthusiast Keith Ashcroft had a grim surprise when he started to do some improvement work on his home. When he started to demolish a stone fire surround in his modern Standish home he discovered some
19th century gravestones!
Care home worker Keith reckons that his discovery may explain his family's run of bad luck since they moved into the 30 year-old house three years ago.
One of the stones marked the resting place
of William Thomason, his daughter Theresa aged 12,who died on February 26th 1885 and son Mathias who died on Christmas Day aged 16. No locality is given. There is also a section of a gravestone inscribed to an Elliot Hindley.
Now Keith is wondering if the
contents of the 27 year-old fireplace could be responsible for the bad luck which seems to have dogged the house. He has lived in the house on Wessex Close with his wife Sarah, a nurse, for the past three years and he said, "Within weeks of moving in we had
a big flood under the floorboards and the car blew up. I also know that the people before us had a fire only five months before we moved in. Immediately after I had demolished the fireplace I must have disturbed some wiring because I couldn't get the lights
to work either. And then the building society tell me they haven't been taking enough payments from me since we moved into the house to cover the endowment mortgage and I owe them money. I'm not one for ghosts and things, but finding the gravestones was a
little creepy, particularly as it was Halloween and maybe that explains why so many things have gone wrong at this house."
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