Village Voice No 216 November 2010
Melbourne & District
Inquest’s open verdict
THERE were scary characters a plenty over the Hallowe’en weekend with parties and discos catering for those who wanted to have their fun indoors to the many seen scurrying about in the dark doing the rounds as trick or treaters. A regular comment was ‘Happy Halloween’ which seemed a little out of place but it made the occasion a more friendly event – especially at the Packhorse (right) and for this youngster at Weston (below). More pictures inside.
AN open verdict was recorded at the inquest into the sudden death of Robert Anderson, who was found in the garden of his home on Ashby Road, Melbourne, in May. The assistant deputy coroner in Derby, Paul McCandless, in recording his verdict, said that there was not enough evidence to conclude that he had intended to take his own life. Mr Anderson was found on the morning of May 26, this year, with a single shotgun wound to the head. The pathologist, Dr Frances Hollingbury, confirmed that no drugs or alcohol were found in Mr Anderson's body.
economy fears In bomb aftermath WE are, so near to East Midlands Airport and with so many local residents working there, in the middle of a huge international crisis. No-one knows the outcome of the discovery at the Castle Donington airport of the ink cartridge bomb, which initially evaded the security procedures normal at all UK airports. Downing Street, and the White House were certainly taking the matter very seriously, as EMA made the headlines all over the world. The threat to life and limb is certainly the prime worry. The aim of the terrorists is also clearly to dislocate and disrupt the normal commercial airfreighting of the estimated 25m tonnes of goods sent by air each year, of which well over
2.5m tonnes is received and sent at British airports. "The minimal disruption to the flow of trade is essential to success", said a spokesman for the British International Freight Association, who stressed that the issues required "an attention to look at systems and procedures". The association is "pleased that the UK government has acknowledged the massive economic and financial impmplications of much tighter international air security rules" At the moment, neither the airport nor freight carriers, the police nor the politicians will openly discuss what measures are likely to be adopted. Euro PM Roger Helmer has called on the Government to offer reassurance to nearby residents. He said: "The Government may have excellent
Are
you
reasons for giving, or not giving information, but some sort of reassurance from the authorities would be nice.” All talk now is of how the security of air cargo can be improved, particularly as nationally 60% of air freighted goods go in the holds of passenger planes. UK goods delivered to an airport in the UK originate from a known consigner, a form of vetting administered by the Department of Transport. Known consigners have to meet laid-down security measures and staff recruitment checks, and they often have scanning capacity. But the problem is that goods coming into the country may well not have gone through the standard procedures normal in the UK and the US. To
equip UK airports and other airports in the Western world to be able to detect the new PETN explosive could well be costly – estimates of the cost of a surveillance machine range from $200,000 to $1.6m, compared to the simple X-ray machines, costing $100.000, used on travellers' luggage. Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, has indicated that a review of security measures would consider a layered approach, whereby freight from some sources would be banned from entry, and categorising countries according to the level of risk Everyone will be watching to see what demands the Government is going to put on the booming East Midlands freight business. There will be certainly "massive financial and economic implications" for the local economy.
INTRODUCING
ready
digital switchover for
Call and see us for the lastest digital products
melbourne photos
Magical Portraits £35 (with no trickery!)
6 MARKET PLACE, MELBOURNE TELEPHONE: 01332 862607 www.blatchs.co.uk email: sales@blatchs.co.uk
www.melbournevillagevoice.co.uk
The magic is in the photo - not the price See page 13 . . .
● news@melbournevillagevoice.co.uk 01332 863535 ● ads@melbournevillagevoice.co.uk 07584 025 852
Where sold: 30p