Liverpool Life 5:13 February 22 2017 by Steve Harrison

22 - February - 2017

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE... NEWS

PAGE 4

LIFEextra

Animal lover crosses the Sahara for charity

PAGE 8

Making sure your tortoise is healthy

SPORT

PAGE 12

Young Blues raise money for good cause

UNDER FIRE UKIP leader Nuttall loses Liverpool loyalty

By ALISTAIR BAKER Beleaguered UKIP leader Paul Nuttall is on the receiving end of a growing backlash after claims that he lost a ‘close personal friend’ at Hillsborough later turned out to be false. It emerged yesterday that the fan-owned City of Liverpool FC have revoked Mr Nuttall’s membership with the club, following the recent revelations. City of Liverpool FC, who play in the North West

Counties Division One, told Liverpool Life they had informed their club members of their decision to exclude Mr Nuttall following an emergency board meeting on Monday but would not be making any further comment on the issue. Meanwhile, in a radio 5Live interview yesterday Mr Nuttall was also forced to condemn comments from UKIP donor Arron Banks, who has said he was ‘sick to death’ of hearing about

Hillsborough. The interview followed the news on Monday that the chairmen of the Liverpool and Merseyside UKIP branches had resigned, citing the “unprofessional approach” and “insensitivity” of the party regarding the Hillsborough disaster. The controversy surrounding the UKIP leader began following the revelation that a statement on his personal website claiming he lost a ‘close personal friend’ during

Fundraiser John Hammond, second from left, with fellow runners.

the Hillsborough disaster was false. Mr Nuttall later admitted that this claim was untrue and said he was unaware that the comments were on his website. UKIP press ofﬁcer Lynda Roughley took full responsibility for the comments and offered her resignation. Pressure has been building on the MEP and intensiﬁed further on Monday when Professor Phil Scraton of the Hillsborough Independent

Pic © Poppy Backshall

Panel penned an article in the Liverpool Echo addressing the UKIP leader and MEP. In the article he said it is now time for Mr Nuttall to make a full public statement recounting his whereabouts and memories of the day. The Queen’s University Belfast professor was director of The Hillsborough Project at Edge Hill University, at which time Paul Nuttall was also a mature student. Prof Scraton said: “Paul Nuttall

could not have failed to know about the Project, its work with the bereaved and survivors. “Yet he never approached us, never shared his experiences. I understand fully there were many people who were and have remained unable to talk about what they witnessed on the day. What is not so readily explained is why Paul Nuttall did not drop by for even a conﬁdential conversation.”

•Continued on page 3

How one Merseyside runner’s Facebook post encouraged a community of hundreds to join him and raise money for a very special Wirral family Read our report on Page 3

Life|News|2

Mayor in talks on Bank of Liverpool By POPPY BACKSHALL

HERE FOR A BEER: People hit the bar inside the Cathedral Crypt (left); Some of the beers on offer (right)

Ale-lovers come to rescue of the local By LAURA HUGHES

Liverpool Beer Festival returned this weekend in the atmospheric venue of the Metropolitan Cathedral Crypt, as hundreds attended the popular event to taste over 200 different types of beer and cider. Liverpool and District Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) hosted the festival. It is part of the national group that cam-

paigns for real ale, real pubs and consumer rights. Halee Rani, young person’s ofﬁcer for CAMRA, was at the event encouraging young people to sign up to help with the campaign. She told Liverpool Life: “We are trying to save our pubs that they are closing; young people are not drinking in them. We’re trying to change that because there’s a history

behind CAMRA and it is important young people know it. “You ask for Guinness or whatever else they’re serving and don’t realise how important real ale is, and those pubs that sell real ale are not surviving, because people don’t drink it and they don’t drink it because they don’t know about it - but events like this get people drinking it.”

Ale-lovers got the chance to vote for their favourite beer at the festival, with Lake District-based Tarn Hows brewery taking top spot. The successful event kept patrons entertained with a host of food and fun on offer. The festival, which was previously held at the Everyman Theatre, has been running for over 37 years. Martin Powell, CAMRA volunteer admis-

sions manager, told Liverpool Life: “It just shows you how things have changed; the ﬁrst one had 12 beers which was seen as a phenomenal number in those days. “In many ways the Crypt is the ideal venue because it’s a cellar. Of course now lots of people know it exists partly because of the beer festival, and so now it has become a very well-known venue.”

special experience will allow visitors to learn more about the history of Strawberry Fields, the children’s home that once stood there and how Strawberry Field played a part in John Lennon’s life. To mark the 50th anniversary since the release of the hit song, the Salvation Army, who are funding the project hope that young people not just in Woolton but the whole of the Merseyside area can beneﬁt from these new plans. Neil Branning, Tour Manager for the Magical

Mystery Tour, told Liverpool Life: “Most people in Liverpool don’t know the history behind it (Strawberry Field). They just know it was a children’s home and it was related to John Lennon, to me, it’s one of the most important iconic landmarks in the city, along with places like the Cavern Club and the docks. I don’t think it (the regeneration) will make any difference whatsoever, people have been coming to Liverpool to see Strawberry Field since the 80s.” Research conducted by the Salvation Army found

that in Merseyside, just 16% of people aged 18 and over with learning disabilities have been known to support charities and local authorities but with just 7% in paid employment the Strawberry Field project will hopefully change this. He added: “I think it’s fantastic, since 1935 when it was taken over by the Salvation Army it’s always been focused on young people whether it be those with social problems, mental problems, family problems ICONIC: Gates to Strawberry but has always been about Field © Emma White people.”

Beatles’ favourite �ield set for redevelopment By ROSIE STEEDMAN

The site made famous by the popular Beatles hit ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, is set for a major redevelopment which will see the iconic gates open for the ﬁrst time to the general public. The site in Woolton will house a training and work placement hub for young people with learning disabilities where they can develop skills and gain real work experience that will hopefully increase their conﬁdence in society. This

Life

Team Bringing you the news every Wednesday

Editor Amy Shirtcliffe News Editor Rhys Edmonson News Matthew Maguire Cheyenne Hansen Sachi Kondo

Features Editor Lauren Reece Features Hamish Elwood Kriston Murphy Gareth McCullough Sports Editor Andrew Nuttall Sports James Harrison Molly Copoc

Downtown in Business and boutique finance company Currency Matters brought together city mayor Joe Anderson and 30 business leaders this week to launch a debate about the establishment of a Bank of Liverpool. Welcoming the initiative, Mayor Anderson said: “We need to encourage innovation and investment to create growth across the city region. “Recently, we have announced a £171m spend from the Single Investment Fund initiative through the Combined Authority, which will leverage in a further £500m from private sector partners. “A Bank of Liverpool would potentially unlock further investment and support for the local market.” Currency Matters boss Jon Anderson added: “We think the time has now come for the Bank of Liverpool to be established. “Liverpool is built on innovation and entrepreneurialism. “The Liverpool brand is internationally strong. The time for this project to take off is now.” Downtown chief executive Frank McKenna agreed that the idea needed to be supported by the city’s private sector. “Access to finance is still the major barrier to growth for some of the finest businesses within our local region. “Regional knowledge of those businesses and local knowledge of the city and its markets is something that a Bank of Liverpool would bring, alongside a less risky approach to financing entrepreneurs.” The next stage of that conversation takes place next Friday.

Beating bullies with a powerful play By POPPY BACKSHALL & DAMIEN HORWOOD

Hundreds of schoolchildren from across Wirral attended a play this weekend designed to highlight the consequences of antisocial behaviour. A collaboration between Merseyside police and the drama students of Birkenhead Sixth Form College, ‘Bored’ tells the story of a bunch of teenagers who ﬁnd out that what they considered harmless fun can have consequences for both themselves and others. Liz Bones, Drama and Theatre professor at Birkenhead sixth form, told Liverpool Life: “It was a really

good experience for everyone involved. “The performers were really passionate about the message the drama was giving and that shined through their performances. “It’s so easy for young people to behave antisocially without realising - the play will hopefully make them aware of the consequences.” More than 750 students from 17 schools attended the play last Friday, as well as a few local names such as international boxer Sean Dodd, who was born in Birkenhead, and the Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Andy Cooke. WBC International Light-

UNITED: Cast of ‘Bored’ weight Champion Sean gave a talk at the end of the play drawing on his own experience as a self-confessed bully when he was younger. He said: “The play was amazing, it really was. I was trying to think of what to say in my talk during it but I was left speechless because the

©Birkenhead Sixth Form message was unbelievable. I could see myself in all of those situations when I was younger.” Chief Constable Andy Cooke also gave a speech at the end of the play, praising it for its themes and ﬁnishing it with a message for the young people in attendance.

Life|News|3

Night run for tragic family raises over £4000 Extra By POPPY BACKSHALL

Hundreds of people participated in a 12-hour night run up and down New Brighton promenade to show support for the Bennet family, who lost both their parents to cancer within days. A family friend launched the Just Giving page after a photograph of Mike and Julie Bennet holding hands on their deathbeds quickly went viral. A page was set up with a target of £50,000 to assist the three children, Luke 21, Hannah 18 and Oliver 13, in sustaining their educations and activities. It has now reached over £260,000. The overnight run was organised by Claughton mara-

thon runner John Hammond, who wanted to do something to help. John told Liverpool Life “I just put the idea out on my Facebook page last Sunday thinking about 15 to 20 friends might join me to raise a few hundred quid, but within an hour the status had over 300 shares. It went crazy; I think we had more than 300 people turn up in the end.” The run started at 9pm, with each runner making a minimum donation of £5. By midnight around £4,000 had already been raised. Runners could repeat the course as many times as they wished and at any pace. John said: “I wasn’t on my own for any part of the run, the numbers ﬁzzled out

around midnight by which time we had already raised more than I had imagined, but it picked up again around ﬁve with people joining us before they went to work. Five of us ran for the whole 12 hours which was a total of 58 miles.” The night ended with the 5K Birkenhead Park run, where Tesco supplied stalls of fruit for the runners. The Wirral Care foundation also donated bottles of water. John was pleased with the success of the event: “It’s amazing to see Merseyside coming together. One family made a lovely gesture by lighting the way near their home with candles.” Other fundraisers are still being arranged.

risk for poorer children By HOLLIE HAYES

READY TO GO: Runners ran for a total of 12 hours to raise money for the Bennet children © Poppy Backshall

Women’s Party bid for Metro mayor By ROSIE STEEDMAN

The Women’s Equality Party has unveiled a candidate in the race to become Mayor of the Liverpool City Region. Tabitha Morton, from Netherton, is the only woman in the contest and is hoping to win the race to raise the voice of the women of Merseyside. Ms Morton believes that despite her childhood, where she had a poor education, she successfully worked her way to the top of a very male dominated industry. She now works at Yale as the Head of Integration. If it was not for the opportunities she received when she was 18, her life could be very different today. She strongly believes that day to day sexism is still

MARCHING: Members of the Party in the parade at Pride in London 2016 © Katy Blackwood/Wikimedia Commons prominent and wants to give all young girls the opportunity to be whatever they want to be. She told Liverpool Life: “All the opposition parties had no focus on equality for women. I felt that women’s voices had been left out of conversation.” She explained that in Man-

chester, where the annual Northern powerhouse convention discussed the muchdebated agenda of Northern Powerhouses in the UK, 98 men to 13 women were speaking at the event. Due to the staggering difference, and after being challenged by organisers, their response

about the low number of women was it was ‘hard to get women there’, but Ms Morton disagreed. She said: “Women are more than happy to stand up for what they want when they want it, I just don’t think we get asked. Which is why I wanted to stand, I’m not every single woman in the region, but I can give women across the region a voice, and then I’m going to campaign for it. There are councillors in the region but they are not in positions of leadership and that is the problem. They’re not the ones making the decisions. There are some amazing strong women councillors out there but they aren’t the ones who get a say in the region.” Ms Morton is calling on her

party to revise the devolution deal of the Liverpool City Region and how the economy has an impact on women in the region. “One of the things I’m really passionate about is that Liverpool has the highest recorded domestic violence ﬁgures in the country and yet there’s no strategy to end domestic violence against women and girls. We have to have that in place. No matter who we are, whether it’s from cat calling to aggressive violence, women that we know have suffered.” Ms Morton agreed that it is not going to be an easy journey but believed the cause was worth ﬁghting for. She wants to promote the party by going out and spreading the message of equality.

Celebs and delegates gather to celebrate the BBC By AMELIA ECCLESON-DAVIES Some of the biggest stars of television have been out in force at Liverpool‘s Echo Arena and Convention Centre over the past few days for the BBC Worldwide Showcase. Household names such as Danni Minogue, Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders joined BBC executives and producers for the four-day event. The BBC Worldwide Showcase is the largest event of its kind, where delegates gather to buy and sell television shows around the world. This year’s event has seen 700 delegates ﬂock to Liver-

pool to view 2,800 hours of TV content in the 600 stateof-the-art digibooths with unseen episodes and promos of television shows, which will be distributed globally. Amongst the delegates was Julian Hector, Head of BBC Natural History Unit. He has produced numerous hit shows, such as Ivory Wars with Panorama, and Tigers about the House. He told Liverpool Life: “I think the BBC has an absolute social responsibility to provide programmes which explore our world today, in all its interpretations. “And we in the BBC have to ﬁnd our ways through palatable and creative programmes

to tell stories in different ways.” Grant Welland, Executive Vice President CEMA, BBC Worldwide, is responsible for business development and sales in the Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle east and Africa region. He told Liverpool Life: “I think overall the media industry across the world is growing. More and more people are not only subscribing to paid TV, but subscription services like Netﬂix too. “It is a very lucrative, desirable space to be in but that means it is ever more competitive. But we’re very lucky; we represent some of the best content in the world.”

CELEBS: Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders at the Worldwide Showcase © BBC Worldwide

Children who move into poverty are more likely to suffer from social, emotional and behavioural problems than children who remain out of poverty, according to new research by University of Liverpool. The research comes after the Government has questioned whether the relative measure of income poverty used in this research, currently classiﬁed at a household income less than 60% of the national average, is a good indicator of children’s life chances. The Government has argued that is it better to increase the number of parents who are employed than use the Social Security system to prevent children moving into poverty. Dr Sophie Wickham, Wellcome Trust Researh Fellow at the university’s Department of Public Heatlh and Policy, said: “Our study shows that moving into poverty damages children’s mental health.” Researchers from the department used a national representative sample of children born in 2000 and followed up until 2012 to explore the impact that moving into poverty had on the mental health of children and their mothers.

Nuttall faces new backlash •Continued from page 1 Merseyside Police confirmed yesterday that Mr Nuttall had made a wirness statement about Hillsborough. They said: “Operation Resolve can confirm that yesterday we spoke to Mr Nuttall and have taken a witness statement from him. Our role is to investigate the causes of the Hillsborough disaster and to establish whether any individual or organisation is criminally culpable and, in that context, Mr Nuttall met criteria for taking a statement. It would be inappropriate for us to comment any further.” There is now speculation that the controversy could damage his efforts to be elected in the forthcoming Stoke Central by-election. The UKIP leader was favourite to win the crucial seat but has since fallen behind Labour candidate Gareth Snell with the bookmakers and could finish third.

Life|News|4

£4m PFI school in new deal buyout By DAMIEN HORWOOD Liverpool City Council is closing in on a deal that could save taxpayers more than £4m every year. The deal involves a potential buyer for Parklands High School in Speke, which closed in 2014 just 10 years after being opened under a £100m Private Finance Initiative (PFI). The initiative saw a brand new, modern campus being built and then leased back to the council for 25 years, the repayments for which have been costing the equivalent of £12,000 a day. With 11 years remaining on the PFI there is still a total of £58.9m to pay and while the council receives a £23.4m PFI grant from the Government, that would still leave more than £35m to be paid until 2028. The council has now revealed they are close to a deal with a new user for the facility, the idea being that the council would buy the PFI contract out, then sell the building to a third party. A council spokesperson has said: “The council is in advanced discussions with a potential end-user for the Parklands High School building.” No details about the costs being negotiated have been released. In 2014 only 172 pupils of a potential 900 attended the school before Ofsted placed it in special measures and closed it. Under a third of children attending the school achieved at least 5 GCSEs.

100km desert trek for animal shelter By LAURA HUGHES A RSPCA inspector from Wirral is set to embark on a 100km trek of the Sahara Desert to raise cash for a local animal centre. Anthony Joynes will begin his challenge this Saturday to raise funds for Wallasey Animal Centre. In 2013 Anthony was part of a team of animal inspectors who helped collect more than £67,000 after climbing to the summit of Kilimanjaro. He told Liverpool Life: “I like to walk and set myself goals and I love the outdoors. I did Kilimanjaro, which was difﬁcult, and this one was just a natural progression, from mountains to deserts, it is just something I have always fancied doing. The idea of camping out at night under the stars I think is going to be amazing and ultimately I get to raise money.”

The challenge will see 10 people undertake the 100km trek over seven days. He added: “This time I don’t know anybody. It will be just ten people doing it for their own personal charity or own goals; last time when I did Kilimanjaro there were 30 of us.” Anthony, who has worked for the RSPCA for over seven years, has so far raised a total of more than £4,000. He said: “I would have probably liked to raise a bit more but it’s hard getting money out of people, as there’s a lot of people doing different amazing things for charity. It’s quite a good sum really – I’m happy with it.” The 31-year-old said: “I’m a little bit apprehensive. It is a similar feeling to when I went to Tanzania to do Kilimanjaro; it is the unknown. If I was going back there I would be less nervous, but because

DOG LOVER: Anthony Joynes © RSPCA The Dog Rescuers

Plans to take Liverpool sky-high By ANDREW COOK

Centre opening Mayor of Ellesmere Port Cllr Peter Rooney will open the Animal Trust’s latest surgery on Monday at midday in a plaque-unveiling ceremony

it is the desert I don’t know what to expect. I’m little bit nervous but kind of excited as well. I’m really looking forward to it.”

SKY-HIGH: What Liverpool could look like

The tallest skyscraper Liverpool has ever seen could soon be a reality, following an announcement by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). President of RIBA Stephen Hodder has unveiled plans for two new skyscrapers in the city, with one planned to stand a record 48 storeys tall. Named Ovatus 1 and Ovatus 2, the latter is set to be eight storeys higher than Liverpool One’s West Tower. Building developers Prospect Capital and Wilcocks & Wilcocks will be overseeing the project in a joint venture with construction due to be-

gin on the buffer zone boundary of Liverpool’s world heritage site very soon. The location of Ovatus 1 will be on Leeds Street, whilst Ovatus 2 will oversee 122 Old Hall Street. Martin Wilcocks said: “We are building in a highly visible, landmark location that stands at the gateway of Liverpool’s World Heritage site. “We’re working with a strong team that we know will deliver the build in a way that does justice to its potential.” Ovatus 2 will contain 530 apartments, whilst the smaller 27-story Ovatus 1 will have 168. The companies purchased

the land on 122 Old Hall street last April for £3.25m. The projects are already funded and Ovatus 1 has had enough pre-sales to ensure it will be fully occupied upon opening. Craig Blackwell of Project Capital said: “Following on from our Ovatus 1 application at the same site in Liverpool, we feel that Ovatus 2 not only complements the original tower but also makes a big statement as to where the market in Liverpool is now moving. “We’ll be working with the same team, and we are excited to be part of what will be the tallest building in Liverpool.”

Fresh cuts to our city’s libraries By ANDREW COOK

Liverpool City Council is planning to close four more libraries in the area following a series of budget cuts. The cuts come as Liverpool City Council were told to save £90m over the next three years. If the closures go ahead, it would mean the city has lost more than half of its public libraries in the space of two years. It only piles on the pressure after £330m worth of cuts have been made.

Mayor Joe Anderson has created a task force to review library services, with the aim of saving £1.6m. The cuts form plans to balance a budget that will see Liverpool receive 68% less funding from central government in 2020 than in 2010. Mayor Anderson said: “Hopefully we will be able to do things like transfer the running of libraries to community groups to run but it is likely that around four libraries will close in 2019.” The news comes as

a sharp blow to the remaining 13 libraries that currently operate in Liverpool, as they have already been forced to make cuts. Three libraries closed in 2012, with four more being transferred to community organisations. The only assurance as to which libraries will not face closure is that it deﬁnitely will not be the Central Library. The Grade II listed building went through a large rebuild from 2008 to 2013 and is likely to be the last library SAFE : Central Library on the closure list.

Life|News|5

‘Say no to Trumpism, yes to socialism’ By HOLLIE HAYES

BUILD: Final phase of construction © Victoria Tetley

End in sight for Edge Lane retail park By SAM HEYHIRST Assembly of the planned Liverpool Shopping Park in Edge Lane has started, as steel structures were sighted at the grounds forming phase one of the complex. The area is formulated in the shape of a horseshoe, which has been the vision of developers Derwent Group from the start. The shopping park is the final piece to complete the Liverpool retail experience that will create over 3,000 new jobs across a variety of fields. David Lyons, managing director of Derwent Group, said: “Liverpool Shopping Park will bring branded fashion retailers, restaurants and leisure operators together in an out-of-town location, complete with plenty of free parking and great access in and out of the city.” The Western Quarter, phase one of the nearly 100,000 sq ft space, will offer retail users over 1500 parking spaces and 41 new shops. The £100m redevelopment scheme has been backed by Mayor Joe Anderson, who said: “This is a key gateway route into Liverpool and is the first glimpse that new visitors get when they come to Liverpool for the first time.”

Sefton pub bulldozed By DAMIEN HORWOOD The Kirkstone Hotel, a community pub in Litherland, is set to be demolished and transformed into private apartments. The pub, situated on the edge of Litherland’s Ford Estate, closed more than a year ago and Sefton Council has approved the plans for the space to be turned into 14 apartments. The pub was a popular community hub in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Campaigners gathered outside Lime Street station in solidarity of the anti-Trump demonstrations taking place across the UK. Members of the Socialist Workers Party protested outside Liverpool Lime Street on Monday night ahead of Parliament’s impending debate on whether President Trump should be allowed a state visit in the United Kingdom. Hugh Caffrey, Regional Organiser for the Socialist Workers Party, said: “I’m here today because I’m opposed to Donald Trump’s racist agenda. “I’m opposed to his misogynistic agenda, and I’m opposed to his right-wing neo-liberal agenda of cutting public services in order to

SIGNS: Posters by the Socialist Workers Party help his rich mates.” Thousands of activists rallied together in cities across the country, as MPs debated POTUS’s future visit to the UK later this year. The debate lasted three hours and ended without MPs voting on whether the visit should go ahead, with the debate having no impact on the government’s plans.

©Hollie Hayes

Mr Caffrey added: “The people that will ﬁght against austerity are the people who will bring the 99% together against the 1%.” Member of the Socialist Party Simon Wetherington told Liverpool Life: “It’s not just here today that there’s protests going ahead. As you know, today is the day where they’re talking about

CHANTS: Liverpool Socialist Singers at the rally ©Hollie Hayes whether or not he should actually be coming. “There’s huge demonstrations out in London, Manchester, Leeds, right up across the country so as I said it’s about keeping up the pressure, keeping up the sign that we will not accept any of this at all.” Alongside members of the Socialist Workers Party were

Liverpool Socialist Singers singing out against the Tory government, public sector cuts and Jeremy Hunt. The Socialist Workers Party will stage additional demonstrations on March 4 in opposition of the NHS privatisation, on International Women’s Day on March 8, and ‘May Day’ at the beginning of May.

Why we must unite to challenge racism

By ALISTAIR BAKER

Anti-racism campaigners in Liverpool say it is vital that society challenges racist language whenever it is used. Stand Up to Racism held a conference on Sunday to organise their efforts against prejudice and hate crimes in Merseyside. Speakers at the workers’ union building Jack Jones House included Mumin Khan, from Quilliam Mosque, and Labour councillor Anna Rothery. The councillor emphasised the importance of unity between different faiths against the rise of right wing politics and austerity in the UK. High on the agenda for the meeting between anti-racism activists was drawing support for a national demonstration in London on March 18. Nahella Ashraf, from the action group Stand Up to Racism, praised recent protests in the city against newly-elected President of the United States Donald Trump and stressed that the public must challenge senior ﬁgures in politics. She told Liverpool Life: “It’s not just about raising awareness in your own community,

CONFERENCE: Labour councillor Anna Rothery speaking to Stand Up To Racism supporters and activists it’s about sending a clear message to the Government. “To tell Theresa May it’s not OK to have a state visit for Donald Trump and to legitimise his politics, because it’s not acceptable. “It’s the wrong message to send and I think that’s why the protests are important. Especially to tell Theresa May that we’re holding her

accountable for this, inviting Trump for a State visit at the same time as she’s turned her back on refugees.” Ashraf also looked to the future for the activist group in its ﬁght against racism in the area. She added: “For me, the ideal situation would be to see Stand Up to Racism groups in every workplace, in every col-

lege. I want to see more people wearing the badges, but more than anything I want to see such a massive demonstration on March 18.” Also from Stand Up To Racism, Steve Farley urged people to resist the use of racist language in day to day life. Speaking to Liverpool Life, he said: “I think what’s important is challenging all the

time and that when you hear racist language, you object to it. “What we need to do is challenge racist language and that’s a start. He added: “If we hear racist language we should say that we’re uncomfortable with it, or that it is not acceptable, or whatever you feel is an acceptable responsible.”

Life|Focus|6

Five years that changed Liverpool

n 2012, barely three months after the council voted to scrap having a council leader, Labour’s Joe Anderson was voted in as Liverpool’s first mayor with 57 percent of the poll. The victory was no surprise. In second place, albeit by 50,000 votes, came independent candidate Liam Fogarty, closely followed by the Liberal Democrat’s Richard Kemp. However the story of Liverpool’s mayor starts in 2005, whilst working as a BBC journalist for Radio Merseyside, Liam Fogarty had a vision, he was “convinced that the mayoral model would be a good ‘fit’ for Liverpool”. He told Liverpool Life: “I saw great world cities like New York, Vancouver and Sydney, and latterly London, flourishing under dynamic and creative elected mayors, so I thought why not Liverpool?” With the bit between his teeth, he left his position as a commentator and became a public figure, championing for signatures on a petition to hold a referendum to reform the council system. However no change was made as the proposal had strong opposition from the

In February 2012, the Liverpool Council passed a motion to move to having a directly-elected mayor. Five years on, Andrew Livingston looks at where we are now and where we are going to next then council leader Warren Bradley and the petition ultimately came up short. Nevertheless, the story does not end there. The government began to believe that more power needed to be given to the councils. With this, the 2011 Localism Act was passed, stating that “elected mayors could provide democratically accountable strong leadership”. The Act triggered a referendum in the largest cities outside London, granting the public the opportunity to decide whether to have an elected mayor. Following this in 2012, the then incumbent council leader and now Mayor Joe Anderson called for a council vote to bypass the referendum and move straight to electing the ﬁrst mayor of the city of Liverpool. The council ultimately voted for no referendum as the move increased the city’s chance of obtaining the additional £190m that the Localism Act offered. The move however came with some resistance. The Lib Dem Deputy Council Leader

at the time, Richard Kemp, was publicly against the decision, stating that it was undemocratic to not have a public vote on the matter. He said: “What I said at the time is, ‘If that’s what the people of Liverpool want that’s what they are entitled to have.’ The point was that it was never put to the people.” After the May mayoral vote, the council leader changed the placard on his door to ‘Mayor Anderson’ and went about trying to use his extra £190m to reform the city of Liverpool. However, come 2014, the Coalition Government had a new initiative to devolve more power.

he brainchild of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osbourne, the Northern Powerhouse Project promised “to empower northern cities to boost growth and grow more independent from Westminster”. The initiative states that moving to having a ‘metro mayor’ allows for a budget of £900m

over the next 30 years. So, not soon after Mayor Anderson won his 2016 election to retain his position as Mayor of the city of Liverpool he was campaigning again, this time for the new position as metro mayor. However in the August of 2016, with the inaugural Liverpool City Region mayoral election looming, Labour members voted for Walton MP Steve Rotheram to go to the ballot paper, leaving Anderson out of the frame. All of this means that come the election this year, the Liverpool city would have only had a mayor for five years; allowing the current incumbent mayor to state he has been the only person ever to hold the position. Now however, as we reflect on the last five years… Was it worth it? Fogarty states that “there is more ‘joined up thinking’ in city with the Mayor’s office at the hub”. He said: “Research from the University of Liverpool last year suggested that investors and local stakeholders actu-

DISCUSSIONS: Mayor Joe Anderson, top, and, above, talking business with Sir Vince Cable © socialenterprisenetwork/Flikr ally prefer having someone at the top of the local authority where the buck stops.” Now working as a freelance journalist and lecturing at the University of Central Lancashire, he said that Anderson deserves credit for his service. He said: “Mayor Anderson’s style isn’t to every body’s taste but he has been a visible and accountable city

leader.” Where Liverpool stands today is not too dissimilar from where the city was ﬁve years ago. In just under three months Liverpool will once again have its say on who will take on a new position with new powers, this timewith the addition of Halton, Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton and the Wirral.

‘Helping people makes me happy’ Laura Hughes speaks to remarkable 13-year-old Georgia Johnson

HONOURED: Georgia is congratulated by the former business secretary, Sir Vince Cable.© Wiki Commons

For most teenage girls, spending time engrossed in technology is the norm – but not for this 13-year-old. Instead, Georgia Johnson spends her free time helping the community and homeless people across Liverpool. Her hard work and dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed, as last week Georgia was presented with the Good Citizenship Award at the Liverpool John Moores University Roscoe Lecture. Georgia, who is a Year 9 student at Gateacre High School, spoke to Liverpool Life about her volunteering work: “Me and my family started to help out the homeless because we wanted to help people who needed it and we wanted to give back to our city. Me and my mum have been setting up areas with food, drinks, toiletries, pet food, blankets and other essentials. “Helping the homeless makes me feel happy, knowing that they have

had a conversation with somebody and knowing they know they are not alone on the streets makes me feel good.” Georgia and her family set up a tent and went out to seek people they could help.One particular homeless person’s story really touched Georgia after he told her how he lost everything in a tragic car accident. She explained: “He told us that he was driving home on Christmas Eve, which was also the day before his daughter’s second birthday, and that when they had crashed he lost everything, his house, his family, and all his things. “He had been homeless for just over a year and he said that he had not only lost everything important in his life but he was losing hope. He had been diagnosed with bipolar (disorder) that same year and he was really emotional, which really touched my heart.” So Georgia and her family took the

opportunity and did all they could to support him. She added: “We bought him some new clothes, stocked him up on food and water and went to check on him throughout the night we met him. We always go back to see him and others and they always remember us. “It was really sad to listen to his story and get to know how hard his life had been the past year, but he really enjoyed talking to us.” Georgia was delighted to hear she had been nominated to receive the Good Citizenship Award from a teacher at her school and was handed the award by LJMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Nigel Weatherill; Chair of the Roscoe Lecture Series Prof Sir Jon Murphy and speaker Sir Vince Cable. John Everard and Jeremy Paxman have been conﬁrmed to deliver the next two Roscoe Lectures in March.

Life|Arts|7

LIFE EXTRA Dan’s road to Rio

hen it comes to being a sports journalist or producer, there aren’t many things greater than being able to go to some of the biggest sporting events in the world. LJMU graduate Dan Goulding did exactly that after travelling to Rio to help with Channel 4’s production of the Rio Paralympics. The 22-year-old, who was born with cerebral palsy, was at the Paralympics as part of the Independent Sun & Vine company, which did the production for the channel. Working as a Junior Assistant Producer, the Wirral-born producer told Liverpool Life about working at the huge event: “It was so surreal. To work on a global sporting event so early on in my career was an amazing opportunity and learning curve for me. It’s deﬁnitely made me hungrier to work on events like that further on in my career.” The Paralympics, which was covered by a TV team that was made up of a record number of disabled staff, was a big moment for Dan, who never let his disability stop him. “I’ve always been determined to not let my disability affect me in my everyday life but of course it has spurred me on to prove that I can do a job as well as someone who hasn’t got a disability.” He has also worked at various other news outlets, including work experience with Sky Sports, which inspired him to pursue a career in sports production, and landing a place on a production trainee scheme, which ended up leading

James Jones speaks to DAN GOULDING, who recently covered the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro for Channel 4 him to Rio. His love for sport was another reason for pursuing this career too. He said: “I’ve always had a massive passion for sports since I was young and played a bit of sport at school. I was never going to make as a professional athlete so why I thought to myself, why not do the next best thing and work in the production side of it?” Talking of getting a job, he said: “Towards the end of third year my friend told me about a Channel 4 production trainee scheme which was looking for disabled people who wanted to work in television production. “I applied for the scheme and went for various interviews with broadcasters and production companies who were involved in the scheme and then I was offered a contract at BBC Sport just before I graduated.” He now works as a broadcast assistant for BBC Sport, which has

HARD AT WORK: Dan Goulding at BBC Sport

I was never going to be a professional athlete so I thought to myself, why not do the next best thing and work in the production side of it? him helping to produce several sport bulletins on major news channels such as the BBC News Channel, BBC Network, BBC World and BBC Breakfast. He has also worked in the BBC World Service Sport Radio & Multimedia departments, only going to show that he can do it all. He also thanked the journalism course, saying how it had helped him in his career: “The newsdays I

did in the final year were a massive help. “Learning the basics of how a newsroom is run was a good basis for me to go off when I first started in the industry - coming up with ideas for stories, learning how to react to live situations, working to tight deadlines and being able to perform under pressure has benefited me massively in my job.” He also gave advice for the

students and any aspiring journalists: “Get as much work experience as possible in a variety of roles – whether that’s in TV, radio or print and online.It’ll deﬁnitely beneﬁt you more when you graduate if you can say to employers you’ve done a variety of work experience in numerous media platforms. “By gaining experience you meet a lot of people in the industry and, it gives you a chance to network.”

WHAT’S ON

Theatre:

Arts:

Music:

Film:

• Nearly Noel Gallagher’s High Flyin’ Birdz @ 02 Academy February 26

• Beauty and the Beast. March 17

• The Twits @ Williamson Square Playhouse Feb 21 - Feb 25 Review: page 10

• Art at the Heart of Bluecoat @ Bluecoat Museum - April 9 Special exhibition exploring the central role of art at Bluecoat.

• International Mersey River Festival @ Liverpool Waterfront June 23 - 25

• Olly Murs @ Echo Arena. March 16 • Craig David @ Echo Arena. March 18

The fantastic journey of Belle who learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince.

• Wonderland @ Empire Theatre. June 12 - 17 Take a magical journey down the rabbit hole as we rediscover the wonders of Alice in Wonderland like never before. • Grease @ Empire Theatre

• Benedict Drew: KAPUT @ Walker Art Gallery Until February 26

A celebration of Liverpool’s wonderful and historic waterfront in a completely free three-day extravaganza of family fun, amazing music and entertainment along the River Mersey.

Life|Pets|8

Loveable : Tasty treats and time for exploring. One of Britain’s favourite pets is proving a handful for pet owners.

Talking tortoises Although there are no tortoises native to the UK, we have always had a soft spot for these shelled creatures. Proud tortoise owner Emma White investigates the issues keeping them as pets

s a new member to the tortoise owner community, I have been overwhelmed by the amount of information and advice out there for tortoise care - but is it always correct? Most people would not think that these precious animals are a high maintenance pet and a very expensive one for that matter, so before shelling out for a tortoise, make you do your research. The average cost of the equipment required for looking after a tortoise is £342. With an outdoor shelter costing almost £100 and a speciality hibernation box costing a similar amount. Since the early 80s the import of wild tortoises caught in the Mediterranean has been banned and in 1999 a further 18 species from Asia and Africa were also banned

from being imported. The UK imported more than 150,000 from countries such as Spain and Greece on a yearly basis with almost four-fifths of them dying in their first year of captivity. Gemma Botham, 27, told Liverpool Life: “I was completely misled when I bought Coco from a reptile shop near me in Liverpool three years ago. “They told me to feed him on a diet of fruit and vegetables and got me to buy lots of ‘essentials’ that ended up being totally unnecessary for his daily care. After finding a tortoise group on Facebook and speaking to many different owners, I could not believe how many pet shops had misinformed people. I realised I had been completely scammed out of hundreds of pounds and left with so much equipment that Coco didn’t even need.”

‘People want to buy a unique pet just to say they have one but don’t understand the living conditions they require’ Tortoises live on a diet of wild ﬂowers and weeds and can only eat fruit occasionally as a treat, as it creates problems with their digestive system. This is becoming an increasing problem with pet shop owners, giving incorrect information and advice to their customers. A representative from Liverpool Reptile Rescue told Liverpool Life: “Tortoises and turtles are complex creatures to look after and most of the reptiles we see are in bad conditions, such as shell rot or pyramiding which is a deformity in their shell. “This is usually due to people wanting to buy a unique animal just to say they have one but do not understand the living conditions they require and the care they need. So many reptile shops have no idea themselves, and give out information that will essentially make the tortoise ill.

He said that, many of the tortoises they receive are a result of poor hibernation care, wrong food diet and a lack of the temperature control they require to survive. ‘We would always encourage tortoise owners to make sure their pet has regular health checks with their vet to ensure their pet is in good health and ensure they are equipped with the most up-to-date advice to prevent health problems.’ It takes time but once you start learning picking weeds for your tortoise can become second nature and there are plenty of hot spots in Liverpool to keep your pet alive and happy, such as Sefton Park, Greenbank, and Walton Hall Park. Lucy Ward, 24, Rodney Street said: “Flash has so much character. He’s lively and ever so quick when he wants to be. Sometimes if

I take my eye off him for a couple minutes, I have lost him and have to go looking for him. “One time I came in from work and my little sister had painted his shell blue. I couldn’t believe it.” By virtue of their long lives, they are more expensive than any pedigree cat or dog and because of this these cold-blooded creatures may be secretly eating their owners out of house and home. Some can live until they are 150, but the most commonly kept tortoises in the UK last up until they are around 80 years old. Money website, totalmoney.com, calculates the lifetime cost of keeping a tortoise over 75 years, which comes to nearly an astounding amount of nearly thirty thousand pounds. That seems like an awful lot for an animal that cannot play fetch or give you a cuddle

when you are feeling down. However, these animals are different from most and are so endearing to watch, especially when eating. They can be quite mischievous and like to climb over everything and will bite pretty much anything and everything they see. Do not be put off by costly prices and misleading advice if you are considering buying one. There are plenty of people to talk to and a great tortoise community to become a part of to seek the right advice. If looked after properly, you will have a friend for life and an endearing bond between you and your shelled friend that will last a lifetime. For more information on how to care for your pet tortoise properly, owners can head over to www. tortoisetrust.org where handy guides are available.

Life|Culture|9

Sugar, Spice and All Things Nice ‘I’ve always said it’ll always be my ‘little’ bakery; I want to carry on maintaining good quality and just grow organically. I want to keep making people happy with my cakes’

Liverpool mum has become a sweet success after her home run-business has taken the cake lovers of Liverpool by storm. Laura Worthington, the star behind Laura’s Little Bakery (LLB), has reached over 10.8k followers on Instagram and 12.8k on Twitter, with more followers flooding in every day. The business has been running for over six years and is now expanding to a large cake unit in Wavertree, which is set to open in a few weeks’ time. The mum-of-three found her love for baking after a trip to New York seven and half years ago and was blown away by the quality of desserts. However when she returned home, there was nothing relatable and so that’s when LLB commenced. Laura Worthington told Liverpool Life: “My children and the trip to the big apple are the two things that inspired me. I immediately caught the baking bug when I got home. About two months after my first bake and a few very successful attempts, my daughter asked me to bake cupcakes for her birthday.

Gabby Walsh talks to Laura Worthington, the star behind Laura’s Little Bakery “Begrudgingly, as I wasn’t a cupcake fan, I made them and everyone loved the end result and two months on from that I was taking cake samples to Bold Street Coffee and Dafna’s cheesecake shop in an attempt to supply a few various places in the city with wholesale cakes.” Laura bakes a variety of treats from her home in Mossley Hill, this includes cupcakes, cookies, brownies, tray-bakes, macaroons, cake pops, celebration cakes, weddings, birthdays, christening, wholesale, corporate and pretty much any occasion. Laura has worked alone for past six years doing 16-hour days, six days a week and sometimes no days off. Valentine’s Day was her busiest day to date and saw her making over 100 orders in one day. Independent businesses such as Berry & Rye, Filter and Fox and Sound on Duke Street are just a few of the cafés in the city who regularly stock her cakes. Now Laura will be able to make her dreams a reality by selling her cakes from her own industrial bakery, which will be

situated on Edge Lane. She added: “I’m extremely excited for the new unit. It’s a great space near the technology park and easily accessible. People will be able to buy baking products, take away cakes and also sit in and eat cake with a coffee. “I’ll also have a room to eventually hold master classes and host cupcake-making classes. “It’s mainly a production unit but eventually I’d like to have a little cafe and shop area along the waterfront, but the most important thing for me is to be able to take on staff and grow the business. “I’ve always said it’ll always be my ‘little’ bakery. I want to carry on maintaining good quality and just grow organically. I want to keep making people happy with my cakes. ” Laura’s Little Bakery will be having a pop-up shop at this year’s St Patricks Day weekend at the Great Baltic Warehouse. You can order cakes from Laura via her email at ordesllb@gmail.com. Examples can be found on her Instagram page @laurasbakery78

Life|Sport|11

Athletic Club to host beer festival By LAURA HUGHES After another successful year in 2016, Mossley Hill Charity Beer Festival is set to return in April. In the past three years, the event has raised over £30,000 for a number of local and national causes. The festival is being held at Mossley Hill Athletic Club for a three-day weekend in spring and will offer over 80 different beers and ciders from all over the UK. This year funds will support The Alzheimer’s Society, Cerebral Palsy Sport and Garston Adventure Playground. Andy McGrory, from Mossley Hill Athletic Club, told Liverpool Life: “We came up with the concept about four years ago to raise money for sport at the club and local and national charities. The club itself is a third sector organisation - it’s a community amateur sports club. So some of the money goes to sport at the club and some of it goes to the charities and the local scouts and various other people we’ve given money to, but it doesn’t make any profit at all. All the profits are given away basically.” The popular event, which is completely run by volunteers, hopes to be just as successful as previous years aiming to raise between £8,000 to £10,000. Tickets are available online at: www. mossleyhillbeerfestival.org.uk.

Runner reaches goal By AALIYAH RUGG The World Elite Sports Performance Academy star achieved her goal of representing England at a crosscountry event. Sophie Tarver from the Wirral competed in the Junior Women’s Cross-country event in Spain and with the recent poor weather conditions working in their favour, the England quartet had dominated the race from start to ﬁnish. Despite powering through the ﬁrst half of the race, the Wirral runner came second place. The 17-year-old who is studying for a degree in Chemical engineering at Loughborough University now has her sights set on a GB call-up.

LJMU dancers - and a question of sport By AALIYAH RUGG

A group of dancers from LJMU brought home a variety of trophies at a recent competition. However, there is still much controversy over whether dance is considered a sport. The LJMU Dance Society held their own competitions in Anﬁeld, competing against 10 other universities and came home with eight awards including best female dancer, but why aren’t they classed as a sport? Social Sec Sadie Cooper said: “Dance is considered more of an art, so similar to drama; but the physical nature and competitiveness is all very similar to sport. I’m not sure why it doesn’t get the same funding but I

feel, like the football team or rugby team, we should be known as the dance team.” Sadie has always been a lover of dance and considered studying the subject at LJMU; however, an injury prevented this, so she joined the Dance Society, which she describes as a great way to do what she loves and meet lifelong friends. The dance group consist of 60 males and females who train in multiple styles including Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap, Lyrical and HipHop. Next weekend if they get the funding, they will be attending more competitions. One at Manchester University and then the weekend after the Uni of Liverpool. The 20-year-old said: “I myself as social sec and choreog-

TEAM: Members of the LJMU Dance Society pose for a group picture © LJMU Dance Society rapher love working with the society it’s an all-inclusive society and we always have great fun. “One of the main challenges with competing is funding as

we do not get the same funding like sports teams as we are only considered a society not a sport. “The funding we require goes towards travel entry

fees costumes refreshments and paying choreographers as well as hiring extra space for extra rehearsals around show times which can be tough to fund.”

Ormskirk welcomes local Ninja Warrior By ANDREW NUTTALL

A personal trainer from Maghull has gone further than any other contestant before on a hit ITV obstacle course and received the title of ‘Last Man Standing’. Originally, from Budapest, Jonny Urszuly trained every day at Unite Health and

Fitness gym in Ormskirk, where he has built his own Ninja Warrior-style obstacles for practice. He said: “I found most of the obstacles quite easy because of my training, in a physical sense, but some were scarier, mentally, because of the balance involved and it was very easy to fall. When I pressed the button, I was really happy because I had not reached that stage last time. At that moment, I was tired and my arms were sore!” In the ﬁrst stage of the

competition, the personal trainer smashed the buzzer with almost two minutes left on the clock in. Jonny had all his supportive friends, family and gym clients on the side-lines to watch him take the title on Saturday night. He said: “We had booked a family holiday to Mallorca with my wife and three children so they were unfortunately not there for the heats or semi-ﬁnals. I went with them but travelled back and too for the actual ﬁlming. They are all really proud of

me and loved seeing me on TV.” He was show presenter Chris Kamara’s favourite to win the competition in the original episodes and it seems, two years later, his prediction came true. Urszuly said: “That backing gave me more power in myself and I knew I needed to do well, compared to season one.” As the ofﬁcial Ninja Warrior of the UK, Jonny said he will “deﬁnitley” be returning in future years to defend his title.

Unbeaten season remains for Rangers By HOLLIE HAYES Liverpool John Moores Women’s rugby union smashed their way into the semi-ﬁnal round of the Northern Conference cup after an agonising battle against Teesside on their home turf. The Rangers dominated the open exchanges and possession as they stole a 40-0 win. However, Teesside played a predominantly forward orientated game which ran riots against JMU’s defence and creating havoc at the ruck. Having come from an unbeaten record for the entire season JMU displayed their ruthless edge yet again in one of their toughest matches so far. Play drifted back and forth between both sides half with the try line at a distant reach, but after a series of scrums JMU did not take long to

ﬁnd their stride as they pushed persistently to their opponent’s try line with a number of forward crashes. Scrum half Hollie Hayes then touched down over the line through a gap in Teeside’s defence and inside centre Maddy Gresty proceeded to successfully convert the try, putting the Liverpool based team up by seven points. The Rangers trailed 19-0 at the interval with tries from Hollie Hayes and lock Jade Ward who overpowered Teesside’s attempts at defending her break and crashed over the try line with an extra conversion from Maddy Gresty. Just minutes into the second half fullback Harriet Manning showed her opposition a clean set of heels and left several players in her wake as she accelerated from the half way line and touched down in between the posts.

Teesside fought back at this attack with resilience as they began to turn over several of John Moores’ scrums and rucks and though this put pressure on the home-team it sadly wasn’t enough. At full-time JMU were once again victorious with an extra try from Jade Ward and an easy run in from Maddy Gresty, who was on-target for all three conversions and ﬁnalised the score at 40-0.

SUCCESS: Rangers, top, earn their place in the semi-final

Liverpool

LifeSPORT 22 February 2017

TOFFEES ARE ALL HEART By DAVID PURCELL

Thousands of Everton fans flooded into Goodison Park to back the club’s efforts to tackle homelessness, as their tabletopping Under-23s team brushed Southampton’s youngsters aside with a comfortable 2-0 win. The club announced earlier this month that tickets for Monday’s game would be free, in an attempt to drive as many Evertonians to the game as possible, while Everton in the Community - their official charity - were fundraising for their ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ campaign. The Fundraising Manager for the charity Karena Duffy told Liverpool Life: “We’re looking to raise £230,000, which is going to help fund a homeless project working with 16 to 23-year-olds who are coming out of care, or have fallen on hard times. “That’s the whole point of us having this game tonight. The game was taking place anyway, but as part of the fundraising campaign. “We kind of said: ‘Why don’t we just open the gates to the fans and let them come in, and have them support the team as well’.” There were a number of guest

speakers including Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who played for the Under-23s squad. And there was space on the stage for some of the club’s old cult heroes, with Graham Stuart stepping up to speak to the crowd The former Everton player said: “It’s a great campaign, they want to raise that money and I think the manager and his players will do everything they possibly can The reality of it is, none of it is possible without the supporters.” And it didn’t take long for the players on the pitch to repay such generosity with a goal, as Liam Walsh broke the deadlock in the first five minutes. The second goal was the killer blow to Martin Hunter’s Southampton outfit as Kieran Dowell got his name on the scoresheet as well. Substitute winger David Henen powered down the right, directed a cross into the box which was dummied by Walsh - and with one swing of Dowell’s left foot, the ball sailed past Harry Lewis into the goal. David Unsworth’s side are now top of the Premier League 2 table on 41 points, six points clear of Manchester City with just five games to play.

By ANDREW NUTTALL

By JOSH HODGE Tranmere Rovers moved to third spot in the National League last night after a convincing 2-1 win over Boreham Wood. Andy Cook struck twice for the Rovers early in the match to stay four points behind FA Cup giant-killers Lincoln City in pole position. The game started at a rapid pace, and within 33 seconds Cook controlled a cross from Liam Ridehalgh to score on the swivel. A similar goal just 13 minutes later, again from Cook, gave Tranmere a comfortable 2-0 cushion going into half time. The game was not without danger for Tranmere though as goalkeeper Scott Davies did well to keep out a number of Boreham efforts. A late consolation goal from Bruno Andraden was not enough to rescue a point for the visitors, who remain 13th in the National League on 43 points. Tranmere’s next league ﬁxture is home to fourth-placed Forest Green next Tuesday.

Seating substitute at Anfield

JMU Jets win BIG at cheerleading Nationals

CHEER SQUAD: The award-winning Level 4 JMU Jets team

Rovers up to third after win

A university cheerleading squad have won a national competition. The JMU Jets travelled down to Birmingham Genting Arena for the University Nationals Competition, run by Future Cheer, the biggest Cheer & Dance company in Europe. There were two teams of ‘Jetlings’ cheering at the competition, Level 3 AllGirls and Level 4 Co-Ed. As the only Level Four competitors, the Jets had to put on an incredible performance as they strangely competed against themselves at the national championships.

Team member Helen Adekanmi said: “Being the only team at Level 4 is much harder because you have to score a specific amount of points or the judges will just give you a participation award which is really embarrassing because you would have lost to yourself, technically.” All-Girl’s Level 3 came seventh out of seven teams in their display but former society president Jasmin Hobbs-Rex praised the Jets who “worked extremely hard and faced many difficulties in the build-up to the competition”. The teams will compete again in Nottingham this March.

By JOSH HODGE Liverpool FC have been given permission to improve disabled seating inside Anfield. For the fourth year running, Liverpool have been named the top Premier League club on accessibility. However, the club still looks to improve its accessibility for disabled fans. The club aims to remove 1,000 seats from the stadium and replace them with disabledfriendly areas. The plan includes a proposed increase in wheelchair bays, going from 195 to potentially more than 250. In addition, the Kop will be expanded to increase general admission to around 470. The planned changes follow the Premier League Accessible Stadia guidelines and are to be put into action during the 2017/18 season.