ONE PAPER ... ALL THE NEWS from Dewsbury, Batley, Ossett, Mirfield, Liversedge, Birstall, Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton & Spen Valley
Friday February 7, 2020
No. 931 50p
DEWSBURY REBORN Biggest investment for generations as Council reveals radical £200m blueprint to transform town centre PLANS for a radical £200m transformation of Dewsbury have been revealed as part of a striking new vision for the town centre. The ‘Dewsbury Blueprint’ was launched by Kirklees Council at the
town hall on Wednesday evening, and aims to create a family-friendly, active, accessible and attractive town centre after years of decline and under-investment. The highlight of the council’s plan is the acquisition and restoration of The Arcade, which has lain
By Connor Teale News Reporter connor@thepressnews.co.uk
empty for several years. The authority’s purchase is set to be finalised in the coming weeks.
The ambitious 10-year plan also includes: • Pedestrianising Longcauseway and creating a town park; • Relocating 750 council employees to the centre of Dewsbury; • A revamp of Empire House next to Dewsbury Town Hall;
• Small units for creative businesses; • A dedicated policing and community team for the town centre; • A new office complex on Cliffe Street car park;
Continued on page 3
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ThePress
Friday February 7, 2020
Family notices in The Press Although we carry some abridged funeral notices, we cannot guarantee inclusion. However you can ensure information about your loved ones, whether that be a death/funeral notice, an acknowledgement or a birthday memory, reaches by far the most readers in North Kirklees. What’s more, Family Notices in The Press are significantly more affordable than other newspapers. For personal service, from a local business, call us on 01924 470296. Notices can be taken until 1.30pm on Thursdays.
Deaths COBB RON On February 1, at home in Liversedge, aged 83, husband of Barbara. Funeral service will take place at Dewsbury Moor Crematorium on Tuesday February 18 at 2pm.
DERRY (NEE TOWRISS) VALERIE BENITA
Call: 01924 470296
On January 25, of Mirfield, aged 85, wife of the late Stanley. Funeral service will take place at St Saviour’s Church, Ravensthorpe, on Tuesday February 11 at 12.15pm.
Telephone 01924 472178
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HAIGH RICHARD On January 13, of Mirfield, aged 65, dad of Jessica and brother of Derek, Linda, Pat, Colin, Peter and Trevor. Funeral service will take place at Dewsbury Moor Crematorium on Tuesday February 11 at 10am.
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On January 26, at home in Birstall, aged 66, sister of Peter and the late Helen. Funeral service will take place at Dewsbury Moor Crematorium on Friday February 14 at 10.30am.
On January 15, of Liversedge and formerly of Gomersal, aged 72, husband of Christine. Funeral service took place at Batley Parish Church on Wednesday February 5.
JOHNSON STEPHEN
SNOWLING DOROTHY
On February 2, of Ingham Close, Mirfield, aged 73, husband of Josephine. Funeral service will take place at Dewsbury Moor Crematorium on Tuesday February 18 at 12.30pm.
On January 30, formerly of Carlinghow Lane, Batley, aged 96, sister of Margaret. Funeral service will take place at St James' Church, Heckmondwike, on Thursday February 13 at 10.30am.
MATHER SANDRA On January 27, at home in Batley, aged 78, wife of Anthony. Funeral service will take place at Dewsbury Moor Crematorium on Tuesday February 11 at 2pm.
MIRFIN (NEE BROOK) JOAN
Century of WMC unity NORRISTHORPE Working Men’s Club is celebrating 100 years of being in the Clubs and Institute Union. Members of the club, on Liversedge Hall Lane, were presented with a certificate last Friday by branch secretary of the CIU, Les Hepworth.
On January 29, aged 61, wife of Tom. Funeral service will be held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Birstall, on Friday February 14 at 12 noon.
On January 30, of Liversedge, aged 84, wife of Harry. Funeral service will take place at All Saints Church, Roberttown on Thursday February 13 at 1.30pm.
Crash after police chase A CAR smashed into two stationary vehicles following a police chase in Heckmondwike on Wednesday night. Two people were taken to hospital after the incident, which saw a black Honda Civic crash into a black Volkswagen and red Peugeot van on
ThePress Friday February 7, 2020 Issue No: 931
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The club moved to its present address in 1918 and became a member of the CIU in 1919. Committee member Christopher Bullock said: “At a time when many pubs and clubs have gone, Norristhorpe Working Men’s Club has stuck around for 100 years and we’re still going strong.”
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High Street at 8.47pm. One of the people in the Honda was seriously injured. West Yorkshire Police closed the road for several hours while paramedics, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and firefighters extracted the men in the Honda to safety.
The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. A police spokesman said: “Any witness to the incident are asked to call police on 101 quoting log 1787 of Wednesday February 5.” Photo: YappApp
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CLECKHEATON: A teacher whose body was found on a street in the town last week has been praised by his former school. Mo Shaffi, who was a supply teacher at St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College, was “wellrespected” according to the Bradford-based school. Mr Shaffi was found dead on Serpentine Road at 2.50am on Wednesday January 29. His death is being treated as unexplained pending a post-mortem examination.
ThePress
Friday February 7, 2020
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News In Brief Mufti’s condemnation DEWSBURY: A local religious leader has condemned the recent terror attack in London. Terrorist Sudesh Amman, 20, was shot dead by police after stabbing two victims on Streatham High Road on Sunday. Mufti Mohammed Amin Pandor, director of the Peace Institute, said: “Just remember the words of our late MP Jo Cox who was brutally murdered, ‘We have more in common than divides us’. We must not let anything or anyone divide us. “Our sincere thoughts and condolences for the victims of this cowardly attack and all other cowardly attacks on innocent people elsewhere.”
Let’s talk at tavern CLECKHEATON: A new men’s mental health support group has been set up in the town. ‘Let’s Talk’ was launched by local man Piers Briggs for anybody who might be struggling with mental health issues in Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, Batley, Birstall and surrounding areas. The group, which provides help from five volunteers, meets every Monday from 7.30pm at the Station Tavern pub on Railway Stree t .
A pink black-tie ball NORTH KIRKLEES: Batley Bulldogs chairman Kevin Nicholas is hosting a ‘pink’ black tie event at The Village hotel in Tingley on Saturday February 15. The Nicholas family raise money for Beverley’s Pink Weekend, in memory of Mrs Beverley Nicholas, who lost her battle with cancer last year. £50 tickets include three-course meal, a band and much more. For tickets contact Alexandra on 07595 062669 or email kevin@nicholasandpartners.
Ambitious plan to transform a town From page one • The demolition of the Co-op building on Northgate, making way for a ‘pocket park’; • Redeveloping Daisy Hill into a high-quality residential area in the hope of attracting professionals working in nearby cities. Field House will be the ‘flagship development’, with 23 high-quality flats as well as a cafe and restaurant. • A new bus station with improved pedestrian and cycle routes, including along Bond Street to the market. • Bringing the market “back to life” with more places to eat, space for live music, theatre, and art among the stalls. The council also announced that renowned artist Antony Gormley, who was born in Dewsbury Moor, has lent Kirklees College one of his sculptures to display on the top of the new Pioneer Campus for 10 years. And the council says that artworks will be “built into the fabric of the town”, including on buildings, footpaths, lighting and public seats. Kirklees Council Leader Shabir Pandor said: “We’re incredibly excited to be announcing another ambitious transformational plan. The recent recession and national measures of austerity meant our earlier plans to regenerate this once great town were put on hold. “We have put our money where our mouth is. Buying The Arcade in particular is testimony to the fact that this is not a plan with no substance. We have taken back control of our own destiny. “You will see some of these key projects in Dewsbury begin very soon with consultations on the market improvements and town park starting later this year. “People and businesses in the town should
know that we are committed to them and we are going to deliver. This is a new era of investing and taking back control of our towns and villages.” Coun Aleks Lukic (Ind, Dewsbury East) said: “These are really promising ideas, but people will only start to believe them once they see progress because there’s been a lot of masterplans for Dewsbury in the past. “The Arcade is the most prominent symbol of Dewsbury’s fortunes and if the council get it reopened that would be transformational. It could become the focal point of the town and help Dewsbury become a destination again. This might be the moment that the council begins to balance Kirklees across the borough.” Coun Masood Ahmed (Lab, Dewsbury South) said that he felt “like a kid in a sweet shop” after hearing the proposals. “I’m just overwhelmed with the presentation ... it seems to me that Kirklees is investing and Dewsbury will soon be in business,” he added. “It’s not going to happen overnight – Rome wasn’t built in a day. I’ll be onto the council to make sure that they deliver what they’ve promised tonight.” Residents will be able to view the plans and share their opinions by visiting the pop-up Dewsbury Blueprint Shop in the former home of TUI in Market Place. It will be open from 10am to 3pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays from February 17 to March 14. The blueprint document is also available to view online at www.kirklees.gov.uk/ dewsburyblueprint. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE DEWSBURY BLUEPRINT? Let us know by emailing forum@thepressnews.co.uk.
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ThePress
News In Brief Police finally grab handcuff escapee BATLEY: A man who escaped police while wearing handcuffs was arrested weeks later, a court heard. Kirklees magistrates were told officers eventually tracked Joshua Spry to an address on Mount Street. Police initially tried to arrest him on May 8, 2019, but the 28-year-old managed to escape as they attempted to put him into their van. Spry was located by officers weeks later who found the handcuffs, which had been cut to release him, in a drawer. Magistrates sent Spry to Leeds Crown Court for sentencing. He was remanded into custody until his first appearance on February 28.
Bulldogs’ jobs fair BATLEY: The Bulldogs’ Sporting Charitable Trust is hosting a jobs, volunteering and training fair next Friday (February 14). The event will take place at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium (11am-2pm) and organisations including Ikea, Oxfam and Kirklees Council will be in attendance. For more details contact 07475 019009.
Help catch this bus BIRSTALL: Fairfield School is hoping to raise £61,000 for a new specialised minibus. The school on White Lee Road caters for children with special needs and has so far raised over £8,500 for the new bus. Disabled charity The Lord’s Taverners have agreed to donate £33,000, provided the school raises the remaining £28,000 by June. Anyone who can help should email sarahbreeze@fairfieldschool.uk or contact 01924 326103.
Friday February 7 2020
Bobtown’s Brad dances a blinder THE MOTHER of a performer from Roberttown says she is “bursting with pride” after her son’s dance troupe broke records on BBC show ‘The Greatest Dancer’. Rachel Walmsley, mum of Bradley Walmsley, was in the audience on Saturday to watch the 21-year-old perform as part of the Brothers of Dance group. They received the highest audience vote in the history of the programme with their Peaky Blinders-inspired performance – a huge 97.8 per cent which saw them through to the next round of the live finals. Rachel, who founded Timestep Community Dance in Heckmondwike, said: “I’m bursting with pride, all his hard work and dedication is paying off. Brothers of Dance are showing that boys can dance too, they are definitely inspiring other lads to fulfil their dreams of performing.”
The dance group is made up of nine young men from across the country and was put together especially for the show. Mentored by former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, the boys could bag a jackpot £50,000 prize if
they win the whole competition. They’ll be performing again tomorrow (Saturday, 6.30pm BBC One) and Rachel is urging all local fans to support the talented dance troupe. Photo – Brad (third from left) in action
Major drugs gang busted By Staff Reporters A SPEN woman has been jailed for her part in a massive drugs operation throughout the north of England. Charlotte Brannan, 44, of Prospect Mill Meadows in Cleckheaton, was locked up for seven years for conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine, and possession of a prohibited weapon. Brannan – pictured – was one of nine people jailed for a total of 40 years after a twoyear investigation by West Yorkshire Police. Officers found that gang leader Mark Davey, 53, and his then partner Brannan, had control over a substantial amount of cocaine and heroin and were distributing it across West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire
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and Humberside. On May 4, 2018, Brannan was stopped by police on the M62 near to Gildersome. They
discovered a kilogram of high-purity cocaine in the footwell of the car, which had an estimated street value of £70,000. Her house at the time, on Hartshead Lane in Liversedge, was then searched and police found a further kilogram of high-purity heroin and more than £26,000 in cash. It is believed Brannan was on her way to meet another member of the drugs gang, Robert Clark, in Scarborough. He was arrested at his home where over £160,000 cash was found. On July 3 Davey, alongside Michael Wilson, delivered 1kg of vacuum-packed ‘skunk’ cannabis to Shaun Smith who was then spotted by police in his getaway car. Smith tried to evade officers by driving the wrong way up the M62 slip road at the Chain Bar roundabout, nearly hitting a motorcyclist head-on. Police found the cannabis in a grass verge at the side of the motorway and the car abandoned at Hartshead Moor services. The other conspirators were given sentences ranging between five months (suspended) and 10 and a half years.
Tenants’ views sought over council house future By Tony Earnshaw Local Democracy Reporter COUNCIL house residents in Kirklees have called for the reintroduction of traditional tenant and residents associations to help the vulnerable and the elderly. And they say red tape and bureaucracy should be stripped away in favour of a grass roots approach and face-to-face meetings. Their plea comes as Kirklees Council considers whether to take over management of its 21,000 properties. That could mean the end of Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH), the armslength management organisation (ALMO) that has run the council’s properties since 2002. The council is seeking what it has described as “the voice of the tenant” as it considers whether to ditch the ALMO model. It is looking at three options: – Direct management by the council; – Management of the stock
by an ALMO or other management company; – Transfer of the stock ownership and management to another organisation. It has pledged to put tenants’ and residents’ views at the heart of its discussions in the run-up to a final decision, expected in the coming weeks. Coun Cathy Scott (pictured), the council’s cabinet member for housing, told tenants that the council was listening to them. “The most important thing in here is about the tenants’
voice and also your TRAs. They are important to us. “It’s the most important thing – that we listen to you. There will be panels and things that we will be looking at, which you will be feeding into, all your concerns that you raise.” The council’s Director of Growth and Housing, Naz Parkar, said listening to the collective voice of tenants was “paramount”. He added: “It would be a risk not to hear what the tenants are saying to us.” Residents and tenants who were asked their opinions of KNH gave blunt responses. They said vulnerable people were not being sufficiently supported, young people and the elderly were being inappropriately mixed together, and potentially problematic people were not being properly vetted before being given tenancies. They also called for the return of full-time estate managers, local rent/management offices and monthly surgeries.
ThePress
Friday February 7, 2020
Helping hands for cemetery clean-up
News In Brief Pit memorial meeting
THE New Friends of Dewsbury Cemetery group teamed up with a local charity to help clean up the grounds on Sunday. Members of Ravensthorpe-based Sadaqah Jariyah Bereavement Services were also joined by Dewsbury MP Mark Eastwood as they helped with litter picking, painting railings, jet washing and sprucing up the area. Christine Leeman, committee member for the cemetery group, said: “These guys contacted us and offered their help and true to their word they did just that. Our committee members cannot thank them enough.” Photo: Time for a brew – MP Mark Eastwood (centre) with some of the volunteers
THORNHILL: A public meeting is being held later this month as part of a bid to bring a permanent memorial to the victims of a mining disaster to the village. People are invited to have their say at Thornhill Edge WMC on Friday February 21 (7.30pm-8.30pm). The memorial will pay tribute to the 139 men and boys who lost their lives after an underground explosion at the Combs Colliery in Thornhill in 1893. Current plans are to locate the memorial in Dewsbury town centre.
Dad is lucky to be alive Tailgating incident leads to gang’s metal bar attack By Zoe Shackleton A FATHER-of-two says his family are living in fear after he was attacked outside his Carlinghow home by four men. Marc White was followed home after an altercation with another driver on Monday night and was subjected to a terrifying racist assault in front of his wife and two young sons. The 38-year-old gardener suffered a severely bruised eye socket and sternum after being repeatedly hit with metal batons. He described his attackers as four Asian males aged around 25, one of whom he claims shouted “You white bastard” at him. He said: “If these lads are willing to do that to a family man over nothing, hit people in the face with metal poles, I don’t know what else they’re capable of.” Mr White was driving home from Batley Baths with his sons Oscar, nine, and Freddie, five, just after 7.30pm when he noticed that a Toyota Yaris was tailgating him through Carlinghow. He said the driver was “flashing his lights and keeping his hand on the horn” and was “almost in the boot of my car”. Mr White pulled over to the side of the road and the other driver also stopped –
but pulled out a baton which he started swinging. Mr White said it was “a half-hearted attack”. He added: “Fortunately when my son Oscar screamed ‘daddy you’re going to die’ this chap looked at Oscar and I managed to grab the weapon. He said to me ‘look I don’t want to fight you’. I said ‘well you’re making a good job of it’ and told him to back off.” Mr White took a long detour before driving home. But 10 minutes later the driver arrived along with three other men in a separate car, and they started banging on the front door. They smashed the windows of his wife’s car, parked outside, causing about £1,000 worth of damage. Mr White went to confront the four men but was immediately set upon. He said: “By the time I’d got to the gate outside the house I was smacked from my blindside with a metal baton. “My vision was just stars, I couldn’t see anything. I then just tried to stay upright. “For what seemed like five minutes – it probably was only maybe two – I was taking blow after blow.” Neighbours and family called the police and the gang fled, leaving behind two of the weapons. One police officer attended the scene. Mr White was taken to hos-
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0 1 2 74 6 8 62 1 1 pital as a precaution, but didn’t suffer any major injuries. He said he only got an update from officers on Wednesday evening at around 9pm – two days after the incident. He added: “It’s upsetting, it’s angering. The best thing that could happen is a bit of justice being served.” Det Insp James Bellhouse of Kirklees CID said: “This has been a serious offence in which a man and his vehicle have been attacked by a group of males and we are appealing for witnesses to what took place. “Detectives are speaking with the victim and are following up on initial enquiries. “Anyone who saw what took place or has any information should contact Kirklees CID on 101 referencing crime 13200061988.”
Crime levels on agenda BATLEY & Spen MP Tracy Brabin will hold a public meeting this evening (Friday) to address concerns about rising levels of crime in Birstall and Birkenshaw. Residents in the ward are invited to attend the event, which will be held at BBG Academy on Bradford Road in Birkenshaw, from 6pm to 7.30pm. Ms Brabin will be joined by representatives from West Yorkshire Police and Kirklees Council. The MP said: “I’ve called this meeting so that people can tell us what their concerns are, and we – myself, the police and council – can explain what we are doing to address the issue. “We need to tackle crime at its roots, to stop young people being sucked into the criminal world, and to make sure the opportuni-
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ties are there for them. “We also need to give offenders opportunities to be rehabilitated and turn their lives around. “I hope as many people as possible can attend the meeting so we can all sit down together and work as a community to make our area a safer place to live.” Reported crime across Birstall and Birkenshaw has fallen slightly over the past 12 months, but anti-social behaviour, burglaries, vehicle crime and violent and sexual offences remain high. “People should not have to live in fear of having their houses broken into or cars stolen from their driveways. Similarly businesses shouldn’t have to be worried about burglaries or robberies,” said Ms Brabin.
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Friday February 7, 2020
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So long EU, but hello Europe... N THE end there was no whooping and hollering from the Lockies, no flags flying, banners waving, no taunts of “looooosers!” at any downcast folk who happened to be out and about at 11pm on January 31st, 2020. (I doubt that the feeblest of our quivering bottom-lipped Remainers were frequenting pubs flying Union flags. They were probably huddled beneath their duvets – a nice French word, duvet – anticipating power blackouts, a stock market crash and perhaps Boris-sympathising Chinese folk poised on their doorsteps, waiting to sneeze Coronavirus germs on them). I trust – most sincerely – that Saturday February 1st dawned as bright and cheery for them as the rest of us, and that they manage to raise a
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Patriots’ party at Morley rugby club – but the next ‘cause’ is already brewing... Big Ben sadly didn’t bong – one last ‘win’ for the Westminster Remainiacs – but as clocks ticked past the Leaving hour, we raised a glass to toast democracy. Our tipple of choice was prosecco, because when push comes to shove I’m a tight Yorkshire-man and that Moët et Chandon could one day save an endangered anniversary or birthday. smile eventually. I’d driven through Morley on Friday night and briefly considered dropping into the Big Brexit Bash being staged at the rugby club, but thought no, I’d get back home to wife and daughter.
RS L was a Remain voter back in the distant, divisive days of 2016, but had become increasingly disappointed with the blatant thwarting of Brexit until she was finally ‘turned’ by the treachery of the estab-
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lishment. I suspect a great many folk were. Her industry had been one of those forecast to be massively hit by a Brexit vote, thanks to Project Fear. She’s the UK and Europe sales and marketing director for an overseas hotel group and the economic dread was very real in June 2016. Forty-four months on, it may well be that she’s just brilliant at her job (and she is), but the economic doommongering notwithstanding, she’s blown her multi-million pound targets out of the water. Crisis, what crisis? (I was briefly tempted to draw parallels with Nelson at Trafalgar or the sinking of the Bismarck, but enough already with all the jingoistic triumphalism). People speak worthily about a national ‘healing’ and ‘coming together’ now that Brexit is over, but that rather suggests we’re an even bigger bunch of wimps than even social media suggests. That’s not to say social media is wrong by the way,
far from it. Because while most balanced people will crack on, working and saving for their Spanish, French or Canary Island holidays, buying their BMWs or Renaults (other global brands are available), eating at Italian restaurants and focussing on the things that really matter in life, plenty will not. I suspect the worst of the anarchist Snowflakes will have already decided on their next ultra-liberal cause célèbre. Ditch their EU flags and Leave-hating banners? Not a chance, they’ll be in storage but close at hand for next time. They’ll already be busy daubing posters dedicated to Saint Greta of Thunberg, firing out their daily doses of
Twitter-hate at any/everyone with a dissenting view, while possibly demanding that every child be registered gender neutral on its birth certificate. But for now and by way of farewell, I think I’ll afford myself one gently hummed chorus of Rule Britannia … oh go on, followed up by a rendition of Land of Hope and Glory – rounded off with a rousing Jerusalem! But not in front of anyone with a weak disposition, obviously. (What I wouldn’t give to be at Last Night of the Proms. I wonder if they’ll give us an impromptu chorus of “You can shove your EU flags right up your ***!” Probably not. I’ll stop now. Sorry).
I’M standing shoulder to shoulder with R Trace over the horrible online trolls who were offended by her exposed flesh in the House of Commons this week. How very dare they? “Banged over a wheelie bin?” I mean, she’d probably slip and break her ankle if she tried that (Ms Brabin actually has a broken ankle – Editor). You tell ‘em Tracy – and if you’re ever minded to flash your threepenny bits at the Speaker, or better still bare your backside at his predecessor, that poison dwarf Bercow, then not just I but entire swathes of the enlightened brotherhood will back you right to the hilt. Go, girl!
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O OFFENCE Boris, but don’t be too much like that orange-faced idiot Trump when it comes to kneejerk ‘solutions’ – because cancelling automatic releases for terrorists after serving 50% of their sentence, is not a solution. It might keep some murderous maniacs off the streets a while longer, which is a sticking plaster of sorts and no bad thing. But you’ll need a bit more than a Band Aid when these brainwashed killers do get out. So what to do – throw away the key? Bring back the rope? Best pretend I never said either of those, because put to a ‘People’s Vote’ they’d probably be neck and neck, if you’ll pardon the pun. But the tragic fact is that they’d be the only solutions guaranteed success. Everything else is left mightily to chance. I’d suggest Boris and his Home Secretary Priti Patel talk not to under-pressure prison governors, with their calm reassurances that they’re “on top of things”, or liberal ‘rehabilitators’ always happy to cash-in on endless government funds (like the project where Usman Khan killed two of his new-found mentors in November). Instead talk to frontline warders, probation officers and even ex-prisoners to hear
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where the real problems are. Rehabilitation – inside a prison system with a 70,000 ‘capacity’, but 90,000 inmates? Where wings are segregated and often effectively self-governing? I’d like to hear some of those success stories. I’ve heard about rehabilitation in people like Maajid Nawaz, imprisoned as a member of the radical Hizb ut-Tahrir, but who ‘saw the light’ and has made a prosperous career out of his government-funded Quilliam anti-extremism group and the media. But opportunist knife terrorists like Sudesh Amman don’t have Maajid’s smarts. They are marginalised young men of low intelligence or hugely impressionable – as anyone brainwashed into the jihadi deathcult must be, by definition. Targeting radical home-grown preachers might be a start (if we had the will) but the Suddesh Ammans of this world, like Dewsbury’s teen jihadis Hassan Munshi and Talha Asmal – who blew himself up in northern Iraq – find ideological hatred on the internet, not alongside their dad at peaceful Friday prayers. What else can we do? Well, having armed undercover offices follow unreconstructed fanatics like Amman and pump-
ing him full of bullets might be a deterrent for a few waverers, but they’re probably not the problem anyway. As long as the violently extreme global ideology endures, so will the problem, no matter how much stern determination Prime Ministers affect. In the meantime, every weteared Liberty spokesperson who wants to fight for these terrorists’ freedoms, should be made to take one home and give them room and board...
HOT STUFF! IF YOU feel a bit of the Agatha Christie coming on, go on the t’interweb and try to find rational, science-based arguments that fairly examine different aspects to the climate issue. Good luck. I say ‘issue’ but it’s now a de facto religion, one where anyone with a dissenting view, however expert, isn’t just ignored but demonised as an evil tool of the globalist, industrial establishment. I’m making no case either way, but this manic silencing of reasoned debate – and the herd’s willingness to submit to it – is more worrying to me than temperatures that have been far warmer in the planet’s past. That probably makes me a vile apocalypse denier. Hey ho.
ThePress
Friday February 7, 2020
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Smashed, crashed
A matter of modesty
A DRINK-DRIVER who crashed into a wall in Liversedge also had cocaine in his system. Callum Wilson, 21, had been at a New Year’s Eve party but decided to get behind the wheel after falling out with his girlfriend. Police were called to the collision on Norristhorpe Lane, where a breath test indicated Wilson was more than three times over the legal limit. The hairdresser admitted that he’d had six bottles of beer and taken some cocaine before making the decision to drive. Craig MacGregor, mitigating, told Kirklees magistrates: “He was supposed to stay in Liversedge (but) he argued with his girlfriend and left the property. “It was his mistake. His life in the last few months has gone pear-shaped.” The court heard he suffered a heart attack in January and is currently unable to work. He was banned from driving for 20 months and fined £237 costs.
THE Spen Valley branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association (AMWA) hosted a special event to mark World Hijab Day. Around 25 people from various religious backgrounds attended the home of AMWA outreach secretary Rashda Ahmad on Saturday to share their views and experiences about the hijab – a type of head covering worn in public by some Muslim women. Guests were also encouraged to ask questions about the hijab in order to address common misconceptions. Mrs Ahmad said: “Modesty and chastity are central tenets of the Islamic faith and both men and women are encouraged to inculcate these virtues through establishing certain codes of behaviour and dress.” Photo – guests at the event and (inset) Coun Gwen Lowe and Avril Barker
MP hits back after clothing row By Steve Martyn TRACY BRABIN MP has hit back at Twitter ‘keyboard warriors’ after a row over an image of her wearing an off-the-shoulder dress in the House of Commons went viral. The shadow culture secretary said people need to “listen to what we (women) say, not what we wear”. In a BBC interview Ms Brabin admitted that she had been “startled by the vitriolic nature” of some comments and said that it was her responsibility to call it out. The MP for Batley & Spen was in the House of Commons on Monday to discuss journalists being asked to leave a Downing Street press briefing
on the next stage of Brexit talks. She said that she wore the slightly offthe-shoulder dress to a music event earlier in the day and was not expecting to be called to the dispatch box.
She added that the dress had slipped as she leant forward to speak. “The context of this is frankly absurd. I’m here talking about a shoulder when it is an important time for the media,” she said. “This is everyday sexism. Women are continually judged for what they wear, how they look and not what they say. Why is that? It’s a way to silence us.” But Ms Brabin added that she tried to not take the comments too seriously as they likely came from “keyboard warriors sat in their mum’s back bedroom eating Pot Noodles and having a pop at people they don’t know anything about.” The original image of the outfit
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was posted to Twitter, accompanied with the caption: “Is this really appropriate attire for Parliament?” Ms Brabin responded with her own tweet which read: “Hello. Sorry I don’t have time to reply to all of you commenting on this but I can confirm I’m not: A slag; hungover; a tart; about to breastfeed; a slapper; drunk, or just been banged over a wheelie bin. Who knew people could get so emotional over a shoulder.” Among thousands of others online, Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan had his say on the debate, tweeting: “Trolls that abused Ms Brabin are disgusting, but it’s not ‘sexist’ to think this outfit was a tad inappropriate for Parliament.”
In Brief MIRFIELD: A post office which closed its doors last year is set to return in a new location. The shop on Greenside shut in February due to the resignation of the operator and the withdrawal of the premises for Post Office use. Now a new branch will open at Shillbank Stores on Wednesday March 18 at 1pm. The planned opening hours are Monday to Sunday, 7am10pm. BIRSTALL: St Saviour’s Church welcomes Hammonds Brass Band for their annual Valentine’s Day concert next Saturday (February 15, 7.30pm). Tickets cost £8 and everyone is welcome.
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ThePress
Friday February 7, 2020
Surprisingly, life has continued as before So Kirklees decided not to celebrate the departure from the EU, seemingly with a random number of excuses (The Press, January 31). Strange as it may sound, I too adopted the ‘Kirklees spirit.’ At the time when the country was out celebrating I was sat in my tarpaulin-covered dug-out which I constructed at the bottom of my garden. At first light of dawn I peered out and saw that life was continuing as before. The “possible war with Russia” uttered by failed former Premier David Cameron as one of the consequences of Brexit had not happened. Perhaps Mr Putin has more things to think about than the price of fish. Later in the day I walked into a local pharmacy and noticed a distinct lack of panic over the predicted crisis in obtaining pharmaceuticals. Simplistic as it might appear, these were just two targeted examples of
Fighting a losing battle From: Cheryl Tyler, chairman Save Mirfield As you may know, Save Mirfield and the Granny Lane Area Action Group (GLAAG) have been fighting the Miller Homes application to build on the water meadow close to Sheep Ings Farm here in Mirfield. We failed. I wonder how many people know that if an application is refused, a developer can appeal and often not be challenged, whereas a community is not able to appeal against an approval. Our one last desperate attempt to stop it was to make a ‘call-in’ request to the Housing Minister but sadly we were unsuccessful. We have together spent hundreds of hours and a great deal of money trying to
Letter of the Week: ‘Heckmondwike Hector’ the remainers’ ‘Project Fear,’ the most insidious form of psychological warfare ever launched on the British public. Their intention of course was to defy democracy and rob over 17 million people of their rightful inheritance. I always believed that the ballot box (rather than bullets) was the way forward as opposed to the loathing and hatred which exists between polarised political views. The antiBrexiters destroyed all of that and much of my faith in the political process. Their campaign was carried out
convince Kirklees planners the folly of building on this field. It acts as a natural soakaway from the hills behind and yet, on occasions, still floods onto the road. The residents have to deal with this as well as the River Calder flooding, and at times Granny Lane is impassable due to flooding. It is true that the field was allocated in the Kirklees Local Plan, which was adopted last February, but it is our contention that the due diligence on the site was not properly done. Not only regarding the flood risks but also the dire state of the highways in the area, especially Steanard Lane which runs to the east of the site. We were unable to convince the planners of these issues and local residents are fearful of the possibility of water which will not be able to soak away naturally, finding its way into their homes.
with slander, disinformation and character assassination along with threats and other forms of political misdemeanour. Every trick in the book was thrown at us in order to keep the country bound to the European shackles; laughably, whilst ‘respecting the decision of the British people’. On the other hand, I admire those who voted to remain with Europe and voted accordingly but nevertheless respected the outcome of the referendum. I and many other people would have done the same had the decision gone the other way. Tragically, a
It is unlikely that the new homes will flood as they will be raised and not in the actual flood zone but at times, access to their homes, for them and emergency vehicles, is likely to be compromised as the proposed entrance will be in flood zone three. This is one of the highest grades of flood risk. We employed professionals to help us, and the wrangling went on for several months. Then suddenly, we were told it would go before the Strategic Planning committee on December 19, just before Christmas. At this point we decided that we had to get a flood risk assessment done privately since we were not being listened to as regards the problems with drainage and flooding. So at great expense and thanks to generous supporters, we engaged a company to look at this for us. A very detailed report was produced confirming our
large majority do not hold to such principals. Seemingly, there are some in Kirklees Council who fall into that category. In my view these people should refrain from shaking their head at the televised carnage in countries where
own findings that “The incorrect conclusion from the flood risk assessment has been taken forward by Kirklees Council and forms the basis of planning officer’s report on the site. The planning officer’s report is therefore based on an unsound assumption”. There are a number of other points raised that should have at least been properly considered by the committee. This report was sent on the last day of the public consultation period. However, the planning officer’s report was written prior to the end of the consultation period. In our view this means that the flood risk report we commissioned could not have had proper attention since the Strategic Planning Committee met just two working days later. Our planning lawyer told us that what they did was not unlawful but was “preposter-
LATEST PLANNING APPLICATIONS S Bi, single-storey extension, 18 Torridon Road, Dewsbury. D Gaskin, timber stables and extension to existing livery shed, Equus Livery Yard, Old Hall Road, Upper Batley. D Fearnley, single-storey extension, 46 Priestley Avenue, Heckmondwike. B Patel, Advertisement Consent for erection of illuminated signs, Costa Coffee, Unit 1, Northgate Retail Centre, Heckmondwike. P Gardner, single-storey side extension, 18 Camilla Court, Earlsheaton. Mr & Mrs S Orme, demolition of existing dwelling and erection of
one dwelling with detached garage (modified proposal), 46 Brownhill Road, Birstall. Miss Burns, demolition of existing dwelling and erection of two semidetached dwellings, 15 Quarryside Road, Mirfield. Mr & Mrs Kay, the proposal is for erection of a single-storey rear extension. The extension projects 4.5m beyond the rear wall of the original dwellinghouse. The maximum height of the extension is 3.3m, the height of the eaves of the extension is 3.3m, 106 Moorlands Road, Birkenshaw. J Holmes, two-storey and single-
storey side extension with terrace, 6 Sugar Lane, Dewsbury. Commercial Development Projects Ltd, variation of condition 2 (plans) of previous permission ref: 2019/92281 for variation of condition 2 (plans) on previous permission 2017/93925 for erection of 3 retail units and associated works (within a Conservation Area), land at the junction of Cemetery Road and Mayman Lane, Batley. K Kennedy, extensions and alterations, 27 Pavillion View, Scholes. M Dyson, detached dwelling, land adjacent to 20 Quarryside Road, Mirfield.
M Taj, the proposal is for erection of single-storey rear extension. The extension projects 4.5m beyond the rear wall of the original dwellinghouse. The maximum height of the extension is 4m, the height of the eaves of the extension is 2.5m, 26 Battye Street, Dewsbury. Kirklees Council, Economy & Infrastructure, prior notification for demolitions of buildings, Cawley Yard Depot, Bradford Road, Rawfolds, Cleckheaton. K Hans, discharge conditions 4 (ventilation), 5 (electric car charging), 7 (external finish) on previous permission 2019/92381 for change
of use from retail/office to preparation and packaging of food, alterations to existing outbuilding and installation of vent, 52 Wellington Street, Batley. R J Rafique, the proposal is for erection of single-storey rear extension. The extension projects 5m beyond the rear wall of the original dwellinghouse. The maximum height of the extension is 3.7m, the height of the eaves of the extension is 2.8m, 45 Carr Side Crescent, Batley. D Whiteley, work to dangerous tree TPO 34a/97, Hollybank School, Roe Head, Far Common Road, Mirfield.
democracy has been defied in the face of self-interest and personal gain. Throughout the campaign antiBrexiters galvanised themselves into something that became the epitome of such divisions.
ous”. The application should have been deferred on December 19 to at least allow time for all parties to properly review the report we commissioned. It is true that if a site is allocated in the Local Plan the presumption is in favour of development. However, each application is supposed to be looked at on its own merits. It is not meant to be a ‘rubber stamp’ exercise. We believe that at the end of 2019 it was perhaps looking like the planning approvals were falling short. The senior planners were worried that they would not have enough houses approved by this month, the annual review, so tried to push through as much as they could. Sadly they succeeded on Granny Lane.
Putting my faith in you From: Mr G Dennis, Birstall Dear Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and your Conservative colleagues. As a life-long socialist and having voted for you, I am now putting my total faith in the likes of you two plus the Conservative Party to negotiate the UK’s rightful and longawaited future outside the EU. At 69 years of age I remember how Edward Heath took us in to the EEC without a referendum and how two years later under Harold Wilson we unfortunately decided to stay via a national referendum.
Taking that aside, my initial wishes remain despite the likes of EU individuals like Juncker, Barnier and Varadkar etc, plus our own poisoned UK opposition including Sturgeon and Blackford of the SNP, the pathetic Liberal Democrats plus the dead-in-the-water Jeremy Corbyn who has recently had the complete gall to nominate John Bercow for a peerage despite the fact the latter is a Tory, and last but not least the self-proclaimed senior Labour statesman John McDonnell.
Is this really austerity? From: Harry Teale, Mirfield Would you ‘Adam and Eve’ it! A new government of the UK actually fulfilling a major pledge within days of taking office! Unfortunately, due to the behaviour of Europhiles in previous governments of the UK, although the UK is no longer a member of the EU, the UK is still subject to rules and regulations of the EU. With regards to the ‘moaning minnies’ and ‘wailing wallies’ who are bleating on about austerity, how many are old enough to recall the aftermath of World War Two when the majority of items were rationed? How many of the people using food banks have cars, smoke, drink and gamble? How many have a wardrobe full of clothes and shoes? How many have children in preschool care paid for by the taxpayers?
ThePress
Friday February 7, 2020
Council is looking to add a ‘digital ninja’ to its team FANCY adding “digital ninja” to your CV? Now you can courtesy of Kirklees Council, which is growing its communications team, writes Tony Earnshaw. The authority is advertising for two new senior roles: a specialist in digital communications and an experienced graphic designer. It’s the digital communications job description that stands out. For as well as possessing “an engaging tone of voice” the successful applicant should be “a digital ninja not afraid to try new things”. The advert concludes with: “In return we can offer a place where no two days are the same, a potential audience of almost half a million residents and a breadth of subject matter you’ll struggle to find anywhere else.” Kirklees spends £785,000 annually on its communications team, a sum it says “is in line with other authorities of a similar size”. Currently it employs 22 staff: 12 full-time permanent, four part-time permanent, and six full-time temporary. The two new roles, each advertised with a salary of £30,507 – £32,878, will take the council’s spend to more than £800,000 a year. In 2018 the council created a new £65,000 Head of Strategic Communications role to support its future ambi-
tions and its “transformation journey”. That journey was at the heart of a peer review carried out last summer by experts with the Local Government Association. Their 14-page report made a series of recommendations to the council, which included crafting and telling its “very good story” successfully, and to put strategic communications “at the heart of the organisation”. A Kirklees Council spokesperson said: “Communications is a key part of the work we do and has to be factored in as part of any service, project or scheme we deliver. “It’s really important that local people and organisations are kept up-to-date with important announcements and any decisions made by the council, as well as enabling them to feedback, comment and engage with us directly. “Our recent peer review further highlighted the importance of this. With the number of communications channels constantly growing and evolving, the skill set needed within the council has to follow suit. “Our more traditional forms of communicating such as through the press still remain, however. “On average our team responds to more than 30 press queries every week, often with very short time-scales and this takes up a lot of time and resource.”
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groups of people, may be more talented than others the political climate is to perceive this difference as arising from discrimination.
When they experience the hardship endured by those still around from the 1940s, then I will credit them with a just claim to having experienced austerity. To end on a cheerful note – I actually heard an EU politician acknowledge the debt owed to the UK and allies for rescuing the nations of Europe from the tyranny of dictators on two occasions. Perhaps leaving the EU, the UK may have started a third occasion!
Actors have some diverse principles From: Alec Suchi, Bradford The actor Joaquin Phoenix took the opportunity at the recent BAFTA awards to criticise the film industry for its apparent lack of diversity and the supposed ‘systemic racism’ which underpins and sustains it. It has unfortunately become routine for members of the acting profession in particular – and those in the public eye in general – to declare their unequivocal commitment to diversity and in the process reveal morally-superior values. The danger is that within the entertainment industry and the arts, work which could be considered substandard and undeserving may be given accolades merely to fulfill diversity requirements and thus politicising the whole process. Knowingly or otherwise people like Phoenix are accepting the tenets of egalitarianism which presumes that all people are equally talented and that differences in attainment arise from unfair advantages enjoyed by one group over another. Thus, according to this doctrine, unless there arises an equality of outcomes between different groups then the less successful group has suffered undue disadvantages and discrimination, systemic or otherwise. According to the egalitarians ability arises largely from favourable environmental circumstances, rather than from inheritance and that anybody can aspire to whatever they choose as there are no limits other than those artificially imposed. There is no doubt that a favourable environment will improve the circumstances of the disadvantaged but will not produce an equality of outcomes. Rather than accepting that some people, or
Proud that I was there From: Colin Walshaw, Scholes Don’t be fooled, the remainers have not given up. The BBC (Brussels Broadcasting Corporation) coverage of Friday night’s Brexit celebrations was pathetic, other channels were not much better. Granted that it was not politically correct to rub remainers’ noses in it, particularly when we know “it’s not over til it’s over”. However, the miniscule coverage of the crowd numbers and many featured speakers was pathetic. Comments of “hundreds of people, some with flags”, was a gross misrepresentation of the actual numbers. I was there and although it is difficult to assess, friends and I estimated in excess of 20,000, with hundreds of police personnel alone. There must have been hundreds at the gates of 10 Downing Street for the pathetic light show. It was a tremendous night with many sympathetic Europeans in the crowd, no trouble and very good-natured. It was certainly a night to remember and I am proud to say “I was there”. Let’s hope Boris holds the line and we can say “Roll on December 31st!”
Flight of fantasy... From: Martin McFadden, Drighlington It’s unbelievable that the bosses of Leeds Bradford Airport choose to spend £150million on a new terminal building. No regard for the punters who will still be getting soaked walking from the car park to a swanky new building. And on return – from swanky new building to car park – soaked again ! What planet are these decision-makers on? Why do they ignore the important factors of customer convenience and satisfaction? A trainline right up to the airport, with covered walkway/travelator straight into the check-in hall would be a good start. And for the minority arriving by private car or taxi, a drop-off point that is also under cover – straight onto the same walkway/travelator. Make the airport a joy to use, travellers will soon forget what the M62 looks like and the profits will soar!
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How can we support vets? By Tony Earnshaw Local Democracy Reporter VETERANS, reservists and serving armed forces personnel are to be asked to give their thoughts on how they are supported in their local communities. Kirklees Council is one of five local authorities across West Yorkshire taking part in a survey aimed at identifying how they can help their local armed forces communities move forward. All have signed the Armed Forces Covenant, a promise from the nation that noone who has served in the armed forces, or their families, should face disadvantage when accessing services. The online survey is designed to find out which services are being accessed from councils, their partners and charities, the experiences of veterans using such services and their awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant. Coun Masood Ahmed (Lab, Dewsbury South), Kirklees’ Armed Forces Champion, encouraged people to take part. He said: “Through the work of the Kirklees Armed Forces Covenant Board and our partners we are committed to do all we can to provide the best support and services possible for current and former armed forces personnel and their families. “We need to know if what we are doing is working, whether there are areas to improve
and what more we can do.” The survey was also backed by Conservative councillor and Mayor of Mirfield Martyn Bolt, who said broad communication was the key to securing a detailed response. “Liaising with and looking after our veterans is key,” said Coun Bolt. “We have a very engaged veterans community in Mirfield. We have to understand how best we can serve our veterans and military personnel. “Veterans are not asking for a hand-out. They’re looking for a hand up.” Last year Coun Bolt initiated a move to guarantee military veterans an interview for any local authority job in Kirklees – as long as they meet essential criteria. There was cross-party backing for his motion to assist service personnel, which got unanimous support at a vote in Huddersfield Town Hall. The survey is being sent out on behalf of all five West Yorkshire Councils (Kirklees, Bradford, Leeds, Calderdale and Wakefield) who have signed the Armed Forces Covenant. It is available online but for anyone who does not have access to the internet, project officer Gemma Paine will be in the lending room at Huddersfield Library from 11am to 1pm on Wednesday February 12 and at Batley Library and Art Gallery from 11am to 1pm on Monday February 17. The survey can be accessed online at https://bit.ly/2GTwCXZ and needs to be completed by February 29.
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Friday February 7, 2020
Illegal gun taken from Batley teen A TEENAGER from Batley who was caught with an illegal air rifle used it to shoot rabbits, a court heard. Kirklees magistrates were told police received reports of a man firing a gun out of a car window in the Batley area on March 17, 2019. Officers located Levi Charlton, 18, on Field Lane and discovered the illegal weapon inside the boot of his Peugeot 107. The 18-year-old, of Laurel Drive, was not charged in relation to the reported shooting. He pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a firearm without a certificate. The .22 air rifle was not loaded when police located the weapon. Tests revealed it to have a range that required a firearms certificate, which Charlton did not have. The sound moderator attached to the weapon also required a certificate which was not held by the teenager. Paul Blanchard, mitigating, said Charlton had bought the gun second hand and told the court that the case shouldn’t be considered as “anything sinister.” “There’s no suggestion that this young man was involved in the earlier incident,” he said. “He’s charged with the fact that the weapon was in the vehicle when police came to speak to him.” Magistrates sentenced Charlton to a community order with 10 rehabilitation days, 100 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay £170 court costs. The air rifle and silencer will be forfeited and destroyed. OSSETT: A charity is appealing for urgent donations of unwanted toys, toiletries, gifts, bric-abrac, jewellery and empty bottles. The Samantha Sykes Foundation Trust, which supports looked-after children in Kirklees and its surrounding areas when they leave care, has a stall at Ossett Market selling various goods from craft and hand-knitted items to second-hand toys and light bottles. Donations can be dropped off at the stall on market days in Ossett Town Hall every Tuesday and Friday.
Care workers jailed after fire hero’s death By Staff Reporters TWO WORKERS at a Heckmondwike care home have been sentenced to seven months in prison for the wilful neglect of a vulnerable pensioner. David Hustler, 76, died after a fall at the Meadow Green residential facility on Dale Lane in October 2015. Mr Hustler, a Bradford City fire disaster hero, was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for rescuing two people from the Valley Parade fire in May 1985. Leeds Crown Court heard that Mr Hustler suffered the fall in his flat at 6.49am on October 19, 2015. The pensioner – who suffered from vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease – activated his pendant alarm to summon help, but was left lying “naked” and “distressed” for 14 hours. A motion-activated CCTV camera, installed by Mr Hustler’s family, recorded him calling for help, asking for water, moaning with pain and attempting to cover himself with a duvet. Kaniz Rashid, 52, and Margaret Shires, 65, found Mr Hustler during their evening visit. But instead of alerting senior staff about the fall or summoning medical help, the pair merely returned him to bed. Leeds Crown Court previously heard that Rashid, of Thornton Road, Bradford, and Shires, of Yew Tree Court in Liversedge, were coming to the end of a long shift and both agreed not to call an ambulance as it would
have taken up to four hours to arrive. The pair also failed to inform anyone that Mr Hustler had missed his morning visit and hadn’t taken his morning medication. He was found “clearly unwell” by another carer the next morning and rushed to hospital, where he died days later (October 28) after being diagnosed with pneumonia. Caroline May from the CPS said: “This was an absolutely tragic case involving the wilful neglect of a frail and vulnerable elderly gentleman. “Mr Hustler was left alone on the floor of his room for almost 14 hours; hungry, thirsty, and in pain. His desperate calls for help went unanswered. “When the care workers eventually arrived, they failed to follow the correct procedures, did not summon medical help, and subsequently falsified records and lied to protect themselves. “Our thoughts remain with Mr Hustler’s family.” A third defendant was acquitted of the same charge.
David Hustler
Pandor’s open letter to MPs receives short shrift By Tony Earnshaw Local Democracy Reporter
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CONSERVATIVE MPs have been urged to oppose a key Government policy and support deprived communities. Mark Eastwood, newly elected in Dewsbury, and Jason McCartney, re-elected in Colne Valley, each received an open letter from Kirklees Council’s Labour Leader Shabir Pandor. In it he says the council faces losing more than £6m in the Government’s Fair Funding Review, which will impact on social care provision – and calls for their “urgent support” to prevent it. The sharply-worded letter – also signed by Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary Andrew Gwynne – condemns the review as “just another Conservative plan to take hundreds of millions from deprived communities and funnel it towards leafy Tory shires.” It goes on to say that vital funding will be shifted to richer areas “at the expense of further hardship on our area” with the most vulnerable losing out. It adds: “You must know local people can’t afford to see services slashed even further, and you must know that these changes are wrong.” The letter ends with a warning: “This is a major test of your commitment to (your constituency) – local people will not forgive and not forget if you fail at the first hurdle.”
It received a robust response from Mr Eastwood (pictured above) and Mr McCartney, who both dismissed the letter as an exercise in political point-scoring based on “the speculative nature” of the figures, which were published by the Local Government Association. In a written response Mr Eastwood said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the tone of the letter and called on Coun Pandor to move forward “in a positive spirit of co-operation”. He wrote: “Every year the LGA does good work in pushing the government hard before the budget to get more funds for councils, and this year is no exception. “However the basis of your
claim is flawed. “The report contains numerous caveats such as, ‘This analysis only looks at one segment of one of the parts of the Fair Funding Review, so no conclusion can, or should, be drawn about the potential overall outcome of the review for any local authority’.” Fresh analysis of the LGA’s figures by Labour shows 37 of the 51 Tory seats gained in last year’s General Election are in areas set to lose out on almost £300m in social care funding. It claims the vast majority – around £250m – will be diverted to Shire counties as part of a new formula that “dramatically” downgrades the importance of deprivation in assessing need in favour of “per head” funding. The changes have been described as “unfair” and “the thin end of the wedge”. Coun Pandor went further, calling it “a funding stitchup”. He added: “Kirklees is due to lose millions. After 10 years of Tory rule, the social care crisis has got worse and worse and worse. “These changes will force further cuts, and further hardship – and once again the most vulnerable in society will lose out.”
Friday February 7, 2020
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News In Brief Thief was ‘coerced’ A THIEF who went on a stealing spree at a store in Birstall Retail Park told a court she was forced to do it by an accomplice. Gemma Rhodes attempted to take more than £400’s worth of clothes and cosmetics from TK Maxx on September 7, 2019. Kirklees Magistrates’ Court heard her male accomplice fled the scene when she was confronted by a security guard at the store. Matthew Robinson, prosecuting, said: “She (Rhodes) went to the aisle and an individual with the defendant placed the items into a holdall. “She was still the person who left the store with the bag passing all points of payment.” Sheffield-based Rhodes, who has four previous convictions, two of which are theft-related, was arrested and gave police a prepared statement. Sonia Kidd, mitigating, told the court: “Security officers are clear that a male was placing the items into a basket. There’s been coercion and it’s clear from the security guard that the male is the principal party.” Magistrates ordered a probation report before the 35-year-old’s sentencing can take place on February 13.
Banned driver caught A DEWSBURY man was caught behind the wheel just days before his driving ban was set to expire, a court heard. Alex Radu, of Westgate, Dewsbury, was stopped by police on Textile Street after they realised he was disqualified. Kirklees Magistrates’ Court heard his six month ban was due to end just six days later. Radu pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified and using a vehicle without insurance. Mohammed Hussain, mitigating, told the court that the 30-year-old had received “a right telling off from his partner” because of the incident. He was banned from driving for six months, fined £315 and will have to pay £116 costs.
Friday February 7, 2020
New plan launched to help ‘care for carers’ By Tony Earnshaw Local Democracy Reporter TENS of thousands of people in Kirklees are providing unpaid care worth a staggering £848 MILLION per year. And evidence points to some of them being children as young as five. Now Kirklees Council is poised to join a regional partnership aimed at supporting unpaid carers and tackling isolation, ill health and social deprivation. There are an estimated 260,000 unpaid carers in West Yorkshire and Harrogate – with 45,397 in Kirklees. An unpaid carer is anyone who cares for a friend or family member who, due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction, cannot cope without their support. Kirklees Council is now set to partner with other local authorities in a “caring for carers” project set up by West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership (WY&H). Its five-year plan outlines priorities for supporting more than a quarter of a million unpaid carers living across Kirklees and other areas. They include supporting GPs “to proactively identify and support” young carers and encouraging NHS trusts to adopt a “carers passport” – a digital record that identifies the carer in some way and sets out an offer of assistance. Health bosses in Kirklees are also drawing up a masterplan for the borough that assists
carers by enabling self-sufficiency and providing training and practical support to reduce the burden of caring. A report by the Kirklees Carers Strategy Group says there is “substantial evidence” that there are young people and children as young as five caring for parents with longterm health conditions, with up to 40 per cent reporting mental health conditions themselves. In its plan the WY&H points to a 2014 impact assessment by the Department of Health which estimated for every £1 spent supporting carers, councils would save £1.47 on replacement care costs. Its report says at least 61 per cent of carers are more likely to report having a long-term condition, disability or illness compared to 50 per cent of non-carers. It adds that many carers, including a number of children and young people, are “hidden”, providing care without formal support, which impacts on and severely limits life chances. It goes on to suggest that investing in support for carers “can contribute significantly”
to the sustainability of health and social care. “In particular that early intervention and targeted support for carers reduces carer breakdown and thereby limits the use by the cared-for person of in-patient services, social care and institutional care.” Kirklees Council released this statement, from its Adult Social Care Vision: “As our population grows older, so the number of us who are caring for a friend or relative will also increase. “We know that there are at least 60,000 people living in Kirklees who are involved in informal caring. We also know that our whole social care and support infrastructure depends on carers and their ability to carry on doing this invaluable job. “As a council we will continue to support carers, recognising the pressures they can face and appreciating that co-ordinated support from the council and its partners will help them to continue. “Having well-supported carers who are both willing and able to carry out this role is critical to the council’s vision for the future of social care.”
“The frustration could be overwhelming. There were days when I spent hours on the phone just screaming at people” JACQUI HARRISON, 54, cared for her late brother Mark for more than 30 years. As a youngster he was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease – a devastating neuro-degenerative condition that affects muscle co-ordination and movement, and causes mental decline and psychological problems. This is her story. “I was an unpaid family carer for Mark from 1984 to 2019. My mother died when I was six and my grandmother, who lived with us, died when I was 18. There was no father so as Mark was only 12 I went to court and became his legal guardian. “I dropped out of college to take a job in a tax office to pay the bills. They didn’t know that I was caring for Mark so I got no support from them. “There was a period where Mark could manage himself but he was never a well young man. He went to college and then to university. He was going to do a Masters but it all started falling apart. “The disease manifested itself at age 31. So he never had a job, never had a girlfriend, never lived independently. “Towards the beginning he could do things for himself. Towards the end I was doing absolutely everything: preparing all his food, which had to be liquidised, handling all his health appointments, looking after his personal care and managing vast and complicated medication. The list was huge. “The frustration could be overwhelming. There were
Jacqui Harrison, who acted as an unpaid carer for her brother Mark from 1984 until his death in 2019
days when I spent hours on the phone just screaming at people. I was demented. “It was 24 hours on with no time off. My partner Tony has been brilliant, but we haven’t been on holiday for more than 15 years. I was always anxious about leaving Mark. “The breakthrough was the internet. I found an online forum where I could talk to other people. One of them actually lived in Leeds. We met and talked. “From an emotional support perspective that made a huge difference. I realised that I was a hidden carer dealing with a secretive disease. And I wasn’t alone. “Towards the end Mark needed specialist care. It would have cost £2,900 a week. My carer’s allowance was about £60 a week. But it was out of the area anyway so I couldn’t get funding for
it. Plus Mark needed to be at home and I wanted to do it. We had a pact with each other. So I was providing 24hour service at home. “That meant I was saving the state £2,900 a week. But because I’ve been a carer for so long I haven’t had a job. I’m not earning so I’m not paying tax. I’m not contributing to society. “If my life had been ‘normal’ – whatever that means – I might have gone into teaching. “I’ve read the report. It’s good that someone is looking at the situation of unpaid carers and that it’s not going to be ignored. It’s certainly not before time. “People can do all this talking but it’s the practical stuff – such as washing three times a day. You can cry in winter because you can’t dry anything. Financial support is also really needed.”
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Over the next 12 months we will be following on from our series on life between the wars to take a look at wartime and post-war life in both the Heavy Woollen District and Britain at large, writes MIKE POPPLEWELL. We are entering an era that I can personally recall and, as always, comments and memories from readers are welcomed. This year’s theme is ‘2020 vision’, where we will look at historical events from today’s viewpoint and, as ‘the person with hindsight has 20-20 vision’, we will be taking an ‘if only we had known’ look at events...
Why our wartime football was very much a local affair HE SECOND World War was finally nearing a close by the spring of 1945, but one aspect of everyday life had been maintained in some form or another throughout the conflict, and that was the working man’s love of football.
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At the outbreak of war in September 1939 the Football League suspended its established programme but new regional competitions were established that helped maintain morale, keep players in employment and provided an outlet for those professional players on leave from the armed forces. The regional competitions obviously restricted travelling, a necessity at a time of fuel shortages, but with a very loose registration system players were allowed to turn out as guests for teams close to where they may be based. There was also an opportunity for talented young amateurs to fill in for the senior players who were unavailable, and one such
player was 16-year-old Wheelwright Grammar School boy Sid Brooke, who was invited to turn out for Huddersfield Town. Sid, who died last year at the age of 90, was the man largely responsible for the revival of the Wheelwright Old Boys’ annual dinner but he was also involved in sport all his life. He was a talented footballer in his youth but being part of a family business, in Thornhill Lees, his father refused to let him sign as a full-time professional. Despite that he was very proud to have appeared alongside legendary ‘Clown Prince of Soccer’ Len Shackleton. Len, who was a Bradford Park Avenue player during the war and later played for Newcastle, Sunderland and England, earned his universally-recognised soubriquet of ‘Clown Prince’ after the title of his autobiography – in which he notoriously headed a blank page ‘The Average Football Club Director’s Knowledge of Football’. A move which was met with much disap-
Thousands still flocked to watch a game π– often in uniform proval by the FA. Shackleton, a Bradford man, actually turned out for Bradford City and Bradford Park Avenue on the same day during the war, as well as occasional guest appearances for Town, but one local man who was unable to play regularly for anyone was RAF radio operator Vic Metcalfe. Vic, like Sid Brooke, was a Wheelwright Old Boy and having initially worked with Lord Shaw in their family accountancy business, while playing cricket for Thornhill CC and football for Ravensthorpe, he signed as a professional for Huddersfield Town at 18 years old in 1940. Although living all of his post-war life in Huddersfield, Vic remained closely involved in the affairs of the district and his wife even served as Lady Mayoress to batchelor Mayor of Kirklees Alfred Ramsden – a close friend from Thornhill CC days where Alf was an administrator. The 1945-46 football season saw a little more normality return to the structure of the national game with the return of the FA Cup competition, while 1946 brought the return of league football with Divisions One, Two and Division Three (South) and Three (North), and there were hopes for a return to full normality for the 1946-47 season. Back to normality? Not a chance! It all began smoothly enough, despite the continued shortages of food and fuel, but at the turn of the year everything went horribly pearshaped with what was described as the worst winter in 300 years, and
Wheelwright Grammar old boy Sid Brooke still thought by some to be the worst winter ever. Though not quite as cold as 1963, the 1946-47 winter is on record as the biggest ever snowfall. People all over the country were finding themselves snowed in, and for once it was the midlands and the south that were hit worse than the north. Despite the weather, that saw fixture postponements by the dozen between January and March, the FA Cup final went ahead on time on
April 27, but the season actually dragged on into July before all the fixtures were completed. Although the sport was disrupted there were more serious implications as the snow and frost caused more food shortages and the restricted movement on the road, rivers and rail meant that fuel and materials could not get out to where they were needed – with the transportation of coal, already rationed, causing huge problems everywhere.
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Ramblers’ corner FORTHCOMING walks with the North Kirklees Group of the Ramblers – non-members are always welcome. Please call the walk leader for more details.
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 12 THE 2 HEATONS Starts at 11am at Dewsbury Sports Centre car park (WF12 8EN, SE246216) 4.5 miles – moderate Contact: Jim 01924 469700 janderegan@hotmail.co.uk
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15 CLECKHEATON RAMBLE Starts at 10.30am at Cleckheaton Town Hall car park (BD19 3RH, SE191254) 7 miles – moderate No dogs please Contact: Noel 07780 328561
Dewsbury double bill Aladdin’s in Bobtown ROBERTTOWN Players are presenting their annual panto show during February halfterm. Aladdin will be performed at Roberttown Community Centre from Thursday February 20 to Saturday February 22. Tickets are available from Buckles Butchers and Gallery 172 in the centre of the village.
INTERIOR DESIGN L to R: Helen Fox, Nick Jackson, Stacey Fleming and Lucie Raine
DEWSBURY Arts Group is presenting its ‘double bill’ of plays this weekend. Curtains came up on their performances of ‘Interior Designs’ and ‘Party’ yesterday (Thursday) and will continue today and tomorrow. The plays take place one after the other at the David and Judith Wood Theatre, starting at 7.30pm. Interior Designs is directed by Maria
Bailey and observes human relationships and conflicting viewpoints, while Party – directed by Steve Goddard – is all about politics, but with a difference. Performed by a young cast, it introduces five incompetent 18-year-old would-be politicians who can’t agree on the name of their party. Tickets are £10, available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/dewsburyartsgroup or by calling 0333 6663366.
Razzle dazzle historical talk SPEN Valley Historical Society’s next meeting is on Wednesday February 12 when David Bland will give a talk titled ‘The Life Story of Edward Wadsworth – Razzle Dazzle Artist of Cleckheaton’. Meetings are held in the Catholic Church Parish Hall on Dewsbury Road, Cleckheaton, starting at 7.30pm, with refreshments served from 7.15pm. The cost is £2 per meeting for members, £4 for guests and membership is £10 per year. For more information email scooper@thecoopersonline. org.uk.
Accompanist search MIRFIELD Choral Society is seeking a piano accompanist. The role is a paid position, with remuneration according to experience. Rehearsals are held at Trinity Methodist Church, Huddersfield Road, Mirfield on Monday evenings from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. The successful applicant would be expected to accompany the choir for rehearsals and for the three concerts during the year – in spring, summer and December. The post is subject to a three-month trial period. If you are interested in applying please contact the secretary on 01924 494708 for further details or email mirfieldchoral@gmail.com.
PARTY L to R: Reece Woodhouse, Aimie Allen, Anya Firth and Daniel Lee
Famous fun fair’s got a new location... Advertising Feature THE FAMOUS Valentine’s Fun Fair is returning to Leeds next week – just in time for the half-term holidays. Opening from Friday February 14 to Sunday February 23, the spectacle will be moving across town to a new location at Woodhouse Moor, just off Woodhouse Lane. Organisers say that the fair will maintain its stature and size which has made it a popular event in the city for 28 years. Amongst the 70 attractions on offer include the Top Scan, Superbowl, Extreme – a 33 metre observation wheel – the New York, New York SuperBob, and the Mega Spin. For those who prefer more traditional fairground rides there is the ever-popular Carousel, Ghost Train and Fun Houses to enjoy. The fun gets underway on Friday February 14 with a Valentine’s special from 5pm to 9pm.
With the purchase of a wristband, enjoy all rides except the Vertigo, Devil Rock and Bungees for just £1. The fair will then open daily from 1pm to 9pm up to and including Sunday February 23. Mondays and Tuesdays are student nights and all rides will be ‘two for one’ with a valid student union card from 6pm to 9pm. All children’s rides – with the exception of roller coasters and bungee trampolines – will operate at just £1.50 at all times. On top of that, over 20 large attractions can be enjoyed for just £2 during the week until 6pm. Log on to www.valentines fair.co.uk to claim free fun fair vouchers and bring the price of top attractions down to a bargain-busting £1.50 each. Parking is free at the venue which is well served by First Leeds Bus Services. Entry costs £1 with OAPs and children under one metre free.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT...
Grumpy by name, delicious by nature Grumpy’s – 2 Old Combing, Paradise Street, Farsley, Leeds LS28 5UJ HAT’S your favourite food? Is it pizza? I got it right, didn’t I? No, I’m not a mind reader, it’s just that everyone loves pizza. There has never been a time when pizza hasn’t been an option. Unsurprisingly, I eat it a lot. And so, I’m always on the lookout for the next great pizza spot, and I think I may have found it on our doorstep. Grumpy’s, a wood-fired pizza bar in Farsley, is dishing up scratchmade pizzas and pouring local beers by the pint. Pizza and craft beer? Winning combination. Set up by two sisters, Grumpy’s has quickly become a firm Farsley favourite, and it’s not hard to see why. Upon entering Grumpy’s, located just off Town Street in Farsley, you instantly feel at home. The casual decor, playful fittings and the chatting of customers create a relaxed feel – you get the impression that this is a real family joint. The restaurant is dominated by a huge stone pizza oven, with mouthwatering pizzas flying out as fast as
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the chefs can make them. The menu is simple and unpretentious, but is packed full of choice. Starters range from baked camembert and creamy burrata to garlic breads and olives. We opted for the dough balls, giant knots of fresh, steaming bread with golden crusts, served with garlic mayonnaise and a wonderfully rich nut-free pesto. When it comes to mains, you’ve got one choice – pizza. Affectionately named after people, there really is a pizza for everyone. Keep it classic with the ‘Phil’, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil oil, fresh basil and oregano; the ‘Hilary’, with mozzarella, chorizo, sweet teardrop peppers and red onion, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, go for the ‘Tina’, with mozzarella, ricotta, spinach, mixed fresh chilli, garlic oil and a free range egg. Fussy? All the choices are fully customisable, or you can build your own. Grumpy’s also offers vegan cheese, meaning you can create your ideal pizza with no worries. I opted for the ‘Simon’, loaded with smoked mozzarella, wood fired chicken, chorizo and ‘nduja, a fiery and crumbly Italian sausage. The spice of the chorizo and the ‘nduja are balanced perfectly with
We were far too stuffed full of carb-y goodness to attempt dessert, but Grumpy’s offers a range of local favourites – Sweet Baby Cheezuscakes, outrageous and over-the-top cheesecakes from a bakery in Stanningley that can be found in cafes all over the district. And next time I visit Grumpy’s, they’ll be found in my belly. Price-wise, it’s very reasonable too, with all the pizzas coming in at under a tenner, backed up with a wellstocked and well-priced bar, meaning it’s the perfect place to stop in for a quick bite and drink. It’s quite rare to find a place that just does one thing, and does it really damn well. Grumpy’s is one, and we’re lucky to have it so close to home. the creamy-ness of the cheese and the tang of the sauce. My partner went for the ‘Mary’, topped with garlic oil, mushrooms and fresh thyme – a classic combination. The real star of the show at
Grumpy’s however, is the crust. Having a wood-fired oven, which often run at around 400°C, creates a wonderfully chewy and flavourful crust. Honestly, give me a pot of garlic butter and I could eat a whole plate of Grumpy’s pizza crust.
• I have my own food blog, called Dan’s Always Hungry, which is packed with my own recipes and even more ramblings about food. You can check it out over at dansalwayshungry.com, and follow me on Instagram at @Alwayshungrydan.
2020 EARLY SEASON BREAKS 24th February Weston-Super-Mare
Smith’s Hotel
5 Days £245
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The Cumbria Grand Hotel, G.O.S.
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Marketplace Turn your unwanted items
into cash £££s 1) Ring Angela on 01924 470296 (9.30am-4.30pm). Have your advert ready and you can pay by debit card (30p surcharge). 2) Call into the office at 31 Branch Road, Batley WF17 5SB and pay by cash, cheque or debit card (30p surcharge). 3) Post your advert and include your name and a contact number, along with cheque for payment. ADVERTS must be no longer than 50 words. (We cannot accept the following items: Motor vehicles, caravans, livestock. All listings will stay in Marketplace for a maximum of two months. If you wish to amend your listing, or cancel when sold, contact or call 01924 470296. NEW Kingsize two-drawer divan bed in excellent condition, clean and hardly used by one lady owner needing to downsize. Comfortable pocket sprung silk covered mattress. Cost £1,000, will accept £98. Buyer to collect. Tel 01924 724680/ 07743 586001. (2553) Ladies’ raincoat with detachable hood. Beige with navy trim. Size 14. Worn twice. £8, tel 01924 518904. (2554) Vivienne Westwood men’s trainers, black/grey. Size 10. Worn once. £10, tel 01924 518904. (2554) Howden joinery worktop template with pegs, in very good condition, £20. Tel 01924 441978. (2555) New wheelbarrow with pneumatic tyre. Unwanted gift. £30. Tel 01924 441978. (2556) DIY 7 x metal scaffold poles 250cm long (former garden pergola) £21 Tel 01924 465760. (2543) Clarke Torque wrench 3/8 drive. Unused, still in box. Retail £24, will accept £12. Tel 07563 968522. (2548) ELECTRICAL Beko fridge freezer. Good condition, £50. Tel 07533 209056. (2539) Six outdoor post lights, Georgian style, white (mains only), very good condition, £24. Tel 07943 114801. (2534) FURNITURE Dining table (170cm x 100cm) with six high back chairs. Medium colour in real wood. All in excellent condition (seat pads still have protective cellophane on them), £120 ono.
Tel 01132 523709/ 07716 186487. (2551) 2 x Canterbury office chairs, black, unassembled in box, £40 each. Tel 01924 469537. (2542) Two mirror-backed display cabinets in silver. One corner, one straight unit. As in current Argos catalogue, £60 each or £100 for both. Buyer to collect Tel 07746 245435. (2544) Two seater sofa, scroll arms style with chocolate and beige chenille fabric cushions. Eight months old (size 58 L x 35 D). Very good condition. £100 ono, buyer to collect. Tel 07508 580211. (2546) Two-seater sofa, a little dated but very seldom sat on. Very good condition. Colour light brown, £200 ono. Tel 07563 968522. (2549) Phoenix 3ft single adjustable electric bed base (no mattress). Good condition. Buyer to collect, £100. Tel 07740 717701. (2541) Three-seater leather settee. Good condition, £45. Tel 07533 2090. (2539) Two x three-seater settees with beige dralon velvet seat cushions. One sofa has 5 large orange/ gold scatter cushions. The other sofa has two beige back cushions plus four orange/gold scatter cushions. Plus brown leather-effect foot stool. £200 ono, buyer to collect. Tel 01924 430088. (2536) Attractive Italian leather 4-piece suite comprising of 3seater, 2-seater, chair and storage pouffe. Black with red trim (bought from DFS), £550. Buyer to collect. Tel 07876 411694. (2535) Dropleaf oval dining table with four chairs. Medium wood colour.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? ITEM bands
Cost per item
Up to £7: £8 - £25: £26 - £50 £51- £100 £101-£200 £201-£500 £501-£1450 £1,451 plus Buyer to collect. £100 ono. Tel 01924 401280 (Heckmondwike). (2533) Black glass TV stand with two shelves. Suitable for 43 TV. Good condition £20 Tel 07876 536335. (2529) GARDEN Electric garden shredder, £20. Tel 01924 524232. (2547) HOBBIES Small collection of unworked tapestries with wools plus other embroidery articles, from £5 each. Tel 0113 253 4632. (2532) HOUSEHOLD Clarke mobile gas heater, 1.5 -4.2 KW. Nearly new, £50. Can deliver locally. Tel 01132 537019. (2552) 3 x winter warm oil filled radiators 1600 watt £25 each. Tel 01924 469537. (2542) Ikea pendant light, 35cm, white and copper, £25. Tel 07746 245435. (2544) Copper and white light shade, £10. Tel 07746 245435. (2544) Focus HE slimline gas fire. Good condition. Serviced £100 Tel 01924 474062. (2528) KITCHEN/ DINING Kenwood Chef Gourmet shredder FP596. Never been used, £60. Tel 01924 490266. (2538)
£1 £2 £3 £4 £5 £7 £9 £11
MOBILITY Four-wheeled mobility rollator walker with seat. One year old, used once and in excellent condition. Bargain at £45. Tel 07821 194749. (2550) MOTORING Hood motorcycle jeans, unworn, waist 36 L29 . Complete with knee and hip armour. Navy blue. Retail £160, will accept £100. Tel 07563 968522. (2548) MUSICAL Goldring Lenco GL72 record player turntable. Amplifier, 2 speakers + microphone. Excellent working order, £225. Tel 07720 958377. (2549) Very nice Reynolds Bb tenor trombone In its original hard case showing Reynolds USA logo. The gold lacquer is about 90% full & nice inner legs of the slide. Ideal for a beginner to professional player, £145 ono. Tel 01924 477016 (cash only). (2531) OUTDOORS Harris Dry walking boots, size 8, colour brown. Guaranteed waterproof & washable. Hardly worn. Retail £70, will accept £35. Tel 07563 968522. (2548) SPORTING GOODS Cannon 57 two-piece snooker cue. Complete with original case. Hardly used, £40. Tel 07508 162369. (2540)
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Friday February 7, 2020
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Friday February 7, 2020
RUGBY UNION
BOWLS
Last-minute try sees Cleck suffer shock North One East
WEST HARTLEPOOL CLECKHEATON RUFC
20 19
CLECKHEATON suffered a setback in their challenge at the top of the table as a last-minute try condemned them to a shock defeat at struggling West Hartlepool. They were the favourites ahead of the trip to as they looked to extend a six-match winning streak against a side which had won only three games all season. Cleck led 19-12 with 12 minutes to go and should have held on for the win, but two home tries saw them leave with nothing but a bonus point. They made the journey to the North East without Niall Jackson and Tom Austin while Brad Marsden was unavailable. Damian Pearson, who re-signed from Bradford Salem, went into the second-row with Tom Lillycrop and Gus Milborne at flanker, and Chris Piper was in at prop alongside Ben Thrower and Andy Piper. West played with the wind in the first half and made a mess of the kick-off, the ball rolling into touch in goal and from the scrum on halfway, Cleckheaton applied some pressure early. Thrower made some strong runs
up the middle of the field along with his front-row partners and, in the opening 20 minutes, Cleckheaton were in the ascendancy without troubling the scoreboard. Lillycrop, Josh Plunkett and Milborne all carried well and the ball was getting out to the backs to make more ground. Ollie Depledge made some terrific outside breaks and Matt Piper took the ball forward with his usual style. The first score came on 35 minutes when Jack Seddon got on the end of Depledge’s pass to race some 30 metres to score in the corner, and Breakwell added the extras from the difficult angle. A minute before the break, Lillycrop was sin-binned and from the resultant penalty Zac Southern kicked a 25-metre goal to reduce the half-time difference to 7-3. Andy Piper was struggling with a rib injury and had to be replaced by Archie Rika-Rayne, while Joey Carley came on for Pearson. Whilst still down to 14 men, Mikey Hayward squeezed over the line for his 15th try of the season. But on 49 minutes, after a period of pressure near the Cleckheaton line, second-row James Borthwick crossed for a West Hartlepool try, converted by Southern, to reduce the arrears to 10-12. After the forwards had set the platform 10 minutes later, Hayward
Sport In Brief Slaz win at rivals HOCKEY: Slazenger ladies’ first team continued their good form in 2020 with a 6-3 win at local rivals Huddersfield Dragons. Sarah Cooper, Swindon and Hannah Field saw them go 3-1 up within 15 minutes, and Field added her second and Cooper got two more for a hat-trick in a good win. Slaz’s ladies’ second team were beaten 4-0 by Colne Valley while the thirds beat Huddersfield 2-1 thanks to Ellie McWilliams and Justine Birkett goals. The men’s first team lost out 5-2 to a strong Leeds Adel 2nd despite goals coming from Ben Stevenson and Will Gascoigne. The seconds earned a 5-3 win at home to Ben Rhydding 3rd with Asad Baig scoring a hat-trick and Keith Leonard netting twice, while Slaz thirds beat Boston Spa 2nd 3-1. The fourths defeated Wakefield 6th 2-1 thanks to Andy Birkett’s late goal, the fifths were thrashed 8-1 by Sheffield Uni Bankers 6th, and the sixths were seen off 3-1 by Huddersfield Dragons 5th.
Rampant Ossett win RUGBY UNION: Ossett enjoyed a 43-10 victory over Rotherham Phoenix last Saturday, with Leigh Learie and Ryan Fonquernie both scoring two tries. Further tries came from Shaun Abson, Jose Rotchell and James Wood, who also added four conversions. Ossett, who are eighth in the Yorkshire Third Division, will play away at Halifax Vandals tomorrow (Saturday). Meanwhile, the club have also announced that they will launch a girls’ under-13s team to start this September.
Golfers battle wind GOLF: The golfers defied the boisterous wind at Howley Hall to take part in Saturday’s individual stableford competition. Curtis Brannan won Division One with a score of 30, Sean Howarth was top of Division Two with 33, and a score of 31 saw Scott Hopkinson take Division Three.
Bly extends lead at Spen
WINNER: Chris Bly (left) edged the final
HARD GOING: Matt Piper gains ground in Cleck’s shock defeat popped up in midfield to score under the posts and Breakwell’s goal put them nine points ahead. On 68 minutes, Lillycrop was lucky to remain on the field after a no-arms tackle on Hilditch; the referee played advantage and replacement Alex Barker crossed for a try to make it 19-15. Cleckheaton should have scored a fourth try to make sure of the win four minutes later but the ball was knocked forward with the try line in sight. Instead, Wests never gave up and,
ATHLETICS
PHOTO: Gerald Christian
with time running out, flanker Adam Brown crossed for a fine try to give them the lead for the first time in the match. There was time for a restart and Cleckheaton appealed for a gamewinning penalty after a home player failed to release the ball and, despite the protests, the ball crossed the touchline to end the game. Cleckheaton need to regroup quickly after this setback as it doesn’t get any easier, with table-topping York visiting Moorend tomorrow (Saturday, kick off 2.15pm).
CHRIS BLY edged a superb final against Josh Mordue to win the latest round of the Spen winter sweep. The penultimate round before the final saw fair weather with top place still up for grabs, but in an unpredictable turn of events the players in second, third, fourth and sixth all lost their first game. That gave Bly the chance to build an assailable lead in the standings going into the final week, and he didn’t miss the opportunity. In the final, Bly started well to take an 8-5 lead but Mordue fought back and the game was finely balanced at 17-17. Bly got a couple of singles before Mordue jumped in with a brace for 19-19, but a missed strike then allowed Bly to finish the job and get his first win of the season.
RACING PREVIEW WITH MIKE SMITH
Parr sees off Native River odds-on at Newbury Abu-Rezeq to A retain 10K title FIVE-TIME winner Muhammad Abu-Rezeq lost his unbeaten record at the Dewsbury 10K to defending champion Chris Parr. The two runners burst clear of the field on the inward half but it was Parr who proved the stronger over the last kilometre. Parr (Morpeth) finished in 29:57, over a minute faster than last year, with Jordanian athlete Abu-Rezeq (Altrincham) second in 30:11. Spenborough athlete Joe Sagar took third place in 30:45. Victory in the women’s race went to Sharon Barlow (Harrogate) in 34:47, with last year’s winner Julie Briscoe (Wakefield) second in 35:03 and Alice Leake (Leeds City) third in 35:11. The men’s prize went to Leeds City and the women’s prize to Wakefield. A record field of over 2,000 runners competed in the race organised by Dewsbury Road Runners on the out and back course from Dewsbury to Birstall Smithies. The race featured pacer runners for particular target times provided by Northern Pacing Volunteers. Race director Heather Ellis, of Dewsbury Road Runners, said: “I would like to thank 12th Dewsbury Guides, the Disco Shop, 1st Heckmondwike Scouts, Dewsbury Sports Centre, West Yorkshire Police and Kirklees Highways. “My thanks also go to Dewsbury Rock Choir, My Handyman Ltd, Renew Sports Therapy, Spuddy Licious, TK Creative and Raynet radio network, without whose contributions the race simply would not happen.” The race was sponsored by Disken and Co solicitors, Ice Valley (Shepley Spring), Calder Screenprint and SMK Sports (Elland). The charity to benefit is Kirkwood Hospice.
HANDFUL of star performers lay down their Cheltenham claims this weekend including Gold Cup hope NATIVE RIVER, who lines up as a big odds-on favourite in the Grade Two Denman Chase at Newbury. First run in 2000, the 3m chase is always a hotly-contested encounter and over the years has provided plenty of clues ahead of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Four horses have won this race before going onto land the Festival’s headline race that same season – Kauto Star (2007), Denman (2008), Coneygree (2015) and NATIVE RIVER (2018). The contest was originally sponsored by the Aon Group, but in 2012 betting exchange Betfair took over the sponsorship mantle, and in the process also renamed the race the ‘Denman Chase’ in honour of the 2008 winner. Since 2000, leading National Hunt trainer Paul Nicholls has won the race nine times, while if you like your trends it’s worth noting that seven of the last 13 winners of the Denman Chase were aged seven – backed up again in 2019 with the Paul Nicholls-trained Clan Des Obeaux winning as a seven-year-old. ALTIOR has been the outstanding two miler of his generation and is one of the other top attractions at Newbury in the Game Spirit Chase, but you are not going to get rich backing either of these who look to have straightforward
tasks at the Berkshire track tomorrow (Saturday). The value might rest with a fresh DYNAMITE DOLLARS, who is the only one in the field with untapped potential. Glamorgan handler Evan Williams faces a quandary over ground preferences but is still hoping to run both his Betfair Hurdle contenders at Newbury. Williams saddles wellbacked ante-post favourite MACK THE MAN and another lightly-raced improver in QUOI DE NEUF. He intends to give both the chance to prove themselves but admits the complicating factor is likely ground conditions – currently described as good to soft, with a dry week forecast until a possible return of rain on raceday. But Valentine’s Day could come early for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies, who is chasing a fourth win in this valuable handicap hurdle. SIR VALENTINE never looked like catching favourite NOT SO SLEEPY at Ascot
last December but looks great each way value at 20/1 with Dewsbury’s leading bookmaker Carrigill’s. Drying conditions will suit Harry Whittington’s BIGMARTRE in the Warwick Castle Handicap Chase and he’s another one to consider for making the frame at odds of 20/1, but preference is for Philip Hobbs’s gelding GALA BALL. This consistent performer has gone up just 2lbs after getting the better of Le Rocher at Wincanton last month and will be no Cinderella come Saturday (tomorrow). Bingley trainer Sue Smith had a fruitful January and can build on that success at Uttoxeter tomorrow (Saturday) with course- and distancewinner INFORMATEUR and WHAT’S THE SCOOP, who finally got off the mark when dropped back in trip to 2m4f at Newcastle recently. ACCLAIM THE NATION went too hard from the get-go in a warm 5f handicap at Wolverhampton last time out and can make amends over the same trip tomorrow night (Saturday 7.30). CARRIGILL’S NAP: (money back as a free bet if it finishes outside top four. Write Augur on your slip to qualify): GALA BALL, Warwick, Saturday, 3.15. AUGUR’S BEST BET: ACCLAIM THE NATION (e/w), Wolverhampton, Saturday, 7.30.
ThePress
Friday February 7, 2020
25
FOOTBALL
Rimmington: Leaking late goals must stop NCEL Premier Division
YORKSHIRE AMATEUR LIVERSEDGE
1 1
Stephen Ibbetson at the Southerns Stadium LIVERSEDGE manager Jonathan Rimmington says his side must stop conceding late goals after a 94thminute equaliser saw them let two points slip at Yorkshire Amateur last weekend. They go into tomorrow’s (Saturday, kick-off 3pm) home match against AFC Mansfield outside of the promotion places on goal difference after failing last week to continue the sparkling recent form which has brought them into contention. Since the beginning of November, Sedge have lost eight points in the 88th minute or later, and after Joe Kenny’s first-half strike was cancelled out deep into stoppage time by ex-Liversedge man Roy Fogarty’s leveller for Yorkshire Amateur, Rimmington was left with a familiar feeling. “We’ve done it four times this year,” he said. “We’ve got to stop doing it. We’ve looked quite solid today. We’ve had one clean sheet (in the league all season) and today we looked like we were going
to get one. “Last week even winning 10-1 (against Handsworth), we didn’t get a clean sheet as they scored in the last five minutes. Whether it’s a mentality thing, I don’t know. “I thought it was over here, they never looked like they were going to score, and we just gave them the opportunity to break on us. We weren’t in a good shape, we were too far down the field, and it’s cost us two points.” Fogarty’s late sucker-punch against his old side gave Yorkshire Amateur a barely-deserved point from a game in which Liversedge had largely been able to snuff out any hint of a threat from their opponents. While not able to hit the heights of the swashbuckling five-match winning run which preceded the fixture, scoring 26 goals in the process, they still showed their class to outplay a fellow promotion contender. Paul Walker’s snapshot was tipped round the post by the goalkeeper and Kenny hit the side netting in the early stages, while Joe Walton had a goal ruled out for a foul on the defender. Walton toe-poked an effort wide from a Walker effort but, just moments later, Sedge scored a fine
breakaway goal as Walton carried the ball forward determinedly and found advancing midfielder Kenny in space to drill the ball into the net for a 32nd-minute lead. Bar one uncomposed effort from Adam Priestley when goalkeeper Josh Lill was caught out of position, the hosts were limited to ambitious strikes from distance in the first half as centre-backs Tom Jackson and Jack Steers marshalled things well. The only negative in the first 45 minutes was an enforced change as Walton went off with an ankle injury that could rule him out for the next couple of weeks. In his place came Jake Thompson with Oliver Fearon moving from the wing to the centre of their front three, and the reshuffle had an impact early in the second half as the Ammers enjoyed a brighter spell. Even then they could create little with the good possession they had and it was Sedge who looked more likely to score the next goal, with Thompson slashing the ball high and wide after brilliant work by Walker. Walker had a big chance to make it 2-0 when Lill’s goal-kick was flicked on by Fearon, but he could only get the slightest of touches on
FAMILIAR FEELING: Jonathan Rimmington’s side dropped points late again last week the ball with his poorly miscued shot. Their chances increased in the final 15 minutes but they could not kill the game off. Fearon stung the keeper’s hands with Jackson nodding wide from the resulting corner, and then Walker smacked the outside angle of post and bar after he was released down the left. Liversedge were given a clear warning in the 89th minute when Priestley was released down the right and squared the ball across
with Aiden Savory at the back post, yet somehow his effort only hit the side netting. That was the Ammers’ first real chance all game, but the lessons were not heeded. In the final minute of added time, Sedge committed themselves forward too much while playing keep-ball in the corner, allowing the hosts to break. This time Ashley Flynn played the ball across from the right and Fogarty was unmarked to smash into the net and snatch a draw.
edged Benn calls for consistency after limp cup exit Ladies out by Farsley West Riding County Cup
THACKLEY OSSETT UNITED
2 1
DISAPPOINTED: Wayne Benn
Stephen Ibbetson at Dennyfield WAYNE BENN was very disappointed to see his Ossett United side end their West Riding County Cup defence “with a whimper” as an unfortunate own goal saw them deservedly beaten at Thackley in the quarter-finals. United beat Halifax and Guiseley to win the competition last year in their first season but a very underwhelming performance on Tuesday night, against opposition a division below, saw any hope of retaining the trophy come to an end. Tyler Walker, one of four Academy players to step up to the bench in the absence of several cuptied first-team players, filled in at left-back following injuries during the game to James Knowles and Jack Stockdill, and his own goal settled a tie that Thackley fully deserved to win. Benn said: “The young lad has gone on and plugged a gap so I’ve no issues with him, it’s an unfortunate one. He won’t feel great about that
but I’ve tried to tell him not to worry. “We looked a little bit leggy and tired having to play the same players constantly. We’re missing several players that are cup-tied, but that’s no excuse. The team that took the field were good enough to get a result. “For me, only in the 15 minutes at the start of the second half have we played anything like where we should be. I’m very disappointed. I’m struggling to understand the nature of the performance, with a semi-final spot at stake. It’s a cup that we’re defending and we’ve lost with a whimper.” Thackley made the quicker start
and were looking the more dangerous, with wingers Albert Ibrahimi and Ray Sibanda particularly threatening when they got forward with the ball. However, it was Ossett who managed to find the breakthrough after 28 minutes. With the home side temporarily down to 10 men as Simon Poole was bandaged up, play was switched by Nick Guest to find Luke Porritt in space down the right and he lifted in a perfect cross for Brodie Litchfield to head in. Ibrahimi shot narrowly wide in added time as Thackley pushed for a response, although it was United who had the brighter start the other side of the break. Luke Wilson denied Tom Greaves early on, and he later made a fantastic save to keep out a header from skipper Knowles. With the help of a double substitution, Thackley managed to turn the tide back in their favour, levelling the scores after 61 minutes as Ibrahimi was allowed too much space in the area to head home Asa Mitchell’s cross. Greaves headed a Porritt cross wide but Ossett increasingly struggled to get forward. Forced into two changes at the back, their makeshift
defence was tested time and again by balls in behind. Brett Souter came out of goal to make one good save with his legs at the expense of an injury that he bravely played on with. There was nothing he could do to prevent the deciding goal though, as a ball came across goal and Walker misjudged his attempt to put it behind for a corner and instead found the net. Ossett return to league action tomorrow (Saturday, kick-off 3pm) away at Workington, who they travel to again three days later in the League Cup, and Benn expects a reaction from his 18th-placed side against a team challenging for promotion. “I’m sure we’ll get a much better performance on Saturday,” said the manager. “Whether that will be good enough against the best team in the league currently I don’t know, but the frustrating part is that on our day we’re a match for anybody. “We’ve got to get a level of consistency where we’re performing at a seven or eight out of 10 and once we’re doing that, individually and collectively, we’ll start to pick up points and move away from where we are in the league.”
Lucky late goal sees Marine sink Ossett in windswept match Northern Premier N/West Division
OSSETT UNITED MARINE
0 1
A FORTUITOUS late goal saw Marine claim all three points against Ossett United at Ingfield last weekend. With 14 minutes left to play on an extremely blustery afternoon, Mark Howarth’s left-footed free-kick from out wide was missed by captain James Knowles and evaded goalkeeper Brett Souter to go all the way into the net.
Having competed so well against one of the teams chasing promotion from the division, the result was a hard one for manager Wayne Benn to take. He said: “It feels like a real kick in the teeth (against) a team who are right up there, when you couldn’t tell who was where in the league. “I don’t think either keeper has had saves to make, it’s been a game of very few chances, spoilt obviously by the wind. The conditions were tough for both teams. “I just think it was a really good, honest performance from us, and I’m sick for the boys that yet again we’ve
come away with no points.” Ossett, who had Nathan Newall making his debut for the club at leftback on a one-month loan deal from Guiseley, had the wind in their backs in the first half but chances were few and far between. Marko Basic saw his effort and the follow-up blocked by last-ditch challenges as they looked to make a breakthrough, and goalkeeper Dan Atherton saved well from Luke Porritt. Marine came the closest to a goal straight after that save as Neil Kengei struck the post from a tight angle, but United went into the break disap-
pointed as Tom Greaves was given a fantastic opportunity to score with Basic’s cross but headed over. Atherton was called into action early in the second half, first to deny a Greaves header and then to just about keep out Nick Guest’s strike having initially spilled. The away side took advantage of the elements now blowing in their favour to keep play largely in the Ossett half. They hadn’t looked like scoring until luck was on their side with Howarth’s free-kick sneaking in, but once the game had taken that decisive turn there was no comeback.
LOAN SIGNING: Liv Whitehead with Ossett Ladies manager Dan Jarvis OSSETT UNITED Ladies were beaten 3-1 by Farsley Celtic in a closelyfought game in the North East Premier Division last weekend. They remain seventh in the nineteam division after yet another tight defeat at Ingfield which left manager Dan Jarvis frustrated. “It’s another tough one to take,” he said. “It’s the story of our season really: another close game where we’ve come on the wrong end of the result.” Farsley took the lead after only seven minutes when Rachael White split the Ossett defence and Helen Moreton slotted under the keeper. United looked for a response with Chelsea Schofield seeing a shot cleared off the line and Alayna Millard’s effort deflected wide before Jordane Allison played a great through-ball and Lauren Swailes dinked the ball in for the equaliser. New Ossett goalkeeper Hannah Richards pulled off two great saves while Millard’s effort was cleared off the line at the other end as the score stayed at 1-1 to half-time. Their other new signing, 16-year-old Liv Whitehead, almost had a debut goal to celebrate but the Sheffield United loanee’s effort went just over, and Allison was unlucky to see her shot go wide before Farsley surged ahead. Shirley Murphy regained their lead before Charlotte Adams calmly finished with 15 minutes left to secure the result.
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RUGBY LEAGUE
Bright winter for rebuilding Sharks Successive relegations have taken Shaw Cross from the top side in the district to the NCL’s bottom tier, but Andrew Tillotson believes that their young team’s progress in the winter gives new hope... HIS TIME two years ago, Shaw Cross Sharks were the Heavy Woollen district’s top open age amateur club. Relegation from NCL Division One had been narrowly avoided and there was optimism heading forward but, since then, two successive relegations have dragged them down to the bottom of the pyramid. A lack of young players progressing into the open age left the team badly exposed in the past two seasons, resulting in the Sharks winning only nine games. The one bright spot in last year’s relegation to Division Three was the emergence of a new crop of talented youngsters from the Under18s, and even Under-16s, gaining NCL experience and pointing towards a better future. Coaching changes have not helped, with Shaw Cross appointing a fourth new head coach in two and a half years in December. Experienced player Andrew Tillotson is now tasked with leading the team’s revival from the bottom tier along with previous boss, Mark Barlow, who continues to help out alongside his role as Batley Bulldogs assistant. Tillotson was handed the reins after impressing in charge of the club’s Pennine League team. Having not played in the winter league for a number of years, he says that it has proved extremely beneficial in keeping their promising young players at the club and attracting new ones. “Initially the idea was to play through the winter to give all the young lads a chance to play open age and step up to the NCL,” said Tillotson. “As the winter league has gone on, more of the older lads have come back in. “There are still a few lads to come
T
TAKING CHARGE: Andrew Tillotson will lead Shaw Cross alongside Mark Barlow this season back that haven’t played through the winter but essentially it’s worked playing through the winter because it’s kept a lot of the young lads together so we can build again. “We’ve attracted quite a few players. We attracted a few that came to play winter for us, who either played at Shaw Cross before or their mates are playing, and there are two or three that have decided to stay for the summer season. “We’ve got Rob Hepworth who used to play for Shaw Cross a number of years ago, he’s come back. He brought a lad called Austin Briggs
and those two have settled straight into the team. They’ve become two really key players for us.” Shaw Cross may have fallen from the top to the bottom of the district’s amateur sides but Tillotson is philosophical about this, and believes the young talent progressing through their junior sides now will turn things around. He said: “Everyone has their day, it goes in cycles. We’ve really struggled because we haven’t had any young players. “We’ve got another under-18s again this year and then I know for
a fact that there’s a huge under-16 group. There are two teams in the under-16 age group at Shaw Cross and we’ve already been chatting with them about bringing them in to train with the open age. “They might be playing open age rugby in the next year or two. It’s something that’s not happened for years, it’s why we’ve had such a shortage of players and a bit of a poor run.” The Sharks aren’t leaving anything to chance in future, doing a lot of work away from the field to attract new sponsors and getting
players and their families more involved at the club with events like a monthly night at a restaurant. With over 30 players turning up for each training session in recent weeks, the squad has a depth which it has not enjoyed for several years. In no league is this more important than Division Three, which has more teams, an earlier and later start to the season, and a greater geographical spread providing plenty of long away trips. “When we get into the middle of the season there’s quite a bit of travelling to do. It’s a big commitment,” said Tillotson. “Having more players is necessary really.” The campaign starts off closer to home though, with the annual preseason charity fixture at Dewsbury Celtic tomorrow (Saturday, kick-off 2pm) before the NCL kicks-off with a trip to Batley Boys on February 22 and Eastmoor Dragons visiting Shark Park the week after. “There are a couple of tasty local derbies,” he said. “We start off with Batley Boys and Eastmoor, so they’ll be a good test. Those are the first two games, back-to-back, so straight away it’s bragging rights in local derbies.” Coming up against a Dewsbury Celtic side who moved in the other direction last year with promotion to Division Two, Tillotson hopes that, once again, it is their winter campaign that will put them in good stead. “They’ve started training five or six times a week and they haven’t had a game yet because they’re determined to beat us,” he said of the opposition. “We’ve trained three times a week and been playing every Saturday as well, so I’m hoping we might have the match fitness.”
Trojans take inspiration from heroes of 20 years ago THORNHILL TROJANS will take inspiration from the heroes of 20 years ago when they aim for another Challenge Cup shock against Doncaster this weekend. Last Saturday the club held a reunion for the team which, on January 30, 2000, defeated Sheffield Eagles, who under a different guise had won the competition just two years earlier, 16-14 at the Don Valley Stadium in the third round, led by Johnny Harpin. Danny Ratcliffe played in the curtain raiser to that game, as Thornhill’s Under-13s defeated a Sheffield Schools side, and is now the head coach tasked with leading the club out at Dewsbury Rams’ Tetley’s Stadium tomorrow (Saturday) aiming to upset another semi-professional team in Doncaster. Ratcliffe says that he and some of the current first-team players were inspired at the reunion by the heroes of yesteryear and were given some useful advice on how they can create their own piece of Trojans history. He said: “Some of the lads who will be playing at the weekend were
in attendance, listening to what people were saying. Some of them came up to me and said that it was a great experience, to hear what they actually went through that day. “Everything about how they set about the whole day to what it meant to them, how close they were; it was a great experience to listen to and something to work with on Saturday. “Tactics-wise I spoke to Martin Fox and Ian Bates, who were the half-backs that day, and they said we need to make sure we complete, to try and bring them down to your level so it’s going at your pace. “The main thing was sticking together and believing in yourself, and just going out and enjoying yourself. These moments don’t come around very often.” Ratcliffe, who retired from playing and took on the head coach role at the end of last season, came up against Doncaster in his professional career for York and Hunslet and is aware of the talent that their current team will bring to Dewsbury. “They’ve got some very good players in Rangi Chase, Watson Boas, Graeme Horne (and) Ross
Peltier, so it’ll be good to go out there and hopefully give them a good test,” he said. “We’re just trying to treat it as another game. I know come Saturday the nerves will be there with people wanting to go out and impress, but I’m not dwelling too much on their team. “They’ve obviously got a very good half-back partnership. If we can put pressure on their playmakers and keep completing our sets, we should get a lot of success and we’ll see how it goes.” Thornhill beat NCL Premier Division side Thatto Heath 22-16 and thrashed Normanton 58-14 to reach the third round, and Ratcliffe has been most pleased with the team spirit they have shown. He said: “The lads know that I’m really proud of what they’re doing. It’s going to be a great experience for them, and not just for the players but for the club as well. “It should be a good all-round day for everyone involved, especially the fans. I know they’ll be there in good numbers pushing us along the whole game, and hopefully we can come away with that win and put
REUNION: Thornhill celebrated the side who upset Sheffield Eagles in the Challenge Cup 20 years ago ourselves in the bag for the fourth round.” The match will kick-off at the Tetley’s Stadium at 2pm with admission £10 for adults, £5 for conces-
sions and free for under-12s. The Thornhill Under-8s team are sponsoring the match and will lead the team onto the field along with the Under-7s.
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RUGBY LEAGUE
Batley show fight but fall short Betfred Championship
BATLEY BULLDOGS FEATHERSTONE ROVERS
18 38
Stephen Ibbetson at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium BATLEY BULLDOGS put in a determined opening-day performance but Featherstone Rovers, led by Dane Chisholm, pulled away in the second half to start the year with a hard-fought win. The sides were level at half-time with a score that reflected the Bulldogs’ strong efforts to match last season’s Grand Finalists, but the class in the Rovers team came through in the second half with Chisholm’s two tries, and 22 points in total, leading them to victory. Craig Lingard had reasons for satisfaction despite coming out on the losing side in his first competitive game as head coach at Batley. “I was really pleased with the effort of the boys today,” he said. “I’m disappointed to lose the game but there were a lot more positives than negatives to take out of it.” Featherstone blew an early chance to score the first points of the game when Craig Hall’s poor pass failed to find Greg Worthington when they had an overload, but the two did link-up for a 13th-minute try. Hall took an inside pass and somehow managed to offload for the centre to score despite the mass of bodies wrapping him up. Batley had done little wrong up to that point and their good work with
MATCH STATS DEWSBURY RAMS: Joe Martin Andy Gabriel Adam Ryder Matty Fleming Will Oakes Paul Sykes Liam Finn Connor Scott Dom Speakman Martyn Reilly Sonny Esslemont Liam Johnson Chris Annakin Subs: Sam Day Davey Dixon Luke Nelmes Jon Magrin Tries: Ryder (27). Goals: Sykes 3/3.
5 7 6 7 6 7 6 6 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7
LEIGH CENTURIONS: Gregg McNally 7 Cameron Scott 6 Iain Thornley 7 Junior Sa’u 6 Adam Higson 6 Ben Reynolds 8 Josh Woods 7 Nathan Mason 5 Liam Hood 7 Tom Spencer 6 Ben Hellewell 7 Nick Glohe 6 Danny Addy 7 Subs: Matty Wildie 7 Jordan Thompson 7 Alex Gerrard 6 Callum Field 6 Tries: Woods (19), Scott (25), Hellewell (53), Thornley (58), Reynolds (70), Higson (79). Goals: Reynolds 6/6. Referee: C. Worsley Half-time: 10-12 Penalties: 10-5 Man of the match: Ben Reynolds (Leigh) Attendance: 1,723
ball in-hand soon got them into good position to attack. Their first try came from Danny Yates’s chip to the corner, which was spilled by Luke Briscoe under pressure from Dale Morton to allow Lewis Galbraith to pounce. Four minutes later Alistair Leak, almost straight off the interchange bench, was in support of a piercing Anthony Bowman break created by James Brown, with Morton converting both tries for a 12-6 lead. It didn’t last until the break though as ill-discipline allowed Featherstone to attack with two players on dual-reg from Leeds combining. Callum McLelland sent a looping cut-out pass to Briscoe on the touchline and he did well to juggle before diving into the cor-
ner. Going down the hill in the second half Featherstone finally put Batley to the sword with Chisholm leading the way. The first was gutting for the home side as Yates’s pass was intercepted by the half-back, who raced the full length despite the best efforts of Morton. Rovers were gaining momentum and they were soon back on the attack, with Chisholm going at the line himself, dummying and gliding through to score again. Batley didn’t give up the fight and Lucas Walshaw managed to get over on the last play after the ball had been kept alive well, but they were set back when Chisholm kicked a penalty in front of the posts with 14 minutes to go
to make it a two-score game. Two more tries sealed the deal in the closing stages as Josh Hardcastle took in McLelland’s pass to score, before Chisholm weaved through and kicked ahead for James Harrison to get a try against his former side. Despite the final scoreline Featherstone had to battle hard to get the result and head coach James Webster, himself taking charge for the first time, was satisfied with his team’s display. “It’s a very tough place to come, especially in these conditions,” he said. “I thought Batley made us work hard for it, they were dogged and tenacious and made us work hard for every point we got, so I’m happy to get off to a winning start.”
Players hail new team spirit Continued from back page
BIG POSITIVE: Craig Lingard is enthused by the team spirit at the Bulldogs
trip. Batley will head to Cheshire this weekend facing the challenge of another of the division’s biggest spenders, but the way that the players battled for each other in last week’s game gives Lingard reason for optimism. “We may be underdogs, people can write us off but we know what we’ve got in that dressing room,” he said. “The players have got
plenty of confidence and they’re starting to work hard for each other now. “Taking that into next week, they’ll have to do exactly the same as they did (against Featherstone). “Certainly in the first 40 minutes I thought we matched them set-for-set, tackle-for-tackle, play-forplay, and to come in at half-time at 12-all I think was just rewards for their effort. “The main thing for me was the fact that the feeling from the guys after-
Leigh dispatch Rams Betfred Championship
DEWSBURY RAMS 10 LEIGH CENTURIONS 36 Stephen Ibbetson at the Tetley’s Stadium
LEIGH CENTURIONS turned up the heat when needed to see off a stiff challenge from Dewsbury Rams in the opening game of the new Championship season. In an indicator of the disparity between budgets and quality in the division again this year, Leigh required only a positive spell in the second half to blast their way through an otherwise dogged Rams side. There was no lack of effort from Dewsbury, who were desperately unlucky to go into half-time 12-10 behind, but the visitors’ defence kept them in the game and allowed some of their star players to give a glimpse of what they can do to score some classy second-half tries. Rams boss Lee Greenwood acknowledged that the final score was harsh on a positive performance from his charges. He said: “I’m disappointed with the scoreline. Whether it was a 36-10 game, I’m not sure. We were competitive for the majority of it. “The effort from the lads, I can’t knock at all. For 55 min-
utes it’s a good old battle. “I don’t feel we gave them a lot of opportunities to be honest, but they were that crisp and good with speed and goodquality players.” Dewsbury were on top in the early stages, with Paul Sykes kicking the first points of the season with a simple penalty and Leigh fortunate not to be further behind after a period of ill-discipline put them on the back foot. When they did get into good position Josh Woods crashed over from close range and Ben Reynolds added the first of six conversions out of six, but the home side kept focus and scored a quality try to go back in front. Liam Finn found Sykes and he sent a looping pass out to Andy Gabriel, with the winger managing to offload with perfect timing for Adam Ryder to go over. They continued to dominate territory but only had another Sykes penalty to show for it, allowing Leigh to edge in front at the break as a nice move finished with Reynolds and McNally finding Hull FC loanee Cameron Scott in the corner. The first 10 minutes of the second half saw Dewsbury attack again without reward, and the turning point of the match came with a Leigh penalty on halfway.
That seemed to inject new urgency into them, and Woods’s flat pass saw debutant Ben Hellewell get over on the last play. Five minutes later, a quick break down the left saw Gregg McNally link up with Iain Thornley and the centre sliced through the defence to suddenly take Leigh three scores in front. The hosts continued to battle but those efforts had visibly taken their toll when Liam Hood left two tiring defenders on the floor as he broke through, offloading for Danny Addy who found Reynolds for the try. With a minute to go the final gloss was added as Adam Higson intercepted a kick and raced the full length of the field. Winning head coach John Duffy said: “I thought it was a really, really tough game. I thought Dewsbury stuck to their game plan and edged it in the first half. “Our discipline was poor so we asked for a bit more discipline in the second half and we got that. “I thought when we did get good ball we were really classy, especially Ben Reynolds and Gregg (McNally) I thought were sensational. “It was a really tough, gritty performance. The second half was really professional.”
wards is that there was a real togetherness in the group. “That’s something that we’ve been working on for this season and something that you can’t buy. “They spoke in the dressing room afterwards and said that today’s team spirit and the way that they’ve worked for each other is the best that it’s been in a long time, so that’s a really big positive that we can hopefully take into the season from here.”
MATCH STATS BATLEY BULLDOGS: Luke Hooley Wayne Reittie Keenen Tomlinson Lewis Galbraith Dale Morton Ben White Danny Yates James Brown Shaun Lunt Toby Everett Dane Manning Lucas Walshaw Anthony Bowman Subs: Michael Ward Alistair Leak Jack Blagbrough Shaun Pick Tries: Galbraith (23), Leak (27), Walshaw (56). Goals: Morton 3/3.
7 6 7 6 6 6 7 7 7 6 7 6 7 6 7 6 6
FEATHERSTONE ROVERS: Craig Hall 6 Luke Briscoe 6 Greg Worthington 6 Josh Hardcastle 7 Ben Blackmore 6 Callum McLelland 8 Dane Chisholm 9 James Lockwood 8 Jack Bussey 7 Alec Susino 7 James Harrison 8 Brett Ferres 7 Jarrod O’Connor 6 Subs: Luke Cooper 6 Dean Parata 8 Wellington Albert 6 Conor Casey 6 Tries: Worthington (13), Briscoe (35), Chisholm (43, 50), Hardcastle (72), Harrison (74). Goals: Chisholm 7/7. Referee: T. Grant Half-time: 12-12 Penalties: 6-8 Man of the match: Dane Chisholm (Featherstone) Attendance: 1,795
Stags march on as Trojans edge derby
BIG HIT: It was a keenly contested derby between Shaw Cross and Thornhill on Dewsbury Rams’ 3G pitch PHOTO: Thornhill Trojans
MIRFIELD STAGS moved a step closer to sealing the Pennine League Division One title with a comprehensive 28-4 victory against Illingworth. The result, which took the Stags six points clear of secondplaced Upton, saw them exact a degree of revenge on their opponents following defeat in the League Cup last month. Wingers Lewis Holliday and Mikey Otty weighed in with three of the hosts’ six tries, with Holliday crossing for two and Otty adding one. Hooker Casey Canterbury continued his own excellent tryscoring form with his 17th of the campaign, while Ben Kendall and Dom Flanagan also added
four-pointers. Wayne Wilson added two conversions for Mirfield, who face a trip to Drighlington tomorrow (Saturday) in a repeat of December’s BARLA Yorkshire Cup final success. Hanging Heaton weren’t in action last week but return tomorrow at home to Upton. In Division Two, Thornhill Trojans put a dent in Shaw Cross Sharks’ title hopes with an 18-14 win away at their local rivals. Jordan Ward scored two tries and Harry Woollard got the other on debut to give Thornhill a win which moved them up to fourth in the table ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Seacroft Sharks.
Greenwood: Rams must be better at Lions
THORNHILL TROJANS held a reunion last Saturday night for the team which defeated Sheffield Eagles in the Challenge Cup back in 2000. (L-R: Andrew Field, Richard Sedgwick, Andrew Smith, Rob Simpson, Johnny Harpin (coach), Ian Bates, Jason Firth, Barry Drummond, Jimmy Gittins, Sean James, Martin Fox, Tony Allerton, Rob Hoyle, Chris Woodcock (hidden), Anthony Broadhead, Abe Phillips and Sean Senior.) The current team will look to cause their own cup shock in the third round this weekend when they take on League One side Doncaster (see p.26)
Three sign for ’Dogs as Walker departs By Stephen Ibbetson Sports Reporter sport@thepressnews.co.uk
THREE more players are set to commit to Batley Bulldogs for this season while another, Niall Walker, has departed the club. Sam Bowring and Dom Horn have secured deals following successful trials at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium over pre-season, and Tom Lillycrop was also set to confirm his return last night (Thursday). Nyle Flynn signed a contract the previous week and the three latest signatures add further options to their forward ranks, with Bowring and Horn providing cover at second-row and Lillycrop bringing his presence back into the front row. Bowring’s contract was signed earlier in the week while Horn and Lillycrop are ready to commit to their deals, with the latter expected to make his return later
this month from Cleckheaton RUFC. Head coach Craig Lingard said: “Speaking to Tom last night, he said in a couple of weeks he’ll be fit and ready to go for selection. “I think he’s got another two or three games to commit to there (at Cleckheaton); he wants to be there while they’re having a promotion push. “It works out well as he can train with us on Tuesday and Thursday and get some rugby league fitness, and still be playing on a Saturday for Cleckheaton and get some game time.” However, Batley have lost a player in their already lightlystocked back division, with speedy winger Niall Walker confirming his departure from the club as he relocates, leaving the club with only 10 backs. The Bulldogs started the season with a 38-18 defeat to Featherstone last week and head to Widnes Vikings on Sunday (February 7, kick-off 3pm) with
DEPARTURE: Flying winger Niall Walker, who scored four tries in seven appearances in an injury-hit first season at the Bulldogs in 2019, has left the club
more injury concerns. Johnny Campbell (hamstring) and Tyler Dickinson (back) are both ruled out again, and they could be joined by loose-forward James Brown who picked up a hand injury in their opening game. “He’s been off to hospital and had an x-ray but we’re not sure about damage,” said Lingard. “We think there might be a fracture but we’re not too sure.
That’s got to go and be re-assessed.” Prop Joe Taira was described as “touch and go” by the Bulldogs coach with an elbow injury suffered in last month’s pre-season fixture against Hull FC, while Shaun Lunt’s neck problem against Featherstone is not expected to be serious enough to see him ruled out of the Widnes
Continued on page 27
DEWSBURY RAMS put in a spirited performance in their opening game of the season against Leigh, but head coach Lee Greenwood says his side will need to be better this week to beat Swinton Lions. The Championship season kicked off last Friday with Dewsbury losing 36-10 to the Centurions, who have strong promotion ambitions. There were plenty of positives from the performance but Greenwood believes improvement is still needed to take the points from a more winnable game this Sunday (February 7, kick-off 3pm) away at Swinton, who finished in ninth place last season and beat Whitehaven in their opening game. “Swinton, no doubt about it, will be looking to get off to a very good start looking at their fixture list. They’ll be earmarking their first three as wins and that could shape them to have a massive season,” said the Rams boss. “It’ll be their first home game so they’ll be gunning for us. We’ll actually need to be better than we were (against Leigh) to win. There’s no way that just the same performance will get us a win next week. “Swinton are a good side who throw the ball about. It’s a decent-sized pitch as well and we’ll need to work hard in training and prepare right to have a chance of a result. They finished the season so well last year. They’ve lost a couple of players but not loads.” On where improvements can be made from the opening game, Greenwood added: “There’s never a good time to give a penalty away but Leigh were probably a bit cuter on when they gave theirs away, like right on the try line. We were giving ours away at key moments when they were getting a bit too quick for us. “I thought defensively round the middle we need to be a bit better, but this is a massive task against lads who have been full-time recently. It’s something we’ve just got to keep working at. “There’s stuff to fix up but what I’m confident in now is that we’ve got the lads now that will listen, they’re receptive and they look at their own performance. Without me even telling them they’ll know stuff probably needs to get a bit better to be good at this level.” Frazer Morris and Michael Knowles missed out on the line-up last week while Morgan Punchard, Tommy Brierley, James Thornton, Rhys Davies and Sam Moorhouse all played for dual-reg partners Hull KR’s reserve team, with Brierley scoring a hat-trick of tries. With only Jason Walton still unavailable, Greenwood says he is open to bringing fresh faces in for the trip to Heywood Road. “There are a couple of lads who missed out that maybe could come in and have a shot and see if they could do better than lads did (last week),” he said.
GAME TIME: (L-R) Tommy Brierley, Morgan Punchard, James Thornton and Sam Moorhouse featured for Hull KR’s reserves last weekend