ANIMAL lover Amy Harrison is on a mission to save three cats she fears will be killed in Greece – and is appealing for help from Star readers to bring them safely to South Yorkshire.

Amy moved from Sheffield Lane Top to the Greek island of Rhodes with her parents when she was aged 12.

But now the former pupil at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary, Sheffield Lane Top, is returning to the city of her birth – and desperately wants to bring back the animals with her.

While living in Greece Amy has rescued several animals including a horse, a donkey, two dogs and three cats. She has managed to find homes for the dogs, horse and donkey but has had no luck with the cats.

If she leaves them behind she says they will die.

Amy said: “Animal welfare in Greece is not enforced and I cannot leave them behind because they could very easily be shot, poisoned, hanged or even drowned, which is unfortunately an everyday occurrence.

“I need to bring them to the UK where they are more likely to get homes.”

Amy needs help with funds for passports, vaccines, microchips and travel costs.

She said: “The most economical route will be from Rhodes to Amsterdam, then on to the Hook of Holland by road and then by boat from there to Harwich. The estimated cost is 1,300 euros and I need help raising it.”

Once the cats are back in the UK Amy will look to find them new homes.

She said: “Garfield, a fat laid-back soul who loves to play, would be a great family pet. He is about five years old and was found as a small kitten crying all alone having lost his mum.

“Nelly is a very affectionate cat who will sit and lick you for hours.

“She is five years old and was found in the middle of the road when she was no bigger than your hand and was syringe-fed to keep her alive and well.

“Badger is six and was born outside my house from a stray but was taken away by her mother.

“When I found her again she had an eye disease from which she lost both her eyes and has been completely blind ever since.”

n Email Amy at missdudette_92@hotmail.com if you would like to help.

TIME is running out for people to give their views on plans to earmark green and open spaces around Sheffield for up to 500 new homes.

Sheffield Council’s consultation exercise into the proposals ends on Monday.

The authority says it needs to earmark 18 areas - which include playing fields and farmland - to help meet a target of 35,000 new homes by the year 2026, as there is not enough brown-field land for all the properties required.

One of the areas where the plans have caused the most controversy is Woodhouse where three sites are earmarked, among them farmland off Beighton Road where as many as 200 homes could be built.

Members of Shirebrook Conservation Group have already objected.

Woodhouse resident David Newbould, a craftsman who lives half-a-mile from the farmland, said: “These fields are council- owned and are let to a local farmer, for him to produce crops.

“Council planners now think it’s a good idea to schedule this land for 200-or-so new houses, because private developers do not see brown-field sites as profitable enough. The council should grow some teeth and insist on brownfield sites first.”

Other sites earmarked for development include land surrounding reservoirs being decommissioned in Crookes, former Sheffield Hallam University playing fields at Norton and a farm at Worrall. Coun Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Sheffield Council cabinet member for growth, said: “We are under pressure from the Government to identify enough land for future new homes.

“We also want to protect as much of Sheffield’s green space as we can. With the pressure on land there are some hard choices to make.

“This land is not going to be built on overnight, but it’s about having a plan of land supply for the future.

“If we do not identify enough land, developers could ask to build in places where we do not want them to - like in the green belt.

“We don’t want this to happen. We want to try to protect as much of Sheffield’s green space as we can.”

n View the plans online at https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/planning-and-city-development/planning-documents/sdf/consultation-on-the-sdf.html or at libraries.

To comment, email sdf@sheffield.gov.uk

A FINANCIAL services firm has been fined almost £100,000 after it invested more than £12 million of its customers’ cash in risky investments.

Topps Rogers Financial Management invested funds over a six-year period on behalf of 94 customers, who could now lose their money.

The Hope-based firm has been fined £97,600 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which investigated.

Martin Rigney, the company’s principal partner, was separately fined £117.300.

He has also been barred from carrying out any similar business transactions on the grounds he is not a fit and proper person.

Topps Rogers went bankrupt last November and the liquidators have decided not to pursue appeals against the verdicts on cost grounds.

One man involved in the case, who asked not to be named, said his relative had given money for investment to Topps Rogers - only to find the cash had been frozen and could no longer be accessed.

He said: “The money was invested in high-risk funds contrary to the wishes of the investors, some of whom handed over life savings.

“My relative has not got his cash back and, although we are happy with the penalty, there is a feeling it is nowhere near enough.”

In its ruling the FSA said Topps Rogers’ conduct had fallen below the standards of the regulatory system and breached customers’ trust by failing to ensure its investments were suitable.

A spokesman for Mr Rigney said he was of the view he had been fined twice by the FSA for the same matters.

The spokesman said: “Mr Rigney has been forced to accept the findings in both cases, but continues to appeal the fine against him and the firm, because they will cause hardship to him and his wife.”

He said clients who had lost out due to Mr Rigney’s advice were able to claim compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Residents, community groups, schools and local businesses are joining forces to celebrate environmentally-friendly projects and developments in the Dearne Valley.

The area’s second Eco Festival takes place on Friday, March 16, from 10am to 4pm, at the Kingswood campus - the site of the former Earth Centre, Denaby Main.

The event includes interactive workshops, debates and exhibitions.

Joanne Wehrle, Dearne Valley eco-vision project manager, said: “We hope people will come along to find out more about how they can get involved. Residents and groups can also take part to help shape the future of the Dearne Valley, putting forward suggestions for what communities can do to save energy and money and to address climate change.”

MORE than 3,000 South Yorkshire students will be getting a lesson in road safety thanks to a touring theatre company visiting their schools.

The theatre in education performances, by Quickfoot Live, will be aimed at Year 8 students and based on issues including risk taking, peer pressure and distraction.

The show concentrates on a character called Jen and her dream of competing in the Olympics and looks at the dangers she faces every day on her journey to and from school.

A post-production workshop will give audiences a chance to discuss the main points of the play.

Karen Vickers, of the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership, said “Key messages focus on the dangers of taking risks as a pedestrian and the importance of paying the road your full attention.”

IT’S back with a splash.

The World Water Bombing Championships, now in its eighth year, returns to Ponds Forge on Wednesday, May 2, at 6.30pm.

Bombers can get creative with fancy dress and team names.

Macmillan Cancer Support is looking for teams of four to bomb off the top diving boards

Team must pay a £20 registration fee and raise a minimum of £376 sponsorship - £376 could fund two Macmillan nurses for a whole day, giving vital help and support in Sheffield.

Spectators can watch for a suggested donation of £2 to Macmillan.

Contaminated water from Africa’s on-shore oilfields is being cleaned up thanks to an innovative Barnsley consultancy.

Barnsley Business and Innovation Centre-based Oceans ESU was initially called in by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company to carry out work at the Heglig oilfield in Sudan.

The company’s bioremediation system, comprising six reed beds, was so successful that a second project followed and now six more have been set up at other GNPOC oil fields in the region.

Now, with the help of business support organisation Enterprising Barnsley and business coach Mike Kilroy, Oceans ESU has high hopes of securing more contracts in the UK, Eastern Europe and other countries around the world and expects to increase profits by almost three quarters in the current year.

Managing director Lucian Gill said: “The scale of what we do and our emphasis on dealing with complex chemicals and reusable applications is unique in the world.

“We engineer reed beds to get the best possible treatment capability in the smallest area. The reeds regenerate every spring so it’s very low maintenance and, of course, the process doesn’t use any energy and the clean water itself can be reused.”

The reeds have extensive roots that provide an ideal habitat for natural soil bacteria which break down a wide range of common chemical pollutants and the beds can remove all traces of oil from 220,000 tonnes of water every day.

The cleaned water has been used to irrigate newly planted forests at Heglig, replacing those damaged in clashes before Southern Sudan gained its independence last year, and to create a wetland habitat for birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

Many of the creatures that are thriving have been under increasing threat from human development and more than 100 species of birds have been seen there, including the white-headed vulture, black crowned crane and other species that are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species.

Mohamed Musa, head of GNPOC’s environment section, said: “The management of the bioremediation systems has continued to produce results which far exceed the environmental standards of both Sudan and worldwide.

“We feel that the bioremediation is a success of which we are proud, and Oceans has contributed a great deal towards this success.”

Ten of Oceans ESU’s team of 25 employees are working exclusively in Sudan on GNPOC schemes and three other systems for petrol companies.

The company is designing reed bed systems for two oilfields in Columbia and has installed a smaller scheme in South Africa that treats run-off from a petrol station.

DO NOT miss out on grants to help keep your home warm, a Sheffield MP has urged.

Meg Munn, Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley, has released figures showing up to 42,000 of Sheffield’s 230,000 households are deemed ‘fuel poor’ - spending more than 10 per cent of income heating their homes.

But money is available through the Warm Front scheme to fund heating improvements for low-income families and the elderly.

n For details, call 0800 316 2805.

Sheffield has been ranked as one of the Top 10 Small European Cities in terms of its prospects for attracting inward investment and achieving economic development and business expansion.

The accolade comes from leading provider of foreign direct investment intelligence, fDi, in its latest research report, European Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/2013.

Sheffield is ranked sixth in terms of its strategy for attracting foreign direct investment and eighth in terms of its overall prospects - behind four cities from continental Europe and Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester from the UK.

The city is also ranked eighth overall among the Small Cities for its infrastructure, ahead of Leeds and Cardiff, but fails to get a ranking for being “business friendly” or for human resources.

“The best small city of the future is Bristol in the UK, scoring particularly well in the business friendliness category, due in part to its concentrated high-tech and knowledge-based sectors,” says the report.

Sheffield City Council leader Julie Dore said: “We are delighted to see Sheffield’s credentials as a leading location for business investment to be reflected in the fDi rankings.

“We continue to invest in the City’s future, and to create an environment to encourage and support business and economic growth.”

James Newman, chairman of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “There is no doubt at all of the huge economic potential of the Sheffield City Region.

“Although we are well aware of the City Region’s attributes and attractiveness for potential investors, it is excellent that this has been reflected in the fDi European Cities ranking.”

A TALKING bin is to be introduced on the streets of Chesterfield to encourage people to drop their litter in the right place.

The bins, which were brought to the streets of London by Keep Britain Tidy as part of the Love Where You Live campaign, have collected 50 per cent more rubbish than normal bins.

In Chesterfield, a bin will be installed on a trial basis outside the town centre’s library.

‘I just love rubbish’, ‘I love it when you feed me’ and a kiss are just some of the messages that will greet people using it.

A FOOTBALL league for young players with cerebral palsy is to be launched in Sheffield.

It is aimed at getting more young people with the condition involved in the game.

The charity CP Sport will run the league, which is aimed at mobile players aged 12 to 16.

Games will be played at Sheffield United Academy’s indoor training centre, Firshill Crescent, Shirecliffe from Sunday.

CP Sport will also run football development sessions on the same days as the league for players aged five to 11.

Youngsters who use walking sticks, canes, crutches and open-fronted walking frames are invited to attend the development sessions.

Andy Millington, a CP Sport volunteer, said: “The main barriers to cerebral palsy football are travel and getting enough players together at once to train at a single location.

“I want every young person who is ambulant and has cerebral palsy to come to this event.”

n For further information, call Dermot Dolan on 07974 655 539 or email him at dermot.dolan@cpsport.org

A SHEFFIELD man is warning smallholders to be on their guard after his chicken house was deliberately set on fire and destroyed, killing two of his birds.

Dad-of-two Tom Brown, aged 38, who has an allotment in High Storrs close to his home, said his family had been left distraught by the attack.

“A neighbour sounded the alarm as he saw the flames, and by the time I got there the shed was well alight,” he said.

“We called the fire brigade but they weren’t able to save the shed, it was completely burned to the ground.”

Tom managed to rescue three of the chickens, which are kept as family pets.

“What has upset us is that this was a deliberate act and the shed was very obviously a chicken house. My wife Amanda and our two boys are gutted - they can’t understand why someone would do something like that.

“The boys are seven and five and they both helped me build the shed in the first place after our other chickens were killed by a fox.”

Tom said the chickens had suffered two fox attacks.

“They were in a smaller run then, but in one of the attacks half the birds were killed. So we haven’t been very lucky. The two that were lost this time were young, just a few weeks old, while another one was adopted.

“But there’s just one chicken who has now survived all three attacks - she must be as hard as nails,” he said.

Police are investigating the attack and Tom said they found a footprint at the scene.

“Whoever did this had to get through a hawthorn hedge, so is likely to have scratches on their face or head, and someone may have seen someone in that condition,” he said.

“But smallholders should be on their guard, it could happen again.

“Kids are passing by the allotments all the time and it’s likely that one of them is to blame.”

Fifty digital designers and developers have descended on Barnsley’s Digital Media Centre to attend the town’s first Digital Barn.

It was the brainchild of Matthew Watson and Kimb Jones and attracted digital specialists from big names like Microsoft and BSkyB.

Matthew said: “We kept travelling to other towns and cities and thought we’d put on our own event and bring together the creative community.

“The Digital Media Centre was the perfect venue and we’re delighted with how the event went. The feedback was excellent and a lot of networking and collaborative working came out of the event. We hope to put on another Digital Barn later.”

Digital Media Centre manager Gareth Scargill said: “The DMC is a huge asset to this region and to the creative and digital industries sector and part of our mission is to host innovative events like Digital Barn.

“It also gives us the opportunity to showcase the centre and the town to people from all over the north of England.

“We’re seeing more and more creative and digital businesses choosing to base themselves in the DMC. Now we’re connected to the Digital Region super-fast broadband network, we’re the first choice for digital and creative businesses looking for affordable space and structured business support.”

Design experts from Sheffield Hallam University have helped an Derbyshire company to add some new sparkle to its innovative self-heating food cans.

The university’s in-house design consultancy, Design Futures, was called in by Derbyshire-based Heat Food & Drink to give a new look to its HOTCAN range of tinned meals.

John Kirkby, creative director of Design Futures, said: “The old design was quite busy and we wanted to make sure the main message was as prominent as possible. We also wanted to create a sense of character and tone for the range that would appeal to the target audience.”

Design Futures developed new product titling, a new strapline and a new logo, incorporating a ‘degree’ symbol before the ‘C’ in the word ‘Can’ to highlight the self-heating capability.

Heat Food & Drink’s managing director, Mark Taylor, said: “HOTCANs have been produced for over 30 years but in 2010 we took over the product, so it was certainly time to revisit the packaging.

“We were looking for a distinctive, timeless identity that would really stand out on the shelf and we knew instantly that Design Futures had hit the nail on the head when we saw the proposals.

“We’re really happy with the redesign – it gives the product a really new vibrant image. It’s been part of a complete revamp for the product, which has also included upgrading the heating mechanism, developing a new range of high quality food and we’ve even reduced prices to make the product more cost-effective for our customers.”

HOTCANs are made by securing a smaller can inside a larger one. Food is placed in the inner can and the space between the two cans is filled with granular limestone and a sachet of water.

Each HOTCAN comes with a spike that is inserted into the rim between the cans to pierce the sachet of water, allowing it to mix with the limestone, which causes a chemical reaction that generates heat and warms the food up to 70C in minutes.

An innovative initiative that combines networking with an invigorating walk through a Sheffield park is attracting members from the rest of South Yorkshire.

NetWalking Sheffield is the brainchild of marketing and PR consultant and trainer Faye Smith and is attracting business people ranging from “solo-preneurs,” who run their own one-man businesses, to bank managers.

“One of my clients asked to join me on my early morning walks as it was a great way to clear our heads, get fresh ideas while getting fresh air and exercise in a more informal, creative environment.

“It was so successful, we decided to invite our business contacts.

“Now we have over eighty in the Net-Walk network, with more booking on each month as word spreads,” says Faye.

The last Net-Walk attracted participants from Barnsley.

The next event takes place on Friday, February 24 and places on the free event can be booked by telephoning: 07985 038265 or e-mailing: faye@keepyourfork.co.uk.

keen birdwatchers are invited to take part in a two-hour guided walk around Stainborough Park, Barnsley.

The event, , on Sunday, February 26, will be led by Peter Clegg, the park’s learning and community education officer.

It will set off at 10.30am from the Long Barn Visitor Centre.

Tickets are £3 per person or £10 for a family.

n For details, visit www.wentworthcastle.org or call the office on 01226 776040.

A MAYOR has praised volunteers who raised more than £65,000 for charity in a business challenge.

Supporters of Chesterfield-based Fusion Group boosted more than 30 good causes through fundraising to mark the firm’s 40th anniversary.

Coun Peter Barr, Chesterfield Mayor, paid tribute in a celebration evening for the helpers who smashed a target of £40,000.

He said: “Chesterfield is full of many people who volunteer and do their bit - it is truly exceptional.”

St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield, Ashgate Hospice in Chesterfield, Chesterfield Canal Trust, the British Heart Foundation, and Macmillan Cancer Support were some of the charities that benefited.

Fusion Group’s anniversary challenge dared teams to raise £40,000 using a seed fund of £500 and their initiative.

NINE bowling green lawns are to be axed by Sheffield Council as part of moves to save a total of £1.2 million from the parks budget.

The greens are all at sites where there is more than one lawn for bowls, and will cut the council’s maintenance bill by £74,000 each year.

Greens to be closed are at Meersbrook, Whiteley Woods, Hillsborough, High Hazels, Norfolk Park, Graves Park, Crookes Valley Park, Hollinsend and Greenhill.

The council said all nine have ‘low membership or usage levels’ and that it had decided to close the sites after discussions with the Parks Bowls Association.

Affected clubs have the option of self-maintenance of the affected greens as an alternative to closure.

Thirteen greens were originally set to be axed but, as part of the new agreement, the association has agreed to a £10 increase, to £55, in players’ annual season ticket price, which has helped towards saving up to four lawns.

The Association and its clubs reluctantly backed the proposals at a special general meeting, and the changes will be implemented with immediate effect.

Coun Leigh Bramall, Sheffield Council cabinet member with responsibility for parks, said: “The council faces many difficult decisions in order to find the level of savings required - and the decisions affecting parks are among the most difficult. I want to thank the Bowls Association for their constructive approach to finding a solution to the required savings.”

Robert Jackson of the Parks Bowls Association added: “The proposals were a big blow.

“But, after frank and full discussions, we are relatively pleased with the outcome.”

Brinsworth Academy of Engineering is looking for new premises in response to increasing demand for its cutting edge training services.

The Rotherham-based company revealed it is considering two sites in the Sheffield region as it launched three new apprenticeships, focusing on instrumentation and control technology, electronics and welding and fabrication.

Managing director Mick Crossley said: “We are looking at two sites within the Sheffield city region and we want to have a training centre that reflects our ambitions of developing a modern academy that provides young people with the best environment to become highly skilled engineers.”

Mr Crossley said the company saw synergies with the new University Technical College and Advanced Manufacturing Institute planned for South Yorkshire, which he believes will earn the region national recognition for developing employees within the engineering sector.

Brinsworth Academy of Engineering’s new courses will be part of the New ERA programme which it developed with Rotherham-based Newburgh Engineering and Sheffield-based Air Accessories. New ERA apprenticeships are intended to provide training above and beyond current apprenticeship programmes and create a new breed of highly skilled young engineers who are ready to go straight into employment with sponsoring companies.

Sheffield’s City Council and Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to create a single source of support, designed to help local businesses to establish themselves and grow.

The Sheffield Enterprise Programme Gateway is targeting people who want to start a business or develop an existing one and has been set up in the wake of the Governement’s abolition of Business Link.

The Gateway will be manned by enterprise experts from the Chamber’s Sheffield Enterprise Agency operation and will link up with other support agencies and intermediaries to give businesses access to training workshops or one-to-one support from a business adviser.

Sheffield Enterprise Agency business support manager Paul Tinsley said: “We want to create more opportunities for businesses so Sheffield continues to develop a diverse economy with a strong base across sectors.

“Sheffield Enterprise Agency’s aim is to encourage business growth, as well as the number of business start-ups in the region, creating more employment opportunities and increase the city’s presence both nationally and internationally.”

The Sheffield Enterprise Programme Gateway is part of Sheffield City Council’s drive to ensure Sheffield is a ‘business-friendly city.’

Council cabinet member for business, jobs and growth, Helen Mirfin Boukouris, said: “Enterprise matters to the council.

“We are faced with one of the biggest economic challenges in our lifetime. Our approach for the next few years is to work with all sectors of the economy to get Sheffield back on its feet.

“We will work with both existing businesses and new start ups with the potential to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

“We know we have a challenge ahead of us, but we are committed to doing all we can to support business, grow our economy and see our city flourish.”

The Sheffield Enterprise Programme Gateway can be contacted by calling 0800 0435522 or emailing gateway@senta.co.uk.

First TransPennine Express has been named the Train Operator of the Year at the Rail Business Awards.

The rail company, which operates services across the north of England and into Scotland began its franchise in 2004 and had it extend until 2015 last year. It carries around 25 million passengers a year.

Managing director Nick Donovan said: “We are all really delighted to be named the best train operator in the country. It is a fantastic achievement and one that has been brought about by focusing on our customers’ needs.

“Winning this award shows that we are delivering the things that matter, including customer service, performance and safety.”

A BANNED drink-driver raced after another car at ‘grossly excessive’ speeds of up to 70mph in a road rage chase around a Sheffield suburb, a court heard.

Kyle Maher, aged 23, and his passenger were in a works Vauxhall van, when they chased Robert Smith’s Ford Focus along Halifax Road and Penistone Road, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

One driver who saw the van hurtling towards him straddling the centre white lines told police: “I honestly thought I was going to die in a head-on collision.”

Louise Gallagher, prosecuting, said Mr Smith was in his father’s Focus in the Burger King car park on Leppings Lane with a friend at 10.20pm when two men in a van started shouting at them.

She said Mr Smith drove off and the men swore at him so he told them to ‘shut up’ out of his window.

He heard the screeching of tyres and Maher began to chase him in the van.

Mr Smith said the van followed him down Herries Road South so he accelerated because he was scared.

Miss Gallagher said when he turned onto Halifax Road he was rammed from behind by the van.

The court heard Mr Smith accelerated up 70mph.

“He was really scared and wanted to get away,” said Miss Gallagher.

He weaved in and out of the lanes and when the van drove alongside he braked, forcing it to swerve.

Maher mometarily spun out of control but righted the van and as the Focus reached 80mph on Penistone Road, the van flew past and swerved across its path.

Maher then rammed the car side on, snapping off a wing mirror.

The chase came to an end when the van fishtailed ahead of the Focus and flipped over onto its side.

Maher and his pal ran off but were arrested in a nearby wood.

Maher told police his friend was the driver but later admitted he was behind the wheel. He was just over the drink-drive limit.

The court heard Maher, of Thornbridge Gardens, Chapeltown, had an ‘appalling’ record for driving offences.

He admitted dangerous driving, drink-driving, driving while disqualified, failing to stop after an accident and having no insurance.

The next day a neighbour reported him to police for driving a short distance on his own street while banned and having no insurance.

Ian Goldsack, defending Maher, said he was a young man and there was a “degree of naivety and immaturity about the way he conducts himself.”

Mr Goldsack said: “Luckily there were no injuries and only slight damage to the vehicles.”

Recorder Mark Bury said Maher drove at ‘grossly excessive speeds’ and he had shown a ‘cavalier’ attitude towards driving laws.

Jailing him for 19 months and banning him from driving for three years Judge Bury said: “You had no business being behind the wheel of a vehicle.”

]]> 1.4271119 Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:39:42 +0000 http://www.thestar.co.uk/100mph_train_hits_bike_on_track_1_4271113

A SHEFFIELD-BOUND train travelling at about 100mph hit a bike thrown on to the tracks in a ‘mindless act of vandalism’.

British Transport Police are now investigating after witnesses told officers a youth, aged about 15 or 16, threw the red and silver mountain bike on to the tracks before fleeing moments before the CrossCountry Trains express service struck it.

Sgt Cliff Parker, of BTP, said: “This was a mindless act of vandalism which could have caused injuries or worse. Thankfully, on this occasion the train remained upright, on the tracks and no one was injured.

“Although this may seem like fun to those who commit such offences, what they don’t realise are the potentially serious consequences of their extremely-foolish behaviour.”

The incident at Yate station, Gloucestershire, on Sunday, involved the 5.24pm Exeter to Leeds service, which was due to call at Chesterfield and Sheffield shortly after 9pm.

Richard Gibson, CrossCountry Trains spokesman, said: “We’re disappointed mindless acts of vandalism can occur and we will continue to work with BTP to ensure the safety of our customers.”

Sgt Parker said: “The train that struck the bike suffered damage to its air pipes which caused delays to passengers as a result.

“A number of other services had to be diverted, causing further delays and inconvenience to passengers.”

Images have been released of men police want to trace over a jewellery scam.

Officers want to speak to them after a man had a chain stolen after being approached by strangers offering to sell him jewellery.

The victim said three men offered to sell him a chain and some rings outside The Portland Hotel, Chesterfield, on Saturday, February 4, at about 4pm. and put the chain around his neck.

When the 48-year-old refused to buy the items he thought the men removed their chain - but later found they had taken his and left a fake in its place.

The conmen were all aged between 20 and 30, of Eastern European appearance and dressed in black.

n Officers are also looking for a thief who approached a 70-year-old woman outside the same venue and grabbed the necklaces she was wearing.

She was approached by the thief on Friday, at about 10.25pm. He put his arm around her, before grabbing her jewellery and fleeing.

The thief was in his late twenties, about 5ft 9in, of medium build and Mediterranean appearance with dark hair and stubble. He was wearing a pink top and blue trousers.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101.

JURORS in the case of an autistic man accused of raping a 16-year-old schoolgirl have been discharged after they failed to reach a verdict.

Kevin Wood, aged 34, of Ward Street, Penistone, was accused of attacking the teenager as she walked her dog on fields in Hoylandswaine, Barnsley, in May 2010.

But after nine hours of deliberations following a trial, the jury at Sheffield Crown Court told a judge they would not be able to reach a majority verdict and the case was adjourned.

A retrial will take place in September.

WELL, it made a change from the Lord Mayor...

A bomb disposal robot was the VIP with a difference to unveil a new beginning for the St Dunstan’s rehabilitation and training centre for blind ex-servicemen and women in Sheffield.

The charity, which has its city base on Fulwood Road, Broomhill, now has a change of name.

From now on it will be known as Blind Veterans UK - a name organisers hope will help to spread the message about the vital services the charity provides.

Centre of attention was a bomb disposal robot visiting Sheffield from the Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire.

The robot, also known as the wheelbarrow, was operated by members of the 521 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron.

Captain Peter Graham, who helped the robot to draw back the blue velvet curtain and reveal the new sign, said: “Blind Veterans UK is a charity held in high regard by our squadron, as two of our soldiers were caught in IED blasts in Afghanistan.

“One lost his right eye and the other suffered reduced eyesight to his right eye. Blind Veterans UK will assist them, and other serving and ex members of the forces, for the rest of their lives if they require it.”

Although Sheffield’s is the smallest of the charity’s three centres - the others are in Brighton and Llandudno - it helps hundreds of ex-servicemen and women each year to improve their IT, communications, mobility and independent living skills.

Andrew Jones, Blind Veterans UK’s director of fundraising, said: “Being the only charity in the UK for blind veterans, the new brand reflects much better what we do.

“It puts us in a better position to achieve our vision that no one who has served our country should have to battle blindness alone.

“The name Blind Veterans UK will allow us to raise awareness among the public about the life-changing services we provide to blind and vision impaired veterans.”

Blind Veterans UK was founded in 1915 as St Dunstan’s. Anybody who is blind or has severely impaired vision and has served in the Armed Forces is eligible for its specialist support - even if they served many years ago.

The charity believes there are over 50,000 people who could still benefit from its support.

Sheffield housing supremo Coun Harry Harpham has pledged to ‘involve as many tenants as possible’ in a consultation about how council estates should be managed in the future.

Now the ballot has been completed, the next step involves Sheffield Council formally rubber-stamping the result at a meeting of its cabinet in March.

Ruling councillors could have made a decision without consulting tenants, as happened when Rotherham Council took the service back in-house from arms-length organisation 2010 Rotherham last year.

But Coun Harpham, cabinet member for housing, said: “We have always said the most important voice to us is what the tenants say to us.”

“I have my own ideas, but the most important views on future management of estates will come from tenants.

“Over the coming months, we want them to help us develop the kind of service they want.”

Day-to-day services on the estates will be unchanged by the ballot result and Sheffield Homes itself has a contract to continue its role until the end of March 2014 - so tenants will notice no immediate difference.

By the time Sheffield Homes is wound up, Decent Homes modernisation work on all properties will finally have been completed - four years late - but significant challenges remain.

Coun Harpham said: “There is a backlog of maintenance including electrical work and boilers which are becoming obsolete and need replacing.

“The way housing is funded is being changed, with Sheffield able to keep all its rents and the £700 million cost of the Decent Homes programme has been written off by the Government.

“However, there is a debt of £200 million from the old funding arrangements, which will have to be covered, and the challenge of finding funding for future modernisation.”

Another housing-related issue on the horizon is the future of Sheffield Council’s housing ‘construction and building services’ contract with private firm Kier, also due up for renewal in 2014.

Coun Harpham said: “We are considering all options, including re-tendering or taking it back in-house.”

COUNCIL tenants today welcomed the news their homes will be managed by Sheffield Council again - as long as their rent doesn’t go up and they are still given the option to buy their properties.

Residents living on the Parson Cross estate told The Star they didn’t have strong feelings about who managed the city’s council stock, but thought there would probably be more accountability if management of council properties is taken back in-house.

Natalie Clitheroe, aged 27, of Wheata Road, said: “I’ve lived in this house six years and I am happy with how things have been but it sounds like it’s quite a good idea for the council to manage the houses.

“I don’t understand why they would pay somebody else to do their job. It’s good if it saves money.”

Natalie, who lives with her daughter Norrel, aged four, and son Malique, nine, said: “I had some work done under the Decent Homes scheme - a new kitchen, windows and bathroom and the standard wasn’t bad.

“I’ve done some work on the house myself, so as long as they don’t take away the Right to Buy scheme then I’m happy the council is taking over.”

She added: “The rent is reasonable, it’s cheaper than renting privately, so as long as it doesn’t go up it’s okay.”

Lynette Hegarty, a 38-year-old mum-of-four, from Lytton Drive, said: “I bought my house under the Right to Buy scheme so I’m not a council tenant but my mother is.

“She is disabled and lives in a council bungalow and it’s a nightmare trying to get anything done.

“I think it’s a good idea that the council is responsible for managing the houses.

“It makes them more accountable if people want to get things done and tenants can contact their local councillors.”

Lynette, whose children are aged 13, nine, six and three, added: “I don’t think most people will care who manages their homes as long as the rent doesn’t go up.”

Andrew Clarke, 54, of Knutton Rise, agreed: “I’m not bothered as long as the rent doesn’t go up.”

And Abbey Bennett, of Wheata Road, said: “I’m not that fussed who manages the properties.”

But the mum-of-two, who lives at the property with her partner and children aged five and two, added: “I’ve lived here for four years and have had Decent Homes work done - they made a right mess and didn’t clear it up.

“I’m not sure if the council would do a better job.”

Green Party leader on Sheffield Council, Coun Jiillian Creasy, said: “This is a good turnout and a clear vote in favour of bringing council housing back under direct council control. We hope that any savings will be for the core activities of keeping homes and estates in good repair and supporting tenants and residents and that frontline jobs are protected.”

THE vote on the future of Sheffield’s council housing has caused controversy - with claims tenants were not given full information or the chance to choose between all options.

Before losing power last May, Liberal Democrats had been planning to hold an ‘open’ ballot, asking residents to vote on all options, including transfer of estates to housing associations, as happened in 2003.

During that vote, some estates, including Norfolk Park, Shiregreen, Wybourn and Wisewood, voted for permanent transfer out of Sheffield Council’s control.

The remainder chose to move to Sheffield Homes, which would manage estates ,although ownership would stay with the council.

When Labour took over in May, it decided against asking tenants about transfer to housing associations and hold the ballot on just two options.

Coun Julie Dore, council leader, said she did not want more social housing removed from council control, because she fears the Government could allow profit-making private firms to take over estates - no such plans exist at present and housing associations are run as charities.

Ahead of the tenants’ ballot, further controversy was caused because, while the council was allowed to make its case for why management should revert to its control, Sheffield Homes was not allowed to defend its record.

Entrepreneur Imran Zahir has launched a new South Yorkshire day care centre for the elderly in a former Rotherham pub, creating five jobs in the process.

Mr Zahir, who has residential homes and children’s nurseries in Rotherham and Leeds, used funding from Barclays Corporate to buy and convert the former Toll Bar public house in Maltby into the Melton Court Day Care Centre.

He said: “With an ageing population, services for the elderly and their carers have never been so important.

“I hope the new day care centre will provide respite for the elderly in the local community in Maltby.

“It’s also great that we’ve managed to renovate a previously unused property which will help regenerate the area.”

The funding package was put together by Barclays corporate relationship director Russell Briggs, who said: “It really is a pleasure to see a local healthcare company go from strength to strength and buck the current market trend.

“Barclays Corporate remains committed to the Yorkshire business market and this deal highlights our appetite to support quality customers in a tough market.”

Imran Zahir’s ventures include Care Maltby, Care Headingly and Tot Spot Early Years.

CBRE’s industrial agency team has disposed of three units on the Hellaby Industrial Estate in Rotherham on behalf of Suon Industrials.

The property consultancy has sold a 10,000 sq ft unit to Rotherham-based security equipment manufacturer Pyronix and a 6,000 sq ft unit to Industrial Battery Charger Services, the forklift truck battery specialist.

CBRE has also let a 12,000 sq ft unit to Clarence Merwe Systems of Worksop.

Roger Haworth, senior director of industrial agency at CBRE in Sheffield, said; “This development has proved hugely successful to date with the three new occupiers joining a number of well-known companies including Stanley Tools, Cert Logistics and Dexel Tyres to name but a few.

“Interest in the units was high when the properties came to the market and the deals represent an excellent result for all parties.”

A 6,000 sq ft detached unit is now available for sale or to lease.

Students from Sheffield University’s Town and Regional Planning Department have come up with a series of proposals to breathe new life into Attercliffe. Their plans, which are designed to fit in with Sheffield City Council’s new Action Plan for Attercliffe, will go on show at an exhibition in Sheffield’s Winter Garden tomorrow which has been arranged by Sheffield City Council, the University, The Attercliffe Business Connection and Attercliffe Asian Business Connection.

Proposals include enhanced public realm along Attercliffe Road, bringing vacant properties back into use, improving green spaces, and addressing the high levels of heavy goods traffic which currently use Attercliffe as a through route.

Pop sensation group win Best British Single.

Now local pop sensation Louis Tomlinson is off to make it big in America after winning the Best British Single last night at the Brit awards with song What Makes You Beautiful.

Doncaster’s Louis Tomlinson exhaled in disbelief as the winner was announced, then told the screaming crowd: “We cannot believe that we are stood here on this stage.

“I wanna start off by saying this award is for the fans - we would be absolutely nowhere without them so thank you so much.”

But South Yorkshire One Direction fans shouldn’t worry about missing them for too long in America - they’re coming back for their first arena tour, including a date at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

Tickets are expected to sell out almost instantly for the 11-date tour when they go on sale on Saturday, at 9am.

Hundreds of screaming fans queued for up to 23-hours for tickets for last month’s Sheffield City Hall concert.

Now Arena bosses are preparing for more One Direction-mania as fans throw the biggest homecoming party for Louis since the X Factor.

The former Hall Cross School sixth former, from Bessacarr, Doncaster, is first jetting off with his band to play a tour of the US after attending last night’s Brit Awards.

Currently number seven in the American downloads chart, they recently filmed a cameo appearance for top Nickelodeon show iCarly, as well as appearing on the cover of the likes of M Magazine. Over 100,000 fans in America have already signed up to the band’s US Facebook page in a bid to bring 1D to their home state – Dallas showed the most love for the band to emerge triumphant.

They have already had number one hits in Italy, Japan, Sweden, Hong Kong and the Phillipines.

Louis’s proud mum Johannah is planning to join her son for part of the tour - for what will be her first ever visit to America. She says 1D will share the headline spot with boy band Big Time Rush.

She said: “They are really keen to do well in America because it has been so difficult for other groups to crack it there. They see it as a challenge.

“But they are very clear that their main fan base is here in Britain and they are not forgetting that.

“I’m going to see them when they’re playing in Los Angeles, and I’ll be celebrating my birthday over there. I’ll also be going to an awards ceremony with them.”

Best pal Stan Lucas is also heading out to see him, while girlfriend Eleanor Calder will meet with him in New York.

n For more tour and ticket details visit www.onedirectionmusic.com

FORMER miners’ leader Arthur Scargill said ‘justice has been done’ after he won more than £13,000 in damages from a trust fund of his own union.

The 74-year-old spoke outside court yesterday after a judge found there had been a ‘clear agenda to both disown him and to pay him as little as possible’ by the Yorkshire Area Trust Fund of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

It was found the former NUM honorary president’s employment contract was legal and enforceable and he was entitled to a £12,000 car allowance.

He had been offered just £50 towards a vehicle in January 2011.

But Judge Robert Moore rejected a claim that Mr Scargill’s telephone expenses should have been paid, as that was not outlined in his contract with the fund.

Speaking outside court, Mr Scargill said: “I’m pleased justice has been done.

“I demonstrated beyond any shadow of a doubt the action taken against me to allege my contract was not valid, my membership of the NUM wasn’t valid and my allowances were not valid has been disproved by the court.”

Mr Scargill, of Worsborough Bridge, Barnsley, said it ‘saddened’ him to take legal action after more than 50 years of union membership.

Judge Moore awarded Mr Scargill £12,000 in damages towards the car allowance, plus £470 interest.

He was also awarded £1,000 after the court ruled he had been denied union membership benefits for a period.

Costs are to be assessed, but £10,000 must be paid to Mr Scargill within 28 days.

In his three-hour judgement, Judge Moore found it had been ‘unlawful’ for trustees of the area fund to offer Mr Scargill £50 for the car, with one reason being ‘it was irrational and in bad faith’.

But he rejected claims for about £4,000 towards telephone costs.

Judge Moore said: “I’m satisfied the parties never intended to add the telephone costs. If they had so intended they would have put it in the contract.”

The court had heard Mr Scargill did not supply the fund with a list of duties he performed for them after saying he needed the car for union work.

Mr Scargill insisted he had done more work for the union divisions than ‘any other official in history’.

He had signed his contract in 2002 after retiring. His salary was about £26,000 per year.

The trial also heard the trust fund held £11.7 million, according to 2009 accounts.

The NUM has the right to appeal to the High Court.

MORE than £1 million could be spent in Sheffield paying businesses and organisations to get jobless teenagers into work or training.

Deputy Prime Minister and Sheffield Hallam MP Nick Clegg launched the payment-by-results scheme, which is aimed at 55,000 teenagers aged 16 and 17 across the country.

Sheffield could receive £1.26 million of the £126m funding being made available nationwide to target youths who are not in employment, education or training, and have poor qualifications.

The scheme follows the announcement of a £1 billion Youth Contract to provide workplace-based training schemes for a wider range of young people.

Mr Clegg said: “We urgently need to step up efforts to ensure some of our most troubled teenagers have the skills, confidence and opportunities to succeed.”

Sheffield Lib Dem councillors welcomed the news.

The party’s deputy leader on Sheffield Council, Coun Colin Ross, said: “This fund will be targeted at those with the most difficulty finding work, many of whom have complex issues or health problems and a lack of GCSEs.

“Helping these young people is not without challenges, but we all have a duty to reach out to the young people who can be hardest to reach.

“This action - along with the new University Technical College in the city centre – will help to ensure our young people get the right skills and experience they need to secure long-term, sustainable jobs.”

Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, Liam Byrne, said: “This is much too small and much too late to tackle a problem that is likely to cost our country £28bn over the next 10 years. The Government needs to bite the bullet and put in place a sensible tax on bankers’ bonuses in the next budget to help get 100,000 young people back to work.”

Sheffield Council wins controversial ballot to bring running of 42,000 homes back under its control

AN OVERWHELMING majority of tenants have voted to return control of their homes to Sheffield Council.

A total of 26,465 votes was cast in the ballot on the future management of estates - and 88.2 per cent were in favour of a return to council management.

Just 11.8 per cent voted to continue the current arrangement, where arms-length management organisation Sheffield Homes is paid an annual fee to run properties.

Turnout among the 42,000 households was 55 per cent - as high as a general election, and almost double the level seen at local elections in some wards.

Sheffield Council cabinet member for housing Coun Harry Harpham said: “Tenants have voted with an extremely strong voice.

“The result is a show of confidence in the city council and particularly the Labour administration.

“The detailed business will now start on planning how we manage properties in the future.”

The ballot followed a £400,000 consultation exercise which included two letters sent to every household and public meetings held around the city.

Coun Harpham promised a wide consultation process will now begin to find out tenants’ views about how management should work in the future.

The first step has involved further letters being sent to every household immediately asking for their ideas.

Sheffield Homes will continue to manage properties until the end of March 2014, when new arrangements will begin.

The organisation has won praise in recent years, receiving a top rating from the audit commission for the last three years plus several independent awards for performance.

But the council believes returning management in-house will save £1.2 million in running costs, which can be spent on improving estates.

The majority of Sheffield Homes’ 1,000 staff - many of whom worked for the council before the firm was set up in 2004 - will be returned to the local authority.

But Coun Harpham said he could not rule out some job losses.

Redundancies are most likely in top-level management and ‘back office’ roles, where savings are to be made.

Tenants’ representatives today welcomed the ballot result.

June Smith, who chairs the Flower Estate Community Association in Wincobank, said: “We feel safer with the council managing our homes.

“Under Sheffield Homes, councillors had less influence and less work seemed to be done maintaining our area.

“I think it will be more democratic to have housing back under the council’s control.”

Gordon Garratty, chairman of Fraser Tenants’ and Residents’ Association in Woodseats, added: “I was highly satisfied with the council before Sheffield Homes came about.

“I think it’s good that councillors will have full control over housing again.”

But Linda Daniels, of Brushes Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, Firth Park, said: “Tenants were not given enough information before the vote on which to make their decision.

“People were not told about Sheffield Homes’ good record when it is the best-rated housing management company in the country.

“Some people didn’t even realise they were not being managed by the council at present.

“I think tenants should also have been asked to vote on a full range of options, including transfer to a housing association.

“The council now needs to get everyone’s view and hold an open and honest process to come up with future management arrangements.”

Opposition Lib Dem housing spokeswoman Coun Alison Brelsford said: “If the tenants of Sheffield have spoken through a fair and open ballot, then the council should be bound by the decision and go ahead with the change, ensuring a smooth transition.

“Tenants were promised that at least £1.2m a year would be saved through reductions in management costs if they came back within the council. Liberal Democrats will be watching to ensure that promise is honoured.”

Regulars at The Shoulder of Mutton in Worrall can be forgiven for thinking they’re seeing double.

There’s not one landlady behind the bar, but two.

Since December, the running of the quaint little village pub has been a sister act.

Claire Cinnamond and her little sis Katy Edgeley are sharing the hostess with the mostest role. “We are both front of house; it can get quite bossy in there sometimes,” grins Claire, 38.

“We often end up falling into good cop, bad cop roles – Katy’s the former. We don’t always agree and because we’re sisters we speak very plainly to each other. But it’s a good thing – it clears the air and we instantly get over it. And another huge plus is that we trust each other 100 per cent.”

The girls have plenty of experience of working with family. They grew up in the licensing trade; mum and dad Norman and Sheila Cinnamond owned Middlewood Hall in its heyday, moving on to 450-year-old Fernie Castle in the Scottish Highlands and a luxury hotel in Maidenhead before moving back to Walkey in their retirement.

“It was our life when we were growing up. We would help out in the school holidays. I worked for my parents before running a couple of bars in Lincolnshire,” explains Claire, a mum of one.

Katy, 31, went into hairdressing, but when she was made redundant last winter, the pair spotted the empty pub in the village they had grown up in and despite the fact that Katy’s first child is due in May, decided to take it on. Claire says: “The Shoulder was always a lovely pub; when we were little our parents used to bring us here for lunch.”

It had stood empty for a number of years but since December the girls have been breathing new life into the place, much to the pleasure of owners Enterprise Inns.

The sisters are growing accustomed to customers peering over their shoulders in search of a landlord. “Some are quite traditional in their view and expect a man to be in charge. But times are changing,” says Claire, whose partner Richard Bland, a financial consultant, rolls up his sleeves and helps out when he gets home from work, alongside Katy’s joiner husband Matthew.

They plan to turn the pub into a gastro food destination and have hired talented Sheffield chef Richard North, who trained in pastry at London’s Park Lane Hotel and worked under respected local chef Christian Kemp at Chesterfield Road’s Blue Room Brasserie.

Richard is building the menu and training up the kitchen team. The emphasis is on quality dishes packed with locally sourced, freshly-prepared ingredients. Slow-cooked lamb shank, game skewers featuring produce from the local shoot and rack of lamb are specialities and the Sunday roast is so popular, 30 hopeful diners had to be turned away this weekend.

It’s a chance for pie-lovers to get positively pie-eyed...

A pie-eating competition is being staged at city centre bar The Hop in celebration of next month’s British Pie Week.

Teams of four are invited to get their teeth into a savoury-stuffing relay challenge at the West One Plaza venue.

The fare will be quality stuff, hailing from award-winning Andrew Jones Pies ‘n’ Pasties of Huddersfield, regulars on the menu at The Hop’s Pie Hole kitchen.

For the grand final on Saturday, March 10, pies will be filled with steak and treacle stout. The winning team will get £100, a trophy and a pie meal a week for six months.

Competitors have a risk waiver to sign, acknowledging that the risks of eating vast quantities of pie at speed can include illness, injury and indigestion – and being turned off pie for life afterwards.

Heats will be held on March 8. For rules and application forms, call the pub on 0114 2781000 or go to www.thehopsheffield.com.

Closing date for entries is noon on March 1.

Good news for beer-lovers planning to make a night of it at the 20th Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival, running from Wednesday, February 29, to Saturday, March 3, at Magna, showcasing over 200 traditional ales from the UK and beyond.

Transport bosses have laid on a special ‘beer bus’ which will run from early evening until last orders from stand C1 in Rotherham Bus Station and D3 in Meadowhall Interchange.

Fares are £1 return.

For bus times go to www.travelsouthyorkshire.com and for festival info go to www.magnarealale.co.uk

Nonna’s restaurant was transformed into a school cookery class at the weekend when Westbourne School pupils were invited to get hands-on.

Led my Nonna’s head chef Jamie Taylor, pupils kneaded, dolloped and sprinkled their way to pizza perfection before being given a preview of the restaurant’s new family-sized gourmet sharing pizzas, due to launch on Sunday nights from March 11.

Milestone owners Marc Sheldon and Matt Bigland will be stepping into the heat of their own kitchens on Monday night, helping head chef James Wallis cook up funds at a charity-night in aid of the eight-year-old niece of senior sous chef Craig Power.

During the role-reversal night, chefs will be going front of house to wait on tables, and a silent auction will be held.

Niamh, of Rotherham, has just undergone a third operation to remove a brain tumour. Cash from the £30-a-head event (or £50 VIP seats upstairs) will go to The Sheffield Children’s Hospital and the Hope for Niamh Fund.

An exhausting and harrowing day in court had just drawn to a close.

For hours on end, prosecuting barrister Alison Dorrell had grilled the man in the dock.

But suddenly she found she herself was on trial.

The female judge presiding over the case had ordered Alison to her private chambers.

“I was instructed to lay my hands on her desk like some naughty schoolchild and told off in no uncertain terms for turning up to court in coloured nail varnish,” says the eminent 50-year-old Sheffield legal eagle, still smarting from the incident of many years ago.

“I’d gone to work wearing the pale peach polish I’d painted on for a new Year’s Eve party two days before.

“It was utterly ridiculous, but then so are many of the restrictions on the way female barristers present themselves in court. We have to dress like nuns; we might as well put a wimple on.”

Before she can step into Sheffield’s Crown Court, Alison has to ensure every strand of her flowing blonde hair is scraped from her face and hidden beneath her barrister’s wig. Her make-up must be barely visible, her jewellery restricted to wedding and engagement ring, her heels low and the clothes beneath her mandatory black robe be sober and plain. No flesh must be visible. Her arms cannot be bared above the wrist and a high white collar must cover her neck.

She well remembers the day, in the middle of a rape trial, when the judge announced he was retiring and would not return to the courtroom until Ms Dorrell had re-arranged her attire. A glimpse of her neck had apparently been on display.

The issue infuriates her: “In my opinion, these are Victorian values designed to keep us down and de-personalise us. I cannot see any reason for it in this day and age,” says the criminal law barrister, a Grade 4 prosecutor who specialises in cases of adult rape and child sex abuse.

Alison is married to fellow barrister Paul O’Shea – they share chambers on Campo Lane. They also attempt to share the parenting duties for their two sons, now 13 and 15, but most of them inevitably fall on Alison.

“The arrangement is we take it in turns, depending on who has the case on at the time,” she says. “But generally speaking it’s still the woman who runs the home. I have to deal with much of the parenting stuff and juggle a caseload as well.

“I went back to work two weeks after having my first child and was at work the morning of the Caesarean birth of my second, which had been planned for medical reasons.

“It’s an incredibly tough job for women. You can’t expect judges to be sympathetic to your childcare dilemmas, there’s zero tolerance.

“Whatever is happening at home, you have to walk into court with your mind on the case, a smile on your face and every hair in place,” says the Sheffield-born former Silverdale pupil.

Women at the Bar rarely go on to become judges. “They say many retire early because of motherhood but I think that’s tosh. I am surrounded by highly capable and promotable women who won’t get a look in when it comes to furthering their career,” says Alison who gave up such aspirations 10 years ago.

Her area of legal expertise is one of the most distressing, she admits: “You are listening day after day to the harrowing experiences people have been subjected to and it often casts a dark shadow.”

But what gets her through, she says, are other women in the profession.

“In court we fight one another hard,” she says. “But as soon as the robes are off, you’ll put your arm around her and do what women do; console and support.”

Legally Blonde The Musical starring Les Dennis, Ray Quinn and Niki Evans runs until Saturday.

Rachel appreciates the back-up at home

Many a male lawyer can dedicate himself to his career secure in the knowledge that family life is safely in the hands of his wife.

Rachel Roebuck, head of the children’s team at Sheffield law firm Lupton Fawcett’s Absolute Family, is one of very few female lawyers bestowed with the same privilege.

“It’s a tough, stressful job with very long hours. To go as far as you want in this profession and have a family life you have got to have support at home.

“And I’ve been very lucky - my partner Andy gave up his career for the sake of mine,” says the 49-year-old Barnsley mother of one.

“Andy took early retirement from his civil service post when our son Samuel was nine months old and I was due to go back to work.

“It affected us financially, but the back-up I’ve had has been invaluable.”

When Sam turned three, Andy Mayo got a part time job that fitted around nursery hours and now he’s 12, it’s Andy who finishes work in time to pick him up from school, leaving Rachel free to manage her department’s immense workload without worrying about her child.

Consequently, she strives to support staff with children. She explains: “In family law there is a high proportion of women. We have a diary and we factor in everyone’s childcare arrangements.”

After 32 years in a traditionally male profession, Rachel insists she has never met with sexism. “You’re judged on your skills,” she says. “I have never had a problem with a male colleague purely because I’m a woman in the job.

“I’m tall and blonde and appearance-wise, while I’ve strived to achieve a balance between professionalism and looking approachable to the children and families I deal with, I have never denied the fact that I’m female – though I’d like to think colleagues see me first and foremost as professional, hard-working and forthright.”

Collette still likes to ‘think pink’

Collette Noonan is a girl who likes to think pink.

“I can definitely identify with Elle, the character in Legally Blonde,” she giggles. “I often add a girly touch – maybe a pink shirt or a pair of pink court shoes to a smart grey suit. I’ve even got a fluffy pink pen, just like Reese had in the film.”

“I want to be able to express my personality in the way I dress for work, but that can be difficult, particularly if I’m going to court, when it needs to be much more formal and respectful,” says the 28-year-old litigation executive at Graysons with Watsam Esam in Paradise Square.

“I tailor my look according to the day’s requirements, although often that smart court suit could well have come from Dorothy Perkins or even Asda – I have to buy them so often, I’m continually searching for bargains.”

Collette is, by her own admission, “a bit ditsy at times” and known for her sense of humour. “But I’m also intelligent, hard-working and good at what I do,” she says.

“I think people still jump to the conclusion that blondes are a bit dim. It’s nice to surprise them,” she grins.

“Clients’s faces often register surprise when I walk into reception to meet them. They expect someone older and male. Back in the day, this was a male-dominated profession and some clients still have the stereotypical view.

“There was one occasion at my previous law firm when a client was adamant they wanted a man to represent them, not me.”

Collette loves the Legally Blonde movies; she has them both on DVD and has already been to see the musical at the Lyceum.

And just like the character Elle, she has plenty of blonde ambition.

She’s determined to become a fully-qualified solicitor. “It’s what I’ve wanted since I was 11,” she says.

IT surprised me this week to hear that war had broken out in the UK.

To start with I presumed this meant the whole Scottish independence nonsense had got out of hand and Cameron had sent a bunch of marauding Old Etonians – on horseback, of course – to the border to put those Mars Bar bothering subordinates back in their place.

But as I listened on – thoughts of William Wallace, Robert Burns and Ally McCoist being subject to some English boot – it became clear this wasn’t about devolution.

This war was religious, and the battlefields were the meeting chambers of town halls and the guest rooms of Christian B&Bs. Which, as battlefields go, certainly sounds more appealing than, for example, Helmand Province.

But there it was: Christianity versus secularism.

There’d been a legal scuffle about whether Bideford Town Council could say a prayer before getting on with its weekly business (that is to say, getting on with recommending Mrs Brown be refused planning permission for a new extension), and then there’d been another about a supposedly Christian couple who denied two gay men a double room at their guest house.

And so there it was: pick your side and fight on.

Except it was all a little ambiguous.

See, I reckon if people are going to insist on starting wars they should at least be considerate enough to make it clear who the goodies and baddies are. Like with World War Two. Or Star Wars. No nuances there.

But this was a bit more Crimean.

Because while some people I respect were saying faith is a fundamental tenet of society, giving us a sense of identity and moral responsibility; other people I equally respect were philosophising that ‘Dude, half those guys don’t even believe in dinosaurs – the only thing they’re fundamental about is being misguided’.

And – at the risk of offending anyone upstairs – it’s kind of the latter I’m down with.

For when I think of religion, I can’t help but think how, for 1,500 years, it’s been an undeniable force for bad.

Burning people at the stake, advocating imperial conquests, tithing the poor, and causing a civil war. These are all things on my personal list headed Bad Stuff – unless that imperial conquest is Scotland and then...well, why not? It’s just a neighbourly giggle.

And so when I heard Baroness Warsi, going all fundamental about the dangers of a secularised society, I wondered why she had not considered that without hundreds of years of such secularisation, she – a Muslim – would not be sitting in the House Of Lords today.

Except here’s the nuance: for when I think of religion I also believe it’s been an incredible force for good.

Just look at Sheffield’s own Cathedral Archer Project for proof. Or just listen to any Christian hymn. Amazing Grace? Amazing bloody tune more like.

Which means – I think I’m coming to a conclusion here – faith can be both a good and bad thing, right?

Which means it self-evidently shouldn’t be a contributory factor in decisions of state, society or council.

Or bed and breakfasts.

Because faith, for all the great things it can do, can also promote views that are utterly repugnant.

It is unreasoned and totalitarian. It brooks no criticism.

Faith in itself does not guarantee virtue. It does not necessarily even promote it.

Would not any Christian of moral worth understand that?

ROTHERHAM Council is proposing spending cuts totalling almost £9.8 million in its budget – but council tax is set to be frozen.

The authority’s plans for 2012/13 are expected to be approved by the ruling cabinet tomorrow and must then be passed by the full council. Some 200 jobs are to be lost.

Proposals involve saving £3.5m from neighbourhoods and adult services, £2.8m from the council’s resources department, £2m from environmental services and £1.6m from children’s services.

Money is also being saved by not giving staff incremental pay rises for the coming year – although pay will be restored to the level it was at before a 1.15 per cent reduction was implemented last year.

If the council tax freeze is approved, the council will qualify for a one-off government grant of £2.35m.

The budget also recommends a 1.15 per cent cut in councillors’ allowances and no staff pay increments.

Rotherham Council says despite planned cuts it will protect spending on safeguarding children and helping special needs youngsters.

Work with vulnerable adults and families will also be protected.

■ Bolsover Council has also announced a council tax freeze for the coming year.

TRANSPORT bosses are planning to expand a scheme across the whole of Sheffield in which bus operators share the running of routes and offer tickets which can be used on any firm’s vehicles.

Currently, the Optio initiative involves ‘orange’ 120 services between Fulwood and Halfway, and a ‘red’ 52 route from Hillsborough to Woodhouse via Crookes.

South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and operators First and Stagecoach are proposing to run the scheme citywide from September.

Mick Jameson, chairman of the board of South Yorkshire councillors overseeing the PTE, said the idea is seen as a better alternative to ‘quality contracts’ for making improvements.

Quality contracts would have seen control of services taken out of bus companies’ control with the PTE setting routes, timetables and fares. But firms including Stagecoach threatened legal action against the move.

Coun Jameson said: “There would be some difficulties with legal challenges. But under the Optio scheme, we can work with operators to deliver much improved services.”

But Nick Howard of Sheffield Pensioners’ Action Group – whose members include a large number of bus users – called for existing problems to be resolved before the scheme is expanded.

He said: “I regularly use the 120 and there are problems with reliability. It’s meant to run every five minutes but you can be waiting 20 minutes and then three will turn up. Such problems need to be ironed out.”

An internal PTE email, seen by The Star, said: “Although we did receive complaints from customers following the launch of Optio Orange, these significantly reduced for Optio Red and we have learnt from these early phases. More positively, we have now also undertaken research along the red and orange corridors which shows improved patronage and satisfaction.”

David Young, SYPTE director of customer experience, said: “We are talking with operators about expanding the joint scheme.”

]]> 1.4267952 Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:00:00 +0000 http://www.thestar.co.uk/elsie_waves_in_a_new_century_at_house_party_1_4268033

YOUTHFUL Elsie Pix is living proof you can stay active whatever your age.

The young-at-heart 100-year-old celebrated her milestone birthday with an open house and a visit from the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Coun Sylvia Dunkley.

A former keen dancer, great-grandma Elsie still loves to cook and see her friends while living independently in Wisewood, Sheffield.

Her daughter-in-law Janet Pix said: “If she had a secret to a long life it would be staying active. She always says she has a good diet and has always tried to be active.

“She used to go dancing at Sheffield City Hall on a lunchtime until a few years back when she had a stroke. We are all really proud of her.”

Elsie has lived in Sheffield all her life. She used to work as a school lunchtime supervisor and has two children, two stepsons, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

The birthday girl ‘loved’ meeting the mayor and enjoyed a family meal in Hillsborough on her birthday.

Janet said: “She had all her friends from the church group over for the open house, we made a buffet and she loved meeting the mayor, who gave a talk about her chain of office and spoke to everyone – it was fantastic.”

Meanwhile, fellow centenarian Mary Burke celebrated her big day with relatives who flew into Rotherham from all around the world.

Friends and family came from as far away as America to join the 100-year-old’s special birthday mass before a party with buffet and drinks.

Mary, who lives at Silverwood Care Home, was also joined by the Mayor of Rotherham, Coun Shaun Wright, and care home staff.

She was presented with a telegram from the Queen to commemorate her special occasion.

Sharron Quinn, care home manager, said: “We all love celebrating each resident’s birthday but a 100th is particularly exciting, as this is our first since Silverwood opened 15 years ago! So all the staff made sure Mary had a day to remember.

“Mary is a wonderful lady and we were very pleased to be celebrating with her.”

Tenants have voted overwhelmingly in favour of returning management of their homes to Sheffield Council.

Some 88 per cent of those who participated in the ballot were in favour of the move, compared with 12 per cent against, on a 55 per cent turnout.

The change, which will see current arms-length management organisation Sheffield Homes wound up, will not take effect until 2014 and the council has promised extensive consultation with the city’s 42,000 council households about how homes are run in the future.

For full story, see tomorrow’s Star.

FORMER NUM presdient Arthur Scargill has won a partial victory in a legal dispute with his union.

A judge has ruled Mr Scargill’s contract of employment with the union was legal and enforceable.

The judge at Sheffield County Court found Mr Scargill was entitled to a car allowance of £12,000.

Byut he judge rejected Mr Scargill’s claim his phone bills should have been paid by the union.

The judge has also ruled the 74-year-old former union leader had been denied benefits of union membership for a period and awarded him £1,000.

The judgement is continuing, following a two-day hearing in Sheffield last week.

]]> 1.4269462 Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:50:38 +0000 http://www.thestar.co.uk/wait_for_family_of_murdered_teenager_1_4269404

TRAGIC teenager Casey Kearney’s family will have to wait for a second post-mortem examination of her body before they can bury her.

Casey’s inquest opened today, where coroner Nicola Mundy heard another forensic examination of the 13-year-old’s body will be carried out on Thursday on behalf of the defence team involved in the trial of the woman accused of Casey’s murder.

Casey died of stab wounds at Doncaster Royal Infirmary last Tuesday, after calling for help from the town’s Elmfield Park earlier that day.

Hannah Bonser, aged 26, of St James Street, Doncaster, is due at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday charged with murder.

For more on this story, see The Star tomorrow.

MOTORISTS have been warned of severe penalties if they fail to respond honestly to speeding charges - after a Rotherham pastor was jailed.

Joao Mafuta, aged 42, a pastor at a Rotherham church, was jailed for two months after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice at Sheffield Crown Court.

He was recorded breaking the speed limit twice in November 2010 by speed cameras - but claimed he was abroad on both occasions.

Barry Smith, manager for the South Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership, said: “Whilst the majority of drivers that are caught speeding will complete the paperwork honestly there are a number of drivers that do not.

“These cases are fully investigated and if found guilty of perverting the course of justice the driver is likely to receive a higher fine and more stringent penalty than if they had admitted to speeding in the first place.”

YOUNG hair stylists Jessica Woolley and Stephanie Cooper have been demonstrating why they’re a cut above the rest.

Jessica, who is 16 and lives in Chapeltown, and Stephanie, who is 17 and lives in Mexborough, are both students at the Headlines Elite Academy in Sheffield.

The two took top honours in the academy’s competition challenge to create a new trend in hairstyles.

Jessica, who took first place and won an iPad2, took her inspiration from a porcelain doll, while runner-up Stephanie, who won a pair of state-of-the-art Swiss hairdressing scissors, created what she described as an eye-catching copper ‘firebomb’.

Academy manager Kay Bothamley said: “What was particularly remarkable was Jessica has only been working as a trainee stylist for six months.”

VOTES are needed for a community project seeking to transform a rundown Sheffield playground.

A scheme to upgrade the Grammar Street playground, Upperthorpe, is on a Yorkshire-wide shortlist competing for funding from the Transform Your Patch campaign.

The campaign is seeking to regenerate more than 160 outdoor spaces around the country with help from environmental charity Groundwork and financial support from soft drinks manufacturers Britvic and PepsiCo.

A total of 15 outdoor spaces in Yorkshire and Humberside will be chosen, with Sheffield’s choice battling against rival projects in Leeds, Halifax and Hull.

The campaign is concentrating on four types of community facility – playgrounds, picnic areas and parks, skate parks and five-a-side football pitches.

Sheffield folk are being asked to get behind the Upperthorpe programme by voting at www.transformyourpatch.com – if enough support is received it could be selected as a ‘super’ project, which will receive extra levels of funding.

The campaign is running for nine months, from February to October.

Sir Tony Hawkhead, Groundwork chief executive, said: “We’re thrilled to be involved with the Transform Your Patch campaign.

“Our charity’s goal is to create real change for the future on a regional and national level. We’ve carefully selected projects matching the interests and the needs of communities across the length and breadth of the UK, so as many people as possible benefit.”

A FORMER gay bar which has been closed for about two years could reopen.

The former Fuel nightspot, Eyre Street, would be open daily from 10am until 6.30am, featuring entertainment, including drag acts, podium dancers and a monthly strip show, according to plans submitted to Sheffield Council.

The application will be discussed by the council’s licensing board on Thursday.

No objections have been received to the proposals from O’Brien Leisure, Omnia One, Queen Street, Sheffield.

The plans also involve a kitchen inside the premises to sell food.

The applicant has offered to fit a CCTV system, refuse to serve anyone who is too drunk, have door staff working from 9pm and ask revellers for proof of age if they appear to be aged under 21.

FROM Halfway in Sheffield to halfway across the world, Mueti Moomba is a political radio star.

The dad-of-three runs his own internet-based Zambian politics show from his study and is making front page news in the South African country.

And he regularly scoops Zambian journalists with his interviews of leading politicans, sport celebrities or high-profile people from his home nation.

Mueti, aged 34, said: “I began the show because I think there’s always been this perception that people who leave their own country forget their roots and have no connection to what’s going on there.

“That’s not true and in Sheffield alone I know there are close to 150 Zambian families.

“I wanted to let people from around the world know about Zambia issues.

“Politicans can phone in and talk about their plans but they will also be held to account if people call and ask questions.”

By day Mueti is the manager of Fulwood Lodge nursing home - but every Tuesday night and Saturday morning he takes to the airways as Political Crossfire.

Guests have included Zambia’s top policeman Inspector General of Police Dr Martin Malama, British Olympic athlete Marilyn Okoro and veteran broadcaster Dennis Liwewe, ‘The Voice of Zambian Football’.

A former professional football star is also lined up to appear.

Mueti, of Norgreave Way, said: “I have had the majority of the Zambian Government’s cabinet on and as I am completely non-partisan I have interviewed several opposition leaders.

“I even get phone calls from people in Zambia and they are able to ask questions.

“I’m not a journalist by any stretch of the imagination but I think I’m doing pretty much a professional job.

“I do find it easier to get these interviews than some professional journalists in Zambia.”

Although the show has taken off since it launched in September, there are some downsides.

Long calls abroad can cost a fortune and it takes up much of Mueti’s spare time. Yet there is hope he could become a Jeremy Paxman of Zambia in the future.

Mueti added: “At the moment I’m doing the show out of passion and spending quite a lot of money to do this.

“I’ve often thought of contacting the BBC but I always chicken out.”

n Log on to www.blogtalkradio.com/politicalcrossfire.

VOLUNTEERS gathered to plant more than 100 new trees in a Sheffield park as part of a national project to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The event in Greenhill Park, Low Edges, saw 105 saplings planted, including blackthorn, hawthorn, hazel, silver birch, rowan, common oak and a royal oak.

Sheffield Friends of the Earth are working with the Woodland Trust on its Jubilee Woods Project, to plant six million new trees during 2012.

Friends of the Earth members worked all morning under the direction of Tim Shortland, Sheffield Council’s community forestry manager, to ensure the young trees were properly situated.

The free tree pack provided by the trust is designed to create a wooded area which will be ideal for attracting wildlife.

Volunteer Maureen Edwards said: “It was a lovely day out and I finally managed to plant an oak tree, which is something I’ve always wanted to do.

“The trees are next to a batch which were planted 15 years ago, so there will be a nice contrast in growth - and they will be joined by more trees which are to be planted by a local school group next week.”

The trust is also creating hundreds of new woodlands as part of its jubilee campaign, along with 60, major 60-acre woods.

CHURCH volunteers are urging business people to help them revamp a school by donating equipment.

Helpers at Hope City Church in Sheffield are redecorating the main hall at Pipworth Community Primary School, Woodthorpe, and giving two courtyards there a makeover.

The church has volunteers but needs hire equipment and materials to finish its work.

Project co-ordinator Dan Houghton said: “We’re hoping to have it all done in 24 hours, a bit like the television show DIY SOS.

“Pipworth is in a bit of a deprived area and we wanted to run a project that would make a tangible difference.

“Any local businesses that want to get involved can be a big help by donating materials and hire equipment.”

The school makeover will be carried out in May.

n To donate equipment, materials or money call Dan on 07712 391 333.

SOUTH Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority has followed South Yorkshire Police in putting up its council tax precept - to avoid cutbacks caused by government funding cuts.

Members of the Fire Authority yesterday agreed to put up their portion of council tax by 3.95 per cent - giving the brigade an extra £1 million to spend.

The decision will cost each South Yorkshire household between £1.60 and £2.40 extra a year on their council tax bill.

Householders with Band D properties will now pay £62.54 to the Fire Authority - a rise of £2.37 and equivalent to less than five pence extra a week.

At the meeting members also agreed a budget of £57m for next 12 months.

And they voted to reject a one-off government incentive payment to freeze the council tax precept.

Speaking after the meeting, chairman Jim Andrews said the council tax rise was ‘effectively an insurance policy’ to help secure long-term funding and safeguard against risks to the emergency service.

He said: “The authority faced a difficult decision because the Government grant was for one year only. If we had accepted it, this time next year we would have faced either putting up council tax by a double increase, or making further cuts to the service.”

Mr Andrews added: “This was not a straightforward decision.

“No authority wants to put extra costs on to hard-pressed council tax payers, but on balance we felt an extra 5p or less a week was a worthwhile price to pay if it helped to secure the future of the fire service.

“Its success or failure is measured in minutes, and we will not take risks with public safety.”

The authority is currently restructuring operations after losing 10 per cent of government funding in 2011/12.

a CAR and quad bike have been seized in a crackdown on nuisance vehicles.

Police took the quad bike from a 25-year-old man on Fern Avenue, Staveley, after officers found it had no insurance.

The car - a BMW - was seized from a 39-year-old man on Works Road, Hollingwood, when he was found to not have a driving licence.

And a 29-year-old man was warned for allowing his children to ride mini-motorbikes in Brearley Park, New Whittington.

police officers will be calling into shops in Clay Cross to talk to traders and customers about issues affecting their community.

The ‘shop drop’ scheme is aimed at making it easier for residents to raise concerns.

Officers and community support officers (PCSOs) plan to visit all the shops on High Street and Market from Thursday, March 8.

PCSO Andrew Cocking said: “Many people don’t have time to come to formal meetings so this form of interaction with officers is ideal.”

Members of the Dinnington-based Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice volunteer support group got their teeth into a fundraising challenge.

The group raised £56 at a cake sale in South Anston Methodist Church as part of the hospice’s Love To Bake campaign, where people are encouraged to bake a cake to sell in aid of the charity.

One of the people instrumental in making Rotherham’s Clifton Park Museum a success has been honoured by the Queen.

Joyce Williams, a founder member of The Friends of Clifton Park Museum, has been invested at Buckingham Palace after she was made an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list, in recognition of the work she has carried out on behalf of the project.

A special event was also held at the twice-nominated ‘museum of the year’ to celebrate Joyce receiving the honour.

Friends, staff, councillors and ex-members of staff who have worked with Joyce and the Friends over the last 12 years were present.

Rotherham Council said Joyce has been ‘vital in almost all the fundraising and friends’ activities at the museum, and often instigated and led on the delivery of projects’.

A council spokeswoman said: “Without her, many of the initiatives which have made Clifton Park Museum such a success would not have been possible.”

Joyce was one of the six founders of The Friends of Clifton Park Museum in 1998. She later served as group chairman.

FASHION designers in Sheffield will be showing off their creative talents.

Organised by students from Sheffield Hallam University’s events management course, Thread Bare is at SOYO, Rockingham Street, on Sunday, from 8pm.

Developing designers, professionals and artists will be displaying their wares.

Proceeds are going to charity Barnardo’s. Entry is £3.

TRANSPORT chiefs in South Yorkshire have set a budget for next year that will see £88.2 million collected from councils.

A grant of £89.7 million, down by £8.6 million, has been made to South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive by the county’s transport authority in its 2012-13 budget.

The money incorporates a levy of £88.2 million on Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster councils, funded by Government transport services grants.

The authority funds concessionary travel on public transport for the young, old and mobility impaired, uncommercial local bus and train services plus bus interchanges. It also works with councils as well as transport operators to make improvements.

SHEFFIELD training company A4e, which operates the Government’s welfare-to-work contracts, has been embroiled in fresh controversy – after police launched an investigation into claims of fraud at one if its offices.

Thames Valley Police visited the offices of A4e in Slough, Berkshire, over the claims on Friday.

The company said the probe concerned a ‘very small’ number of former employees – and that it had called the officers in.

But Labour MP Margaret Hodge, chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “I think the Government should certainly consider suspending them. It is of great concern that any such investigation is necessary.”

The company is chaired by Sheffield businesswoman Emma Harrison, who was appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010 to help get troubled families into work.

Its five shareholders were paid £11 million in dividends last year, of which Ms Harrison received more than £8m.

Andrew Dutton, A4e group chief executive, said: “A4e has zero tolerance towards fraud, and any instance of fraudulent or otherwise illegal activity is completely unacceptable. We take our responsibility very seriously, and we are committed to using taxpayer’s money effectively and efficiently.”

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on any investigation but understand these are not matters that relate to the Work Programme.”

SHEFFIELD’S comeback kings Pulp are continuing their reunion with a headline charity show in London.

Pulp’s reformed line-up of Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Mark Webber will perform at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, March 31.

Pulp are one of five acts chosen to play the annual shows which raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust. The other headliners are Example, Jessie J, Jason Manford and Florence and the Machine.

CHURCH leaders are to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight by visiting Sheffield city centre shops to thank them for selling Fairtrade products.

Fairtrade Fortnight, from Monday until Sunday, March 11, is when people are encouraged to buy Fairtrade goods.

The Reverend Vernon Marsh, Sheffield Methodist District chairman, said: “Fairtrade is a way of ensuring farmers and growers in the developing world get fair prices for their produce.”

Two national leaders from the Methodist Church are to spend a week in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

The Rev Leo Osborn, president of the Methodist Conference, and vice president Ruth Pickles will visit from March 3 to 11 – the longest trip in the UK since their year of office started last July.

It will be a nostalgic return to Sheffield for Ruth – she studied at Sheffield University for five years and was a member of the University’s Methodist Society. She will be speaking at a society meeting and visiting the university chaplaincy.

Sheffield Methodist District chairman The Rev Vernon Marsh said: “It will be a tremendous privilege to host the visit and we are delighted they will have an opportunity to see at first hand the tremendous work going on at churches and projects in our area.”

MALAYSIAN students from around the UK will be heading to Sheffield this weekend to take part in a major sporting event.

The Malaysian Student Games will be held at Concord Sports Centre in Shiregreen on Saturday, from 8am till 6pm.

It is the 20th anniversary of the event in which young people take part in a variety of sports and competitive challenges.

Activities include table tennis, football, volleyball, badminton and chess.

The event is organised by the Sheffield Malaysian Students Association to promote Britain’s Malaysian residents and their integration into their local communities. It will also feature a grand opening ceremony and a Malaysian food festival serving authentic cuisine.

OFFENDERS are giving a park a facelift as part of their payback to society.

As part of Derbyshire Probation Service’s community payback scheme, offenders handed unpaid work orders are removing old fencing, cutting back overgrown trees and bushes and tidying up Lansbury Avenue Park, Mastin Moor.

They will spend six weeks on the project on behalf of Mastin Moor Action Group, which was set up at the start of the year to reduce anti-social behaviour in and around the park.

Michael Walker, supervisor for unpaid work for the probation service, said: “These offenders feel they are putting something back into the community and they can see the benefit of projects like these.”

A PROPERTY developer who turned to crime after falling on hard times has been told he cannot complain about his jail term.

London’s Criminal Appeal Court heard Matthew Jamie Nicholas Whitehead was paid £14,000 by a criminal gang to let them set up a cannabis farm in a converted barn he was renovating.

The 44-year-old, of Lee Lane, Bolsterstone, was jailed for three years and nine months at Sheffield Crown Court in September last year, after he admitted producing the drug.

He challenged his sentence at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, with his lawyers arguing it was ‘too long’ for his crime.

But his appeal was dismissed by top judges, who said the term was ‘not excessive’ for the significant role he played in setting up the farm.

The cannabis farm was discovered in the garage loft space at a listed barn Whitehead was renovating in Cawthorne, Barnsley.

The court heard there were a number of mature plants and some cuttings, with a potential value of more than £90,000, and there were signs there had been a previous crop at the premises.

Judge Nicholas Cooke QC said Whitehead was a man of previous good character, who had ‘succumbed to criminal temptation’ because of financial difficulties.

He was offered £5,000 a month by those responsible for growing the cannabis, and had been paid £14,000 - a sum the judge described as a ‘large amount’ compared with the ‘pittance’ usually paid to so-called ‘gardeners’ of cannabis farms.

Whitehead challenged his sentence, arguing it was over the top for his crime and claiming he had been ‘threatened and coerced’ by the criminal gang.

But, dismissing his appeal, Judge Cooke said: “This does not really sit well with him receiving £14,000, even if those with whom he dealt were not trustworthy and did not pay him what he was supposed to receive.”

The judge, sitting with Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Wyn Williams, added: “He played a significant role for substantial reward in setting up the cannabis farm. The sentence was neither wrong in principle nor manifestly excessive.”

TWO cats perished when arsonists started a house fire.

Firefighters found the cats and brought them outside but they could not be saved following the blaze at 12.15am yesterday on Woodgrove Road, East Herringthorpe, Rotherham.

A flat in Sheffield was badly fire damaged when it too was set alight in an arson attack.

Firefighters were alerted at 9.50pm on Friday and discovered the ground floor property on Cowper Crescent, Birley Carr, well alight. There was nobody in at the time.

Arsonists also struck on Grange Lane, Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham, destroying a caravan containing four gas cylinders at 9.30pm on Friday.

n A FIRE in the kitchen of a semi-detached house on High Street South, Chesterfield, was put out by firefighters early on Saturday evening, and the smoke was dispelled.

A MAN suffered a punctured lung and gashes to his arms, hands, head and leg when he was ambushed and stabbed by two of his own relatives as he sat in his car on a Sheffield street, a court heard.

Mubasher Yasin was trapped in his vehicle as he was attacked.

He had to curl into a ball to protect himself as a barrage of blows ‘rained down on him’, Sheffield Crown Court was told.

Adeel Din, aged 21, of Goddard Hall Road, Fir Vale, and Zabar Hussain, 24, of West Quaddrant, Firth Park, are accused of attempted murder and wounding with intent in August last year.

The pair - who both deny the charges - are cousins of Mr Yasin’s wife.

One of the victim’s assailants is alleged to have been heard shouting, ‘You are dead’ as they delivered blow upon blow.

Richard Sheldon, prosecuting, said the motive for the ambush was unknown - but he told jurors they may come to the conclusion ‘there’s no love lost’ between the parties.

He said Mr Yasin and his brother had been driving around Firth Park, and had just pulled up on Barretta Street, when two men, with their faces partially covered, forced open their car door.

Mr Yasin was said to have been ‘trapped’ in his vehicle.

“Blows were struck to his chest that punctured his lung,” Mr Sheldon told jurors. “He received cuts to his hands, arms and legs. A total of nine cuts or wounds were inflicted.

“The right lung had to be drained because it collapsed. Happily, the injuries were able to be treated.

“We may never know the true motive or cause for this attack, but the phrase, ‘There’s no love lost’ you might think appropriate.”

Mr Yasin was also cut on his temple during the attack.

Mr Sheldon said the stabbing was a ‘planned attack by two men with deadly weapons’ - which were either combat knives or kitchen knives with blades measuring five or six inches in length.

“This was deliberately targeted where the victim was trapped in his car,” Mr Sheldon said.

“The door was opened and they set about him. He had little chance of defending himself given the number and nature of the weapons used against him.

“There can be no doubt those men intended to kill.

“It was only a matter of good fortune - him curling up to protect himself - that stopped fatal consequences.”

Both Din and Hussain denied any involvement in the stabbing when arrested and quizzed by police.

The trial continues.

THOUSANDs of litres of diesel have been stolen in raids - with a garage and council compound targeted by thieves.

The first was at Bridgehouse Garage, Renishaw, between 9.20pm on February 9, and 5am the following day when fuel tanks were drained.

Bolsover District Council premises on Mansfield Road, Doe Lea, were broken into between 8pm on February 12 and 12.20am the following morning, where more diesel was taken.

Fuel was also stolen from three lorries parked in a compound on Chesterfield Road, Barlborough, between 10pm and 11.30pm on February 12.

And last Tuesday diesel was stolen from a lorry parked on High Hazels Road, Barlborough, at about 1am.

Anyone with information should call Derbyshire Police on 101.

Scones from South Yorkshire are winging their way Down Under as part of a job creating export drive, launched by Barnsley bakery Haywood & Padgett.

The bakery, on the Carlton Industrial Estate, launched the export initiative after investing more than £2 million in new technology and buildings, with backing from Yorkshire Bank’s Doncaster Financial Solutions Centre.

Haywood & Padgett was founded in 1987 by managing director, Wayne Padgett as a one-man band.

Staring out with just a rolling pin, pastry cutter, a food mixer, £5,000 of his own cash and a loan for the same amount from Yorkshire Bank, Wayne has built a £13 million business, which employs 120 people and counts ASDA, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Iceland, ALDI and Lidl among its customers.

Following the recent investment, which includes spending £600,000 on a 40-metre long oven that can produce 50,000 scones an hour, Haywood & Padgett has started exporting to France, Portugal and Spain as well as Australia.

Now the company plans to target the US and Asia as part of a growth strategy which will create new jobs and also involves expanding its premises.

Wayne Padgett said: “This business started with Yorkshire Bank backing and now the bank is supporting us as we take the company into a new era.

“We believe that we are the world’s biggest scones manufacturer. We are pleased to be expanding in a difficult climate as we have big plans with other trademarked lines, which are to be developed thanks to Yorkshire Bank’s investment and our strong partnerships with supermarkets.

“Without Yorkshire Bank’s help we would not be able to consider expanding. It would just not be an option.”

Yorkshire Bank’s Neil Bradburne said: “The business has stayed true to its original principles of high quality and value for money so is ideally placed to continue to expand and Yorkshire Bank is pleased to be supporting this business through our Investing for Growth initiative.”

A MOCK trial organised by the Sheffield and Leeds-based Northern Chapter of the Hong Kong UK Business Forum has been named International Best Initiative by the Federation of Hong Kong Business Associations Worldwide.

The trial highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of using Hong Kong as a gateway to mainland China.

Northern chapter chairman and DLA Piper partner, Josh Wong, said: “To win this award out of all the Hong Kong business forums in the world is a huge honour and demonstrates the quality of support we can offer the business community.

“China remains at the top of the list for many organisations in the UK looking to expand overseas and Hong Kong provides the ideal entry point.

“An economic powerhouse in its own right, it is also uniquely positioned as a Chinese city which has a UK business infrastructure, making the commercial transition much more straightforward.

“We work hard to ensure that our members are kept well informed of news, market intelligence and networking opportunities relevant to the market, providing a helping hand for those looking to expand their business interests into the Far East.”

A GULF War veteran from Sheffield says he is battling the constant side effects of vaccines and pills meant to protect him from chemical and biological warfare 21 years ago.

Tony Merrygold, now aged 42, needs a cocktail of six types of medication every day to control symptoms which include chronic nerve pain and the regular loss of use of his hands.

On bad days he needs help from wife Suzanne with eating, drinking and getting dressed.

Now Tony, a member of the RAF Regiment whose role involved mounting patrols to protect airfields, is among veterans campaigning for proper diagnosis of their conditions from the Ministry of Defence.

The father-of-one, from Arbourthorne, insists he is not interested in compensation and knows it was ‘his choice’ to join up and fight.

He said: “Myself and others are just trying to get proper medical assistance. I still don’t actually know what is wrong with me - it’s too specialist an area for GPs or the NHS.”

Medication given to troops included vaccinations against anthrax and plague - plus a dose of whooping cough deemed to improve the body’s receptiveness to inoculations.

They also had to take NAPS - ‘nerve agent protection set’ tablets - every eight hours for the first few weeks of the war.

Tony, who also worked protecting a nuclear base after the conflict ended, said his main problems started a few years later.

“I started suffering pins and needles, and loss of sensation in my left arm. I just lived with it and it has progressively got worse. I fear I have nerve damage.”

After leaving the RAF Tony was a bus driver, but had to give up work in 2001 because his health problems became too severe.

He believes the side effects of the tablets and vaccines - plus possible exposure to radiation - led to he and Suzanne having problems conceiving. They consider themselves fortunate daughter Annmarie, now 10, was born healthy.

Tony prefers to call his condition Gulf War Illness, not Gulf War Syndrome, because the term affects how he is dealt with by the medical profession and for benefit assessments.

He is one of about 50 veterans nationwide who have formed a support group on Facebook.

They plan to use their experiences to compare symptoms and campaign for diagnosis.

Tony has also written to his MP, Meg Munn, who has promised to raise his case with the Ministry of Defence.

He said: “It’s a constant battle to keep my symptoms under control but I’m not interested in compensation - I signed up for Queen and country and am very proud of what I did. But I do want the MoD to find out what is wrong with me. ”

Meg Munn, Sheffield Heeley Labour MP and former Foreign Office junior minister, said: “I have raised the issues with the Defence Minister and am awaiting a reply.

“We owe a great debt to people who served in the Gulf and it is important we continue to offer help and support.”

Thousands of veterans have complained of ill-health since the 1991 conflict to drive Saddam Hussain’s Iraq from Kuwaiti territory, but Gulf War illness is not officially recognised.

An MoD spokesman said: “The MoD has long accepted some veterans of the 1990/91 Gulf conflict are ill and that some of this ill-health is related to their Gulf service.

“Our priority is to ensure they receive appropriate medical care from the NHS which is responsible for delivering healthcare for veterans.

“Priority treatment is provided for those whose ill-health is connected to their military service. Gulf veterans have not presented any illnesses beyond the capability of the NHS.”

He said financial support is available. The MoD sponsored a research programme into the possible health effects of the combination of vaccines and tablets given to troops to protect them against biological and chemical warfare.

“The overwhelming evidence is they would not have had adverse health effects,” he said.

South Yorkshire’s police helicopter was called out to observe a group of youths in a park following concerns a fight was being planned.

Police officers received a call from a Kiveton resident who said there was a rumour circulating that a fight was being organised on Sunday afternoon.

The helicopter was scrambled to look for signs of trouble.

Staff directed officers on the ground to a group of up to 15 boys and girls, aged between 13 and 16, who were spotted around the skate park off Wales Road.

There was no fighting when officers arrived by they found some baseball bats and golf clubs.

Some of the youths were taken home by officers.

]]> 1.4267870 Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:07:29 +0000 http://www.thestar.co.uk/teenager_shot_in_row_with_youths_1_4267867

A WOMAN aged 69 had to be rescued from a toilet cubicle in the Seven Spices balti restaurant at West Bar in Sheffield city centre.

Firefighters were called to break down the door of the cubicle and bring out the woman, who was believed to have suffered a heart attack. She was taken to the Northern General for treatment late on Saturday evening.

TAMPER proof screws and caps are being fitted to car number plates free of charge until the end of the month at the Polar Ford dealership in Barnsley. Stolen number plates can be used by criminals to falsely identify vehicles for fuel thefts, burglaries, and road tax and insurance avoidance.

A VAUXHALL set alight deliberately on Keresforth Hill Road, Kingstone, Barnsley, was so badly damaged firefighters were unable to work out its model. An arson attack was also to blame for a van going up in flames on Cross Lane, Royston, Barnsley, at 1am yesterday.

A ROAD was closed off by police while firefighters dealt with a chimney fire on Bridge Street, Swinton, Rotherham. Crews used an aerial ladder platform to tackle blaze from above. The fire, reported at 9pm on Sunday, did not spread inside the property.

ADVICE on home security was handed to residents when a mobile police station was set up. Free lightbulbs and ‘power-down plugs’, as well as information on energy saving, were given out in the Hasland and St Leonards areas of Chesterfield.

FIVE vehicles were damaged in a wrecking spree on Wortley Road, High Green, Sheffield, overnight on Friday into Saturday. Anyone with information should call South Yorkshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A MOTORIST was cut free from his car after it crashed into a tree on Grange Lane, Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham, in the early hours of Saturday.

Crews removed the roof of the vehicle and paramedics took the casualty to hospital.

FIREFIGHTERS put out a blaze in the boot of a car on Sheffield Road, Old Whittington, Chesterfield on Saturday afternoon. The vehicle was badly damaged but no-one was hurt.

Delegates attending seminars about the impact of new environmental laws will have the chance to visit one of only 14 commercial properties in the UK that generates more energy than it consumes.

The seminars, backed by networking group The Met Club, are taking place at the offices of renewable energy systems specialist EverGen at The Old Corn Mill at Millhouse Green, Sheffield.

The Mill complex, which dates back to the 1750s, uses a combination of technologies to ensure it is as green as possible.

For more information about the seminars, e-mail: lorraine@themetclub.co.uk.

Drifting off, gazing into space and achieving very little? Daydreaming has had some bad press over the years. But Star reporter Rachael Clegg discovers that, in Sheffield at least, it’s proving key to the city’s innovation

ANDRE Ferreira is not ashamed of admitting he spends most of his time daydreaming.

The 26-year-old designer, engineer and entrepreneur has to be.

After all, where else would his ideas come from?

He is living proof that daydreaming isn’t all bad, despite the fact most of us were told off for it at school.

Gazing out of the window, drifting off into another place - these are all attributes associated with being ‘flaky’ or a bit of a dreamer.

But, the fact is, adults spend around 30 per cent of their waking lives daydreaming. And what’s more reassuring is it’s not all bad.

Daydreaming - or ‘mind wandering’ as psychologists call it - can be beneficial.

And one Sheffield company, Gripple, actively encourages it. The firm’s principle business is making solutions for fencing and suspended steel structures, using an ingenious device called the Gripple, but it also manufactures logistical equipment and other products under the umbrella of its sister company, Load Hog.

And while Gripple continues to produce fencing solutions, it is constantly investing in new ideas. Its founder, Hugh Facey, is an ardent believer in innovation, so much so he has set aside five per cent of company sales for research and development.

And it’s at the company’s Ideas and Innovation department where it all happens. The department is a haven of daydreams, brainstorms and creative thinking.

Staff even set aside Thursday mornings specifically to bash out ideas and ‘daydream’.

Andre works for Gripple, based on Savile Street, three days a week and is also paid by the company to explore his own ideas for business for the rest of the week, as part of the company’s Incub scheme, which helps creative people turn their ideas into a money-making reality.

Alan Somerfield, director of the Ideas and Innovation team, says: “Here ideas are all about making connections, so we have strange things all over the department.”

He’s not wrong. In the premises’ otherwise lofty industrial space a cloud of space-hoppers acts as a false ceiling, and bizarre objects and toys pepper the room.

Alan wanders to the ‘brainstorming area’ and picks up a bendy magnetic toy from a box.

“Something like this may inspire someone to come up with an idea for a device that would lead you to come with another idea,” he says. “This is a space where junk accumulates on the work surfaces.”

All this is part of the daydreaming that helps create products not just for Gripple but also for Incub’s individual innovators as well.

Alan added: “My job is to manage creative types, which is a completely different deal to, say, a team of apprentice engineers.

“Everyone on the team is completely different. But you can’t tell a creative person to slow down, they’re like a fast car speeding down a motorway - you don’t want to slam on the brakes, you have to give them room to keep going.

“The only trouble is getting some of them to finish things!”

The company’s marketing manager, Andy Davies, is also pro-daydreaming. “That’s where it all happens - it’s about trying to think completely differently,” he says.

And while psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud may have mocked daydreaming as ‘infantile’, recent scientific research has shown it can be entirely beneficial as long as daydreamers are aware of their daydreaming.

It seems there are two types of daydreaming - the first where people notice they are wandering off, and the second where they have to be prodded to ‘come back’.

People who are conscious of daydreaming are more likely to come up with a good idea - whereas the people who have to be ‘prodded’ aren’t.

Andre is a self-confessed daydreamer, hopefully of the first variety.

“I spend most of my time daydreaming - not necessarily about work but the things I love, my hobbies,” he says. “But the things I think about often lead to things I could develop at work.”

For his own project, VuAir, which he has developed under the Incub wing, Andre has designed and engineered a remote controlled aircraft which is strong enough to carry an on-board HD camera.

“The person controlling the plane can actually see where the plane is going so it’s as if they are flying themselves,” he says.

The footage from the plane is crystal-clear and incredibly detailed. “These planes can get so near to the ground you can see each individual blade of grass.”

Already Andre has taken his plane to Portugal - his homeland - and Brazil, where he was able to navigate around the colossal statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janerio. The footage is stunning. This is aerial photography done up-close and personal, more like being inside a simulator than in charge of a remote control.

And his VuAir aerial photography business was a direct result of a daydream.

“I was thinking about all the things you can do with a camera and it struck me that you could put wings on it and fly it yourself,” he says.

It also helps, however, that Andre - who lives in Crookes - has an MA in motorsport engineering.

“I worked at a company in Oxford that made exhausts for Formula One cars so I learnt all about aerodynamics there and I’ve applied that to my planes,” he says.

“But where aerodynamics in motorsport are about keeping the car on the ground, I used the knowledge to get my planes off the ground.”

And it’s all taking off because of a simple daydream.

It’s all in the mind

Author JK Rowling was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry Potter suddenly ‘fell into her head’ in 1990. “I simply sat and thought, for four delayed hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain,” she has said.

Sigmund Freud believed daydreaming was ‘infantile’ and as late as the 1950s educational psychologists warned parents not to let their children daydream.

A therapist called Dan Jones looked at the patterns of thinking in entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, scientists such as Albert Einstein, and artists such as Leonardo da Vinci. He found they all daydreamed about their area of success.

Harvard University conducted research into daydreaming by giving 2,200 people a phone app to record when they daydreamed. The study showed people spend 30 per cent of their waking lives daydreaming.

The same survey showed a correlation between daydreaming and unhappiness. People who mind-wandered were more likely to report feelings of unhappiness.

Daydreaming is shown to be an intense metabolic process - which means it uses more energy and is actually deeply stimulating.

Studies on students showed those who scored highly on daydreaming had more empathy than non-daydreamers.

BINMEN have voted to strike in Sheffield after three years of having their wages frozen.

The workers say their pay has not gone up despite contractor Veolia receiving an inflationary increase every year in the fee it is paid by Sheffield Council to empty the city’s bins.

A ballot has been carried out by the GMB trade union which represents 200 binmen and associated staff.

Sixty per cent returned their papers - and 75 per cent backed a strike. Some 86 per cent supported industrial action short of a strike, such as binmen refusing to work overtime.

GMB regional organiser Peter Davies said: “Veolia has received inflationary increases each year in the amount it receives from Sheffield Council to run the service.

“It is not on that our members have not seen wages rise in turn.”

Binmen are already facing the threat of 40 job losses when the frequency of black bin collections in Sheffield is halved from weekly to fortnightly from April.

Mr Davies said a mass meeting of Veolia staff will now be held, probably on Thursday, March 1, to decide what action they wish to take.

No dates for industrial action have yet been set but Veolia is being sent the legal notification necessary before a strike can be held.

Mr Davies said: “Even a ban on overtime will have an impact because there is not a crew in Sheffield which completes its round without overtime so some households would have their rubbish left uncollected.”

He added the union was willing to enter into consultation, but denied Veolia claims that employees had not received pay rises because of an agreement that pay changes should be made on the same basis as those for council staff.

“No such agreement exists,” he said.

Residents urged the two sides to negotiate.

Steve Rich, secretary of Greenhill and Bradway Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, told The Star: “I am on the binmen’s side - it is a total disgrace.

“Veolia should at least give them a rise in line with the extra amount the council is providing.

“In these times there are enough problems without having to worry about a possible bin strike as well.

“The council leadership should step in to make sure talks to avoid a strike are successful.”

Janet Andrews, secretary of Endcliffe Corner Community Association, said: “Nobody else’s wages are going up but, on the other hand, the workers are entitled to strike. I’d appeal for talks to bring an outcome to the dispute.”

Sheffield Council’s cabinet member for environment, Coun Leigh Bramall, said: “We do not want the people of Sheffield to be impacted by this dispute. We want Veolia and their workforce representatives to sit down and work out a solution urgently that avoids any disruption to services.”

Veolia insisted its staff are subject to a national agreement to receive pay rises on the same basis as local government workers - and said that is why employees have not been offered a pay rise since April 2009.

A Veolia spokeswoman said: “Wage reviews for our Sheffield refuse collection staff are undertaken at national level as part of the National Joint Council arrangements.

“The NJC is made up of representatives from the Government and the trade unions who meet to agree pay issues for local government and associated workers. In recent times, the NJC negotiations have resulted in no increase being awarded.

“Veolia has always honoured pay increases agreed by the NJC and will continue to do so in the future.”

IN NUMBERS - VEOLIA STRIKE BALLOT

200 - binmen and associated Veolia staff who were balloted

60 - the percentage who participated in the strike ballot

86 - the percentage willing to take industrial action short of a strike

75 - the percentage who voted for outright strike

So we’re standing there, in the queue, fascinated by the fact that the man in front of us is buying three identical jumpers in different sizes.

Is he one of triplets, each a bit fatter than the other? Is he about to embark on a crash diet, but has fallen so deeply in love with his natty new Nordic knit that he’s stocking up in ever-svelter versions?

Or is it that he simply can’t be bothered to find out which size fits him before he leaves the shop?

Me and my bezzie are confident it’s the latter. We diagnose him; clearly he is yet another sufferer of a strange affliction which seems only to strike men and boys. Well, ours, anyway.

Changing Room Avoidance Syndrome, we call it. And we suspect it’s as common as the cold. You often see its sufferers batting off badgering wives and girlfriends in the middle of Debenhams.

“Try it on. Just go in there and try it ON,” their exasperated women are saying, thrusting something on a coathanger into a defiant chest. You exchange weary, knowing glances as the menfolk sulkily snatch tickets from the assistant and disappear behind what to them is the department store equivalent of the Iron Curtain.

It’s not as if they have to run the gamut of a communal changing room. That particular foray into hell seems only to exist for womankind. So what’s their reluctance?

It could be fear - of being chivvied into buying something that might look remotely fashionable. Or of actually having to buy anything at all.

But our expert clinical opinion, based on years of experience (two husbands and a son apiece) is it’s laziness to blame. They just can’t be bothered to get undressed. It’s less faff to them to buy one item in a range of sizes, then get you to take back the ones that don’t fit in your lunch hour.

If you can ever get them into a changing room, by the way, you’ll notice they only ever come out to show you the stuff that’s no good.

The fact that they don’t like said garment, and knew they didn’t the minute you took it from the rails, is written all over their pouty faces. There’s no telling them it’d look ten times better if they stood up straight, either. Really, there isn’t.

And no matter how much a man loves his latest shirt, or jeans, or anything shiny and new, pound to a penny that when he gets it home, he’ll leave it in its bag in the spare room for days.

It can stay there even longer if it’s some little surprise you spied and bought especially for him. You have to nag and nag him into trying it on. “I’ll do it later” becomes “I’ll do it after I’ve had a shower”. Then it turns into “It’s too late now, I’ll do it in the morning.” Come daybreak, when you remind them of their pledge, they suddenly haven’t got the time. And so it goes, until all the pleasure you got from giving has turned worn threadbare.

They don’t feel that frisson of excitement that comes with every new fashion purchase if you’re female.

They would never do what we do; rip it from its hanger and excitedly spend the next half hour trying it on with all the things in our wardrobes we’d imagined it would go with. I even try new pants on.

Then I step over the clothes mountain I’ve created on the bedroom floor and mince victoriously into the living room, where Bloke will be sat making out he’s trying to watch some boring football match or news programme.

I strike a pose (for some reason I always stand with my left wrist and right ankle bent outwards in opposite directions: think Grattans catalogue, circa 1972). And he goes; “Yes, very nice” just to get me out of the way of the screen. Even if it’s pants.