A brazen thief walked into the home of an elderly worman and sat at a table before rifling through drawers and stealing cash.

The incident happened at around 11.10am on Saturday at a property on Beach Road, Fleetwood.

The man, who was alone, walked into the 85-year-old woman’s home.

When confronted by the wheelchair-bound pensioner he said he was waiting for his mother and entered the lounge and sat down by a table at the window.

He then stood back up and opened several drawers before making off from the address with a black leather purse containing around £10, a black wallet containing around £50 and a black handbag containing two pairs of glasses.

The man used a red flannel or tea towel, which he had brought with him to the address, to open the drawers.

The offender is described as a white male, aged around 19 or 20, tall and of slim build, with short dark-coloured hair and a local accent. He was wearing a light grey fleece-style top with a white zip and possibly grey trousers or jogging bottoms.

DC Martyn Leigh, of Blackpool Police, said: “This is a despicable crime committed against someone who is clearly vulnerable.

“We are determined to find the offender and bring him to justice and we would urge anybody with information about the incident to contact us.

“Maybe you recognise the description, saw someone leaving the address or saw someone in the vicinity, possibly carrying a red towel. If you have any information – however small – please do not hesitate to get in touch.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101, quoting crime reference WD1604785.

Health bosses in Blackpool have voiced their concern over a contract with Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health and community services throughout the county.

The town’s clinical commissioning group (CCG), responsible for buying and organising care for residents, has questioned whether value is being offered and has ordered a review to be carried out.

An arbitrator could now be called in to help settle the dispute, while documents revealed chief finance officer Andrew Harrison told governors at a recent meeting: “We do not want to put more money into the contract until a review of the usage of the contract is undertaken.”

A spokesman for Blackpool CCG said in a statement, after The Gazette approached Lancashire Care for a comment: “All eight of the CCGs in Lancashire contribute towards the cost of mental health services provided by Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust for our residents.

“The amount each CCG pays varies depending on the use of services by residents in each local area.

“The CCGs and trust are currently working together to look at how the calculation of this contribution could possibly be amended.

“This is part of ongoing work to make sure the funding of mental health services is fairly distributed across Lancashire.”

Blackpool CCG has had two contracts with Lancashire Care, which is responsible for running The Harbour in Preston New Road, Marton, documents show.

One was for community services running from April 2015 until March 2016, worth £14.9m.

The other is for mental health services, running from April 2015 until March 2017, and is worth £109,000.

It is the contract for 2016/17 that remains a concern, papers revealed.

The CCG is responsible for organising and paying for healthcare for Blackpool 
residents, while Lancashire Care is responsible for providing health and wellbeing services for around 1.4 million people.

Its services include podiatry, sexual health, rehabilitation, eating disorders, and prison and offender health.

A £2.1bn aerospace contract, that will protect hundreds of Fylde coast jobs, has been welcomed.

Fylde MP Mark Menzies today welcomed the Typhoon maintenance contract which will maintain hundreds of jobs at BAE Systems’ Warton site for years to come.

Minister for Defence Procurement, Philip Dunne MP, signed off on the landmark 10-year support arrangement for the RAF’s Typhoon jets.

The new Typhoon Total Availability eNterprise (TyTAN) agreement aims to deliver more than a third on savings on current support and maintenance costs, and could see more than £500m reinvested to continue upgrading Typhoon’s capabilities.
 And Mr Menzies said: “I am proud to be part of a Government which supports British industry and this is a further sign of our commitment to aerospace workers in Fylde.

“This arrangement will provide more efficient support and ensure our Typhoon fleet is readily available to deal with any challenges necessary at any time they become apparent.

“However, it will also help ensure Typhoon continues to meet the RAF’s future operational requirements, including undertaking new air-to-ground roles, currently performed by our Tornado jets, from 2019.

“This major contract will protect hundreds of jobs in Warton and at RAF Conningsby, Typhoon’s main operating base, while ensuring support is provided in the most efficient way possible.”

The Warton-built Typhoon is already the world’s most advanced combat aircraft. However, the savings generated through the new arrangement will enable future capability upgrades, ensuring it continues to provide world-class air power capability.

TyTAN allows recycling of support funding into upgrading the aircraft.

Mr Menzies added: “It is vital for jobs at Warton that Typhoon continues to be upgraded so it remains the number one aircraft on the competitive export market. That is why it is so important to maximise efficiencies and identify savings to re-invest in the aircraft.

“This arrangement shows the Government is committed to funding state-of-the-art equipment for our armed forces, but also providing value for money for the taxpayer.”

Police have identified a man whose body was found on Blackpool Beach.

Officers were called to the beach, opposite Blackpool Tower, at around 4pm on Tuesday, following a call from a member of the public.

The man’s body was removed with assistance from the Coastguard.

Detectives today said they had been able to confirm the man’s identity and were in the process of informing his family.

The 41-year-old is from the Leicester area.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “We were called at around 4pm on August 2nd to the promenade in Blackpool to reports the body of a man had been found on the beach.

“We have now identified the body as that of a 41-year-old male from the Leicester area.

“Enquiries are ongoing to establish how he came to be in Blackpool and the circumstances of his death.

“However, his death is currently being treated as non-suspicious and a file has been passed to the coroner.”

A massive £2.1bn aerospace contract, that will protect hundreds of Lancashire jobs, has been welcomed.

Fylde MP Mark Menzies today welcomed the Typhoon maintenance contract which will maintain hundreds of jobs at BAE Systems’ Warton site for years to come.

Minister for Defence Procurement, Philip Dunne MP, signed off on the landmark 10-year support arrangement for the RAF’s Typhoon jets.

The new Typhoon Total Availability eNterprise (TyTAN) agreement aims to deliver more than a third on savings on current support and maintenance costs, and could see more than £500m reinvested to continue upgrading Typhoon’s capabilities.

And Mr Menzies said: “I am proud to be part of a Government which supports British industry and this is a further sign of our commitment to aerospace workers in Fylde.

“This arrangement will provide more efficient support and ensure our Typhoon fleet is readily available to deal with any challenges necessary at any time they become apparent.

“However, it will also help ensure Typhoon continues to meet the RAF’s future 
operational requirements, including undertaking new air-to-ground roles, currently performed by our Tornado jets, from 2019.

“This major contract will protect hundreds of jobs in Warton and at RAF Conningsby, Typhoon’s main operating base, while ensuring support is provided in the most efficient way possible.”

The Warton-built Typhoon is already the world’s most advanced combat aircraft. However, the savings generated through the new arrangement will enable future capability upgrades, ensuring it continues to provide world-class air power capability.

TyTAN allows recycling of support funding into upgrading the aircraft.

Mr Menzies added: “It is vital for jobs at Warton that Typhoon continues to be upgraded so it remains the number one aircraft on the competitive export market. That is why it is so important to maximise efficiencies and identify savings to re-invest in the aircraft.

“This arrangement shows the Government is committed to funding state-of-the-art equipment for our armed forces, but also providing value for money for the taxpayer.”

Can any Weekly News readers solve this little puzzle?

Fleetwood woman Ann Andrew, of Broadway, came into possession of this old programme which dates from February 2 1927.

It was an eventful year for Fleetwood - that was the year when the town experienced a major flood in the October which left many streets several feet deep in water.

Ann, who runs the mobile fish-selling business, Ann’s Fish Bar, received the souvenir leaflet from an old friend who left it to her after she died. Grandmother Ann, 73, was so impressed with it she had a special colour poster of it made.

However, she has no idea about the actual event connected to the programme.

On the cover of the four-page programme, featuring blue print on smooth white paper, are the words ‘Souvenir - Fleetwood Old Folks Treat’. Inside is a menu - pressed beef, roast pork, boiled ham, tongue and sweets. It states that ‘tea, sugar and tobacco will be distributed after the entertainment’. And the entertainment features a long bill of artistes - no less than 20 in all.

They include comedian Mr Tim Coleman performing amusing songs, W Hesketh ‘the mighty baritone’ singing ‘Will o’th’ Wisp’ and the Wyrelon Syncopated Orchestra introduced by Mr H Cartman.

On the back cover is a charming drawing of two fish characters dressed up for a night out. But there is no mention of where the event was actually held.

Ann said: “It is such an intriguing item - obviously someone has gone to a lot of effort to put this event on and have this lovely programme printed, but there is no hint about what the event was.”

Anyone with information can email:richard.hunt@fleetwoodweekly.co.uk

A top advertising creative has hailed the importance of local media, saying its trusted relationship with the communities it serves and its ability to get tangible results puts it in a unique position.

James Murphy, co founder of creative agency Adam&Eve whose clients include Halifax, Unilever, Volkswagen and Hasbro, points to the wide range of campaigns on local issues - whether it is keeping a hospital open, raising funds for a school, or exposing town hall waste - that sees local media engage with its readers and share their investment in the issues. He said this relationship is a shining example of the importance of grassroots connections in an increasingly globalised world.

Mr Murphy has been announced as the judge of the new creative category in this year’s Local Media Works Awards.

Writing for the News Media Association, Mr Murphy set out his thoughts on why local community, insight and understanding have a hugely important role in effective communications:

“Globalisation and the rise of international ad networks serving hundreds of markets across the globe have created huge opportunities for the ad industry.

“Networks have enabled agencies to share resources and pool knowledge in a way that would have been unthinkable 30 years ago.

“Likewise, rapid advances in technology have given consumers the ability to connect with people on the other side of the world in the blink of an eye.

“In this context, it seems counterintuitive to say that local is more important than ever before.

“But the fact is that local community remains hugely important, with people spending a great deal of their time and money close to home.

“For brands, this is significant because it suggests that local insight and understanding continue to have a hugely important role to play in effective communications.

“By tapping into regional insights, an advertiser can position itself as an ally to people in a particular geography, reflecting and articulating local concerns, aspirations or humour. And when brands get this right it can be immensely effective.

“Local media, local newspapers in print and digital, is a natural platform for this kind of activity. The industry combines the sheer scale of 40 million readers each week with a deep rooted connection with local community, based on a shared investment in local issues.

“Local papers campaign on things that matter to their readers - whether it’s keeping the local hospital open, raising funds for a school, or exposing town hall waste - with real, tangible results. No other media can match this unique, highly trusted, and participatory relationship with its audience.

“As judge of the new creative category in this year’s Local Media Works Awards, I will be asking creatives from across the industry to think about some of these issues.

“Entrants are tasked with answering the brief, What Does Local Mean to You? to come up with an execution for Local Media Works - the home of marketing for local newspapers and their digital platforms - which effectively promotes local press.

“The winning ad will capture the unique relationship that local press has with its audiences and demonstrate how this can benefit national brands.

“Globalisation may have enabled people and businesses from opposite sides of the world to connect instantly, but local is still hugely important to people’s lives.

“I believe that by better understanding this and, when appropriate, reflecting local concerns and aspirations, communicators can help clients to achieve a much deeper and more meaningful relationship with their audiences.”

When you lose a parent, flashbacks can come along at funny times but ultimately, make you feel closer to that individual who brought you into the world.

But it is rarely I think of my long-gone mum as the person she must have been as a young woman, pre-motherhood and with her whole life ahead of her - unaware of the cancer that would take her early and still with young children.

My dad’s imminent house move saw me rifling through his cupboards and discovering memory upon memory tucked dustily away.

This included several boxes of vinyl records, particularly one box of 45s which spoke volumes about my mum’s passions as a 60s/70s girl, just discovering purpose and dreams in life.

The colourful singles, well thumbed and carefully marked with my mum’s name in her distinctive, rounded, handwriting, harked back to an era when vinyl records were coveted, expressive and spoke volumes of an era where young people were forging a cultural revolution, flares and all.

Her choices of records, while not particularly unusual for her time, provide a soundtrack for that period of her life before marriage, before I arrived as eldest child and when she dreamed of fighting through the barriers of a traditional family where women only played certain roles.

Not allowed to attend university to become a teacher, she instead ended up at secretarial college and sharing a Manchester flat with her rebellious actor friend Paula Wilcox (later of Man About The House fame).

You can imagine the arguments with her parents, my grandparents, set to the eclectic scratchy records from the music of The Dave Clark Trio, Bobby Vee. Gene Pitney, Joan Baez and of course, The Beatles.

It is fascinating to think how she came about the signed single by the CMJ Trio - I’ve never heard of them but inked on to the record cover their slightly blurred names - Chris, Muff and John.

I imagine a rainy Manchester stage door and mum with arm linked to her friends.

It made me smile.

​A busy​ Fleetwood​ road ​was closed tonight​, causing major traffic delays, after a crash in which a driver was cut free from his car.

​Dock Street was closed in both directions between Station Road and Denham Way.

Police said the accident at around 5pm had caused ​queuing traffic between the Freeport roundabout and the Fisherman’s Friend roundabout in particular.

The call for firefighter assistance to rescue a casualty trapped in one of two cars that had collided came from paramedics mobilised to the incident.

Two fire engines and crews, from Fleetwood and Bispham, responded.

Firefighters used hydraulic and battery-powered equipment to release the trapped casualty and he was taken to hospital by one of two ambulances and crews sent to administer to a total of five casualties.

Earlier, Blackpool Transport tweeted that the 17.23 service from Fleetwood ferry would not be running owing to “an incident” .

More people are thought to have attended A&E at Blackpool Victoria Hospital last month than ever before in its 80 year history.

Despite several recent high-profile appeals asking patients to consider alternatives, almost 10,000 people turned up at casualty for treatment, the hospital revealed.

Some 9,673 trips were recorded at A&E and the urgent care centre – which works out at 312 every day – up 10 per cent from 8,793 the same time last year.

The unprecedented demand has been blamed on a shortage of GPs locally, and people living longer, and has sparked a renewed appeal for people to consider where A&E is really the best place to go.

In recent months, patients have been cared for in corridors at casualty as room ran out.

Today, medical director Professor Mark O’Donnell said: “Many of these patients could have been dealt with by other services, such as the walk-in centre in Whitegate Drive or the same-day health centre in Fleetwood.

“Both of these services treat a wide range of minor ailments which aren’t appropriate for A&E, such as sprains, strains, cuts.

“During Monday to Friday, if need, you can also have an x-ray taken at both.”

Blackpool South MP, Labour’s Gordon Marsden, who is set to meet hospital bosses next week, said: “Frankly, many of the people they are seeing should have been picked up at earlier stage in the community.

“The answer is not just telling people not to turn up at A&E when they don’t need to, though that’s obviously an issue, it’s to better coordinate and cooperate with GPs and social services, understanding they also have their financial problems.”

Tory MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, Paul Maynard, added: “The role of A&E has changed remarkably in recent years, and people need to make sure they select the right location to get their treatment, and they may not be A&E.

“We are all living longer and more and more people are being seen every day, and we need to make sure that people attend the right place to meet their needs.”

Since April 1, 91 per cent of people at the walk-in centre were seen within two hours, while hospital bosses expect to see patients in A&E within four.

Prof O’Donnell added: “Local pharmacies can also provide expert advice for a range of minor conditions, and the free 111 telephone helpline is available 24 hours a day for guidance on how to treat a complaint.

“Where needed, the extensively trained 111 call handlers will also advise of which NHS service you should visit so you can get the most appropriate treatment in the quickest possible time.

“We urge people to think carefully about how they access local health services.

“By choosing and using the right services, patients can expect to be seen or treated more quickly, while keeping emergency services free for those with serious and life-threatening illnesses.”

It wreaked havoc across the Fylde coast for more than a month, and cost water bosses millions in compensation.

One year ago today, families and businesses throughout the county were warned to boil all drinking water after a microscopic bug posing a health risk was found in tap supplies.

But, 12 months after traces of cryptosporidium were first discovered, scientists are still unable to reveal how it got there.

An investigation was launched by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) into the contamination, but has still not reached a conclusion on what caused the major health scare.

Here’s how we reported the crisis one year ago:

AUGUST 6, 2015 - 15:48: Drinking water warning for parts of county

AUGUST 6, 2015 - 16:39: WATER SCARE: What is Cryptosporidium?

AUGUST 6, 2015 - 19:08: WATER LATEST: Shelves cleared amid water scare

AUGUST 6, 2015 - 20:16: WATER SCARE UPDATE: Map issued showing affected areas

AUGUST 7, 2015 - 07:25: Health warning continues after bug is found in water supply

AUGUST 7, 2015 - 10:13: BREAKING: Water warning to last into next week

A DWI spokesman said: “Investigations are ongoing and we will be putting information into the public domain as soon as we are able to.

“It’s a large and complex system and there are a number of lines of inquiry which need to be pursued to their conclusions.”

Bosses at Public Health England said they were also waiting for a report from the DWI, while water firm United Utilities added: “We are still cooperating with the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s ongoing investigation. The findings will be made public once the investigation is complete. The timing is a matter for DWI.”

It was exactly one year ago - on August 6, 2015 - when more than 300,000 homes and businesses were first warned to boil all drinking water to protect against the nasty parasite.

The Fylde coast, Preston, South Ribble and Chorley were affected, and it took 30 days for all supplies to return to normal, leading to compensation payments of between £50 and £60 to all domestic consumers and much more to businesses affected by the alert.

A dead pheasant in an outflow pipe was the most popular theory as to the source.

When the investigation was launched, it centred on the United Utilities water treatment plant at Franklaw near Garstang.

Blackpool MP Paul Maynard said: “I’m sure people would rather forget the stressful 30 days of boiling water this time last year, but it’s worth observing that it’s very strange that a year on the DWI has been unable to announce any cause. I’m sure the DWI will be doing all it can and I look forward to seeing an update report as soon as possible.

“It can’t be that hard to find out what happened and at the moment all we’ve got are rumours.”

Claire Smith, president of Stay Blackpool, said: “At the time the water problem was an inconvenience to everyone, and the larger their property the larger the inconvenience. We haven’t received any more information so we don’t know what happened. We just have to trust that the problem has been solved and that it will not arise again.”

The warning not to drink tap water without boiling it first caused disruption across the county, with some families and organisations struggling to access bottled water.

The Bond Hotel on Bond Street is a popular tourist destination for holidaymakers with disabilities. Owner Karen Atkinson said: “It was incredibly hard work and very stressful at the time because we get a lot of guests with learning disabilities as well as physical disabilities, and some of them didn’t understand that they couldn’t drink the water from the taps.

“While everything is absolutely fine now, we still want to know why it happened.”

Karen Carey, owner of The Winterbourne on Clarendon Road, said: “I’m sure a lot of people would like to know what caused it, especially as they told us they were going to let us know what happened and they haven’t done so.

“It put customers off coming to Blackpool at all because people saw that they couldn’t drink the water. I had a regular guest of mine posting online saying don’t come to Blackpool, you can’t get any water.

“We supplied bottled water to our customers so they could drink and brush their teeth - but obviously we saw a reduction in the number of customers, and we were paying for the bottled water on top of that.

“It affected us badly and we were extremely quiet for a whole month.”

Businesses were not the only victims of the water contamination. Trinity Hospice staff worker Shirley Morgan said the Bispham hospice went into ‘a state of emergency’ when the problems were announced.

She said: “Whenever something like this happens you can imagine the difficulties. The first thing that we did was spring into action and bring in an emergency cover plan that involved getting as much bottled water as possible. Because we had this plan in place we were able to continue looking after our patients.

“We had to introduce a lot of extra precautions to keep patients safe.

“It caused us some headaches but for us it was after the water scare that things really happened. All the schools donated the bottled water they no longer needed to us, which meant we had enough water to cover all our events for the entire year. It just goes to show every cloud has a silver lining.”

After years, no decades in fact, of doing the YMCA dance I, along with thousands of other Lytham Festival-goers can boast I have now done the moves to the live act.

This was just one of the highlights of what is traditionally party night at the Festival - and 2016 did not let the audience down.

With a line-up boasting the best of disco from the ‘70s to dance hits of the ‘90s, there was no excuse not to get up and shake it about a bit.

Dubbed ‘Mix Tape Night’, this is the kind of feelgood music that along with a glass of prosecco gets the weekend off to a flying start.

It was a chance for those of a certain age to relive their favourite hits ranging from Top Loader’s Dancing in the Moonlight to In The Navy, another floor-filler from Village People.

It may not be the most credible sound, but to many it is the soundtrack to their formative years.

And sometimes quite frankly you just want to let your hair down and dance round a handbag again!

The night was kicked off by Top Loader and 911, but it was Five Star who got everyone moving.

They were one of the hottest properties on the music circuit in their day, and treated the audience to a selection of pop classics such as System Addict from 1985, Rain or Shine and The Slightest Touch.

For the tartan army, who were out in force, it was worth the wait for one of Scotland’s finest -The Bay City Rollers, who rolled back the years by four decades to the days when they were the heart-throb idols of many a young girl.

Frontman Les McKeowan was the only member of the line-up from the original act, but that didn’t seem to disappoint as he performed hits including Bye Bye Baby, Shang-A-Lang and I Only Wanna Be With You.

Next on were Village People, who had inspired many festival goers to dress up in their own versions of the iconic Indian, cowboy etc. In fact 80s fashion was everywhere, plus a few Spice Girls for good measure.

The Earth, Wind and Fire Experience had been due to be among the headliners, but surely no-one can have been disappointed by their replacements - Sister Sledge.

Sisters Debbi, Joni and Kim belted out a string of hits including Frankie, We Are Family, Lost in Music and He’s The Greatest Dancer.

While the night might have been a taste of nostalgia, a good beat stands the test of time.

A couple are to hold an all-day fund-raiser in memory of their brother-in-law who died suddenly from heart problems.

The Lee David Rawlings Memorial Fun Day is a tribute to Lee who died suddenly, aged 43, after suffering an aortic dissection, leaving behind a young family.

Lee was known for his charitable work so Sarah Hallett, 34, and her husband, William, 58, Garden Terrace, South Shore, aim to carry on his effort of helping others by raising money for Heart Research UK and local charity Blackpool Street Angels.

Former boxer Lee was engaged to Sarah Hallett’s sister Kat.

This year, the couple say their free family fun day will be ‘bigger and better’ and will be taking place at Blackpool Cricket Club, Stanley Park on August 13, between 1-6pm.

Last year, they managed to plan their event within eight weeks of Lee’s death, but this time round, they have had eight months to pull together a full line up of exciting activities for all the family.

Sarah said: “All we hope for is the day to be a success and people come along and enjoy themselves!

“We want it to be as busy as possible to create as much awareness as we can about aortic dissection because people don’t know anything about it.

“Lee would probably think we were nuts, but he has done a lot for charities close to his heart and now we want to do the same.”

The day will be packed with fun and entertainment for the whole family from fairground rides to inflatables, owls on show to magicians, circus skills to various stalls and food - all giving contributions to Heart Research UK.

There will be guest appearance by DJ Scouse providing music throughout the day.

Blackpool band Happy Days will be performing and there will be Morris dancing from Broadway Stars and Latin American dance from JLC dance. Sarah herself will also be on stage singing.

Sarah, a Tele Appointer at The Planning Guide, Blackpool, said: “Lee committed so much of his time to his friends, family and to charity. We want the event to bring everyone together to remind everyone how much Lee touched our lives.”

Sarah’s mum also had a double heart bypass in 2013 aged 49.

They have now found heart problems run in the family and Sarah is being monitored.

Sarah and William are hoping that the event will raise as much awareness as possible of the devastating effects of heart disease and the work of Heart Research UK – a charity that funds pioneering research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease.

The day will be attended by Mayor and Mayoress of Blackpool, Coun

Kath Rowson and Joan Goldin. Over the past 12 months Heart Research UK has also funded two masterclasses in aortic arch surgery at the University of Liverpool, providing heart surgeons from all over the UK with the opportunity to learn this procedure from experts in the field and gain hands-on experience of this life-saving technique.

A motorway will be closed overnight to allow vital bridge works to take place.

The M55 will be shut close to junction one at Broughton later this month to allow repair work.

The overnight closures will begin on Monday August 15 and will allow the replacement of a joint on D’Urton Late bridge, which crosses the motorway just east of junction one.

Highways England project manager Mark Mosley said: “Our regular inspections show water is getting into the bridge joint and we need to take action to ensure the bridge will continue to have a long life.

“We have planned the work carefully to take place at night when traffic is at its lowest levels.”

The overnight closures – between junction 1 of the M55 and junction 32 of the M6 - will take place from 9pm to 6am each night with the eastbound carriageway closed overnight on Monday 15, Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 August and westbound closures on Monday 22, Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24th August.

Clearly signed diversion routes will be in place during the closures.

A 50mph speed limit will be in place on the approach and throughout the works at all times.

Plans have been unveiled to transform a historic Blackpool landmark into a hotel and leisure quarter.

Multi-million pound investment could see the former Post Office on Abingdon Street converted to a 50-bedroom hotel with a mezzanine courtyard boasting restaurants, shops and cafe bars.

The proposals have been submitted to Blackpool Council by husband and wife team Joe and Kelly Thompson of Thompson Contracts who bought the Grade II listed building last November.

Joe said today: “We think the former Post Office is a sleeping giant.”

The plans, which are expected to go before the council this autumn, propose locating the hotel within the old sorting office building accessed from Edward Street.

People would enter the first floor plaza from a ramp and steps opening into Abingdon Street, and the space could be used for outdoor entertainment and exhibition areas, partially sheltered by perimeter canopies.

Shops are earmarked for the ground floor of the Post Office.

The plans, which have been drawn up by Lytham based architect Gregory Musi of Abito Architects, would also see the restoration of some of the historic features.

Mr Thompson added: “I think it is a great building in the centre of Blackpool that is hugely under-utilised.

“Speaking with Blackpool Council, there is an appetite for better quality accommodation coming into town.

“The council is hoping to mobilise more conferencing at the Winter Gardens, and with the tramway coming up Talbot Road it also fits in with the transport policy.

“We are being very sensitive to the building and the external facades on both the Abingdon Street and Edward Street will be largely untouched.

“I think it will be great for the town.

“There is a lot of ongoing investment at the moment and we think this is a sleeping giant.

“Blackpool benefits from a lot of tourism, but we don’t see as many people coming into the town from the surrounding areas such as Poulton and Lytham.

“We would like to improve the offer for those people again.”

The Post Office was built in 1910, and was used by generations of people until 2007 when the counter service was relocated to WH Smiths in Bank Hey Street.

It re-opened temporarily to provide a parcel collection point, but has largely been empty prompting calls for something to be done with the building.

Since last October the sorting office has also been in new premises after relocating to a £7m new delivery office at Faraday Way in Bispham.

Thompson Contracts works on national projects with a range of clients including Las Iguanas, Prezzo and Cabana.

Coun Mark Smith, who is ward councillor for the area and also the council’s portfolio holder for business, welcomed the plans.

He said: “I would like to see some sort of strong development there as it would help improve the town centre and utilise this building.

“I would like to see something which enhances the area, and hopefully makes the most of the historical aspects such as the high ceilings and coving inside the old Post Office.

“In terms of a hotel development, personally I would hope the council can encourage something which is at least a four star standard which would encourage more high spending visitors to Blackpool.” Claire Smith, president of hoteliers group StayBlackpool, said: “It is a beautiful building and a perfect location for a quality hotel.

“It would be wonderful to see it back in use because if nothing is done with it, it will start to look shabby.”

Mr Thompson said there was already interest from operators in the site which is being marketed by Duxburys.

n Any interested parties should contact Adam Taylor on (01253) 316919, or email adam@duxburyscommercial.co.uk

A supermarket giant has abandoned plans to build a new superstore in Wyre.

Sainsbury’s was granted permission to build the new store, in Fleetwood Road North, Thornton, in 2012.

The big name retailer wanted to build a 50,000sq ft store close to Thornton Cleveleys Football Club which would have created around 400 new jobs.

But the London-based chain today admitted it was no longer pressing ahead with the scheme, blaming changing market conditions for the u-turn.

Planning permission for the land has now expired and Sainsbury’s indicated it would look to sell off the site.

A spokesman said: “We have not taken this decision lightly and are very disappointed we are not able to bring forward a new shop in Thornton Cleveleys.

“Since the proposals were first announced, shopping patterns have changed considerably and following a review the scheme is no longer viable for us. We will now be marketing the site for sale to interested businesses.”

Sainsbury’s and other traditional supermarket retailers have been hit hard by the rise of discount stores such as Aldi and Lidl.

Both have stores close to Thornton and are expanding their foothold on the Fylde coast.

Coun Howard Ballard, who represents Bourne Ward, was disappointed the firm had not relayed its decision.

He said: “It is disappointing that this information was not forwarded to us.

“Employment is always welcome and, with the new housing developments nearby, this scheme would have been of benefit to the area.”

A cancer survivor on a day trip to Fleetwood said she and two children – one aged just three – could easily have been killed in a car crash last week.

Jennifer Miller, 22, had just left Freeport when the black Citroen Cactus her dad Alan was driving was involved in a collision with a white BMW X3 in nearby Dock Street.

Alan, 57, had to be cut free from the wreckage, while Jen had to be stretchered to a waiting ambulance.

Also hurt was her mum Alison, 47, foster brother Jack, 11, and three-year-old Amber, who she was looking after.

Although all five suffered bruising, whiplash, and musclular injuries, none were seriously hurt – though Jen, from Darwen in East Lancashire, puts that down to the Cactus having a big boot.

“If it didn’t, I don’t think me or the children would be here,” she told The Gazette.

“ We had been to an Alice in Wonderland arts and crafts event and then we went to the beach. We had stopped off at Freeport and we had just set off back home when the accident happened.”

Police are investigating the crash, which saw Dock Street closed between Station Road and Denway Way at around 5pm on Thursday. No arrests were made, a spokesman said.

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Forecasts from the Met Office are predicting a mixed picture for the rest of this week before temperatures pick up across the country for the beginning of next week.

Southern parts of England could enjoy temperatures into the low 30s while even more northerly areas of the UK could see figures reaching the high 20s on Monday and Tuesday.

Sadly the summer sun doesn’t look set to last with thundery conditions expected to sweep in by the middle of the week bringing a drop in temperature with them.

Deputy chief operational meteorologist Laura Paterson said: “An area of low pressure looks likely to drag air up from the south across the UK.

“Despite being a week ahead, temperatures of 30-32 Celsius look more likely than not across some southern parts of the UK on Monday and Tuesday and there is a chance that even northern parts of the UK could see temperatures into the high 20s.

“Next week’s hotter weather does not look likely to last for long though with a thundery breakdown and eventual transition to cooler conditions expected by around the middle of the week.”

For those looking to make the most of the hot weather by heading to the beach, the RNLI has said: “Our key advice for people planning a trip to the beach, especially those planning to go in the water, is to choose a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flags, where the lifeguards can see you. We want people to have fun at the beach, but to make sure they stay safe while they’re enjoying themselves.”

Shopping centres bosses say outlets will be open as normal tomorrow despite having up to 40 travellers’ caravans illegally parked on their car park.

Shoppers and staff watched in amazement as a convoy of vans and caravans pulled into car parks at Fleetwood Freeport outlet centre yesterday afternoon.

Within hours the travellers had made themselves at home and refused to shift despite visits from the police and High Court enforcement officers.

Now centre bosses hope the travellers will listen to reason and quit the site within 24 hours.

A spokesman for the centre said: “We couldn’t believe our eyes when they started turning up, claiming spaces in all the car parks.

“We have had no trouble from them but obviously people were anxious because they weren’t used to this sort of thing.

“All the shops remained open until 6pm as normal and we plan to be open as normal tomorrow as well.

“The police were informed and the travellers were visited by enforcement officers, but they have refused to move.”

One shopper added, as Freeport prepared to close for the night: “It’s not something you expect to see on a shopping trip.

“They don’t seem to be causing any problems but I would be worried about where they are planning to go to the toilet tonight.

“I know a couple of people decided to put off their shopping because they did not want to park too near the caravans.”

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, a close friend of the Royal family, died on Tuesday afternoon, having suddenly become ill.

He had been transferred from his Abbeystead Estate to the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are "deeply shocked and greatly saddened" by the sudden death, a Clarence House spokeswoman said.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will send a message of condolence to the Grosvenor family.

One of the Duke's four children, his only son Hugh, is Prince George's youngest godfather, while his wife Natalia is godmother to the Duke of Cambridge.

Duke of Westminster's son to inherit £8.3bn family fortune - read more

The landowner was said to be worth around 10.8 billion dollars (£8.3 billion), according to Forbes, making him the 68th richest billionaire in the world, and third in the UK.

He owned 190 acres in Belgravia, adjacent to Buckingham Palace and one of London's most expensive areas, as well as thousands of acres in Scotland and Spain.

The Grosvenor family's spokeswoman said on Tuesday: "It is with the greatest sadness that we can confirm that the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor (64) died this afternoon at Royal Preston Hospital. He was taken there from the Abbeystead Estate in Lancashire where he had suddenly been taken ill.

"His family are all aware and they ask for privacy and understanding at this very difficult time.

"No further comment will be made for the time being but further information will follow in due course."

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that Her Majesty the Queen is aware of the news about the Duke of Westminster. A private message of condolence is being sent by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh."

The Duke suffered a nervous breakdown and depression in 1998, saying the pressures of business and the great number of public appearances he was making overcame him.

In his early 20s, on becoming trustee of the estate, he had been forced to abandon his dream of a career in the Armed Forces, satisfying his love of all things military by serving in the Territorial Army.

He became the sixth Duke of Westminster at 27, and later credited himself with using his vast wealth responsibly.

He supported a number of charities and good causes, including making a £500,000 donation to farmers during the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Of his wealth he once said: "Given the choice, I would rather not have been born wealthy, but I never think of giving it up. I can't sell. It doesn't belong to me."