Police have searched a house in Thornton in connection with drugs.

The raid, at a semi-detached house, took place at around noon on Friday.

The search was carried out as a result information passed to the police by other concerned residents.

Officers said that after carrying out a thorough investigation no illegal substances were found at the property.

Police are keen to continue receiving potential information from members of the public on the supply and use of drugs and stressed the importance of intelligence provided by residents.

A spokesman said: “We continue to encourage members of the community to report suspicious activity to us on 101 or via our Lancashire Police website.

“Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

A missing teen has been found by police just hours after his distraught mum pleaded with him to let her know he is ‘alive and well’.

Kieran Cheltenham, 18, hadn’t been seen since 10am yesterday, when he was spotted walking through Fleetwood with an undentified man.

He was found by police in Fleetwood at dinnertime today and arrested on suspicion of arson.

Describing her son as ‘vulnerable’, Donna Cheltenham, 35, of St Annes, said: “On Monday night, I got a message off his friend saying, ‘ring this number’ because he had been spiked and his phone had been stolen.

“He was out of it and I called the police.”

Kieran, who worked at The Beach Cafe in St Annes until last week, will now be questioned by detectives about a fire at a block of flats in Queen Street, Blackpool, which happened at around 9.05pm on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police confirmed officers were looking for Kieran and wanted to speak to him about the blaze, which is being treated as arson.

Two people had to be rescued by firefighters after a sofa was set alight inside a ground floor flat, police said earlier this week.

Others managed to get out before crews from Blackpool, Bispham, and South Shore fire stations arrived, the fire service added

Police are appealing for information following a burglary at the home of an 85-year-old woman.

The incident took place at around 11.10am on July 30 at a property on Beach Road, Fleetwood when a man entered the property through the front door, before being confronted by the wheelchair-bound occupant.

He stated he was waiting for his mother and entered the lounge and sat down by a table at the window.

He then stood up and opened drawers escaping with a purse containing around £10, a wallet containing around £50 and a black handbag containing two pairs of glasses.

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-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, however small – please do not hesitate to get in touch.”

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

Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org.

A man accused of kicking an American Bulldog puppy and assaulting the dog’s owner has gone on the run.

James Burder, 31, of Heathfield Avenue, Fleetwood, failed to appear at court for the first hearing of his case.

Burder had a warrant without bail issued for his arrest by District Judge John Maxwell sitting at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court.

• A school-girl apologised to a court for her laziness which had put her own mother in the dock.

The 14 year old was in tears as she asked magistrates to read a letter she had written to them.

Before the court was carer Hayley Bennett, of Broomfield Avenue,Fleetwood, who admitted failing to ensure her daughter Chloe’s regular attendance at Montgomery School,Blackpool.

The court heard that the teenager’s attendance had slipped to 86 percent-90per cent is considered persistent truancy.

Lynda Bennett prosecuting for Blackpool Council said that the defendant had been sent five letters about Chloe’s poor attendance and had gone to a meeting at the school to discuss the issue.

The choice to stay at Montgomery despite moving to Fleetwood was a parental one.

Her mother told the hearing that Chloe would not get out of bed in the mornings and she had three other children to get to school and get to work herself.

She said: “I have been fighting to get her out of bed .She is a typical lazy teenager.

“She realises she has got me into trouble and has written to you of her own bat.”

The teenager stood up in the well of the court and said: “I know its is all my fault.”

Her mother was given a 12 months conditional discharge and must pay £55 costs.

• A young mother was almost three times over the alcohol limit when she was pulled over by police.

Natalie Hood, a learner driver, had three male passengers on board as she drove in Blackpool.

Hood, 27, of Wyre Street, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol without insurance and not in accordance with her provisional licence.

She was sentenced to a 21 days curfew from 6pm to 6am, disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay £85 costs with £85 victims’ surcharge by District Judge John Maxwell sitting at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court.

Prosecutor, Jim Mowbray, said police saw Hood driving a Hyundai pull off a service station on Talbot Road without headlights on July 21 about 3am.

A breath test showed 97 micrograms of alcohol in her body - 35 is the limit.

David Charnley, defending, told the judge that his client, who had no previous convictions, said she had been coerced into driving by other people.

• A man accused of assaulting his pregnant former girlfriend has made his first appearance at court.

Erwin Alleyne, 42, of Worsley Close, Knott End, pleaded not guilty to assault and was bailed to September 6 for trial by District Judge Alan Jones sitting at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court.

• A picture posted on a social media site of three youngsters wearing hi-vis jackets at the scene of a crime they had 
committed led police to a burglar.

Aaron Whitney featured in the photograph and when police pounced a hi-vis jacket was found among his possessions.

Whitney, 8, of Warley Road, North Shore, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to burgling a bus station canteen.

He was sentenced to a 12 months conditional discharge and ordered to pay £15 victims’ surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said Thornton Cleveleys bus station mess room was broken into overnight on January 5.

Food had been eaten from the canteen and three hi-vis jackets plus a hedge strimmer, valued together at £415, were stolen. Police later found one of the jackets among Whitney’s things.

Steven Scott, defending, said: “It was not a sophisticated crime. One of the co-defendants posted on social media a picture of them inside the premises wearing the hi-vis jackets.”

A collection of books flown in from America after a devastating wartime plane crash have been ‘disposed of’ after a council blunder.

The 400-strong book collection was gifted to the people of Freckleton by members of the US Army Air Force and their families since the Freckleton Air Disaster of 1944, when an American pilot lost control of his bomber plane and crashed into the heart of the village and school, killing 61 people, including 38 children.

The books, which detailed American history and Freckleton’s relationship with the US Army Air Force, contained heartfelt messages from ex-servicemen who were stationed in the village during the Second World War.

Now residents fear the precious messages have been lost forever after Lancashire County Council admitted to ‘disposing of’ 384 of the prized books after taking them from Freckleton Library’s shelves over a period of several years.

Ruby Currell, 78, was one of three school survivors of the Freckleton Air Disaster. Just five years old at the time, she dived under her desk just moments before the bomber crashed into her school on August 23, killing 38 of her classmates.

She said: “I am extremely upset.

“These books were a gift and as a gift they should never have been removed. They could have contacted any number of people in the village about it, either the councillors or myself, and we would have looked after them.

“It’s downright disgusting that they have disposed of more than 300 books from our village. There’s no excuse for it.

“A great part of our history has been stolen from us.”

Freckleton East ward councillor Marjorie Whitehead said: “These books are of great sentimental importance to the people of Freckleton and they are very important to the American people as well. They’re a sign of friendship; they show that there is no ill will between us.

“These books are clearly dedicated to the people of Freckleton. The county council has no right to take them. They don’t belong to them, and they are not theirs to take and destroy.

“On the 23rd of August it will be the anniversary of the Freckleton Air Disaster and often we get relatives of servicemen coming over from America who want to see where their fathers or grandfathers were stationed during the war. They come to the libary to find out the history, and now it’s gone.”

The 16 remaining books have been removed from the library for safe-keeping.

Brian Willis, chairman of the Friends of Freckleton Library, said: “I don’t understand why they thought they could just take the books away and destroy them. They have now said they will replace the books, but the messages inside can never be replaced.”

Phil Barrett, Lancashire County Council director for community services, said: “We regularly withdraw books as part of our collections policy and it is regrettable that these books have been withdrawn as they were part of a specific collection relating to 
the village. While we cannot get the original books back, we are doing our best to help the situation by sourcing replacements where we can.”

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said 59 books had been removed in the last 12 months by mistake but they had not kept records of the other volumes taken.

He said: “Last year 59 books were removed from the library, and at that time the staff who had been working in the library who had been ordered to remove them realised their importance and tried to do what they could to save the inscriptions.

“Typed copies were made of some of the pages. In addition to that, they did keep some of the inscriptions when they were determined to be in good enough condition to be kept.”

He added that any hand-written messages taken from the collection before last year had been thrown away along with the books.

Sometimes I feel proud to live in such forward-thinking, modern times, where men and women are created equal but with all their glorious differences, or something.

Then, as usual, I come crashing back to the earth as if I was a gold-medal winning Olympian female athlete whose husband has been given all the credit for her win.

Yes, that actually happened.

It is actually getting pretty tedious to hear casual sexism and male entitlement still up and running in this day and age.

Though it does feel like every media outlet/social media site is revelling in doing each other down inthe political correctness stakes (it’s practically an Olympic sport in itself) - the fact is, it does remain unnacceptable to witch-hunt a female TV presenter for wearing a short-ish mid-thigh dress in a stifling TV studio.

This irony was not missed by many who noted nobody was critiquing a male presenter for wearing shorts hitched up to the point of hotpants.

Poor Helen Skelton - the irony is she is the best BBC presenter out in Rio by a mile.

And frightening thing is that much of this criticism was by women, undermining the fight for gender equality one by one.

Jealous of a successful young woman who ooks great in a short dress - much?

But sexual equality and gender sensitivity runs much deeper than a presenter’s off the cuff comments, or the assumptions that lie deep within sports and life.

Here in Lancashire we have just reported news of the sad death of the Duke of Westminster, a man who owns half the country and is certainly one of the richest.

Hot on the heels of this shock, the news that his 25-year-old son will inherit his millions, leaving his two elder sisters high and dry with nowt.

Though I’m sure they have trust funds to keep them in pearls it does seem unbelievable that such sexism is ongoing.

And while it remains acceptable to authenticate male superiority with law, there is little hope for the woman athletes who achieve Olympic greatness with not a single man in sight.

He was one of the richest men in Britain, owning 190 acres in pricey Belgravia, but for part of the time at least the Duke of Westminster called Lancashire his home.

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, a close friend of the Royal Family, died on Tuesday afternoon aged 64, having suddenly become ill while walking in the Trough of Bowland.

He was airlifted from his Abbeystead Estate to the Royal Preston Hospital at around 5pm, but died a short time later. It has been reported that he died of a heart attack.

The Grosvenor family’s spokesman said on Tuesday: “It is with the greatest sadness that we can confirm that the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 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 spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said: “He was airlifted to hospital after he had been taken ill whilst walking in the Trough of Bowland. There are no suspicious circumstances and a file will be passed to the coroner.”

The landowner was said to be worth around £8.3bn, 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 23,500-acre Abbeystead Estate in Lancashire was bought from the Earl of Sefton in 1980 and is set in the Forest of Bowland. The remote beauty spot with rolling hills and more than 600 acres 
of woodland also includes 
22 tenant farms.

It is thought that he used Abbeystead House while grouse shooting and members of the Royal Family were frequent visitors. His family home, Eaton Hall, is set in the The 11,500-acre Eaton Estate just outside Chester.

The Duke had business connections with Preston as chairman of Grosvenor Holdings, the commercial arm of the Grosvenor Estate, which he inherited on the death of his father in 1979.

The company owned Guild Tower in Lords Walk, now belonging to Simon Rigby, and as a philanthropist who supported both rural and inner-city areas with links to his estate, he became involved in the failed Preston Tithebarn development project - a £700m scheme to regenerate Preston city centre in partnership with the Lend Lease Corporation and Preston City Council.

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

He also won a legal fight against Westminster City Council in 1990, centred on a number of social housing flats built on the family’s land in Pimlico, London.

When the council wanted to sell the properties below the market value to those working in the borough, the Duke refused.

In court, the authority argued that the working classes no longer existed, but the judge ruled in the Duke’s favour, backing his bid to keep low-cost accommodation.

Of his wealth, the Duke 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.”

In his early 20s, on becoming trustee of the estate, he was forced to abandon his dream of a career in the armed forces, but satisfied his love of all things military by serving in the Territorial Army.

Paying tribute, the Soldiers’ Charity, which the Duke supported, said he had been involved in the “championing of soldiers and veterans” and “will be very fondly remembered”.

In 2000, he spoke for the first time about suffering a nervous breakdown and the cloud of depression which overcame him in 1998 after the pressures of businesses and making 500 public appearances a year overcame him.

His family life was notably private. The Duke married Natalia Phillips in 1978 and they had one son and three daughters.

His wife is a godmother to the Duke of Cambridge and his only son Hugh, is Prince George’s youngest godfather.

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

He also spoke publicly about wanting to ensure his own children were instilled with a commitment to using their wealth responsibly.

Speaking about his son and heir Hugh in 1993, he said: “He’s been born with the longest silver spoon anyone can have, but he can’t go through life sucking on it.

“He has to put back what he has been given.”

He added: “In Hugh’s case I would be delighted if he took over the responsibilities, because with the responsibilities come many rights and they are indefinable between the two”.

His son Hugh now becomes the seventh Duke of Westminster, aged 25.

He is also survived by his wife, Natalia and their daughters, Lady Tamara, born in 1979, Lady Edwina in 1981 and Lady Viola in 1992.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall said they were “deeply shocked and greatly saddened” by the sudden death, a Clarence House spokeswoman said.

Their statement added: “Their thoughts are very much with his family.”

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

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.”

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

John Barnett, the High Sheriff of Lancashire, said: “I was saddened to hear this news.

“This is a sad loss to the county for the work he did for his community and local area.

“My condolences go out to his family at this difficult time.”

More mortgages were handed out to first-time buyers in June than in any other month since 2007, banks and building societies have reported.

People taking their first step on the property ladder took out 34,300 loans for house purchase in June with a total value of £5.5bn - marking a 24 per cent leap in the number of loans compared with May and 17 per cent more than in June 2015.

The report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows the June figure is the highest for first-time buyer lending since 35,300 loans were handed out in August 2007.

Existing home-owners who were moving house took out 33,900 loans in June, up 28 per cent on May and 0.3 per cent on the same month a year earlier. June was the third month running that the number of first-time buyer loans being handed out was running at a higher level than the number of home-mover mortgages. This trend had not been seen previously for 20 years.

The cut in the Bank of England base rate to 0.25 per cent last week could mean some first-time buyers find they can get cheaper mortgage deals in the coming months, although experts have also warned that low savings returns will make it harder for aspiring first-time buyers to build a deposit.

The CML’s figures mostly reflect the housing market in the run-up to the referendum, with the vote taking place on June 23. They also show that lending to buy-to-let landlords showed signs of recovering in June, after a three percentage point stamp duty hike for this sector was imposed on April 1.

Some 6,000 loans were handed out to those purchasing buy-to-let properties in June, marking a jump of one third (33 per cent) compared with May. But the figure is still 42 per cent lower than it was in June 2015.

Paul Smee, director-general of the CML (pictured), said: “These figures reveal growth in house purchase activity and in particular for first-time buyers. As ever, there is uncertainty and it will take more time and patience to understand how the market will evolve in the current environment - these figures predominantly cover activity in the run-up to the referendum.

“We still believe that the mortgage market is well capitalised, resilient and open for business, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.”

An aircraft manufacturer has agreed to continue supporting a community initiative for another two years,

The AFC Fylde Community Foundation is celebrating the continuation of its partnership with BAE Systems.

The agreement will provide £20,000 of funding from BAE.

Since 2012, BAE has helped fund the foundation’s work with primary school physical education and enrichment programmes, diversionary outreach programmes, community youth club programmes and education services, as well as arts and health and well-being programmes.

Tom Hutton, director of community development at the AFC Fylde Community Foundation, said: “Our BAE Systems partnership has been vital in the development and growth of the Foundation.

“We’re so pleased that we’re continuing our partnership with BAE Systems so that we can help even more people across the Fylde Coast. From youth club programmes, to engaging older people through 50+ education, the company’s support is crucial to what we do.”

Chris Boardman, managing director of BAE Systems Military Air & Information, added: “BAE Systems recognises the importance of supporting communities. Our continued support of the AFC Fylde Community Foundation underlines this commitment.”

and recognises the valuable work it does with so many different parts of the community.”

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Foundation as it develops and delivers benefits to the local area.”

A teenage driver lied to police by pretending he was going back to his car to get proof he was insured but drove off.

Caleb Vaughan led police on a high speed pursuit through Fleetwood driving at more than twice the speed limit and through several red lights, while he had a child and woman on board.

When he later went to the police station because police wanted to speak to him Vaughan again drove his car without insurance.

Vaughan, 19, of Waverley Avenue, North Shore, pleaded guilty to an offence of driving dangerously and two offences of driving without insurance.

Prosecutor, Martine Connah, said police stopped Vaughan’s VW Polo on Copse Road, Fleetwood, on April 16 at 10.30pm, because it was showing as not insured.

Vaughan got out and spoke to an officer then said he would fetch proof of his insurance from the car. He drove off at high speed and would not stop despite a patrol car pursuing him with lights and sirens on. When interviewed Vaughan said he panicked.

Vaughan was bailed to appear on September 7 for sentence at Preston Crown Court by Blackpool magistrates and banned from driving in the meantime.

A couple have purchased their own bed and breakfast, fulfilling a life-long dream.

Kevin Twiss and Wendy Gee have purchased the Lancasteria Hotel and renamed it the Lumada Hotel with funding support from NatWest.

The pair have spent 15 years working in the hospitality industry.

Situated on Albert Road, Blackpool, the hotel has 14 rooms with en-suite bathrooms, flat-screen TVs, and tea and coffee making facilities. There is also a family room with the option of adding bunk beds as well as a guest lounge with a pool table and free WiFi in public areas.

Kevin said: “It’s always been a dream of ours to own a bed and breakfast of our own after working in the family hotel for 15 years. We now have the ability to run the business in our own way and develop new ideas. The Lumada Hotel is a fantastic red-brick hotel in the heart of Blackpool with easy access to local amenities.”

“When the time came to obtain funding for the purchase of the hotel, Kevin and Wendy turned to broker John Norris from the Mortgage Shop for support. John helped them save for their deposit and develop a business plan. He also introduced them to NatWest Relationship Manager Phil Saunders who helped them obtain a loan for the purchase.

Wendy said: “Phil and NatWest have been very good to work with, supporting us the entire way. It’s important to have a bank which believes in what you are doing when you are starting a business and that’s what we have with NatWest.”

Phil said: “I was delighted to support Kevin and Wendy with their new hotel which has seen them fulfil a life-long dream of owning their business.

“We wish the business every success for the future.”

Fylde businesses must continue to invest in skills during the tough times to ensure they are ready to reap the rewards in the good times, a leading Lancashire academic has said.

Dr Lis Smith, Principal and CEX at Preston’s College, said firms in the county could not afford to allow a skills gap in key professions to widen and had to focus on not only recruiting new staff but ensuring they upskill their existing workforce.

Key sectors including engineering, technology and manufacturing are among the areas where a shortage of skilled labour has been highlighted as an issue nationally.

Preston’s College is one of the sponsors of the Be Inspired Business Awards, which attracts scores of Fylde entries and will be presented at Blackpool Tower next month.

Dr Dr Smith said: “The ‘skills gap’ is a buzzword which we hear so often in everyday life, Businesses could be forgiven for thinking it is something they do not need to worry about.

“In reality, it is a challenge facing all parts of society, whether that is parents seeking bright, secure futures for their children, businesses needing skilled workers both now and in the future and educators who recognise we are charged with delivering these people.

“Just last year, Preston’s College has opened facilities dedicated to developing construction skills and our iSTEM Centre which is purpose-built to deliver skills required for our advanced engineering and manufacturing industries.”

A teenage learner driver was caught speeding down the M55 in a Skoda at 115mph.

Adeel Shah was only 17 at the time and 30 days off passing his test when he was stopped on the M55 at Kirkham by police.

The teenager then lied and gave his brother’s name to police when asked for his personal details.

Shah, now 18, of Tenby Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to speeding, driving without insurance and not in accordance with his provisional licence plus obstructing police.

Blackpool magistrates fined Shah £165 with £85 costs plus £30 victims surcharge and put six penalty points on his licence which means he will revert to being a learner driver and have to retake his test.

Prosecutor, Peter Bardsley, said police were attracted to Shah driving a Skoda Octavia hatchback on June 2 at 3.45pm because it was the fastest vehicle on the motorway.

Police followed Shah and clocked him driving at 115mph.

He was stopped and shown video footage of his drive.

At first he gave his brother’s name but then admitted his true identity telling police he had lied because he did not have a full licence.

Kathryn Jamieson-Sinclair, defending, said Shah, who had been loaned the car by a family friend, was deeply remorseful and offered no explanations or excuses for his behaviour.

Shah had passed his driving test 10 days ago.

His father was unable to drive because of a back injury so Shah ferried family members including his mother and sisters around and needed the car to do work for the family business.

A shattered mum who watched on helplessly as onlookers told her daughter to “jump” as she threatened to leap from a multi-storey car park today said: “I have seen the worst of humanity.”

The mum was standing on Dickson Road last Friday as trained police negotiators tried to persuade her daughter to step away from the edge of Wilko’s car park.

Today, she told how passers-by shouted for her daughter to kill herself while scores more urged her to jump on social media sites.

Read the Gazette Viewpoint here

The Blackpool mum, whose identity The Gazette is not disclosing, today said: “I have seen the worst of humanity.

“One person called me a weirdo because I wouldn’t explain to her why my daughter was up there.”

Today, speaking to The Gazette on the condition of anonymity, she has opened up about the sickening calls she was forced to endure as a specially-trained police negotiator persuaded her daughter not to take that final step off the edge of Wilko, in Dickson Road, Blackpool, last Friday and Saturday.

She said: “I saw people sitting in the gutter for three hours watching with their children.

“One called me a weirdo because I wouldn’t explain to her why my daughter was up there.

“I have seen the worst of humanity.”

Speaking from her modest family home close to Marton on Friday, she also criticised the medics who allowed her daughter, in her 20s, out of hospital to climb back on top of the car park again the next day.

“I said I was really worried for her safety, and was not able to keep her safe at home,” she said. “But they disregarded everything I said and discharged her.”

Blackpool town centre ground to a halt after the woman climbed to the top of Wilko shortly after 10am on Friday.

Buses were diverted as police closed Dickson Road and Talbot Road, with a crowd quickly gathering to watch the drama unfold.

After being alerted to the situation by a friend, her mum raced to the scene – and promptly had a panic attack.

She was given a seat behind the police cordon by officers, out of sight of her daughter – who told a specialist negotiator she didn’t want to see her family – but not out of earshot of the callous crowd.

“As soon as people realised there was someone on the roof, they were gathering in groups,” she said.

“She was up there for five hours and throughout there were people shouting ‘jump’ at her. And she heard it.

“Even she said later, ‘What did they hope to see? Did they really want to see me splattered on the pavement?

“Because I was behind the cordon, and had been given a chair and coffee, people had realised I was her mum.

“Quite a lot approached me and asked why she was up there and what she was doing.

“One said, ‘Stupid cow – why doesn’t she just jump?’”

Her daughter, described as a quiet girl, has suffered from a personality disorder – which causes impulsive and unpredictable behaviour – since she was a schoolgirl. She was finally talked down at around 4pm.

She was detained under the Mental Health Act and taken by ambulance to The Orchard, a mental health facility in Lancaster.

Just hours later, after being assessed by two psychologists, she was deemed fit to leave, her mum said.

“They said she seemed fine now,” she added.

“Her intention had been to throw herself off the roof. The police negotiator said there was even a point where he genuinely thought she might jump.

“She has never done anything so extreme before. Hand on heart, I couldn’t say she was not going to jump. I just didn’t know.”

The pair went back home, with the daughter acknowledging how dangerous her actions had been that day.

But her nightmare hadn’t ended, as she realised when she logged on to Facebook and saw dozens of hurtful comments – and pictures clearly identifying her.

“She felt quite stupid about it all,” her mum said. “She was upset by it, and the comments she had seen since.

“Those messages could be the reason why she went back the next day, I don’t know.”

The next morning, after saying she was popping out for a cigarette, as was usual, she instead called a taxi and went back into the town centre, and climbed back on top of the car park – this time sitting with her legs dangling over Queen Street.

She had hidden her mum’s car keys during the night, and told friends she was ‘more determined than ever’ to jump.

“That scared me,” her well-spoken mum, who works with youngsters in the resort, said.

“This time there wasn’t as many people there, but the police pointed out three who they said seem to be at every single incident for some reason.

“But there were still people shouting abuse. One girl was taking pictures while in her work uniform. I have been in touch with the store and said that, when I asked her to delete them, she laughed in my face. They’re dealing with it.

“I have even heard comments from people who said they were there both days.

“I did start to have a go back. I’m a very patient person, but I was beginning to lose it.

“At one point I was dragged away and had to be reminded they are not worth it.

“It was very tough. The police threatened to arrest a few of them if they carried on, and they were saying they couldn’t believe how calm I had acted.”

The same police negotiator – since praised for his efforts – was again successful in talking the young woman down from the edge of the rooftop later that afternoon.

And this time, her mum said, officers decided to arrest her on suspicion of a public order offence, in the hope she would see a mental health worker while in the cells at Bonny Street Police Station.

Officers didn’t handcuff her, and sat with her in the back of the police car during the short drive across town.

“I was confident that, because this was the second time it had happened, she would get help, but I got a call at 7pm from a female PC saying she was ready to be collected,” she said.

“I asked if she was joking, but she said it was not the right place for her. The idea had been to take her there for help, but that failed as well.

“I just feel very let down by the mental health services, not just in the last week but the last few years.

“It’s very disjointed. She will work with one service, and then be put on a waiting list for another.

“She did a course recently and she came out with a lavender bag she can smell. What good is that?”

“She was with CAMHs (child and adolescent mental health services) until she was 16, and then she had to wait until she was 18 for adult services. There was nothing for her in between.”

The woman, who was due to go on holiday last week but had to cancel, losing £1,500 in the process, has now been in touch with the office of Blackpool South’s Labour MP, Gordon Marsden.

Last week, Mr Marsden questioned the support given to her daughter, and said: “It’s obviously very concerning that this lady, having been successfully brought down from the roof and presumably referred for mental health support, should appear on the roof again just 24 hours later.

“That does raise questions about what treatment or support she was given and, while respecting her confidentiality, we need to hear more on this from the authorities responsible.”

Lancashire Care NHS Trust, which is responsible for providing inpatient mental health services across the county, refused to say what help had been offered to the woman before the weekend’s events, or what involvement they had with her after she was talked down on Friday, citing ‘patient confidentiality’.

But a spokesman said: “The trust is experiencing an increased demand for inpatient mental health services and this reflects a national shortage of beds. Our number one priority has been to ensure our patients receive the highest quality care when they need it.”

There are many wonderful and positive actions which have come from social media.

The amazing crowd-funding activities for example, one of the best of them being when beautician Katie Cutler helped to raise almost £300,000 for disabled Alan Barnes after he was mugged.

It was truly inspirational and something which could not have happened without the power of Facebook, Twitter and the rest.

Most of us use social media and the internet every day, if not at work, then to keep up with what our friends are doing....without having to actually speak to them.

And it is this anonymity which appears to be leading some of us down a dark road.

Read the heartbreaking story of the mother whose daughter threatened to leap to her death from the top of a multi-storey car park and you can’t help but wonder where all this will end.

This loving mum had to listen while members of the public around her at the scene urged her daughter to jump after she raced to the scene to try to persuade her to come down safely.

She is right when she says she has ‘seen the worst of humanity.’

Social media played its part and here at The Gazette we were not blameless in this. We ran the breaking story on our website and then put a link onto our Facebook page. We later removed the link after realising that the shouts to jump were being amplified online.

The young woman at the heart of this tale of our times is clearly unwell. But instead of showing her sympathy at her most vulnerable moment, some posters chose to treat it as entertainment.

Perhaps we are so used to shock tactics on all our screens - TV, tablets and mobile - that we no longer consider the human price people are paying for our ‘enjoyment’.

Social media is a wonderful way of keeping in touch and up to date. But we are in danger of becoming savage in our pursuit of ‘likes’ and retweets.

Perhaps we all need to think a little more before we rush to comment on everything.

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With the Olympic Games in Rio well underway, LEP reporter Mark White tried his hand, and feet, at taekwondo ahead of Great Britain’s push for a gold medal in the sport.

With the Olympic Games upon us and Britain in line for more medals like Jade Jones’ taekwondo gold from the London 2012 games, I thought I would immerse myself in the culture of the Korean martial art.

The umbrella term ‘traditional taekwondo’ typically refers to the martial arts practiced in Seoul during the 1940s and 1950s, though in reality the term taekwondo had not yet been coined at that time.

Meet Lancashire’s other Olympians

But following a martial arts demonstration by the military in 1952, South Korean President Syngman Rhee urged that the martial arts styles be merged and named taekwondo.

And these arts are still practised across the globe including Fleetwood’s Mount Taekwondo club, where I had my first taste of the Olympic sport.

There’s certainly more gear than I ever expected. Firstly I put on my taekwondo suit, or Dobok, along with my beginners’ white belt.

Has Rio 2016 inspired you to get active?

And that was just the start as I was told that, on top of that, I would need a chest guard (hogu) as well as head, foot and shin pads.

After warming up on the floor mats at the club’s venue of St Nicholas’ Church of England Church on Highbury Avenue and then learning some basic moves, we moved into some gentle sparring.

Paul Barton, a 5th Dan Master at the club who has been practising the martial art for more than 20 years, took me through the rules.

Fights begin with a formal greeting with competitors bowing before the Korean word for begin is said by the referee to start the bout.

We spent 30 seconds fighting our opponent before moving on to spar with another member of the group.

It was a real mix of young and old, with some in their mid 60s and one boy as young as eight.

With all the gear, I was pouring with sweat within minutes and my feet had already started to bruise.

But it was fun, really fun and I could see how such a friendly and positive group was attracting more and more members.

I, as a completely novice, enjoyed it thoroughly and now have even more interest to watch Great Britain, who possess some of the world’s best in taekwondo, in the Olympics.

Taekwondo - the rules, scoring and how to get involved

How to win: Fighters score points by landing kicks and punches on the torso and head of their opponent – the fighter with the most points wins the bout. That or by knocking out your opponent, having 12 points more than the opponent at the end of the second round or by an opponent being disqualified.

The aim is to strike the opponent inside the red or blue areas of the uniform and points are awarded for each strike.

If a fighter hits their opponent on the turn, the infamous ‘spinning kick’, it is worth two points.

A direct hit to the head can score three points or four points are given for a spinning kick to the head.

Fight length: The bouts are divided into three two-minute rounds, with one-minute intervals between each. If the scores are level at the end of the first three rounds, there will be a fourth round where the first to score a point wins. If no points are scored in the fourth round, the winner is decided by the referees.

What is not allowed: Use of the knee, pushing, holding, hitting below the belt and hitting your opponent when they are on the floor, are considered serious, punishable infringements.

Ranks, belts and promotions: Ranks are separated into junior and senior sections, colloquially referred to as colour belts and black belts.

The black belts are typically made up of nine ranks. Each rank is called a Dan and the ranking begins at 1st and ends at 9th. To advance from one rank to the next, students typically complete promotion tests in which they demonstrate their proficiency in the various aspects of the art before their teacher or a panel of judges.

Promotion tests vary, but may include such elements as the execution of patterns, which combine various techniques in specific sequences; the breaking of boards to demonstrate the ability to use techniques with both power and control; sparring and self-defence to demonstrate the practical application and control of techniques and physical fitness.

Office of National Statistics figures also show that the cost of diesel has also fallen, by .4p pence per litre with the cost at the pump now 111 pence per litre.
Fuel is still more affordable than at the same time time last year, with unleaded petrol 5.3 pence per litre cheaper and diesel 1.0 pence per litre cheaper than it was this week in 2015.

More than £175m has been gambled in Blackpool in a year – on betting machines alone - according to latest figures.

The statistics have been released by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, which says tougher regulation must be brought in for fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs).

It comes amid claims that the number of young people becoming addicted to gambling has rocketed in recent years.

In 2013, the figure for Blackpool was £163m.

With 44 betting shops across Blackpool, gamblers themselves say fixed odds betting terminals are one of the major concerns.

Compulsive gambler Terry Kilgariff, from Wesham, describes FOBTs as “the worst thing that ever happened to (him)”.

He says: “They are ridiculously addictive, and it’s instant.

“I would never consider ever putting £200 on a horse.”

He says he had been into bookmakers with £1,000 of wages, and says: “I start off thinking I’ll put £20 on that machine and I lose it.

“You lose it and you think ‘I’ll win it back’, and before you know it you’re £600 down and that’s in half an hour.

“It’s so fast, and it’s so ridiculously out of control.

“It is criminal.”

But gambling has now also moved online, with a recent surge in young compulsive gamblers, hooked on internet betting.

Terry, 59, who attends Gamblers Anonymous (GA), explains: “The thing we are finding a lot is we are getting a lot of new people.”

He says the number of people with online gambling problems attending the meeting has increased, and says: “We are getting a lot of people who are up all night gambling online.

“If they are doing it online and it’s just the click of a button, they describe it as being like Monopoly money.

“If they had to go to the bank and take £500 cash out and hand it over then they might think twice, rather than just the press of a button.”

In Terry’s eyes, there are three “bottom lines” he sees compulsive gambling leading to: “prison, the streets, or the morgue.”

He is trying to encourage those with a problem to attend GA meetings, and says: “For every person who comes in the door, we know we could go into the street and find 10 other people who should be coming. From my point of view, I just don’t want to see people end up in the same situation I’ve found myself in.”

A man described as eccentric upset neighbours in Fleetwood with his bizarre behaviour.

Gavin Blair made a rude remark about pubic hair repeatedly embraced park railings and indecently exposed himself to a group of football fans, a court was told.

Blair, of Park Avenue, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to breach of the peace and was bound over in the sum of £100 for 12 months by Blackpool magistrates.

Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said a woman neighbour called police about Blair’s behaviour on August 13. Neighbours had had issues with Blair saying he was erratic and aggressive.

The neighbour said Blair had been shouting and swinging a bottle about in the street, embracing railings and banging his feet on decking.

Patrick Nelligan, defending, told magistrates: “He is eccentric and the neighbours are getting frustrated with him. He has problems sleeping at night and seems to have a different body clock. He vehemently denies exposing himself to anyone.”

A man described as eccentric upset neighbours in Fleetwood with his bizarre behaviour.

Gavin Blair made a rude remark, repeatedly embraced park railings and indecently exposed himself to a group of football fans a court was told.

Blair, of Park Avenue, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty guilty to breach of the peace and was bound over in the sum of £100 for 12 months by Blackpool magistrates.

Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said a woman neighbour called police about Blair’s behaviour on August 13 . Neighbours had issues with Blair saying he was erratic and aggressive.

The neighbour said Blair had been shouting and swinging a bottle about in the street, embracing railings and banging his feet on decking.

A group of football fans went past and they told police Blair had exposed himself to them. Patrick Nelligan, defending, told magistrates: “He is eccentric and the neighbours are getting frustrated with him. He has problems sleeping at night and seems to have a different body clock. He vehemently denies exposing himself to anyone.”

• A grandfather gave excuses such as he was on the roof, out getting the dog and at the shop for not keeping his curfew.

Stuart Knights later told officials he could not keep the curfew because his long-term partner had kicked him out of their home.

Knights, 40, of Milton Street, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to breaching a community order and shoplifting.

He was sentenced to a nine months community order with up to 20 days rehabilitation to be supervised by the probation service, put on three months drug rehabilitation and ordered to pay £29 compensation by Blackpool magistrates.

Neal Brookes, prosecuting for the probation service, said Knights had been put on a 12 weeks curfew from 7pm to 6am for an offence of assaulting a two-year-old boy who was hit by a television the defendant was trying to steal when he dropped it and it slid along the ground.

Knights made various excuses for being out during his curfew from July 4 to August 1. On August 3 he told an officer his partner had asked him to leave their address so he could not longer keep a curfew there.

Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said Knights was seen sitting on a folding chair in the GT store, Fleetwood, on May 31. He then folded up the chair, left without paying and escaped on a bicycle.

Patrick Nelligan, defending, said Knights had conquered a long-term heroin problem with the help of specialists.

• A man ran up a £336 bill in a Fylde pub enjoing food and drink with friends.

But Jack Spinks left the Highcross pub at Poulton knowing that the debit card details he had given the staff had not got enough money to pay.

Spinks of Alexandra Road, South Shore, admitted fraud when he appeared before the town’s magistrates.

Malcolm Isherwood, prosecuting, said that Spinks and his friends had moved seats several time during the course of their evening out.

When it came time for the bill to be paid they had disappeared.

The group had called a taxi but before they they left Poulton Spinks went into the Highcross office licence nearby and stole two packets of cigarettes and tobacco valued at £35.

The taxi took them to Bispham where Spinks ran off without paying the fare.

His lawyer Patrick Nelligan said:”My clients say he thought someone else in the party had paid the bill.”

Spinks who admitted theft from the shop and two bail act offences. He was sentenced to 200 hours work for the community and must pay the shop and pub full compensation.

• A woman accused of hitting her boyfriend with a wine glass and punching him in the face last Christmas Eve has had the case against her dropped.

Sophie Moore, 23, of Wingrove Road, Fleetwood, had pleaded not guilty to two offences of assault.

The prosecution offered no evidence in the case and Blackpool magistrates formally dismissed the case against Moore.