A 10-year-old Hulk fanatic has shown his superhero strength by returning to the classroom just months after being diagnosed with an ultra rare type of brain cancer.

The Marvel Comics-obsessed youngster has been battling Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) – an aggressive form of brain tumour mostly affecting children – since January.

His mum, 35-year-old support worker Emma Jordan, said: “It’s very surreal how normal our lives, compared to how it was earlier this year.

“I can’t say if we have beaten the cancer or not because this type of tumour is not something you beat, and there’s always a chance it will come back.

“But at the moment it seems to be stable and that’s the best news.”

Chris Gradwell, a family support worker at St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School in Cleveleys, added: “Charlie has been absolutely amazing. He was delighted to come back, and said he has missed all his friends.

“He’s been out every dinnertime playing with them.”

Charlie, who lives with his mum in Orchard Close, Thornton, first fell ill shortly after Christmas last year, when he complained about feeling sick and dizzy, and started falling over without explanation.

Emma thought her son had a winter virus, and took him to the Walk-In Centre on Whitegate Drive as a precaution.

But after hearing his symptoms, staff sent Charlie to Victoria Hospital, where a scan revealed a mass on his brain.

Within 24 hours, the youngster was tranferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

Emma said: “He had an MRI scan on the Monday and they were really reluctant to tell me the results. They had to be sure, so took a couple of days.

“Then they took me, my dad, my mum, and my step-dad in a little room and told us. They were actually really positive, but then we got transferred to the radiologist and that’s when she said how serious it was.”

Between 20 and 30 children are diagnosed with DIPG every year and there is currently no effective treatment. Surgeons can’t operate because the tumour grows within the brainstem, which controls vital functions such as breathing and, as a result, nine in 10 youngsters die within 18 months of diagnosis.

Emma added: “She didn’t give me a time-frame but she told me the worst case scenario. She said we had to hold onto the hope that it was low-grade.”

Every day for five weeks, Charlie had to have radiotherapy treatment at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral, with Emma staying in accommodation provided by staff so she could be there for her son, who she said took his ordeal ‘on the chin and with a pinch of salt’.

“He is like my hero,” she said. “The only time he got upset was when he put on a lot of weight due to the treatment, but he has been amazing – better than I would be, and probably better than most people would be.”

Charlie spent the summer recovering from his intensive treatment and, after a follow-up scan last month showed his tumour has not grown, he sat down for the start of Year Six with the rest of his classmates.

And while Emma is keen not to tempt fate by using words like ‘beaten’, she admits she didn’t expect life to be this normal just nine months down the line.

“I could not imagine him being so well at this point,” she added. “I think we are pretty much normal at the moment, but the diagnosis and the tumour is always there. If he falls over, or looks a bit tired, or if he’s a bit clumsy, that’s when I start to worry.”

Emma said the support from St Teresa’s has been ‘amazing’, and said: “They are like family.

“They have been behind us 100 per cent. A couple of teachers even came to visit when he was having his treatment.”

Tickets: facebook.com/charliessuperheroes

Blackpool could be in line to hold one of the main party conferences again after nearly a decade in the wilderness.

Council leader Coun Simon Blackburn has revealed one of the main political parties has been in touch about possibly bringing its autumn conference to the resort in 2019.

It is nine years since Blackpool last hosted a major party conference when the Conservatives came here in 2007.

Since then there has been huge investment in the Winter Gardens which has been in council ownership since 2010.

An ambitious bid to build a new conference and exhibition centre on the side of the Grade II listed complex is currently being considered.

Coun Blackburn said: “I can confirm that one of the major national UK political parties has approached us, with a tentative inquiry about holding their main annual conference here in Blackpool in 2019.

“I am delighted at this interest, which we will pursue with vigour.”

Coun Blackburn revealed the inquiry at last Wednesday’s full meeting of the council after Tory councillor Maxine Callow warned it was essential the resort reclaimed conference trade.

She said: “Blackpool needs political conferences.

“We get people coming to Blackpool who will spend their money here and we get the kind of publicity on the television that you can’t buy.

“I hope we don’t sit back and say it’s not worth going for the conferences. We must keep going on this.”

It is estimated Blackpool is losing between £15m to £20m a year by not hosting one of the main annual conferences.

Labour will bring its North West regional conference to the town for the fifth year running this autumn.

But the resort has lost out as political parties favour big cities, with Labour going to Liverpool this year and the Conservatives set to gather in Birmingham.

The Liberal Democrats are going to Brighton this year, while UKIP held its conference in Bournemouth.

Plans for a £25m conference centre at the Winter Gardens are due to go before council planners tomorrow.

A funding bid is also being made to central government.

If the scheme gets the go ahead, the new venue could be ready in late 2019, and would bring the total capacity of the Winter Gardens, including the Empress Ballroom, to 7,000.

However one of the main stumbling blocks has also been the lack of a large, top quality hotel close to the venue.

There is planning permission in place for a 63-bedroom hotel on Leopold Grove but so far the development has stalled.

Fylde Council could be asked to find more land for home building should it object to plans for a brand new dual carriageway linking Fleetwood to the M55

Coun Maxine Chew, who represents Singleton, fears she may be a lone voice against proposals to replace part of the A585 which runs through her ward.

The Gazette has learned that if the road scheme were not to go ahead Wyre Council could ask Fylde to take on some of its new house building responsibilities.

Highways England is currently consulting the public over proposals to build a new £100m road which would cut through Coun Chew’s ward.

The scheme is supported by Wyre Council which believes it will reduce delays and increase investment into the borough.

And the authority has told The Gazette a delay or cancellation of the scheme, which could begin by 2020, could have wide-ranging repercussions.

A spokesman said: “If the A585 improvements were delayed or did not go ahead or the scheme that was implemented did not maximise capacity then Wyre will be limited on how much new housing to meet identified needs could be delivered.

“The shortfall or any specific amount of that does not automatically go to Fylde. However Fylde, along with Blackpool, as an adjoining authority, will have a responsibility to provide for any need that cannot be accommodated within Wyre unless they are able to provide clear and justifiable evidence why they cannot.”

This is a major concern to Coun Chew. She said: “Fylde is between a rock and a hard place. It’s either agree to a new road or end up finding more land for development.

“Singleton is out on a limb, on the periphery.

“Councillors in St Annes and Lytham aren’t going to be concerned by the road in the same way they might about more homes.”

A civil servant who lost five stone battling cancer has spoken of his fight.

Ben Dickinson, 33, from Bispham, has opened up about his plight in support of Stand Up To Cancer, a joint fund-raising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.

He said: “The last 12 months have been really tough. Being in hospital in for such a long time and away from home wasn’t easy.”

Ben first fell ill 12 months ago when he suffered from jaundice. After several tests, including biopsies and having a camera placed in his stomach, he spent a week in hospital with pancreatitis.

Surgeons operated on his stomach after suspicious-looking cells were found in his stomach and Ben, who had his large bowel removed as a teen, was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in early December.

After having his gallbladder and part of his pancreas and bile duct removed during the 13-hour op, Ben was told the cancer was at an early stage and no further treatment was needed.

The devoted Liverpool FC fan lost five stone in weight, but despite his illness is back at work and continues to remain positive.

“My wife Leanne has been an absolute rock to me. We are just so relieved to come through it all and are looking forward to the future.”

Leanne, who also works for the civil services, as an accountant, added: “I’m so grateful for the treatment that helped Ben and I’m so proud to support Stand Up To Cancer.”

This year’s campaign, supported by celebrities including Davina McCall and Alan Carr, will culminate on Friday, October 21, with a night of live TV on Channel 4.

Jane Bullock, from Cancer Research in Blackpool, said: “It’s time to rebel against cancer, raise money, and save lives. Research is our weapon against this terrible disease.”

Villagers are gearing up to fight a 13th planning application for homes on land near cottages at risk of flooding.

The bid made once again to Blackpool Council has angered residents of Staining who have opposed the plan previously.

It has been lodged by CFM Consultants of Poulton on behalf of Keith Beardmore of Braithwaite Manor on Mythop Road.

The aim is to build seven two-bedroomed bungalows on land off Broad Oak Lane.

Fylde councillor John Singleton said nine similar applications were refused, two more went to a planning inspector on appeal and were turned down while another was left undetermined.

At the last refusal, residents and councillors said the build site was only half a kilometre from a key nature reserve and site of special scientific interest (S.S.S.I.) at Marton Mere which could be adversely affected by the development.

Residents also warned they feared the scheme might trigger flooding in that part of the village, which lies within Blackpool’s boundaries.

Today Coun Singleton said: “The cottages down the narrow lanes of the low lying area of Broad Oak Lane are some of the oldest in the Blackpool area.

“The area adjoining this land in Blackpool and Staining is subject to surface water flooding and some of the small cottages have been regularly flooded as they are lower than the parcel of land in question at the rear of Broad Oak Lane.

“The owner occupiers wish to remain in their homes and retain the way of life they love so much.

“As a borough and parish councillor I am involved with this matter as the access road, to the land at the rear of Broad Oak Lane, is located in Staining Village and we have flooding problems in many homes near the proposed site.

“The 13th planning application for seven bungalows has now been submitted to Blackpool Council and letters of objection have been submitted.

“I intend to be present at the development management committee meeting when this becomes an agenda item. A group of residents from Blackpool and Staining will also highlight their concerns as will members of Staining Parish Council and Lancashire County Council.

“In my opinion, as councillors we must support these residents against the rush to gain planning approval which inflates the land value.

“These cottages are a prized possession of Blackpool. The occupants deserve to live in the lifestyle they have chosen without the fear of increased and avoidable flooding exacerbated by proposed destructive development.”

Resident Pam Knowles said the battle over this land had been going on since the 1980s.

She said: “The field where the bungalows are planned is higher than our cottages and all the water from there runs off down to us. I have been flooded twice. He said last time in the planning appeal that they would install drainage to the main sewer, but that is uphill from the site, How is he going to make water flow up hill?”

A statement in support of the application says a new drainage scheme had been made: “There are some changes (in this new application) to proposed layout, highway position and land levels and drainage over that previously proposed in application.

“The layout proposed sees the bungalows re-positioned from the west side of the site to the now proposed east side of the site. This means less impact on the rear of the cottages in Broad Oak Lane than previously proposed.

“It is anticipated that this proposal will remove any doubt on matters of drainage at/near the site and will overcome the appeal Inspector’s concerns.”

All change on field plans

United Utilities has altered proposals to install a huge new storm water tank under Fisher’s Field in South Shore.

The company has made the changes following talks with people living in nearby homes.

As a result pipe stores and office space will no longer be built on the site and pipes feeding the tank, which will help improve bathing water quality, have been re-routed.

A United Utilities spokesman said: “We have amended the plans following consultation with local people.

“We held another public exhibition about two weeks ago where we displayed the amended plans and they were well received by those who attended.

“We listened to people’s concerns and looked at where alternatives were possible.

“As a result we have reduced the size of the main site compound on Fishers Field by moving the office accommodation onto Squires Gate Industrial Estate.

“The scheme involves laying a new sewer pipe to link the new storage tank to the rest of the sewer network at Lennoxgate pumping station.

“We originally intended to lay the pipe down Emerson Avenue but we have now changed the plans to bring the pipe through Lennox Court instead.

“These amendments to the plan should reduce the disruption for local people.

“The aim of the scheme is to reduce the frequency of sewers overflowing into the sea during times of heavy rainfall – by storing extra water in the new underground tank. It’s about further improving Blackpool’s bathing waters.”

United Utilities is expecting to be given the green light for the scheme next week.

Once completed it will restore the playing fields for the use of Foxhall FC and build a new clubhouse for the team – which has been found alternative pitches for the duration of the work.

Mike Beck, of Emerson Avenue, had previously objected to the proposals.

He said: “I cannot thank United Utilities enough.

“Their project team have come down and listened to what people have had to say.
“I raised a number of concerns over the project and pretty much every one of them has been addressed by these new proposals.

“I am very pleased they listened to what local people had to say.

“In my objection I suggested they find compound space at Squires Gate and that is precisely what will happen.

“As a result of the changes the work will have much less of an impact and they will be on site for significantly less time.

“There is just one issue which is still of slight concern but I’m confident, having spoken to the project team, a solution will be found.”

Virgin trains insists it will not abandon Blackpool despite the forced withdrawal of the resorts only direct rail service to London.

From Monday October 3 the company’s 0521 departure from Blackpool North will be replaced by a bus as far as Preston as Network Rail begins preliminary work to bring the line’s creaking Victorian infrastructure into the 21st century.

One train a day will still run into Blackpool from London Euston.

But outbound services are not likely to resume until work on the route is completed in May 2018.

A spokesman for Virgin Trains said: “We want to make it clear we would not be doing this if it could be avoided.

“The 0521 departure from Blackpool North will be replaced with a bus service, departing at 04.47.

“This will connect with the Euston service departing Preston at 0600.

“The departure from London Euston to Blackpool North will operate as usual as it is not affected by Network Rail closures.

“We are clear that Blackpool will not be forgotten and we intend to re-instate the service in the future.”

Virgin says the rail replacement bus service will pick up passengers at Poulton-le-Fylde and Kirkham.

Virgin’s is not the only train which will be affected by overnight closures, which are set to begin next week and remain in place until the project to electrify the route is completed.

Northern Rail services from Blackpool will not begin until 6am with trains scheduled before that time also replaced by bus services.

Late night trains will also be hit.

The last service from Blackpool towards Preston will depart at 22.45 with the last service in the other direction leaving Preston at 22.19.

As the closures are planned four nights a week - from Tuesday to Friday - some weekend and monday morning services could still operate.

The shutdown is the first real sign of work beginning on Network Rail’s electrification scheme, part of a £1bn investment in the North West’s railways.

But it may be some time before passengers begin to see any physical signs of progress.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “We are beginning a programme of overnight closures beginning on Monday.

“This is to allow surveying and ground investigation work to take place along the route.

“We have already been carrying out similar operations but this will give us more time on site with our equipment.

“This is the beginning of a scheme of works leading up to the full electrification of the route by May 2018.”

Network Rail is expected to announce further closures in the coming months, with weekend closures being planned in the new year.

A full 18-week shutdown of the route to allow widescale track improvements and remodelling, is expected to take place from November next year.

Network Rail has promised to improve capacity and reliability along the route.

Their plans include a new platform at Kirkham, a reduction in the number of platforms and the lengthening and straightening of others at Blackpool North.

Speed limits are set to increase in some places and the signalling along the route will be upgraded.

Once completed electric trains, including Virgin’s Pendolino expresses, will be able to operate into Blackpool.

Virgin and open access operator Alliance Rail have both expressed an interest in increasing the number of direct services to London from the resort.

County Hall chiefs are to look again at the controversial decision to close more than 100 buildings, including numerous local libraries, after protests from across Lancashire.

The authority’s scrutiny committee has voted to “call in” the cost-cutting plan which is a key part of the Labour council’s strategy to cope with swingeing Government economies.

Campaigners joined county councillors from both sides of the chamber pushing for a rethink. And the scrutiny committee vote to call it in and debate it again brought loud applause from a packed meeting.

“We shall see what comes next,” said committee chairman Coun Bill Winlow.

Calls for a fresh look at the closure of libraries, children’s centres and other LCC facilities came from members of the ruling Labour group as well as the opposition Conservatives.

Libraries set to be sold off on the Fylde coast include Lytham, Freckleton, Ansdell, Thornton, and Cleveleys, with Kirkham Library earmarked for a move to a new ‘Neighbourhood Centre’ which will house multiple services in the town.

Tory leader Geoff Driver, who put forward an alternative budget earlier this year which he claimed would have avoided closing any libraries, said the 970-page report on closures had been too much for councillors to digest prior to a decision being taken.

“I’ve been involved in local government for a long time and I have never seen a report as long and complex,” he said. “To expect members to take that in and consider it in a meaningful way is asking a heck of a lot.”

But the council’s deputy leader Coun David Borrow explained the authority was facing a funding gap of £118m in 2019/20 rising to £148m in 2020/21.

“The idea that the county council would be doing any of this if there was an easy option, clearly we wouldn’t be.” He accused Coun Driver of “living in a parallel universe,” and added: “The (budget) proposal put forward by Coun Driver was a short-term fix to take us over next year’s county elections and pretend to the people of Lancashire that there was an easy way of making difficult decisions.”

The call-in will be debated at a special meeting of Lancashire County Council today.

Conservation experts have issued a warning after rare sightings of a potentially life-threatening sea creature on Britain’s beaches.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has received reports of several Portuguese Man o’ War washing up on beaches in Cornwall and Scilly Isles.

Stings from the creatures, which are not jellyfish but a colony of specialised creatures, can be exceptionally painful and in extreme cases fatal.

The MCS says the creatures are only occasionally reported in UK waters with the last significant UK sigthtings of the species occurring in 2009 and 2012.

“We don’t receive reports of Portuguese man o’ war every year, but when we do they can turn up in big numbers, usually around about this time of year”, said Dr Peter Richardson, Head of the MCS Biodiversity Programme.

“These recent sightings could herald the arrival of more of the creatures as they get blown in.”

The Portuguese Man-of-War isn’t a jellyfish but is closely related, and consists of a floating colony of hydrozoans – lots of really tiny marine organisms living together and behaving collectively as one animal.

A transparent purple float is visible on the water’s surface whilst the blue, tentacle-like ‘fishing polyps’ that hang below the float can be tens of meters in length.

“It’s the tentacle-like polyps that can give an agonising and potentially lethal sting,” said Dr Richardson.

“Because a stranded Portuguese Man of War looks a bit like a deflating purple balloon with blue ribbons attached, children will find it fascinating.”

If you spot a Portuguese Man-of-War then report the sighting immediately, ideally with a picture, to www.mcsuk.org

It took less than two hours today for Lancashire County Council’s cabinet to sign the final execution papers for a host of Lancashire libraries and children’s centres - despite being forced to think again.

An eleventh hour attempt to make the cabinet reconsider its cost-cutting decision, first taken on September 8, to close more than 100 buildings, including Fulwood, Penwortham and Lytham libraries, failed to convince the ruling Labour group to change its mind.

The hastily convened cabinet meeting followed a “call in” last Thursday by the council’s scrutiny committee.

This followed a cross party demand from Conservative, Labour and Green councillors for a re-think.

A wide ranging war of words between Labour and Conservative councillors saw Tories claiming the council could afford to keep libraries open and Labour blaming Tory Government cuts. There were detailed reports from officers on boththe council’s financial plight - a funding gap of £148m is predicted by 2020/21- and how services and buildings had been assessed for closure, before the cabinet rubber stamped its original plans. It means 21 libraries, including Fulwood, Bamber Bridge, Penwortham, Lytham, Freckleton and Thornton libraries, Garstang Young People’s Centre and Over Wyre Children’s Centre will close their doors on Friday. By November 30 Adlington Library and children’s centre, Whalley library and Spring Wood Children’s Centre and Lostock Hall Library and Children’s Centre will have closed and other closures will follow, with some services relocated to multi-purpose Neighbourhood Centres.

Council leader Coun Jenny Mein said: “I don’t think there can be any doubt at all we are in need of making these cuts.”

She said they were also needed “sooner rather than later” for the sake of those “lining up to take buildings and wondering what the delays are all about” but also for hard working council staff ”who don’t at the moment know what their future is.”

The late, great, HG Wells once said “moral indignation is jealousy with a halo”.

It was a rather prescient comment as he breathed his last long before internet commentators got their chance to get their teeth into, well, everybody.

Mainly because they are jealous.

Well, we all get a bit green about the gills sometimes but nothing and nobody is safe these days.

The perceived anonymity of saying what you like online is practically a disease.

If you publish, expect to be damned, no matter how factual, well intentioned or reasoned your point or charitable your outlook.

Somebody will see the dark side somewhere and be personally and ideologically insulted.

People want to be outraged – so now even publishers are becoming morally outspoken for the sake of the clicks.

This week the announcement of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce was in, immediately sending gossip columnists wild with – what must Jennifer Aniston think?

Illogical as it was to focus on a woman who divorced the man 11 years ago, is happily married herself and presumably couldn’t care less, this was the focus of coverage.

Until 24 hours later when the same outlets proclaimed... Leave Jennifer out of it!

Cue cloud of thin moralistic rage focusing on er.. Jennifer. Presumably they were jealous of her hair.

Meanwhile, London Fashion Week has been underway and the high horses have been mounted with vigour.

Maybe it’s that we are all a bit peeved at the fact that these young boys and girls can swan around on catwalks, looking good in anything, even if it resembles – or actually is – a sack.

Definitely it is because social media is steaming with envy at the glamorous lives of those frequenting the front rows of every show. Don’t they have jobs to go to?

Subsequently, the scandalised clickbait has been at an all-time high.

Are they too thin? Too rich? On drugs? Their family lives must be miserable.

Jealousy takes all forms.

Of course, that’s not to say that some commentary ISN’T valid.

The channels for indignation have focused a gender lens on inequality and normalised human difference. So not all bad.

Just outrageous.

A newborn baby was left with life threatening injuries when his father pushed his mother into a doorframe as she cradled him in his arms.

Lucasz Gal was just five weeks old when his father Tomasz Raszkiewicz launched the attack during a vodka-fuelled row at a flat in Blackpool.

Violent Raskiewicz, 33, has been jailed for three years and two months after pleading guilty to wounding his son.

At the time of the attack, Raskiewicz was on the run from the Polish authorities and was not named on the child’s birth certificate in a bid to evade capture.

Preston Crown Court heard on November 22 Raszkiewicz and his partner had been drinking vodka at the flat they shared in Central Drive when a blazing row broke out between the pair.

Neighbours heard the couple shouting and the baby crying to such an extent one considered calling the police.

At around midnight, Raszkiewicz pushed his partner from behind, hard, with both hands, causing her to fall into the doorframe as she carried little Lucasz out of the kitchen.

The force of the blow was so severe the tot suffered fractures to both sides of his skull, bleeding to his brain and part of his skull became embedded into his brain causing him permanent brain damage.

Judge Heather Lloyd, sentencing, said: “He has only survived because of the skill of the surgeons who treated him.”

Paramedics were called to the flat shortly after midnight where it was immediately clear the little boy was seriously injured.

He was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital but later transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where tests and scans confirmed catastrophic injuries.

He was placed on a ventilator and a feeding tube was inserted into his abdomen as he was unable to swallow without assistance.

Raszkiewicz did not go to hospital with his son, and when he heard his partner and the boy’s uncle were about to be arrested he left the flat and was not arrested for three days.

Judge Lloyd said: “You then lied and said this was a terrible accident. That was cowardly behaviour.”

Following her arrest, Jadwiga gave the police five different accounts as to how her son had sustained his injuries and the prosecution relied on the evidence of the boy’s uncle, who had been at the flat and saw Raszkiewicz lunge at his partner, to bring the case to court.

Judge Lloyd, sentencing, said: “Your little boy was born on October 14 2015, perfectly healthy and he should have been able to enjoy a normal, healthy life as he grew older.

“Unfortunately he was born to a violent and dishonest father and a mother who has not told the truth.

“It seems to me from all that I have read that she has chosen to protect you throughout, rather than her baby boy, for only weeks after his birth, your actions towards her resulted in catastrophic, life changing injuries to him.

“She chose to protect you when she registered Lucasz’s birth, not naming you as the father because she knew there was a warrant for an offence of violence.

“She said you were hiding in this country which is why she provided the police with a false name for you. It is clear to me from the accounts you each gave that there has been an element of collusion in these false accounts.

“The prosecution has been hamstrung as a result partly by the lack of full candour from you and the boy’s mother and your plea has been accepted on the basis of the boy’s uncle’s account. He describes you and the mother arguing.

“As your partner turned to leave the kitchen she was walking away with the baby in her arms and you lunged at her pushing her from behind without warning, causing her to fall.

“Lucasz must have struck his head on both sides as there was a fracture on the right side of his skull, a ping pong fracture on the left side.

“Such was the severity of his injures, a piece of his skull was embedded in his brain. He has only survived as a result of the skill of the surgeons.

“Until recently you continued to maintain this was simply an accident.

“As a result of what happened that night, Lucasz will never life a normal life. He will be dependent on others for the rest of his life. He will have no quality of life.”

The judge accepted the attack was not premeditated.

But she said: “Common sense dictates you do not lunge at and push with both hands from behind a woman carrying a newborn baby.”

Judge Lloyd jailed Raszkiewicz for three years and two months. He will serve some of that sentence before being deported to Poland.

He will not be allowed to return to the UK for 10 years.

Speaking after the case, DS Chris Williams from Lancashire Constabulary’s Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) said: “I am pleased that justice has been served for this poor child and that Raszkiewicz, who has never displayed any remorse for his actions, is now behind bars.”

Celebrated blues and rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa has added a Blackpool date to his new tour.

Following swift ticket sales for his Royal Albert Hall dates, the Grammy-nominated New Yorker will bring his show to Blackpool Opera House on April 22.

The tour follows hot on the heels of 39-year-old Joe’s critically-acclaimed Salute To The British Blues Explosion tour that saw the American guitarist paying homage to the music of Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.

Joe will feature alongside a hand-picked group of world-class musicians playing material from his latest album Blues of Desperation, plus classic Bonamassa fan favourites.

His Salute To The British Blues Explosion concerts generated outstanding reviews.

Joe last performed in Lancashire in July when his Symphony at the tower event – organised by Fylde coast 
promoters Cuffe and Taylor – had to be moved from Houghton Tower to the 
Guild Hall at Preston after torrential rains hit the event arena.

Joe started playing guitar at the age of four, and by the time he was 12, had his own band, called Smokin’ Joe Bonamassa, which played in New York and Pennsylvania at weekends.

And in 2009, he achieved one of his dreams when he played on stage with Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall.

Tickets for the Blackpool concert became available via a 72-hour ticket pre-sale at www.planetrock.com from 9am this morning.

A scaffolder attacked and injured two police officers after drinking at a christening.

Alex Cossey, who was also celebrating his birthday, was so violent an officer had to stand on his ankles to stop him kicking out.

Cossey, 22, of Macbeth Road, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to two offences of assault on police.

Andrew Robinson, prosecuting, said police were asked to go to a pub at Fleetwood on September 5 at 12.30am.

They found Cossey in a toilet with facial injuries and gave him a lift home.

Officers advised his mum to call an ambulance.

Cossey came out swinging punches at both officers. They ended up on the ground with Cossey kicking out wildly.

One officer needed stitches in his elbow and suffered pain to his back, knees, shoulder, head an cheekbone.

Patrick Nelligan, defending, said Cossey, who had no previous convictions, was thoroughly ashamed of his behaviour and had written a letter of apology.

Cossey had drunk a lot and had been set upon by people in a pub. In his concussed state he believed the officers were the people who injured him.

He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 70 hours’ unpaid work, and ordered to pay compensation of £250 to the officer who needed stitches and £100 compensation to the other officer by Blackpool magistrates.

A mum and three sons accused of a brutal attack on a woman in the street made their first appearance at court.

The family are alleged to have punched and kicked the woman to the ground and stamped on her rendering her unconscious.

Karen Massey, 49, and sons James Dolan, 26, Dean Dolan, 23, and Joseph Dolan, 18, all of Chatsworth Avenue, Fleetwood, each pleaded not guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm. The offence is alleged to have been carried out on a former girlfriend of one the brothers on June 18 at Fleetwood.

Adrian Hollamby, prosecuting, asked for the case to be heard at crown court.

The defendants were bailed to appear at Preston Crown Court on October 26 by Blackpool magistrates.

They must not contact the complainant as a condition of their bail.

Commuters are suffering delays on one of the Fylde coast’s busiest roads following a rush hour crash.

The incident happened at around 8am today at the Norcross Roundabout on Amounderness Way.

A black Audi TT Quattro and a green Skoda Octovia were involved in a collision.

Nobody was hurt in the incident but traffic backed up in both directions as a result of the smash.

The scene was cleared by around 9am.

Fylde and Wyre health leaders have once again been held up as an example of good practice after the local NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG) was selected to appear in the 2015/16 edition of The Parliamentary Review.

Established by former minister David Curry shortly after the 2010 General Election, The Parliamentary Review’s September release has become a key fixture in the political calendar.

NHS Fylde and Wyre CCG features alongside Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, and a small number of outstanding organisations in the Healthcare edition.

CCG chairman Mary Dowling said: “The Review was particularly interested in our strong engagement programme and our work with local partners

“To be invited to contribute to this year’s edition is a real honour.”

A man secretly allowed drug dealers to cultivate a £250,000 cannabis farm in his girlfriend’s dad business premises, a court has heard.

Steven Dell, 34, of Waverley Avenue, Fleetwood, sobbed in the dock at Preston Crown Court during proceedings, after he pleaded guilty to allowing a premises to be used for growing class B drugs.

He had worked as a driver for his prospective father-in-law’s fish business, and later said he was using part of the warehouse for a gym.

The area was sealed off from view – but behind it, criminals were growing cannabis with a street value of around £249,000.

Dell, who owed a drug debt, “turned a blind eye”.

Prosecuting, Francis McEntee said: “A warrant was executed on December 1 at premises on Siding Road, Fleetwood

What was discovered was a significant and well developed cultivation of cannabis. Police established there were 275 plants ready to be cropped. The circumstances are convoluted.

“The background is he had a debt of up to £2,000 to people he had not wished to name.”

The court heard the owner of the building leased it to Dell’s girlfriend’s father.

Neither of the men knew anything about the drugs.

Defending, Wayne Jackson said: “It appears he owed money to people who one way or another put the frighteners on him.

“They let it be known he was expected to provide this premises.

“He will not be marrying his daughter, that is all over.”

Recorder Laprell imposed a nine month jail term but suspended it for two years.

• Having a drink at a bingo session and then driving home cost a woman her job as a manageress.

Nakita Holliday, a part-time pub worker, 29, of John Street, Thornton, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.

She was banned from the road for 17 months, fined £120 with £40 costs and ordered to pay £30 victims’ surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Prosecutor, Andrew Robinson, said police saw Holliday driving a Fiat Stilo slightly erratically on Hatfield Avenue, Fleetwood, on September 4 at 1.40am

She was pulled over and a breath test showed 61 micrograms of alcohol in her body – 35 is the limit.

Patrick Nelligan, defending, said Holliday, who had no previous convictions, had been to bingo with a friend.

She had a drink because she did not intend driving home.

It got late and she decided she needed her car to get to her job the next day.

She also gave her friend a lift home because she believed the alcohol she had had earlier would have left her system.

She had just been appointed a manageress and as a result of the offence had lost that job.

• An argument in a house where the walls were thin caused a fracas between neighbours in Fleetwood.

John Sweeney and his girlfriend were annoyed because the noisy argument next 
door had gone on for half-an-hour.

Sweeney, a 45-year-old electrician, of Warren Street, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to damaging a neighbour’s front door.

He was given a 12 months conditional discharge and ordered to pay £400 compensation with £85 costs plus £20 victims’ surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Prosecutor, Andrew Robinson, said there had been a noise issue between Sweeney and his neighbour because the walls between their two properties were thin.

On July 17 the neighbour and his girlfriend had a noisy argument which caused Sweeney and his partner to become annoyed. 
Sweeney then hit the neighbour’s front door.

Patrick Nelligan, defending, said his client had lived at the address for more than 10 years and kept himself to himself.

The night the neighbours had a noisy row Sweeney’s girlfriend went and remonstrated with them. 
Sweeney said the neighbour made threats to his girlfriend which angered him so he went round and hit next door’s front door with his shoulder 
once.

• A man accused of stealing from his workplace has been put on the wanted list.

Steven Cowell, 24, of Balmoral Terrace, Fleetwood, is alleged to have stolen £450 belonging to Eurogarages of Thornton Cleveleys.

Cowell failed to attend court and had a warrant without bail for his arrest issued by Blackpool magistrates.

• A woman previously banned by an Anti Social Behaviour Order from going into any shop in Fleetwood has fallen from grace and gone shoplifting in the port again.

Christine MacDonald, who has 94 previous offences on her record, had kept out of trouble for two years.

MacDonald, 52, of Kings Court, Preston Street, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to stealing four pairs of men’s boxer shorts valued at £18.

She was given a 12 months conditional discharge and ordered to pay £30 victims’ surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Presiding magistrate, Simon Bridge, told her: “Your previous convictions are frankly appalling.”

Prosecutor, Martine Connah, said a security guard monitored MacDonald as she went round Asda, Dock Street, Fleetwood, on August 23

She was seen putting men’s underwear in her bag, before going to the checkout and paying for some items, but not the boxer shorts.

Patrick Nelligan, defending, said MacDonald, who had previously been on an ASBO which prohibited her from entering shops in Fleetwood, had kept out of trouble for two years.

MacDonald had had problems with her benefits being paid and she had no money.

“It was her son’s birthday and she wanted to give him a present so she took the boxer shorts.”

• The father of twins broke a court order when his children were ill and taken into hospital.

David Valentine, 24, of Broadwater Avenue, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a community order.

He was sentenced to do 20 hours unpaid work for the community by Blackpool magistrates.

Charmain Moulds, prosecuting for the probation service, said Valentine had been put on a 12 months community order with up to 25 days rehabilitation for offences of assault and damage.

He had missed two appointments on August 16 and 22. It was his first breach of the order.

Gerry Coyle, defending, said Valentine had learning difficulties and mental health problems.

His girlfriend had given birth to twins who were poorly and taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in August. Valentine’s grandfather had also died.

• A scaffolder attacked and injured two police officers after drinking at a family christening.

Alex Cossey, who was also celebrating his birthday, was so violent an officer had to stand on his ankles to stop him kicking out.

Cossey, 22, of Macbeth Road, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to two offences of assault on police.

Cossey was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 70 hours’ unpaid work for the community, ordered to pay compensation of £250 to the officer who needed stitches and £100 compensation to the other officer’ and told to pay £85 costs plus £85 victims’ surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Andrew Robinson, prosecuting, said police were asked to go to a pub at Fleetwood on September 5 at 12.30am.

They found Cossey in a toilet with facial injuries and gave him a lift home.

At his home the officers advised his mother to call an ambulance.

Cossey came out of the address swinging punches at both officers.

They all ended up on the ground with Cossey kicking out wildly.

One officer needed stitches in his elbow and suffered pain to his back, knees, shoulder, head an cheekbone.

Patrick Nelligan, defending, said Cossey, who had no previous convictions, was thoroughly ashamed of his behaviour and had written a letter of apology.

Cossey had drunk a large amount of alcohol and had been set upon by people in a pub.

In his concussed state he believed the officers were the people who injured him.

We have teamed up with BIBAs double award winners, True Bearing, to bring you a fantastic competition.

Now going into its third year, Last Choir Singing is a competition for Lancashire based junior schools. Battling it out at a series of regional heats, winning choirs go through to a Grand Final, with the winner receiving £1,000 towards music equipment for their school. The runner-up receives £500 and winners of the regional heats are each given £250. There are also awards for Most Artistic and Best Newcomer.

Imagine an audience of thousands, a live radio recording, an international vocalist, teenage pop idols, and, best of all, performances from junior school choirs who just couldn’t be more excited to be singing. Sounds impossible?

This was the dream of True Bearing Chairman, George Critchley. His vision became a reality in 2015 at the Last Choir Singing heats and finals.

‘I was totally overwhelmed,’ said George. ‘Not just at the sheer volume of entries, but at the enthusiasm and passion of all those competing. I had a vision to create something amazing but this was beyond my dreams. To do this two years in a row has been totally remarkable, and we intend to keep on going; we’re constantly thinking of ideas on how to make the event bigger and better.’

George Critchley co-owns True Bearing, a firm of Independent Financial Advisers based in Chorley. His employees are equally as passionate about the Last Choir Singing competition, all giving up their own personal time to help with the competition.

George explained; “I wanted to give something back to the community that has supported us over the last 13 years. The major reason for doing this is the sheer pleasure the children get out of it. Their joy is infectious. It really is heaven on earth!”

To enter Last Choir Singing visit: lastchoirsinging.co.uk, call 01257 260011 or email: liz.armstrong@truebearing.co.uk

An obsessed man who continued to stalk a woman in defiance of a court order has been jailed.

Paul Lincoln breached two suspended jail sentences as he used Facebook to contact his victim.

An earlier hearing was told how Lincoln, 34, of Dodgeons Close, Poulton, had used sexual innuendo in Twitter and Facebook messages to the woman, who wanted nothing to do with him and had never been involved with him.

Despite the jail sentences hanging over him, Lincoln could not resist sending more messages – some 60 in a week, prosecutor Pam Smith told Blackpool Magistrates.

“He managed to find out what clothes she had been buying online and the company she was buying from,” she said. “He also found out she had been to Wales.

“His victim felt she was being watched by him and all this has caused her psychological problems.”

Allan Cobain, defending, told the court:”He has been acting like a love-struck 14-year-old, not a 34-year-old.

“He has never had a proper girlfriend all his life .”

“His love for this woman is not returned. He has not been to her home, he has not been to the pub with her and he has not been for a walk on the Promenade with her or gone boating in the park together.

“The only time they have been together on a social basis is at staff parties at the Village Hotel where he used to work.”

“He was a kitchen porter and she was a waitress.”

“However he believes they are engaged and she is about to move in with him which is very worrying.”

“He is smitten with her and he lost his job because his unwanted advances to her.”

“The messages are not threatening .He just wants to buy her presents. Prison is not the place for him he will be fodder there.

“He is just a rather pathetic individual who needs help and a strong talking to.”

Magistrates activated the 32-week suspended jail terms and added a further 16 weeks’ prison for the latest offence.

Lincoln is the subject of an indefinite restraining order which forbids him from contacting his victim.