FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (25th APRIL - 1st MAY 1972)
This week's stories include the thin Rag Week at St Helens "Tech", the shocking vandalism of Park Road homes, Providence Hospital reaches its fundraising target, the alternative travel plans available for Saints' fans to reach Wembley, the angry Rainhill mad-mile mothers return to the news and the St Helens Corporation double-decker buses that were destined for Canada.
At the start of July last year, the St Helens Reporter's lead story bore the headline "Save Our Hospital Campaign Launched". Providence Hospital (shown above) was £20,000 in the red – around £300,000 in today's money – and the Reporter wrote that the mayor of St Helens had launched an "emergency fund to provide a massive cash transfusion". Cllr. Charles Martin then said: "It is a magnificent hospital doing a magnificent job for St. Helens. It is our responsibility to help."
This week the mayor was able to announce that the hospital's so-called "fighting fund" had reached its target and Providence Hospital's debts had been wiped out. The mayor declared: "I think it's been a wonderful effort. The public response has been beyond belief. When the appeal was launched, I never imagined we would reach the target so quickly. Everyone rallied round – children, teenagers, parents and industrialists. Perhaps St. Helens will not allow the hospital to get into debt again."
The council's Works Committee met on the 26th and heard that the two new public toilets that were going to be built on the Birchley Street car park would not be having attendants – despite the threat of vandalism. The estimated cost of the conveniences was £5,500 and if male and female attendants were included, an extra £950 would be needed.
George James, the Borough Engineer, pointed out that the presence of car park attendants nearby could help to discourage vandalism and the toilets would also be quite close to the new police headquarters that had just been built. Mr James explained that the new loos would be the same as those recently provided in the town's parks and would replace the old ones near the Town Hall, which were going to be closed.
On the 27th four St Helens Corporation buses that had been pensioned off by the council were formally handed over to two Canadian businessmen. A company called Tweed Line Tourists Ltd from Victoria in Canada had bought the double-deckers to add a touch of English novelty to their sightseeing tours. Company secretary Wayne McArthur confirmed that the St Helens Transport colours would be retained, saying: "I think they're terrific."
Mr MacArthur explained that English-style buses were very popular with American tourists in Canada and they hoped to return to St Helens in 1973 to buy another nine double-deckers. The firm had looked at London Transport buses first – but found the St Helens Corporation ones to be in a superior condition. That was because they were retired after only 12 years of service, compared to 20 years in London.
For three evenings from the 27th, local thespians the 'Unnamed Players' performed Agatha Christie's thriller 'Black Coffee'. Local schoolteacher and founder member Tony Hewitt produced the play, as he had done every year since 1947.
"Newly-Weds Scoop The Pool" was the lead story on the front page of the Reporter on the 28th. The article described how Margaret Cunliffe from Dentons Green had won £40,000 (£600,000 in today's money) just three weeks after getting married. The 21-year-old made winning the pools sound so simple – having only very recently started filling in her weekly coupon. "I wanted to win some money for my wedding", she told the Reporter but admitted being taken aback by the amount of her win from a stake of just 22½p.
This disturbing article was also featured on the front page of the Reporter: "Destruction-mad vandals have smashed 4,000 windows in attacks on a semi-complete housing site in St. Helens. Every window in the 500 new houses and flats in Park Road has been broken over the last year since building started causing about £5,000 worth of damage. About £1,000 worth of copper and timber has been stolen. And the labour costs caused by delays because of the vandalism cannot be estimated. Children bombarding the buildings with stones are the main culprits, but “professional thieves” have been blamed for the thefts."
Robin Leavitt was site manager for the Norwest Construction Company Ltd and said: "It would appear that we're right smack in the middle of a bad area. Last weekend alone, we lost 58 windows. Everything has been vandalised – even the brickwork. Then there were two gangs fighting. One lot took shelter in the houses, and the others were lobbing bricks at them. Most of them are kids aged about 5 to 13. When they're caught, you can't do anything – they're under age. We have four security handlers with dogs and also mobile patrols." The Reporter spoke to the Borough Engineer, George James, who said that the cost of the damage was the contractor's loss and not the ratepayers – as council houses needed to be in a satisfactory state before being taken over by the Corporation.
Rag week at St Helens "Tech" (pictured above) does not appear to have been up to much in 1972. The main events were simply a 48-hour game of table tennis and a dance. Its organising committee chairman, Dave Napier, admitted to the Reporter that the students had not been able to plan many activities. This he blamed on only having four weeks to prepare following the resignation of the previous chairman.
Permission for their stunts then had to be obtained from the college principal and also from the police, which took extra time. "Our other problem is lack of communication", added Dave. "We are not allowed to advertise outside the college, and not only the public, but many of the students did not know rag-week was on."
Saints were set to play Leeds in the Challenge Cup final in London in a fortnight and a special travel advertising feature was in the Reporter. British Rail was promoting their special trains to Wembley and Euston costing £4 return second-class. Towns Travel Service from Widnes was flying fans to London Airport from where coaches would take them to the stadium. On the return flight unlimited free champagne would be available for supporters to celebrate victory or commiserate their team's defeat. Seats costing £13.50 could be booked at Phythians of Baldwin Street – "Fly To The Game In Luxury" was their slogan.
Helena House's Travel Service in Baldwin Street was running coaches direct to Wembley that would be departing St Helens at 7am, with ticket prices £1.98 for adults and children £1.40. Smiths Travel Agency of Bridge Street and Gavin Murray / Ellisons were also offering coach travel to the match. Many fans would, of course, drive to the game and, if you didn’t have a car, you could hire one for the day from Pat Grady from Bickerstaffe Street who was advertising the latest Ford models.
The Reporter also predicted more trouble in Rainhill over the so-called "mad mile". Last year pram-pushing mothers had repeatedly brought traffic to a halt on Warrington Road, near the Ship Hotel. They wanted the speed limit reduced from 40 to 30 mph and more pedestrian crossings after a six-year-old girl had received fatal injuries. Lollipop lady Harriet Devereux then said: "This is the mad mile. I am very frightened for the children."
Another of the demonstrators told the paper: "We want the speed limit reduced to 30 m.p.h. within 24 hours. We have been told that the procedure for lowering speed limits takes a long time, but we will not accept this. It does not take long to paint a sign saying 30 m.p.h."
On the 28th of this week, Lancashire County Highways Committee considered a 2,000-name petition calling for action to be taken. Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Rainhill Parents Action Committee secretary Ray Ferguson told the Reporter: "We have declared war on them again. Positive militant action will be taken now unless something is done. There's no holds barred now. If they want trouble again like last year they will get it."
The Pilkington Glass Museum in Prescot Road featured an art exhibition throughout this week. The exhibits included an L.S. Lowry painting called 'Over The Hill' and a sculpture of a reclining nude by Henry Moore.
Trouble was brewing at William Neill's engineering factory this week after sixteen men were suspended for taking an unofficial tea break. A further five workers were suspended for refusing to operate a flexibility agreement. As a result of the suspensions, 200 boilermakers walked out of the Bold factory, which was now at a standstill. Relations between Neill's management and their workforce had soured four weeks earlier when pay claim negotiations broke down.
And finally, romance was on both of the big screens in St Helens from Sunday the 30th. The ABC Savoy down Bridge Street was screening 'Ryan's Daughter', starring Robert Mitchum and Trevor Howard. Meanwhile, the Capitol was showing 'Love Story' starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal.
Next week's stories will include the Four Acre fires that destroyed newly built homes, the killing of a school pet in Parr, the vandalism of a new Peasley Cross antique shop and a Sutton firm threatens to leave the town after its expansion plans are rejected.
This week the mayor was able to announce that the hospital's so-called "fighting fund" had reached its target and Providence Hospital's debts had been wiped out. The mayor declared: "I think it's been a wonderful effort. The public response has been beyond belief. When the appeal was launched, I never imagined we would reach the target so quickly. Everyone rallied round – children, teenagers, parents and industrialists. Perhaps St. Helens will not allow the hospital to get into debt again."
The council's Works Committee met on the 26th and heard that the two new public toilets that were going to be built on the Birchley Street car park would not be having attendants – despite the threat of vandalism. The estimated cost of the conveniences was £5,500 and if male and female attendants were included, an extra £950 would be needed.
George James, the Borough Engineer, pointed out that the presence of car park attendants nearby could help to discourage vandalism and the toilets would also be quite close to the new police headquarters that had just been built. Mr James explained that the new loos would be the same as those recently provided in the town's parks and would replace the old ones near the Town Hall, which were going to be closed.
On the 27th four St Helens Corporation buses that had been pensioned off by the council were formally handed over to two Canadian businessmen. A company called Tweed Line Tourists Ltd from Victoria in Canada had bought the double-deckers to add a touch of English novelty to their sightseeing tours. Company secretary Wayne McArthur confirmed that the St Helens Transport colours would be retained, saying: "I think they're terrific."
Mr MacArthur explained that English-style buses were very popular with American tourists in Canada and they hoped to return to St Helens in 1973 to buy another nine double-deckers. The firm had looked at London Transport buses first – but found the St Helens Corporation ones to be in a superior condition. That was because they were retired after only 12 years of service, compared to 20 years in London.
For three evenings from the 27th, local thespians the 'Unnamed Players' performed Agatha Christie's thriller 'Black Coffee'. Local schoolteacher and founder member Tony Hewitt produced the play, as he had done every year since 1947.
"Newly-Weds Scoop The Pool" was the lead story on the front page of the Reporter on the 28th. The article described how Margaret Cunliffe from Dentons Green had won £40,000 (£600,000 in today's money) just three weeks after getting married. The 21-year-old made winning the pools sound so simple – having only very recently started filling in her weekly coupon. "I wanted to win some money for my wedding", she told the Reporter but admitted being taken aback by the amount of her win from a stake of just 22½p.
This disturbing article was also featured on the front page of the Reporter: "Destruction-mad vandals have smashed 4,000 windows in attacks on a semi-complete housing site in St. Helens. Every window in the 500 new houses and flats in Park Road has been broken over the last year since building started causing about £5,000 worth of damage. About £1,000 worth of copper and timber has been stolen. And the labour costs caused by delays because of the vandalism cannot be estimated. Children bombarding the buildings with stones are the main culprits, but “professional thieves” have been blamed for the thefts."
Robin Leavitt was site manager for the Norwest Construction Company Ltd and said: "It would appear that we're right smack in the middle of a bad area. Last weekend alone, we lost 58 windows. Everything has been vandalised – even the brickwork. Then there were two gangs fighting. One lot took shelter in the houses, and the others were lobbing bricks at them. Most of them are kids aged about 5 to 13. When they're caught, you can't do anything – they're under age. We have four security handlers with dogs and also mobile patrols." The Reporter spoke to the Borough Engineer, George James, who said that the cost of the damage was the contractor's loss and not the ratepayers – as council houses needed to be in a satisfactory state before being taken over by the Corporation.
Permission for their stunts then had to be obtained from the college principal and also from the police, which took extra time. "Our other problem is lack of communication", added Dave. "We are not allowed to advertise outside the college, and not only the public, but many of the students did not know rag-week was on."
Saints were set to play Leeds in the Challenge Cup final in London in a fortnight and a special travel advertising feature was in the Reporter. British Rail was promoting their special trains to Wembley and Euston costing £4 return second-class. Towns Travel Service from Widnes was flying fans to London Airport from where coaches would take them to the stadium. On the return flight unlimited free champagne would be available for supporters to celebrate victory or commiserate their team's defeat. Seats costing £13.50 could be booked at Phythians of Baldwin Street – "Fly To The Game In Luxury" was their slogan.
Helena House's Travel Service in Baldwin Street was running coaches direct to Wembley that would be departing St Helens at 7am, with ticket prices £1.98 for adults and children £1.40. Smiths Travel Agency of Bridge Street and Gavin Murray / Ellisons were also offering coach travel to the match. Many fans would, of course, drive to the game and, if you didn’t have a car, you could hire one for the day from Pat Grady from Bickerstaffe Street who was advertising the latest Ford models.
The Reporter also predicted more trouble in Rainhill over the so-called "mad mile". Last year pram-pushing mothers had repeatedly brought traffic to a halt on Warrington Road, near the Ship Hotel. They wanted the speed limit reduced from 40 to 30 mph and more pedestrian crossings after a six-year-old girl had received fatal injuries. Lollipop lady Harriet Devereux then said: "This is the mad mile. I am very frightened for the children."
Another of the demonstrators told the paper: "We want the speed limit reduced to 30 m.p.h. within 24 hours. We have been told that the procedure for lowering speed limits takes a long time, but we will not accept this. It does not take long to paint a sign saying 30 m.p.h."
On the 28th of this week, Lancashire County Highways Committee considered a 2,000-name petition calling for action to be taken. Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Rainhill Parents Action Committee secretary Ray Ferguson told the Reporter: "We have declared war on them again. Positive militant action will be taken now unless something is done. There's no holds barred now. If they want trouble again like last year they will get it."
The Pilkington Glass Museum in Prescot Road featured an art exhibition throughout this week. The exhibits included an L.S. Lowry painting called 'Over The Hill' and a sculpture of a reclining nude by Henry Moore.
Trouble was brewing at William Neill's engineering factory this week after sixteen men were suspended for taking an unofficial tea break. A further five workers were suspended for refusing to operate a flexibility agreement. As a result of the suspensions, 200 boilermakers walked out of the Bold factory, which was now at a standstill. Relations between Neill's management and their workforce had soured four weeks earlier when pay claim negotiations broke down.
And finally, romance was on both of the big screens in St Helens from Sunday the 30th. The ABC Savoy down Bridge Street was screening 'Ryan's Daughter', starring Robert Mitchum and Trevor Howard. Meanwhile, the Capitol was showing 'Love Story' starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal.
Next week's stories will include the Four Acre fires that destroyed newly built homes, the killing of a school pet in Parr, the vandalism of a new Peasley Cross antique shop and a Sutton firm threatens to leave the town after its expansion plans are rejected.
This week's stories include the thin Rag Week at St Helens "Tech", the shocking vandalism of Park Road homes, Providence Hospital reaches its fundraising target, the alternative travel plans available for Saints' fans to reach Wembley, the angry Rainhill mad-mile mothers return to the news and the St Helens Corporation double-decker buses that were destined for Canada.
At the start of July last year, the St Helens Reporter's lead story bore the headline "Save Our Hospital Campaign Launched".
Providence Hospital (shown above) was £20,000 in the red – around £300,000 in today's money – and the Reporter wrote that the mayor of St Helens had launched an "emergency fund to provide a massive cash transfusion".
Cllr. Charles Martin then said: "It is a magnificent hospital doing a magnificent job for St. Helens. It is our responsibility to help."
This week the mayor was able to announce that the hospital's so-called "fighting fund" had reached its target and Providence Hospital's debts had been wiped out. The mayor declared:
"I think it's been a wonderful effort. The public response has been beyond belief. When the appeal was launched, I never imagined we would reach the target so quickly. Everyone rallied round – children, teenagers, parents and industrialists. Perhaps St. Helens will not allow the hospital to get into debt again."
The council's Works Committee met on the 26th and heard that the two new public toilets that were going to be built on the Birchley Street car park would not be having attendants – despite the threat of vandalism.
The estimated cost of the conveniences was £5,500 and if male and female attendants were included, an extra £950 would be needed.
George James, the Borough Engineer, pointed out that the presence of car park attendants nearby could help to discourage vandalism and the toilets would also be quite close to the new police headquarters that had just been built.
Mr James explained that the new loos would be the same as those recently provided in the town's parks and would replace the old ones near the Town Hall, which were going to be closed.
On the 27th four St Helens Corporation buses that had been pensioned off by the council were formally handed over to two Canadian businessmen.
A company called Tweed Line Tourists Ltd from Victoria in Canada had bought the double-deckers to add a touch of English novelty to their sightseeing tours.
Company secretary Wayne McArthur confirmed that the St Helens Transport colours would be retained, saying: "I think they're terrific."
Mr MacArthur explained that English-style buses were very popular with American tourists in Canada and they hoped to return to St Helens in 1973 to buy another nine double-deckers.
The firm had looked at London Transport buses first – but found the St Helens Corporation ones to be in a superior condition. That was because they were retired after only 12 years of service, compared to 20 years in London.
For three evenings from the 27th, local thespians the 'Unnamed Players' performed Agatha Christie's thriller 'Black Coffee'.
Local schoolteacher and founder member Tony Hewitt produced the play, as he had done every year since 1947.
"Newly-Weds Scoop The Pool" was the lead story on the front page of the Reporter on the 28th.
The article described how Margaret Cunliffe from Dentons Green had won £40,000 (£600,000 in today's money) just three weeks after getting married.
The 21-year-old made winning the pools sound so simple – having only very recently started filling in her weekly coupon.
"I wanted to win some money for my wedding", she told the Reporter but admitted being taken aback by the amount of her win from a stake of just 22½p.
This disturbing article was also featured on the front page of the Reporter:
"Destruction-mad vandals have smashed 4,000 windows in attacks on a semi-complete housing site in St. Helens. Every window in the 500 new houses and flats in Park Road has been broken over the last year since building started causing about £5,000 worth of damage.
"About £1,000 worth of copper and timber has been stolen. And the labour costs caused by delays because of the vandalism cannot be estimated. Children bombarding the buildings with stones are the main culprits, but “professional thieves” have been blamed for the thefts."
Robin Leavitt was site manager for the Norwest Construction Company Ltd and said:
"It would appear that we're right smack in the middle of a bad area. Last weekend alone, we lost 58 windows. Everything has been vandalised – even the brickwork.
"Then there were two gangs fighting. One lot took shelter in the houses, and the others were lobbing bricks at them.
"Most of them are kids aged about 5 to 13. When they're caught, you can't do anything – they're under age. We have four security handlers with dogs and also mobile patrols."
The Reporter spoke to the Borough Engineer, George James, who said that the cost of the damage was the contractor's loss and not the ratepayers – as council houses needed to be in a satisfactory state before being taken over by the Corporation.
Rag week at St Helens "Tech" (pictured above) does not appear to have been up to much in 1972. The main events were simply a 48-hour game of table tennis and a dance.
Its organising committee chairman, Dave Napier, admitted to the Reporter that the students had not been able to plan many activities.
This he blamed on only having four weeks to prepare following the resignation of the previous chairman.
Permission for their stunts then had to be obtained from the college principal and also from the police, which took extra time. "Our other problem is lack of communication", added Dave.
"We are not allowed to advertise outside the college, and not only the public, but many of the students did not know rag-week was on."
Saints were set to play Leeds in the Challenge Cup final in London in a fortnight and a special travel advertising feature was in the Reporter.
British Rail was promoting their special trains to Wembley and Euston costing £4 return second-class.
Towns Travel Service from Widnes was flying fans to London Airport from where coaches would take them to the stadium.
On the return flight unlimited free champagne would be available for supporters to celebrate victory or commiserate their team's defeat.
Seats costing £13.50 could be booked at Phythians of Baldwin Street – "Fly To The Game In Luxury" was their slogan.
Helena House's Travel Service in Baldwin Street was running coaches direct to Wembley that would be departing St Helens at 7am, with ticket prices £1.98 for adults and children £1.40.
Smiths Travel Agency of Bridge Street and Gavin Murray / Ellisons were also offering coach travel to the match.
Many fans would, of course, drive to the game and, if you didn’t have a car, you could hire one for the day from Pat Grady from Bickerstaffe Street who was advertising the latest Ford models.
The Reporter also predicted more trouble in Rainhill over the so-called "mad mile".
Last year pram-pushing mothers had repeatedly brought traffic to a halt on Warrington Road, near the Ship Hotel.
They wanted the speed limit reduced from 40 to 30 mph and more pedestrian crossings after a six-year-old girl had received fatal injuries.
Lollipop lady Harriet Devereux then said: "This is the mad mile. I am very frightened for the children."
Another of the demonstrators told the paper: "We want the speed limit reduced to 30 m.p.h. within 24 hours. We have been told that the procedure for lowering speed limits takes a long time, but we will not accept this. It does not take long to paint a sign saying 30 m.p.h."
On the 28th of this week, Lancashire County Highways Committee considered a 2,000-name petition calling for action to be taken.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Rainhill Parents Action Committee secretary Ray Ferguson told the Reporter:
"We have declared war on them again. Positive militant action will be taken now unless something is done. There's no holds barred now. If they want trouble again like last year they will get it."
The Pilkington Glass Museum in Prescot Road featured an art exhibition throughout this week.
The exhibits included an L.S. Lowry painting called 'Over The Hill' and a sculpture of a reclining nude by Henry Moore.
Trouble was brewing at William Neill's engineering factory this week after sixteen men were suspended for taking an unofficial tea break.
A further five workers were suspended for refusing to operate a flexibility agreement.
As a result of the suspensions, 200 boilermakers walked out of the Bold factory, which was now at a standstill.
Relations between Neill's management and their workforce had soured four weeks earlier when pay claim negotiations broke down.
And finally, romance was on both of the big screens in St Helens from Sunday the 30th.
The ABC Savoy down Bridge Street was screening 'Ryan's Daughter', starring Robert Mitchum and Trevor Howard.
Meanwhile, the Capitol was showing 'Love Story' starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal.
Next week's stories will include the Four Acre fires that destroyed newly built homes, the killing of a school pet in Parr, the vandalism of a new Peasley Cross antique shop and a Sutton firm threatens to leave the town after its expansion plans are rejected.
Providence Hospital (shown above) was £20,000 in the red – around £300,000 in today's money – and the Reporter wrote that the mayor of St Helens had launched an "emergency fund to provide a massive cash transfusion".
Cllr. Charles Martin then said: "It is a magnificent hospital doing a magnificent job for St. Helens. It is our responsibility to help."
This week the mayor was able to announce that the hospital's so-called "fighting fund" had reached its target and Providence Hospital's debts had been wiped out. The mayor declared:
"I think it's been a wonderful effort. The public response has been beyond belief. When the appeal was launched, I never imagined we would reach the target so quickly. Everyone rallied round – children, teenagers, parents and industrialists. Perhaps St. Helens will not allow the hospital to get into debt again."
The council's Works Committee met on the 26th and heard that the two new public toilets that were going to be built on the Birchley Street car park would not be having attendants – despite the threat of vandalism.
The estimated cost of the conveniences was £5,500 and if male and female attendants were included, an extra £950 would be needed.
George James, the Borough Engineer, pointed out that the presence of car park attendants nearby could help to discourage vandalism and the toilets would also be quite close to the new police headquarters that had just been built.
Mr James explained that the new loos would be the same as those recently provided in the town's parks and would replace the old ones near the Town Hall, which were going to be closed.
On the 27th four St Helens Corporation buses that had been pensioned off by the council were formally handed over to two Canadian businessmen.
A company called Tweed Line Tourists Ltd from Victoria in Canada had bought the double-deckers to add a touch of English novelty to their sightseeing tours.
Company secretary Wayne McArthur confirmed that the St Helens Transport colours would be retained, saying: "I think they're terrific."
Mr MacArthur explained that English-style buses were very popular with American tourists in Canada and they hoped to return to St Helens in 1973 to buy another nine double-deckers.
The firm had looked at London Transport buses first – but found the St Helens Corporation ones to be in a superior condition. That was because they were retired after only 12 years of service, compared to 20 years in London.
For three evenings from the 27th, local thespians the 'Unnamed Players' performed Agatha Christie's thriller 'Black Coffee'.
Local schoolteacher and founder member Tony Hewitt produced the play, as he had done every year since 1947.
"Newly-Weds Scoop The Pool" was the lead story on the front page of the Reporter on the 28th.
The article described how Margaret Cunliffe from Dentons Green had won £40,000 (£600,000 in today's money) just three weeks after getting married.
The 21-year-old made winning the pools sound so simple – having only very recently started filling in her weekly coupon.
"I wanted to win some money for my wedding", she told the Reporter but admitted being taken aback by the amount of her win from a stake of just 22½p.
This disturbing article was also featured on the front page of the Reporter:
"Destruction-mad vandals have smashed 4,000 windows in attacks on a semi-complete housing site in St. Helens. Every window in the 500 new houses and flats in Park Road has been broken over the last year since building started causing about £5,000 worth of damage.
"About £1,000 worth of copper and timber has been stolen. And the labour costs caused by delays because of the vandalism cannot be estimated. Children bombarding the buildings with stones are the main culprits, but “professional thieves” have been blamed for the thefts."
Robin Leavitt was site manager for the Norwest Construction Company Ltd and said:
"It would appear that we're right smack in the middle of a bad area. Last weekend alone, we lost 58 windows. Everything has been vandalised – even the brickwork.
"Then there were two gangs fighting. One lot took shelter in the houses, and the others were lobbing bricks at them.
"Most of them are kids aged about 5 to 13. When they're caught, you can't do anything – they're under age. We have four security handlers with dogs and also mobile patrols."
The Reporter spoke to the Borough Engineer, George James, who said that the cost of the damage was the contractor's loss and not the ratepayers – as council houses needed to be in a satisfactory state before being taken over by the Corporation.
Its organising committee chairman, Dave Napier, admitted to the Reporter that the students had not been able to plan many activities.
This he blamed on only having four weeks to prepare following the resignation of the previous chairman.
Permission for their stunts then had to be obtained from the college principal and also from the police, which took extra time. "Our other problem is lack of communication", added Dave.
"We are not allowed to advertise outside the college, and not only the public, but many of the students did not know rag-week was on."
Saints were set to play Leeds in the Challenge Cup final in London in a fortnight and a special travel advertising feature was in the Reporter.
British Rail was promoting their special trains to Wembley and Euston costing £4 return second-class.
Towns Travel Service from Widnes was flying fans to London Airport from where coaches would take them to the stadium.
On the return flight unlimited free champagne would be available for supporters to celebrate victory or commiserate their team's defeat.
Seats costing £13.50 could be booked at Phythians of Baldwin Street – "Fly To The Game In Luxury" was their slogan.
Helena House's Travel Service in Baldwin Street was running coaches direct to Wembley that would be departing St Helens at 7am, with ticket prices £1.98 for adults and children £1.40.
Smiths Travel Agency of Bridge Street and Gavin Murray / Ellisons were also offering coach travel to the match.
Many fans would, of course, drive to the game and, if you didn’t have a car, you could hire one for the day from Pat Grady from Bickerstaffe Street who was advertising the latest Ford models.
The Reporter also predicted more trouble in Rainhill over the so-called "mad mile".
Last year pram-pushing mothers had repeatedly brought traffic to a halt on Warrington Road, near the Ship Hotel.
They wanted the speed limit reduced from 40 to 30 mph and more pedestrian crossings after a six-year-old girl had received fatal injuries.
Lollipop lady Harriet Devereux then said: "This is the mad mile. I am very frightened for the children."
Another of the demonstrators told the paper: "We want the speed limit reduced to 30 m.p.h. within 24 hours. We have been told that the procedure for lowering speed limits takes a long time, but we will not accept this. It does not take long to paint a sign saying 30 m.p.h."
On the 28th of this week, Lancashire County Highways Committee considered a 2,000-name petition calling for action to be taken.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Rainhill Parents Action Committee secretary Ray Ferguson told the Reporter:
"We have declared war on them again. Positive militant action will be taken now unless something is done. There's no holds barred now. If they want trouble again like last year they will get it."
The Pilkington Glass Museum in Prescot Road featured an art exhibition throughout this week.
The exhibits included an L.S. Lowry painting called 'Over The Hill' and a sculpture of a reclining nude by Henry Moore.
Trouble was brewing at William Neill's engineering factory this week after sixteen men were suspended for taking an unofficial tea break.
A further five workers were suspended for refusing to operate a flexibility agreement.
As a result of the suspensions, 200 boilermakers walked out of the Bold factory, which was now at a standstill.
Relations between Neill's management and their workforce had soured four weeks earlier when pay claim negotiations broke down.
And finally, romance was on both of the big screens in St Helens from Sunday the 30th.
The ABC Savoy down Bridge Street was screening 'Ryan's Daughter', starring Robert Mitchum and Trevor Howard.
Meanwhile, the Capitol was showing 'Love Story' starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal.
Next week's stories will include the Four Acre fires that destroyed newly built homes, the killing of a school pet in Parr, the vandalism of a new Peasley Cross antique shop and a Sutton firm threatens to leave the town after its expansion plans are rejected.