FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 8 - 14 APRIL 1974
This week's many stories include the boxes of grenades discovered in a Ravenhead siding, the gelignite explosion in Mill Lane, the troubles of Rocla Pipes in Sutton, the angry Haresfinch council tenants, Leathers Chemicals are prosecuted for failing to prevent a discharge of gases and Robert Kilroy-Silk complains to the Post Office on behalf of the people of Crank.
When Knowsley Safari Park opened in 1971 the Liverpool Echo wrote that on the reverse side of an unnamed local firm's advertising card this comic message had been printed: "Complimentary Ticket – please permit my mother-in-law, Mrs ...................... to walk through Knowsley Safari Park. This ticket can be used once only." It then cost £1 for each car to visit the 350-acre site but admission was now £1.50, as stated in this advert published in the Echo on the 8th, which incorporated a large illustration of a snarling lion:
"The Wilder Side of Lancashire – See dozens of lions and monkeys, also herds of giraffes, elephants, camels, rhinos and a host of other animals from the comfort of your car or coach. Please telephone for party rates and other information. Pets not allowed in reserves, kennels provided.
"Safari buses available for owners of soft top cars. Many extra attractions in recreation area: Pets Corner; Dolphinarium; Children's Amusement Park; Miniature Railway; Self Service Restaurant and Souvenir Shops. Open every day of the year from 10a.m. Admission to game reserves £1.50 per saloon car."
Since its merger with the Reporter in 1960, the St Helens Newspaper had become the former's midweek paper and on Tuesday 9th its lead story was how Rocla Pipes was in serious trouble. The manufacturer of concrete pipes for drainage, sewage and water supply was based in Watery Lane in Sutton.
Rocla was highly dependent on government orders and a cutback in spending was hitting the firm hard. So far a total of 61 workers out of their total workforce of 156 had lost their jobs and if the firm was to lose out in its bid for a big contract in the south of England, it was facing a virtual shutdown in May.
Making pipes for sewage works – assuming you can get the orders – sounds a lot easier than installing them. Another Newspaper story told how Mill Lane in Sutton had been "blitzed by tons of rock when a gelignite explosion went wrong". Workmen had been sinking a 34-foot shaft just outside the playground of Sherdley Primary School as part of new trunk sewer works.
It was thought that explosive charges that were meant to go off in sequence had blown all at once. As a result the safety cover and weights that were supposed to contain the explosion inside the shaft were blasted off and debris shot 20 feet into the air and peppered a car. George Singleton and his wife, Lily, and sister Esther were standing at the window of their home watching when the blast occurred. The 64-year-old told the Newspaper:
"They sound a siren when blasting starts. I told my sister and my wife to watch for the smoke which usually comes from the shaft. Then about 16 tons of sandstone shot straight up as high as the nearby crane, and showered down mushroom-fashion all over the road. There's a school there and the fall-out could have gone that way – fortunately at 2.20 the children aren't in the playground."
Robert Kilroy-Silk was the recently elected MP for Ormskirk, whose constituency included Rainford. On the 9th the Liverpool Echo wrote that the former lecturer in politics at Liverpool University had written to the Post Office calling for the sub-post office at Crank to be saved from closure.
In his letter to the Postmaster, Kilroy-Silk pointed out that if the premises were closed it would mean Crank residents having to travel to Rainford or St Helens to reach their nearest post office. The 32-year-old's talk show 'Kilroy' was still twelve years away from hitting our TV screens.
On the 10th the controversial Leathers Chemicals (pictured above) were charged in St Helens Magistrates Court with "failing to use the best practicable means for preventing the discharge of noxious and offensive gases into the atmosphere". The alleged offence had taken place on September 25th 1973 while a tanker was being loaded with oleum liquid.
John Douglas, the principal public health inspector for St Helens, said he was in Baxters Lane in Sutton on that day when he noticed a thick pall of vapour extending into a white cloud coming from the tanker loading point at Leathers. The emission had been going on for about eight minutes and the company told him that the problem was because the man filling the tanker had not done that type of job before.
In court Leathers pleaded not guilty and their solicitor insisted that the firm was not trying to evade the issue on a technicality – but then he attempted to evade the issue on a technicality! Leathers was facing a charge of failing to prevent a discharge of gases into the atmosphere. However, the vapour had not been discharged but had escaped while the tanker was being filled, which the solicitor reckoned was not the same thing. But the magistrates were having none of his pedantry and Leathers were fined £100 and £15 costs.
On the 11th The Bachelors performed at the Theatre Royal with a full orchestra in support. The St Helens Reporter was published on that day and described how a "new wave of anger" was sweeping through an estate at Haresfinch after tenants had returned to their homes. They had been moved out while council workmen installed central heating systems, new kitchen units and painted some woodwork. But they also found their gardens ruined by rubble, holes in their walls that were waiting for air vents to be put in, plaster work unfinished and windows that were jammed.
Tom McDermott of Woodlands Road, said: "I came to open the windows and they just wouldn't budge. And it's the same in all the houses, the windows were completely sealed by the paint. Draught and rain comes through the holes in the walls and soaks everything. There are two odd taps on the sink and I believe there is a similar set down the road."
Mr McDermott also discovered that his front lawn as well as a fence had disappeared. And his neighbour Stanley Murphy returned to his house to find the ceiling tiles that he had installed had been ripped off. A piece of teak board on his staircase had also been removed and replaced by two pieces of wood that had been knocked together.
"They told me the tiles would be left," said Mr Murphy. "But when I came back I found they had all been ripped off. The hot water pipes in the front living room are very dangerous as they run along the skirting board they get boiling hot and I am frightened my grandchildren might touch them." The council said that the tenants' complaints were being looked into.
The lead story on the front page of the Liverpool Echo on the 13th described how a cock-up by British Rail at a time of heightened IRA activity on the mainland was causing concern:
"A major nationwide search by the army, the police and British Rail staff was taking place to-day for 720 grenades possibly missing from a railway wagon containing 36 boxes of grenades, which was discovered in a St. Helens glass works siding. The load was found by workmen in a train of empty wagons consigned from Southampton to Pilkingtons. They are anti-personnel rifle grenades and were thought to have been 1,440 contained in 72 boxes, but only 36 boxes were found in the wagon when it was opened."
The grenades had been placed in a sealed wagon on April 3rd as part of a general consignment from the Bramley ammunition depot in Hampshire. They were supposed to travel to nearby Eastleigh but ended up at Fibreglass at Ravenhead instead! A spokesman for the glass giant said an employee had been checking the wagons while preparing for a shipment of fibreglass roofing insulation when he discovered the cases.
He said it was not uncommon for Pilkington employees to handle wagons sent to them supposedly empty which were found to contain part of a previous freight consignment. Although I don't think grenades had ever been discovered before! It was soon realised that none of the explosives had gone missing – a "clerical error" was blamed for recording an incorrect number of grenades that had been despatched. A board of inquiry subsequently blamed "human failings" for the grenades travelling to Pilks and disciplinary action was taken against those deemed responsible.
St Helens Reporter and Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a Carr Mill Dam bravery award, the teenagers with knives at Rainford Village Hall discos, a complaint of poor service provision in Parr and three town centre pubs are banned from taking in guests.
When Knowsley Safari Park opened in 1971 the Liverpool Echo wrote that on the reverse side of an unnamed local firm's advertising card this comic message had been printed: "Complimentary Ticket – please permit my mother-in-law, Mrs ...................... to walk through Knowsley Safari Park. This ticket can be used once only." It then cost £1 for each car to visit the 350-acre site but admission was now £1.50, as stated in this advert published in the Echo on the 8th, which incorporated a large illustration of a snarling lion:
"The Wilder Side of Lancashire – See dozens of lions and monkeys, also herds of giraffes, elephants, camels, rhinos and a host of other animals from the comfort of your car or coach. Please telephone for party rates and other information. Pets not allowed in reserves, kennels provided.
"Safari buses available for owners of soft top cars. Many extra attractions in recreation area: Pets Corner; Dolphinarium; Children's Amusement Park; Miniature Railway; Self Service Restaurant and Souvenir Shops. Open every day of the year from 10a.m. Admission to game reserves £1.50 per saloon car."
Since its merger with the Reporter in 1960, the St Helens Newspaper had become the former's midweek paper and on Tuesday 9th its lead story was how Rocla Pipes was in serious trouble. The manufacturer of concrete pipes for drainage, sewage and water supply was based in Watery Lane in Sutton.
Rocla was highly dependent on government orders and a cutback in spending was hitting the firm hard. So far a total of 61 workers out of their total workforce of 156 had lost their jobs and if the firm was to lose out in its bid for a big contract in the south of England, it was facing a virtual shutdown in May.
Making pipes for sewage works – assuming you can get the orders – sounds a lot easier than installing them. Another Newspaper story told how Mill Lane in Sutton had been "blitzed by tons of rock when a gelignite explosion went wrong". Workmen had been sinking a 34-foot shaft just outside the playground of Sherdley Primary School as part of new trunk sewer works.
It was thought that explosive charges that were meant to go off in sequence had blown all at once. As a result the safety cover and weights that were supposed to contain the explosion inside the shaft were blasted off and debris shot 20 feet into the air and peppered a car. George Singleton and his wife, Lily, and sister Esther were standing at the window of their home watching when the blast occurred. The 64-year-old told the Newspaper:
"They sound a siren when blasting starts. I told my sister and my wife to watch for the smoke which usually comes from the shaft. Then about 16 tons of sandstone shot straight up as high as the nearby crane, and showered down mushroom-fashion all over the road. There's a school there and the fall-out could have gone that way – fortunately at 2.20 the children aren't in the playground."
Robert Kilroy-Silk was the recently elected MP for Ormskirk, whose constituency included Rainford. On the 9th the Liverpool Echo wrote that the former lecturer in politics at Liverpool University had written to the Post Office calling for the sub-post office at Crank to be saved from closure.
In his letter to the Postmaster, Kilroy-Silk pointed out that if the premises were closed it would mean Crank residents having to travel to Rainford or St Helens to reach their nearest post office. The 32-year-old's talk show 'Kilroy' was still twelve years away from hitting our TV screens.
John Douglas, the principal public health inspector for St Helens, said he was in Baxters Lane in Sutton on that day when he noticed a thick pall of vapour extending into a white cloud coming from the tanker loading point at Leathers. The emission had been going on for about eight minutes and the company told him that the problem was because the man filling the tanker had not done that type of job before.
In court Leathers pleaded not guilty and their solicitor insisted that the firm was not trying to evade the issue on a technicality – but then he attempted to evade the issue on a technicality! Leathers was facing a charge of failing to prevent a discharge of gases into the atmosphere. However, the vapour had not been discharged but had escaped while the tanker was being filled, which the solicitor reckoned was not the same thing. But the magistrates were having none of his pedantry and Leathers were fined £100 and £15 costs.
On the 11th The Bachelors performed at the Theatre Royal with a full orchestra in support. The St Helens Reporter was published on that day and described how a "new wave of anger" was sweeping through an estate at Haresfinch after tenants had returned to their homes. They had been moved out while council workmen installed central heating systems, new kitchen units and painted some woodwork. But they also found their gardens ruined by rubble, holes in their walls that were waiting for air vents to be put in, plaster work unfinished and windows that were jammed.
Tom McDermott of Woodlands Road, said: "I came to open the windows and they just wouldn't budge. And it's the same in all the houses, the windows were completely sealed by the paint. Draught and rain comes through the holes in the walls and soaks everything. There are two odd taps on the sink and I believe there is a similar set down the road."
Mr McDermott also discovered that his front lawn as well as a fence had disappeared. And his neighbour Stanley Murphy returned to his house to find the ceiling tiles that he had installed had been ripped off. A piece of teak board on his staircase had also been removed and replaced by two pieces of wood that had been knocked together.
"They told me the tiles would be left," said Mr Murphy. "But when I came back I found they had all been ripped off. The hot water pipes in the front living room are very dangerous as they run along the skirting board they get boiling hot and I am frightened my grandchildren might touch them." The council said that the tenants' complaints were being looked into.
The lead story on the front page of the Liverpool Echo on the 13th described how a cock-up by British Rail at a time of heightened IRA activity on the mainland was causing concern:
"A major nationwide search by the army, the police and British Rail staff was taking place to-day for 720 grenades possibly missing from a railway wagon containing 36 boxes of grenades, which was discovered in a St. Helens glass works siding. The load was found by workmen in a train of empty wagons consigned from Southampton to Pilkingtons. They are anti-personnel rifle grenades and were thought to have been 1,440 contained in 72 boxes, but only 36 boxes were found in the wagon when it was opened."
The grenades had been placed in a sealed wagon on April 3rd as part of a general consignment from the Bramley ammunition depot in Hampshire. They were supposed to travel to nearby Eastleigh but ended up at Fibreglass at Ravenhead instead! A spokesman for the glass giant said an employee had been checking the wagons while preparing for a shipment of fibreglass roofing insulation when he discovered the cases.
He said it was not uncommon for Pilkington employees to handle wagons sent to them supposedly empty which were found to contain part of a previous freight consignment. Although I don't think grenades had ever been discovered before! It was soon realised that none of the explosives had gone missing – a "clerical error" was blamed for recording an incorrect number of grenades that had been despatched. A board of inquiry subsequently blamed "human failings" for the grenades travelling to Pilks and disciplinary action was taken against those deemed responsible.
St Helens Reporter and Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a Carr Mill Dam bravery award, the teenagers with knives at Rainford Village Hall discos, a complaint of poor service provision in Parr and three town centre pubs are banned from taking in guests.
This week's many stories include the boxes of grenades discovered in a Ravenhead siding, the gelignite explosion in Mill Lane, the troubles of Rocla Pipes in Sutton, the angry Haresfinch council tenants, Leathers Chemicals are prosecuted for failing to prevent a discharge of gases and Robert Kilroy-Silk complains to the Post Office on behalf of the people of Crank.
When Knowsley Safari Park opened in 1971 the Liverpool Echo wrote that on the reverse side of an unnamed local firm's advertising card this comic message had been printed:
"Complimentary Ticket – please permit my mother-in-law, Mrs ...................... to walk through Knowsley Safari Park. This ticket can be used once only."
It then cost £1 for each car to visit the 350-acre site but admission was now £1.50, as stated in this advert published in the Echo on the 8th, which incorporated a large illustration of a snarling lion:
"The Wilder Side of Lancashire – See dozens of lions and monkeys, also herds of giraffes, elephants, camels, rhinos and a host of other animals from the comfort of your car or coach. Please telephone for party rates and other information.
"Pets not allowed in reserves, kennels provided. Safari buses available for owners of soft top cars. Many extra attractions in recreation area:
"Pets Corner; Dolphinarium; Children's Amusement Park; Miniature Railway; Self Service Restaurant and Souvenir Shops. Open every day of the year from 10a.m. Admission to game reserves £1.50 per saloon car."
Since its merger with the Reporter in 1960, the St Helens Newspaper had become the former's midweek paper and on Tuesday 9th its lead story was how Rocla Pipes was in serious trouble.
The manufacturer of concrete pipes for drainage, sewage and water supply was based in Watery Lane in Sutton.
Rocla was highly dependent on government orders and a cutback in spending was hitting the firm hard.
So far a total of 61 workers out of their total workforce of 156 had lost their jobs and if the firm was to lose out in its bid for a big contract in the south of England, it was facing a virtual shutdown in May.
Making pipes for sewage works – assuming you can get the orders – sounds a lot easier than installing them.
Another Newspaper story told how Mill Lane in Sutton had been "blitzed by tons of rock when a gelignite explosion went wrong".
Workmen had been sinking a 34-foot shaft just outside the playground of Sherdley Primary School as part of new trunk sewer works.
It was thought that explosive charges that were meant to go off in sequence had blown all at once.
As a result the safety cover and weights that were supposed to contain the explosion inside the shaft were blasted off and debris shot 20 feet into the air and peppered a car.
George Singleton and his wife, Lily, and sister Esther were standing at the window of their home watching when the blast occurred. The 64-year-old told the Newspaper:
"They sound a siren when blasting starts. I told my sister and my wife to watch for the smoke which usually comes from the shaft.
"Then about 16 tons of sandstone shot straight up as high as the nearby crane, and showered down mushroom-fashion all over the road.
"There's a school there and the fall-out could have gone that way – fortunately at 2.20 the children aren't in the playground."
Robert Kilroy-Silk was the recently elected MP for Ormskirk, whose constituency included Rainford.
On the 9th the Liverpool Echo wrote that the former lecturer in politics at Liverpool University had written to the Post Office calling for the sub-post office at Crank to be saved from closure.
In his letter to the Postmaster, Kilroy-Silk pointed out that if the premises were closed it would mean Crank residents having to travel to Rainford or St Helens to reach their nearest post office.
The 32-year-old's talk show 'Kilroy' was still twelve years away from hitting our TV screens.
On the 10th the controversial Leathers Chemicals (pictured above) were charged in St Helens Magistrates Court with "failing to use the best practicable means for preventing the discharge of noxious and offensive gases into the atmosphere".
The alleged offence had taken place on September 25th 1973 while a tanker was being loaded with oleum liquid.
John Douglas, the principal public health inspector for St Helens, said he was in Baxters Lane in Sutton on that day when he noticed a thick pall of vapour extending into a white cloud coming from the tanker loading point at Leathers.
The emission had been going on for about eight minutes and the company told him that the problem was because the man filling the tanker had not done that type of job before.
In court Leathers pleaded not guilty and their solicitor insisted that the firm was not trying to evade the issue on a technicality – but then he attempted to evade the issue on a technicality!
Leathers was facing a charge of failing to prevent a discharge of gases into the atmosphere.
However, the vapour had not been discharged but had escaped while the tanker was being filled, which the solicitor reckoned was not the same thing.
But the magistrates were having none of his pedantry and Leathers were fined £100 and £15 costs.
On the 11th The Bachelors performed at the Theatre Royal with a full orchestra in support.
The St Helens Reporter was published on that day and described how a "new wave of anger" was sweeping through an estate at Haresfinch after tenants had returned to their homes.
They had been moved out while council workmen installed central heating systems, new kitchen units and painted some woodwork.
But they also found their gardens ruined by rubble, holes in their walls that were waiting for air vents to be put in, plaster work unfinished and windows that were jammed.
Tom McDermott of Woodlands Road, said: "I came to open the windows and they just wouldn't budge. And it's the same in all the houses, the windows were completely sealed by the paint.
"Draught and rain comes through the holes in the walls and soaks everything. There are two odd taps on the sink and I believe there is a similar set down the road."
Mr McDermott also discovered that his front lawn as well as a fence had disappeared.
And his neighbour Stanley Murphy returned to his house to find the ceiling tiles that he had installed had been ripped off.
A piece of teak board on his staircase had also been removed and replaced by two pieces of wood that had been knocked together.
"They told me the tiles would be left," said Mr Murphy. "But when I came back I found they had all been ripped off.
"The hot water pipes in the front living room are very dangerous as they run along the skirting board they get boiling hot and I am frightened my grandchildren might touch them."
The council said that the tenants' complaints were being looked into.
The lead story on the front page of the Liverpool Echo on the 13th described how a cock-up by British Rail at a time of heightened IRA activity on the mainland was causing concern:
"A major nationwide search by the army, the police and British Rail staff was taking place to-day for 720 grenades possibly missing from a railway wagon containing 36 boxes of grenades, which was discovered in a St. Helens glass works siding.
"The load was found by workmen in a train of empty wagons consigned from Southampton to Pilkingtons.
"They are anti-personnel rifle grenades and were thought to have been 1,440 contained in 72 boxes, but only 36 boxes were found in the wagon when it was opened."
The grenades had been placed in a sealed wagon on April 3rd as part of a general consignment from the Bramley ammunition depot in Hampshire.
They were supposed to travel to nearby Eastleigh but ended up at Fibreglass at Ravenhead instead!
A spokesman for the glass giant said an employee had been checking the wagons while preparing for a shipment of fibreglass roofing insulation when he discovered the cases.
He said it was not uncommon for Pilkington employees to handle wagons sent to them supposedly empty which were found to contain part of a previous freight consignment. Although I don't think grenades had ever been discovered before!
It was soon realised that none of the explosives had gone missing – a "clerical error" was blamed for recording an incorrect number of grenades that had been despatched.
A board of inquiry subsequently blamed "human failings" for the grenades travelling to Pilks and disciplinary action was taken against those deemed responsible.
St Helens Reporter and Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a Carr Mill Dam bravery award, the teenagers with knives at Rainford Village Hall discos, a complaint of poor service provision in Parr and three town centre pubs are banned from taking in guests.
When Knowsley Safari Park opened in 1971 the Liverpool Echo wrote that on the reverse side of an unnamed local firm's advertising card this comic message had been printed:
"Complimentary Ticket – please permit my mother-in-law, Mrs ...................... to walk through Knowsley Safari Park. This ticket can be used once only."
It then cost £1 for each car to visit the 350-acre site but admission was now £1.50, as stated in this advert published in the Echo on the 8th, which incorporated a large illustration of a snarling lion:
"The Wilder Side of Lancashire – See dozens of lions and monkeys, also herds of giraffes, elephants, camels, rhinos and a host of other animals from the comfort of your car or coach. Please telephone for party rates and other information.
"Pets not allowed in reserves, kennels provided. Safari buses available for owners of soft top cars. Many extra attractions in recreation area:
"Pets Corner; Dolphinarium; Children's Amusement Park; Miniature Railway; Self Service Restaurant and Souvenir Shops. Open every day of the year from 10a.m. Admission to game reserves £1.50 per saloon car."
Since its merger with the Reporter in 1960, the St Helens Newspaper had become the former's midweek paper and on Tuesday 9th its lead story was how Rocla Pipes was in serious trouble.
The manufacturer of concrete pipes for drainage, sewage and water supply was based in Watery Lane in Sutton.
Rocla was highly dependent on government orders and a cutback in spending was hitting the firm hard.
So far a total of 61 workers out of their total workforce of 156 had lost their jobs and if the firm was to lose out in its bid for a big contract in the south of England, it was facing a virtual shutdown in May.
Making pipes for sewage works – assuming you can get the orders – sounds a lot easier than installing them.
Another Newspaper story told how Mill Lane in Sutton had been "blitzed by tons of rock when a gelignite explosion went wrong".
Workmen had been sinking a 34-foot shaft just outside the playground of Sherdley Primary School as part of new trunk sewer works.
It was thought that explosive charges that were meant to go off in sequence had blown all at once.
As a result the safety cover and weights that were supposed to contain the explosion inside the shaft were blasted off and debris shot 20 feet into the air and peppered a car.
George Singleton and his wife, Lily, and sister Esther were standing at the window of their home watching when the blast occurred. The 64-year-old told the Newspaper:
"They sound a siren when blasting starts. I told my sister and my wife to watch for the smoke which usually comes from the shaft.
"Then about 16 tons of sandstone shot straight up as high as the nearby crane, and showered down mushroom-fashion all over the road.
"There's a school there and the fall-out could have gone that way – fortunately at 2.20 the children aren't in the playground."
Robert Kilroy-Silk was the recently elected MP for Ormskirk, whose constituency included Rainford.
On the 9th the Liverpool Echo wrote that the former lecturer in politics at Liverpool University had written to the Post Office calling for the sub-post office at Crank to be saved from closure.
In his letter to the Postmaster, Kilroy-Silk pointed out that if the premises were closed it would mean Crank residents having to travel to Rainford or St Helens to reach their nearest post office.
The 32-year-old's talk show 'Kilroy' was still twelve years away from hitting our TV screens.
On the 10th the controversial Leathers Chemicals (pictured above) were charged in St Helens Magistrates Court with "failing to use the best practicable means for preventing the discharge of noxious and offensive gases into the atmosphere".
John Douglas, the principal public health inspector for St Helens, said he was in Baxters Lane in Sutton on that day when he noticed a thick pall of vapour extending into a white cloud coming from the tanker loading point at Leathers.
The emission had been going on for about eight minutes and the company told him that the problem was because the man filling the tanker had not done that type of job before.
In court Leathers pleaded not guilty and their solicitor insisted that the firm was not trying to evade the issue on a technicality – but then he attempted to evade the issue on a technicality!
Leathers was facing a charge of failing to prevent a discharge of gases into the atmosphere.
However, the vapour had not been discharged but had escaped while the tanker was being filled, which the solicitor reckoned was not the same thing.
But the magistrates were having none of his pedantry and Leathers were fined £100 and £15 costs.
On the 11th The Bachelors performed at the Theatre Royal with a full orchestra in support.
The St Helens Reporter was published on that day and described how a "new wave of anger" was sweeping through an estate at Haresfinch after tenants had returned to their homes.
They had been moved out while council workmen installed central heating systems, new kitchen units and painted some woodwork.
But they also found their gardens ruined by rubble, holes in their walls that were waiting for air vents to be put in, plaster work unfinished and windows that were jammed.
Tom McDermott of Woodlands Road, said: "I came to open the windows and they just wouldn't budge. And it's the same in all the houses, the windows were completely sealed by the paint.
"Draught and rain comes through the holes in the walls and soaks everything. There are two odd taps on the sink and I believe there is a similar set down the road."
Mr McDermott also discovered that his front lawn as well as a fence had disappeared.
And his neighbour Stanley Murphy returned to his house to find the ceiling tiles that he had installed had been ripped off.
A piece of teak board on his staircase had also been removed and replaced by two pieces of wood that had been knocked together.
"They told me the tiles would be left," said Mr Murphy. "But when I came back I found they had all been ripped off.
"The hot water pipes in the front living room are very dangerous as they run along the skirting board they get boiling hot and I am frightened my grandchildren might touch them."
The council said that the tenants' complaints were being looked into.
The lead story on the front page of the Liverpool Echo on the 13th described how a cock-up by British Rail at a time of heightened IRA activity on the mainland was causing concern:
"A major nationwide search by the army, the police and British Rail staff was taking place to-day for 720 grenades possibly missing from a railway wagon containing 36 boxes of grenades, which was discovered in a St. Helens glass works siding.
"The load was found by workmen in a train of empty wagons consigned from Southampton to Pilkingtons.
"They are anti-personnel rifle grenades and were thought to have been 1,440 contained in 72 boxes, but only 36 boxes were found in the wagon when it was opened."
The grenades had been placed in a sealed wagon on April 3rd as part of a general consignment from the Bramley ammunition depot in Hampshire.
They were supposed to travel to nearby Eastleigh but ended up at Fibreglass at Ravenhead instead!
A spokesman for the glass giant said an employee had been checking the wagons while preparing for a shipment of fibreglass roofing insulation when he discovered the cases.
He said it was not uncommon for Pilkington employees to handle wagons sent to them supposedly empty which were found to contain part of a previous freight consignment. Although I don't think grenades had ever been discovered before!
It was soon realised that none of the explosives had gone missing – a "clerical error" was blamed for recording an incorrect number of grenades that had been despatched.
A board of inquiry subsequently blamed "human failings" for the grenades travelling to Pilks and disciplinary action was taken against those deemed responsible.
St Helens Reporter and Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a Carr Mill Dam bravery award, the teenagers with knives at Rainford Village Hall discos, a complaint of poor service provision in Parr and three town centre pubs are banned from taking in guests.