FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 15 - 21 JULY 1974
This week's many stories include the rat-infested streams in St Helens that could not be culverted, there's criticism of the state of Newton Lake, the claim that some people in St Helens lived in worse conditions than pigs, the packs of dogs that were running wild around Boundary Road and Leathers Chemicals appeal against their pollution conviction.
We begin on the 16th when the St Helens Newspaper described how vandals – believed to be teenage girls – had ripped 800 flowers out of their beds and scattered them over the lawns of Victoria Park (pictured above). The incident had occurred just hours before St Helens Council's Leisure and Recreation Committee were due to visit the gardens as part of their annual parks' inspection.
Cllr Harry Williams was chairman of the committee and said: "I can't understand how anyone, girl or boy, could commit such a heartless act. This calls for every ratepayer to be on the lookout for these hoodlums, to form watchdog groups." And the Mayor, Cllr Paddy Gill, commented: "It hurts me to see the destruction that vandals leave behind them. Gardens like this one give so much pleasure to the public, it's shocking when they are thoughtlessly ruined."
A "special presentation" of 'Woodstock' was shown at the Capitol cinema in St Helens on the 17th – "4 days of peace, music and love", said the advert. And there was more wrestling at the Fleece Hotel in Church Street on that day with the top bout featuring Albert Rocky Wall who was listed as the official British heavyweight champion.
Councillor Jim Greenall told St Helens Housing Committee this week that pigs were living in better conditions than some St Helens families. He also told the committee that the plight of people left behind in slum clearance areas while they waited to be rehoused was "degrading to any human being".
Listening in the public gallery to Cllr Greenall's comments were thirty angry residents of slum clearance areas in South Windle and North Eccleston wards. The councillor blamed the shortage on new homes that were temporarily being occupied by families whose council houses were undergoing modernisation, saying: "People in improvement areas have already got roofs over their heads. Slum clearance should get absolute priority."
The Housing Director Hugh Pye admitted that 350 new houses had been "tied up" as temporary accommodation for families whose homes were in the process of modernisation. But he explained that some people in slum areas were very choosy as to their new home:
"The real problem, though, is not shortage of accommodation but the reluctance of those in slum clearance areas to go where there is vacant property. Everyone has a favourite area and people keep turning down offers of good property on new estates. I can say that providing people were prepared to be fairly reasonable in their choice of home and area, we could accommodate everyone fairly quickly, if only on a temporary basis till what really suited them became available".
The St Helens Reporter on the 19th described how the North West Water Authority had rejected two applications for rat-infested streams in Sutton and Sutton Manor to be culverted. Petitions from residents in Shakespeare Road, Burns Road and Farndon Avenue had complained that the ditch at the rear of their houses was "unsightly, dangerous to children and a continued source of encouragement to rats." And those living in Weymouth Avenue and Portland Way said action was "imperative because the stagnant water off Portland Way is a danger to children and a breeding ground for rats."
St Helens Council's Environmental Health Committee had taken up their concerns but had received a response from the water authority making it clear they would not consent to any culverting. That was on the grounds that during severe rainfall culverting could increase the risk of serious flooding and it was also more difficult to free rubbish from a culvert than from an open stream.
The Reporter also described how Pilkingtons planned to spend £150 million over the next three years to consolidate their world position in the manufacture of float glass. About half that amount would be spent on expansion and growth in the UK – but new float glass plants would also be opened in Sweden and South Africa and possibly Argentina.
I always find it a little odd that at some schools in St Helens the pupils who had never had a day off for four or five years were rewarded with watches or alarm clocks. One would imagine that they must already have possessed a good timepiece in order to be so punctual – or perhaps they simply had mothers with loud voices to rouse them early in the morning!
Pictured in the Reporter were three 5th year scholars at Rivington Road School after headmaster William Garner had presented them with alarm clocks as prizes for their 100% attendance records. The students were Antony Kinsey of Devon Street, Susan Balmer from Grafton Street and Sadie Vince of Fell Grove.
During the 1970s dogs could still be seen roaming the streets of St Helens and sometimes they would run about in small groups. In this week's Reporter this letter on the subject by someone using the pen-name "Dogged" was published:
"I would like to make it public about the dogs running wild in packs. I live between Boundary Road and Westfield Street, and people are frightened of walking down the streets, children are terrified because the dogs chase them. The streets are messed up with filth yet nobody does anything about it. Some tenants have two dogs and it is taking them all their time to look after themselves. So they let them run wild in packs and lie across the pavements, not to mention fouling the streets. I am sure plenty of people feel the same way. Someone should help, even if it is just for the sake of the children."
And an article in the Reporter described how Newton Lake had become a dumping ground. The paper wrote that the lake – which was in a "lovely setting of natural, lush – woodland" was also heavily polluted: "Its waters are filthy. Its banks are littered with debris – empty cans, plastic canisters, bottles, and thick scummy oil."
Resident Ronald Jennings, the caretaker of Newton's Mere House School, lived in a cottage overlooking the lake and described it as a health hazard: "It's a nice spot going to the dogs. You just would not believe the amount of rubbish washed up on the section of lake near the school. Looking from the public side in Willow Park it looks reasonably picturesque, but the public can't know what is really in the water. On some days the smell of diesel oil is terrible."
During a debate in the Commons on the 19th it was revealed that St Helens Council had failed to consult the area's Alkali Inspector before granting permission for the building of Leathers chemical factory. Dennis Howell, the government minister with responsibility for pollution, said that if the Inspectorate had been contacted, they would have warned the council against allowing the sulphuric acid plant to be built in Sutton.
Leathers also appealed to Liverpool Crown Court this week over the decision by St Helens magistrates to fine them £100 for discharging noxious and offensive gases into the air. Although Judge Rudolph Lyons dismissed their appeal he felt that the fine imposed on them by the magistrates had been too severe.
As it had been the sulphuric acid firm's first offence, he said they should not have been fined the maximum penalty of £100 and so he reduced the fine to £25. Of course, the East Sutton Residents Association and other campaigners would say that it had been far from the Lancots Lane firm's first act of pollution but the first occasion that there had been sufficient evidence to warrant a prosecution.
Also on the 19th, Old Time Music Hall took place at the Royal Raven Hotel with an admission price of 50p.
And finally, metal detectors were beginning to become popular and this advert was placed in the Chester Chronicle on the 19th: "METAL DETECTORS – Find your own buried treasure. Full range of metal / mineral detectors. 'Phone, write or call for details: I.H.S., 135 Prescot Road, St. Helens, Lancashire. Tel. St. Helens (0744) 29695."
St Helens Reporter and Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the record-breaking St Helens Show, concern over the number of betting shops in the town, the sugar shortage in St Helens and the mayoral bounty placed on the heads of taggers Jedder and Faz.
Cllr Harry Williams was chairman of the committee and said: "I can't understand how anyone, girl or boy, could commit such a heartless act. This calls for every ratepayer to be on the lookout for these hoodlums, to form watchdog groups." And the Mayor, Cllr Paddy Gill, commented: "It hurts me to see the destruction that vandals leave behind them. Gardens like this one give so much pleasure to the public, it's shocking when they are thoughtlessly ruined."
A "special presentation" of 'Woodstock' was shown at the Capitol cinema in St Helens on the 17th – "4 days of peace, music and love", said the advert. And there was more wrestling at the Fleece Hotel in Church Street on that day with the top bout featuring Albert Rocky Wall who was listed as the official British heavyweight champion.
Councillor Jim Greenall told St Helens Housing Committee this week that pigs were living in better conditions than some St Helens families. He also told the committee that the plight of people left behind in slum clearance areas while they waited to be rehoused was "degrading to any human being".
Listening in the public gallery to Cllr Greenall's comments were thirty angry residents of slum clearance areas in South Windle and North Eccleston wards. The councillor blamed the shortage on new homes that were temporarily being occupied by families whose council houses were undergoing modernisation, saying: "People in improvement areas have already got roofs over their heads. Slum clearance should get absolute priority."
The Housing Director Hugh Pye admitted that 350 new houses had been "tied up" as temporary accommodation for families whose homes were in the process of modernisation. But he explained that some people in slum areas were very choosy as to their new home:
"The real problem, though, is not shortage of accommodation but the reluctance of those in slum clearance areas to go where there is vacant property. Everyone has a favourite area and people keep turning down offers of good property on new estates. I can say that providing people were prepared to be fairly reasonable in their choice of home and area, we could accommodate everyone fairly quickly, if only on a temporary basis till what really suited them became available".
The St Helens Reporter on the 19th described how the North West Water Authority had rejected two applications for rat-infested streams in Sutton and Sutton Manor to be culverted. Petitions from residents in Shakespeare Road, Burns Road and Farndon Avenue had complained that the ditch at the rear of their houses was "unsightly, dangerous to children and a continued source of encouragement to rats." And those living in Weymouth Avenue and Portland Way said action was "imperative because the stagnant water off Portland Way is a danger to children and a breeding ground for rats."
St Helens Council's Environmental Health Committee had taken up their concerns but had received a response from the water authority making it clear they would not consent to any culverting. That was on the grounds that during severe rainfall culverting could increase the risk of serious flooding and it was also more difficult to free rubbish from a culvert than from an open stream.
The Reporter also described how Pilkingtons planned to spend £150 million over the next three years to consolidate their world position in the manufacture of float glass. About half that amount would be spent on expansion and growth in the UK – but new float glass plants would also be opened in Sweden and South Africa and possibly Argentina.
I always find it a little odd that at some schools in St Helens the pupils who had never had a day off for four or five years were rewarded with watches or alarm clocks. One would imagine that they must already have possessed a good timepiece in order to be so punctual – or perhaps they simply had mothers with loud voices to rouse them early in the morning!
Pictured in the Reporter were three 5th year scholars at Rivington Road School after headmaster William Garner had presented them with alarm clocks as prizes for their 100% attendance records. The students were Antony Kinsey of Devon Street, Susan Balmer from Grafton Street and Sadie Vince of Fell Grove.
During the 1970s dogs could still be seen roaming the streets of St Helens and sometimes they would run about in small groups. In this week's Reporter this letter on the subject by someone using the pen-name "Dogged" was published:
"I would like to make it public about the dogs running wild in packs. I live between Boundary Road and Westfield Street, and people are frightened of walking down the streets, children are terrified because the dogs chase them. The streets are messed up with filth yet nobody does anything about it. Some tenants have two dogs and it is taking them all their time to look after themselves. So they let them run wild in packs and lie across the pavements, not to mention fouling the streets. I am sure plenty of people feel the same way. Someone should help, even if it is just for the sake of the children."
And an article in the Reporter described how Newton Lake had become a dumping ground. The paper wrote that the lake – which was in a "lovely setting of natural, lush – woodland" was also heavily polluted: "Its waters are filthy. Its banks are littered with debris – empty cans, plastic canisters, bottles, and thick scummy oil."
Resident Ronald Jennings, the caretaker of Newton's Mere House School, lived in a cottage overlooking the lake and described it as a health hazard: "It's a nice spot going to the dogs. You just would not believe the amount of rubbish washed up on the section of lake near the school. Looking from the public side in Willow Park it looks reasonably picturesque, but the public can't know what is really in the water. On some days the smell of diesel oil is terrible."
During a debate in the Commons on the 19th it was revealed that St Helens Council had failed to consult the area's Alkali Inspector before granting permission for the building of Leathers chemical factory. Dennis Howell, the government minister with responsibility for pollution, said that if the Inspectorate had been contacted, they would have warned the council against allowing the sulphuric acid plant to be built in Sutton.
Leathers also appealed to Liverpool Crown Court this week over the decision by St Helens magistrates to fine them £100 for discharging noxious and offensive gases into the air. Although Judge Rudolph Lyons dismissed their appeal he felt that the fine imposed on them by the magistrates had been too severe.
As it had been the sulphuric acid firm's first offence, he said they should not have been fined the maximum penalty of £100 and so he reduced the fine to £25. Of course, the East Sutton Residents Association and other campaigners would say that it had been far from the Lancots Lane firm's first act of pollution but the first occasion that there had been sufficient evidence to warrant a prosecution.
Also on the 19th, Old Time Music Hall took place at the Royal Raven Hotel with an admission price of 50p.
And finally, metal detectors were beginning to become popular and this advert was placed in the Chester Chronicle on the 19th: "METAL DETECTORS – Find your own buried treasure. Full range of metal / mineral detectors. 'Phone, write or call for details: I.H.S., 135 Prescot Road, St. Helens, Lancashire. Tel. St. Helens (0744) 29695."
St Helens Reporter and Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the record-breaking St Helens Show, concern over the number of betting shops in the town, the sugar shortage in St Helens and the mayoral bounty placed on the heads of taggers Jedder and Faz.
This week's many stories include the rat-infested streams in St Helens that could not be culverted, there's criticism of the state of Newton Lake, the claim that some people in St Helens lived in worse conditions than pigs, the packs of dogs that were running wild around Boundary Road and Leathers Chemicals appeal against their pollution conviction.
We begin on the 16th when the St Helens Newspaper described how vandals – believed to be teenage girls – had ripped 800 flowers out of their beds and scattered them over the lawns of Victoria Park (pictured above).
The incident had occurred just hours before St Helens Council's Leisure and Recreation Committee were due to visit the gardens as part of their annual parks' inspection.
Cllr Harry Williams was chairman of the committee and said:
"I can't understand how anyone, girl or boy, could commit such a heartless act. This calls for every ratepayer to be on the lookout for these hoodlums, to form watchdog groups."
And the Mayor, Cllr Paddy Gill, commented: "It hurts me to see the destruction that vandals leave behind them. Gardens like this one give so much pleasure to the public, it's shocking when they are thoughtlessly ruined."
A "special presentation" of 'Woodstock' was shown at the Capitol cinema in St Helens on the 17th – "4 days of peace, music and love", said the advert.
And there was more wrestling at the Fleece Hotel in Church Street on that day with the top bout featuring Albert Rocky Wall who was listed as the official British heavyweight champion.
Councillor Jim Greenall told St Helens Housing Committee this week that pigs were living in better conditions than some St Helens families.
He also told the committee that the plight of people left behind in slum clearance areas while they waited to be rehoused was "degrading to any human being".
Listening in the public gallery to Cllr Greenall's comments were thirty angry residents of slum clearance areas in South Windle and North Eccleston wards.
The councillor blamed the shortage on new homes that were temporarily being occupied by families whose council houses were undergoing modernisation, saying:
"People in improvement areas have already got roofs over their heads. Slum clearance should get absolute priority."
The Housing Director Hugh Pye admitted that 350 new houses had been "tied up" as temporary accommodation for families whose homes were in the process of modernisation.
But he explained that some people in slum areas were very choosy as to their new home:
"The real problem, though, is not shortage of accommodation but the reluctance of those in slum clearance areas to go where there is vacant property. Everyone has a favourite area and people keep turning down offers of good property on new estates.
"I can say that providing people were prepared to be fairly reasonable in their choice of home and area, we could accommodate everyone fairly quickly, if only on a temporary basis till what really suited them became available".
The St Helens Reporter on the 19th described how the North West Water Authority had rejected two applications for rat-infested streams in Sutton and Sutton Manor to be culverted.
Petitions from residents in Shakespeare Road, Burns Road and Farndon Avenue had complained that the ditch at the rear of their houses was "unsightly, dangerous to children and a continued source of encouragement to rats."
And those living in Weymouth Avenue and Portland Way said action was "imperative because the stagnant water off Portland Way is a danger to children and a breeding ground for rats."
St Helens Council's Environmental Health Committee had taken up their concerns but had received a response from the water authority making it clear they would not consent to any culverting.
That was on the grounds that during severe rainfall culverting could increase the risk of serious flooding and it was also more difficult to free rubbish from a culvert than from an open stream.
The Reporter also described how Pilkingtons planned to spend £150 million over the next three years to consolidate their world position in the manufacture of float glass.
About half that amount would be spent on expansion and growth in the UK – but new float glass plants would also be opened in Sweden and South Africa and possibly Argentina.
I always find it a little odd that at some schools in St Helens the pupils who had never had a day off for four or five years were rewarded with watches or alarm clocks.
One would imagine that they must already have possessed a good timepiece in order to be so punctual – or perhaps they simply had mothers with loud voices to rouse them early in the morning!
Pictured in the Reporter were three 5th year scholars at Rivington Road School after headmaster William Garner had presented them with alarm clocks as prizes for their 100% attendance records.
The students were Antony Kinsey of Devon Street, Susan Balmer from Grafton Street and Sadie Vince of Fell Grove.
During the 1970s dogs could still be seen roaming the streets of St Helens and sometimes they would run about in small groups.
In this week's Reporter this letter on the subject by someone using the pen-name "Dogged" was published:
"I would like to make it public about the dogs running wild in packs. I live between Boundary Road and Westfield Street, and people are frightened of walking down the streets, children are terrified because the dogs chase them.
"The streets are messed up with filth yet nobody does anything about it. Some tenants have two dogs and it is taking them all their time to look after themselves.
"So they let them run wild in packs and lie across the pavements, not to mention fouling the streets.
"I am sure plenty of people feel the same way. Someone should help, even if it is just for the sake of the children."
And an article in the Reporter described how Newton Lake had become a dumping ground.
The paper wrote that the lake – which was in a "lovely setting of natural, lush – woodland" was also heavily polluted:
"Its waters are filthy. Its banks are littered with debris – empty cans, plastic canisters, bottles, and thick scummy oil."
Resident Ronald Jennings, the caretaker of Newton's Mere House School, lived in a cottage overlooking the lake and described it as a health hazard:
"It's a nice spot going to the dogs. You just would not believe the amount of rubbish washed up on the section of lake near the school.
"Looking from the public side in Willow Park it looks reasonably picturesque, but the public can't know what is really in the water. On some days the smell of diesel oil is terrible."
During a debate in the Commons on the 19th it was revealed that St Helens Council had failed to consult the area's Alkali Inspector before granting permission for the building of Leathers chemical factory.
Dennis Howell, the government minister with responsibility for pollution, said that if the Inspectorate had been contacted, they would have warned the council against allowing the sulphuric acid plant to be built in Sutton.
Leathers also appealed to Liverpool Crown Court this week over the decision by St Helens magistrates to fine them £100 for discharging noxious and offensive gases into the air.
Although Judge Rudolph Lyons dismissed their appeal he felt that the fine imposed on them by the magistrates had been too severe.
As it had been the sulphuric acid firm's first offence, he said they should not have been fined the maximum penalty of £100 and so he reduced the fine to £25.
Of course, the East Sutton Residents Association and other campaigners would say that it had been far from the Lancots Lane firm's first act of pollution but the first occasion that there had been sufficient evidence to warrant a prosecution.
Also on the 19th, Old Time Music Hall took place at the Royal Raven Hotel with an admission price of 50p.
And finally, metal detectors were beginning to become popular and this advert was placed in the Chester Chronicle on the 19th:
"METAL DETECTORS – Find your own buried treasure. Full range of metal / mineral detectors. 'Phone, write or call for details: I.H.S., 135 Prescot Road, St. Helens, Lancashire. Tel. St. Helens (0744) 29695."
St Helens Reporter and Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the record-breaking St Helens Show, concern over the number of betting shops in the town, the sugar shortage in St Helens and the mayoral bounty placed on the heads of taggers Jedder and Faz.
We begin on the 16th when the St Helens Newspaper described how vandals – believed to be teenage girls – had ripped 800 flowers out of their beds and scattered them over the lawns of Victoria Park (pictured above).
The incident had occurred just hours before St Helens Council's Leisure and Recreation Committee were due to visit the gardens as part of their annual parks' inspection.
Cllr Harry Williams was chairman of the committee and said:
"I can't understand how anyone, girl or boy, could commit such a heartless act. This calls for every ratepayer to be on the lookout for these hoodlums, to form watchdog groups."
And the Mayor, Cllr Paddy Gill, commented: "It hurts me to see the destruction that vandals leave behind them. Gardens like this one give so much pleasure to the public, it's shocking when they are thoughtlessly ruined."
A "special presentation" of 'Woodstock' was shown at the Capitol cinema in St Helens on the 17th – "4 days of peace, music and love", said the advert.
And there was more wrestling at the Fleece Hotel in Church Street on that day with the top bout featuring Albert Rocky Wall who was listed as the official British heavyweight champion.
Councillor Jim Greenall told St Helens Housing Committee this week that pigs were living in better conditions than some St Helens families.
He also told the committee that the plight of people left behind in slum clearance areas while they waited to be rehoused was "degrading to any human being".
Listening in the public gallery to Cllr Greenall's comments were thirty angry residents of slum clearance areas in South Windle and North Eccleston wards.
The councillor blamed the shortage on new homes that were temporarily being occupied by families whose council houses were undergoing modernisation, saying:
"People in improvement areas have already got roofs over their heads. Slum clearance should get absolute priority."
The Housing Director Hugh Pye admitted that 350 new houses had been "tied up" as temporary accommodation for families whose homes were in the process of modernisation.
But he explained that some people in slum areas were very choosy as to their new home:
"The real problem, though, is not shortage of accommodation but the reluctance of those in slum clearance areas to go where there is vacant property. Everyone has a favourite area and people keep turning down offers of good property on new estates.
"I can say that providing people were prepared to be fairly reasonable in their choice of home and area, we could accommodate everyone fairly quickly, if only on a temporary basis till what really suited them became available".
The St Helens Reporter on the 19th described how the North West Water Authority had rejected two applications for rat-infested streams in Sutton and Sutton Manor to be culverted.
Petitions from residents in Shakespeare Road, Burns Road and Farndon Avenue had complained that the ditch at the rear of their houses was "unsightly, dangerous to children and a continued source of encouragement to rats."
And those living in Weymouth Avenue and Portland Way said action was "imperative because the stagnant water off Portland Way is a danger to children and a breeding ground for rats."
St Helens Council's Environmental Health Committee had taken up their concerns but had received a response from the water authority making it clear they would not consent to any culverting.
That was on the grounds that during severe rainfall culverting could increase the risk of serious flooding and it was also more difficult to free rubbish from a culvert than from an open stream.
The Reporter also described how Pilkingtons planned to spend £150 million over the next three years to consolidate their world position in the manufacture of float glass.
About half that amount would be spent on expansion and growth in the UK – but new float glass plants would also be opened in Sweden and South Africa and possibly Argentina.
I always find it a little odd that at some schools in St Helens the pupils who had never had a day off for four or five years were rewarded with watches or alarm clocks.
One would imagine that they must already have possessed a good timepiece in order to be so punctual – or perhaps they simply had mothers with loud voices to rouse them early in the morning!
Pictured in the Reporter were three 5th year scholars at Rivington Road School after headmaster William Garner had presented them with alarm clocks as prizes for their 100% attendance records.
The students were Antony Kinsey of Devon Street, Susan Balmer from Grafton Street and Sadie Vince of Fell Grove.
During the 1970s dogs could still be seen roaming the streets of St Helens and sometimes they would run about in small groups.
In this week's Reporter this letter on the subject by someone using the pen-name "Dogged" was published:
"I would like to make it public about the dogs running wild in packs. I live between Boundary Road and Westfield Street, and people are frightened of walking down the streets, children are terrified because the dogs chase them.
"The streets are messed up with filth yet nobody does anything about it. Some tenants have two dogs and it is taking them all their time to look after themselves.
"So they let them run wild in packs and lie across the pavements, not to mention fouling the streets.
"I am sure plenty of people feel the same way. Someone should help, even if it is just for the sake of the children."
And an article in the Reporter described how Newton Lake had become a dumping ground.
The paper wrote that the lake – which was in a "lovely setting of natural, lush – woodland" was also heavily polluted:
"Its waters are filthy. Its banks are littered with debris – empty cans, plastic canisters, bottles, and thick scummy oil."
Resident Ronald Jennings, the caretaker of Newton's Mere House School, lived in a cottage overlooking the lake and described it as a health hazard:
"It's a nice spot going to the dogs. You just would not believe the amount of rubbish washed up on the section of lake near the school.
"Looking from the public side in Willow Park it looks reasonably picturesque, but the public can't know what is really in the water. On some days the smell of diesel oil is terrible."
During a debate in the Commons on the 19th it was revealed that St Helens Council had failed to consult the area's Alkali Inspector before granting permission for the building of Leathers chemical factory.
Dennis Howell, the government minister with responsibility for pollution, said that if the Inspectorate had been contacted, they would have warned the council against allowing the sulphuric acid plant to be built in Sutton.
Leathers also appealed to Liverpool Crown Court this week over the decision by St Helens magistrates to fine them £100 for discharging noxious and offensive gases into the air.
Although Judge Rudolph Lyons dismissed their appeal he felt that the fine imposed on them by the magistrates had been too severe.
As it had been the sulphuric acid firm's first offence, he said they should not have been fined the maximum penalty of £100 and so he reduced the fine to £25.
Of course, the East Sutton Residents Association and other campaigners would say that it had been far from the Lancots Lane firm's first act of pollution but the first occasion that there had been sufficient evidence to warrant a prosecution.
Also on the 19th, Old Time Music Hall took place at the Royal Raven Hotel with an admission price of 50p.
And finally, metal detectors were beginning to become popular and this advert was placed in the Chester Chronicle on the 19th:
"METAL DETECTORS – Find your own buried treasure. Full range of metal / mineral detectors. 'Phone, write or call for details: I.H.S., 135 Prescot Road, St. Helens, Lancashire. Tel. St. Helens (0744) 29695."
St Helens Reporter and Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the record-breaking St Helens Show, concern over the number of betting shops in the town, the sugar shortage in St Helens and the mayoral bounty placed on the heads of taggers Jedder and Faz.