THOUSANDS SET TO MAKE RECORD SPLASH FOR CHARITY CASH

MORE than 30,000 people from all over England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will today be perfecting their strokes and completing their final training routines in preparation for the world's largest swimming fundraiser in tomorrow's Butlin's Swimathon event in aid of Macmillan Cancer Relief.

Created by the Olympic Gold medallist Duncan Goodhew, at a handful of London pools in 1986, Butlins Swimathon has since developed into a UK-wide event with sessions taking place in cities, towns and villages - from Portlethen (2 miles from Lands End) to Thurso on the Shetland Isles (32 miles from John O'Groats). The event has raised over twenty million pounds for the charity since it began, benefiting 32 charities nationally since its launch.

With the large number of participants this year Butlins Swimathon looks set to break its own fundraising world record, set back in 2001 - raising over £2.5 million for charity. Eighty-five per cent of money raised will go to Macmillan Cancer Relief. In addition, The Swimathon Foundation will distribute the remaining 15 per cent to smaller, local charities.

Since applications for the event opened back in November last year, the UK public signed up in their thousands to take the plunge at their local participating pool. With a number of different official challenges available to select and over 500 registered pools. 

Olympic legend and Butlins Swimathon President, Duncan Goodhew, enthused:- "I am immensely proud of how far the event has come in the past 18 years and am delighted to see whole generations of families from five to eighty now entering year-on-year. I'm looking forward to seeing the British public, both the dedicated swimmers and those unfamiliar to taking a regular dip!"

MAN DIES IN FATAL ROAD ACCIDENT

A MAN is lying seriously injured in hospital and another died after a fatal road accident on March 6 after an incident in Ince Blundell.

A Fiat Brava travelling in the direction of Southport on his way to work at the Lloyds Number 1 Bar in Southport, when he was involved with a collision with a Ford Mondeo travelling in the opposite direction close to the Roundhouse. As a result, Paul Wolfarth, a 21-year-old from the Seaforth area sustained fatal injuries. 

Staff at the Lloyds bar said that the doorman would be sadly missed. "He was a fantastic lad and we are saddened by what has happened. We wish his relatives our deepest sympathies and are thoughts are with them." One of the doormen who worked with him told us.

Merseyside Police is appealing for witnesses to the incident for a pending investigation.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information is urged to contact the traffic department on 0151 777 5730.

A LESSON IN LAW

LEADING Liverpool law firm, DLA, is holding a seminar aimed at landlords and tenants of commercial property. 

As from June 2004, substantial changes to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 will come into effect. They amount to the most radical amendment to legislation since the act introduced 50 years ago. 

DLA is organising a seminar, addressing the key provisions and procedures under the new law. 

Kevin Lee, a property litigation partner at DLA, said:- "We expect a high demand for this event, as it's essential that all professionals dealing with commercial premises understand the implications the new law will have on their practice." 

The event is free and it will take place between 5:30-7pm (registration at 5pm) on Thursday 25th March at DLA, 7th Floor, India Buildings, Water
Street, Liverpool. 

Two asteroid fly-bys for Rosetta

TODAY the Rosetta Science Working Team made the final selection of the asteroids to be observed at close quarters during its journey through the asteroid belts of Mars and Jupiter.

Rosetta's scientific goals included the possibility of studying one or more asteroids from close range. However, only after Rosetta's launch and its insertion into interplanetary orbit could the ESA mission managers assess how much fuel was actually available for fly-bys. 

Asteroids are primitive building blocks of the Solar System, left over from the time of its formation about 4600 million years ago. Only a few asteroids have so far been observed from nearby. They are very different in shape and size, ranging from a few kilometres to over 100 kilometres across, and in their composition.

The targets selected for Rosetta, Steins and Lutetia, have rather different properties. Steins is relatively small, with a diameter of a few kilometres, and will be visited by Rosetta on September 5 2008 at a distance of just over 1700 kilometres. This encounter will take place at a relatively low speed of about 9 kilometres per second during Rosetta's first excursion into the asteroid belt.

Lutetia is a much bigger object, about 100 kilometres in diameter. Rosetta will pass within about 3000 kilometres on 10 July 2010 at a speed of 15 kilometres per second. This will be during Rosetta's second passage through the asteroid belt.

Rosetta will obtain spectacular images as it flies by these primordial rocks. Its onboard instruments will provide information on the mass and density of the asteroids, thus telling us more about their composition, and will also measure their subsurface temperature and look for gas and dust around them.