Are you going to the Candlemas Coffee Afternoon, in aid of Clatterbridge?

A coffee afternoon has been arranged in aid of Clatterbridge Cancer Charity. (Charity No. 1051727) This will be held on:- Thursday, 4 February 2016, between 1 to 4 pm. The Venue is St Luke's Church meeting room, adjacent to the Church in St Luke's Church Rd . Formby, Merseyside L37 2DF. Admission price:- £2 on the door and includes refreshments. There will also be a raffle with a variety of donated prizes and other activities. Please do come along and help us aid a charity which gives much needed help to those facing difficulties occasioned by cancer, and to their families...   If you can display a poster, please click here, print out and put it up, to help spread the work.  Also please visit our Facebook Event Page and say you plan to attend!

Christmas drink and drug driving campaign results now in

MERSEYSIDE Police are pleased to announce that the majority of motorists in Merseyside drove responsibly over the Christmas period. During the Christmas drink and drug driving campaign that ran from 1 December 2016, until 31 December 2015, Officers carried out a total of 7,925 breath tests and arrested 224 people for drink or drug driving related offences. It is the 1st Christmas drink and drug drive campaign since legislation was introduced in March 2015 to make it easier for Police to tackle drug drivers. The law made it illegal to drive with certain drugs above specified blood levels in the body whether driving is impaired or not. These limits are set at very low levels for 8 illegal drugs, including cannabis and cocaine, and 8 medicines that have been set at a higher limit. Merseyside Police have been using roadside testing kits to trace drugs in drivers. If the test result is positive, a blood or urine sample is taken, with no need to call a doctor to confirm the presence of a condition due to drugs. Sergeant Paul Mountford, from the Roads Policing Unit said:- "I am really encouraged to see that 98% per cent of the people we tested were driving responsibly. However, it is disappointing that we have seen a slight increase in motorists drug driving or over the drink drive limit. While they represent a small minority of drivers, I cannot stress enough the danger that these people present, not just to themselves, but to other road users too. We are committed to tackling drink and drug driving throughout the year, not just during the Christmas period. Any driver involved in a road traffic collision, or who commits a traffic offence, can expect to be breathalysed at any time in the year, and may be required to perform an impairment test. During the month long campaign, 66 people were arrested on drug driving offences. This was largely the result of the new drug driving legislation and shows a significant increase compared to last year when there were only 8 arrests. A total of 158 people were arrested for drink driving; a decrease on last year when 207 were arrested. Again, it's encouraging that people have listened to our messages over the Christmas period. However, the overall figures for 2015 do indicate an increase in drug driving. We made 325 arrests in 2015, compared to 110 arrests in 2014. Drugs were found in 98% of the specimens that were submitted to the forensic labs (between March to November 2015) and 73% of those cases resulted in drivers being prosecuted. The current drug driving legislation makes the process of prosecuting drug drivers much simpler. Our message to those drivers would be don't risk it. The consequences of being caught can be long lasting and life changing. We will remain vigilant throughout 2016 to detect those drivers who present a risk to others."