Pushy Charities in Horsefair under fire from shoppers.

Horsefair Shopping Centre, Wisbech

Recent numbers of charity street fund raisers and street salespeople for businesses located in the Horsefair Shopping Centre have drawn criticism from locals.

Jacqui Thompson, a shopper in the Horsefair wrote that she was fed up of being harassed by these people, and expressed alarm at the regularity of which they were present. 

“I am not normally rude to people but this week I shouted “no thank you” at one of them.”

Jacqui went on to say how little she thought of sales tactics employed by the canvassers, “I don’t like being addressed by complete strangers as “how are you today love” or “what kind of day are you having, lady” (not a very good one and you’ve just made it worse).”

With many people struggling through the recession it is no wonder that people are put off by these pushy sales people. Many working class families cannot afford food for their own children, let alone to donate a monthly sum to a charity.

A call has been made for the manager of the Horsefair to make comment on the issue, which as yet is unanswered.

Man collapses in Somers Road

Ambulances in Wisbech

A Wisbech man has been hospitalised following a dramatic rescue by air ambulance paramedics.

Described as being in his late 50’s, the man had collapsed in Somers Road, Wisbech.

Struggling to regain consciousness and suffering from sever disorientation. The patient was anaesthetised by the Magpas team, and then transported via land ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn.

The hospital has gone on to say that although his condition is serious, the man is in a stable condition and is awaiting further investigation.

Wisbech Money Shop Donates £10,000 To Charitable Causes

The Money Shop in Wisbech has pleasantly surprised two charities, by donating the £10,000 that they were recently awarded in costs by a planning inspector.

Fenland District Council had initially refused the Money Shop, but two months ago a planning inspector awarded them the £10,000 cash in costs, citing that the business had been put through unneeded expenses while lodging their appeal.

Caroline Watson, who operates the Corporate Affairs for The Money Shop went on record to say “ Our staff wanted to show their support for the good work carried out at the Oasis Centre, so we decided to split the cash between two very worthwhile and hard working organisations.”

Chris Stevens, a manager at the Oasis Center has expressed his thanks to The Money Shop for their support of the cause. The Oasis Center is run entirely on money raised by hiring out rooms and small grants that are given to aid in the providing of free learning to the local community.

The donation will be used to fund a Confidence Course, an important stepping stone for a large number of people in progressing towards further adult education, which can include literacy and numeracy qualifications. There is a large demand for such courses, and as such a long waiting list. Financial aid is essential to the running of these courses as they can become expensive to operate. Further adult education courses will also be funded with the donated money.

The Oasis Center is operated by the Wisbech Community Development Trust, and has been helping the local area for over 30 years. The Oasis Center moved into it’s current location during 2005, which is available to hire for meetings, conferences and other groups  needing a space to meet.

Fenland District Councillor Condemns Proposed Closing of Chatteris Police Station

Fenland District Councils Florence Newell has condemned a plan that would see Chatteris Police force close the doors of the Police Station and repurpose the town library as a new station for the remaining Police Officers.

Councillor Newell slammed the proposal, having heard of it for the first time just this week, she described the plan as a “pathetic idea”

Expressing contempt for the proposal, Councillor Newell has gone on to say ““the library is not a place for a police station”. She has expressed great certainty that Chatteris Town Council will support her views on this subject and fight for the continued use of the East Park Street Station.

A report received by the Cambridgeshire Police Authority, cited the feasability of how possible the proposed closing of the Police Station in Chatteris could be.

Councillor Newell says she has received no information regarding the report and no word of it has been expressed in front of the town council, she was described as saying “That’s news to me.

This is not the first time Councillor Newell has battled to save the Chatteris Police station, only a few years ago there was a public meeting regarding the exact same proposed closure. Chatteris is an emerging town, with rapid growth, but it also has it’s problems, including a lot of drug abuse and related crimes. A library would be nothing more than a joke when it comes to providing support in the area.

The proposal has come through as part of the Police Authority financial and resources committee attempts to reduce budget costs, part of this initiative involves the reduction of space requirements within the Police force.

Currently, the Chatteris Police Station is open during the week. Hours are 9am until 1pm, Monday till friday. The Police Station is closed over the weekend, and bank holidays.

The report issued by The Police Authority has gone on to say “Chatteris - it is recommended that the feasibility study on relocating to the library is continued with initial findings being reported to the Chief Officer Group.”

The report went on to state that the Police Station that is located in Wisbech, and which is currently the subject of debate among partners, may be utilised as a shared services building.

The Police Station in Wisbech is also a subject under the report, debate among partners suggests that the building may be used as a shared services resource.

Police Stations in March and Whittlesey will remain unaffected by the decisions.

Wisbech Children Help PCSO Rescue Fallen Bees Nest

A group of children have helped local PCSOs in rescuing a bees nest that was discovered fallen to the ground in Tillery Park.

Terry McCormack, a PCSO discovered the nest when he noticed unusual activity from a large group of dog walkers and children. Upon closer inspection the fallen nest appeared to be the focus of the gathering.

There were said to be over a thousand bees guarding the nest, which had become seriously damaged during it’s fall.

The group of children helped create a cordoned off area to prevent the public from stumbling upon the nest, as the PSCO awaited the arrival of the two beekeepers.

The bees were rescued safely when the beekeepers arrived.

Terry would like to thank all of the children involved for their help.

March woman and Wisbech man caught having sex in Wisbech park

Tillery Field, Wisbech.

A couple who were caught having sex in public, in the Wisbech park, Tillery Field are to be sent to crown court for sentencing.

Helen Juby, from March Cambridgeshire and Andrius Vaiciulevicius of Wisbech Cambridgeshire pleaded guilty to the offence during their appearance in court earlier this week.

Tillery Field, which has been previously known as New Burial Ground, located nearby Alexandra Road was the location of the crime. The couple were caught in the act after they were reported to local authorities by a 13 year old boy.

Tillery Field has come under fire recently on local community websites, including the popular “Shape Your Place”. The park has been branded a place for antisocial behaviour such as public drinking and littering.

Tillery Field, Wisbech.

One member of the public, who is a regular visitor to the park commented that the drinking and littering problem had reached an unacceptable level.

Using the park for dog walking, they complained that groups gather to eat and drink regardless of time, day or night. Causing antisocial behaviour and leaving behind bottles, cans, and broken glass.

Tillery Field, Wisbech.

A ban on public drinking has been called to extend on into the Tillery Field area. Fenland District Council has been criticised for the lack of preventative measures, including the absence of any CCTV cameras.

Previously this year the council claimed that the park is subject to regular patrols and information sharing with the law authorities.

Tillery Field, Wisbech.

A spokesperson for the council has said that they are doing their best to keep the area clean and will continue to strive to do so, but the task is difficult and staff may have other duties to attend to which conflict with maintenance of the park.

All reports are treated with a level of urgency and action to deal with them is pursued as swiftly as possible.