Summer 2010

Helsby News is supported by Helsby Parish Council

Issue 53

NEWSHelsby

Centenary Celebrations at HillsideWHEN it comes to celebrating 100 years of schooling in Helsby, Hillside Primary School certainly knows how to go about it and how to pick the best weather for the occasion! A great week of events was held during the last week in May, starting with an Edwardian Spring Fayre with lots of stalls and games, Punch and Judy show and a set of village stocks. An amazing £2400 was raised for PTA funds. On Wednesday 26th May, the whole school, children and staff, dressed up in Edwardian costumes and enjoyed an Edwardian Day…..a real taste of what school was like when Hillside first opened in 1910. There was an exhibition of photos and memorabilia and about 100 ex-pupils, staff and villagers enjoyed centenary cake and a tour of the school with Year 6 pupils. A picnic on the school field on Proffits Lane followed by a playtime of maypole dancing drew a very happy week to a close. The final celebration assembly was one full of songs and birthday cake and shared with parents and friends. "We have had a fantastic week" Head teacher, Craig Richardson, told Helsby News, " and we are now ready for a good rest at half-term!"

Marj Thoburn

STOP PRESS - James catches graffiti artists ‘red handed’!Whilst patrolling in Meres Edge on 1 June, PCSO James Tapley spotted a group of youths congregating by a previously damaged park fence. They made off but were promptly chased and caught by James. Two of them admitted graffiting the fence and after further investigation another admitted kicking and damaging it. Persimmon Homes, who own the park, agreed to the incidents being dealt with via restorative justice. (www.restorativejustice.org). The youth who did the damage will be paying for it to be repaired and the graffiti artists have been made to clean up the fence. They will also be writing a letter of apology to the company. What a sensible outcome and hopefully a lesson learnt!

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It’s the summer months so a bit quiet on the ‘Happenings’. Please contact the Editors on 724848 / 722304 to get your event listed!

JuneSun 20 Come and Sing! St Paul's Church A special Evensong to Holden's Setting, Singing rehearsal 4.00 pm, Refreshments 5.30 pm, Evensong 6.00 pm

Sun 20 St Paul's Charity Dinner at The Fortune Palace, Delamere, 7.00 pm Tickets £20 from church members

July Sat 10 Helsby Fun Day, Helsby Community Sports Club

Sat 10 Frodsham and District Choral Society, Summer Concert 7.30pm Frodsham Community Centre "Thank you for the Music" Tickets 01928 718246

Sun 11 Healing Service in St Paul's Church, 6.30 pm

Tues 13 Helsby Hillside WI, "Wildlife on Wigg Island", Speaker Bill Morton, 7.30pm, Community Centre.

Parish Council Surgeries - Helsby Community CentreTalk to your local Parish Councillor at these monthly meetings

Sat 3 July, Sat 7 August, Sat 4 September - 10 am to 12 noon.

HELSBY HAPPENINGS NEWS IN BRIEF

Celebratory Face Lift

Helsby Quarry Local Nature Reserve was officially 20 years old on May 11 and celebrated the occasion with a face lift. The new Interpretive Boards, path improvements and remedial tree work have been funded by The Mer-sey Forest and Habitats & Hillforts. The site is looking really good, so come and see it for yourself.

Sue Lorimer

Helsby's 'Drop In'

A second attempt at creating a place for young people to go, the 'Helsby Drop In' takes place on Thursday eve-nings (6.30 - 9 pm) at St Paul's Church Hall. A common misconcep-tion of youth clubs is that events and activities are controlled by leaders. The Helsby Drop In is different and offers young people the chance to do what they want to do. Past events have included trips to the Trafford Centre and Alton Towers. Recent low turnout is causing recon-sideration of current funding so get along on Thursday evenings and see for yourself - the more the merrier!

Jay Bradberry

Village Action Group

At a recent meeting of the Helsby Village Action Group, the Village Plan was reviewed and it was agreed that whilst the majority of the targets in the plan had been met there was still a need to monitor continuing progress of initiatives and apply for further funding benefits. The group will now meet twice a year.

New West Cheshire Home

Watch Group

Helsby's Home Watch Co-ordinator, Ray Symes, has become first Chair-man of this newly formed group. It is hoped that forming a West Cheshire wide group will enable Home Watch co-ordinators to share best practice and give a stronger, more co-ordi-nated voice with Cheshire Police.

Helsby News Editorial Team:

Marj Thoburn 722304 Barbara Ginty 724848 Michelle Pickstock 722127 Kevin Kennedy 726534 Editorial: 01928 724848 / 722304Email: editor@helsbynews.org

Printed by W H Evans of Chester

Supported by Helsby Parish Council

Helsby News online!Helsby News is available to down-load in PDF format from the Parish Council’s website. Go to www.helsbyparish.org.uk and follow the links to Helsby News.

Helsby News by e-mail?If you’d like to receive Helsby News via e-mail, please send your e-mail details to editor@helsbynews.org and we’ll do the rest!

Annual Parish Meeting

This meeting, for the parish electorate of Helsby, was held on the 22 April in the Community Centre. After the Minutes of last year's meeting had been agreed and the subsequent matters arising dealt with by Councillor Gardner, Chairman of the Parish Council, the meeting was then opened for questions from the public. Issues raised included an enquiry as to the Council's interest in the old Co-op building, various village planning applications and parking problems and a recommendation on how village records can be safely stored. An update on the current status of the Helsby Community Sports Club was requested and, finally, an acknowledgement that whilst the adopt-a-planter scheme was a great success, care should be taken that these do not obscure visibility at road junctions. Unfortunately only a few residents attended this annual meeting - a great pity, since it is a great opportunity for residents to air their views and have a say in the affairs of the village.

B Ginty

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Home Start volun-teers spend time visiting families in their own home, sharing parenting skills, talking, listen-ing, encouraging and building confi-dence, playing with children, sharing outings and in turn enabling families to cope.

You could make a real difference in your community by offering a few hours of your time per week to help and encourage a young family expe-riencing difficulties. Full volunteer train-ing and expenses

provided, subject to CRB check and references. The next course starts in Jul 2010. If you’re interested in helping out, call Christine or Joyce on 01606 782888 for further information, or e-mail joycehomestart@aol.com or chrisbhomestart@aol.com.

RESIDENTS may have noticed a lot of activity in the fields opposite the start of Old Chester Road during a weekend in May. A small bridge over the railway, reputed to be over one hundred years old, was in a bad state of repair so it was demolished and a new one put in its place. A lot of heavy lifting gear was used and the job was completed over several days.

New railway bridge

SAM JOHNSON, (pictured) was elected Chairman of the Parish Coun-cil at its most recent meeting. Sam and his wife Sue have lived in the village since 1982 and have loved every minute of their time here. A policeman for 35 years, Sam retired in 2004. He decided he had time to spare and wanted to be of use to the community so became involved as a Parish Councillor for Central Ward. During the coming year he sees himself continuing the good work of the Parish Council, improving the facilities in the village and ensuring the voice of the village is heard, particularly over the proposed wind farm and the develop-ment of the marshes. Helsby News asked Sam if he had a message for the village at the start of his term in office: "Help us to help you. I want folk to come up with ideas for the village. They'll get a good reception if they do!" An invitation not to be refused!

Marj Thoburn

ONCE more the vil-lage's valiant litter picking volunteers were out there clearing up the rub-bish strewn about the streets by the thoughtless. 25 bags were col-lected in this year's spring clear-up.

"The worst offenders seem to be car users who think our local car parks are dumping grounds" says Marj Thoburn, litter pick organiser. "You get a sense that some folk think tipping rubbish out of the car and driving away is ok. Let's just leave the dirty nappies here!" Another litter-picking morning is planned for September.

Litter pickers do it again!

New Chair for Parish CouncilBeing a parent isn't always easy

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Helsby Footpath Society

The Helsby Footpath Society's walks as part of the Frodsham Festival of Walks this year was a great success with over 60 people taking part in the first walk called "Helsby's Historic Houses" and the second was "A Walk with Wild Flowers" with 21 people taking part despite downpours of rain. We plan to make another two walks towards the end of next April/early May, the first of these being a continuation of the walk this year which should cover Historic Houses in the south of the village and the other one yet to be decided. HFS will have a stand at the Helsby Village Day in early July where information about the Society will be available, plus free copies of some of our recent local walks. Copies of the Helsby, Alvanley and Manley footpath map will be available at £1.

Mike Culverhouse

Helsby Hillside WI

The speaker at Helsby Hillside WI in April was David Tideswell, with a talk about "Our British Robin Readbreast" The talk began with an interesting history of how the Robin became so popular in children's songs and sto-ries mainly, of course, because of its appearance and its ability to stay around during our cold winter weath-er. After being shown some excellent robin pictures taken in David's gar-den, we received some good advice on how to attract Robins to our gar-dens. In May, the speaker was Derek Jones, with "confessions of a Land-scape Gardener".This talk was all about the amusing and sometimes embarrassing situa-tions he experienced during his years working in other people's gardens. Helsby Hillside WI meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month in Helsby Community Centre at 7.30pm.

Barbara Norgain

Helsby Village

Produce Association

The plant sale this year was a great success and we were virtually sold out by 11 o'clock. By the end only a small handful of tomato plants was left with nothing in the bedding and herbaceous sections at all. We've never seen such a big crowd of people and are sorry that many didn't get what they wanted We have plans to do better next year.

Village Society

Helsby Village Society meets every last Thursday of the month in the Community Centre at 7.30pm from September through to April. We have a variety of speakers on interesting subjects. New members are wel-come. The joining fee is £2 per year and entry £1 per night, including refreshments. Please phone 723886 or 722596 for further information or come and meet us at Helsby Fun Day on 10 July.

Planned Changes to St Paul's ChurchYou may recall reading about planned changes to the South Aisle in St Paul's Church- well at long last we are making progress. The PCC has decided to do the work in two phases, the first phase is to replace the pews in the South Aisle and Lady Chapel with chairs and carpet the South Aisle at the same time. The Faculty Petition has now gone to the Diocesan Chancellor who will grant a licence to do the work and then we can begin.The chairs we have chosen will be comfortable and give us the versatility to use the space in many different ways; providing seating for services when needed, stacked at other times allowing us space to be more creative for our family services as well as giving us space to mingle better for refreshments at our concerts etc. Both of the chairs that have been on display in church will be used; the wooden framed chair with blue upholstery for the Lady Chapel and the chair with the lumber support in a red/blue mix for the South Aisle. This chair has met the approval of all those who have 'road tested' it! If anyone feels drawn to donating money for a chair we would be extremely grateful; the blue ones will cost £70 each and the red/blue mix ones will cost £60 each, and as always these days, if you are able to Gift Aid your donation there is an extra benefit for the church as we are able to claim tax back on the donation. We do, however, need you to state your donation is Gift Aided and to give your name and address for our records. The pews that are taken out will be available for anyone to buy for use at home or in the garden at a cost of £10 for the shorter ones or £15 for the longer ones. Buyers will be responsible for collecting the pews. When the work is completed we hope you will all come along and see how well the church looks with our new arrangements. The second phase, to install a hidden kitchen area is still in the planning stage and of course will cost more to implement, but we are continuing to work on it and hope to move that forward within the next 12/18 months. Your support for St Paul's is very much appreciated, and although some people only come occasionally we know that you appreciate the presence of the church and the ministry we exercise in the parish. Remember the church is always there for everyone.

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A Change at the Top

After 21 years at Helsby High School the Headteacher, Mr Richard Evans, is leaving at the end of the summer term. He was Head of English at Verdin High School, Winsford, when he accepted the position as Deputy Head at Helsby High School in 1989. A very different school then, he recalls, not much community involvement, smaller number of pupils in each year and many former grammar school staff. Originally built in 1949 as the Runcorn Grammar School (later renamed Helsby Grammar School), the school became a comprehensive in 1978 and was renamed Helsby High School. In September 2000, Mr Evans took over the headship and made it his first priority to maintain and improve the good standards of pupil attainment, continue community involvement and improve the school's physi-cal resources. Over the years the school has expanded rapidly; following the closure of Frod-sham College, there are now 1550 pupils and over 100 staff. The school buildings have almost doubled in size - the most ambitious development as a result of the rationalization of secondary school provision. The Headteacher's role these days is more like manag-ing a medium sized business - funding has to be fought for, expenditure carefully budgeted, objectives planned and progress monitored. The Headteacher, two Deputies and three assistant Heads manage Day to day business, and Mr Evans said he had enjoyed a very positive relation-ship with the Board of Governors who ratified the agreed policy of the school. He also wanted to thank the very

active PTA for its valuable support and fund raising, and the huge amount of work in developing the school's Uni-form Shop - an excellent initiative. Looking back, one regret was not having been able to develop a synthetic astro turf pitch for sports at the school, which could have been used by the community too. He lobbied hard, applied for funding but Helsby failed to qualify as '… not an inner city school'! He was particularly pleased to achieve High Performing Specialist Status in 2006, a national recognition which provided further resources to develop the school's innovative work in

teaching and learning for its own pupils and partner schools and a year later, the prestigious Inclusion Charter mark was a further recogni-tion. 'Helsby High School regularly has been a top per-forming comprehensive in Cheshire', said Mr Evans, 'with consistent outstanding examination results at GCSE and A level. This success continued in the new authority where Helsby was the highest performing school in terms of 5 A* - C grades, including

English and Maths. Truly a tribute to the hard work of both children and staff '. Now he has decided it is time to hand over to someone else. Yes, he will miss the humour and cheeky chatter of the children, the good interaction with them and the staff; but after thirty-three years in education, Mr Evans says he wants to move in a different direction for the next few years. He and his wife (also a teacher, now retired) would like a little less structure in their lives, with more time for hobbies like sport, photography and cycling; a time to travel and just relax!

Barbara Ginty

For three weeks in May, an archaeological dig took place on Helsby Hill in the promontory earthworks generally known as hillforts. Assisted by a team of volunteers, three archaeologists opened areas where a previous dig had been conducted around 55 years ago. The true date of the hillforts is not clear, so the aim was to gain better understanding of them, of their construction and to search for charcoal for analysis. With some closing of the dig area to be completed at Helsby, the team will move on to the next dig at Eddisbury in July. The project - Hillforts and Habitats - has funding up to the end of 2011 and involves 6 distinct areas surrounding the 6 hillforts of Helsby, Woodhouse, Eddisbury, Kelsall, Beeston and Bickerton.

As part of the project, a number of events have been organised throughout the year and one of the monthly field days, on 26th March, focused on Helsby Hill. This might be the smallest hillfort,

Nature and Ancient Earthworks on Helsby Hill but it is arguably on the most dramatic hill. Some ramparts are exposed in pas-tures; others are more hidden in semi-natural vegetation. The valuable sand-stone that forms Helsby Hill has been extensively quarried, creating more dramatic rock exposures here than any other fort. Led by ecologist Colin Hayes and assisted by Colin Slater, fourteen interested geologists, historians, botanists and walkers learned a lot more about the trees, plants, insects, birds and history of the Helsby Hill area. The dig site was inspected, picnic lunch eaten on top of the hill and the afternoon included a guided walk around Helsby Quarry. A very interesting and enjoyable day out! More information is available on the website http://www.habitatsandhillforts.co.uk, and for some brilliant aerial shots log on to http://www.suaveairphotos.co.uk/general/AlbumHelsbyHillfort/.

Barbara Ginty

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Hello again everyone, I hope you have been enjoying the better weather that we have been having in Helsby. We have seen some good initiatives and results over the past couple of months such as the successful anti-theft screws for number plates which attracted over two hundred residents. I have also been working very closely with Helsby High School with great suc-cess to reduce the number of truants.

With the summer holidays coming up I would like to remind everyone that the behaviour in Helsby over the holi-day period last year was outstanding and I would like to think that we could follow the sterling example set previ-ously. I would ask that the youths of Helsby to make the most of the excel-lent park facilities as well as the sports and social club as opposed to standing on street corners and by the shops. Whilst I know that the vast majority of you are just sitting and talking with your friends some elderly residents can find groups of boister-ous youths intimidating. In closing I

would like to say that reported crime and Anti Social Behaviour in Helsby are running at a very low level cur-rently and would like to thank the readers for all the vigilance and sup-port you offer to the local Police."

Transport reportThere has been mixed news for our local station during the month of May in relation to the Barrow Crossings and Real Time Information Screens. At the beginning of the month Net-work Rail finally issued the long awaited Consultation concerning the removal of the two Barrow Crossings at Helsby in September 2008. The document says that the crossings were removed for genuine safety reasons. They would not meet modern day safety standards and low sighting time from approaching trains. The report states that the costs of bringing the costs up to acceptable standards would be excessive involving alterations to the signalling and for which there is no budget. The North Cheshire Rail Users' Group has submitted its thoughts on the document as has Helsby Parish Council quoting the numerous examples of residents having used the crossings before their removal. Better news has been received about the possible installation of Customer Information Screens (CIS) at both Helsby and Frodsham The Rail Users' Group had asked both Helsby and Frod-sham Councils to write to the Cheshire West & Chester Council asking them to allocate finance to part fund the screens. In reply to the Helsby Council communi-cation the CWaC Chief Executive- Steve Robinson- has said that a joint bid by his Council and Arriva Trains Wales will be made to the Government " Access for All" scheme in September for the remaining 50% match funding required to support the funding package from CWaC and ATW. The bid would also include finance to raise the height of Platform 1 at Helsby to remove the cur-rent safety problem. It is hoped that if the bid is successful the work would be undertaken in 2011.

Frank Thomas

Helsby Health Centre News

Many people will have noticed the development work at Helsby Health Centre, which began in January and is now finished. The development included the provision of a GP Registrar's room and an Educational/Seminar room, a new disabled toilet facility and some residual improvements to the entrance foyer and reception desk. Whilst the most disruptive elements of the work were conducted at the weekends, some work had to be undertaken during the week with every effort being made to keep disruption to patient surgeries at an absolute minimum. Nevertheless, some disruption was inevitable and patients have been very persevering and understanding on such occasions for which the Practice has been very appreciative. This necessary work was funded by Western Cheshire PCT and Mersey Deanery, and the Health Centre will subsequently benefit from the improved levels of accommodation and it’s now back to business as usual. Chris Ashcroft, the Practice Manager for the past few years, has taken early retirement and his replacement, Carol Chalmers, took up her appointment early in June.

JAMES’

CRIME COLUMN

You can contact me on 0845 458 6393 or by e-mailing me at James.Tapley@cheshire.pnn.police.uk. To report an incident (e.g. nuisance youths, suspicious per-sons) or for immediate police attention please call 0845 458 0000. In an emergency always dial 999.

Planning applications news

6 Mews Houses with parking on land at 249 Chester Road, HelsbyThis proposal submitted by CB Homes Limited involves the demolition of the existing bungalow and garage and the construction of six mews houses with parking and roadways. The proposed houses consist of a terrace of four and the top end of the site and two lower units further down, with access from Rake Lane.

Horse & Jockey SiteConfirmation that plans for 14 dwellings have been approved by Cheshire West & Chester Council (CWaC).

Planning application received by Helsby Parish Council in November 2009Outline application 09-2165-OUT received for land formerly known as The Old School, Chester Road (owned by Cholmondeley Estates). Proposal involves redevelopment and re-use of site for the provision of up to 10 residential dwellings involving improved means of highway access. This land is opposite the Horse & Jockey pub. The Parish Council sent their comments in to support the application in December but no news yet as to whether Outline Permission has been granted.

Designer Clothes come to HelsbyHelsby now boasts a new business with a WOW factor. Next to the Post Office is "Second Elegance" a dress agency, whose designer clothes bring a touch of class to the village. It's the dream outlet of owner Patti Shaw (pictured) who is looking forward to making people welcome and selling couture labels at inexpensive prices.

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Visit our web site for more information - www.helsbysports.com

Sports News

Three Peaks Yacht Challenge for Runners

As this edition of Helsby News is being posted through your door, Helsby residents Jackie Keasley, Phil Gillard and Trevor Murphy, will be setting sail, with two others to undertake the Three Peaks Yacht Challenge. The challenge is an extremely demanding team event where Jackie, Phil and Trevor, all members of Helsby Running Club, will be racing 23 other yachts from Bar-mouth in Wales up to Fort William in Scotland. Not only are they sailing 389 miles in one go, but Jackie and Phil then have to run up and down Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis from the nearest ports. The ports are not that close to the mountains, for instance it's a 50 mile round trip using bikes and running legs for the Scafell leg. This means three marathons in three to five days with maxi-mum climbing! This is no easy task when they may have to run at night, unsteady on their feet due to sea sickness and having had little sleep! Whilst sailing the team can expect some of the trickiest (and most stunning) waters in the United Kingdom as they sail past parts of the Welsh, English and Scottish West coasts complete with their complement of sandbanks, tidal streams, rocks and whirl pools!

The team is aiming to raise funds for a number of local and international charities. Check out their online donation pages at http://www.justgiving.com/Jacqueline-Keasley or call Jackie on 01928 724905 You can check on the live progress of the 'silver surf-ers' as they are calling themselves at http://www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk. Good luck!

Helsby FC under 9s play first

international match

Helsby under 9s were invited to play a match against a team of 10-12 year olds from the Premier India Football Academy (PIFA). The children were attending a football camp at Vauxhall's social club organised by Inspire. The boys were here for a week and had already visited Liver-pool's stadium Anfield and Manchester United's Old Trafford, as well as having attended a match at Everton. Helsby FC under 9s arranged to play a match against the PIFA team at Vauxhall's social club at 6.30pm on Thurs-day 6 May. Little did we know we had a Prince of India participating in the team!! At first Helsby seemed a bit apprehensive as the PIFA team were considerably taller and obviously older than our boys, but then we took an early lead to make it 1 nil. The PIFA team passed the ball majestically and continued to press for the equalis-er, but the game ended at one nil to Helsby. All the play-ers lined up and hands were shook and cheers were heard from both teams. The match was played in a fan-tastic spirit with cheers and clapping coming from both sides of the pitch. The game had been so enjoyable that one of the younger boys from the PIFA team asked if Helsby would play a further 10 minutes - we agreed and the teams took to the pitch again. This time it was the PIFA team pressing all the time looking for a goal, and with three minutes to go they got a well deserved equaliser! What a celebration! The scorer was mobbed and the whole team dived on top of each other! Even some of our players joined in with the celebra-tions. It was a fantastic evening, absolutely brilliant and an advert of what football is all about. It was certainly an evening that none of our players will ever forget.

England Bowls Final

The All England Crown Green Junior bowls final is being held at Helsby Community Sports Club on Sat 3 July. Come along and watch, the action gets underway at 11am.

Rugby Juniors Expansion

Helsby Rugby Club will be expanding next season to offer coaching for 16-19 year olds. Establishing a junior colt’s squad at the club will allow youths to progress through the ranks into the senior team. Anyone of any age interested in playing rugby should contact 07804 656558.

Rotary Bowls Grant

Frodsham and Helsby Rotary Club has donated £250 to the junior bowls section at Helsby to purchase new equip-ment, including woods and training equipment. Coach John Clements said, "On behalf of the Junior Bowling Section, I would just like to say a big thank you to the Rotary Club for their kind donation. This will be a tremen-dous help towards obtaining much needed new bowls and equipment to replace the old ones. It will certainly go a long way to attract new junior bowlers to the club and allow us to do some work developing links with schools".

Page 8 Helsby News is supported by Helsby Parish Council

Sports News

Helsby Parish Councillors

North Ward Sylvia Crossley-Jones 723115 Alan Gardner 722360 Trish Kidd 725098Digger Rigby 727036 Sarah Temple 722181

Central Ward Chris Ellams 724409 Patricia Holder 727384 Stuart Hulse 724272 Sam Johnson (Chair) 722297 Terry O’Neill 723205

South Ward Bill Foster 727392 Kevin Kennedy 726534 Susanne MacPherson 722168George Randles 724775 Frank Thomas 722179

ClerkJeanette Hughes 726433Primrose Cottage, Back Lane, Alvanley, WA6 9AN

Fun Day PreparationsPlans are now well underway for the Helsby Fun Day on Saturday 10 July at the Helsby Community Sports Club. It promises to be a fun filled day with something for everyone. It has just been confirmed that for the first time there will be a climbing wall for anyone who fancies trying something a little bit different. The day will also be continuing into the evening with a children's disco from 4pm and a family disco through into the evening. Refreshments and the bar will be available throughout the whole day and evening. Karen from Helsby Puppy School will be hosting a dog show again, all of the local schools are involved, Helsby Scouts and Guides will be washing cars to raise funds for an international camping trip and there will be the usual sports tasters, tradi-tional side shows, fun fair, falconry display, BBQ, face painting and airbrush tattoos, ice creams and much much more. There are still a limited number of stalls available so if you would like to be involved please ring Michelle on 07856 177571 or email michelle.pickstock@helsbysports.com

Football Fever Even before the world cup gets under-way, football fever has arrived in Helsby. The 'green machine' teams have had a great season. The under 13s gained promotion after finishing runners up in their division while the under 16s lifted the Runcorn and district Under 16s FA Cup with a convincing 4-1 victory in the final against Legion Lions. The second 11 seniors secured the Chester and District football league title on goal difference, after a crushing defeat nine nil victory of Bebington. Meanwhile Helsby's first 11 who were underdogs going into the final, emerged victorious over Runcorn Town, to lift the Runcorn and District FA Saturday Cup. A single Connor Taylor goal was enough to secure victory for Helsby and bring the cup back home. All three mini soccer teams, as well as the Under 11s, have made excellent progress this season and are already looking forward to next season with much anticipation.

Saturday morning coaching sessions for boys and girls aged nine and under has recommenced (10 to 11am). Please con-tact Dave Richards on 07785 762387 for more coaching infor-mation. Well done Helsby FC!

County Calls Helsby runner Danny Chan (pictured right) was awarded a Cheshire vest for the Inter - counties fell race, at Lletty Farm on 22 May. Danny finished as the second counter home, which is a tremendous achievement. Rachel Arnold from Helsby also had a storming run and beat many county runners. Well done to both of them!

World Cup on the

Big Screen

Join the big match atmosphere at Helsby Community Sports Club to watch all of England's world cup matches. All matches will be shown and we will be offering some fantastic not to be missed drinks pro-motions during England matches. Everybody is welcome!