Traders and Nantwich Town Council have tamed up to ensure there will be plenty of toilet facilities on offer across the town.

Under the scheme, participating businesses will allow members of the public to use their toilets free of charge during normal opening hours.

In return, the council will pay a small annual fee to each business taking part, depending on the facilities offered.

This means there will be no pressure on visitors to make a purchase before using an outlet’s loo.

Participating premises will display a poster in their window advertising the service.

The owners of Pillory House, one of the first to sign up, are welcomed into the scheme by new Nantwich Mayor Cllr John Lewis.

Cllr Lewis said: “This scheme supplements the facilities elsewhere in the town and will help while Snow Hill toilets are being refurbished.

“It’s another example of co-operation between the town council and traders in our efforts to ensure that Nantwich continues to attract people to visit and shop in the town.

“I am delighted by the response from the traders and we look forward to working with them to provide an important service for visitors and residents alike.”

Participating businesses include Hiltons Cafe, Piecemeal Cafe, Pillory House, The Wickstead Arms, Relish Deli, The White Horse, Molly’s Tea Shoppe, McCormick’s, Nantwich Museum and Cafe Nero.

It is feared 16-year-old Cheshire student Ellie Jones may have died from an overdose on PMA.

Traces of the drug were found in her system from initial toxicology tests.

And if it is confirmed as the cause, it will bring the number of deaths across Cheshire associated to the drug to four this year.

Cheshire Police is working with partners in health, schools, colleges and drug agencies to warn people about the dangers ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend.

PMA (Paramethoxyamphetamine) is an amphetamine which comes in tablet, powder and crystal form, and is not absorbed as quickly as other drugs.

This means users have been known to take excessive amounts in the mistakenly belief it is not taking effect.

It is an illegal substance and possession, use or selling the drug is a criminal offence.

Supt Martin Cleworth said: “Ellie’s death shocked everyone and now we have the initial toxicology results back indicating she had taken PMA.

“We have a duty to warn people about the potentially fatal consequences taking this drug can have and would urge people to obtain urgent medical assistance on behalf of anyone suspected to have taken PMA who suffers difficulty breathing, muscle spasms, nausea or starts to vomit.

“This is the fourth death we have had this year in Cheshire alone that is associated to PMA, and we are working together with our partners in health, colleges,schools and drug agencies to get warnings out to as many people as possible.

“If anyone has any information about who may be supplying this fatal drug across Cheshire I would urge them to contact police, or alternaltively call Crimestoppers anonymously so we can continue to do all we can to remove them from our streets and prevent anyone else going through the heartache Ellie’s family have gone through.”

Ellie, from Warrington, was taken to hospital experiencing breathing difficulties shortly after 3.30am on Saturday May 18. She died a short time later.

Six people have been arrested in connection with the death and have been bailed pending inquiries.

Anyone with any information about the supply and distribution of the drug is urged to call police on 101 or alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Cheshire East Council will be hoping for warmer weather this Bank Holiday to entice swimmers to one of the few remaining inland brine pools.

The outdoor pool season in 2013 runs from May 25 through to Sunday September 29.

The pool is 30-metre long and 15-metre wide, with a depth range between 0.9m and 2.3m. The temperature of the pool is 22°C.

It first opened to the public back on July 1 1935 and the pool water temperature is now maintained at 74°F and through solar gain is usually much warmer.

Some of our older customers still reminisce about their school days at the pool, when they claim the water was only just above freezing point and they happily swam in it!

Visit the Cheshire East pool info page here for a full breakdown of opening times and prices.

Refurbishment of the main indoor pool, fitness suite and changing rooms is continuing with an estimated completion date in August 2013.

There is a planned official re-opening date in September.

(Pic by Jonathan White)

Stapeley Broad Lane’s 54-strong KS2 choir won the Cheshire East Primary Choirs contest at Clonter Opera Theatre, near Homes Chapel.

And the school’s instrumental ensemble were also runners up in The Primary Ensembles category.

Stapeley won through several earlier rounds to compete in the final against St Mary’s Catholic Primary from Crewe and Bollington Cross Primary.

Broad Lane was the first to perform and sang “All for the Best” by Stephen Schwartz from Godspell, “Many Shades of Blue” by Christopher Williams, and “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” from St Francis of Assisi/JS Temple.

And all three performances wowed the judges with proud coach Mrs Catherine Acklam looking on.

The Instrumental Ensemble played “The Flintstones” by Will H. Schaeffer, arr Terry Catherine; “Papageno’s Song” by Mozart arr Terry Catherine, and “Star Wars” by John Williams arr Carson Turner.

The Ensemble was accompanied by Victoria Palethorpe on the electric organ.

The winners in Ensemble category were Upton Priory Wind Band.

After all the performances the judges announced the result which produced great excitement among the pupils – they were then presented with the winners trophy to cap a fantastic night for the school.

The judging panel was internationally acclaimed saxophonist Rob Buckland, vocal and choral leader Nicola Howbrigg, and band manager of Foden’s Band Mark Wilkinson, one of the leading cornet players of his generation.

(Pic courtesy of David Spibey)

A fund-raising team from Worleston has made it through to the final stage in their Big Lottery Fund development grant bid.

And if all goes to plan, they could have the money in less than six months to start building a hall on land next to the former police house in the village.

Roger Birchall, vice chairman of the Worleston & District Village Hall Association (WDVHA), said they are now working on a detailed business plan after the land was signed over to them for the proposed venue.

Mr Birchall said: “The two-acre plot of land was donated to us by William Midwood, and now we officially own that land we can move forward to the final stage of the application.

“We have been asked to submit the stage 3 application. Big Lottery have given us a grant of £23,000 to fund this final stage so we feel that we have an excellent chance of succeeding.

“The deadline for this final stage is mid August  and Big Lottery have three months in which to give their decision.

“If all goes to plan, building work could start straight away and we could have a new village hall by later summer 2014. It is an exciting prospect.”

Plans for the hall go back many years after a former Scout hut was demolished eight years ago after falling into disrepair.

“The village has been without any sort of community building since then,” added Mr Birchall.

“And we’ve never had the money before to do anything about it. But we’ve worked very hard on these plans.

“We paid a peppercorn rent for the land for several years, but the lottery required us to actually own it and now that has been signed over.”

The WDVHA, which is a registered charity, is working with Big Lottery Fund mentor Geoff Slater on the final stage of the bid.

David Dutton, 51, was walking along Eaton Road with his son Gavin, 25, from Nantwich, when there was a collision with a Nissan Micra.

Mr Dutton, from Eaton, Tarporley, was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Gavin, 25, from Nantwich, suffered minor injuries in the collision.

Dave, pictured here at Nantwich Jazz Festival, worked as a mechanic at D&M Auto Services in Tarporley.

He leaves two sons, a daughter and three grand-children.

In a statement, his family said: “The whole family have been left devastated by the sudden death of David, a loving father and grandfather who will be greatly missed by all.

“The family wish to be left in peace at this moment of grief to come to terms with what has happened and hope anyone with any information that may help the police in their investigation contact them as soon as possible.”

Floral tributes have been left on the roadside in memory of Mr Dutton after the accident, which took place at around 12.45am on Saturday (May 18)

A 23-year-old woman from Holywell, Flintshire, who was driving the car at the time of the collision, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of drink-driving and causing death by dangerous driving.

She was bailed to return to the police station in July, pending further inquiries.

Cheshire Police is appealing for anyone with any information which could assist the investigation.

Police are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen the pedestrians walking along Eaton Road in the direction of Eaton village prior to the collision, or anyone who may have seen a green Nissan Micra prior to the crash.

Contact Sgt Rachel Gallagher on the police national non-emergency number 101, quoting incident 48 of May 18, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Pure Presley, one of the top Elvis tribute artists in the UK, performed the King’s iconic hits at Willaston Social Club.

He was helping to raise more than £2,600 for the One in Eleven Appeal to open a new neo-natal unit at Leighton Hospital.

The event was organised by Willaston Rose Queen Amy Smallman, 10, and her attendants Lucy Ann and Eloise.

During her reign Amy chose to support the One in Eleven Appeal, by Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity.

Their on-going efforts will allow the hospital to buy equipment for the new unit when it is completed.

Amy’s mum Donna Smallman said: “The event was a wonderful success and we would like to thank everyone who attended and donated generously and also Mick and everyone at Willaston Social Club for selling tickets on our behalf.

“The girls worked so hard to organise the concert and they sold raffle tickets, collected donations and auctioned an Elvis figurine which fetched £38.”

Paul is the first Elvis tribute act in the UK to be officially endorsed by Graceland, Memphis.

As well as getting the crowd rocking, he was able to reinforce the message behind the concert and even included the girls in his performance, teaching them a few backing singer moves.

Donations came from Terry Clarke who donated £250 on behalf of Frazer Nash NDT, Nancy Torr who donated £50 and also Cheshire Police’s Crewe and Congleton Crime Unit which donated £1,100.

Laura Bailey, Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity fundraising manager, said: “The girls have done an amazing job throughout the appeal and we will now be able to purchase this equipment to further enhance our new neonatal unit.”

(Pic: Paul Larcombe with Amy Smallman (centre) and her attendants)

The shop was unveiled by award-winning Master Chef Brian Mellor during the Nantwich college’s Family Festival.

Products include freshly baked bread, cakes and quiches made in Reaseheath’s Food Centre by students.

The shop stocks Reaseheath’s own cheeses, butter and ice-cream, as well as seasonal vegetables, preserves, relishes and local meat products.

The outlet is staffed by students and is open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between 12.30pm and 4.30pm.

Brian said: “I very much support the ethos of using local and seasonal products. I launched a young chef of the year competition 11 years ago expressly to encourage young chefs to use local ingredients.

“This has grown and now over 2,000 regional dishes have been created which predominantly use products grown or manufactured locally.

“The enterprise fits in very nicely with what Reaseheath teaches and produces on site. It makes perfect sense to have a farm shop on campus.”

Reaseheath head of food Toni-Anne Harrison said: “We created the shop to give students the opportunity to experience the demands of an actual retail environment.

“It allows them to appreciate first hand the emphasis that the supply chain puts on quality and consistency.

“From the college’s perspective the farm shop underpins one of our main values, which is to ensure that our students are fully prepared for work once they graduate.”

Brian Mellor has cooked for royalty and celebrities and has overseen dozens of chefs in busy restaurants. His latest venture is a cookery school in Harthill near Tattenhall.

For further details contact the Courses Hotline 01270 613242 or email enquiries@reaseheath.ac.uk

(Pic: Celebrity chef Brian Mellor at opening of Reaseheath Farm Shop with  Senior Patisserie and Bakery Technologist  Andy Dale)

The clocks were consigned by the families of two separate collectors from Cheshire and North Wales.

And they raised some of the highest prices in a two-day auction at Peter Wilson fine art auctioneers on Market Street.

Most valuable was a 17th century and later ebony veneered striking and repeating bracket clock which overturned an estimate of £4,500-5,500 to sell for £6,600.

Close behind at £5,400 was another similar clock, the basket top decorated with neo-classical portrait medallions of Britannia, William of Orange and Queen Mary.

A Cheshire collector paid £2,800 for an ebony veneered striking bracket clock from 1690, the apocryphal nameplate inscribed “Thos Tompion, London”.

Another feature of the sale was an impressive single-owner collection of modern contemporary glass which, as auctioneer Robert Stones described, produced an online bidding war among collectors abroad and at home.

The collection of 42 lots sold for a total of £18,000.

In ceramics, one of the earliest pieces of Delftware sold in the Nantwich saleroom, dated 1651, produced the top price in the sale when it was secured by a dealer for a resounding £16,500.

High prices were also recorded among jewellery. Top lot was a single stone diamond ring, the brilliant cut 2.9ct stone set Tiffany style in 18ct gold sold for an above top estimate £6,600.

Entries are now invited for Peter Wilson’s next two-day sale of fine art and antiques, which is on July 10-11 and for the weekly Gallery Sales held on most Thursdays.

For details contact the auctioneer on 01270 623878 or auctions@peterwilson.co.uk

Some have criticised the move by Stapeley Parish Council, fearing it will mean the hall can’t be booked out by anyone else on weekdays.

New Nantwich nursery company Red Wellies will be based in the facility on Pear Tree Field, next to Pear Tree Primary School, from Monday to Friday from June 3.

But one resident said it felt like the hall had been “hijacked” for commercial gain.

“It seems the very concept of a community hall being used to promote community for everyone is lost,” she said.

“An epic fail really as this will mean the hall has lost all meaning and, should by definition be renamed Commercial Hall for any fee paying company wishing to hijack our venue.”

Another villager added: “I fail to see how it can be called a community hall now.”

But a spokeswoman for Stapeley Parish Council said: ”I’m not aware anyone has been refused a booking because of this arrangement.

“If someone wished to use the hall during these hire periods, the Parish Council can give the regular user eight weeks’ notice for a specific date.

“This is so it allows other organisations, or individuals, who might otherwise be prohibited from using the hall, to hire it for a specific event.”

However, leaflets promoting the new nursery declare it will be open “52 weeks a year” from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

“I can quite understand people are probably a bit “miffed” if they have been receiving information which might have been presented in a negative light,” the council spokeswoman added.

“But for such things as birthdays and anniversaries, these are known 12 months in advance, so it should be possible to accommodate individual requests.”

For more details on booking out the hall visit http://www.stapeleyparishcouncil.gov.uk/communityhall.html

Matthew Naylor, Mike Auld and Emily Stephenson will be joining 40,000 other runners on Sunday (May 26).

The trio are hoping to raise £1,500 for The Christie – a charity close to Matthew’s heart as his close friend Oliver Wilson lost his dad, Manchester legend Anthony H Wilson, to cancer in 2007.

Sales director Matthew said: “We all think The Christie does an amazing job and wanted to raise as much money as we could for them by doing the run.

“Seeing how they looked after Anthony made me determined to give something back and help make a difference.”

Matthew, Emily and Mike have been training hard before and after work by running around Tarporley and the Cheshire countryside.

Friends and family will be supporting them along the 6.2 mile course as the trio run through Manchester city centre.

For 21-year-old Emily, who has never run before, the nerves are kicking in.

The Land Rover experience manager said: “I’m a little nervous as I’ve never done anything like this before.

“Matthew and Mike have been great at motivating me plus they’ve promised to give me piggy back if I am struggling to get over the finish line!”

To show your support and donate, visit their justgiving page.

Andrew Ross, head at Millfields Primary on Marsh Lane, said new “Attendance Award” weeks have helped to improve figures dramatically.

Nantwichnews revealed statistics last week that showed pupil absence at Millfields had dropped from 6.9% in 2010-11 to 4.9% in 2011-12 – the best improvement of any primary school in the area.

Mr Ross (pictured with pupils) said: “We have worked extremely hard to improve our attendance over the last year.

“Our improvement has been through the hard work of all the staff, parents and children to ensure they are in school every day on time.

“We have run Attendance Award weeks and terms to encourage better attendance at those times we have identified in previous years as bringing our attendance down.

“The fact that the children are pestering their parents to be in school even when they are ill has shown that we have changed the ethos of attendance in our school!

“Improved attendance results is improved progress for all children as they don’t miss out on the building blocks needed for successful learning.”

The figures showed absence rates for primary schools in Acton, Bridgemere, Highfields, Millfields, Pear Tree, Sound & District, St Anne’s, St Oswald’s Worleston, Stapeley Broad Lane, Weaver, Willaston, Wybunbury and Wyche.

There were a total of 16,301 session absences in 2011-12, which was an improvement on 2010-11 when 20,410 session absences were registered.

In 2009-10, this figure was 19,388, although pupil  numbers and possible sessions were lower in that year in all 13 schools.