lep.co.
uk
Soldier
had to
leap for
his life
● From Page 1
called up and said, ‘Mum,
please don’t worry’ and my
heart stopped for a mo-
ment. He said he was tired,
on medication and his feet
were sore.
“He has gone through a
frightening experience
which is upsetting for a
mother, but if it had not
been for the Army and his
training, he might not have
got out of the situation. He
has run for his life. These
are the dangers that our
soldiers are faced with.
“He’s determined to go
back when he gets the all-
clear.”
The single mum ex-
plained how her only son
went back to Kuwait to
carry out peacekeeping
foot patrol duties after be-
coming engaged to his fi-
ancee Leigh-Ann Howes.
They are set to tie the knot
in Mauritius next year.
He has been serving with
the 59 Movement Control
Squadron, 29 Regiment
Royal Logistics Corps and
fought in Afghanistan and
Iraq after leaving school
for the Army.
His mum said the former
Christ the King Catholic
High School student is easy-
going and enjoys skiing,
karate and R&B music.
She added: “He’s a good
all-round son – he is very
outgoing and does any-
thing for charity.”
She explained how he re-
cently took part in a chari-
ty walk in fancy dress to
help wounded soldiers.
A Ministry of Defence
spokesman said: “We are
aware of an incident.
“An investigation is
under way and it would
therefore be inappropriate
to comment further whilst
this is ongoing.”
previous
stories
lep.co.uk
● School award will
honour Iraq soldier
● Leyland soldier
dies in Iraq
Hello, Fat Face,
CHANGING ROOM WITH A VIEW: Phil Wynne and, inset, Joe Thompson, with the views from around Preston
nice to see you
by David Coates
david.coates@lep.co.uk
THE boss of the latest
shop to hit Preston’s
high street has vowed to
bring other big brands
with him.
Outdoor clothing chain
Fat Face opened in the for-
mer Barratt’s Shoes store on
Fishergate in the city centre
today.
North West area manager
Darren Whelpton-Smith said
the 3,500 customers from the
Preston area already registered
on its internet database con-
vinced the firm to open a store
in the city.
He also confirmed the com-
pany had created ten new jobs
at the store which would all go
to people from the Preston area.
The boss said: “We have seen
it in other places we have
opened... other major brands
CCTV goes ‘live’
in town centre
KIRKHAM town centre will soon be cov-
ered by live CCTV cameras.
The cameras will be monitored live
from a police control room in Blackpool
from September 4, allowing officers to
react quickly to incidents.
The new system replaces rapid de-
ployment cameras, which will now be
sent to more rural parts of Fylde.
City’s new clothing store
likely to attract others
see us as a strong attraction to
come somewhere.
“In Chester, we had the stu-
dent fashion chain Jack Wills
and White Stuff open branches
because we opened there, so I
hope we can do the same for
Preston.
“The store we have taken
here is probably two-thirds big-
ger than we would have taken a
year ago, but we know we will
attract people, so we took on a
bigger store.”
He said the strong student
population at the city's Univer-
sity of Central Lan-
cashire (UCLan)
was another major
draw to set up shop
in Preston, but in-
sisted its fashion
range was targeted at older peo-
ple.
On its opening weekend, the
store is giving away a £20,000
camper van with £15,000 of
previous
stories
lep.co.uk
● Fat Face for Fishergate
● Top stores in city line-up
Evening Post, Saturday, August 29, 2009
modifications to a lucky cus-
tomer.
In 1988, company founders
and skiing fanatics Tim Slade
and Jules Leaver sold their own
camper van to pay to open their
first shop in Fulham Road, Lon-
don in 1993, at the height of the
last recession.
The friends, who started out
selling ski gear on the slopes of
The Alps in France, sold it to
private equity group Advent In-
ternational for £100m in 2005
before it was bought by rival pri-
vate equity house Bridgepoint
Capital for £360m two years
later.
The Preston branch will be
the latest in the firm’s 164-
strong shop portfolio which in-
cludes four branches in the Lake
District and three in Manches-
ter, including at the Trafford
Centre.
+5
NEWSBRIEF
Snap to it for
exhibition
LEARN everything you
need to know about photog-
raphy.
On Saturday, September
5, an exhibition called The
Best of Lancashire Mono-
chrome will open at the
Courtyard Studio, at the
Worden Park Arts Centre,
in Worden Park Leyland.
The exhibition will be
dedicated to the art of black
and white photography and
will run until Tuesday, Sep-
tember 29.
There will also be a cam-
era workshop which will
take place on Saturday Sep-
tember 5, from 10.30am to
12.30pm at the South Rib-
ble Museum and Exhibition
Centre, in Church Road,
Leyland. For information
call 01772 422041.
Help needed
for jail scheme
VOLUNTEERS are need-
ed to make life easier for
people visiting friends and
family in a Lancashire
prison.
The visitor centre at the
Category D Kirkham Prison
is seeking people to boost
the three-strong workforce
which runs the centre every
Friday, Saturday and Sun-
day.
Co-ordinator Rachel
Gilkes, of the Partners of
Prisoners and Families Sup-
port Group, said the centre
was looking for people who
could offer even a few hours
to help look after children
in its activity area or just to
make a cup of tea for visit-
ing relatives.
● E-mail Rachel at
kirkhamvc@partnersofpris-
oners.co.uk or call 01772
675400 ext 5450 between
Friday and Sunday.
Car boot sale
raises money
A CAR boot sale in aid of
Sue Ryder Care will be held
this Bank Holiday weekend.
The sale will be held at
Sue Ryder Care, Cuerden
Hall, on Shady Lane,
Bamber Bridge, Preston on
Monday, from 8am to
1pm.
● Anyone wanting to book
a pitch should call 01772
698145.