OPERATION TO CRACKDOWN ON CROSS-BORDER CRIME HAILED A SUCCESS

MERSEYSIDE Police arrested six people and seized thousands in cash and counterfeit goods in a joint crackdown on cross-border crime.

Officers from Merseyside Police teamed up with the UK Border Agency, British Transport Police, Port of Liverpool Police, Tunnels Police, the Department for Work and Pensions, Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs and VOSA to stop and question people entering the UK through Merseyside's ports and airport who were suspected of committing offences.

Among those stopped during the six-day operation, were:-

► A middle aged Polish couple found by UKBA and police officers to be in possession of 40,000 cigarettes in their suitcase as they got off a ferry at 12 Quays

► A 38 year old man from Wiltshire found by with £2,000 cash on him as he got off the Isle of Man ferry which was seized under Proceeds of Crime Act legislation

► A 47 year old man from the Republic of Ireland who declared 19,500 euros at Liverpool John Lennon Airport having arrived from Shannon via Amsterdam which he could not account for

► A 34 year old man from Malawi in Africa who had arrived at Lime Street train station and was found to be living in Liverpool illegally

► Several truckers stopped at the Mersey Tunnels truck stop and suspected to be falsely claiming unemployment benefits while working as truck drivers

► A man from Belfast stopped at 12 Quays in a back Hackney cab with an out of date taxi licence who was suspected of claiming incapacity benefit

The joint operation in September also saw over 1200 litres of illegal fuel recovered by HMRC during a fuel-dipping operation which saw 147 trucks and lorries tested, and £3000 of fines issued to motorists by Port of Liverpool and Tunnels Police, working alongside VOSA, for various defects to their vehicles.

A HGV driver from Republic of Ireland caught with the illegal fuel paid an on-the-spot penalty of £880 to HMRC officers.

Of the six people arrested, four were for immigration offences which are now being dealt with by the UK Border Agency, one was of a Belfast man for breaching his bail conditions while under investigation for fraud, and the final one was a 62 year old man from Northern Ireland wanted by police in that in connection with benefit fraud.

Detective Superintendent Alan Barr, said:- "This was a highly successful operation involving the vast expertise and experience of many police officers and members of the Force's partner agencies, who are all working towards making Merseyside and the rest of the region a safer place to live and work. Criminals need to travel to conduct their business so by targeting sea, road, rail and air travel in the region, we are making the transport links a more hostile and difficult place for them and therefore a safer place for the law-abiding public. By having a presence at the key routes into Merseyside we have been able to send out a clear message to criminals coming into or passing through Merseyside to commit offences that their presence here will not be tolerated."

Graham Forbes, HMRC Special Investigations Manager said:- “Trading in smuggled and counterfeit goods such as cigarettes and alcohol, or using and selling laundered fuels isn’t a harmless fiddle; the illicit trade has a devastating impact on legitimate traders who have to compete against these cheap and unregulated goods and robs our communities of millions in lost revenue. The gangs behind this form of criminality reap huge profits from sales which are ploughed straight back into the criminal underworld, feeding their other activities in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. We work closely with the police, UKBA, trading standards and local communities in the fight against this type of crime. We would encourage anyone who knows of people selling cheap fuel or duty free alcohol, cigarettes or other tobacco products to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000. The public and businesses can also email or you can also report activity via the HMRC website via the ‘Contact Us’ facility.”

CLOSURE NOTICES KINGSWAY TUNNEL (WALLASEY TUNNEL)

FROM 19:00 on Friday, 22 October 2010 to 6:30am Monday, 25 October 2010, the Mersey Kingsway Tunnel will have a Contra flow will be in place to allow essential maintenance work to take place.

Communities In The North West Must Pull Together To Save Historic Churches

THE future of 19 historic churches across the North West will only be secured if local people pull together to help raise money for vital repairs and develop new uses for these unique buildings says the Churches Conservation Trust following Comprehensive Spending Review which cut the Trust’s DCMS funding by 20%.

The Trust, the national charity that protects England’s historic churches at risk, is calling for historic churches that are no longer used for regular worship to be brought back into the heart of community life through:-

1. Community led approaches that give new life to these cherished buildings.

2. A more enterprising approach to raising income to contribute to maintenance and upkeep.

3. Greater awareness from local authorities of the potential uses of historic churches in community life and regeneration schemes, especially in an era of reduced funding.

Examples of alternative use include historic churches used as social, tourism, educational or community resources – including drama and circus schools, mental health wellbeing centres and a Muslim community in Bolton creating a community centre for all.

Crispin Truman, Chief Executive, The Churches Conservation Trust, says:- "The Charity will respond to the 20 per cut by asking local communities and donors to play a greater role in funding repair and conservation work, previously covered by Government grants. While painful, the cuts must be viewed as a catalyst for greater community led solutions to save their historic churches. There are already fantastic examples of community led schemes saving historic churches. We will be working with communities across England to develop schemes which are right for their community and their church, always seeking to keep the church open and in the heart of the community - where they belong. We are particularly concerned about historic churches in disadvantaged areas. This is where the Charity makes a significant difference working with local authorities, the voluntary sector and regeneration bodies to provide extra support to these more vulnerable communities to so they can keep their historic building open and in use. Often, in rural areas, the historic church is the last civic building left in the community."

Between 20 to 30 Anglican churches are closed for regular worship each year. An historic church coming into the care of the Trust can cost over £250,000 to make weather tight, even before any work is undertaken to make it suitable for modern use.

The Churches Conservation Trust cares for 340 of the most significant historic churches in the country no longer used for regular worship. All of its churches are open to the public every day and were used and enjoyed by over 1.7m people last year including 3,550 community, arts and educational events.

The Trust runs a range of regeneration, tourism, education and community schemes and over 100 conservation projects a year including protecting Charles Dickens’ church to preserving rare 13th Century Wall Paintings. The Trust’s repair programme and activities generate over £15m of direct local economic value including skilled local jobs, spending by Trust visitors at local businesses and money taken in from church events.

Local people keen to get involved with the work of the CCT and help save their local historic churches can by visiting the groups website:- visitchurches.org.uk.