lep.co.

uk C Evening Post, Wednesday, January 13, 2010 5

Late gran’s home is listed as

city base of Islam4uk group
A GRAN is at the centre of an interna-
tional terror scare a month after she
passed away.
The home of the late Jenny Swain has
been wrongly identified as an address for
the website of Islam4UK, one of the
groups which was yesterday banned by
Home Secretary Alan Johnson in a bid to
prevent terrorism.
Today, Mrs Swain’s daughter Mary
Smith, 61, said she had previously con-
tacted the police after strange mail was
sent to her mother’s Ashton address and
one man waited for hours outside before
knocking to ask probing questions.
She said: “It’s terrible and it’s not right.
We are just shocked that this could hap-
pen.
“Somebody could come and throw
something through the window, you never
SNOW JOKE: Snowplough on Bluebell Car Park. Right, the ‘closed notice’ know.
by Chris Visser
chris.visser@lep.co.uk
Islam4UK leader Anjem Choudary de-
nied any knowledge of the address or of a
“Jameel Choudhury”.
He said: “I don’t run the website. I don’t
know who he is. I just pass my words on to
some people.”
When asked if Preston has any links to
the fundamental group, he said: “Not as
far as I am aware.”
Mrs Swain died from suspected heart
failure in Royal Preston Hospital on De-
cember 4 after being admitted with
breathing difficulties a month before.
She leaves behind her two daughters
and son Jimmy, 56, as well as 10 grand-
children, 13 great grandchildren and two
great-great grandchildren.

Ploughing
“My mum was terrified as it was and
wouldn’t answer the door. I went to the
police station and told them.”
Her sister Janet Wood, 54, said: “Did
they just pick us at random? My mother
had lived here for 60 years.
“I’m pretty stunned that my mum’s ad-
dress is linked to this website.”
The islam4uk.com website is registered
Lancashire Police said it was aware of
the matter but the investigating officer
was not available for comment.
Mr Johnson announced that the radical
Islamist group would be banned using the
Terrorism Act.
The move comes a week after the group
said it would march through Wootton
Bassett to honour Muslims killed in the

on regardless
with Mrs Swain’s address in Wellington
Street and listed in the publicly accessi-
ble Internet WHOIS directory used to de-
termine the assignee of Internet re-
sources.
It is registered in the name of ‘Jameel
Choudhury’ with a provided mobile
phone number, which is now “not recog-
nised”.
Afghanistan conflict.
The Wiltshire town has become known
for people paying their respects to fallen
servicemen and women whose coffins
pass through the town after arriving at
RAF Lyneham.
The group describes itself as an “ideo-
logical and political organisation” with no
links to violence.

Unused car park cleared – as roads stay icy

IT’S the car park that bare- by Jenny Simpson
Evening Post
LANCASHIRE

ly anyone uses. jenny.simpson@lep.co.uk

Yet Preston’s notorious
lep.co.uk FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2009 42p

The park-and-ride has been

‘I’MEASILYCONFUSED’
...what a disgrac

empty park-and-ride has been closed in recent days because of the

Lancashire lor
said as defence i
cash scandal

cleared of piles of snow – while PLUS

other city streets remain an icy

snow and ice.
Signs on the gates read: “Due to MP
hazard. the recent adverse weather, it has EXPENSE
Highways bosses sent a snow been necessary to close this car park ‘W
no
plough to clear the 548-space facil- for safety reasons. to
ity at Bluebell Way, Fulwood which “The site will be monitored on a Co
happ
has only attracted a handful of driv- daily basis and will reopen as soon to

ers since it opened in May last year. as possible. We apologise for any
Roads chiefs at Lancashire inconvenience this may cause.”

SO LONELY
WHERE’S EVERYBODY GONE? Just one car on the Bluebell Way park-and-ride...with another 547 spaces unfilled Pictures: DAVID HURST

County Council have previously The Evening Post revealed ear-

said gritters and resources had to
be directed to main roads such as
A-roads before smaller streets and
pavements could be treated, amid
concerns about national shortages
of grit.
Motorist Martin Foxcroft, of Lo-
stock Hall, contacted the Evening
Post when he spotted the snow
plough as he drove past.
He said: “They are taking the
mick. All the roads around it are
terrible but they have got the snow
plough on the car park instead
when there’s no-one on there.”
lier this month that the park-and-
ride costs almost £30,000 a year to What if they opened a £2.5m park-and-ride area in Preston and nobody
keep open yet roads bosses were
unable to confirm how many mo-
torists had used the £2.5m facility.
A county council spokesman video&
said: “We used a Land Rover with a
scoop earlier today to clear the car previous stories
park at Bluebell Way.
“This was to help us to reopen lep.co.uk
the car park which was affected by
the bad weather. ● The £30,000 cost of
“Although this could be used on controversial park and ride
the car park, it is not suitable for ● Empty park and ride gets
using on the roads.” its own bus service

New estate planned for ‘grotspot’ relic of the 1970s

PLANS to transform a grot spot in
Ribbleton, Preston, into a new es-
tate have been approved.
Community Gateway has been
granted planning permission to
build 25 houses on wasteland in
Farringdon Park.
Sixteen new properties will be
built in a new cul-de-sac in Crum-
mock Road, with nine detached
homes on Bowness Road and Or-
rest Road. A new footpath will also
be built linking Crummock Road
with Bowness Road.
The sites for the houses were de-
molished in the 1970s and have
been used as play areas which were
a target for vandals and anti-social
behaviour.
Community Gateway will rent
the properties out to tenants as af-
fordable housing.
The plans were approved by the
planning committee despite 149 ob-
jections from locals over the loss of
light, increased social problems on
the estate and a lack of facilities for
local children.
Coun Pat Woods, who represents
the Ribbleton ward, said: “It’s a re-
ally good scheme and I welcome it.
“The old play areas are an eye-
sore.”