Police to review 'Britain's kindest plumber' claims; Save Blackpool Rock campaign begins
The Lancashire Lead - May 19, 2024
Hello and welcome to today’s edition of The Lancashire Lead. There’s a very obvious place to start when looking at the week’s news and that’s the BBC’s investigation into the work of Depher CIC.
Based on months of research and questioning, it found a series of falsehoods and failings by James Anderson of Depher CIC, often known as Britain’s kindest plumber. The Burnley company earned social media fame and huge sums of donations through posts about the free work done for the most vulnerable in society.
But now almost every aspect and action is being questioned, including how the money was spent. Anderson has admitted getting things wrong but also says he’s made a report to Ofcom over the BBC’s reporting. Meanwhile, the British Citizen Awards have stripped him of an accolade presented for his community work.
I should say I am one of many who’ve reported positively on Depher’s work in the past and, while much is still unclear and there’s always been a degree of scepticism about the project, I am one of those feeling the need for some reflection.
What I can today reveal is that Lancashire Constabulary will look into the claims reported by the BBC. A spokesperson also said no formal complaint has been received.
Meanwhile, when asked about claims it referred people to Depher in the past, Lancashire County Council told me: "It has never been our policy to refer residents to DEPHER. We are aware of an informal enquiry when, on one occasion, a member of staff with good intentions contacted DEPHER concerning a resident."
Away from this, it’s been a busy week for The Lead. On Thursday, The Blackpool Lead launched a campaign to save Blackpool Rock. You can read my piece here and please do sign our petition to help protect an industry which owners say stands on the brink of ruin.
I’ve also written about the Ipsa investigation into Blackpool North and Cleveleys MP Paul Maynard which found the Pensions Minister misused his taxpayer funded office and equipment for political use. Ipsa’s report alluded to further matters to be investigated in relation to Milly Skriczka’s whistleblowing and I understand this remains ongoing.
For Hyndburn, George Francis Lee has been looking at how Accrington Market traders are faring after being turfed outside for more than a year while a major redevelopment takes place.
🥗 Students at Lancaster University have voted to urge the facility to serve exclusively vegan food (Lancaster Guardian).
👷 Some of my own reporting here - Work to demolish Preston’s Old Tram Bridge and build a replacement has officially begun (Blog Preston).
🏘️ Plans to build 350 homes on the edge of Blackpool have been approved despite concerns over flooding and traffic issues (Blackpool Gazette).
🚕 Taxi drivers in Lancashire are leading the charge against the issue of private hire drivers operating in other areas, preventing licensing officers from taking enforcement action (TaxiPoint). The BBC has previously reported 95% of licences granted in Wolverhampton are for drivers operating in different areas. ↪️New Blackpool South MP Chris Webb spoke about the issues in Parliament this week (see below video) and you can see a petition on the issue here.
🚛 The owner of a 130-year-old city centre business says customers are being driven away by lorries blocking the street amid long overrunning roadworks (Lancashire Post).
🏥 A deaf hotel owner says he was handcuffed when he was unable to communicate with hospital staff during an A&E visit (Blackpool Gazette).
🎨 A painting by Chorley-born Leonora Carrington has sold for a record $28.5m (£22.48m) in New York (BBC).
🪙 Fears have been raised that a twice-weekly pensioners meeting could close - thanks to the introduction of a £2 parking charge (BBC).
📷 It should be the happiest day of your lives but couples have been left heartbroken by a photographer who failed to deliver the goods or in some cases never even showed (LancsLive).
🌳 Blackburn, Great Harwood and Blackpool will each receive £500,000 of Government money to improve their high streets (Lancaster Guardian).
👮 The sentencing of a police officer who shared images of a crime victim has been delayed - because his defence failed to show at court (Lancashire Telegraph).
👀 The Alzheimer’s Society took over every available advertising board in Blackpool in its biggest ever hyper local campaign (Prolific North).
It was a big anniversary in more ways than one this week as Tuesday marked 130 years since Blackpool Tower first opened to the public. Containing more than five million Accrington bricks, the tower was the largest building in the British Empire when it first opened in 1894.
Incredibly, the Blackpool Tower Circus has been running ever since that date, making it the longest running in the world.
Another sunny weekend means I’ll give another shoutout to this excellent list of walking routes across Lancashire and to the Ribble Valley Walks with Taste series.
There’s various events to get stuck into today, including Morecambe Vintage Bus Day, a farmers market at the grand Hoghton Tower, a Pug Beach meet in Poulton-le-Fylde, a Big Bike Revival in Nelson, a World Bee Day family art event in Accrington, and Open Streets in Lancaster.
And finally, we finish on some What’s On stories from the last week:
Su Pollard shares her excitement at performing in a Blackpool pantomime this summer
Venue owners and artists on the importance of events like Burnley Live for town
 | A guest post by
|