The Gazette, Thursday , May 12, 2011 www.blackpoolgazette.co.ukin brief in brief Diversion forwork on road A BLACKPOOL road will be closed to traffic for resurfac- ing works. Knowsley Avenue will be one way for eastbound traffic from Monday April 11 for six weeks. Southbound vehicles will be diverted via West Park Drive, South Park Drive, Preston New Road and Whitegate Drive. While northbound traffic will be diverted via West Park Drive, Mere Road and Whitegate Drive. Roof blaze FIREFIGHTERS were called to an address in Blackpool town centre after a blaze broke out on a rooftop in Church Street. The incident at just after 3pm yesterday saw officers use an extension ladder to access the site of the fire and a hose to douse the flames. New signs PLANS have been submitted to Blackpool Council for new signage at Mr T’s amusement arcade on the Promenade. HEADMASTER GETS OUT THE LOO BRUSH – TO MAKE FACILITIES FUNKYIt’s the boys in a blue loo! STAFF at a Fylde coast primary school have been spendi ng a pretty penny on the new toilets. For artistic teachers at Anchor sholme Primar y Sch oo l have been let loos-e, in a bid to bright- en up the old WC block. Now, thos e using the lit- tle boys room will have to be brave and have the nerve to face up to a round with boxer Rocky Balboa. And in the ladies, the hot pink walls are adorned with pi ctures of funky camper vans created by the talented staff. Headmas ter Graeme Dow got his hands dirty to ensure the toilets had a fresh clean look for the youngsters. He told The Gazett e: “We paint ed the mural s on the walls to make the toil ets a better place to be. “Usually, toilets are places to avoid in schools with all the myths and horror stories associated with them, so we want ed to turn this around andmake thema pla cewhere the child ren can feel comfort - able.” Mr Dow sai d the pictures had been chosen as part ofa democratic voting process wi th youngsters dec idi ng whic h ofa selectio n ofimages they liked best. He added: “To choose the pictures, we had a Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen style selec- tio n pro ces s wi th pop-a rt images like James Bond and Audrey Hepburn. “The children chose which pict ures they liked and the boys chose Rocky Balboa and the girls chose a VW camper van – although I thought the boy s would hav e gone for James Bond. “Then I painted them dur- ing the Eas ter holiday s for the children to see when they came back. “So far there’s been a great reception and the blocks are shar ed between180 peop le,so they really deserve it.” Pupi ls at theschoolpraised the new addi tions with one pupil telling The Gazette the paintings were “abs olut ely awesome”. By JAKE HOOSON ... and the girls are in the pinkTi mes in place for protest march POLI CE have confirmed the timings of a con- troversi al far right group’s Blac kpoo l prot est event. The English Defence League are planning a demonstra tion in the resort on May 28 in protest of the police handling of the investigation into missing Blackpool teenager Charlene Downes. The group will gather from 10am in the area around Britannia Place. At 12.30pm they will then march to the Prom- enade headland next to South Pier for a demon- stration to take place from 12.45pm to 2pm. Police said the group would then disperse. A spok esman for Lanc ashi re Cons tabulary added: “There may be short-term road closures on the day but we will confirm this nearer the time.” Charlene disappeared in November 2003 and has not been seen since. Two men were subsequently charged with murder and disposing of the youngster’s body but were later acquitted. Fears had been raised by town centre busi- nesses that the protest would affect trading. BOXING CLEVER: Headteacher Graeme Dow with Lucy Ecker sley , Olivia Gregory , Matthew Peill and Ethan Lees in the little boy’s room and (right) in the girls ’ toilets Pictures: DANIEL MARTINO
