FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (14th - 20th SEPTEMBER 1970)
This week's stories include the troublemakers at the Plaza Club's strip shows, the obliging Clock Face couple whose garden and garage were destroyed by the council, the knock down sale (literally) in St Mary Street and the Sutton residents upset about their privacy.
We begin on the 14th with a meeting of the Rainford Highways Committee. Members were told that several residents had recently been hurt after falling on footpaths. Councillor Dennis Collins said the accidents included two women tripping on uneven kerbstones and although he had brought the matter up two months earlier, nothing had been done. It was now agreed that action would be taken.
St Helens Council's Housing Committee also met on the 14th and heard that rent arrears in the town had more than doubled since the seven-week Pilkington strike. The committee agreed to recommend fortnightly instead of weekly rent collections, although Councillor John Potter attacked the scheme, saying it would lead to more arrears. However by eight votes to three it was decided to proceed with fortnightly collections, although a trial would take place first.
The Housing Committee also received a petition from residents on the new Carnegie Crescent housing estate in Sutton (pictured above c.1970). Women in particular were upset about a lack of privacy from open-plan lawns and were calling for a fence to be erected. One of the female organisers said: "We are on view all the time in the living room at the front. People take short cuts across the lawn, and they're almost in the room with us. They walk right past the window and look straight in."
A similar petition from residents on Cherry Tree Drive in Parr had been turned down earlier in the year but now councillors said they would look to see what could be done. However whatever the council did, not everybody would be happy. A smaller group on the Carnegie Crescent estate had signed a letter calling for the open-plan gardens to remain. Patricia Fairhurst said: "We like these green areas just as they are. We don't want to look out and see a fence around them."
St Helens Juvenile Panel heard on the 15th how a local boy had run away from home after rowing with his father. The 15-year-old stole a van from a garage in St Helens where he'd previously worked and when it got low on petrol, he emptied bottles of whisky into the tank. After discovering that motor vehicles don't run particularly well on whisky, the lad took two other vehicles, as he journeyed to Lytham, Lancaster and Blackpool and then back to St Helens, where he spent the night in Crank Caverns. He was put on probation.
On the 16th St Helens magistrates ordered a 23-year-old woman to stay at a convent for 12 months after stealing from a family that had taken her in. The woman had stolen a handbag and shoes from the house in Perth Avenue, Thatto Heath, but her solicitor told the Bench that his client was a "pathetic case". He said the only security she'd had in the past was at a convent under the supervision of a probation officer and so the magistrates elected to send her back.
Silcocks annual pleasure fair began on the 17th for two weeks on the "usual land next to the fire station" in Parr Stocks Road. St Helens folk could also visit the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street to watch 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' which was shown throughout the week.
Elderly Clock Face couple Alfred and Mary Miller were featured in the St Helens Reporter on the 18th. Six months earlier the council had asked the pair for permission to lay water pipes through their back garden to a new housing estate. Alfred and Mary expected some disruption and were happy to get rid of their hens to allow the workmen sufficient space to do the job. However the couple didn't bargain for what happened! When the men moved onto their semi-detached council house in Clock Face Road, they tore down their fencing, an apple tree and a garage – including a 6-foot double gate that led to the garage – and burned the lot!
They also ripped up Alfred and Mary's paved drive and a giant earth-digger then turned up and churned up their vegetable plot and stacked much of it against the couple's car. "It [the car] was my pride and joy", said 82-year-old Alfred, "and it was ruined. We sold it for another. But now I've got no garage to put it in." The workmen promised that the pipe-laying in a 12-foot deep trench in the couple's back garden would be finished in a fortnight – but it took six weeks.
The Millers were also assured that everything would be repaired after the work had been completed. But all that had happened in six months was that some top soil had been put down – and that only happened a week ago. The Borough Engineer, George James, told the Reporter that the garage delay was caused by the builders changing agents but said the work would begin within 10 days.
The paper also described a petition that women in Oxford Street had sent to the council, which complained about a "trail of havoc left by stag-night revellers" attending the Plaza Theatre Club's striptease nights. Not that the Plaza (shown above) ever called their Thursday night male-only "do's" stripper nights. They were sold as stag nights, featuring a top comic and up to ten "exotic dancers". The residents didn't seem to care too much about what went on inside the club. But when they left the premises, the men were accused of banging on doors, jumping on the tops of vehicles and shouting and swearing.
Lily Traverse told the Reporter: "Thursday is the worst night when it is men only night at the club. The noise in the early hours of the morning is terrible. They are up to all sorts of tricks. I have seen them jumping on top of cars. It is really terrifying some nights".
Another unhappy Oxford Street resident was Mary White, who said: "You have never seen anything like it. More often than not there is a free for all outside and the language is shocking. It is so bad children have to sleep in the back bedrooms so that they cannot hear it. It is really scaring at times. Some nights the street is littered with police cars and ambulances after trouble has broken out."
Alf Wood was the owner of the Plaza and he said they appealed every night to their patrons to leave the club quietly. He believed that many troublemakers had not actually been in his club but said they were going to hire security guards to deal with any future problems.
Alan Whalley was angry with the graffiti merchants that were emblazoning their slogans all round the town. The much-missed local journo wrote in the Reporter: "Slap-happy St. Helens is daubing its name into the idiot's record books. No place this side of Ulster has as many crudely splashed wall slogans as this ancient borough. No brickwork – whether it be at tumbledown Gerards Bridge or in the upper crust zones – is safe from the paint brush."
The Reporter also wrote that police were hunting a "killer dog" that was on the loose in St Helens and which had been "trained to kill". It all sounded quite scary but in reality it was simply a greyhound that John Trainer from Fiddler Street in Toll Bar had just bought. The dog was enjoying its first walk in St Helens when it became frightened by the traffic in Cairo Street and slipped its lead. Mr Trainer was concerned that the animal might start killing poultry when it became hungry.
Bensons of St Mary Street had a good reason for advertising a sale of their 3-piece suites, dining furniture and bedroom suites – they were being knocked down and by that I mean the building, as well as the prices! The Reporter had revealed in January that the council would soon be implementing the first phase of its 15-year plan to redevelop the town centre.
St Mary Street used to run down the side of the Parish Church from Church Street to Foundry Street. As a result of the redevelopment, all the properties in St Mary Street were being demolished so that Chalon Way East and St Mary's Market could be created. Hence Bensons advert in the Reporter that began: "They are knocking us down! Our famous furniture and bed warehouse is being demolished. Everything must go regardless of cost."
They had double beds from £19 19s and were offering extra discount for cash and carry – otherwise the store would deliver goods for free. Bensons was situated at the top of St Mary Street, by the Post Office and opposite Woolworths. It would not be long before the post office building would also come to grief, courtesy of the bulldozers, and the GPO staff would then relocate to Bridge Street.
East Sutton Labour Club had a bit of a coup on the 18th – although they would not have known it at the time. Marti Caine was performing in Ellen Street, five years before beating Lenny Henry and Victoria Wood to win the ITV talent show 'New Faces'. The "fabulous comedian" had her stage name in the Reporter's ad misspelled as "Marty", something that happened to Lynne Shepherd – as she was born – quite a lot. In fact Lynne's original choice of stage name had been "Marta Cane", but that was misspelled at an early gig and so she became Marti Caine.
Next week's stories will include the sex attacks in a dark Parr alley, the shopping binges at Tesco in Bridge Street, what drinkers in the Cuerdley Arms thought of the price of beer and Hurricane Higgins comes to Lowe House – and gets beaten!
We begin on the 14th with a meeting of the Rainford Highways Committee. Members were told that several residents had recently been hurt after falling on footpaths. Councillor Dennis Collins said the accidents included two women tripping on uneven kerbstones and although he had brought the matter up two months earlier, nothing had been done. It was now agreed that action would be taken.
St Helens Council's Housing Committee also met on the 14th and heard that rent arrears in the town had more than doubled since the seven-week Pilkington strike. The committee agreed to recommend fortnightly instead of weekly rent collections, although Councillor John Potter attacked the scheme, saying it would lead to more arrears. However by eight votes to three it was decided to proceed with fortnightly collections, although a trial would take place first.
A similar petition from residents on Cherry Tree Drive in Parr had been turned down earlier in the year but now councillors said they would look to see what could be done. However whatever the council did, not everybody would be happy. A smaller group on the Carnegie Crescent estate had signed a letter calling for the open-plan gardens to remain. Patricia Fairhurst said: "We like these green areas just as they are. We don't want to look out and see a fence around them."
St Helens Juvenile Panel heard on the 15th how a local boy had run away from home after rowing with his father. The 15-year-old stole a van from a garage in St Helens where he'd previously worked and when it got low on petrol, he emptied bottles of whisky into the tank. After discovering that motor vehicles don't run particularly well on whisky, the lad took two other vehicles, as he journeyed to Lytham, Lancaster and Blackpool and then back to St Helens, where he spent the night in Crank Caverns. He was put on probation.
On the 16th St Helens magistrates ordered a 23-year-old woman to stay at a convent for 12 months after stealing from a family that had taken her in. The woman had stolen a handbag and shoes from the house in Perth Avenue, Thatto Heath, but her solicitor told the Bench that his client was a "pathetic case". He said the only security she'd had in the past was at a convent under the supervision of a probation officer and so the magistrates elected to send her back.
Silcocks annual pleasure fair began on the 17th for two weeks on the "usual land next to the fire station" in Parr Stocks Road. St Helens folk could also visit the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street to watch 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' which was shown throughout the week.
Elderly Clock Face couple Alfred and Mary Miller were featured in the St Helens Reporter on the 18th. Six months earlier the council had asked the pair for permission to lay water pipes through their back garden to a new housing estate. Alfred and Mary expected some disruption and were happy to get rid of their hens to allow the workmen sufficient space to do the job. However the couple didn't bargain for what happened! When the men moved onto their semi-detached council house in Clock Face Road, they tore down their fencing, an apple tree and a garage – including a 6-foot double gate that led to the garage – and burned the lot!
They also ripped up Alfred and Mary's paved drive and a giant earth-digger then turned up and churned up their vegetable plot and stacked much of it against the couple's car. "It [the car] was my pride and joy", said 82-year-old Alfred, "and it was ruined. We sold it for another. But now I've got no garage to put it in." The workmen promised that the pipe-laying in a 12-foot deep trench in the couple's back garden would be finished in a fortnight – but it took six weeks.
The Millers were also assured that everything would be repaired after the work had been completed. But all that had happened in six months was that some top soil had been put down – and that only happened a week ago. The Borough Engineer, George James, told the Reporter that the garage delay was caused by the builders changing agents but said the work would begin within 10 days.
Lily Traverse told the Reporter: "Thursday is the worst night when it is men only night at the club. The noise in the early hours of the morning is terrible. They are up to all sorts of tricks. I have seen them jumping on top of cars. It is really terrifying some nights".
Another unhappy Oxford Street resident was Mary White, who said: "You have never seen anything like it. More often than not there is a free for all outside and the language is shocking. It is so bad children have to sleep in the back bedrooms so that they cannot hear it. It is really scaring at times. Some nights the street is littered with police cars and ambulances after trouble has broken out."
Alf Wood was the owner of the Plaza and he said they appealed every night to their patrons to leave the club quietly. He believed that many troublemakers had not actually been in his club but said they were going to hire security guards to deal with any future problems.
Alan Whalley was angry with the graffiti merchants that were emblazoning their slogans all round the town. The much-missed local journo wrote in the Reporter: "Slap-happy St. Helens is daubing its name into the idiot's record books. No place this side of Ulster has as many crudely splashed wall slogans as this ancient borough. No brickwork – whether it be at tumbledown Gerards Bridge or in the upper crust zones – is safe from the paint brush."
The Reporter also wrote that police were hunting a "killer dog" that was on the loose in St Helens and which had been "trained to kill". It all sounded quite scary but in reality it was simply a greyhound that John Trainer from Fiddler Street in Toll Bar had just bought. The dog was enjoying its first walk in St Helens when it became frightened by the traffic in Cairo Street and slipped its lead. Mr Trainer was concerned that the animal might start killing poultry when it became hungry.
Bensons of St Mary Street had a good reason for advertising a sale of their 3-piece suites, dining furniture and bedroom suites – they were being knocked down and by that I mean the building, as well as the prices! The Reporter had revealed in January that the council would soon be implementing the first phase of its 15-year plan to redevelop the town centre.
St Mary Street used to run down the side of the Parish Church from Church Street to Foundry Street. As a result of the redevelopment, all the properties in St Mary Street were being demolished so that Chalon Way East and St Mary's Market could be created. Hence Bensons advert in the Reporter that began: "They are knocking us down! Our famous furniture and bed warehouse is being demolished. Everything must go regardless of cost."
They had double beds from £19 19s and were offering extra discount for cash and carry – otherwise the store would deliver goods for free. Bensons was situated at the top of St Mary Street, by the Post Office and opposite Woolworths. It would not be long before the post office building would also come to grief, courtesy of the bulldozers, and the GPO staff would then relocate to Bridge Street.
East Sutton Labour Club had a bit of a coup on the 18th – although they would not have known it at the time. Marti Caine was performing in Ellen Street, five years before beating Lenny Henry and Victoria Wood to win the ITV talent show 'New Faces'. The "fabulous comedian" had her stage name in the Reporter's ad misspelled as "Marty", something that happened to Lynne Shepherd – as she was born – quite a lot. In fact Lynne's original choice of stage name had been "Marta Cane", but that was misspelled at an early gig and so she became Marti Caine.
Next week's stories will include the sex attacks in a dark Parr alley, the shopping binges at Tesco in Bridge Street, what drinkers in the Cuerdley Arms thought of the price of beer and Hurricane Higgins comes to Lowe House – and gets beaten!
This week's stories include the troublemakers at the Plaza Club's strip shows, the obliging Clock Face couple whose garden and garage were destroyed by the council, the knock down sale (literally) in St Mary Street and the Sutton residents upset about their privacy.
We begin on the 14th with a meeting of the Rainford Highways Committee.
Members were told that several residents had recently been hurt after falling on footpaths.
Councillor Dennis Collins said the accidents included two women tripping on uneven kerbstones and although he had brought the matter up two months earlier, nothing had been done.
The committee members agreed that action should be taken.
St Helens Council's Housing Committee also met on the 14th and heard that rent arrears in the town had more than doubled since the seven-week Pilkington strike.
The committee agreed to recommend fortnightly instead of weekly rent collections, although Councillor John Potter attacked the scheme, saying it would lead to more arrears.
However by eight votes to three it was decided to proceed with fortnightly collections, although a trial would take place first.
The Housing Committee also received a petition from residents on the new Carnegie Crescent housing estate in Sutton (pictured above c.1970).
Women in particular were upset about a lack of privacy from open-plan lawns and were calling for a fence to be erected. One of the female organisers said:
"We are on view all the time in the living room at the front. People take short cuts across the lawn, and they're almost in the room with us. They walk right past the window and look straight in."
A similar petition from residents on Cherry Tree Drive in Parr had been turned down earlier in the year but now councillors said they would look to see what could be done.
However whatever the council did, not everybody would be happy.
A smaller group on the Carnegie Crescent estate had signed a letter calling for the open-plan gardens to remain.
Patricia Fairhurst said: "We like these green areas just as they are. We don't want to look out and see a fence around them."
St Helens Juvenile Panel heard on the 15th how a local boy had run away from home after rowing with his father.
The 15-year-old stole a van from a garage in St Helens where he'd previously worked and when it got low on petrol, he emptied bottles of whisky into the tank.
After discovering that motor vehicles don't run particularly well on whisky, the lad took two other vehicles, as he journeyed to Lytham, Lancaster and Blackpool and then back to St Helens, where he spent the night in Crank Caverns. He was put on probation.
On the 16th St Helens magistrates ordered a 23-year-old woman to stay at a convent for 12 months after stealing from a family that had taken her in.
The woman had stolen a handbag and shoes from the house in Perth Avenue, Thatto Heath, but her solicitor told the Bench that his client was a "pathetic case".
He said the only security she'd had in the past was at a convent under the supervision of a probation officer and so the magistrates elected to send her back.
Silcocks annual pleasure fair began on the 17th for two weeks on the "usual land next to the fire station" in Parr Stocks Road.
St Helens folk could also visit the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street to watch 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' which was shown throughout the week.
Elderly Clock Face couple Alfred and Mary Miller were featured in the St Helens Reporter on the 18th.
Six months earlier the council had asked the pair for permission to lay water pipes through their back garden to a new housing estate.
Alfred and Mary expected some disruption and were happy to get rid of their hens to allow the workmen sufficient space to do the job.
However the couple didn't bargain for what happened!
When the men moved onto their semi-detached council house in Clock Face Road, they tore down their fencing, an apple tree and a garage – including a 6-foot double gate that led to the garage – and burned the lot!
They also ripped up Alfred and Mary's paved drive and a giant earth-digger then turned up and churned up their vegetable plot and stacked much of it against the couple's car.
"It [the car] was my pride and joy", said 82-year-old Alfred, "and it was ruined. We sold it for another. But now I've got no garage to put it in."
The workmen promised that the pipe-laying in a 12-foot deep trench in the couple's back garden would be finished in a fortnight – but it took six weeks.
The Millers were also assured that everything would be repaired after the work had been completed.
But all that had happened in six months was that some top soil had been put down – and that only happened a week ago.
The Borough Engineer, George James, told the Reporter that the garage delay was caused by the builders changing agents but said the work would begin within 10 days.
The paper also described a petition that women in Oxford Street had sent to the council, which complained about a "trail of havoc left by stag-night revellers" attending the Plaza Theatre Club's striptease nights.
Not that the Plaza (shown above) ever called their Thursday night male-only "do's" stripper nights.
They were sold as stag nights, featuring a top comic and up to ten "exotic dancers".
The residents didn't seem to care too much about what went on inside the club.
But when they left the premises, the men were accused of banging on doors, jumping on the tops of vehicles and shouting and swearing. Lily Traverse told the Reporter:
"Thursday is the worst night when it is men only night at the club. The noise in the early hours of the morning is terrible. They are up to all sorts of tricks. I have seen them jumping on top of cars. It is really terrifying some nights".
Another unhappy Oxford Street resident was Mary White, who said:
"You have never seen anything like it. More often than not there is a free for all outside and the language is shocking. It is so bad children have to sleep in the back bedrooms so that they cannot hear it. It is really scaring at times. Some nights the street is littered with police cars and ambulances after trouble has broken out."
Alf Wood was the owner of the Plaza and he said they appealed every night to their patrons to leave the club quietly.
He believed that many troublemakers had not actually been in his club but said they were going to hire security guards to deal with any future problems.
Alan Whalley was angry with the graffiti merchants that were emblazoning their slogans all round the town. The much-missed local journo wrote in the Reporter:
"Slap-happy St. Helens is daubing its name into the idiot's record books. No place this side of Ulster has as many crudely splashed wall slogans as this ancient borough. No brickwork – whether it be at tumbledown Gerards Bridge or in the upper crust zones – is safe from the paint brush."
The Reporter also wrote that police were hunting a "killer dog" that was on the loose in St Helens and which had been "trained to kill".
It all sounded quite scary but in reality it was simply a greyhound that John Trainer from Fiddler Street in Toll Bar had just bought.
The dog was enjoying its first walk in St Helens when it became frightened by the traffic in Cairo Street and slipped its lead.
Mr Trainer was concerned that the animal might start killing poultry when it became hungry.
Bensons of St Mary Street had a good reason for advertising a sale of their 3-piece suites, dining furniture and bedroom suites – they were being knocked down and by that I mean the building, as well as the prices!
The Reporter had revealed in January that the council would soon be implementing the first phase of its 15-year plan to redevelop the town centre.
St Mary Street used to run down the side of the Parish Church from Church Street to Foundry Street.
As a result of the redevelopment, all the properties in St Mary Street were being demolished so that Chalon Way East and St Mary's Market could be created.
Hence Bensons advert in the Reporter that began:
"They are knocking us down! Our famous furniture and bed warehouse is being demolished. Everything must go regardless of cost."
They had double beds from £19 19s and were offering extra discount for cash and carry – otherwise the store would deliver goods for free.
Bensons was situated at the top of St Mary Street, by the Post Office and opposite Woolworths.
It would not be long before the post office building would also come to grief, courtesy of the bulldozers, and the GPO staff would then relocate to Bridge Street.
East Sutton Labour Club had a bit of a coup on the 18th – although they would not have known it at the time.
Marti Caine was performing in Ellen Street, five years before beating Lenny Henry and Victoria Wood to win the ITV talent show 'New Faces'.
The "fabulous comedian" had her stage name in the Reporter's ad misspelled as "Marty", something that happened to Lynne Shepherd – as she was born – quite a lot.
In fact Lynne's original choice of stage name had been "Marta Cane", but that was misspelled at an early gig and so she became Marti Caine.
Next week's stories will include the sex attacks in a dark Parr alley, the shopping binges at Tesco in Bridge Street, what drinkers in the Cuerdley Arms thought of the price of beer and Hurricane Higgins comes to Lowe House – and gets beaten!
We begin on the 14th with a meeting of the Rainford Highways Committee.
Members were told that several residents had recently been hurt after falling on footpaths.
Councillor Dennis Collins said the accidents included two women tripping on uneven kerbstones and although he had brought the matter up two months earlier, nothing had been done.
The committee members agreed that action should be taken.
St Helens Council's Housing Committee also met on the 14th and heard that rent arrears in the town had more than doubled since the seven-week Pilkington strike.
The committee agreed to recommend fortnightly instead of weekly rent collections, although Councillor John Potter attacked the scheme, saying it would lead to more arrears.
However by eight votes to three it was decided to proceed with fortnightly collections, although a trial would take place first.
Women in particular were upset about a lack of privacy from open-plan lawns and were calling for a fence to be erected. One of the female organisers said:
"We are on view all the time in the living room at the front. People take short cuts across the lawn, and they're almost in the room with us. They walk right past the window and look straight in."
A similar petition from residents on Cherry Tree Drive in Parr had been turned down earlier in the year but now councillors said they would look to see what could be done.
However whatever the council did, not everybody would be happy.
A smaller group on the Carnegie Crescent estate had signed a letter calling for the open-plan gardens to remain.
Patricia Fairhurst said: "We like these green areas just as they are. We don't want to look out and see a fence around them."
St Helens Juvenile Panel heard on the 15th how a local boy had run away from home after rowing with his father.
The 15-year-old stole a van from a garage in St Helens where he'd previously worked and when it got low on petrol, he emptied bottles of whisky into the tank.
After discovering that motor vehicles don't run particularly well on whisky, the lad took two other vehicles, as he journeyed to Lytham, Lancaster and Blackpool and then back to St Helens, where he spent the night in Crank Caverns. He was put on probation.
On the 16th St Helens magistrates ordered a 23-year-old woman to stay at a convent for 12 months after stealing from a family that had taken her in.
The woman had stolen a handbag and shoes from the house in Perth Avenue, Thatto Heath, but her solicitor told the Bench that his client was a "pathetic case".
He said the only security she'd had in the past was at a convent under the supervision of a probation officer and so the magistrates elected to send her back.
Silcocks annual pleasure fair began on the 17th for two weeks on the "usual land next to the fire station" in Parr Stocks Road.
St Helens folk could also visit the ABC Savoy in Bridge Street to watch 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' which was shown throughout the week.
Elderly Clock Face couple Alfred and Mary Miller were featured in the St Helens Reporter on the 18th.
Six months earlier the council had asked the pair for permission to lay water pipes through their back garden to a new housing estate.
Alfred and Mary expected some disruption and were happy to get rid of their hens to allow the workmen sufficient space to do the job.
However the couple didn't bargain for what happened!
When the men moved onto their semi-detached council house in Clock Face Road, they tore down their fencing, an apple tree and a garage – including a 6-foot double gate that led to the garage – and burned the lot!
They also ripped up Alfred and Mary's paved drive and a giant earth-digger then turned up and churned up their vegetable plot and stacked much of it against the couple's car.
"It [the car] was my pride and joy", said 82-year-old Alfred, "and it was ruined. We sold it for another. But now I've got no garage to put it in."
The workmen promised that the pipe-laying in a 12-foot deep trench in the couple's back garden would be finished in a fortnight – but it took six weeks.
The Millers were also assured that everything would be repaired after the work had been completed.
But all that had happened in six months was that some top soil had been put down – and that only happened a week ago.
The Borough Engineer, George James, told the Reporter that the garage delay was caused by the builders changing agents but said the work would begin within 10 days.
The paper also described a petition that women in Oxford Street had sent to the council, which complained about a "trail of havoc left by stag-night revellers" attending the Plaza Theatre Club's striptease nights.
They were sold as stag nights, featuring a top comic and up to ten "exotic dancers".
The residents didn't seem to care too much about what went on inside the club.
But when they left the premises, the men were accused of banging on doors, jumping on the tops of vehicles and shouting and swearing. Lily Traverse told the Reporter:
"Thursday is the worst night when it is men only night at the club. The noise in the early hours of the morning is terrible. They are up to all sorts of tricks. I have seen them jumping on top of cars. It is really terrifying some nights".
Another unhappy Oxford Street resident was Mary White, who said:
"You have never seen anything like it. More often than not there is a free for all outside and the language is shocking. It is so bad children have to sleep in the back bedrooms so that they cannot hear it. It is really scaring at times. Some nights the street is littered with police cars and ambulances after trouble has broken out."
Alf Wood was the owner of the Plaza and he said they appealed every night to their patrons to leave the club quietly.
He believed that many troublemakers had not actually been in his club but said they were going to hire security guards to deal with any future problems.
Alan Whalley was angry with the graffiti merchants that were emblazoning their slogans all round the town. The much-missed local journo wrote in the Reporter:
"Slap-happy St. Helens is daubing its name into the idiot's record books. No place this side of Ulster has as many crudely splashed wall slogans as this ancient borough. No brickwork – whether it be at tumbledown Gerards Bridge or in the upper crust zones – is safe from the paint brush."
The Reporter also wrote that police were hunting a "killer dog" that was on the loose in St Helens and which had been "trained to kill".
It all sounded quite scary but in reality it was simply a greyhound that John Trainer from Fiddler Street in Toll Bar had just bought.
The dog was enjoying its first walk in St Helens when it became frightened by the traffic in Cairo Street and slipped its lead.
Mr Trainer was concerned that the animal might start killing poultry when it became hungry.
Bensons of St Mary Street had a good reason for advertising a sale of their 3-piece suites, dining furniture and bedroom suites – they were being knocked down and by that I mean the building, as well as the prices!
The Reporter had revealed in January that the council would soon be implementing the first phase of its 15-year plan to redevelop the town centre.
St Mary Street used to run down the side of the Parish Church from Church Street to Foundry Street.
As a result of the redevelopment, all the properties in St Mary Street were being demolished so that Chalon Way East and St Mary's Market could be created.
Hence Bensons advert in the Reporter that began:
"They are knocking us down! Our famous furniture and bed warehouse is being demolished. Everything must go regardless of cost."
They had double beds from £19 19s and were offering extra discount for cash and carry – otherwise the store would deliver goods for free.
Bensons was situated at the top of St Mary Street, by the Post Office and opposite Woolworths.
It would not be long before the post office building would also come to grief, courtesy of the bulldozers, and the GPO staff would then relocate to Bridge Street.
East Sutton Labour Club had a bit of a coup on the 18th – although they would not have known it at the time.
Marti Caine was performing in Ellen Street, five years before beating Lenny Henry and Victoria Wood to win the ITV talent show 'New Faces'.
The "fabulous comedian" had her stage name in the Reporter's ad misspelled as "Marty", something that happened to Lynne Shepherd – as she was born – quite a lot.
In fact Lynne's original choice of stage name had been "Marta Cane", but that was misspelled at an early gig and so she became Marti Caine.
Next week's stories will include the sex attacks in a dark Parr alley, the shopping binges at Tesco in Bridge Street, what drinkers in the Cuerdley Arms thought of the price of beer and Hurricane Higgins comes to Lowe House – and gets beaten!