Blackpool nostalgia in 1980: Fishermen abandon ship, victory for The Grand and canoeing in the rain

Fishermen abandon ship after vessel leak

Three Fleetwood fishermen cheated death when they abandoned ship off the Cumbrian coast.

And three lifeboatmen who joined in a rescue attempt almost lost their lives when their inshore craft overturned in heavy seas.

The drama started two hours after the 45ft inshore fishing boat Jade left Whitehaven on passage to Fleetwood.

On board were 29-year-old Billy Pratt of Addison Road and the skipper William Ball, aged 59, of Warren Street.

With them was 43-year-old William Wheeldon, of Orchard Drive, who was not a regular crew member although he was a fisherman.

“I just came along for the ride, and what a ride!” he said.

The Jade sprang a leak in the stern.

Billy Pratt said: “The pumps couldn’t cope. The engine packed in and we started drifting in to the shore.”

He broadcast a Mayday distress call on the radio and fired flares.

There was a sizeable sea running and the wind was about force five.

They launched an inflatable life raft and managed to paddle ashore, soaking wet.

Vicar warns over ‘sinister’ Moonies

The Vicar of Cleveleys rev Frank Morgan, attacked the controversial Moonies religious sect as ‘sinister and dangerous’.

Members of the religious group, which had been accused of brainwashing young people and splitting families, had been active on the Fylde, selling their magazines and encouraging young people to attend weekend seminars on their religion, he said. “We should not regard the Moonies as a bit of a joke but take steps to counter their pernicious doctrines.”

Rainfall turns Hardhorn into canal

Residents of Hardhorn Road, Poulton, found themselves marooned in their own homes as flood water rose to almost a foot in an afternoon of torrential rain.

The road turned into a canal with many cars having to find other ways of getting to Poulton town centre to avoid the deep water.

Resident Jennifer Rogers said the road and nearby gardens flooded about six times a year and blamed it on inadequate drainage.

“The County Council have been promising new drains for years but nothing ever gets done.

“I don’t think there have been any new drains built since 1910 and Poulton has developed considerably since then.” To prove their point, one resident, Jessie Sutton, paddled in her daughter’s canoe.

A Grand dream by beautiful people

“Today saw one of the most amazing things to happen in Blackpool since the tower was built.”

And to prove it was no idle claim, speaker Burt Briggs led Violet Carson and representatives from the Friends of The Grand Theatre and The Grand Theatre Trust through the front doors of the beautiful town centre venue. After an eight-year struggle to reopen the theatre, the trust took possession of The Grand in a simple but emotional ceremony of which Miss Carson was the guest of honour.

“While in the early days lots of people thought we were just lots of clots, one person came forward who believed in us and lent us her name - that was Violet Carson - said trust director Mr Briggs. He added that since the last war, 20 entertainment venues had been demolished or converted and ‘if there’s no entertainment in Blackpool, there will be no Blackpool.’

Miss Carson said that the reopening of The Grand was ‘a dream I have had for a long time’.

She said: “It’s a beautiful theatre, it was a beautiful ambition from beautiful people with beautiful result.”