Thousands has been spent to repair damage caused by vandals and clear up fly-tipped waste dumped on the tracks of one of the region’s most iconic rail routes.
East Lancashire Railway has warned that preparations for the reopening of the popular tourist attraction next month are sadly being hampered by continuing instances of fly-tipping and vandalism along the track, with the company revealing it has had to run regular clean up patrols over the past few weeks.
Volunteers have removed extensive amounts of rubbish dumped along the heritage railway’s twelve miles of tracks that stretch from Heywood in Greater Manchester to Rawtenstall in Lancashire.
The patrols have already collected six wagon loads of rubbish, which have included items as large as sofas and dining chairs.
The clean up patrol missions have unfortunately also had the knock-on effect of preventing the East Lancashire Railway’s army of dedicated volunteers from focusing on their main priority of preparing the railway for its planned reopening on 1st May.
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“It’s really frustrating to see rubbish casually dumped on the railway like this,” said Mike Kelly, Chairman of the East Lancashire Railway.
“The upsurge in anti-social behaviour has put further strain on our already fragile finances, as we have been forced to collect and remove all this waste we have to run special services and hire skips, which costs the railway several thousands of pounds we cannot afford to spend”.
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East Lancashire Railway
He continued: “As well as the litter, we’ve also suffered extensive vandalism to fences from the individuals who have been using the railway tracks as a dumping ground during lockdown”.
That’s not all either, as with safety trains running during the latest lockdown to maintain the line and prepare for reopening, East Lancashire Railway has also crucially warned that anyone trespassing on the railway is putting themselves in danger too.
“I would like to call on the help of the public,” Mike added.
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“And I would ask people to be vigilant and report any instances of trespass they may witness [as] stamping out on anti-social behaviour on the railway will help to keep the public safe and allow us all to focus on our top priority – the re-opening of an attraction that brings joy to so many”.
He also thanked the “fantastic volunteers” who are working to get the railway ready.
The ELR is back! 🚂🚆😊
Standard services will be running from 1st May onwards and Dining Services from 21st May. Pubs and the café will also be opening soon! Find out more here: https://t.co/LxIt6YTd8R
— East Lancashire Railway (@eastlancsrly) March 5, 2021
Since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the heritage railway has been fighting for its survival as it has been deprived of vital visitor income for the majority of the past twelve months.
It has only been kept afloat only through its extensive fundraising efforts, loans and grants.
The railway is scheduled to reopen to the public with a number of COVID safety measures in place from 1st May 1st, alongside welcoming visitors to the two station pubs, and the Trackside at Bury and Buffer Stops at Rawtenstall, which will open on the 12th April for outside service.
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To support the railway as it prepares to reopen, you can donate to the East Lancashire Railway Support Fund, or grab yourself an advance booking ticket for a journey from 1st May.
You can also purchase gift vouchers and book tickets online here.
Featured Image – East Lancashire Railway
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Manchester’s Club de Padel claps back at ’embarrassing’ copycat ASOS product
Daisy Jackson
A local Manchester business has sarcastically pointed out the glaring similarities between a new t-shirt on ASOS and one of its own designs.
Club de Padel has a range of retro-inspired merch with UN:IK, a small independent streetwear brand also based here in Manchester.
Its collection of t-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, hats and bags often feature a design of an illustrated padel ball (which to the untrained eye is basically a tennis ball) in motion.
But this week a t-shirt appeared on ASOS that also featured an illustrated padel ball in motion, just in a slightly different colour palette.
The ASOS version, which has now been removed from sale, also undercut Club de Padel’s price by £6.
Since Club de Padel took the ’embarrassing’ copycat product public on their Instagram page, ASOS has launched an investigation and taken it off their website.
The sports venture, based at Deansgate Square and the only padel club in Manchester, wrote: “Love the new designs ASOS, kinda reminds us of something though…
The ASOS t-shirt that Club de Padel has said copies their merch. Credit: ASOSClub de Padel’s t-shirt created by Manchester brand UN:IK. Credit: Club de Padel
“Ah. Well that’s embarrassing… We’ve got a new line coming soon with UN:IK Clothing you’re just gonna love ASOS.
“In the meantime we made this for you @asos, save your design team a job.”
An ASOS spokesperson said: “We take intellectual property issues very seriously and have removed this product from sale while we investigate further.”
Of the Club de Padel and UN:IK collaboration, aka the real deal, UN:IK says it has ‘served up a staple for us, retro inspired leisure pieces with Manchester’s first ever padel club’.
Club de Padel in Manchester has gone public to poke fun at ASOS
They wrote: “Inspired by owners after a trip to Spain, Club de Padel has hit the city with a wave and the lifestyle brand we have created with them reinforces the fastest growing sport across Europe.
“Our classic vintage washes and oversized fits, working with independent designs as always on this local independent partnership. Don’t be afraid to the sport, we’ll guarantee you love it as much as these clothes.”
Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s ‘favourite’ brand of teabags, according to new data
Danny Jones
The Great British debate of which teabag is best is one that will rage on for millennia, that’s just the way it is, but according to new data, it sounds like we might at least have an answer to which brand makes for Manchester’s favourite brew.
It won’t be a surprise to many of you and we can certainly confirm it on our end but the one and only Yorkshire Tea looks to have taken the cuppa crown when it comes not only to Manchester’s preferred teabag but seemingly the best-loved in Britain as a whole.
This is according to numbers pulled by local firm, TonerGiant. The Atherton-based ink and toner suppliers decided a poll around the office wasn’t enough and instead chose to turn their knowledge of the market and consumer trends into a bit of online research.
At the end of the day, tea has got to be the most important of all office supplies, surely?
According to the stats, Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s favourite brand of tea bags. (Credit: Yorkshire Tea)
Using data from trusted online source Statista, which nailed down the top 25 teabag brands in the UK, each make was then ranked in relation to its average monthly searches via Google Keyword Planner to reveal that Yorkshire Tea was clearly the top dog.
With roughly 390 searches per month in Manchester alone, compared to PG Tips as the next best (260), it seems us Mancs have to concede at least one thing to our fellow Northern county: Yorkshire makes a bloody good brew.
The Roses rivalry raged for centuries but if there’s one thing that brings us together, it’s a good cuppa.
In terms of other tea brands that came in high on the leaderboard, Pukka Tea (170), Twinings (140)and Teapigs (90) made up the rest of the top five most-searched tea brands in Greater Manchester. It’s also interesting to see how those figures looked when extrapolated nationwide. Here’s the full ranking:
Rank
Tea
Average UK monthly searches
1
Yorkshire Tea
27,100
2
PG Tips
18,100
3
Pukka Tea
14,800
4
Twinings
12,100
5
Teapigs
8,100
6
Whittards Tea
6,600
7
Tetley
4,400
8
Clipper Tea
4,400
9
Lipton Tea
3,600
10
Barrys Tea
3,600
11
Thompsons Tea
1,300
12
Typhoo
1,300
13
Taylors Tea
1,300
14
M&S Tea
1,300
15
Tesco Tea
1,000
16
Tick Tock Tea
880
17
Sainsbury’s Tea
720
18
Lyons Tea
720
19
Asda Tea
590
20
Aldi Tea
590
21
Waitrose Tea
590
22
Lidl Tea
480
23
Morrisons Tea
320
24
Bewleys Tea
90
25
Cafedirect Tea
40
Few of these on here we’ve never heard of. Taste test, anyone?
While Yorkshire Tea was found to be Manchester’s and the nation’s favourite, Belfast was the only UK city where Yorkshire Tea didn’t take the top spot. Instead, it was Irish-owned Barry’s Tea that came out as their favourite – we definitely need to hold a ‘brew-off’ between the two. The Hoot, you up for it?
As for supermarket’s own-brand offerings, out of the eight options on the list, Marks and Spencer’s teabags were found to be the most popular, closely followed by Tesco and then Sainsbury’s.
Commenting on the findings, TonerGiant’s Stuart Deavall said: “With so many office workers opting for tea to get through the day, it’s no surprise that the UK has a day dedicated to the drink.
“In light of National Tea Day on Sunday, 21 April, our new data shows that Yorkshire Tea is the nation’s favourite, with over 27,000 Brits searching every month… We can expect many Brits to be celebrating in style this Sunday, no doubt with a mug of Yorkshire tea in hand”. Speaking of, anyone fancy a brew?…
Emily Sergeant -
7th April 2021 
