News in Heswall

Heswall's Mike Dean, one of our best known top-flight referees, placed himself in the football spotlight on Saturday evening with a decision which got football fans talking over the weekend.

Mike showed his red card to West Ham's forward, Tomas Soucek, towards the very end of a pretty tedious nil nil draw, enlivened only by the sending off and the reaction it provoked.

Today Merseyside Police has made another appeal to find the mum of a baby boy whose body was found on Brackenwood golf course in Bebington.

Exactly a week ago today, on Friday 29th January, at around 4.25pm, two dog walkers came across the body of the full-term baby boy in a wooded area at the side of a footpath close to the 16th green of the golf course.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Wirral's hospitals has fallen again, but many remain on ventilators.

In the week up to February 2, 211 people were in the borough's hospitals with coronavirus, down from 265 seven days earlier.

For the time being, our brown garden waste bin collections will be continuing to operate a four-weekly collection due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19 on the bin crew staff.

Biffa, Wirral's waste collection contractor, does not have enough people to restart the brown bin collections on a fortnightly basis as usual because staff levels continue to be too low due to those who are shielding or have confirmed or suspected symptoms.

THE BBC has reported local elections in May are set to go ahead despite concerns they might spike another surge in Covid-19.

It had widely been predicted that elections would be delayed until October, particularly after a survey last month of senior local government officers showed the vast majority had serious concerns.

The only female leader in the Liverpool City Region came off social media last year due to the amount of abuse she was receiving.

Cllr Janette Williamson, the Labour leader of Wirral Council, said she has had abusive voicemails, emails and social media messages since taking on the role last September.

A networking group with a schedule of meetings including those which, in normal times, are held at the Devon Doorway pub, is joining forces with another established group with the aim of providing the best networking opportunities for North West business.

JK Business Club is joining Networx4Business and will be re-branded Networx CH1, indicating that when face to face events come back the meeting will take place in Chester City Centre.

One ward in the Birkenhead area has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in Wirral.

In the week up to January 29, Claughton had 66 cases at a rate of 457 per 100,000, with Birkenhead and Tranmere (71 cases at 425 per 100,000) and Upton (71 cases at 421 per 100,000) following closely behind.

A 17-year-old boy from Neston has been charged with burglary and arson offences.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in the Brook Street area of Neston at around 4.45am on Sunday.

Andrew Collinge, twice British Hairdresser of the Year, and owner of salons in Liverpool, the Trafford Centre and Heswall, is asking politicians to get behind a drive to Save Our Salons.

The hairdressing sector has been hit hard by the pandemic and normally employs more than a quarter of a million people.