We recently received an email from Councillor David Clifft about a new ‘job club’ that has been launched in Essington.

The club is held every Friday at Essington Community Centre on Hobnock Road, between 10am and 1pm – entry is free and open to anyone looking for work.

You can also find advice and links to vacancies on the Facebook page that Cllr Clifft has set up here.

For information please contact Councillor Clifft on 07930 394 399 or email cllrclifft@yahoo.com.

Rising energy prices are something we all have to put up with, but help is at hand this week!

Wolverhampton Citizens Advice Bureau will give practical advice throughout Big Energy Week (16-21 January 2012) to help people cut their fuel bills and get all the financial support they are entitled to.

An exhibition stand with advice from Wolverhampton Homes and Age-UK will be held on Friday 20th January in the Wulfrun Shopping Centre.

£59 insulation offer

Council staff will be on hand to provide information about grants and support available, including a £59 offer for cavity wall and loft insulation for all households and Black Country Care & Repair will be promoting their free home energy visits.

Each householder will be given recommendations on how to make their home more energy efficient together with an energy saving pack.

If you’re looking to save money on fuel bills, why not visit the exhibition stand and pick up a leaflet with tips and advice or visit www.bigenergyweek.org.uk for more info.

Photo: Steven Depolo

Last year as it got colder some of our readers over on our Facebook page shared their best tips on beating the cold weather with us. One particularly helpful contributor Rob left us some great winter motoring advice, so this year we’ve asked him to put some of his best ideas together and here they are:

Winter Motoring Tips by Rob Williams

• Do not leave your car with keys in the ignition! Drivers tend to do this whilst the heater on is defrosting windows! They are in the house having a coffee etc. Come back outside… No car!
• In cold icy weather the battery takes a belting! Give it a charge up and put some Vaseline round the terminals – this helps prevent corrosion!
• Do not use hot water to melt your frozen windscreen it could crack the glass. Use De-Icer, or better still cover your windscreen the night before with a plastic sheet! P.S Remove Before Driving Away! ;-)
• Check water/Antifreeze levels, Screen bottle topped up with water and appropriate measure of SCREEN ANTIFREEZE, not Car Antifreeze as this will damage your car’s paintwork!
• Make sure your car’s tyres inc. the spare are in good condition, with correct tyre pressure! – important for handling on icy roads.
• Check all your cars levels oil, fuel etc. Try and keep a sensible amount in your cars tank in case of unexpected delays! I personally do not like keeping a can in the boot! Fumes etc. Ugh!
• Check all lights and wiper blades, I’ve just purchased a pair of Aero Flat ones the bendy type, they’re  brilliant used to be expensive! Now £6.50 a pair from Ebay and free postage! They’re much better than normal ones!

—-

Thanks Rob!

For more cold weather motoring tips see the AA website or if you have any tips you could add to this list, leave us a comment!

]]> http://www.wv11.co.uk/2011/12/12/winter-motoring-tips-by-rob-williams/feed/ 0 http://www.wv11.co.uk/2011/11/11/fix-before-the-freeze-campaign/ http://www.wv11.co.uk/2011/11/11/fix-before-the-freeze-campaign/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000 James http://www.wv11.co.uk/?p=4885

You may already be aware of the website FixMyStreet.com, which helps you report common street problems – such as potholes and uneven pavements – to the relevant local council.

This year, the website is running a ‘Fix before the Freeze’ campaign to encourage the public to report problems in their neighbourhood that could become worse once the winter weather really sets in.

Many of the 1,000 issues which the site deals with every week are of the sort which are far better seen to before the big freeze. Potholes only worsen with the frost, and no-one wants a dodgy street light once the long dark nights are here.

How to join ‘Fix Before the Freeze’

• Check for problems Will your walk home from work tonight be in the dark? Look out for areas that could be better lit or paths that might cause people to stumble in the dark.
• Report it If you see something that is better fixed before the freeze, now’s the time to let the council know. It only take a minute at FixMyStreet.com.
• Spread the word You can share this post on Facebook,  Twitter or Google+  just use the buttons at the bottom of this post to spread the word among friends and family (you can use the #FB4TF hashtag).

To celebrate the Queens 60th year on the throne Woodend Community Association in partnership with Wolverhampton City Council are organising the planting of thousands of daffodil bulbs in the shape of a 60 that should bloom in time for the celebration. If you would like to take part in this celebration and volunteer to help plant the bulbs please attend:

The Back Field (at the back of Orchard, Woodend and Bellamy Road) on Wednesday 9th November 2011, between 10am and 12 noon.

Please contact Woodend Community Association for further details: c/o 98 Orchard Road, Wednesfield or tel 07538 807 622 / email woodendca@aol.com.

Next community meeting

The next Woodend Community Association meeting takes place on Tuesday 15th November, 2011 at the Braybrook Centre from 6:30pm. (school next to Bellamy Lane Field—entrance off Bellamy Lane)

Download the agenda for the upcoming meeting here.

Image, creative commons: Freefotouk

POLICE are advising Wolverhampton residents to be vigilant following two ‘bogus official’ burglaries yesterday in which pensioners were targeted by conmen claiming to be investigating a gas explosion.

Three men purporting to be gas board employees tricked their way into an 81-year-old woman’s home in Ecclestone Road, Ashmore Park, at around 7.20pm and managed to grab £400 in cash before fleeing.

The thieves said they needed to check the water supply as a gas explosion may have damaged the local sewerage system. One was said to have moustache and be wearing a black deerstalker hat and jacket.

And the same tactic was used around 30 minutes earlier by a man who talked his way into a property in Hampstead Close, Wednesfield.

On this occasion, though, the ‘bogus official’ left empty handed after coming face-to-face with the elderly resident’s carer in an upstairs bedroom.

West Midlands Police Chief Inspector Anthony Tagg, said: “Distraction burglars are particularly cowardly and prey on the most vulnerable members of society, often the elderly. Several hundred pounds was stolen from one lady last night…the burglars even shoved her against a wall when she became suspicious and challenged them.

“The tactic used on both occasions is almost identical so we’re looking into whether the incidents may be linked.

“Our message is always ‘if in doubt, keep them out’. If you have any concerns or suspicions call the police on 0345 113 5000 and in an emergency dial 999.”

There are several precautions residents can take to help protect them selves against distraction burglars:

•  Check to see who’s at the door by using a spy hole or look through a window.
•  Always put the chain on before you open the door. Door chains are available from most DIY stores for as little as £2.
•  Bogus callers sometimes work in pairs; beware of one distracting you while others steal property. Always make sure any rear or side access doors are locked before opening the front door to prevent anyone sneaking in.
•  If you don’t know the caller, ask to see their identity card. Check it carefully, and keep the chain on while you do this.
• Genuine callers won’t mind if you close the door while you check. You could also phone the company or organisation to verify they are genuine by using a number from the telephone directory and not a number given to you by the caller.
•  Utility companies operate password schemes whereby, if you register a password with them, any caller purporting to be from that company will give you that password if they need to enter your property.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Wolverhampton Police Acquisitive Crime Team at Bloxwich police station CID on 0345 113 5000 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Updated: 14:30am, 6th April

A Wednesfield man today remains in a critical condition in hospital following a serious assault which took place in the early hours of yesterday morning (Sunday 3 April).

The man, aged 34, was left lying unconscious in the street after being assaulted in Duke Street, near Pinfold Gardens at around 2am, his condition today remains life threatening. The man was found by a member of the public.

A second man – aged 37 and also from the local area – was found at the scene with minor injuries, he was taken to hospital where he was treated and discharged.

Police understand the pair had been dropped off at a local pub by a taxi, detectives are appealing for any taxi company who delivered a fare in the Duke Street area at around the time to contact police.

Enquiries to date suggest that there was a group of five people in the street some of whom attacked the men. It is believed that two white men and a black man assaulted the victims and two white women were part of the group although it is not thought they were part of the assault.

Detective Inspector Gordon Roberts, investigating the incident, said: “The victim has been subjected to a very nasty assault, there is evidence to suggest his attacker(s) continued to kick and punch him whilst he was lying prone on the floor.

“We’d like to speak to any witnesses or indeed anyone who was out in that part of Wednesfield in the early hours of the morning as they could hold clues to help get to the bottom of this attack.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Bloxwich Force CID on 0345 113 5000 (ext: 7889 6052 or 6053).

Source: West Midlands Police
Photo: Beacon Radio

UPDATE

A WEDNESFIELD man today has regained consciousness and is communicating with detectives following a serious assault which took place in the early hours of Sunday morning (3 April).

The man, aged 34, was left lying unconscious in the street after being assaulted in Duke Street, near Pinfold Gardens at around 2am. A second man – aged 37 and also from the local area – was found at the scene with minor injuries, he was taken to hospital where he was treated and discharged.

Police understand the pair had been dropped off at the Angel pub by a taxi; detectives are appealing for any taxi company who delivered a fare in the Duke Street area at around the time to contact police.

The two men left the pub at 12.45am and walked along the High Street to Lichfield Road and then into Duke Street. CCTV recovered from the vicinity shows a group of five people walking the same route. The group is made up of three men and two women and it is believed that some of the group attacked the victims.

Detective Inspector Bob Bradford, investigating the incident, said: “We are keen to trace and speak to the two women in the group of five who we know walked down Duke Street in the direction of Wednesfield Park following the assault.

“I would urge the women to come forward and anyone who was out in that part of Wednesfield in the early hours of the morning as they could hold clues to help get to the bottom of this attack.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact Bloxwich Force CID on 0345 113 5000 (ext: 7889 6052 or 6053).

There has been a post doing the rounds on Facebook and Twitter all day that there has been an abduction by someone in a white van with a red dragon on the side. Every time it gets reposted it states a different age, or number of children, or town, dependant on the person that is posting it. In our case we keep getting notified that it has happened in Wednesfield.

The story originated that in Crown Point, Denton, Manchester a 15 year old girl was abducted and seems to have spread from there. While I can not comment if there was as actual abduction in that area, I can summarise that through Chinese whispers it is now being posted on our Facebook wall that it happened in Wood End, Wednesfield  - this is not the case.

We understand the need to draw attention to these cases where they are true and we would offer the full services of our Facebook page and website as an information portal for any event such as this were it true, but in this instance it is not. We would implore you to verify your facts before posting anything of such an alarmist nature on our Facebook wall, or anywhere else on the internet.  We are neither helping ourselves by scaring local parents or helping out the Manchester police with their investigation, should the Manchester rumour turn out to be true.

Thank you.

This week Wolverhampton Homes will be running a Money Smart Week at their One Stop Shops across the city.

During this time, the Money Smart Team will be on hand all day to provide advice and help with tackling debt, managing bills, setting up direct debits and much more.

Do you need help with money matters? Want to give your finances a spring-clean?

If so call Homes Direct on 01902 556 789 for more information about the Wednesfield event which takes place on Thursday 17th February.

WRAP your rubbish! – that’s the plea from police to householders in Wolverhampton who are throwing out cardboard boxes before and after Christmas.

Many households across the region may be getting high value electrical goods like DVD players, games machines, mp3 players and widescreen TV sets.

Over Christmas many people will be throwing the packaging from these items out with their rubbish.

West Midlands Police are appealing to householders to break down and wrap up or recycle their cardboard boxes rather than leave them in plain view outside their houses where potential burglars can see what goods they have bought.

Other advice from police is to:

- Mark all new property with a UV marker making it easier for lost and stolen property to be returned should the worst happen. It is also a good idea to keep a record of where you marked the property and note down the serial number.

- Record all your new property on the national database, www.immobilise.com

Chief Inspector Jo Chilton said: “After Christmas you can often tell what your neighbours have received by looking at their rubbish, which means it is easy for a potential burglar to do the same.

“We are looking out for people acting suspiciously around homes but the public can help themselves by breaking down their boxes and wrapping them up in plastic bags or by taking them direct to a recycling centre.

“A burglar can take all of your enjoyment of Christmas away if you let them. Please don’t make it easy for them.”