Criminal Prosecutions

 Susan Jean Powell of Windsor Road, Denton was given a 12 month conditional discharge with £150 costs by Tameside Magistrates in July after admitting selling alcohol to an under 18 year old.
 Mohammed Irfan from Blackburn was given a £200 fine with £50 costs by Tameside Magistrates in July after admitting selling alcohol to an under 18 year old.
 Arfan Ali Abbas from Stockport was given a £500 fine with £400 costs by Tameside Magistrates in July after being found guilty of alcohol being sold to an under 18 year old.
 Guilliam Abbas from the same address as immediately above was also fined £500 costs with £400 costs at the same time for the same offence.
 Iqbal Patel from Bolton was fined £400 with £400 costs by Tameside Magistrates in June for selling counterfeit cigarettes.
 Kantubhai Patel was fined £100 with £50 costs by Tameside Magistrates in July for selling cigarettes to an under 16 year old.
 Michael Mark White from Broadbent Avenue, Dukinfield was fined £75 with £50 costs by Tameside Magistrates after being found guilty for dropping a sandwich wrapper on the floor.
 Stephen Hellawell from Grosvenor House, Parr Street, Ashton was given a 12 month conditional discharge with £250 costs by Tameside Magistrates in August after admitting dumping rubbish illegally.
 Stoneacre (car showroom) from Market Street, Hyde, was fined £6,500 with £1,372 costs by Tameside Magistrates in August after being found guilty of selling a car they had falsely described.

Trading Standards Quad Bike Alert

Trading Standards officers at Tameside Council are working with their partners, Community Safety and Greater Manchester Police, as they try to identify the sellers of a quad motorbike, which was involved in road accident. A teenager suffered serious injuries in the accident in Stalybridge.

Trading Standards officers have been actively seizing quad bikes and mini motorbikes imported from China which have been found to be unsafe and dangerous.

The quad bikes tested on behalf of the council were found to have poorly welded frames, are unstable and have inadequate braking mechanisms. The drive chains and sprockets are unguarded and there are trapping hazards and insecure seats. Also the fuel tanks, petrol pipes and exhausts are a fire risk and there are no speed limiters or cut off switches to use in the event of an emergency. These bikes are dangerous and should not be used under any circumstances.

Tameside Council has banned the sale of cheap quad bikes and mini motorbikes imported from China. The importing or supply of such bikes is illegal and could result in a custodial sentence for anyone who flouts the law.

Importers of bikes from outside the EU have to produce technical files to demonstrate that the bikes are safe and to date no such files have been produced locally to Trading Standards.

There are quad bikes and mini motor bikes which have been manufactured within the EU, or for the European market, by reputable known manufacturers which comply with strict safety legislation but these are generally sold for much higher prices and can only be used at approved off-road sites and under tight supervision.

Trading Standards are urging the public not to purchase cheap quad bikes and mini motorbikes and to contact them for further advice if they already have such bikes in their possession.

The use of these bikes is illegal in most circumstances and the police are the main enforcing agency and are extremely vigilant and proactive in this area of work.

No ID, no sale

A greater number of off licences and supermarkets in Tameside are refusing to sell alcohol to under 18's, thanks to the work of the trading standards team.

Over the past two years, officers have visited every licensed premises in the borough handing out educational material and giving advice regarding underage sales.

Counter mats have been given out and the shops have been encouraged to adopt the Challenge 21 principle - ask people for photo identification rather than asking their age. In other words, no identification, no sale.

Test purchase operations and surveillance was carried out resulting in prosecutions and most recently, revocations of premises' licences where sales of alcohol have been made. In addition, Community Diaries were used, where residents could inform the council of anti social behaviour in their area.

The team were able to target their efforts and track performance from a survey targeted at 14-17 year old students in the Tameside area.

The survey was first carried out in 2005 which showed that 81 per cent of 15-16 year olds were purchasing alcohol from off licences, 63 per cent from pubs and clubs and 28 per cent from supermarkets. The results in 2007 show a significant change as 52 per cent of 15-16 year olds now buy from off licences, (a decrease of 29 per cent), 73 per cent now buy from pubs and clubs (an increase of 10 per cent) and 13 per cent from supermarkets (a decrease of 15 per cent).

Alarmingly, there is an increase in adults buying alcohol for youngsters under 18, this currently carries a fine of up to £5000 if found guilty.

The results show that the message is getting across but that there is still more work to be done in the area of underage sales.

Cooking up a treat

Preparations are well under way for Tameside's Food and Drink Festival.

The popular event has become an annual feature in the Tameside calendar and this year runs from October 5 -12.

There are 11 different award categories including the highly contested "Restaurant of the Year", "Best Tea Room" and "Welcome All Award".

The awards' evening takes place on Monday October 8 at Dukinfield Town Hall. Local schools, with the help of Tameside in Bloom, have been growing the vegetables for the guests, as the theme of the festival is healthy eating and reducing food miles.

Keep an eye on the council website and local press over the next few weeks. The full list of categories is:

• Restaurant of the Year
• Pub restaurant of the Year
• Pub of the Year
• Bar of the Year
• Best use of Regional Produce (shop)
• Best use of Regional Produce (restaurant)
• Welcome All Award
• Best Coffee Shop
• Best Tea Room
• Best School ‘Grow Your Own'
• Food and Drink Team of the Year

High five for our museums and galleries!

All five of Tameside's main museums and attractions have been awarded accreditation by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. This means Portland Basin Museum, Central Art Gallery, The Museum of the Manchester Regiment, Setantii and the Astley Cheetham Art Gallery in Stalybridge all passed the standards set by the Accreditation Scheme. The new scheme is much more challenging than the previous standard of ‘Registration' and is intended to raise the standards of museums across the country.

Because people expect more from museums today the scheme was developed by the Museums, Libraries and Archive Council to keep pace with those expectations. To gain accreditation all five sites had to prove that they cared for the needs and interests of those who use museums and to demonstrate and excellent level of collections care.

Emma Varnam, Museum manager said: "Gaining Accreditation for all five of our museum sites has been the culmination of six months hard work for all staff. It demonstrates a commitment to our visitors and requires staff from across the service to focus on quality and customer service. We are thrilled that the service has been recognised for its standards, innovation and improvement. It is a fantastic achievement that all five sites passed the high standards set."

Sports stars of the future

Budding young sports stars have been put through their paces over the holidays to nurture their talent.

Tameside Sports Development has been behind two special summer schools as part of the council's talent identification and development strategy – designed to support children who show potential excellence in PE and sport.

Secondary schools nominated their two most sports gifted pupils for a talent camp held at Hyde Technology School in July. The youngsters took part in a number of activities and interactive sessions to help their sporting performance. They also received advice on nutrition, fitness, motor skills, skill development, use of modern technology and team/character building.

The national governing bodies for rowing and cycling, as well as the Navy, attended the camp to carry out a talent spotting session.

Primary school pupils, who have been spotted as having exceptional talent, took part in ten half-day coaching sessions at Astley Sports College. A variety of activities, including rugby, hockey, badminton, athletics, gymnastics, judo, basketball, tennis and football, were delivered by specialist coaches to challenge the children's all round abilities.

Project head for sport Cllr David Sweeton said: "We have an ambitious vision for the development of sport and physical activity in Tameside and part of this is about identifying and developing exceptional talent among our young people.

"Hopefully these camps helped to encourage and guide the young people to new challenging opportunities in their chosen sports as well as help them develop an understanding of the personal qualities needed to become successful sports players."

Over the October half term holiday Tameside Sports Development are running a number of sport activity courses for children aged 7 - 13 years of age.

The Multi sports camps are aimed at young people wishing to try a variety of sports over the course of a week. All sports courses are led by fully qualified staff and are all CRB checked

All equipment is provided. All courses must be booked in advanced. For more information please call Tameside Sports Development Unit on 0161 609 1277.