BIN PUNISHED: Refuse men had been reprimanded for leaving dustbins without lids for long periods of time. The move followed complaints from residents in the Lowercroft area. Residents claimed that the open bins were attracting vermin and were a potential health hazard.

EMPTY HANDED: Mrs Anne Hay foiled the attempts of a masked man to steal money from a Bury garage where she worked. The 45-year-old started screaming and fled to her nearby home in Rochdale Road for help when the raider tried to grab the till from the counter. When she returned with her husband Roy and their 19-year-old son John, the robber had disappeared, empty handed.

LEFT REELING: Bury headmistress Mr J. Evans from Hoyle Nursery School in Chesham Fold Road was fuming after years of painstaking work was ruined by vandals who had forced their way into her office, ransacked the place and destroyed hundreds of yards of irreplacable magnetic recording tape. She had spent six years making the recordings which was used as aids in teaching projects with the three-to-five year old pupils.

GAMBIT GAMBLERS: Jon and Sheila Riley of Heaton Drive, Hollins, recently took part in Anglia Television's networked quiz show "Gambit" hosted by Fred Dinenage. They were introduced to viewers as: "Jon, a GPO engineer is a football fan, a model railway enthusiast and he also enjoys camping. Sheila likes camping and knitting. They have two children."