A LONG awaited police forum takes place in a vandal-hit village on Friday.

The meeting with concerned Culcheth residents will be in the Parish Hall at 7.30pm.

It comes as a result of protests about the lack of patrols in the area by the Parish Council and Newchurch WI who earlier in the year wrote to the Cheshire Police Authority calling for higher profile policing.

Representatives of the women's group, who claimed people were afraid to leave their homes, will be at the meeting along with parish councillors who organised the event.

The WI has also answered a Parish Council call to write to Scottish and Newcastle Retail Ltd about the run down state of the village centre pub, the Harrow Inn.

A spokeswoman for the group said: "The pub looks very scruffy. There is a big hole in the car park and the paint is all flaking off.

"There has been some cleaning up but it not a setting a good example in the middle of the village. All the other pubs are really nice but the Harrow doesn't seem to be bothered."

Newchurch WI members have busy needles knitting another 12 jumpers for Jacob's Well.

Yesterday they took their monthly walk around Worthington Lake and on September 20 they will have a joint coffee morning with Culcheth WI.

The speaker Mrs S Bull who gave an illustrated talk on "Aspects of Nepal" was accompanied by two Nepalese visitors.

The competition for a piece of opriental fabric was won by Mrs J Greig with D Holden and K Manning second and third.

The next meeting is in Newchurch Parish Hall on September 11 at 7.30pm.