MARIE Rimmer is never a woman to mince her words. Now she is firing off a warning to the national media ... "leave our town alone".

Marie's blunt message comes after a concerted campaign on TV and in the national press depicting St Helens as a northern hellhole populated by an uncouth jobless rabble.

The council Leader is outraged at the potential damage to the town's image in the eyes of would-be investors who may be put off coming to this area because of the poisonous portrait painted of our community. She also views the distorted depiction of this area as a gross insult to all those people who have worked so hard to make life better for all people in the borough.

In the weeks leading up to the election, TV and press camped out in St Helens delighting in drawing the contrasts between the alleged millionaire lifestyle of St Helens South's new MP Shaun Woodward and his constituents. Many Star readers called in and wrote to complain about the onslaught on our reputation.

TV impressionist Rory Bremner kept up the attack on St Helens in his show on Channel 4, when in a sketch on Shaun Woodward and his wife Camilla, St Helens was described as a 'sh**hole' as part of a parody with the couple lampooned as two characters from an early Coronation Street style setting.

Now Marie feels enough is enough before the reputation of St Helens is terminally damaged in the eyes of the nation and becomes a laughing stock.

The local authority has led the way on the regeneration of the borough... improving the appearance of the town, spearheading an inclusive programme of education, driving environmental projects, achieving strategic transport links and drawing in major investors.

Perhaps even more importantly Marie is keen to push forward a programme of social regeneration which aims to raise the standard of life for all our citizens with a number of radical approaches including, lifelong learning, crackdowns on neighbourhood crime and a revolutionary approach to health care which will bring a better lifestyle for townsfolk.

All these are being pioneered in special partnerships with relevant bodies including the health authority, hospitals, police and St Helens Chamber.

Marie told the Star: "What has happened is a disgrace. I am so very proud of the people of St Helens and what they have achieved in recent years.

"Yes the town did have major problems with the loss of so many traditional manufacturing jobs. But by kickstarting a powerful programme of regeneration we have already achieved stupendous results for the borough."

"Look at our success in education. This borough is in the top 10 % in the country; with results of five to seven year olds above national average and GCSE results also beating the national average.

"On the economic front the town has won a massive £73 million regeneration package helping to provide work for 5,000 people in the borough.

"We're a town of 'firsts' and the council has also played a pivotal role in getting our brilliant new Millennium Centre off the ground as a one stop site for health, social services and the voluntary sector... the first of its kind in the country. Work is now well on with the building on the site of the old Rivoli cinema.

"Spend a night in the town centre and you'll appreciate how much it's changed for the better over the last couple of years. People can go to the pictures again and then enjoy a meal or a drink at some of our superb new cafes and wines bars which are bubbling up everywhere. There is a real buzz... we are so proud of Haydock Park Racecourse, the World of Glass and the award winning Citadel Arts theatre. All these are giving us a major positive profile at national level.

"And then of course there's Saints... what more can you say about the lads' magnificent achievements including winning the world club championship and then hammering Bradford in the Cup Final a few weeks ago.

"There is so much here for all St Helens people to be really proud of and I am outraged by the treatment we have been getting in recent weeks. I urge national press and TV to stop misrepresenting us in this way, before all our hard work is permanently clouded by this mischevious and totally undeserved propaganda."