THE gap in the street remains to this day, marking the wartime night when Mrs Tunstall, the local toffee-shop keeper, made the tragic mistake of seeking shelter with a neighbouring family.

A German bomb scored a direct hit on the house in Farnworth Street, Pocket Nook, killing the popular shopkeeper. And two others were also believed to have perished in the blast.

The event has been brought back to mind by a number of readers in picking up on our 'Bombs over St Helens' theme.

Beattie Hardman of Moss Bank, a teenager at the time, recalls: "Mrs Tunstall was a very popular lady, especially with the kiddies who bought their sweets from her shop."

The story goes that, while alone in her home, she'd become scared by the wail of the air-raid sirens and the sound of bombers above. So she went to a neighbouring house. In those days, many folk used to seek shelter under their stairs or even under the kitchen table.

"I believe that there were three killed," says Beattie, "but the tragedy escaped the headlines. In those dark days of the war, details were hushed up, to avoid affecting national morale and so as not to encourage the enemy."

I'M also indebted for their contributions to reader Harry Taylor, and Moss Bank Labour Club steward Denis Tracey whose mother, still alive and active, was one of the lucky survivors of that terror night down Pocket Nook.