Cheshire Independent Issue 216

9 JULY 2026 Visit our website: www.independentnewspapers.co.uk QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 6 Type of male (5) 8 Scattered rubbish (6) 9 Inhabitant of e.g. Helsinki (4) 10 Insensitive (8) 11 Biased (6) 13 Morsels (5) 15 Exclamation of contempt (3) 17 Renown (5) 18 General escape (6) 20 Elongate (8) 22 Religious practice (4) 23 Seventh planet (6) 24 Proof of being elsewhere (5) DOWN 1 Reasonable (8) 2 Atop (4) 3 Not in silence (5) 4 Short dagger (8) 5 Long fish (4) 7 Soak up (6) 12 Self-important (8) 14 Peak (8) 16 Rupture (6) 19 That group (5) 21 Lugs (4) 22 Restraint (4) Answers on page 19. THE SilkMuseum’s new exhibition inspired by Macclesfield’s historic FA Cup run is now open. Community FC! offi- cially launched at the museum on Park Lane, with contributors and sup- porters invited to a special preview evening. Running until Sep- tember 5, the exhibition serves as an exploration of Macclesfield’s enduring love for football, moving beyond the professional game to celebrate the thriv- ing grassroots activity in town’s parks, gardens, and schools. Natalie Lane, education coordinator at the Silk Museum, said: “Earlier in the year, we ran a call out for contributions from the community to share their photos and stories of what football means to them. “We took inspiration from Macclesfield’s recent FA Cup success and were keen to make the most of the World Cup’s ‘foot- ball fever’, but with a real focus on grassroots, com- munity activity.” Supported by The National Lottery Herit- age Fund, the Community FC! exhibition provides a unique look at local foot- ball life, featuring a mix of archive photography from the museum’s own collection, personal photos submitted by the people of Macclesfield, and new pho- tography by Dan Fone. Curator and photogra- pher Dan said: “Most pho- tographs here have been submitted by local people who either play or help make it all happen. “The submission form asked one question, ‘What does football mean to you?’ “The consistency of the answers was striking and summed up in two words, teamwork and friendships.” Natalie added: “From jumpers for goalposts and well-earned trophies to POLICE officers in Chesh- ire East have been given funding to purchase life-saving Bleed Control Kits that will be rolled out to pubs and bars across the area. Cheshire Constabulary took part in Sceptre, a national campaign led by the National Police Chiefs’ Coun- cil focusing on tackling knife crime in communities. Officers and community partners visited 38 schools and youth organisations across Cheshire, deliver- ing educational inputs and demonstrations surrounding the dangers of knife crime and gang culture. Knife sweeps across our town centres and parklands, community and publicfacing engagements and deploy- ments at our railway stations all took place over the course of the week of action. As well as this, residents were also given a number of opportu- nities to safely dispose of any knives into designated surrender points across the county. These efforts from officers from multiple departments across the county resulted in a total of 250 weapons being recovered. In the runup to Sceptre week, officers in the east of the county were provided funding by the Safer Cheshire East Partnership (SCEP) to purchase 45 lifesaving Bleed Control Kits, which the public can use in incidents involving catastrophic bleeds. A number of these kits have since been rolled out to several licensed premises in Nantwich, Crewe, Maccles- field and Congleton as part of local Pub Watch schemes. A NEW community-led project is being launched in Trafford to help tackle loneliness among older residents – by creating more opportunities to get involved in volunteering across the borough. The scheme, run by Trafford Community Collective with Traf- ford’s Community Hubs, is being highlighted as part of Loneliness Awareness Week. It’s all about help- ing people stay connected and part of their community as they get older. Trafford is home to more than 40,000 people aged 65 and over. While many lead active, fulfilling lives, local insight shows that some people can feel isolated or have less social contact – especially after big life changes like retirement, bereavement, or reduced mobility. Loneliness can have a real impact on health, and is linked to issues such as depression, heart disease and dementia. Local data shows that some older residents in Trafford often feel lonely. But there’s good news too – people who volunteer tend to feel less isolated, have better mental health and gain a stronger sense of purpose. And there are plenty of opportunities to get involved locally. Trafford’s Community Hubs in Stretford, Old Trafford, Urm- ston, Sale West and Altrincham, offer face-to-face support to help residents find volunteer roles that fit around their interests and availability. Volunteer coordinator Kaf Bays, who is leading the programme, said: “Volunteering can be life chang- ing. It’s about making connections, building confidence and helping people feel part of something again. We want to make it easy for older people in Trafford to find some- thing that suits them.” As part of the project, informal information sessions are being held so people can find out more. Anyone interested in volunteer- ing is encouraged to come along to the July session or contact their local community hub to find out more. You can also contact Kaf on 07518 902991 or by emailing volun- teer@traffordcollective.org.uk EXHIBITION INSPIRED BY FA CUP SUCCESS OPENS AT SILK MUSEUM Community FC! will remain on display until September 5 (Image: Silk Museum) Life-saving kits are rolled out the realities of matchday mud, the exhibition invites visitors to come along and see if they can spot a famil- iar face.” The opening event saw an invited guest list of exhibition contributors, community members, and local residents, welcomed by the Silk Museum’s chair Simon Spurrell. Paul Smith, the coach of a local under 15’s boys team also spoke of how playing football teaches so much, from the power of teamwork, coping with defeat, and manag- ing emotions. Community FC! will remain on display in the Silk Museum’s Commu- nity Gallery until Septem- ber 5, with museum open 10am to 4pm, Wednesday through Saturday. Volunteering scheme supports older residents Drug dealer gets jail term A DRUG dealer from Northwich who seriously assaulted an inno- cent member of the public has been jailed. Calum Holland appeared at Chester Crown Court where he was sentenced to 44 months in prison. The 30-year-old of Peckforton Way, Northwich, had earlier pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs (cocaine), possession with intent to supply class A drugs (cocaine) and one count of section 20 assault. The case against Holland began in March 2023 when officers from North- wich stopped a blue Ford Focus on the A556 in Hartford following intel- ligence that the vehicle was linked to drug dealing. Holland was behind the wheel, and as officers approached the car, an officer spotted him attempting to conceal an item in his waistband. He was arrested at the scene and taken to custody where he was found in possession of several snap bags con- taining cocaine. A mobile phone was also seized. Holland was later bailed and his mobile phone was sent for analysis, where officers discovered messages which showed that Holland was actively involved in the sale of illegal drugs. While on bail, Holland was involved in a separate incident in Northwich town centre. At around 2am on Sun- day 10 September 2023 the victim, was stood outside a takeaway on Wit- ton Street with a friend, when he was approached by Holland who began shouting at him. Holland then punched the victim in the face, before forcibly pushing him to the floor face down, causing him to lose consciousness. He then ran off from the scene on foot, travelling towards Venables Road. An investigation into the attack was launched by Northwich CID, and Hol- land was quickly identified as the sus- pect by local officers who recognised him on the CCTV footage. He was later charged in relation to both incidents.