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Are you looking for the latest stories?  Tamworth Blog has a new home.  We have moved the blog to a new server where it is hoped that we can provide more features and services to you our loyal readers.

Don’t worry though you will still be able to receive all Tamworths news and photos.

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We apologise for the changes, but we hope that the new server will provide a better service.

Aston Villa reserves, who were crowned champions of the Southern league earlier this month played Sunderland reserves, the Northern champions on Thursday (21 May) evening to determine the outright champions.

Marc, the little midfielder played a pivotal role on the right hand side of midfield, providing telling crosses which tested the Black Cats defence.  In the second half one of his telling crosses met the head of a villa player, James Collins headed home Albrightons second telling cross in as many seconds, giving Villa a 2-1 lead.

Villa eventually went on to win the game 3-1 and be crowned Barclays Premier Reserve Champions 08/09.  The hope for Marc now must be that he can make the transition to the 1st team and give Ashley Young a run for his money.

Sue Bailey accepting the awards for Drayton Manor Park

Drayton Manor Park has been awarded UK attraction Of The Year 2009 at the Coach Tourism awards ceremony, held at Coventrys Ricoh arena earlier this week.

The award was especially pleasing for Drayton Manor as this years saw a huge number of entries and the winner is picked by the readers of Coach Monthly magazine.

When announcing the award, they said;

“A huge investment back into the site, particularly in Thomas Land™, backed up by an impressive marketing campaign has established Drayton Manor as one of THE top UK attractions, and the readers of Coach Monthly obviously agree.”

Colin Bryan, Managing Director of Drayton Manor Park said;

“It is a great honour to win this award, especially as it voted for by the readers of Coach Monthly. We have made huge investments into the park and we are delighted that has been recognised and appreciated by the public.”

Barkers Fun Fair on the Castle Grounds

Barkers fun fair is back at the Castle Grounds this bank holiday weekend.  Including favourites like “The Orbiter”, “Bumper Cars” and “Rhythm Ryder”, the castle grounds is the place to be this bank holiday weekend.

The fair runs through till Friday next week (29 May).

Prime Minister Gordon Brown - Pic: Downing Street

Prime Minister Gordon Brown today paid what can only be described as a surprise visit to Tamworth today, Thursday 21 May.

Reports from around the town suggest that he visited local businesses including Percy Lane Products and gave a speech at Tamworth College.

We here at Tamworth Blog are still digging out details on the PM’s visit.  However it appears that the Prime Ministers speech was greeted with boo’s at the end of his speech with one Tamworth twitterer saying:

“gordon brown was at tamworth college speaking to students today and got boooooed at the end of his speech”

Tae Kwon Do - Photo: Amanda Quintana-Bowles

Ever fancied trying a Self defence but always thought to expensive? Tamworth Tae Kwon Do are offering 8 sessions for £32 and your first lesson is FREE.

The sessions will help you improve your fitness and confidence and are suitable for Men, Women and Children, with special family rates for those learning as a family group.

The classes take place every Tuesday and Friday between 6.30pm – 7pm at Larkhall School, Clifton Avenue, Leyfields in Tamworth.

The Instructor is Oliver Kells 4th Dan Black Belt who has taught the Korean Art of Self Defence  in Tamworth for over 15 years, so you know you will be in safe hands.

For more information call 0121 7444487 or 07973300097

Story Reported by Paulette Francesca Sedgwick (Follw Paulette on Twitter @TinyFizzyPop)

Vicki Butler Henderson from Channel 5's Fifth Gear supports the offer

This Bank holiday weekend, RAC and M6 Toll have teamed up to offer free passage up (or down) the toll road for 3,000 lucky motorists.

RAC will pay the £4.50 (£4.70 on Monday) charge for a random 1,000 drivers a day over the weekend (Saturday 23 May thru Monday 25 May inclusive), with M6 Toll staff choosing the cars eligible for the free pass.

Saj Arshad, director of RAC sales and marketing added;

“RAC is passionate about getting people moving and we wanted to do something unique and cost-cutting for motorists this bank holiday, and it was great that the M6 Toll were really keen to partner with us on this initiative. As the driving people, it seems fitting that we can help reduce motorists’ Bank Holiday costs and generally bring some cheer to the journey, as well as easing congestion on one of the UK’s busiest roads.”

As well as 1,000 cars having their toll paid, RAC are also setting up a free drop in centre at Norton Canes Service station, situated on the M6 Toll, where drivers can recieve free spot checks including tyre pressure, water and oil checks, as well as a 20% discount on RAC breakdown cover.

Vicky Butler-Henderson, presenter of Channel 5′s Fifth Gear show has gave the initiative her backing and added;

“I’ve never heard of a motoring organisation doing anything like this before so I was very keen to get on board with RAC. Whilst getting away for the weekend can be a real treat, the stress of the journey and the costs incurred can put a dampener on driving, so RAC’s gesture will certainly be a pleasant surprise for motorists this Bank Holiday weekend.”

The offer was announced alongside the RACs traffic and travel predictions with many of the coastal resorts being the main draw for tourists from around the country.

Adam Bell of Amington, admitted to processing heroin with the intent to sell during his hearing at Stafford Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months imprisonment.

Bell who was spoken to as part of a routine investigation, was later arrested as Police found him to be carrying 6.5 grammes of the Class A drug, Heroin, which is believed to have been worth around £300.  Police later searched his home where mobile phones were recovered which showed his drug dealings activity.

Detective Inspector Jed White, who heads up the division’s pro-active unit, said tackling illegal drugs and drug dealers were top priorities for Tamworth police.

“Drug dealers trade on the misery of others and have a negative impact on the areas in which they operate,” he said.

“We know the overwhelming majority of people want to see an end to their activities and we would appeal for any information from the community which will enable police to take positive action and bring such people to justice.”

DI White continued by asking for any one with information relating to drugs should contact Tamworth police on 0300 123 4455 or, call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Police believe that the thieves, who are driving a blue/purple Vauxhall Corsa, have fitted the car with additional tanks to steal £100 of fuel at a time.  The Corsa also has stolen number plates, some of those already used include P450 RYV; T423 BVP; S803 VUK; W701 NDG and N11 XNF.

The thieves have struck at the BP Garage in Upper Gungate, as well as Morrisons and Tesco supermarkets in Lichfield.

To assist with the capture of the criminals, Police have released CCTV images of the believed thieves in the hope that someone will come forward with information regarding their identity.

Police are urging anyone who may recognise the suspect or has information about the thefts, to contact DC Jo Morrison at Trent Valley CID, telephone 0300 123 44 55 or, call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.  There may be an award for anyone who gives information that leads to an arrest.

The much discussed and controversial blue bins

The death of the Blue Bins is near and the hope is the new updated recycling scheme will see a reduction in the litter left behind on bin day.

Tamworth Borough Council approved the changes to the recycling scheme  during a meeting on 14 May, with the new scheme being rolled out throughout the remainder of the year.

After a consultation period with residents of Tamworth in 2008, the new scheme will make recycling easier, allow us to recycle more items (including food waste) and reduce the litter caused by the blue bins.

Tamworth has a successful recycling scheme which was introduced some years ago, with some 40% of household waste in the town being recycled.  The new scheme is hoped to improve this figure and make Tamworth one of the best recyclers in the country.

The new scheme is being introduced in phases;

Phase 1
From 29th June 2009, residents will be able to recycle a wider range of materials including all plastics, large pieces of card and tetrapak drink cartons. In addition residents will no longer have to sort the recycling into the two different boxes as the material will be taken as a single mix to a processing plant for mechanical sorting.

Phase 2
During September 2009, 12,000 local homes will be given a recycling wheelie bin in place of their recycling boxes – these recycling bins will be collected every two weeks and are designed to put an end to the litter problems caused by recycling boxes being blown over in the wind.

Phase 3
Also at the end of September, households which currently have a garden waste bin will be able to start recycling food. Each participating household will receive a small kitchen caddy which will make it easier to store waste food before being placed in the garden waste bin. The mixed food and garden waste will continue to be collected every two weeks.

Phase 4
From April 2010, the remaining households will have their recycling boxes replaced with a wheelie bin.

Residents are urged not to begin recycling all items until the scheme comes into effect on June 29.