Free Press review of the year - FEBRUARY
A NORTH Wales dog breeder has blasted a TV consumer show as ‘barking mad’ for hounding him over allegations of puppy farming.
The BBC One programme Rogue Traders exposed the questionable practices of dog breeders and puppy farms in a special programme.
Trevor Jones and his wife Rose own Lakeside Kennels, Bala and were visited in a sting operation by the Rogue Traders duo and camera team.
Vandals sparked hospital blaze
VANDALS and illegal trespassers may be responsible for the fire which devastated the main hall of the former North Wales Hospital.
A furious worker at the derelict hospital in Denbigh has hit out at claims that TV crews left the main hall strewn with rubbish and that this could have acted as an accelerant for the fire.
Forgiving my babyshambles
THE MOTHER of Britain’s most disgraced drug addict is visiting Denbighshire to share her struggle with her son’s addiction in the hope of helping others kick substance abuse.
Jackie Doherty, the mother of Babyshambles rock star Pete Doherty, 29, infamous for his drug fuelled affair with supermodel Kate Moss. is visiting St Asaph Cathedral to speak on Love, Hope and Forgiveness to a sold out audience.
Cuban ambassador
THE Cuban ambassador visited Denbigh on Friday during an evening of Cuban celebrations!
The ambassador to the UK, Rene Mujica Cantelar, spoke about political developments in his country in the year of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. and the rise to power of Fidel Castro.
The event also launched Friends of Cymru Cuba, in memory of its founder member David Jones, who died last year.
What now for hospital site?
UNCERTAINTY surrounds the future of Denbigh’s former North Wales Hospital, after it missed out on being the site for a new Welsh prison.
The jail will now be built at Caernarfon.
The move has created more doubts over the future of the former Denbigh asylum site, which was put forward by councillors in October as an option for the prison.
Cruella too ill to care
A WOMAN who struggled to care for her animals at a remote smallholding has been warned that she could be facing a prison sentence.
At the end of a two-week trial in Denbigh, Anita Ashley, 56, who once had 140 horses on her land at Coral Spring, Llandegla, was found guilty of three offences relating to animal welfare.
She was acquitted on a further five charges while her friend, Duncan Lloyd, 70, was cleared on eight charges
The kiss of courage
PARALYSED Chris Sinnett and sweetheart Jo McGillan enjoyed the day of a lifetime as they tied the knot in hospital on Valentine’s Day.
The Llanrhaeadr couple, who postponed their wedding at Christmas, married at the Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen on Saturday.
Their 20-month-old son Ieuan was christened immediately after the ceremony.
Chris, 28, is paralysed after fracturing his neck in four places in a trial bike accident at Corwen, in November.