Priest Cleared of Sex Abuse Charges

A priest has been cleared of the sexual abuse of two boys in Bury.

Father John McCollough, 63, had been accused of preying on the youngsters while a minister at Holy Trinity Church in the 1990s.

But after a two week trial at Bolton Crown Court he was found not guilty of 11 counts of indecent assault and one charge of gross indecency.

Both youngsters, now adults, claimed he had abused them by touching them sexually on numerous occassions.

But the clergyman told the jury the alleged victims had colluded and were making the allegations to get compensation.

The jury of seven men and five women retired to consider their verdicts on Friday and returned to clear the accused of all the charges in the afternoon.

Fr McCollough is currently a priest at St Vincent’s Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.… Read the rest

Teenager Ben Jones makes start at Chester City FC

A TEENAGER thrust into the hardened world of professional football will never forget the moment he realised he would be pulling on the blue and white shirt of Chester City for the first time.

Ben Jones, 16, of Connah’s Quay, made an impressive 11-minute cameo as the Blues drew 1-1 at Lincoln City in League Two on Saturday.

The powerful striker, the latest talent to roll off the Flintshire Schoolboys production line that unearthed Chester legend Ian Rush and Michael Owen, made his City debut seven days earlier in the 3-1 home loss to Chesterfield.

Injuries left boss Mark Wright down to the bare bones. But Jones admits it still came as a shock when the former England defender named him in his matchday squad.

Jones said: “Mark Wright said I was going to be in the squad against Chesterfield, but I didn’t think … Read the rest