Nostalgia Lancashire 1984: Prison release; Hose ban, earthquake hits county

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Released from Preston Prison early due to Home Office exercise to reduce overcrowding

Preston Prison has vacancies where 60 men are released as part of mass release

More than 60 prisoners were released from Preston Prison as part of the largest mass release in penal history.

All prisoners were allowed out with a permit in a new Interior Ministry move aimed at reducing overcrowding.

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A change in parole rules follows and affects more than 2,000 inmates across the country.

The exit in Preston was one of the biggest exits in Britain. Prison staff jokingly celebrated the occasion by placing a “vacant position” sign in red ink on the office window.

The early release date is clearly the happiest 64 of Preston’s inmates, who were allowed to go out in shifts from 8 am.

Brian Oxley, 24, of Rotherham, who served 21 months for the burglary, was expected to be out in September. But after he walked through the huge wooden door to freedom, he said, “I realized this gave me a chance and I wouldn’t spoil the parole.

“I have work to go to and I am going straight. This early release is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Every man got a warrant and money to give him a fresh start.

Acting Deputy Governor James Maguire commented: It is a convenient system designed to reduce congestion.

“The mood in prison is lively.”

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See a selection of photos from 1984 here

Hosepipe banned amid county water crisis

Concerned water chiefs have ordered a complete ban on hosepipes in a move to preserve vital supplies in Lancashire.

The drastic measure that will reach five million people has been taken as the area’s reservoirs dry up inch by inch every day.

Water levels are at their lowest since the 1976 drought, and the normally rainy lake region, which supplies much of the northwest, is in the middle of its 90-year drought.

The hosepipe ban will cover all of Lancashire except for the West Lancashire region, where local resources are not exhausted.

Homeowners face a maximum fine of £400 for a breach which could be the first in a series of rationing measures if the rains do not increase.

Water Authority officials have issued a “common sense” plea to help reduce the 24 million gallons daily used to irrigate Northwest gardens.

Director of Operations Alan Michaelson said, “We hope that blocking the hoses will be sufficient. But if it becomes more serious, we will have to take further action.”

Earthquake hits “biggest” in a century

Britain was hit by a huge earthquake – probably the biggest in 100 years.

The earthquake, which measured more than 5.5 on the Richter scale, shook the entire country just before 8 a.m.

Shock was waved across Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire, North Wales, Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Buildings shook and people shook to their feet.

Emergency switchboards, services and newspapers were inundated with calls from concerned people, but there were no reports of serious injuries or any serious damage.

The previous largest Dogger Bank record was in 1931 when the 5.1 was registered.

Seismologist Sir Terry Turbet of the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh said: “This earthquake is very large by British standards. You would only expect an earthquake like this every hundred years or so.”

The earthquake was much stronger than the one that struck Cumbria and Lancashire in 1979, and it recorded a magnitude of 4.8.

Hundreds of thousands of families have been affected across the region.

Experts believe that the epicenter of the earthquake was near Anglesey.

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