AND HERE IS THE NEWS…
….a quick glance at the latest local news with Caroline Manson
Thief pulls knife on security guard
A man was spotted stealing items from the B&M store (formerly Babou) in Perpignan and on reaching the exit was apprehended by the security guard. The shop-lifter immediately became verbally aggressive, then pulled a knife from his partner’s bag and threatened to stab the security guard. After a short scuffle, the guard managed to disarm him, and the couple were arrested and taken to be questioned by the police.
Drug traffickers arrested
Yet another successful operation for the drugs police has resulted in the closure of a major drug dealing address in the Bas Vernet area of Perpignan. Acting on information received, a discreet surveillance of a building showed that 50 to 100 grams of cocaine were being sold every day, with the drugs being supplied from the home of the head of the network. On April 11, a raid was carried out at 6am involving 80 police officers and sniffer dog brigades. All the trafficking participants have been arrested and more than 21kg of cannabis resin, 2.7kg of cocaine, 142,700€ in cash and several firearms were recovered.
Fatal road accident in Saillagouse
A man died following an accident between a car and a motor-home on the outskirts of Saillagouse. The circumstances of the accident are still under investigation but it was evident that the motor-home had rolled over several times and was completely destroyed. Firefighters had to extricate the two occupants, one of whom suffered a cardiac arrest and could not be resuscitated. The other victim was evacuated by helicopter to hospital.
‘Des-Res’ for sale in Villefranche-de-Conflent
The popular tourist attraction, ‘Cova Bastera’ is up for sale, as the 67 year old owner is ready to retire. The cave was originally fortified by Vauban in 1674 as part of the defences of the town of Villefranche, and since 2008 it was classified as a UNESCO world heritage site. The Castillo family acquired it in 1981 and turned it into a tourist attraction which, pre-Covid, welcomed nearly 30,000 visitors per year. Yours for just 360,000€!
Road accident at Grand-Saint-Charles
Shortly after 5.30pm last Friday, for no apparent reason, a car veered violently off the road (Avenue de Milan) and crashed into a bus shelter. Firefighters found the vehicle in the middle of the roadway with the left wheel torn off. The driver, in his thirties, was conscious but badly injured and trapped in his car. He was extricated and taken to hospital suffering from multiple fractures and rush-hour traffic was seriously disturbed until around 7pm when the road was reopened.
Call for witnesses over the disappearance of 39 year old man
Relatives and police are extremely concerned about a man who left the Perpignan hospital centre at 2am last Wednesday and has not been seen or heard of since. Cedric Dunyach, originally from Canohès, drives a grey Citroen C3 Picasso with a Morbihan (56) logo on the number plate. Le Soler police would welcome any information.
And finally….
I imagine that many motorists have had the experience of forgetting to apply the handbrake, and the effect of gravity on a stationary vehicle (or is it just me?!). In my case, it just involved the destruction of a wheelie bin, but for a resident of Estavar, the situation was considerably worse. If you’ve ever driven through (or visited) Estavar up in Cerdanya, you will have noticed that most of the roads are very steep – which meant that the car rolled at speed down the road, left the tarmac and ended up perched on top of a cypress tree, suspended 6 metres above the neighbours house. Everybody remained calm, nobody was injured, and with the help of neighbours, a tractor, straps and the local gendarmes, the vehicle was recovered.
