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• The town will fall silent today to mark the 25th anniversary of the Warrington bombing </li>
• Schoolboy Tim Parry and three-year-old Johnathan Ball were killed when two bombs were detonated in Bridge Street
• Many more were injured in the atrocity
• Share your memories from that fateful day by tweeting @warringtonnews or visit our Facebook page

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AN unusual Easter treat has gone on sale at two pubs in Warrington.

The Chapelford Farm and the Juniper Farm have created a giant Creme Egg Yorkshire pudding cake, which can be bought to share for £8.99 or by the slice at £4.49.

Farmhouse Inns outlets across the country will be offering the unique combination of two British favourites until Monday, April 2.

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READERS share their memories of IRA attack as they reflect on 25 years since the Warrington bombing.

It was a beautiful clear sunny day when Angela Nicholls, now Kemp, headed to her part-time job on Sankey Street on March 20, 1993.

There was no sign of what was to come.

The then 16-year-old, from Padgate, said: “I didn’t usually work Saturdays but as March 20 was the day before Mother’s Day I had been asked to work additional hours – it was expected to be one of the busiest days of the year. 

“I worked in the confectionary department and it was my job to keep all the shelves stacked with boxes of chocolates.

“At the time the bombs went off the store was full. 

“I didn’t immediately recognise what I heard to be a bomb – it sounded to me like shutters being slammed shut on the back of a van but it was loud and sounded close by. 

“Out of the corner of my eye I saw crowds of people running away from Bridge Street. 

“One man ran into the store, frantic, telling us to get out as there were bombs. 

“We just looked at him bewildered, the words he was saying just didn’t sink in. Why would anybody want to bomb Warrington?”

The mum-of-two, who now lives in Birchwood, had plans to meet a friend for lunch so went to check she was ok.

“My supervisor told me to be careful, with hindsight if she’d realised the extent of what had just happened she would never have let me go,” said Angela who was studying for her A-levels at the time.

“My friend was ok and as I was leaving her store, there was an announcement over the speakers to evacuate. 

“I ran back to Woolworths, I didn’t want to be alone. 

“Sankey Street was eerily quiet, it felt strange as it had been so busy minutes earlier. 

“There were a few people wrapped in silver blankets being looked after, but apart from this it was deserted.” 

“There was a police cordon at the end of the street. 

“Woolworths was empty, our manager was locking up, the staff all stayed together locked inside. 

“Within minutes we were also told to evacuate. We headed off in groups down Sankey Street and as I walked with two colleagues we walked towards a group of McDonald’s employees who were inconsolable, hugging each other as they worked so close to the blasts on Bridge Street.”

Excitement filled the air 24 hours before the Warrington bombing.

Children were busy creating cards at a pre-school play group at the Cantilever Community Centre on the outskirts of Stockton Heath. 

Among the group was three-year-old Johnathan Ball.
The toddler was putting the finishing touches to his Mother’s Day card with the help of Susan Cornwell, who ran the group.

David Cornwell, who was married to Susan at time, said: “My wife clearly recognised the name Johnathan Ball but she was not familiar with the address given.

“But by the Sunday the publication of a photograph – which is still used in connection with Johnathan to this day – appeared on television and she immediately recognised the image as it had been taken at the play group shortly before the tragedy.”

David, 67, from Appleton, will never forget the moment the photograph of Johnathan was broadcast on the TV, leaving his wife distraught with the shock of the sickening reality of what had happened to a young boy with his whole life ahead of him.

As two firefighters carried Stephen Lee to a nearby ambulance shortly after the second bomb blast, he was in a state of shock.

But the sickening reality quickly hit home when he overhead a conversation about the first fatality, a toddler later identified as Johnathan Ball.

“That is the one thing that always plays on mind when I look back,” said the 46-year-old, from Cinnamon Brow.

“Two firemen were carrying me to an ambulance and I heard another fireman say ‘we’ve lost a little kid’.

“That’s when I realised how bad it was.”

Stephen, who was a 21-year-old machine operator at the time, had travelled into Warrington with his friend and now ex-girlfriend.

The trio were sat on a bench nearby when they heard the first blast.

“We heard a bang – it was like a thud,” said Stephen.

“We didn’t know what it was so we said ‘let’s go and have a look’.

“We walked down the alleyway at the side of where Scott’s Sports used to be on the corner.

“As we walked down the alleyway you could see people were looking towards the bottom of Bridge Street. 

“The bin was on the corner and as we walked past it blew up behind us.”

Stephen was only 12 feet away from the bin when it exploded.

“I felt like my back was on fire,” he recalled.

“I threw my coat off and ran.”

After sprinting to safety in a nearby pasty shop, Stephen, who was living in Woolston at the time, realised he had suffered shrapnel wounds to his back.

“I don’t remember too much but I remember they leant me over the counter and put napkins on my back to stop the bleeding,” he said.

“I knew it was bad because when they lifted my top up in the shop my girlfriend screamed but I know how lucky I was.”

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RISLEY Road is partially blocked both ways due to a broken down coach.

The vehicle is blocking access between Daten Avenue, Clayton Road, Leacroft Road and Ravenhurst Court / Cavendish Avenue on Birchwood Park.

Lorries will struggle to pass the coach according to highways officials.

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CHESHIRE'S crime boss is encouraging residents to report any suspicious activity and behaviour in a bid to help police tackle terrorism.

The national campaign launched today, Tuesday, on the 25th anniversary of the IRA terrorist attack on Warrington.

David Keane, police and crime commissioner for Cheshire is backing the ‘ACT – Action Counters Terrorism’ campaign which helps the public spot signs of terrorist attack planning methods.

He said: “Sadly, 25 years on from the terrorist attack which claimed the lives of two innocent boys in Cheshire, terrorism is more of a threat than ever to people going about their everyday lives.

“The public can help us defeat terrorism by reporting suspicious activity or behaviour which can give police intelligence to foil terrorist plots and help save lives.

“Following last year’s unprecedented rise in terrorist activity, record numbers of people contacted the police via the online reporting form or confidential helpline to report their suspicions.

“This resulted in more than a fifth of reports being used as intelligence by police in the fight against terrorism.”

Research carried out by counter terrorism policing suggests that while more than 80 per cent of people are motivated to report suspicious activity or behaviour, many are unclear exactly what they should be looking for.

As part of the campaign launch, a new 60-second film based on real life foiled plots has been released. It shows examples of terrorist-related activity, as well as attack planning methods.

“If you see or hear something unusual or suspicious, trust your instincts and report it”, added Mr Keane.

“It could be someone buying or storing chemicals, fertilisers or gas cylinders for no obvious reasons, or receiving deliveries for unusual items. It could be someone embracing extremist ideology, or searching for such material online.

“Any piece of information, no matter how small, could make the difference between a lethal attack or a successful disruption.”

As well as reporting suspicious activity to Cheshire police via 999 or 101, Cheshire residents can also use the online reporting tool at gov.uk/ACT.

All reports can be made anonymously. This information is then used by UK Counter Terrorism Police and local forces in their investigations.

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IT was a day Warrington residents will never forget. 

Here's what happened when two bombs exploded in the town centre and the events leading up to the attack.

Friday, February 26, 1993 
The first IRA attack on Warrington at Winwick Road gas works.
Police constable Mark Toker stop-checked three men in a white Mazda van in Sankey Street shortly after midnight. 

The 25-year-old was shot three times in the leg and back.

The married father-of-one from Wigan was taken to Warrington Hospital for emergency treatment and a police dragnet was launched.

The gang commandeered a white Ford Escort and imprisoned driver Lee Wright in the boot around 12.50am.
They set off for Manchester, the gunman firing at pursuing police cars.

Mr Wright attempted to immobilise his own car, pulling a petrol gauge indicator wire.

The gang pulled up on the M62 around 1.50am, perhaps believing they were out of petrol. The men fled up an embankment. 

A police dog cornered the gunman and another man was arrested but the third man escaped.

Three devices exploded at the Winwick Road gasworks at 4.10am, destroying a gasometer, which caused a 1,000ft high fireball.

The bombs failed to destroy five million cubic feet of gas in surrounding tanks and a major disaster was averted.

Nearby residents were evacuated and took shelter at St Ann’s Primary School.

Pairic MacFhloinn, aged 40, and Denis Kinsella, aged 25, were later jailed for 35 years and 25 years respectively for their part in the bombing mission and John Kinsella, aged 49, was sentenced to 20 years for possessing Semtex explosives that he hid for the IRA cell.

The third man in the car, Michael Timmins, was never caught.

Saturday, March 20, 1993

The Samaritans received a coded warning at 11.58am about a bomb outside a Boots chemist shop in Liverpool, 16 miles from Warrington.

Merseyside Police responded to the warning and informed Cheshire Police but there was no time to evacuate Warrington town centre.

Two bombs, hidden in separate cast-iron litter bins, exploded on Bridge Street just after 12.12pm, the first outside a British Gas showroom and the second near Argos and Boots.

The first explosion drove panicking shoppers into the path of the next blast just seconds later, with police describing the bins and shrapnel as ‘huge hand grenades’.

Buses were organised to ferry people away from the scene and 20 paramedics, some on motorcycles, were sent to administer on the spot treatment.

Crews from 17 ambulances dealt with casualties and a team of four plastic surgeons travelled to Warrington Hospital from the regional burns unit at Whiston Hospital, Knowsley.

Johnathan Ball, who was in town with his babysitter buying a Mother's Day Card, was killed at the scene.

Tim Parry was caught in the full force of the blast and died five days later in hospital.

56 other people were injured, including Bronwen Vickers, aged 33. 

Senior police said they believed the later attack was a reprisal for the police's success after the gasworks blast

Nobody has been brought to justice for the second Warrington bombing.

November 1996

The River of Life memorial artwork is opened on Bridge Street.

The memorial to the victims was opened by the Duchess of Kent April 1998 Backed by former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam, a fundraising campaign is launched to build the town's Peace Centre. The campaign was launched at a special service to mark the fifth anniversary of the attacks on the town.

March 20, 2000

Following years of campaigning, the town's Peace Centre opens in Great Sankey. A festival was held to mark the occasion.

July 2000

The National Lottery invests £250,000 in the centre, the biggest at the time, to help launch a new project at the Peace Centre. The funding for over three years was to help identify Britain-based victims and survivor and pinpoint their individual needs.

December 2001

IRA chief Martin McGuinness apologised to the families of the children killed in the bomb attack. A landmark meeting finally took place between Mr McGuinness and the families of Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball

July 2004

Wilf Ball, the father of Johnathan Ball, dies aged 71.

Found at his home in Grappenhall he had visited Johnathan's grave almost everyday before his death

March 2009

Johnathan's mum Marie Comerford died suddenly aged 53.

The coroner ruled she had died of a broken heart.

She moved from Warrington to Wales after the bombing but had returned to the town in later life.

January 2018

The Warrington Guardian announces it has selected the Foundation for Peace as its charity of the year to mark the 25th anniversary of the Warrington bombing.

March 20, 2018

A commemoration service will be held on Bridge Street to remember the two young boys killed and the many more injured.

Princess Anne is set to attend the memorial event.

Many people from across the town will be taking part in the Colours for Peace Day to pay their respects.

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WHILE the town will fall silent at 12.27pm on Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Warrington bombing, many people will remember the victims with a Colours for Peace Day.

School and businesses have been invited to dress in the colours of the foundation – green, white and blue – on Tuesday in memory of the two young boys whose lives were cut tragically short.

The money collected during the awareness day will help enable the team to support more victims of terrorism and communities living in conflict.

Those taking part have been asked to make a minimum £1 donation to the foundation.

More than 100 businesses and schools have agreed to take part in the Colours for Peace day including the Warrington Guardian, United Utilities, Culture Warrington, Priestley College and Warrington and Vale Royal College.

A quarter of a century ago on March 20, 1993, two IRA bombs exploded on Bridge Street killing 12-year-old Tim Parry and three-year-old Johnathan Ball while injuring many more.

Don't forget to send us your photos of the Colours for Peace Day below.

Colours for Peace Day

Marking the 25th anniversary of the Warrington bombing on March 20, 1993

Add your contribution nowBy uploading a contribution, for use online and in print, you accept our contributor terms. You will either own or have permission to use anything you provide.

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TO mark the 25th anniversary of the Warrington bombing, the families of Tim Parry, Johnathan Ball and Bronwen Vickers have shared their emotional journeys as they remember their loved ones.

Over the past quarter of a century the victims’ names have become synonymous with the campaign for peace.

Colin and Wendy Parry hope their son’s legacy will continue to be a catalyst for change and reconciliation after setting up The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for the Peace more than two decades ago.

But 25 years after Tim’s death, it is still unthinkable that he didn’t come home that day. 

In an interview with the Warrington Guardian, Wendy opened up about her 'cheeky' son who crammed a lifetime into 12 short years.

She said: "He was a normal 12-year-old who loved life," recalled Wendy ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Warrington bombing.

"He was having golf lessons, he played squash with his dad, he played football for a Sunday team and school, he was having guitar lessons and he was a sea scout and he just got his solo sailing certificate.

"He wanted to do everything all the time.

"He had so many friends because he was so bubbly.

"He could be cheeky and rude sometimes but he loved everything. It was like he crammed a lifetime into 12 years."

Johnathan’s brother Paul Comerford, 41, also reflected on his family’s heartache 25 years on.

Speaking on behalf of the three-year-old’s siblings Anthony and Stephen and the rest of the family, he said: “March 20, 1993, is the day none of us will ever forget.

“It affected many, many people, none more so than our family.

“The tragic events of that day broke all our hearts, but it shattered Johnathan’s mum’s into tiny pieces that would never be mended.

“She died 16 years later almost to the day of a ‘broken heart’. 

“So we his surviving family including three brothers, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles and cousins will be remembering him and the people affected on this 25th anniversary. “

The family of Bronwen Vickers who was left fighting for her life following the Warrington bombing reflected on her bravery in the wake of the attack.

The loving mum, who spent six weeks in hospital, inspired staff and fellow patients with her courage in learning to walk and drive again with the use of an artificial leg.

But just over a year later Bronwen died, aged 34, from the same skin cancer disease that she had once beaten while at university.

To read our the full interviews with the three families pick up a copy of this week’s Warrington Guardian on Thursday.

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TODAY marks 25 years since two bombs were detonated in the heart of Warrington killing two innocent children, 12-year-old Tim Parry and three-year-old Johnathan Ball.

Many more were left with life-changing injuries including mum-of-two Bronwen Vickers.

The tragic events that unfolded almost a quarter of a century ago shook the whole of Warrington.

The town will fall silent later today, Tuesday, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Warrington bombing during a commemoration service on Bridge Street, which will be attended by HRH The Princess Royal.

The families of victims will also be present at the service including faith leaders and representatives of the British and Irish governments.

This includes Colin and Wendy Parry who set up The Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace.

The foundation, which is our 2018 charity of the year, was established in the name and memory of the two young boys whose lives were cut tragically short.

The Warrington Guardian will be reporting live from the event throughout the morning, with the ceremony starting around 12pm.

Wreaths will be laid at 12.25pm with a minute’s silence at 12.27pm.

Warrington Male Voice Choir and choirs from Sankey High School and Barrow Hall Primary School are expected to perform at the commemoration.

Due to the size of the event and the security procedures in place the council has advised members of the public who are not planning on attending the event to avoid the town centre for the duration of the service.

A number of road closures will also be in place on the day:

From 5am on Tuesday and up to around 3pm there will be road closures and restrictions on some pedestrian access.

Closure in place from 9am along Sankey Street from Legh Street to Bold Street.  There will no access or return until after the event finishes at approximately 1.30pm.

Cairo Street from Egypt Street to Sankey Street will be closed from 5am.  No vehicles permitted at this time.

Buttermarket Street from the junction with Scotland Road will be closed from 5am – access prohibited.

Town centre (Bridge Street, Horsemarket Street, Buttermarket Street, Sankey Street) no access for deliveries on the day until approximately 2pm.

Horrocks Lane will be closed from 5am.  No vehicles permitted up until approximately 1.30pm.

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WARRINGTON’s appearance on Saturday Night Takeaway has been postponed after presenter Ant McPartlin was arrested for drink driving.

Ant and Dec’s hit ITV show was set to feature a segment filmed in the town this weekend, on Saturday, March 24.

But no episode of Saturday Night Takeaway will be screened this weekend after star Ant McPartlin was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The 42-year-old was detained by police following a crash involving three vehicles in south west London on Sunday afternoon.

A three-year-old girl was taken to hospital for treatment following the incident, according to reports.

Co-presenter Stephen Mulhern was spotted filming in Warrington for the In for a Penny segment of the hit ITV show around the town centre in November.

And this Saturday’s episode would have shown residents taking on tasks including attempting to blow up a balloon by bouncing up and down on a foot pump as well as trying to remember the last text they received in order to win £1,000.

Mulhern, the star of shows including Catchphrase and Britain’s Got More Talent, was seen in the company of a giant chicken and posing for selfies with fans at Market Gate as well as in the Old Market Place and Golden Square Shopping Centre.

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