THIS WEEK IN 1991:

NO river traffic will be able to pass through Worcester for about a month for the first time since 1844 due to vital repair work about to start on the Diglis Locks.

Both the small and large locks on the Severn at Diglis are to be drained for the first time since they were built in the last century for vital repair work to crumbling bricks and to the culvert system.

British Waterways spokesman John Weston said: “We apologise to river users but we have picked the window that will give us the best opportunity to get the work done. We need to do it now.”

THIS WEEK IN 1981:

RIOT gear worth £6,000, including face visors and flame proof overalls, is to be added to the county police stocks. Protective helmets with face visors, cricket boxes and shin and arm pads are on the list to update and increase the equipment of the West Mercia Police. Chief constable Robert Cozens told a meeting of the police authority the protection equipment his force had possessed was “virtually none.” However, he had now acquired some protective gear for his officers and was planning to spend a further £6,000. West Mercia police officers called in to help quell the Toxteth riots in Liverpool had used some of the new gear. He said “They went with a considerable sense of appreciation and regard for their own safety. They all felt a certain sense of security using some of the equipment.”

THIS WEEK IN 1971:

FARMERS throughout Worcestershire are worried that the expense they may have to bear in the all-out war against elm disease will cause many of them to “go bust.” At the National Farmers’ Union county executive committee in Worcester on Monday, Ken Alright of Strensham said: “We are very concerned about it. If an order for the affected trees to be felled is made and no compensation is forthcoming, it will be a very severe blow to us.

About 75 per cent of the trees on my land are affected and will have to come down, but if we have got to do it in six months, then I don’t know what will happen.”

THIS WEEK IN 1961:

WORCESTER City FC Supporters’ Club donated £4,268 to the parent club last season, including direct payments of £1,000 to Cardiff City for Harry Knowles’ transfer fee. The previous year the supporters gave £4,300 to the club, much of which was devoted to ground improvements. The largest part of the funds raised by the supporters comes from their weekly football competition.

􀁥 Poultry keepers in the Powick area are being hit particularly hard by foxes.

Many people have lost hens, and ET Wakefield of Sandpits Farm has had 60 of his 87 fowl taken. HT Cubberley of the Coventry Arms, Powick, has also lost four hens. Foxes have actually been seen with hens in their mouths during daytime near the village.