Court Watch.
Fox, Linda Ann, 47, of Edenvale Road, Lancaster. Failed to give breath specimen. Costs £43, fine £175, two years driving ban.
Morecambe Guardian, 9th January 2004.
Mystery fire traps family.
By Paul Collins.
A mother who occasionally sleepwalks my have been the unwitting cause of a chip pan fire in the early hours of the morning. Linda Fox and her daughter Lindsay had to be rescued from their home in Edenvale Road, Lancaster, after the mysterious blaze took hold in the kitchen. “I do have a habit of sleepwalking and I think it’s more likely I unconsciously turned the pan on sometime during the night,” said Mrs Fox. The fire, which happened on Friday, was the latest in a number of unexplained incidents in the house since the family moved there last August.
“We’ve had the music system turning itself on and off, doors opening, bathroom taps coming on and the TV switching channels unaccountably,” said Mrs Fox. “Personally I think there is a rational explanation for everything but we have had a priest and psychic come in and things have been quieter recently.”
After ringing 999, emergency services had to give survival advice to Linda and Lindsay over the phone until fire crews reached the scene. “They told us to stay upstairs and to block all the doors and open all the windows. The crew were absolutely wonderful and we can’t thank them enough for what they did,” added Mrs Fox. Wearing breathing apparatus, crew members remained with the two in a rear bedroom until the smoke was cleared by colleagues and they could be led to safety. Firefighters later told the two women the property was only minutes from being engulfed in flames. They received medical treatment in a waiting ambulance and stayed there until it was safe to return to the house an hour later. The kitchen of the house suffered serious smoke damage which had spread to the hall and landing.
Morecambe Guardian, 23rd January 2004.