Gef’s Daily Roundup

Crossroads

St Marks Village Fair Committee has presented Crossroads with a cheque for £1,500.

The charity said: ‘Crossroads was kindly selected as the chosen charity at this year’s St Marks Village Fair and we were invited along to speak about our Young Carers project and enjoy the fair. It was a brilliant afternoon and we would like to thank everyone who made a donation on the day to support our young carers. We would also like to thank the committee for choosing to support Crossroads and for such an incredible donation.’

Emergency Closure

The green lane from Glen Mona Maughold to Snaefell (U92) and PROW 103 (from Clarum Lane) is closed to all motor vehicles with immediate effect. The track has washed out in the recent wet weather and is in need of repair. Work will be planned to repair the damage and mitigate the impact of future rain on the lane. It is likely that the current emergency closure will be extended until this work can be undertaken. Pedestrians can still access the lane, put conditions are more arduous than usual due to the damage.

Cowboys

People are urged not to use rogue traders who illegally cold call and tout for work, after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) received a number of cowboy builder reports. Home and business owners are advised to be on their guard and look out for vulnerable friends, relatives and neighbours, who could fall foul.

Cold calling is illegal on the Isle of Man, so anyone operating in this way should be reported to the OFT or police.

Such traders can be persuasive and gain work by offering services that are cheap and quick, but often not needed. This work is often achieved using poor quality materials and leads to sub-standard work, which is not guaranteed.

Anyone who was agreed to work from a cold call should contact the OFT on 686500 or by emailing iomfairtrading@gov.im as the law may allow this type of contract to be cancelled.

John Wannenburgh MHK, Chairman of the OFT, said: ‘With reports of rogue traders circulating, it is important to be vigilant. If you agree to building work, you should always have a signed contract so there are no nasty surprises.’