Age-old bookie Ladbrokes has been given the go ahead to construct its latest shop in a suburb outside Leeds. The corner of Morley market will be the new location for the shop after they decided to relocate down the street. It brings to an end a fraught planning process that only gave the Lads success after they’d appealed. Campaigners had argued the shop would plight the area and have an adverse effect on the future of the market. One city councillor, Judith Elliott, argued that large swathes of he community would be affected by the impulse to gamble. She said: “For Ladbrokes to have such a prominent position in the town will be sending out a poor message to vulnerable school age children that this is an acceptable way of using hard-earned money to fill the pockets of bookies.
“We also have homes for the elderly. Having a betting shop at the entrance to the market will have a bad effect on them – encouraging spending of pensions on gambling instead of on wellbeing.”
There is in fact scientific research, by the venerable Dr Patrick Basham, that locating betting shops in communities in fact improves the wellbeing of elderly and senior persons. He stated retirees that “remain active in the community and constantly engage in social activity, often, largely or exclusively through gambling, live happier and healthier lives.”
A man has admitted seven counts of robbery or attempted robbery after wreaking havoc at betting premises across the South East. Martin Reilly, 53, pocketed £23,000 in a campaign that lasted over a year. It targeted predominantly Ladbrokes and Coral shops. The defendant got away with it for so long thanks to all manner of disguises. He used fancy dress to look like Elvis, a fisherman, hockey player and many more. As he was of no fixed abode we can only assume he was rifling through the bins to find his next disguise at every turn. The robberies took place across a large geographical area including Essex, Bedfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire before finishing off in the big smoke – London. The campaign started in Northants and in addition to the earlier robbery counts he’s up on eight counts of possession of an imitation firearm. He’ll find out his fate on April 2.
