Tom Slemen's Local Mysteries column in the Merseymart & Star has been scrapped because of the decision of Merseymart & Star editor Jane Daly. The column, which ran from 1997, was one of the most successful and popular ones on Merseyside with hundreds of thousands of readers. Tom has already had emails from angry readers saying they'll now put the free giveaway Merseymart & Star newspapers straight in the recycling bin, as they only flipped through the pages to get to Tom's Local Mysteries article!


One reader, Rebecca from Anfield, said: 'Local Mysteries featured a lot of Liverpool's folklore characters, such as Spring-Heeled Jack, the Galosher Man, Ginny Greenteeth and so on - and to scrap the column halfway through the year of the Capital of Culture seems very ignorant.'

So there you have it: in the middle of all this talk of culture, and literature, Tom Slemen, the most popular local author in Merseyside school libraries, has his column scrapped.