Red-letter day for the Blue Crew

Blue Crew members past and present celebrate their 10th anniversary with help from Chaddy the Owl, at Little Cot, Chadderton

CHADDY the Owl was on hand to help the Blue Crew celebrate its 10th anniversary.

The street cheer youngsters, who attend sessions at Little Cot, Chadderton, every week, partied away with a disco and karaoke, before they were shown a slideshow of their competitions in the last decade.

Some of the members who have left to go to university returned for the celebrations, which included a specially-made birthday cake.

The Blue Crew, which now boasts 54 boys and girls, can be seen at every Oldham Athletic home game cheering on the players before the match.

The group was formed in 2001 when former Oldham marketing manager Sean Jarvis approached Alison Slater asking if she knew any dancers who could form a cheerleading squad for matchdays.

She said she could do it along with her sister, Wendy Noble — and the pair still run the group today, along with Samantha O’Mara.

The women love the group so much that they even formed a masters team — made up of 12 mums, who recently won a street cheer competition themselves.

Wendy said: “The kids love the group, we have two children with severe disabilities so it is great that they get involved.

“The group is fully booked now but we have just opened a new group at Failsworth Sports Centre. It runs on Wednesdays from 6 to 7.30pm.”