A couple who had a house full of people following the bomb scare at the Grand National is now looking forward to the three-day event returning to Merseyside following the two-year absence of spectators following the 2021 Grand National taking place behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
John and Anne North have lived on Melling Road, next to Aintree racecourse, for 28 years and they're both eager to get the racing festival back to the area. The married couple had a house full of people during the 1997 bomb scare that saw the 150th instalment evacuated after an IRA bomb scare that led to two controlled explosions on the day.
Since then the pair have been to the festival every year until the pandemic hit the world and cancelled all social gatherings for months. Now they find themselves counting down the days until they return to the festival with their friends and family - including Grand National -winning jockey Marcus Armytage.
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John, 68, is an eager horse racing fan and has found himself in some situations over the years, although one that seemed to stick in his head is the time he was walking to his sisters after the Grand National and saw AP McCoy being stopped by police just hours after he'd rode Don't Push It to victory. He approached the police officers and offered to pay any fine the jockey was about to receive.
John told the ECHO: "About 7.30/8 I went to go pick my car up from my sister's. So I'm walking through the vale and as I'm walking I get to the traffic lights and all of a sudden I hear the sirens. Police were pulling over this big, black Range Rover with tinted windows and all.
"Next thing I see is them dragging Tony McCoy out of the car and they're arresting him for using his phone whilst driving. So I go over and start telling them they can't arrest him, it's Tony McCoy!
"I said, 'if he's got an on the spot fine, I'll pay it for him'. I was telling them that everyone drives up and down there on their mobile phones, they can't be picking on him. Anyway, they carted him away and said if I'm not quiet I'd be going with him."
John quickly rang his mate Marcus Armytage to let him know, with Marcus's sister being Tony McCoy's personal assistant at the time. 10 days later, much to John's surprise, he had a signed sketch and a letter come through the letterbox.
John continued: "About 10 ten days later I got a beautiful letter that was signed and a cartoon of him getting arrested. It was a cartoon of him next to the car with the policemen and the letter was just saying thank you for trying to step in. It was unbelievable. Things like that don't happen, but it did!"
John, sat with Anne, also 68, reminisced about the time he had to take in dozens of journalists when the racecourse was evacuated following the bomb scare in 1997. He said: "When we had the bomb scare this house was full. We had Foreign Secretary at the time Robin Cook and it was chocker with all newspaper people. We still keep in touch with Marcus [Amytage], who was here as well, after more than 20 years.
"In fact, he's coming here next week and he parks his car on the drive. I'll get a phone call on Thursday morning to let me know he's on his way and I'll ask him whether he wants bacon on toast or sausage on toast. Then there's 19 of us going on Friday then we all come back here for a big party. Marcus brings all his relations down here for the day, as well."
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