Greenock Telegraph Archives: Fouad Bachirou said emotional 'goodbye' to Ton fans

THIS week’s walk down memory lane takes us back 12 years – when a dad spoke about his daring rescue attempt during an early morning Greenock tenement blaze.

Kevin Nixon was beaten back by flames and dense smoke as he desperately tried to reach a grandmother who was trapped in her top-floor bedroom, and was forced to jump out to escape.

The 56-year-old gran was taken to hospital with serious injuries after fire ripped through the block of flats at Berwick Road in Larkfield.

Incredibly, it was the THIRD time in less than four years that Kevin had been involved in getting people out of fires in the same block.

He told the Tele: “The adrenalin kicks in when something like that happens.

“You just do what you can to help without thinking about the dangers.”

Meanwhile, a super slimmer had swapped her size 22 wardrobe for a trim size 10 following a year of determined weight loss.

Carrie O’Brien said she had a ‘new lease of life’ after shedding five stones to leave her with the perfect figure she'd always craved.

The professional dog-groomer, who is only 4ft 11in tall, said she had battled with her weight since she was a teenager.

But she had started to hit the gym to work out four times a week to keep the pounds off and had lost an amazing ten inches from her bust, hips and tummy.

Elsewhere, a fun sponsored walk had helped swell the coffers of a Greenock children’s centre.

The parents’ forum of Enchanted Forest Nursery recently organised a sponsored walk to help raise funds, with 36 children and 50 parents all turning out.

With trainers tied and water bottles in hand, the group walked from Greenock Esplanade to Battery Park, enjoying fantastic weather and company along the way.

On arrival at their destination, the children were presented with medals and certificates for completing the challenge.

They also enjoyed some fresh fruit, juice and crisps as they relaxed in the splendid sunshine.

In other news, King’s Oak Primary kids were in a class of their own when it came to looking after their school surroundings.

Youngsters at the Greenock east end school took on the spirit of the season as they sprang into action during a determined tidy-up of the grounds.

Not only did they clean the place up, they also showed they know how to reduce, re-use and recycle, by putting things left behind by others to good use.

They made their own environmentally friendly vegetable garden out of pallets, created fantastic flower beds using guttering, took old milk cartons and transformed them into wonderful window boxes, as well as unveiling a mosaic using things they had salvaged.

In sport, Morton favourite Fouad Bachirou had admitted that his footballing future lay away from Morton.

The popular Frenchman had signed for the Cappielow club in July 2010 after a trial following his release by Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.

And after two impressive seasons, in which he made 62 appearances and scored one goal, the out-of-contract midfielder believed he had proved he can play at a higher level.

Bachirou, nicknamed Fred by manager Allan Moore, told the Telegraph he felt it was time for a move after the final game of the season — a 3-1 loss to Raith Rovers — which was themed as a French day in his honour.

And Bachirou made a specific point of thanking the fans for making both the afternoon so memorable for him and the way they had taken to him in his time with the club.

With his voice cracking, the visibly moved midfielder added: “It was very, very emotional for me.

“I can never say enough thank-yous for this.”

Despite saying goodbye to the club, Bachirou u-turned and re-signed for the club at the end of the summer.

He continued to play for the Ton for another two years before moving to Östersunds FK in August 2014.