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Superb Whyteleafe back on top spot
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Caterham great-grandmother meets Princess Anne
A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER from Caterham met Princess Anne – and got inside information on some royal babies.
Elizabeth Bennett, 83, was able to share family insights with the Princess Royal, who has two grandchildren herself.
The pair met when the royal VIP unveiled a commemorative stone to stage and screen actress Dame Anna Neagle – Mrs Bennett's aunt.
Princess Anne did the honours on March 6, at the City of London Cemetery in East London, where the star and her husband are buried
Mrs Bennett, who has three children, nine grandchildren and a great grandchild, said: "Princess Anne was incredible. She was charm personified. She told me what it is like to be a proud grandmother and how her grandchildren were really good and slept very well.
"It was a wonderful day.
"She spoke to each of my relatives who were present."
The entire family then joined their distinguished guest at a nearby reception.
Among Mrs Bennett's extended family who attended the unveiling was her daughter Sally Blockley, who travelled from Australia for the once-in-a-lifetime event. Dame Anna Neagle's most celebrated screen role was as Queen Victoria in two award-winning films. On the London stage, she starred in the musical Charlie Girl in 2,047 performances. The actress died in 1986.
When Mrs Bennett married in June 1954, she wore the Norman Hartnell-designed wedding dress which her famous aunt had worn in the 1949 film, Maytime in Mayfair.
Mrs Bennett, of Foxon Close, recalled: "My aunt was tremendously successful, especially in the 1940s.
"She was at the top of the tree and won many film awards."
The day was only marred by an unfortunate accident on their return to Caterham.
Mrs Bennett's husband Antony, a retired GP, fell and fractured his hip. He is now making a good recovery.
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Whyteleafe boss hails side after "must-win" game
Knitted chicks and rabbits boost Caterham Dene Hospital
CHICKS and rabbits are in huge demand at Caterham Dene Hospital.
But it's not a pet invasion on the wards. It's a creative fundraiser which is generating vital funds for the much-loved hospital in Church Road.
Industrious members of the hospital's League of Friends have had their needles clicking to create hundreds of woollen rabbits and chicks– and they are being snapped up like hot cakes.
The miniature figures, each containing a cream egg, are on sale for £1.50 each at the reception desk.
While some ladies knit the yellow pattern, Natalie Norris finishes them off by sewing the pieces together and attaching the eyes and beak.
Mrs Norris, who lives in Whyteleafe, said: "We've already made more than 300 items this year.
"They get snapped up really fast – someone bought 20 in one go.
"I've made so many, I think I could knit them in my sleep!"
Kathy Delwiche, a former nurse at the hospital, is among those picking up a pair of knitting needles to do her bit.
Mrs Delwiche, who lives in Godstone, said: "I was so appreciative of the work the League of Friends does here that I thought I'd try and put something back.
"There is a lot of affection in the Caterham area for the Dene."
The League of Friends has raised more than £300,000 for equipment and patients' amenities, with natty knitters making loads of fun Santas, Christmas puddings and robins over the festive season.
As well as sales of knitted goods and greetings cards, the friends' group holds an annual autumn fair and occasional quiz nights.
The next quiz night is on May 10, at Caterham United Reformed Church.
Its annual summer fete in 2011, which raised £3,400, was its last for a while because of a lack of voluntary help.
The hope is the fete can be revived this summer, if enough assistance is forthcoming.
To volunteer, become a friend or book tickets for the quiz night, call 01883 342270.
The hospital's minor injuries unit is open from 9am to 8pm each day.
The number of patients treated there has doubled since the unit opened in 2011. There is no need to book an appointment and there is limited free parking on site.
Get rid of Horley taxi rank, residents plead
A TOWN centre taxi rank is taking up valuable parking space, according to some residents.
Cabbies currently use the rank in Horley High Street to queue and wait for passengers. But the rank's apparent under-use is irritating some shoppers.
George Oddy, 89, who banks in Horley, said: "I have never seen a taxi there and like many other people I park there to use it and pop into the bank.
"Then one day I came out and there's a guy writing out a ticket which took me by surprise. I said I had been doing it for years, like many other people and he replied saying, 'well I was told to'."
"The rank just seems a total waste of space. I suggested [Reigate and Banstead Borough Council] could make it a short term one [parking area], so we could pop into the shops."
But a change such as this would not be welcomed by all. Abid Majid, chairman of the Taxi Association, admitted the rank is currently underused but said: "As the town increases, and there are pressures for the town to increase, it would become a viable rank at one stage. Once we give it up we would never get it back.
"I am sure given time it will be used."
Fiona Stimpson, chairman of the Horley and District Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that there is already a rank in Victoria Road.
Miss Stimpson added: "I can't see anybody hailing a taxi down the road. It is just not how people do it in Horley."
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council said it has taken the first steps to remove the rank.
Jacqui Joseph, the council's parking manager, said: "Reigate and Banstead Borough Council are aware of this issue for drivers and have previously requested that Surrey County Council remove the taxi rank. We're awaiting news from Surrey of the next steps for this process."
Lee Tobin, a Surrey County Council spokesperson, added: "Reigate and Banstead Borough Council are considering the removal of this taxi bay and are consulting our highways team about it. If the borough council decides it does not want the taxi rank in this spot, we would certainly consider some sort of parking scheme."
Suspended jail sentence for Caterham sex pest who flouted smartphone order
A "SEX PEST" has been given a suspended jail sentence for carrying a smartphone – in breach of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.
Mark Lewin had previously been jailed for 30 months in January 2011, after admitting two charges of outraging public decency.
Lewin, of Banstead Road, Caterham, also pleaded guilty at the time to 12 counts of making indecent images after pictures at the less-serious end of the scale were found on his camera.
He was then banned by a Guildford Crown Court judge from possessing a mobile phone with internet access during the ten years he would serve on the Sex Offenders' Register.
But Redhill magistrates heard last month that Lewin had breached that ban on March 26 this year.
Police found 33-year-old Lewin in Dorking carrying an iPhone, which could connect to the internet.
He was given a four-month jail term, suspended for 24 months, after admitting the offence.
Lewin was also ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge.
At the original hearing, the court heard Lewin had been seen trying to film up a woman's skirt while in Tesco, in Coulsdon Road, Caterham.
A mother-of-three was shopping in the store when she saw a man crouching near her by the baby wipes.
Shortly afterwards, she saw the man's hand near her thigh with an iPhone pointing up her knee-length skirt.
The woman alerted a guard who detained Lewin.
At the time, Rupert Hallowes, his defence solicitor, told the court: "This was low-level behaviour by a low-level sex pest.
"But his probation report says he has 'fantasies of a serious nature'."
And back in 2008 Lewin was jailed for 100 weeks after admitting two offences of voyeurism for the purposes of sexual gratification and six of possessing indecent images of youngsters.
The court heard he was twice caught peering over the cubicles at Tandridge Leisure Centre in Oxted to watch young girls changing.
The offences were committed while Lewin was on bail for having obscene images of children as young as two on his laptop, the court was told.
Should there be a second runway at Gatwick Airport? Have your say
NOW is the time to have your say on a second runway at Gatwick Airport.
A six-week public consultation into the proposal began on Friday. The results will be forwarded to the Government's independent airport commission which will rule on the future of air travel in the South East next year.
But critics have already branded the consultation "plush but bogus" saying it gives affected residents no chance to reject the scheme outright.
In December, the commission short-listed an extra runway at both Gatwick and Heathrow as options to maximise the region's air capacity.
Now both airports' applications will be considered in depth before a recommendation is made after next year's general election.
Gatwick chiefs say the consultation, which provides information about the options available and offers the public a chance to voice their preferences, will help them refine and decide on their final submission.
Currently there are three options for the siting of the second runway at Gatwick – all of which are south of the existing runway towards Crawley – and airport bosses say they will decide which they prefer after the consultation has concluded.
Stewart Wingate, Gatwick's chief executive, said: "We are keen to encourage as many local people as possible to respond to our consultation as this feedback will have a key role in helping us to refine our runway proposals."
Website www.gatwickobviously.com has been set up to promote the airport's proposals and the consultation.
At one point it cites support from local authorities for another runway at the airport.
Among the supporters is Wendy Bell, general manager at Sussex Enterprise, who said: "A second runway at Gatwick is not just economically vital for the area in terms of employment and supply; it will ensure that the region has a gateway to the world."
But environmental group the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC) has slammed the consultation as "bogus" saying people cannot choose "no runway" as their preference.
The consultation allows residents to choose "none of the above" as their favourite option for a new runway, but GACC members say that is not enough and there should be a "no runway" option.
The group's chairman Brendon Sewill said: "GACC's objections remain as strong as ever.
"We will campaign vigorously against any new runway because we believe that making Gatwick larger than Heathrow today would alter the character of Surrey, Sussex and west Kent forever."
The consultation will finish on May 16. Visit www.gatwickairport.com/ consultation for information.
Consultation meetings GATWICK bosses are holding consultation events in surrounding towns to discuss the plans for a second runway with residents.Epsom Date: Tuesday, April 15 Time: 4pm to 7.30pm Venue: The Ebbisham CentreReigate Date: Wednesday, April 23 Time: 4pm to 7.30pm Venue: Reigate Community CentreHorley Date: Saturday, April 26 Time: 11am to 3.30pm Venue: The Studio, Horley Leisure CentreCharlwood Date: Monday, April 28 Time: 4pm to 7.30pm Venue: Parish Hall, 92 The StreetDorking Date: Thursday, May 1 Time: 4pm to 7.30pm Venue: Masonic Hall, Dorking HallsAssault outside Redhill snooker club
Whyteleafe skipper hopes Tunbridge Wells can do side a favour
PICTURES: RAG Week fun at Oxted School
FUN with a fundraising intent formed Oxted School's action-packed RAG Week.
A girls' rugby match, pouring baked beans over selected students, musical events and a staff versus students hockey match were among the elements of the week, which culminated on Friday.
Run by and for sixth form students, it also saw pupils dress as everything from cowboys and superheroes to characters from TV's Little Britain.
The brave individuals who had baked beans poured over them were head boy Zak Tait, head girl Hannah Gauntlett, deputy head boy Robbie Belok, deputy head girl Alice Williams, the head of sixth form Adrian Bennett and head of Year 12 Lisa Starnes.
The overall proceeds will be divided between the Orpheus Centre in Godstone and the Hospice in the Weald, in Kent.
However the half raised for the Orpheus Centre will be matched by Barclays in Oxted.
Year 13 student Ciara Redmond, one of the main organisers of the week, said: "A former student is the head fundraiser at The Orpheus Centre, which is an excellent local charity providing life skills and performing arts to young disabled adults.
"The centre offers lots of exciting work experience and voluntary work for Oxted students.
"As a sixth form we feel that the money raised will be used in a fun and useful way to benefit many of the young adults who attend."
A total of £1,156.36 was raised from the girls' rugby, the bean bath and a quiz night alone.
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Pavement parkers are 'threatening the lives' of blind people
A PENSIONER has called for action over parked cars blocking pavements.
Brian Gardener, 77, who is blind in one eye and has only 25 per cent vision in the other, is fed up with the difficulties careless parking causes him.
Mr Gardener said: "The problem is primarily that I can't get past them without walking into the road or, in many cases, there are things parked that I just do not see and I walk straight into the back of them.
"It is very, very dangerous when we have got to walk out into the road."
As it currently stands, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council's enforcement officers only have the power to issue penalty charges to vehicles parked on the pavement where parking restrictions, such as yellow lines, exist.
Jacqui Joseph, the council's parking manager, said: "We do not have the power to issue penalty charge notices to cars parked on pavements away from lowered kerbs and, instead, this is a police matter if the vehicle is causing an obstruction.
"Our officers endeavour to cover as much of the borough's roads as possible on their regular patrols but residents can, and indeed do, contact us where there are persistent problems."
Mr Gardener's complaints are part of a wider, national call for new laws to prevent vehicles parking on pavements.
Research by Guide Dogs has found the majority of British adults and local authority councillors back its call for new laws.
Seven out of ten (69 per cent) people who took part in a YouGov survey, commissioned by the charity, supported the idea, and eight out of ten (78 per cent) of local authority councillors said they would support the introduction of such a law.
James White, campaigns manager for Guide Dogs, said: "It can be frightening for anyone who is forced to step into a road because the pavement is blocked by a van, car or other badly-parked vehicle.
"Now, imagine you have to step into a road where you can't see on-coming traffic. People who are blind or partially sighted have to face this shocking reality every day.
"We want politicians to act, to prevent this inconsiderate and dangerous parking."
Surrey Police spokesman James Baker said Safer Neighbourhood Team officers carry out regular patrols to target anti-social and obstructive parking.
He added, in some cases, fixed penalty notices can be issued and any residents with concerns about their area should call 101.
Life-saving Hurst Green boy, 9, wins prestigious award
A PROUD mum was in "floods of tears" after her life-saving son won a prestigious award.
Cameron Harden came to the rescue when his epileptic older brother Elliot had a severe seizure last August.
Elliot, now 12, slipped into unconsciousness and turned blue. But Cameron did not panic.
He dragged a heavy oxygen cylinder towards his stricken brother and gently placed the oxygen mask on Elliot's mouth until his colour returned, all the while encouraging his brother to "Please come back, Elliot, please".
He then put Elliot into the recovery position until his mother could step in.
On March 26, nine-year-old Cameron of Coldshott, Hurst Green, won the shining star category of Young Epilepsy's Champions Awards.
A pupil at St Francis School in Caterham, he received the charity's award at London's City Hall where he got to meet several cast members from EastEnders, Waterloo Road and The Bill.
He also had his picture taken with TV newsreader and Reigate resident Nicholas Owen, together with actress Roberta Taylor who has appeared in both The Bill and EastEnders.
Elliot needs 24-hour care and cannot speak, but devoted Cameron can feed his brother and can give emergency medication if necessary.
The boys' mother Julie said: "I am extremely proud of him and his amazing achievement.
"I was in floods of tears when he received his award. I realise what an incredible young man he is."
Hospital admissions of his older sibling are an accustomed part of family life in the Harden household, she added.
Cameron has shown videos at school of Young Epilepsy students and their achievements, has done a sponsored run for the Lingfield-based charity and organised fundraising days at school.
The youngster's ambition is to teach at the charity when he grows up.
Lisa Farmer, Young Epilepsy's director of development, said: "Cameron is an inspiration and a hero.
"I am humbled by the stories of Cameron and others – people that have gone above and beyond to try and make the world a better place for those living with epilepsy."