NANDO'S is set to open its first branch in the area – at Gatwick Airport.
But fans of the famous chicken restaurant will have to buy a plane ticket to get their hands on some peri-peri goodness because the new eaterie will be opening airside in the South Terminal next summer.
The development comes after Nandos topped a list of chain restaurants passengers want to see at the airport - with a third of those included in a survey asking for one at Gatwick. To read more, click here
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Nando's wings its way to Gatwick Airport
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Reigate 22-year-old hanged himself while drunk, inquest hears
A POPULAR 22-year-old plumber hanged himself while drunk, an inquest heard.
Jonathan Wooff, known as Jonny to his friends, was in good spirits on a night out in Reigate, just hours before he died, and family and friends were left stunned by what happened.
The inquest into his death on April 28 this year, held in Woking on Tuesday, heard it could have been the result of a prank gone wrong and ruled there was no evidence he intended to take his life.Click here for the full story
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Train passengers angry at having to wade through ankle-deep water
PASSENGERS were forced to wade through ankle-deep water after heavy rain swamped a train station underpass.
Dozens of people were left without any alternative after getting off the train at Earlswood Station and making their way down to the subway at platform two.
Many passengers took to Twitter to vent their anger,Click here for the full story
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Seven people arrested on suspicion of murder after body is found in a Warlingham well
SEVEN people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a body was found in a well in Warlingham yesterday.
Police were called to the garden of a three-bedroomed cottage in Audley Drive at around 1.50pm yesterday (Friday).
Gardeners were clearing half an acre of land when they looked down the garden's well and spotted what they thought was a body. For the full story, click here
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EXCLUSIVE: 'How we found body down Warlingham well'
A TEENAGER and his friend have described how they found a body floating in a well in Warlingham.
Jack Duncan, 17, and Rory Mulholland, 21, made the grisly discovery while working in the garden of a cottage in Audley Drive at around 1.50pm yesterday (Friday).
Seven people have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are currently being questioned by the police.
Jack, who lives in New Addington, Croydon, and his friend Rory had been asked to do some gardening at the house on Thursday and returned the following day to clear up. For the full story, click here
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Plans for a new Gatwick runway still alive following commission report
A NEW runway at Gatwick is among the options that have been shortlisted by the Airports Commission.
The investigation into how to maximise airport capacity in the South East published a three-option shortlist this morning.
Alongside expansion at Gatwick, the commission - led by Sir Howard Davies - also included another runway at Heathrow and the expansion of an existing Heathrow runway as options.
Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate welcomed the report.
He said: "I am very pleased that the strength of London Gatwick's case has been recognised by the Airports Commission and that the short list has been narrowed down to two main locations.
"Expansion at London Gatwick can give the country the economic benefits it needs at an environmental cost it can afford with the lower fares and greater choice that passengers want. It can be delivered more quickly and at lower cost.
"London Gatwick is also uniquely placed to help meet all the different aviation needs of the future. It is the only option which can the deliver the right type of capacity for the UK as it is the only airport serving all airlines models including both low cost and legacy airlines as well as both transfer passengers and people flying direct.
"I believe the critical importance of this to the aviation debate will become far more widely recognised over the coming months."
The commission said a new runway will be needed in the South East by 2030 with another possibly required by 2050.
A potential new airport in the Thames Estuary was not on the shortlist, but the commission will investigate whether is could provide a long-term option.
Launching the report Sir Howard Davies, chair of the commission, said: "Decisions on airport capacity are important national strategic choices and must be based upon the best evidence available.
"The Commission has undertaken a fresh, comprehensive and transparent study of the issues. This report is the product of extensive consultation, independent analysis and careful consideration by the Commissioners.
"The UK enjoys excellent connectivity today. The capacity challenge is not yet critical but it will become so if no action is taken soon and our analysis clearly supports the provision of one net additional runway by 2030."
A final report is due by the summer of 2015. Read more in this Thursday's paper.
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How you can help domestic abuse victims in time for Christmas
A GROUP of women have renewed their appeal to help victims of domestic abuse this Christmas.
The Surrey Gift Appeal was launched last month, in aid of the Reigate and Banstead's Women's Aid refuge and ESDAS (East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services).
Sara Willcocks, one of the women running the appeal, said: "The Surrey Gift Appeal has received an overwhelmingly positive response from residents in and around East Surrey.
"There's still plenty of time for people to get involved.
"We need as much support as possible so we can provide women who are affected by domestic abuse with a special treat this Christmas.
"It's not just about the giving of a present, but more the gift of solidarity and showing them there are people who do care, even if they can't reach out to them."
She urged readers to donate any unwanted but unused toiletries or cosmetics, or to put a little something extra in their shopping trolley.
New toiletries, cosmetics, luxury items, chocolates and gifts can be donated 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, up to January 6, at Elite Garages, High Street, Caterham on the Hill; Amano Deli and Cafe, Limpsfield Road, Warlingham; The Hair Sanctuary, The Green, Warlingham; and the Surrey Mirror offices, Regent House, 1-3 Queensway, Redhill (Monday to Friday only).
For more information, or to get involved, call Sara on 07976 941585, Janet on 07970 407444 or go to facebook.com/surreygiftappeal
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Search for Surrey youngsters who benefit the community
NOMINATIONS for community-minded youngsters who have made a difference in their community are being sought by Reigate Rotary Club.
Those vying for a Rotary Young Citizen Award should be aged under 18 and can be nominated as an individual or as a group.
"We need readers to nominate young people who they believe have been outstanding young citizens," said Rotarian Phil Capstick.
"For example, one of last year's winners was a 17-year-old young lady who, a few years before, had fallen from a tree and broken her back.
"She was left paralysed from the waist down.
"She took up wheelchair tennis and, with great perseverance, she is now the world number one champion in this sport.
"She visits schools to talk about disability sport.
"She has helped Stoke Mandeville patients with wheelchair skills and introduced injured servicemen at Hedley Court to sport."
Winners receive £500 cash and a trophy presented at the Rotary National Conference.
Nominate a young person by e-mailing Mr Capstick at capstickphillip@gmail.com
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Don't cuddle your boa constrictor too tight - 50 people hospitalised after animal injuries
MORE than 50 people have required treatment at East Surrey Hospital this year – for injuries caused by animals.
And the number of injuries inflicted by an array of creatures is rising.
So far this year, 51 people have been treated for animal injuries – compared to 32 in the whole of 2012.
Figures released to the Surrey Mirror, following a Freedom of Information request, show that from October 2010 to last Tuesday, 134 people required a visit to the hospital after an animal escapade.
Injuries in that time ranged from an open wound to someone's lower leg caused by a marine animal, to two people being bitten or crushed by reptiles.
The animals causing the highest number of injuries – 51 – have been "non-venomous insects and arthropods".
Wildlife expert and Tilgate Nature Centre manager Simon Woodard said: "Arthropods are defined as an invertebrate insect or crustacean, so that could include bed bugs, ladybirds – they can give a nasty bite – and spiders."
The creatures causing the second highest number of admissions were "other mammals". "These could include injuries to farmers," Simon suggested. "Farming is a high-risk industry. Livestock, cattle and pigs can be quite dangerous.
"They are big animals and there are a number of farmers killed each year by cows."
Regarding the injuries caused by reptiles, Simon said: "If someone was crushed, it sounds like they had a snake and let it go round them a bit too long.
"People keep pythons and boa constrictors and they are the ones that get long, and if someone was silly enough to put one around their neck or their arm, that can be really dangerous."
He added: "The higher number of injuries could be a weather thing. With the warm summer there were more insects like bees and wasps around, so there was more potential for stinging."
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Oxted parents in danger of £500 bill for travel
MANY parents sending their children to Oxted School face being hit in the pocket, a parish council leader has warned.
Surrey County Council is consulting on plans to charge parents £500 a year towards transport costs for taking their children to and from the Bluehouse Lane high school.
The move is likely to affect many children from Lingfield and Dormansland who make the lengthy journey to the school daily.
Chris d'Avray, chairman of Lingfield Parish Council, said: "Why should our children be financially penalised?
"As taxpayers to Surrey County Council, parents should be concerned that the tax they pay is not coming back to where they live."
The parish council will forward any parents' views it receives on to the school.
Mr d'Avray added that even prospective parents not planning to have a child in Oxted School for several years should take part in the consultation.
Responses must be received by December 20.
To find out more, visit http://tinyurl.com/pmu5v5u
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Exploits of Reigate's guerilla knitters to remain over Christmas due to popular demand
A RAPTUROUS welcome for the work of guerilla knitters in Reigate's Priory Park has granted the woollen decorations a longer stay.
Yarn bombers, or "guerilla knitters" from Dunottar School in Reigate struck for the first time in the park on Thursday, adorning trees with multi-coloured woollen jackets, pom-poms and even a knitted bicycle suspended between branches.
The "art installation" was meant only to be in place over the weekend, and come down yesterday (Monday). But such was the reception, the exhibition was extended until tomorrow.
Now, at the request of the park authororities - who gave their blessing for the project - the creations will remain over Christmas, and not come down until January 6.
"Everyone loves it, especially the kids," said Priory Park officer Helen West. "It looks so lovely, it adds a lot of colour on a grey day.
"It is a very nice Christmas present for the trees, and will keep them nice and warm!"
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Whyteleafe boss Fowler: Combined Counties is weaker than the Kent League
THE Southern Counties East League has been shocked this week by the news one of it's oldest members, Beckenham Town, want to join the Combined Counties League - but having managed in both leagues, Whyteleafe boss John Fowler thinks it's a smart move.
Beckenham have been members of the Southern Counties East League, formerly called the Kent League, for more than 30 years but are considering moving west to the mainly Surrey-based Combined Counties citing more games and travelling ease as positives.
"We have not been happy in the Kent League for a considerable time now and the general feeling is that the club would benefit from a change of environment," Beckenham's secretary Peter Palmer said in a statement on www.beckenhamtownfc.co.uk.
"It would be nice if the change could be achieved by way of promotion to the Ryman League, however that's not going happen at present and the alternative is a switch to the Combined Counties League.
"Geographically it makes sense: we almost straddle the Kent/Surrey border and we already compete by invitation in the Surrey Senior Cup.
"We need to play more matches. For the second consecutive season we are on course to play less than 50 games and it's simply not enough.
"We have been badly hit a by drop in attendances at Eden Park Avenue this season and that is also part of our consideration. We understand that we need to make application to join the Combined Counties League by the end of the year so there is not a lot of time."
And Whyteleafe boss Fowler, who joined the Church Road club from Combined Counties League side Croydon, believes the Southern Counties East League is the more competitive division.
"I think [Beckenham] would have more chance of promotion to the Ryman League from the Combined Counties League," he said. "At the moment I would say the CCL is weaker than the Kent League, now that they don't have Guernsey or Egham.
"I like the Kent League because the travelling is easier than the CCL; Canterbury and Deal are a long way, but it's easier than travelling into Greater London on a weekday night.
"It's just a shame there are so few games. But Whyteleafe don't really want to be in the Kent League or the CCL; we're hoping to be in the Ryman."
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Redhill staff buy giraffe named after Dame Vera Lynn
SOME Redhill employees have snapped up a decorated giraffe named after forces' sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn.
The five-feet tall model, called Vera: An Inspiration (correct) has been bought for £1,500 by staff at Puzzler Media Ltd, based in Station Road.
The money has gone to the School for Parents, a West Sussex centre where children with cerebral palsy - alongside their parents - learn through play.
The school was set up by the Dame Vera Lynn Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy.
Vera, which featured images of Dame Vera and was signed by her, was one of several decorated giraffes placed around Horsham town centre before being sold off for charity.
Vera will spend most of the time at the school but will also pay visits to Puzzler Media's office.
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Sam Gyimah MP visits a Chaldon care home
EAST Surrey MP Sam Gyimah brought some Christmas cheer to elderly residents at Glebe House care home, in Chaldon.
He popped in to the home, in Church Lane, on Friday, to turn on the festive lights.
Fil de Pina Muller, general manager at the home, said: "Sam was very kind and generous with his time, and warm with the many residents he spoke to. All those residents seemed to get great enjoyment from talking with him.
"They were all very positive about him when we were discussing this visit after he had left.
"This discussion was during the weekly pre-dinner drinks social event at Glebe House for residents."
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Rail passengers face post-Christmas misery
RAIL passengers face "aggravation and chaos" over Christmas, with no trains at all serving Redhill, Reigate, Merstham and Horley stations over a seven-day period.
Other stations, such as Oxted, Upper Warlingham and Hurst Green, could be inundated with passengers on diversions.
A combination of work on a new platform at Gatwick and improvements to the Brighton mainline means there will be no direct trains between Brighton and London Victoria between Boxing Day and January 1.
Southern Rail advises passengers travelling from Brighton to take a bus from Three Bridges to East Grinstead for a direct train to Victoria.
In addition, there will be no Gatwick Express service to London during the same period, with passengers also advised to take a bus to East Grinstead.
Brian Blackmole, 57, a regular commuter on the Oxted line, said: "There has been no notice about what the service is going to be like. It's a recipe for disaster. I'm predicting nothing but aggravation and chaos."
But a Southern Rail spokesman said there had been an extensive campaign to inform passengers of the disruption, including announcements and posters at train stations and online. He said an extra 130 staff were being brought in to work on trains and at the stations affected, and trains will run every half an hour to and from East Grinstead.
A spokesman for First Great Western – which runs trains from Reading to Gatwick via Dorking, Reigate and Redhill – said that line would also not operate during the same period.
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Lottery to boost Caterham community building
WIN UP to £25,000 and help revitalise Caterham's community hub.
A £5 million initiative is underway to modernise 102-year-old Soper Hall.
The Harestone Valley Road site is run by a registered charity. As well as needing refurbishment, long-term plans for the Victorian building could include installing a library, cinema and fitness suite, together with a direct link to the multi-storey car park.
Operators Soper Hall Community Centre Ltd (SHCCL) has joined the Unity Lottery, which already helps 250-plus charities raise money across the country, and pays out thousands of pounds in prizes every week.
People who play the lottery, which is run by Cumbria-based Sterling Lotteries, pay £1 every week to receive a unique six digit number. Fifty pence of that goes towards the Soper Hall refurbishment fund.
A lottery draw takes place each week, with prizes from £5 to £25,000 up for grabs.
SHCCL chairman Graham Tapley said: " This is an opportunity for the community to show their financial support and potentially enjoy the experience of a lottery win.
To find out more visit www.unitylottery.co.uk
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Christmas fun in Oxted delights shoppers
OXTED'S Christmas late-night shopping event may have been more low key this year, but the fun was still abundant.
Station Road East and Station Road West were not closed off to traffic last Thursday , as in recent years, meaning a lack of stalls and sideshows.
Instead, the entertainment was centred on the shops – and many responded to the challenge.
Singers from the town's Idol Hands music studio kept shoppers entertained throughout the evening, as artificial snow fell in Station Road East.
Barbara Wells, a helper at Barnardo's charity shop, was dressed as Santa to give out sweets. Over at the Oxfam shop, children could enjoy a lucky dip.
Oxted estate agents also got in on the act.
A Punch and Judy show was put on at Robert Leech's office while, across the road, free drinks and nibbles were on offer at Howard Cundey's branch.
Volunteers from King's Church were giving out free hot chocolate to help keep out the wintry chill.
And Santa was on hand to greet children in his grotto at JJ's children's wear shop.
Co-organiser Paul Dashwood, the chairman of Oxted Chamber of Commerce, said: "I'm pleased overall with how the evening went.
"A lack of volunteer stewards meant we could not close the roads, but at least it meant more people headed for the shops."
Visitor numbers were down on past events.
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Train robber Ronnie Biggs dies aged 84
RONNIE Biggs, best known for his role in the 1963 Great Train Robbery, has died aged 84.
Biggs was part of the gang which escaped with £2.6m from the Glasgow to London mail train near Cheddington, Buckinghamshire, on 8 August 1963.
He was living in Alpine Road, Redhill when arrested for the crime and given a 30-year sentence but escaped from Wandsworth prison in 1965.
After 36 years on the run, he returned to the UK voluntarily in 2001 seeking medical help but was sent to prison.
He was released on compassionate grounds in 2009 after contracting pneumonia.
Biggs, who died early on Wednesday, was being cared for at the Carlton Court Care Home in East Barnet, north London.
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From a Redhill plot to prison and Brazil: The life of Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs
GREAT Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, former Redhill resident and borough council employee, has died, aged 84, 50 years after his arrest for the crime at his home in Alpine Road.
Ronald Biggs, at the time of the 1963 £2,631,784 raid on a mail train in Buckinghamshire, lived in Redhill, almost opposite the Holmethorpe Industrial Estate, in a modest semi in a working class area of town.
Born in Lambeth, he became involved in petty crime at a young age and spent a time in Wormwood Scrubs where he met and became close mates with fellow train robber Bruce Reynolds.
On leaving jail he took up carpentry and stayed with "a pretty tough lady" at Merstham, called Ivy, a friend of Reynolds, who, when visiting her, turned up in a "ritzy sports car".
In 1958 he worked on Redhill building sites but left for work as a chippie in London. While commuting from Redhill he met 17-year-old Charmian Powell on the train. She was the daughter of the headmaster at Reigate Parish School, London Road, Reigate, and lived with her parents in the school grounds. It was in the classrooms of this school that Biggs and Charmian got involved in amorous activities. They married at Reigate Register Office in 1960.
Ron was involved in a petty crime spree in the South West in 1958 and was jailed for two years. He was released in time to celebrate the new year of 1960 and Charmian was waiting for him outside Wandsworth. They stayed in a hotel and next day came to Redhill seeking accommodation, while staying with friends John and Violet Goldsmith.
The book, Surrey in the Sixties, notes that Biggs soon obtained work with Reigate Borough Council as a carpenter.
In his autobiography, Ronald Biggs, Odd Man Out (Bloomsbury 1994), he writes of the council job: "Not very well paid but plenty of tea and sympathy with the housewives". He writes that they rented a small flat, planned to get married but Charmian's father was against it.
Ronnie soon changed his job to working for an elderly Redhill building contractor by the name of Sid Budgeon. He worked overtime because his wife was expecting, and Nicholas Grant Biggs was born on July 23, 1960 at Redhill County Hospital.
"His proud and happy parents wheeled 'His Nibs' [his son] through the streets of Redhill in an enormous plum-covered baby carriage."
In April 1962, Ron and "Charm" had drinks with her old school pal Janet, and her husband, Ray Stripp, resulting in Ronnie and Ray forming a partnership, Biggs and Stripp, employing ten labourers and operating from the address at 37 Alpine Road.
Ron and Charmian's second son, Christopher Dean, was born on March 24, 1963, putting a strain on the household budget. Ronnie was tempted back to crime when approached by Bruce Reynolds who offer him a £40,000 cut if he were to take part in a job, "enough to buy four new four-bedroomed houses in the best part of Reigate," wrote Ronnie in his book.
Biggs knew of an un-named Redhill train driver whose house he was working on in Redhill. "While watering plants in his garden, the plan of action was discussed and the train driver agreed to take part", Biggs states.
Local rumours have persisted about this and the Surrey Mirror has on more than one occasion been furnished with a name of the said British Rail employee but as he was never charged, we will not be giving further details. The railway employee named locally died a few years after the train raid.
After the train robbery on Thursday, August 8 1963, Biggs arrived back home in Alpine Road with Reynolds and they put down two kit bags on the kitchen floor which Charmian learned were full of cash. While he had been away, his brother Jack had died of a heart attack and the police were looking for Ronnie on "a tree felling job in Wiltshire".
Next morning the money was tipped on to the bedroom floor. The sum of £40,000 of blue £5 notes in one suitcase and £30,000 in mixed notes in another and more in a holdall. Minders later looked after the proceeds.
Surrey in the Sixties tells how Ronnie celebrated with an Indian meal in Soho and some window shopping.
A pick-up truck later removed £60,000 from the house. Some £40,000 was later taken unwittingly by a cab driver to Horley and handed to another minder at a pub. Both minders received £5,000. Then, back for a celebratory drink in Redhill, Biggs noted the bar girl checking the numbers of notes to make sure they were not from the robbery!
Some days later, one of the robbers was arrested in Bournemouth. And then £100,000 from the raid was found in Redlands Wood, at Coldharbour, Dorking, by Mr John Ahern whose motorcycle had overheated a few yards away from the trees. He thought someone had left the remains of a picnic, investigated, and, unzipping a holdall, discovered it stuffed with £1 notes. Police were on the trail. A further £30,000 cash was discovered in a caravan at the Clovelly site, Box Hill, concealed behind panelling. This was robber James White's hideaway.
The Chief Constable of Surrey attended the raid on the caravan which had red checked curtains, and had been recently vacated by a young pair with a white toy poodle.
Police also raided a retail outlet at Molesey near Hampton Court and made arrests in connection with the inquiry.
The rest is history. Biggs was arrested at Alpine Road, Redhill, by officers including young Sgt Jack Slipper – later Detective Superintendent Jack Slipper. He and colleagues had ripped up his floorboards in the hunt for cash. Some of the proceeds of the robbery had been put in the kitchen stove fire and the ashes scattered on the rosebeds in the garden. The un-named Redhill train driver was never caught but Slipper years later told Biggs that inquiries had been made amongst railway staff. Three members of the gang remain undetected.
Biggs escaped from Wandsworth jail on July, 8 1965, little over a year into his 30-year jail term for his part in the robbery. He was chased all over the globe by detectives, but eventually enjoyed many years of freedom in Brazil where he had a native son which prevented his extradition. Charmian moved to Australia. Her father tragically took his own life in the Castle Grounds, Reigate, in the mid 70s. It was said that he was depressed by all the shame that had been brought on the family by his son-in-law.
In last year's TV series, "Mrs Biggs" told how Ronnie had led her into a life of crime and how, during a raid on a shop, she was once the getaway driver.
In an earlier television programme, screened more than a decade ago, Charmian described how her husband had pressurised her to steal £200 from a cash float at Reigate Parish School.
Biggs voluntarily returned to Britain in 2001 and was re-imprisoned but was released on compassionate grounds before his 80th birthday. He had been in poor health and living in a care home for the past few years.
He once told a reporter that while in exile in Rio de Janeira his one wish that he could be back in Redhill, playing a game of backgammon with his pals in the Red Lion, Redhill.
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Manager Baker set to wield axe after Chipstead capitulate
STEVE BAKER has promised personnel changes at Chipstead this week, insisting some players in his current side "aren't capable of defending a lead or winning 1-0".
Baker identified the defence as an area he was keen to strengthen when he took over at High Road at the end of November, but despite several changes the Chips have continued to concede goals at an alarming rate – letting in 21 in their last six league games.
And after Chipstead threw away a 2-0 lead, eventually losing 4-3 against their fellow Ryman League strugglers Three Bridges, who only had ten men for 77 minutes of the match on Saturday, Baker says he has had enough.
"I've got to give credit where it's due and Three Bridges gave a performance in the last half an hour and we didn't.
"They deserved the win," he admitted.
"I know I haven't been here long, but for me that was the most disappointed I've been since I arrived.
"We couldn't have had more luck early on in the game; their keeper was sent off and a non-keeper had to go in goal, then we had two fluky goals, one which was definitely wind-assisted.
"Then in the last 35 minutes we lost our belief."
But Baker says he did not rant and rave after the game, admitting defeat with some of the players.
"Normally I'd rave, but sometimes you have to pick the right time and the right place," he said. "With some individuals I've realised they just aren't good enough, so there is no point shouting at them or trying to improve them.
"Saturday was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"Certain personnel aren't good enough and changes will definitely happen.
"It might take a few days but a few players will go and I'll bring a few in as well, because the team we have at the moment aren't capable of defending a lead or winning 1-0."
However, while Chipstead have been conceding goals at a rate of knots, they have been scoring at a similar rate and that is largely down to their impressive captain Dan Moody.
Moody is the fourth highest scorer in the Division One South, despite playing in midfield.
"Dan Moody is as good a player as I've seen in non-league football," Baker said.
"It's not just his ability either; he has a great attitude and his goalscoring record is fantastic. He has single-handedly won us points.
"He does things above the level he is playing at.
"Dan is a credit to himself and the club, and long may it continue."
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