Hello! Weekly news from Bedford, England

Yes, I did say I was taking a break until term begins! This is a somewhat abbreviated summary of the news for this week, for the sake of continuity.

BoS led with the report that Michael Howard has expelled Mid-Beds MP Jonathan Sayeed from the party last night afther fresh allegations of misusing parliamentary allowances.

The new controversy comes only weeks after the MP had been found to have broken the rules by offering parliamentary tours to paying wealthy Americans.

Mr Sayeed, a former Tory whip who has been under fire in his constituency because of the scandal, has already decided to stand down at the coming general election, blaming health reasons for his move.

The Commons standards and privileges committee in a report published yesterday claimed Mr Sayeed had misused his parliamentary allowances and has repaid more than £12,000 in respect of claiming for both his London and constituency homes.

Parliamentary standards watchdog Sir Philip Mawer launched the original investigation after a report claiming a company set up by Mr Sayeed and his Commons assistant charged £500 a day for access to the Palace of Westminster.

The committee backed Sir Philip's finding that his behaviour risked damaging the reputation of MPs.

BoS reported that all hell is breaking out between the borough and county council over road repairs.

Even while both sides were bathing in congratulations over bringing Nirah to the county, a furious exchange of letters was taking place between borough chief executive Shaun Field and county director of strategic development Tim Malynn.

Each side has sent out photographers to take pictures of potholes and uneven pavements allegedly the fault of the other side. And now lawyers are being called in.

At the heart of the row is road repair work and minor improvements in the borough.

The borough undertakes the work on behalf of the county as an agent. The county council wants to end the agreement, saying the borough is not doing a good enough job. The borough argues that is because it does not get enough cash to do it properly and anyway the borough can insist it continues to repair the roads on behalf of the county.

Already the borough is taking legal advice.

The result could be an expensive battle for council taxpayers with no guarantee of better road repairs.

A wheeler-dealer who sold car parts on internet site ebay hours after they were stolen has been jailed for six months.

An investigation by Bedfordshire on Sunday helped in the prosecution of Douglas Clunie, of Stronnell Close, Luton.

At a hearing in February the 26-year-old pleaded guilty to two offences of handling stolen goods and on Tuesday he appeared for sentencing.

Clunie, a full-time ebay trader, sold an amplifier on September 14 and skirting from a Vauxhall Vectra on October 18 on the website hours after the products had been stolen in Hitchin.

John Wootton, who lives in mid Bedfordshire and owned the Vectra, contacted Hertfordshire Police after spotting the skirts advertised but they failed to act and instead BoS successfully bid for the parts which had previously been marked.

BoS reported the case at the time calling Mr Wootton 'John Lewin' to protect his identity.

He confirmed ownership and police said they were looking into the case but the officer involved was on holiday which was causing the delay.

Clunie was eventually charged in late December.

In court, prosecution counsel said:

"Officers made inquiries and the ebay account was held by Douglas Clunie.

"On October 18 car skirting had been stolen and Mr Wootton contacted a local newspaper. It set up an operation and bought the skirting and arranged for it to be delivered."

During interview, Clunie said he got things from car boot sales and that he had not been involved in the theft or knew that the parts were stolen.

Clunie's defence counsel told the court:

"He accepts he was responsible and handled the stolen goods. He pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity. He has sold 500 items over the internet and has not been investigated about the majority of these transactions.

"He needs some guidance and at age 26 needs to grow up much more quickly. He wheels and deals."

On sentencing, Clunie was told by magistrate Colin Straker:

"We are sending you to prison for six months. There is no other way to deal with you. We have reduced the sentence because of your early guilty plea."

SIR - It seems to have become the norm these days to criticise the police for doing their job.

I'm talking about the case of Colin O'Connor, the armed man who was shot dead by the police in Clophill, whose family have been defending him since the event.

Here we had a man who pointed a gun, not only at the police, but also at a stationary bus containing passengers. What were the police supposed to do?

O'Connor was warned and given the opportunity to surrender his weapon. He chose not to do so. This made him a potential killer and the police had no alternative but to take him down.

Whether his gun was loaded or not is irrelevant. The police at the scene had no way of knowing the condition of the gun. If you threaten someone with a firearm, then you have to be prepared to accept the consequences, whatever they happen to be.

The offender's family claimed at the recent inquest that he was mentally unstable and on medication at the time - so what? It makes no difference. All murderers are mentally unstable. This doesn't make them any less dangerous. If this man was as harmless as his family maintain, then he would not have been in possession of a gun in the first place. No matter how much the family protest O'Connor's innocence, they will never be able to justify the fact that he was carrying a gun. The police took the correct action and took a potential killer off the streets.

Before the anti-police lobby start writing in, I should point out that I'm not particularly pro-police.

I think that in these days of political correctness gone mad, they are largely ineffective. In this case, however, the line of action they took was the correct one.

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SIR - Many people will be concerned and confused by the latest changes to Bedford's post offices as reported last week.

What at first appeared to be a 'consultation' exercise on the planned changes to Dane Street Post Office now looks to be a done deal. Coming on top of local post office closures there are genuine fears that services are being cut again.

Many Harpur Ward residents, particularly in the Black Tom and Queen Street area, are anxious that having already lost the Roff Avenue sub post office, Dane Street will go the same way.

In addition we are also concerned for the post office staff. Transfers to the profit hungry private sector ultimately mean worse pay and terms and conditions, a collapse of motivation and so poorer services.

A clear message needs to be sent to the post office that Dane Street needs to remain a public service and not turn into a glorified supermarket. We would urge all Bedfordshire on Sunday readers to make their views known to the post office or to us c/o Town Hall, Bedford so we can pass them on.

Cllrs Colleen Atkins, Hazel Mitchell, Cathy Moorhouse & Ian Nicholls

(Comment: I'm still smarting from the closure of the post office down Castle Road. And even more incensed when I called at the main post office, to find that there were no fewer than twenty-nine people in the queue in front of me. There are in fact eleven counters, but only six were in action. Now, as part of the "service" the post office is to be "outsourced" shortly. There was a petition on this, on a table as you slowly made your way along the queue, but of course no pen!)

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SIR - In the 1930s the Nazis attacked Jews, burned their properties and eventually murdered them.

They were called fascists. Nowadays some animal rights activists terrorise research scientists, burn their cars and damage their properties. Are they not also fascists?

Excess of political correctness is ruining this country and it is high time that somebody stood up and called a spade a bloody shovel.

In this matter you have my full support for what it is worth, Mr Branston.

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SIR - The county council spokesman who dragged his authority's planning application into the argument over derelict county-owned houses in St Pauls Square, Bedford, ought to know better.

The planning application is totally separate from the need to do something about those listed buildings and they cannot be linked. Indeed, it would be illegal for the borough to seek to do so.

The county has allowed those buildings to rot for two decades, the consequence being it will now cost a lot to do them up.

The county could spend some money on cosmetic treatment to the outside and in stopping their deterioration, but it prefers to do nothing.

Frank Branston

Mayor of Bedford

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SIR - I recently wrote about the non-smoking ruling in Bedford Hospital.

I have heard from a hospital worker that the Hospital Board is still maintaining that it will not be allowing smoking within the hospital grounds. Surely the air we breathe outside the hospital is free or do staff and patients have to pay for the right to smoke outside?

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SIR - Last week you carried a report of Michael Blackledge's call to vote in a new set of councillors in this year's county council elections.

Let's be clear here, the county council is the worst performing county in the country and has been led by the Tories for longer than I care to remember.

The bulk of the council tax in the county goes to the county council which has in turn produced badly performing services in so many areas.

This is what the electorate should consider when they cast their vote on May 5.

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SIR - While driving around Bedford I couldn't help but notice the electioneering billboards that have sprung up around the town.

One in particular referring to the hospital's cleanliness asks 'just how hard is it to clean a hospital' paid for by the Conservative Party.

Time I think to jog a few memories. While last in office it was the Conservative Government that privatised and laid off thousands of NHS cleaners across the whole of the service.

The resulting damage was enormous but those of us in the frontline staff in the NHS services sector have been working very hard to improve the situation and have achieved excellent results with recognition and awards at national level.

I am sure that staff and managers at all levels in Bedford Hospital Trust agree that our cleaners work to the highest possible standards.

We object strongly to such sound bite political statements from this poster campaign and our cleaning staff deserve better. Take the time Mr Fuller to visit the hospital and take a look for yourself.

Bedford's Arcade shopping area is 100 years old this week.

The Arcade extends between the High Street and Harpur Street and was built on former backyards and gardens linking the two.

When it first opened there were around 20 shops but the big attraction was the covered market which extended from outside the current Maysons clothing store to the doors at the lower end.

It offered Bedfordians the opportunity to do their fruit and veg shopping, traditionally conducted outdoors in all weathers, under cover and protected from the elements.

The Arcade was designed by architect AE Anthony and built by George Haynes, who employed virtually all local tradesmen.

An iron date-plaque on the outside wall at the Harpur Street end attests that The Arcade officially opened in 1905 but was not completed until the following year when George Haynes threw a party for all the workmen who gathered in The Arcade to have their photograph taken for posterity.

Now The Arcade is home to various shops from upmarket outfitters to a sandwich shop and, of course, Bedford's much-loved traditional sweet shop.

There is no longer a covered market but the traders say there is still the sense of community there was a hundred years ago and several of them are planning specially events on Friday to mark the hundredth anniversary.

Deb Page, who runs sweet shop Arcadia, is looking forward to seeing her father Doug dressed as Mr Jelly Belly.

She said: "It's a really nice place to work as there's such a good sense of community. We all know each other and get along very well."

A Bedford Modern boy is hoping to bounce his way to gold representing Britain in trampoline gymnastics.

Following his considerable success in gymnastics, Year 11 pupil Matthew Wright, 16, was from hundreds of other boys nationwide to wear the British uniform at the 16th Aalsmeer Flower Cup in Holland.

The event, taking place this weekend, brings together trampolinists from all over Europe, the USA and Israel.

Matthew, from Willen Park, Milton Keynes, has been selected for the World Class Start Programme, a Lottery-funded scheme that aims to identify and nurture talented gymnasts between eight and 16 years of age.

The Start Programme is at the base of the World Class Pathway designed to support gymnasts from the start of their career through to international level.

As part of the programme, Matthew will train between 12-20 hours a week, following the training programmes set by the national coaching staff, and will attend national and international training camps and competitions.

Patrick Jerram, Bedford Modern School's new director of sport commented: "I am delighted for Matthew. Representing your country is a great honour and his selection is a just reward for all of the hard work and effort he has put into his training."

Teenagers are being urged to get protection against mumps after an increase in the number of reported cases.

Experts at Bedford Primary Care Trust (PCT) have backed the call after 31 cases across Bedford and North Beds were reported in the past two months.

A health day was held at Bedford College last Wednesday to raise awareness of the dangers of mumps.

A Bedford College spokesman said: "We have fully supported the PCT alert about mumps and are active in handing out leaflets and information.

"We have also made our students aware about what to look for and what to do if a case arises."

Dr Catherine Carmichael, director of public health at Bedford PCT, said: "I would strongly urge anyone aged 16-25 who did not have the MMR jab as a child to contact their family doctor for the vaccination.

"Mumps can be a particularly nasty illness for young people. Occasionally serious complications can occur, including deafness, swelling of the testicles in men and inflammation of the ovaries in women."

Mumps is a viral infection transmitted through airborne droplets from coughs and sneezes of infected people, with students particularly at risk.

Symptoms begin with a headache and fever, followed by a painful swelling of the salivary glands on either side of the face.

Doctors believe the reason for the increase is that many children missed out when the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was introduced in 1998.

The Student Health Service at De Montfort University carried out 200 vaccinations last month as part of the battle to keep mumps at bay. No new cases have been reported and a De Montfort University spokesman said:

"We have had 25 students suspected of contracting mumps at the university since January.

"All the cases were fairly mild and we have contained the spread of the illness by encouraging all students who are not already protected to get vaccinated through a poster and email campaign."

A centre for Multiple Sclerosis sufferers across the county faces rocketing charges to pay for Government red tape.

The Bedfordshire and Northants MS Centre will have to pay £1,600 for its annual inspection by a Government quango this year, 45 per cent more than last year. And by 2008 it expects to have to pay £4,000, even though it relies on voluntary donations and does not receive a penny from statutory funds.

Centre manager Val Woods outlined the nature of the inspections. She said:

"When the inspectors first came they even asked what our procedure was when we run out of toilet rolls.

"We have only got three toilets, so if we run out we just get some more out of the cupboard.

"A lot of the other aspects are understandable, like making sure our carers are up to standard or that we have the right equipment. But things like what we do about toilet rolls just makes a joke of the whole process."

Mrs Woods and representatives from 20 other MS centres met with a delegation of MPs including Alistair Burt at parliament on Wednesday. Mr Burt said:

"The MS Centre provides a vital service that helps the NHS. If it wasn't there, who else would take over?

This sort of centre should be made exempt from these charges, and not have to pay along with private hospitals like BUPA."

The centre is based in Barkers Lane, and offers everything from physiotherapy and reflexology to tips on how to fill out benefits forms.

Around 900 people from across Bedfordshire and Northants use the facilities, and three-quarters of the 40 volunteer staff are also MS sufferers. Mrs Woods said:

"We have been going for 21 years and people have come to rely on us. Even doctors come to us for advice, because they may only have two or three people with MS on their books.

We don't get a penny from any statutory body. We have to rely on donations and on going cap-in-hand to Government boards for funds every year."

The charges first came into effect in 2001 and apply to institutions ranging from hospice and private BUPA hospitals to the Bedford centre and even smaller operations.

Death of a well-known broadcaster.

Out of the many events held at (what is now) de Monfort University was an evening with David Kossoff. It was a one-man show, lasted two hours, and not surprisingly the hall was always packed when he performed.

David Kossoff was an actor, broadcaster and, latterly, drug abuse campaigner.

His best known television role was the hen-pecked husband Alf Larkins in The Larkins first broadcast in the 1950s.

He boosted his career reading his own published Bible stories on television but after his son Paul died from drugs he started to campaign against abuse.

His fame was built on a series of British films such as A Kid for Two Farthings (1955) and for his role as Morry in The Bespoke Overcoat (1956).

The son of Russian parents, Kossoff experienced tragedy when his son Paul, guitarist with the rock band Free, died following years of drug abuse at the age of 25.

He gave more than 350 performances in schools of a one-man show warning of the dangers of drugs and broadcast frequently on the subject.

For the last decade he was involved in charity work raising money for hospices and guide dogs.

Abandoned baby

The girl, aged between seven and 10 days, was found near Meadow Sweet Drive by a man walking his dog at about 0830 GMT on Easter Sunday.

Police believe the baby, who was wrapped in a pillowcase, could have been lying in the field for between two and six hours.

The baby is being treated at South Wing Hospital and appeared to be well-nourished, a spokesperson said.

Police are concerned for the mother and are appealing for her to come forward.

Week ending 26 March 2005