Weekly news from Bedford, UK

BoS leads with a depressing story of a personal animosity towards a resident:

A village postwoman has been branded a 'nasty busy body' for deliberately withholding mail from a resident who was an 'outsider'.

It happened after a Turkish single mother, Sengul Morris, was housed in a flat in the quiet village of Ashwell in Hertfordshire to the annoyance of some of the locals.

Postie Allison Fox, 39, of Bilberry Road, Clifton, then abused her position of trust and interfered with the 'outsider's' mail.

She returned some letters sent to Mrs Morris marking them 'gone away'.

Because she was not receiving some of her post, Mrs Morris had her phone cut off, her car insurance ran out and her bank was about to close her account.

Fox appeared at Luton Crown Court on Friday for sentencing on five counts of interfering with the mail.

She was convicted earlier this month and has now lost her job as the village postwoman for Ashwell.

People who lost the plot:

A De Montfort University student and a former Harpur Centre security guard both pleaded guilty to the charge of criminal damage - and a further count of affray - at a hearing at Bedford Magistrates' Court on Friday morning.

The court was told they were at the Executive Club on Lurke Street, Bedford, on Saturday, July 30 when an argument broke out between the pair and other drinkers in the establishment.

One tipped his drink out on the bar and threw his empty glass at a female. The computer science student continued to hurl more glasses at her, along with heavy glass ashtrays.

The young female was not hurt but a member of staff feared for her safety and locked her in the kitchen to protect her.

At the same time the other man started to throw items towards the bar area. Two wooden chairs, metal drip trays, glass ashtrays and glasses were thrown at another member of staff who hid for cover behind the bar, and also at the kitchen door.

They both left the premises together but were later arrested at the junction of Castle Road and Newnham Avenue.

Both claimed they couldn't remember the incident or entering the Executive Club when questioned by police saying they had drunk a vast amount of alcohol.

The pair have also been banned from entering every pub and club in Bedford for the next 12 months under the BAND (Bedford Against Night-time Disorder) initiative.

This decision was taken on Tuesday afternoon by Bed:Safe - a committee made up of policemen, council officers, landlords and nightclub managers.

Although the pair pleaded guilty, magistrates decided to adjourn sentencing until next month for a pre-sentence report to be completed.

Dave Bergin, manager of Oxygen, on Midland Road, Bedford, said:

"Twenty-four hour drinking will not do this town any favours. We need to educate people about how to handle their alcohol before we start introducing laws like this.

"In Europe people have completely different attitudes and mindsets when it comes to drinking. They tend to go for a meal and pace their drinking over the space of an evening.

"In Britain, people would just drink more rather than space their drinks out, which will cause mayhem."

What people will pay for!

Pop memorabilia from the day the Rolling Stones played in Bedford fetched nearly £2,000 at an auction at Christies this week.

A poster advertising the concert held on Wednesday, January 15, 1964 at the Granada Cinema, Bedford - which featured The Rolling Stones, The Ronnettes, Al Paige, Marty Wilde and others - went under the hammer on Wednesday.

The poster, accompanied by a concert programme, ticket stub and four other programmes from similar Rolling Stones concerts, was sold to a private collector for £1,800.

Christies had estimated the collection would reach between £400 and £600.

The Mission, formerly a church, seems scheduled to re-open:

Despite closing its doors only three months ago one of Bedford's biggest nightclubs is set to reopen.

Mission, in Mill Street, Bedford, was closed on July 7 after management decided to call time on the historic building.

The club opened in 2001 after permission was granted for the Grade II listed Howard Chapel to convert into a nightspot.

The building was put up for auction this summer but no bids were made.

However, Bedfordshire on Sunday revealed that the club will reopen in the new year.

A public entertainment licence for the premises has been lodged with Bedford Borough Council by RSN Property Ltd, headed by Balvinder Nijjar - the current owner of the building.

Mr Nijjar told this newspaper:

"I have put in an application for a licence as we are preparing to open in the New Year,

"We are open-minded about what might happen and don't want to reveal too much at the moment but the building will reopen as Mission nightclub."

(That's a pity. At one stage there was a possibility that the building might be bought by a Christian organization, but the price being remanded was well above the true value of the property. So once again one contemplates the distasteful prospect of seeing drunk people being sick over the gravestones on the sides of the church.

It isn't as if Bedford is short of pubs. But doubtless the licence will be granted as usual.)

When mob rule reigns:

Animal rights activists have targeted a nursery chain leading to fears for the safety of children in their care.

The company has been pinpointed after providing discount childcare vouchers to employees of Huntingdon Life Sciences, whose work includes testing on animals.

Directors of Leapfrog Day Nurseries, who have a branch in Manton Lane, Bedford, have decided to cut their association with the research company after receiving threatening letters from The Animal Liberation Front.

There are now worries about the safety of children at the Bedford Nursery, given the violent history of the organisation.

The anti-vivisectionist ALF has claimed responsibility for a recent arson and bombing campaign, which included an attack on the home of an executive connected with HLS.

A spokeswoman for Leapfrog Day Nurseries has said that the company is doing everything in its power to keep the children safe. She said:

"Directors of Leapfrog Day Nurseries have received threats from animal liberation activists as a direct consequence of Childcare Vouchers being supplied to employees of Huntingdon Life Sciences.

"While threats of any sort are totally unacceptable, we have to take them seriously.

"The care of the children and our staff is of paramount concern. Our business is childcare and we have to take every precaution when it comes to the security of these children and our employees.

"Therefore the company has taken the decision to withdraw the scheme with immediate effect."

SIR - I write regarding your report of a proposed smoking ban in Bedford.

The so-called health campaigners destroy their case with their own figures.

If, as they claim, 3 million persons are exposed to 'second-hand' smoke and one of those dies each week then the average time before being struck down by this supposed threat is almost 58,000 years.

Would that I were to live that long!

Put another way; given an average life span of around 75 years even someone as much at risk as they claim is 40,000 times more likely to die of something else.

Is it not time that the Primary Care Trust gets a sense of balance and devotes itself to something that really matters?

Also, should not a committee of the borough council do better than to accept such nonsense apparently so uncritically?

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SIR - It was good to see the students of Bedford College relaxing in their lunch break along the bank of the river, and enjoying the sun at the autumn equinox on Thursday.

However, it would have been good for the weary workers walking home by the river to have enjoyed the pleasant environment without the detritus left by the students.

Sharnbrook and Biddenham schools encourage students to pick up their own litter and to demonstrate responsible citizenship.

Freedom from school should not mean freedom from responsibility to the wider community.

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SIR - I thought I would write to let you know the outcome of the issue reported in last week's BoS ('School children left stranded after bus fracas').

There was indeed a boy smoking an illegal substance on the school bus.

He was quickly identified and fully confessed his misdemeanour, and apologised to the students for the inconvenience he had caused.

As a result he has been placed on three to five pm education for one week (as an alternative to exclusion) and banned from using the school bus for the remainder of this academic year.

We are not inclined to permanently exclude students for drug misuse, especially since this particular boy was expelled from a local public school for the same offence. Two years on he has made good progress at Biddenham, but he is not quite there yet.

I hope this reassures your readers that the incident has been dealt with firmly but fairly.

M G Berrill

Principal, Biddenham Upper School and Sports College

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• SIR - Regarding your story of September 18, about the school bus driver who had trouble with children believed to be smoking cannabis between Biddenham Upper School and Brickhill.

The driver should have radioed Greyfriars Police Station and asked a policeman to meet the bus and give all the children a drugs test.

This may not meet with the approval off the parents, but do they really want their children attending school with others that take drugs?

Education about drugs misuse should be taught at Biddenham Upper School and others that teach our future generation.

(As of course it is, if only the writer of this angry letter had taken the trouble to find out!)

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SIR - I refer to your September 18 article concerning police sergeants' examination results.

You were correct to say that only 15.8 per cent of candidates who sat the Part 1 exam in July passed, but this needs to be set in context of an average pass rate of only 18.8 per cent nationally.

In contrast Bedfordshire police results in March this year represented a 51.9 per cent success rate compared to the national average of 32.8 per cent.

Similarly, the last Inspectors' examinations from which results are known led to a 57.8 per cent pass rate in Bedfordshire, whereas the national average was only 46 per cent.

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SIR - Politicians like Michael Howard keep harping on about immigrants and how they should try harder to be British.

My many Romany and Serbian friends and I are puzzled by this.

Does this mean we should now start to drink and vomit alcohol in the street, pick fights with completely innocent people and declare noisily that the current English football team is capable of winning the World Cup?

The first two actions seem morally indefensible and repugnant whilst the latter surely only a lunatic would claim?

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SIR - What great news to hear England won the Ashes.

Throughout the five test series the team really worked together, and along with Duncan Fletcher, who encouraged such a good team.

We shouldn't forget the crowd who also contributed to England's success.

Some may consider the 'Barmy Army' a nuisance, but the 10,000 members are true supporters of the sport. I don't know whether your readers know that the Barmy Army originated in Bedfordshire?

The idea started at a team I used to play for many years ago, Little Staughton Cricket Club.

The founder, Dave Peacock, a true character and an excellent batsman, thought of an idea to bring cricket supporters together to travel the world to watch their team and have a party along the way.

Let's hope England stay on top for many years to come, with the support of local brewery Charles Wells as part sponsor.

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SIR - Amid the stampede to build thousands of new homes across Bedfordshire two recent reports have been overlooked.

First meteorologists have warned that planned increases in development in the South East WILL trigger regional climate change.

Second, scientists warn that raised carbon dioxide levels during hotter summers predicted with climate change will cause plants to 'switch off' their normal process of converting carbon dioxide to oxygen, creating a "potentially dangerous situation beyond the control of man".

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recognises that concentrating development in the South East is the cheapest and easiest solution to the housing problem, relying on sweeteners offered by developers, such as building on roads and schools.

Unfortunately, it will be today's children who suffer the consequences of this quick-fix policy during their lifetimes.

BoS reports that loyal employees have been made redundant without being paid their last month's wages.

Twenty workers have been made redundant after a Bedford-based engineering firm saw one of its divisions go into administration.

With Ceetak Fabrications, whose offices are in Hitchin, but are based in Mile Road, Bedford, going into administration on September 2, more than half of its staff have been let go without any offer of redundancy payments.

FA Sims have now taken on the running of the company, a division of Ceetak Ltd, and are insistent that they have done nothing wrong.

A spate of eight bag snatches in the last two weeks could be the work of one man.

The thefts, all in the space of 11 days, took place on the east side of Bedford and officers are urging extra vigilance among pedestrians.

Elderly women are most likely to be targeted although other victims have also been hit.

It is not certain that just one man is behind all the snatches but the robbery squad is treating them as connected for the moment as method and descriptions are similar.

The thief is likely to use the element of surprise in his crimes with some of the victims reporting him approaching quickly on a bicycle, grabbing the bag while the owner is unaware and making off quickly.

The attacks seem to have started on September 16, with an offence at The Furlongs.

The next offence was six days later at Putnoe Street, where an 81-year-old woman had her bag containing £100 in cash snatched.

There were two further thefts the next day just off The Embankment in the afternoon, two on September 26 - one in Putnoe and one in Cardington Road - and two on September 27 back in Putnoe.

Although no-one has been hurt, some of the victims have been left very distressed by the incidents and the loss of their belongings. The oldest victim has told officers she is now afraid to go out.

The thief is described as a black man, probably a young teenager, short and slim, usually wearing casual clothing such as dark hooded tops and jogging bottoms.

Det Con Colin Richardson, of the robbery squad, said:

"These incidents have suddenly started in the last week and we are obviously working on trying to catch the person responsible.

"We need the public's help to do that and if they have seen or know anything that may help the investigation but have not yet come forward they must get in touch.

"In the meantime, we'd like to ask people to be very aware of who is around you, make sure no-one can take you by surprise if you can help it and particularly don't carry large amounts of cash with you.

"Keep your bag firmly fastened with the clasp towards your body and make sure the strap is across your chest if possible, it makes it much more difficult for a thief to operate."

The country's top schools inspector came to Bedfordshire this week to officially open a school's E-learning centre.

David Bell, the Chief Inspector of Schools, was at Redborne Upper in Ampthill where the £350,000 Alexander Centre is thought to be the first of its kind in the country with such state-of-the art equipment.

There is a fully equipped teaching laboratory with two-way mirrors, along with camera and video conferencing that allows lessons to be observed and stored on the school website. This allow students to access lessons on-line or take home CDs.

Anything filmed in the laboratory can also been seen on any computer in the school.

The adjacent sports hall has a camera fitted which allows student teachers to be filmed and there is a video conferencing capability so that tutors stationed at De Montfort University can watch their students.

Redborne, which is a specialist sports college and training school, named the centre after 94-year-old Dr Eileen Alexander OBE, who was previously the principal at Bedford PE College. She gave £25,000 towards the project.

Mr Bell, who was previously the chief executive of Bedfordshire County Council, was joined by the council's director of learning David Doran and Julie Whelan from the Youth Sports Trust.

He told staff and pupils he was delighted to be back on familiar turf for such an event and praised Redborne's progress towards the classroom of the future.

CAR clubs, a water feature and a footbridge named after an Italian revolutionary will soon be making an appearance on an old factory site. There will also be 255 residential flats.

The second phase of the redevelopment of the former Britannia Iron and Steel Works site, on Kempston Road, Bedford, should start in January.

Plans have been agreed for four to eight story apartment blocks, plus a water feature running into the River Great Ouse, which will also be part of flood control for the site.

A footbridge is planned, which will be named after Garibaldi, who visited the site when it was John Howard engineering, in 1864.

General Garibaldi, along with Victor Emmanuel II, drove forward the unification of Italy in the nineteenth century.

The bridge has yet to receive planning permission but will be considered in November.

Residents of the development will also enjoy membership of a 'car club'. Several cars will be held on site to which members have ready access that can be hired by the hour.

This is planned to cut down car ownership and reduce the number of car parking spaces needed.

The site is owned by WN Developments, which is going to develop the second phase itself.

Director of WN Developments, Ed Daly, said:

"We are already out to tender with building contractors. We plan to start the work in January. Everything is go except the bridge, which is soon to go before a planning meeting. The Mayor has been very supportive for the bridge.

"We are hopeful it gets approval."

The show world is mourning the death of Ronnie Barker, the comedian, this week. Ronnie, born in Grafton Street, Bedford, was a superb actor and comedian. Many will remember his partnership with Ronnie Corbett (The Two Ronnies) and the delightful series of Porridge, where he played the part of a convict.

Ronnie went into retirement some years ago, with the intention of setting up a relatil business, but he was lulled back into the limelight recently for some more sketches. It was last year, I think, that he was given a life achievement award by his peers.

Thanks for all the fun, Ronnie. You will be grealty missed.

Autumn beckons, and we are at the stage at which half of a tree is beginning to shed leaves!

Finally, is it me, or has the news this week been overly depressing? To be honest, given also the work pressures I've had of late, I almost decided to pack up, after eight years of compiling newsletters! Most of it has been bad news.

I'd value feedback as to whether this newsletter weekly has reached its sell-by date. Not please in the guestbook - I'm not seeking compliments! - but by email, if you will. The feedback is almost nil nowadays, and one does not want to flog a dead horse!

May I wish you a restful week ahead

Robert

Week ending 8 October 2005