Weekly news from Bedford, UK

BoS leads with a report of an unfortunate mistake that led fanatic Colin Peel's quest to photograph every ground being arrested in a major drugs bust.

Mr Peel was taking a shot of Bedford Town's Eyrie stadium when he was spotted by police on surveillance who thought he was involved in drug dealing.

Two weeks later they smashed down his front door and hauled him away on suspicion of conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

After an internal inquiry Bedfordshire Police admitted Mr Peel was an unfortunate 'victim of circumstance', apologised and agreed to pay for the damage to his door.

Here's an incredible story. BoS reports that two children have been taken into care this week after being left home alone while they parents went on holiday.

The couple have left their 7-year-old daughter and son, who is 11, to fend for themselves since last Monday morning at their house in Quantrelle Court, Shortstown.

It is believed staff at the corner shop nearby notified social services on Thursday after the children went into the store to buy food and drink.

Later that morning social services and the police went to Quantrelle Court after being alerted to the children being on their own.

The children were then temporarily put into care while arrangements were made to notify nearby relatives.

Child neglect carries a jail sentence of up to six months under the Children and Young Persons Act. Abandoning children can lead to a maximum sentence of five years under the Offences Against the Persons Act.

Last December a mother was jailed for six months after she left her children, aged six and 12, at home alone while she went on holiday with her boyfriend.

AN asylum seeker who raped a 17-year-old girl is now free to wander the streets after immigration officials bungled.

The man has been living in his second floor flat on Goldington Avenue, Bedford, for the last six years. A Croatian, he is a convicted rapist who has never served time for his crime.

The blunder emerged this week when the 29-year-old was in court for an extradition hearing.

The Croatian authorities have been desperate to get him back to his homeland and behind bars.

This is the kind of report that all holiday makers must dread: More than 100 passengers feared for their lives as their plane prepared to crash land.

There was terrified weeping and wailing as the easyJet crew told them to brace themselves as they approached the runway at Luton.

This was after the plane had shot back into the air after almost landing when a light indicated the undercarriage had not properly dropped.

Crew members tried to look under the aisle carpets through a periscope to see if the undercarriage looked okay but it was too dark to see anything.

The flight from Malaga had already been circling Luton Airport for more than half an hour, to get rid of excess fuel.

One passenger thought she and her two children, aged four and six, were about to die.

"We were landing normally and suddenly went back up into the sky like a rocket. We were told the undercarriage had not dropped and we must lose all our fuel before crash-landing"

"Apparently the periscopes should be able to confirm whether the wheels are down but for some reason they could not see anything. The crew were all fantastic but when we finally came in I feared the worst.

"I held the head down of my four-year-old while yelling at my six-year-old, in the row behind, to keep down. As the crew shouted brace yourselves, everyone started weeping and wailing.

"Fortunately the landing gear was okay and we landed perfectly safely. We were surrounded by fire engines and loads of staff came on to counsel some of the passengers, who were in quite a state."

EasyJet spokeswoman Samantha Day confirmed that there were problems with indication instruments in the cockpit referring to landing gear on the approach to Luton Airport on last Friday's flight. She said:

"As safety is paramount at easyJet, standard procedures were followed and the first officer checked in mechanisms manually in the cabin.

"As a precautionary measure the captain requested a priority precautionary landing, which means the aircraft was given priority over any others planning to land and the emergency services were on standby.

"Passengers were calm and co-operative during the flight and praised cabin crew for their professionalism and reassurance.

"The aircraft was inspected by engineers, cleared for operational use and returned to service the following day.

Reversing out of a public parking space a pensioner managed to knock down a wall, trash a garden and smash into the front porch of an office block.

In all he travelled nearly 40 feet before being brought to a halt by the Bedford Pilgrim Housing Association building, off Horne Lane on Thursday morning.

The elderly man was reversing his Saab out of Riverside car park around 8am when, instead of turning, he kept on going.

First to go was a three-foot wall, followed by a flower bed before the car lodged itself in the glass porch of Riverside House.

The man suffered no serious injuries from his adventure.

A police spokesman said

"We have recommended that the man takes a driver improvement scheme."

Regular readers may remember the report of a letter bomber some months ago. He has now had his sentence cut.

The unemployed electrician was jailed for ten years after he sent 33 explosive packages to people during a two-week campaign last year.

McAuliffe, 34, formerly of De Parys Avenue, Bedford, was jailed at St Albans Crown Court in January after he admitted eight counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was ordered to serve a minimum 'tariff' of at least ten years behind bars.

Lord Justice Hooper, sitting with Mr Justice Leveson and Mr Justice Calvert-Smith at London's Appeal Court, on Friday cut that to seven-and-half years.

The judge said McAuliffe's campaign brought terror to people living across the country after packages containing lighter fluid were sent to former girlfriends, colleagues and family members in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Lancashire and London.

The court was told he sent the bombs to pay back the individuals for 'perceived slights'.

McAuliffe showed no remorse or regret throughout police interviews and told officers he did not care if any of his intended victims had died.

He checked local and national newspapers to see if his campaign had worked and was disappointed to find it had failed.

At trial, lawyers for the prosecution told the court police had found the name of singer Robbie Williams on the list of 50 targets to whom McAuliffe planned to send packages.

More than 100 officers worked on the hunt for McAuliffe, who was arrested three weeks after the first letter bomb was delivered early in September.

Lawyers for the bomber argued his tariff was 'manifestly excessive' in view of his previous good character. And, allowing the appeal, Lord Justice Hooper agreed.

Even once his new, seven-and-a-half-year sentence has expired, McAuliffe will only be released if he can persuade the parole board he poses no public danger. Once freed, he will remain on life licence for the rest of his days, subject to recall to prison if he puts a foot wrong.

SIR - With reference to G Harris's letter last week referring to the Cardington sheds, what does he mean when he criticizes 'what went on there'?

Has he ever researched Cardington? It wasn't just one of the best-equipped airship bases, it was also the place where, during the early stages of the Second World War, barrage balloon crews who helped protect London were trained.

There was much barrage balloon development and Cardington was also a major demob centre for the RAF.

Doesn't Mr Harris remember Airship Industries? This company is legendary in reintroducing airship production back to its home at Cardington and the ships are still flying today. At the last Olympics in Greece both skyships used for observation and surveillance were built at Cardington.

Now what could Cardington be used for? Tourist interest is high, the sheds are an important part of the Bedfordshire skyline, Bedfordshire history and world history.

For every person like Mr Harris there are many, many more who are proud of their local history. The story of the R101 is a very emotive subject in the area.

There is nowhere like Cardington in the UK or Europe - they are the biggest buildings with the biggest internal open space in the UK. Shed One is not a rusty old bucket, it is a building and a major historical landmark of great importance.

The warehouse plan is flawed, it is the wrong place for so many reasons, one of them is the effect on the local landscape.

The road infrastructure will also be totally inadequate.

The two carrots offered by the developers in the form of restoration of Shed One and new jobs should be treated with a pinch of salt.

It costs money to restore these buildings and keep them in good order. The sheds could and should be used for a whole manner of things such as a visitor centre, concerts and filming and they should always be available for airship projects.

Cardington has had a colourful past, full of triumph and disaster.

One thing for sure though is that those grand old Cathedrals of Cardington are loved by the people of Bedfordshire.

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• SIR - Only one Cardington Hangar? That's like Morecambe without Wise, gin without tonic.

Those buildings are not only Bedfordshire history, not only British history but world history.

Surely the Government can find some money to save the ailing hangar - if not the Lottery must be able to help.

In any event, the demolition of one of those hangars, steeped in history as they are, would be a tragedy.

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Blame parents

SIR - As I am a bus driver for Stagecoach I thought it was only right to say a few words regarding the article in Bedfordshire on Sunday recently about the school bus.

I see that some parents were outraged the bus did not take their children home - but instead the driver took it upon himself to drive to the bus station to seek advice as some of the children upstairs were smoking pot.

I was not that driver but I have spoken to him about the incident and I believe it was the correct decision.

Bus drivers take a lot of stick from children while doing school runs. As soon as they get on the bus they act like caged animals trying to get out.

There is screaming, running about, chucking things out of the window, smoking, fighting and swearing.

We should be congratulated for doing a job under these pressures rather than taking abuse from parents for not taking their children home, which was not the bus driver's fault.

The children themselves decided to get off the bus.

Perhaps if parents kept an eye on their children instead of letting them out till late at night, then maybe they might not have got caught up with the wrong people and may never have started smoking pot in the first place.

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SIR - I see the police have already become bored with patrolling the Kempston Hillgrounds area.

Only the other night I took my dog for a walk to Addison Park like a lot of others.

There was a group of youths letting off fireworks from their hands. What idiots!

Don't they know that animals are frightened and it could lead them to running off across the Kempston High Street possibly causing a serious accident and possibly leading to serious injury or a death?

It's about time the youth of today took a responsible attitude, as well as the shopkeepers who are selling fireworks to them.

With all the empty firework boxes lying around you would have thought that the police could trace the barcodes to the shops which are obviously selling to the under age and prosecute them and even the youths that are caught with them.

Women are being warned to keep on the look-out following a string of indecent assaults that are thought to be linked.

Bedfordshire Police have received reports of three attacks in the Queens Park area of Bedford.

The man involved is approaching young women and grabbing them while they walk alone in the early evening, between 5pm and 7pm.

The man is described as black, 5ft 5ins tall, aged about 25-30, slim, with a local accent and wearing dark clothing.

Det Con Miller can be reached on 01234 275331, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

A report one would rather not have to make: Knife crime in Bedfordshire has increased by more than 40 per cent in the last two years.

The figure, released under the Freedom of Information act, shows there has been a total of 113 knife crimes logged with Bedfordshire police between 2002 and 2004.

This is an increase of 34 incidents since the figure was last released in 2002.

This county has the second biggest rise in knife crime, topped by an increase of 92 per cent in Nottinghamshire.

"The figures give an indication of the reality of the situation were are facing. Lots and lots of people are carrying knives in public places," said Tony Melville, the spokesman on knife crime for the Association of Chief Police Officers.

"In many parts of society it now seems to be a credible and normal thing to carry a knife."

But critics of the figures being made public claim the increase in numbers is evidence of better policing.

They also claim there is growing tendency of young criminals carrying weapons, such as kitchen knives.

The Times&Citizen reports that four bikes, two barrels and a mattress plucked from river Dive teams clean up haul of shame from Great Ouse in Bedford. They may not have pulled up any of the traditional old boots, but there was no masking the hard work of frogmen in Bedford.

Volunteers from the Muddy Puddle Diving Club helped in a borough council-backed clean-up of the Ouse from the Aspects Leisure Park end on Saturday.

Brought up from the depths of the river were seven road cones, two of the inevitable shopping trolleys, four bikes, two barrels, one moped, and one tyre.

Also brought to the surface was a mattress and a 'No Parking' sign warning that
unauthorised vehicles will be wheelclamped.

Around 60 bags of rubbish were collected by other helpers, drawn from the Viking Canoe and Kayak Club, the Sea Cadets, the Council for Voluntary Service, and the Probation Service.

If you want to get involved with it, or other community litter picks, call the council's Pride in Bedford team on 01234 227328.

A cancer patients' transport service has got the green light after Times & Citizen readers answered an appeal for volunteer drivers.

Last month we carried a call from the Bedford Hospitals Charity for part-time helpers to ferry sufferers to Cambridge for treatment unavailable in this area.

After sufficient people came forward, charity chairman Brian Woodrow said it would now be possible to start up the new scheme in January.He said:

"We have had more than 40 applicants as a direct result of the piece in the newspaper from all walks of life. Quite a few of them have had experience of being cancer patients or have had spouses who have. A lot of them are retired but not all – some are shift workers and have said they can help.

"We have been contacted by an ex-policeman, an ex-fireman, a staff nurse, and a vicar. It really has been very, very gratifying.

"Thanks to the response, we are going to be able to get the service off the ground on January 1."

Here it is – a brave new Bedford as it may look under major makeover plans for the tired bus station area.

Released by developer St Modwen Properties, the picture shows how the west of the town centre could be transformed with a radical programme of demolition and rebuilding.
The illustration emerged this week as St Modwen announced it would apply for the planning green light in the spring.

Development director Colin McQueston said the firm would bid for "detailed outline permission" for the overall blueprint. He said:

"We are hoping at the end of the month to sign a development agreement with the local authority to secure our position as the preferred developer. We have made a commitment that within six months of signing we will submit a planning application, so we are looking at May to do that.

"There is a lot of work to do before then, but we are confident we are going to hit that timescale."

St Modwen is working with the borough council on the massive project.

The London-based outfit is proposing to demolish the bus and police stations, Allhallows multi-storey car park and the tower blocks at the end of Greyfriars.

Also earmarked to crumble under the wrecking ball are the shops in Greyfriars and Allhallows.

Our picture shows what may rise from the rubble in a phased redevelopment.
Midland Road is in the foreground, with a pedestrianised Greyfriars running between the new buildings and traffic rerouted to the left.

Coloured silver and blue are shops, including an Asda supermarket and a department store, with yellow-shaded housing built above them. Around 550 homes are planned currently, rising up to ten storeys.

In purple is a leisure complex, to include a nine-screen multiplex cinema. To the right in brown is a multi-storey car park for 1,200 vehicles – twice the capacity of the ageing Allhallows.

Speaking at a borough council meeting on Tuesday, Mr McQueston defended the inclusion of so much parking.

And he took a swipe at edge-of-town park and rides on the same day Bedford's first service of the type was launched at Elstow. He said:

"With other schemes, we are looking at car sharing and car clubs, but inevitably, with 550 residential units, there is going to have to be an element of parking there.

"Look at Milton Keynes. You go there because you can drive there and it's easy. I am not sure whether park and ride can give you an active town centre."

(Apologies for the quality of the image!)

Strong winds and driving rain have put paid to the picturesque sight of autumn leaves on the ground this week. The wind has been so strong that on Thursday, the special Food Market in the town was cancelled.

The weather held out, however, for last night's annual fireworks display at the Bedford Rugby Club. I have no figures, but there must have been well over three thousand, present, to say nothing of the huge crowds who lined up on the opposite side of Goldington Road to get a free viewing! This display attracts people from all over Bedford and the surrounding area, and because it is professionally planned, one can be sure of safety.

In fact, one wonders how soon it will be before fireworks become banned for all but official community events. Doubtless, as in every year, there will be stories of fires, injuries to people, fireworks being let off at midnight, etc.

Fortunately there is no bonfire and no guy whom we set alight. It is precisely four hundred years since the gunpowder plot took place, and I sometimes wonder whether it is not somewhat barbaric to celebrate someone being burned at the stake. Especially when, as I understand it, Fawkes was not burned at the stake at all but hanged, drawn and quartered! (The full gory details can be found here).

This is a cheat! It was taken last year! Unfortunately high winds have blown away many of the leaves.

May I wish you a restful week ahead

Robert

Week ending 5 November 2005