Archive

  • I remember Diana comments

    What a pity Nicholas Soames couldn't have been a little kinder when Princess Diana died. All he could say of her was that she was mad. Does he think we have all forgotten? At least the Queen Mother had a life. Diana didn't. -Shirley Reeve, Capel Avenue

  • No sign of missing ostrich

    Olli the ostrich is still giving Sussex Police the runaround more than 24 hours after escaping from a farm. The 4st female, who broke free with two accomplices from the compound near Billingshurst at 2.40am yesterday, remained at large despite the efforts

  • Doom looms

    The article on the Government's cuts to disaster funding (The Argus, March 28) unfortunately missed two salient points. The cuts in government funding lead directly to a reduction in local authorities being prepared to respond effectively to disaster

  • Branching out

    A rare gem of irony appears in a planning application (The Argus Extra, April 3) on behalf of a resident in Woodland Walk, Ovingdean, who owes his arboreal address to developers who were allowed to chop down some trees and build "executive-style" homes

  • Village way

    As a resident of Ferring village for slightly more than 12 months (but with family here for the past ten years), I am somewhat sad to hear the residents' association is under threat of closure (April 3). However, I cannot say I am totally surprised. The

  • Bait-diggers aren't to blame for floods

    As a committed environmentalist, I read with dismay the report on bait digging in the Adur valley (March 27). As someone who has gathered bait from this area for more than 30 years, I was astonished the Environment Agency seems to think an angler out

  • Mrs Topper

    In reply to David Lepper's query about the TV series Topper (Letters), Mrs Topper was played by Lee Patrick, who also had a long film career that included The Maltese Falcon. The Kerbys were played by Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling, who both also had

  • Not what HM would have wanted

    Why on Earth are the betting shops (Corals, Ladbrokes and Hills) closing for the Queen Mother's funeral next Tuesday along with the Chelsea Flower Show? I can think of nothing the Queen Mother would have hated more. She loved her racing and lovely flowers

  • Dome disappointment

    My first visit to the Brighton Dome was a disappointment. The foyer looked shoddy and cheap. White walls, stark white lighting, white plastic bar counters and paper tablecloths. The ladies' toilets had stainless steel animal troughs as hand basins. The

  • Feedback, with Simon Bradshaw

    Mrs AJ Corder, from Brighton, says she rarely purchases The Argus. She adds she was not encouraged to do so in future by the inclusion of a picture of John Major with our Woman article last Monday about Emily Barr's affair with former Tory MP Hartley

  • Your Queen Mother tributes

    What did the Queen Mother mean to you? Perhaps you met her or were somehow affected by her work. Whatever you want to say about her, we'd like to hear it. We'll post as many of your tributes online as we can. Send an email with the subject line Queen

  • Woman dies in crash

    A woman has died after the car she was in careered off a Sussex road and plunged into a ditch. No other vehicles were involved in the accident on Firle Road at Chalvington, near Polegate, at 11.12am yesterday. The 67-year-old Hampshire woman was taken

  • Is this the British Buffy?

    Fighting the forces of evil and killing monsters are all in a day's work for Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The pint-sized star has reached iconic status on TV in the United States and Britain but there has yet to be a home-grown supernatural action hero to

  • Narrow gauge

    It is depressing to read that the councillor with executive responsibility for the environment has dismissed out of hand the proposal for a study of a tram system for Brighton and Hove because the streets are too narrow (The Argus, March 22). The trams

  • Bully for you

    The Tories like to state as a core value the freedom of the individual but only when it suits them. I'm sorry to say they are not consistent. William Hague, a stout defender of fox hunting, says it is because they can be picked on (I mean the pro-fox

  • Unconvincing

    Alan Nunn was not quite right to claim the Conservative Party has lost its core values (Letters, April 2). The Conservatives have always been interested in protecting the rights of minorities such as fox hunters and hereditary peers. What is different

  • Animal tragic

    There's a zoo in the middle of Worthing, according to the AA West Sussex Street By Street mapbook. But people going down Montague Street will find nothing wilder than a jewellery shop. The fact that it is called Zoo confused the AA which boasts Britain's

  • Hold it

    I was concerned to read a report (March 29) about a caller saying he was "put on hold" while waiting to speak to an officer on Brighton and Hove City Council's visitor information hotline. Under the terms of our premium-rate licence, the system does not

  • A city's jewel

    Komedia in the heart of the North Laine area in Brighton is one of the city's success stories. From modest beginnings, the theatre has taken over a scruffy Sixties building which was once a supermarket and transformed it into a place where people want

  • Suitable site

    The King Alfred saga rolls on - or, at least, is a re-run of the Citygrove farce. The same old ingredients, exaggerations, mis-statements and non-cerebral comments from some councillors. According to these councillors, the building is about to fall down

  • A question of justice

    Police have some questions to answer after the extraordinary case of the rape that never was. A girl who claims to have been raped three years ago when she was 15 has been refused payment by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority because it said

  • Rich City: Shoreham belong in top flight

    Shoreham are back where they belong in division one of the Rich City County League. That is the verdict of manager Roger Brace after seeing his side become the first team in Sussex this season to win promotion. Shoreham returned to the top flight of Sussex

  • Ryman: Bognor boss welcomes moaners

    Jack Pearce wants to go head-to-head with his growing band of critics. The under-fire Bognor boss hopes to hold a meeting with fans as his side's promotion dream fades. But he insisted: "Anyone who thinks I'm doing a good job should stay away. I only

  • Services keep going strong

    The services sector continued its revival last month as activity reached the strongest level for a year. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) said the sector expanded for a third month in a row after overcoming the impact of the September

  • Yes, we have no animals

    There are no elephants in Worthing Zoo. No lions. No monkeys. Not even a gerbil. In fact, there isn't really a zoo at all. Yet one is clearly marked slap-bang in the middle of the town in the current edition of the AA West Sussex Street By Street map

  • Touching tributes to ex-mayor

    More than 100 mourners bid a final farewell at the funeral of former Mayor of Worthing Harry Yates. Touching tributes were made at the service in Saint Andrew's Church, Worthing. Mr Yates died on March 21, aged 86, leaving his wife Stella, daughters Rachel

  • Jets 5 seconds from disaster

    Two airliners carrying more than 500 passengers came within five seconds of disaster at Gatwick Airport. One of the jets had to abort its landing as the other tried to take off directly into its flight path. The Northwest Airlines DC-10, carrying 330,

  • Art gets cruelty message across

    A hard-hitting image by an artist is being used in the fight against child cruelty. When 26-year-old Nathan Bean split up with his girlfriend at the end of his college course two years ago, he produced a video to embody his feelings of loss. Now a still

  • Barman throttled wife, court told

    A barman throttled his wife until she passed out after a row about her daughter smoking in the house, a court heard. Trevor Williamson, 50, of Butts Road, Southwick, was seen standing over his unconscious wife Rae, Worthing Magistrates' Court was told

  • Showcase for fringe films

    A series of celluloid screenings has been launched after Brighton Festival organisers axed films from the programme. The Brighton Fringe Film Festival will run alongside the main arts event in May and will showcase new Sussex talent. It was set up by

  • Bid to bring back Sussex otters

    Volunteers are building an artificial otter holt in a bid to encourage the protected animals back to Sussex. The rescuers have been working on a riverbank in Arlington, near Hailsham. Otters were widespread in Sussex in the Fifties but numbers fell in

  • Bag thieves steal gran's heirlooms

    A pensioner says she is scared and devastated after thieves stole her handbag and personal belongings. Barbara Pitkethly, 74, was shopping in Waitrose in Western Road, Brighton, when her black patent leather handbag was snatched from her trolley. It contained

  • Florists' tribute to Queen Mother

    Florists John and Wendy Kelly are paying tribute to the Queen Mother the way they know best. With a little extra effort, they have turned a window of their Lewes shop into a memorial fit for a queen. Determined to create a floral display which would have

  • Sculptor to design Queen Mum coin

    A Sussex sculptor has been chosen to create a lasting impression of the Queen Mother. David Cornell, 66, was contacted by the Royal Mint hours after her death and asked to prepare a commemorative coin. The coin will be distributed in one of the Commonwealth

  • Teenager in abduction bid

    A 15-year-old girl fought off two men who grabbed her and tried to drag her into their car in Crawley. She managed to fight off her attackers and run away but was shaken by the incident. The teenager was walking along Waterfield Gardens in Bewbush, Crawley

  • Cesspit by the sea

    Will Brighton and Hove really lose out if we do not accept the Euro? I doubt it very much. Is Britain lagging behind? If you call being very cautious and not rushing headlong into the unknown and unwanted, then I think we possibly are being a bit lagging

  • Doom looms

    The article on the Government's cuts to disaster funding (The Argus, March 28) unfortunately missed two salient points. The cuts in government funding lead directly to a reduction in local authorities being prepared to respond effectively to disaster

  • Trail trials

    I wish to distance myself and my fellow trailriders from the youngsters on off-road motorcycles who have been riding illegally in Woodingdean, Whitehawk and Peacehaven. As trailriders, we hold motorcycle licences and ride fully insured and taxed off-road

  • Lone voice

    Ian Hills is misinformed about Green Party policy on the South Downs (Letters, March 30). Greens place a premium on protecting the Downs from all development. We have argued that travellers should be provided with a site with adequate facilities and managed

  • Odds out on culture bid

    Brighton and Hove has been given odds of 16/1 to be named European Capital of Culture. The city is one of 12 in Britain to have submitted its bid for the 2008 title. Bookmakers have installed Belfast as the favourite, with odds of 10/3, with Newcastle

  • Rail figures better

    Reliability and punctuality improved on Thameslink trains in March. The company recorded its worst ever time keeping figures at the end of last year but its punctuality climbed to 88.92 per cent in March on the core Brighton-Bedford route. Virtually nine

  • Not what HM would have wanted

    Why on Earth are the betting shops (Corals, Ladbrokes and Hills) closing for the Queen Mother's funeral next Tuesday along with the Chelsea Flower Show? I can think of nothing the Queen Mother would have hated more. She loved her racing and lovely flowers

  • Tragic brothers' bodies flown home

    The bodies of Sussex cricketer Umer Rashid and the younger brother he tried to save were being flown back to Britain last night. Umer, 26, sacrificed his life attempting to rescue his 18-year-old brother Burhan when a swimming trip on the paradise island

  • Dome disappointment

    My first visit to the Brighton Dome was a disappointment. The foyer looked shoddy and cheap. White walls, stark white lighting, white plastic bar counters and paper tablecloths. The ladies' toilets had stainless steel animal troughs as hand basins. The

  • Sentinel headline

    A teenager who insists she was raped three years ago is reviving her battle for justice after being told the attack did not happen. Police who investigated the woman's original claims in 1999 believed her story but said there was not enough evidence to

  • Feedback, with Simon Bradshaw

    Mrs AJ Corder, from Brighton, says she rarely purchases The Argus. She adds she was not encouraged to do so in future by the inclusion of a picture of John Major with our Woman article last Monday about Emily Barr's affair with former Tory MP Hartley

  • Police renew rail death appeal

    Police have renewed their appeal for information about a teenager found dead by a live railway line. The body of 16-year-old Patrick Cummins, of Gerald Road, Worthing, was found between Bairds foot crossing and Ferring Road crossing in Angmering, near

  • Your Queen Mother tributes

    What did the Queen Mother mean to you? Perhaps you met her or were somehow affected by her work. Whatever you want to say about her, we'd like to hear it. We'll post as many of your tributes online as we can. Send an email with the subject line Queen

  • Teenager in abduction bid

    A 15-year-old girl fought off two men who grabbed her and tried to drag her into their car in Crawley. She managed to fight off her attackers and run away but was shaken by the incident. The teenager was walking along Waterfield Gardens in Bewbush, Crawley

  • Match-winner

    I was devastated to hear of the death of Umer Rashid while on Sussex County Cricket Club's tour. It has really put a dampener on what was a pre-season full of enthusiasm and expectancy. Although he was not a first-team regular, as a confidence player

  • Bully for you

    The Tories like to state as a core value the freedom of the individual but only when it suits them. I'm sorry to say they are not consistent. William Hague, a stout defender of fox hunting, says it is because they can be picked on (I mean the pro-fox

  • Golf: West Sussex bid for glory

    The Davies and Tate Trophy gets underway tomorrow with a record entry of 54 clubs in 22 first round ties. This is the 11th season under the sponsors' banner and the 32nd since the Sussex Inter-Club Scratch Matchplay Championship was first played. It is

  • Animal tragic

    There's a zoo in the middle of Worthing, according to the AA West Sussex Street By Street mapbook. But people going down Montague Street will find nothing wilder than a jewellery shop. The fact that it is called Zoo confused the AA which boasts Britain's

  • Hold it

    I was concerned to read a report (March 29) about a caller saying he was "put on hold" while waiting to speak to an officer on Brighton and Hove City Council's visitor information hotline. Under the terms of our premium-rate licence, the system does not

  • Suitable site

    The King Alfred saga rolls on - or, at least, is a re-run of the Citygrove farce. The same old ingredients, exaggerations, mis-statements and non-cerebral comments from some councillors. According to these councillors, the building is about to fall down

  • A question of justice

    Police have some questions to answer after the extraordinary case of the rape that never was. A girl who claims to have been raped three years ago when she was 15 has been refused payment by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority because it said

  • Jones poised to sign new deal

    Albion utility player Nathan Jones is poised to agree a new two-year contract. Boss Peter Taylor revealed: "I think Nathan has as good as been agreed. We are waiting to get that signed." Jones was recalled to the starting line-up for Monday's vital victory

  • Review headline

    Courthouses, stately homes and shops across North Yorkshire will close on Tuesday as a mark of respect to the Queen Mother. As the nation prepares for her funeral at Westminster Abbey, visitors to North Yorkshire were warned by the Yorkshire Tourist Board

  • Bar plans delayed

    Late-night bars group Po Na Na, due to open an outlet in Brighton, today said it had put back plans to open new venues. The London-based company is struggling to offload under-performing sites. London-based Po Na Na, which has a 57-strong bar portfolio

  • Yes, we have no animals

    There are no elephants in Worthing Zoo. No lions. No monkeys. Not even a gerbil. In fact, there isn't really a zoo at all. Yet one is clearly marked slap-bang in the middle of the town in the current edition of the AA West Sussex Street By Street map

  • Jets 5 seconds from disaster

    Two airliners carrying more than 500 passengers came within five seconds of disaster at Gatwick Airport. One of the jets had to abort its landing as the other tried to take off directly into its flight path. The Northwest Airlines DC-10, carrying 330,

  • Touching tributes to ex-mayor

    More than 100 mourners bid a final farewell at the funeral of former Mayor of Worthing Harry Yates. Touching tributes were made at the service in Saint Andrew's Church, Worthing. Mr Yates died on March 21, aged 86, leaving his wife Stella, daughters Rachel

  • Showcase for fringe films

    A series of celluloid screenings has been launched after Brighton Festival organisers axed films from the programme. The Brighton Fringe Film Festival will run alongside the main arts event in May and will showcase new Sussex talent. It was set up by

  • Bag thieves steal gran's heirlooms

    A pensioner says she is scared and devastated after thieves stole her handbag and personal belongings. Barbara Pitkethly, 74, was shopping in Waitrose in Western Road, Brighton, when her black patent leather handbag was snatched from her trolley. It contained

  • Burial surcharge is scrapped

    Inflated burial charges for residents forced to live outside their home town are to be scrapped. A nine-year-old cemetery policy at Adur District Council meant the charge to be buried in Adur for people who had moved outside the district was £750. If

  • Murder jury still out

    A jury was today spending a second day considering its verdict in the Billy Carmichael murder case. Richard Price, 25, of Denmark Terrace, Brighton and Richard Sumner, 35, of Grand Parade, Brighton, both deny murdering Mr Carmichael on November 14, 2000

  • Sculptor to design Queen Mum coin

    A Sussex sculptor has been chosen to create a lasting impression of the Queen Mother. David Cornell, 66, was contacted by the Royal Mint hours after her death and asked to prepare a commemorative coin. The coin will be distributed in one of the Commonwealth

  • Wheels of justice turn too slowly

    Sussex has the second worst record in England for handing down swift justice to young offenders, new figures reveal. Last year, the average time between young offenders being arrested and sentenced was 96 days. Only London had a worse record with the

  • Teenager in abduction bid

    A 15-year-old girl fought off two men who grabbed her and tried to drag her into their car in Crawley. She managed to fight off her attackers and run away but was shaken by the incident. The teenager was walking along Waterfield Gardens in Bewbush, Crawley

  • Fireworks are a pain for kids

    It's not just pets that suffer from the late-night fireworks. I have a two-year-old son who is in bed at that time of night. More than once, he has woken up crying because of the loud banging coming from the pier or beach. As for Claire Wedger saying

  • Cesspit by the sea

    Will Brighton and Hove really lose out if we do not accept the Euro? I doubt it very much. Is Britain lagging behind? If you call being very cautious and not rushing headlong into the unknown and unwanted, then I think we possibly are being a bit lagging

  • Affordable homes - but for how long?

    Will Councillor Mike Middleton confirm or deny whether there is any truth about the "affordable homes" that may be built at the King Alfred centre can be sold at market price to the tenants after two years, thus making for those tenants a nice profit

  • Preview headline

    Courthouses, stately homes and shops across North Yorkshire will close on Tuesday as a mark of respect to the Queen Mother. As the nation prepares for her funeral at Westminster Abbey, visitors to North Yorkshire were warned by the Yorkshire Tourist Board

  • Trail trials

    I wish to distance myself and my fellow trailriders from the youngsters on off-road motorcycles who have been riding illegally in Woodingdean, Whitehawk and Peacehaven. As trailriders, we hold motorcycle licences and ride fully insured and taxed off-road

  • Lone voice

    Ian Hills is misinformed about Green Party policy on the South Downs (Letters, March 30). Greens place a premium on protecting the Downs from all development. We have argued that travellers should be provided with a site with adequate facilities and managed

  • Odds out on culture bid

    Brighton and Hove has been given odds of 16/1 to be named European Capital of Culture. The city is one of 12 in Britain to have submitted its bid for the 2008 title. Bookmakers have installed Belfast as the favourite, with odds of 10/3, with Newcastle

  • Rail figures better

    Reliability and punctuality improved on Thameslink trains in March. The company recorded its worst ever time keeping figures at the end of last year but its punctuality climbed to 88.92 per cent in March on the core Brighton-Bedford route. Virtually nine

  • Tragic brothers' bodies flown home

    The bodies of Sussex cricketer Umer Rashid and the younger brother he tried to save were being flown back to Britain last night. Umer, 26, sacrificed his life attempting to rescue his 18-year-old brother Burhan when a swimming trip on the paradise island

  • Think Of It This Way, by John Parry

    What gives these so-called sex education advisers in East Sussex the right to try to dictate to headteachers which guests they should invite to talk to children? The negative response of Eastbourne's Sexual Health Forum, part of the National Children's

  • Closing down for royal funeral

    Much of Sussex will come to a standstill for the Queen Mother's funeral on Tuesday. Work in many shops, schools and offices will be suspended as people gather around televisions and radios. Ironically, the only pub in the county to bear her portrait on

  • Thanks for nothing

    Thank you, Brighton and Hove City Council, for informing me my council tax increased by £63 a year from the beginning of the month. You might like to know, as a retired person, my main source of income is a small company pension (I do not yet qualify

  • Match-winner

    I was devastated to hear of the death of Umer Rashid while on Sussex County Cricket Club's tour. It has really put a dampener on what was a pre-season full of enthusiasm and expectancy. Although he was not a first-team regular, as a confidence player

  • Golf: West Sussex bid for glory

    The Davies and Tate Trophy gets underway tomorrow with a record entry of 54 clubs in 22 first round ties. This is the 11th season under the sponsors' banner and the 32nd since the Sussex Inter-Club Scratch Matchplay Championship was first played. It is

  • Speedway: Big test for Eagles

    Eastbourne Eagles face the first serious test of their Elite League title credentials this weekend. Two big wins down the line, the Sussex squad are in action at Peterborough tonight and then host one of the pre-season favourites, Coventry, at Arlington

  • Basketball: Bears need a quick start

    Long-serving Mike Brown looked forward to his first Brighton Bears play-off and warned: "We can't afford a slow start this time." Bears have been dubbed the comeback kings after a series of dramatic recoveries this season. They finished the league campaign

  • Up sticks

    Why has Brighton and Hove City Council postponed the station site planning application meeting, scheduled for April 16? The developer, NEC, had said it would not make any more changes to its proposal many weeks ago, despite its application clearly not

  • Protest is fine but keep within the law

    I write in response to Simon Williams' concerns (Letters, April 2) about a demonstration outside Sainsbury's in London Road, Brighton, last weekend. He was passing and, at the point at which he passed, the demonstrators were, in his words, "peaceful and

  • Boxing: World title fight for Alexander

    Hailsham's Wayne Alexander will fight for the WBO world title against Daniel Santos in July. The British and European light-middleweight champion will meet the Puerto Rican at a venue still to be decided. Alexander, 28, was in London with his promoter

  • Jones poised to sign new deal

    Albion utility player Nathan Jones is poised to agree a new two-year contract. Boss Peter Taylor revealed: "I think Nathan has as good as been agreed. We are waiting to get that signed." Jones was recalled to the starting line-up for Monday's vital victory

  • Review headline

    Courthouses, stately homes and shops across North Yorkshire will close on Tuesday as a mark of respect to the Queen Mother. As the nation prepares for her funeral at Westminster Abbey, visitors to North Yorkshire were warned by the Yorkshire Tourist Board

  • Albion sights set on promotion

    Lee Steele is confident Albion can cope with the pressure cooker atmosphere of tomorrow's potential promotion clincher at Peterborough. Around 4,000 fans are making the journey to London Road in the hope of seeing the Seagulls go up with two games to

  • Bar plans delayed

    Late-night bars group Po Na Na, due to open an outlet in Brighton, today said it had put back plans to open new venues. The London-based company is struggling to offload under-performing sites. London-based Po Na Na, which has a 57-strong bar portfolio

  • Six arrested in raids

    Six people were arrested last night when police raided two Brighton homes said to be used by drug dealers. Officers found syringes, stolen credit cards and £4,000 in cash during Operation Entry, in east Brighton. Four people in a second-floor flat in

  • Firm wins award for toilet humour

    A book of fun facts and figures about toilets has been given an Award of Excellence. Southern Water's book, entitled Secrets From The Smallest Room, was compiled when 6,000 customers responded to a survey. It is being given to schools to sell for their

  • Crowds pay respects to Queen Mother

    Well-wishers from Sussex were among the 250,000 who lined London's streets today for the Queen Mother's pre-funeral procession. Some camped overnight, others began arriving at dawn to secure a good view of the horse-drawn gun carriage bearing the Queen

  • Rape victim denied cash

    A teenager who insists she was raped three years ago is reviving her battle for justice after being told the attack did not happen. Police who investigated the woman's original claims in 1999 believed her story but said there was not enough evidence to

  • Burial surcharge is scrapped

    Inflated burial charges for residents forced to live outside their home town are to be scrapped. A nine-year-old cemetery policy at Adur District Council meant the charge to be buried in Adur for people who had moved outside the district was £750. If

  • Murder jury still out

    A jury was today spending a second day considering its verdict in the Billy Carmichael murder case. Richard Price, 25, of Denmark Terrace, Brighton and Richard Sumner, 35, of Grand Parade, Brighton, both deny murdering Mr Carmichael on November 14, 2000

  • Dog owner told to pay up

    A dog owner whose pet bit a chunk out of a pointer told its owner: "Dogs will do that sort of thing," a court was told. Andrew Burns, of Twyford Road, Brighton, was ordered to keep his dog Charlie, a collie/Jack Russell cross, under proper control and

  • Wheels of justice turn too slowly

    Sussex has the second worst record in England for handing down swift justice to young offenders, new figures reveal. Last year, the average time between young offenders being arrested and sentenced was 96 days. Only London had a worse record with the

  • I remember Diana comments

    What a pity Nicholas Soames couldn't have been a little kinder when Princess Diana died. All he could say of her was that she was mad. Does he think we have all forgotten? At least the Queen Mother had a life. Diana didn't. -Shirley Reeve, Capel Avenue

  • No sign of missing ostrich

    Olli the ostrich is still giving Sussex Police the runaround more than 24 hours after escaping from a farm. The 4st female, who broke free with two accomplices from the compound near Billingshurst at 2.40am yesterday, remained at large despite the efforts

  • Fireworks are a pain for kids

    It's not just pets that suffer from the late-night fireworks. I have a two-year-old son who is in bed at that time of night. More than once, he has woken up crying because of the loud banging coming from the pier or beach. As for Claire Wedger saying

  • Affordable homes - but for how long?

    Will Councillor Mike Middleton confirm or deny whether there is any truth about the "affordable homes" that may be built at the King Alfred centre can be sold at market price to the tenants after two years, thus making for those tenants a nice profit

  • Preview headline

    Courthouses, stately homes and shops across North Yorkshire will close on Tuesday as a mark of respect to the Queen Mother. As the nation prepares for her funeral at Westminster Abbey, visitors to North Yorkshire were warned by the Yorkshire Tourist Board

  • Branching out

    A rare gem of irony appears in a planning application (The Argus Extra, April 3) on behalf of a resident in Woodland Walk, Ovingdean, who owes his arboreal address to developers who were allowed to chop down some trees and build "executive-style" homes

  • Village way

    As a resident of Ferring village for slightly more than 12 months (but with family here for the past ten years), I am somewhat sad to hear the residents' association is under threat of closure (April 3). However, I cannot say I am totally surprised. The

  • Bait-diggers aren't to blame for floods

    As a committed environmentalist, I read with dismay the report on bait digging in the Adur valley (March 27). As someone who has gathered bait from this area for more than 30 years, I was astonished the Environment Agency seems to think an angler out

  • Mrs Topper

    In reply to David Lepper's query about the TV series Topper (Letters), Mrs Topper was played by Lee Patrick, who also had a long film career that included The Maltese Falcon. The Kerbys were played by Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling, who both also had

  • Think Of It This Way, by John Parry

    What gives these so-called sex education advisers in East Sussex the right to try to dictate to headteachers which guests they should invite to talk to children? The negative response of Eastbourne's Sexual Health Forum, part of the National Children's

  • Closing down for royal funeral

    Much of Sussex will come to a standstill for the Queen Mother's funeral on Tuesday. Work in many shops, schools and offices will be suspended as people gather around televisions and radios. Ironically, the only pub in the county to bear her portrait on

  • Yes, we have no animals

    There are no elephants in Worthing Zoo. No lions. No monkeys. Not even a gerbil. In fact, there isn't really a zoo at all. Yet one is clearly marked slap-bang in the middle of the town in the current edition of the AA West Sussex Street By Street map

  • Rail figures better

    Reliability and punctuality improved on Thameslink trains in March. The company recorded its worst ever time keeping figures at the end of last year but its punctuality climbed to 88.92 per cent in March on the core Brighton-Bedford route. Virtually nine

  • Tories win by-election

    The Conservatives have won the Herstmonceux by-election to take a vacant seat on Wealden District Council. Andrew Long clinched 596 votes against 394 votes by Liberal Democrat Graham Love. The seat became available following the death of former Tory district

  • Woman dies in crash

    A woman has died after the car she was in careered off an East Sussex road and plunged into a ditch. No other vehicles were involved in the accident on Firle Road at Chalvington, near Polegate, at 11.12am yesterday. The 67-year-old Hampshire woman was

  • Jets 5 seconds from disaster

    Two airliners carrying more than 500 passengers came within five seconds of disaster at Gatwick Airport. One of the jets had to abort its landing as the other tried to take off directly into its flight path. The Northwest Airlines DC-10, carrying 330,

  • Woman dies in crash

    A woman has died after the car she was in careered off a Sussex road and plunged into a ditch. No other vehicles were involved in the accident on Firle Road at Chalvington, near Polegate, at 11.12am yesterday. The 67-year-old Hampshire woman was taken

  • Thanks for nothing

    Thank you, Brighton and Hove City Council, for informing me my council tax increased by £63 a year from the beginning of the month. You might like to know, as a retired person, my main source of income is a small company pension (I do not yet qualify

  • Is this the British Buffy?

    Fighting the forces of evil and killing monsters are all in a day's work for Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The pint-sized star has reached iconic status on TV in the United States and Britain but there has yet to be a home-grown supernatural action hero to

  • Narrow gauge

    It is depressing to read that the councillor with executive responsibility for the environment has dismissed out of hand the proposal for a study of a tram system for Brighton and Hove because the streets are too narrow (The Argus, March 22). The trams

  • Unconvincing

    Alan Nunn was not quite right to claim the Conservative Party has lost its core values (Letters, April 2). The Conservatives have always been interested in protecting the rights of minorities such as fox hunters and hereditary peers. What is different

  • Speedway: Big test for Eagles

    Eastbourne Eagles face the first serious test of their Elite League title credentials this weekend. Two big wins down the line, the Sussex squad are in action at Peterborough tonight and then host one of the pre-season favourites, Coventry, at Arlington

  • A city's jewel

    Komedia in the heart of the North Laine area in Brighton is one of the city's success stories. From modest beginnings, the theatre has taken over a scruffy Sixties building which was once a supermarket and transformed it into a place where people want

  • Basketball: Bears need a quick start

    Long-serving Mike Brown looked forward to his first Brighton Bears play-off and warned: "We can't afford a slow start this time." Bears have been dubbed the comeback kings after a series of dramatic recoveries this season. They finished the league campaign

  • Up sticks

    Why has Brighton and Hove City Council postponed the station site planning application meeting, scheduled for April 16? The developer, NEC, had said it would not make any more changes to its proposal many weeks ago, despite its application clearly not

  • Rich City: Shoreham belong in top flight

    Shoreham are back where they belong in division one of the Rich City County League. That is the verdict of manager Roger Brace after seeing his side become the first team in Sussex this season to win promotion. Shoreham returned to the top flight of Sussex

  • Ryman: Bognor boss welcomes moaners

    Jack Pearce wants to go head-to-head with his growing band of critics. The under-fire Bognor boss hopes to hold a meeting with fans as his side's promotion dream fades. But he insisted: "Anyone who thinks I'm doing a good job should stay away. I only

  • Protest is fine but keep within the law

    I write in response to Simon Williams' concerns (Letters, April 2) about a demonstration outside Sainsbury's in London Road, Brighton, last weekend. He was passing and, at the point at which he passed, the demonstrators were, in his words, "peaceful and

  • Boxing: World title fight for Alexander

    Hailsham's Wayne Alexander will fight for the WBO world title against Daniel Santos in July. The British and European light-middleweight champion will meet the Puerto Rican at a venue still to be decided. Alexander, 28, was in London with his promoter

  • Albion sights set on promotion

    Lee Steele is confident Albion can cope with the pressure cooker atmosphere of tomorrow's potential promotion clincher at Peterborough. Around 4,000 fans are making the journey to London Road in the hope of seeing the Seagulls go up with two games to

  • Services keep going strong

    The services sector continued its revival last month as activity reached the strongest level for a year. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) said the sector expanded for a third month in a row after overcoming the impact of the September

  • Touching tributes to ex-mayor

    More than 100 mourners bid a final farewell at the funeral of former Mayor of Worthing Harry Yates. Touching tributes were made at the service in Saint Andrew's Church, Worthing. Mr Yates died on March 21, aged 86, leaving his wife Stella, daughters Rachel

  • Six arrested in raids

    Six people were arrested last night when police raided two Brighton homes said to be used by drug dealers. Officers found syringes, stolen credit cards and £4,000 in cash during Operation Entry, in east Brighton. Four people in a second-floor flat in

  • Firm wins award for toilet humour

    A book of fun facts and figures about toilets has been given an Award of Excellence. Southern Water's book, entitled Secrets From The Smallest Room, was compiled when 6,000 customers responded to a survey. It is being given to schools to sell for their

  • Crowds pay respects to Queen Mother

    Well-wishers from Sussex were among the 250,000 who lined London's streets today for the Queen Mother's pre-funeral procession. Some camped overnight, others began arriving at dawn to secure a good view of the horse-drawn gun carriage bearing the Queen

  • Rape victim denied cash

    A teenager who insists she was raped three years ago is reviving her battle for justice after being told the attack did not happen. Police who investigated the woman's original claims in 1999 believed her story but said there was not enough evidence to

  • Art gets cruelty message across

    A hard-hitting image by an artist is being used in the fight against child cruelty. When 26-year-old Nathan Bean split up with his girlfriend at the end of his college course two years ago, he produced a video to embody his feelings of loss. Now a still

  • Barman throttled wife, court told

    A barman throttled his wife until she passed out after a row about her daughter smoking in the house, a court heard. Trevor Williamson, 50, of Butts Road, Southwick, was seen standing over his unconscious wife Rae, Worthing Magistrates' Court was told

  • Bid to bring back Sussex otters

    Volunteers are building an artificial otter holt in a bid to encourage the protected animals back to Sussex. The rescuers have been working on a riverbank in Arlington, near Hailsham. Otters were widespread in Sussex in the Fifties but numbers fell in

  • Florists' tribute to Queen Mother

    Florists John and Wendy Kelly are paying tribute to the Queen Mother the way they know best. With a little extra effort, they have turned a window of their Lewes shop into a memorial fit for a queen. Determined to create a floral display which would have

  • Dog owner told to pay up

    A dog owner whose pet bit a chunk out of a pointer told its owner: "Dogs will do that sort of thing," a court was told. Andrew Burns, of Twyford Road, Brighton, was ordered to keep his dog Charlie, a collie/Jack Russell cross, under proper control and