It's the law losing control

A sports car driven by care worker Kevin Perkins killed another man in a horrific accident at Falmer Road in Woodingdean last year.

Yet Perkins walked free from court in Brighton yesterday. The only punishment he received was a £300 fine and disqualification for 18 months.

It's not much for a man's life and Perkins could hardly have been surprised at the enraged shouts at him from

relatives of the dead man in the public gallery.

Perkins lost control of his high-performance car which he had hired only hours earlier as he overtook a line of traffic before a bend.

Yet he was charged only with careless driving because it would have been hard if not impossible to prove a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

This case is not in the same league as that of PC Jeff Tooley, mown down by a driver who did not stop at a checkpoint. But the result was the same. An innocent man lost his life.

What it does prove is a new offence is needed, more serious than careless driving, so that in tragedies such as this, the punishment fits the crime.

Lesson one. . .

Staff at the East Brighton College of Media Arts have made a plea to everyone to keep the interests of the students in mind.

They are worried publicity about the resignation of principal Tony Garwood from the struggling new school could affect pupils, many of whom face important exams shortly.

We make no apology for highlighting this important educational issue which has ramifications far beyond East Brighton.

But we do wish pupils, parents,

staff and governors well in

their bid to transform it into a college of excellence.

They will have to work together and first of all ensure there is proper discipline at the school. Only then can staff and the new head make the progress everyone wants to see.

Blonde ambition

Every woman can look like Marilyn Monroe, if only for a few seconds, thanks to Brighton University student Richard Toon. Every man can enjoy the image, too.

He has recreated an animated version of the scene in The Seven Year Itch, where she stood above an air vent in a pleated dress cooling herself on a sticky summer day.

The screen image endures after

40 years proving after all this time that

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Some Like it Hot.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.