Police officers pinned down a candidate at a council election count after violence erupted.
Onlookers watched in astonishment as Worthing Assembly Hall was stormed by protesters.
Police dragged out screaming campaigners and the count was halted at the Worthing and Adur contest.
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Several of those taken out were eco-protesters who stormed into the building.
Among those dragged out was Dawn Smith, a candidate for the Stop Durrington Over-development. She was pinned to the ground by four police officers outside the assembly hall, claiming that her friends had been barred entry and assaulted.
Scores of people watched in amazement as the trouble continued for about ten minutes.
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Posted by: Martyn, Worthing on 1:10pm Fri 2 May 08
There is an earlier report of the police being called to the Glyn Owen centre in worthing because youths were causing trouble.
It is not surprising when their role models and elders behave like this
There is an earlier report of the police being called to the Glyn Owen centre in worthing because youths were causing trouble.
It is not surprising when their role models and elders behave like this
Posted by: Angryman, hard at work on 2:01pm Fri 2 May 08
And you'd rather have councillors that do absolutely nothing other than close things down and vote themselves allowance rises would you?
Idiots.
At least she's standing up for something she believes in unlike you pathetic lot who keep voting in the same old losers all the time. Perhaps I might read a comment or two from you next week when you start moaning about how bad the people you just elected are AGAIN.
Where's her comment in this article anyway? It's typical of you lot to start attacking someone without hearing what they have to say. Were any of you there? I suppose you lot voted BNP and think juries should be abolished too!?
And you'd rather have councillors that do absolutely nothing other than close things down and vote themselves allowance rises would you?
Idiots.
At least she's standing up for something she believes in unlike you pathetic lot who keep voting in the same old losers all the time. Perhaps I might read a comment or two from you next week when you start moaning about how bad the people you just elected are AGAIN.
Where's her comment in this article anyway? It's typical of you lot to start attacking someone without hearing what they have to say. Were any of you there? I suppose you lot voted BNP and think juries should be abolished too!?
Well said Angryman; however you missed one vital point, with the low turnouts in this country it is almost certain these people have never voted in their life, in my experience they never fight for the betterment of this country, just blame everyone and every thing when things go wrong. It is about time to make voting compulsory.
Well said Angryman; however you missed one vital point, with the low turnouts in this country it is almost certain these people have never voted in their life, in my experience they never fight for the betterment of this country, just blame everyone and every thing when things go wrong. It is about time to make voting compulsory.
I think that this was a rather dramatic and sensationalistic piece of reporting.
Where was the violence? How did they storm into the building?
Please could we have more facts to substantiate this or could the headline be changed to cover what did exactly happen?
I think that this was a rather dramatic and sensationalistic piece of reporting.
Where was the violence? How did they storm into the building?
Please could we have more facts to substantiate this or could the headline be changed to cover what did exactly happen?
[quote][bold]Martyn[/bold] wrote:
There is an earlier report of the police being called to the Glyn Owen centre in worthing because youths were causing trouble. It is not surprising when their role models and elders behave like this[/quote] we saw the yoofs outside the glyn owen centre and they were quite menacing. Tim Loughton was there and totally ignored them, if he cant be bothered to help our community get rid of them he aint getting my vote at the next general election !
Martyn wrote:
There is an earlier report of the police being called to the Glyn Owen centre in worthing because youths were causing trouble. It is not surprising when their role models and elders behave like this
we saw the yoofs outside the glyn owen centre and they were quite menacing. Tim Loughton was there and totally ignored them, if he cant be bothered to help our community get rid of them he aint getting my vote at the next general election !
Posted by: Dawn Smith, Worthing on 10:47pm Fri 2 May 08
Stop ! Durrington's Overdevelopment-Save Titnore's Trees Party would like to thank the [bold]99[/bold] residents of Northbrook Ward that gave us their votes today! This represents approximately 11% of the vote, a good increase on the last time we stood at the local elections in Worthing and something for you all to be proud of. Local residents here are willing to take a stand against the destruction of our beautiful countryside. At the count today, security guards aggressively removed four environmental activists from the hall. These young people had come at 10.00 am as arranged, to hear the declaration of the votes we have all worked together so hard to achieve. I was shocked to see SEVEN men surrounding one of our supporters and shouted at them to stop. They did not do so -despite that fact I consistently asserted they were my guests and that they should not be subjected to such treatment. As a result of my protest I was arrested.I cannot give further detail here, as we are seeking legal advice. I would, however like to assure all of our supporters that [italic]there was never any question of violence from our party supporters.[/italic] This is a democratic process that is supposed to be inclusive and to encourage more people of different backgrounds to participate. Just because someone is not wearing a suit and tie and a blue or yellow rosette does not mean they have to endure discrimination and bullying.We will continue to protect Titnore Woods in as many ways as we can, and I for one, with the support of local people, will try to continue via the election process. Save the Trees! Dawn
Stop ! Durrington's Overdevelopment-Save Titnore's Trees Party would like to thank the 99 residents of Northbrook Ward that gave us their votes today! This represents approximately 11% of the vote, a good increase on the last time we stood at the local elections in Worthing and something for you all to be proud of. Local residents here are willing to take a stand against the destruction of our beautiful countryside. At the count today, security guards aggressively removed four environmental activists from the hall. These young people had come at 10.00 am as arranged, to hear the declaration of the votes we have all worked together so hard to achieve. I was shocked to see SEVEN men surrounding one of our supporters and shouted at them to stop. They did not do so -despite that fact I consistently asserted they were my guests and that they should not be subjected to such treatment. As a result of my protest I was arrested.I cannot give further detail here, as we are seeking legal advice. I would, however like to assure all of our supporters that there was never any question of violence from our party supporters. This is a democratic process that is supposed to be inclusive and to encourage more people of different backgrounds to participate. Just because someone is not wearing a suit and tie and a blue or yellow rosette does not mean they have to endure discrimination and bullying.We will continue to protect Titnore Woods in as many ways as we can, and I for one, with the support of local people, will try to continue via the election process. Save the Trees! Dawn
Posted by: Ahmed, Worthing on 11:08pm Fri 2 May 08
Dawn do you own your own home?
I would like a home. But sadly there is no enough to go around.
Why don't you convert your home into flats so some of us can own our own properties?
Alternatively stop bellyaching about the desperate need for new homes.
Dawn do you own your own home?
I would like a home. But sadly there is no enough to go around.
Why don't you convert your home into flats so some of us can own our own properties?
Alternatively stop bellyaching about the desperate need for new homes.
Posted by: sparky, worthing on 6:52am Sat 3 May 08
[quote][bold]Ahmed[/bold] wrote:
Dawn do you own your own home? I would like a home. But sadly there is no enough to go around. Why don\'t you convert your home into flats so some of us can own our own properties? Alternatively stop bellyaching about the desperate need for new homes.[/quote] Maybe you should be asking that question of the council, and those recently elected..
There are more empty homes in Worthing than are proposed at Durrington, and yet nothing is done to make them into the 'affordable housing' you seem to want..
And how many 'affordable houses' would be provided if Titnore woods are destroyed? - very few!
It's wise to get a few facts straight before attacking someone for wanting to protect a valuable enviroment for us all!
Ahmed wrote:
Dawn do you own your own home? I would like a home. But sadly there is no enough to go around. Why don\'t you convert your home into flats so some of us can own our own properties? Alternatively stop bellyaching about the desperate need for new homes.
Maybe you should be asking that question of the council, and those recently elected..
There are more empty homes in Worthing than are proposed at Durrington, and yet nothing is done to make them into the 'affordable housing' you seem to want..
And how many 'affordable houses' would be provided if Titnore woods are destroyed? - very few!
It's wise to get a few facts straight before attacking someone for wanting to protect a valuable enviroment for us all!
Posted by: Titnore protestor, Titnore Woods on 3:28pm Sat 3 May 08
I was one of the people denied entry from the count. It was made very clear to us that even though we were invited with our names on the official list, without photo ID none of us would be let in, NO OTHER PERSON WAS ASKED FOR ID (and we witnessed uninvited people illegally permitted entry). We didn't come looking for trouble, actually we thought it was going to be a boring day, but wanted to show our suport and see the democratic process in action (we couldn't vote as homeless people can't). Dawn did nothing wrong, she just objected to our heavy-handed treatment by security.
It should be everyone's right to see the count and anouncement and we shouldn't have been ejected, "this is not democracy"!!!. At no point did we argue/shout/fight, and the knife rumour is simply wrong.
As the Police and the councelors we spoke to will tell you, we were polite and friendly for the rest of the day (outside).
Titnore woods is not the place to build houses/tescos/carpar
ks, it is a beautifully diverse ecosystem that floods!
I was one of the people denied entry from the count. It was made very clear to us that even though we were invited with our names on the official list, without photo ID none of us would be let in, NO OTHER PERSON WAS ASKED FOR ID (and we witnessed uninvited people illegally permitted entry). We didn't come looking for trouble, actually we thought it was going to be a boring day, but wanted to show our suport and see the democratic process in action (we couldn't vote as homeless people can't). Dawn did nothing wrong, she just objected to our heavy-handed treatment by security.
It should be everyone's right to see the count and anouncement and we shouldn't have been ejected, "this is not democracy"!!!. At no point did we argue/shout/fight, and the knife rumour is simply wrong.
As the Police and the councelors we spoke to will tell you, we were polite and friendly for the rest of the day (outside).
Titnore woods is not the place to build houses/tescos/carpar
ks, it is a beautifully diverse ecosystem that floods!
Maybe if that "homeless" protestor had a wash first,he might have smelled better.If they protest outside, the smells not so bad, so thats the reason nobody wants them inside. And as for those bloo@y woods,chop the lot down and put up decent housing.{But not for the jobless. We dont want them in Worthing}
Maybe if that "homeless" protestor had a wash first,he might have smelled better.If they protest outside, the smells not so bad, so thats the reason nobody wants them inside. And as for those bloo@y woods,chop the lot down and put up decent housing.{But not for the jobless. We dont want them in Worthing}
Posted by: mango, Brighton on 10:00pm Mon 5 May 08
I was involved in the Titnore campaign when the tree camp started. I can say for certain that the aggressive and bigoted people who posted their crude insults against the campaigners here do not represent the general opinion in Worthing or in the area around Titnore woods. I was on many street stalls in Worthing town centre and received solid support, and the same was true in the area around the camp. I have never come across the above attitudes before. I suppose that's the difference between the online world and the real world.
I can also say from experience that there is nothing unusual about police and security assaulting and arresting people because they don't like their political beliefs.
I was involved in the Titnore campaign when the tree camp started. I can say for certain that the aggressive and bigoted people who posted their crude insults against the campaigners here do not represent the general opinion in Worthing or in the area around Titnore woods. I was on many street stalls in Worthing town centre and received solid support, and the same was true in the area around the camp. I have never come across the above attitudes before. I suppose that's the difference between the online world and the real world.
I can also say from experience that there is nothing unusual about police and security assaulting and arresting people because they don't like their political beliefs.
Posted by: mango, Brighton on 10:04pm Mon 5 May 08
Please see the following links for the other side of the story:
http://www.greenpart
ywestsussex.co.uk/co
unt.htm
http://www.indymedia
.org.uk/en/regions/s
outhcoast/2008/05/39
8058.html
Please see the following links for the other side of the story:
http://www.greenpart
ywestsussex.co.uk/co
unt.htm
http://www.indymedia
.org.uk/en/regions/s
outhcoast/2008/05/39
8058.html
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