£40m bill for rough roads

ROADS in East Sussex are falling apart and will cost more than £40 million to repair, it was revealed today.

The 1,900-mile highways network has been battered by heavy traffic and the damaging effects of freezing winters.

A survey for East Sussex has revealed a staggering one in four main roads will be worn out within five years.

It said eight per cent of the county's network could have a skidding resistance below the level recommended in national safety guidelines.

About 90 per cent of the road network is more than 25 years old and about 3,000 street lights need to be replaced.

East Sussex highways bosses admit roads are deteriorating at their fastest rate and the overall standard is now well below the national average.

They estimate the highways maintenance backlog adds up to £41 million.

A council spokesman said: "Despite past investment in highways maintenance it has been calculated that some £41m is needed for the maintenance backlog.

"Roads wear out because of traffic use, especially by heavy lorries, the weather, particularly water and frost, digging up by utility companies and simple ageing.

"Carriageway structural maintenance, to strengthen roads, is now only carried out on the main strategic road network. There has been no financial provision for the the rest of the network since 1997."

The backlog is made up of £13.1 million to restore the safety of roads, bridges, footways and street lighting, £16.2 million to prevent further network deterioration and £12 million on repairs to main roads in the worst condition.

The state of the highways has worsened despite more than £1 million a year being spent on repairs during the past ten years.

East Sussex County Council is planning to spend a total of more than £20 million on highways maintenance including roads, bridges and pavements during 2000-2001.

West Sussex County Council is planning to increase spending on road strengthening by 12 per cent, and on routine road and pavement improvements by six per cent as part of its overall highways and transport budget of £46m for 2000-2001.

David Dewdney, chair of the highways committee at West Sussex, said: "Maintenance and road safety are the big issues. I want to ensure the conditions of our roads remains 20 per cent better than the rest of the country's."

An AA spokesman said: "There is clearly a link between road maintenance and road accidents, and tackling poor skid resistance on roads should be given a higher priority."Autumn date for Portobello

THE result of the Portobello inquiry will not be known until the end of September at the very earliest.

And the decision as to whether Southern Water gets the go-ahead to develop its Portobello site at Telscombe Cliffs could even be delayed until the end of November.

The 43-day inquiry, one of the longest that has ever taken place in Sussex, ended yesterday with the barrister representing Southern Water posing the question: "If not at Portobello, where?".

Planning inspector Simon Gibbs told the Argus he expected to complete his report into the £60 million project by the end of August.

It will then go to the Department of Environment Transport and Regions for a final decision.

Because of the sensitivity of the project it is expected that the final decision will be made by the Environment Secretary, John Prescott.

If the report from Mr Gibbs, a senior inspector with the planning inspectorate, is cut and dried, Mr Prescott could make announcement within a month.

However, if the report throws up further complex issues, then Mr Prescott will have to consult further with his officials, which will delay the long-awaited announcement.

The inquiry started on October 26 last year and was the result of East Sussex County Council's decision to reject Southern Water's plans to build the massive works on the beach at Telscombe Cliffs on a platform jutting out to sea.

Southern Water, having looked at 44 different sites, said upgrading the existing Portobello works was the best option.

Under European law, backed by the British Government, Southern Water has to build an upgraded sewage treatment works to provide the quality of sea water off the Sussex Coast.

A total of 44 witnesses have given evidence since the inquiry started on October 26.

Among those giving evidence were the South Downs Conservation Board and Bass Taverns, which owns the Badgers Watch pub on the cliffs overlooking the planned works.

Also, scores of organisations have also made written submissions to the inquiry.

My hero - paperboy Ricki to the resuce

Paperboy Ricki Dipper was hailed a hero today after coming to the aid of an elderly man.

The 13-year-old was delivering newspapers in Southwick, near Brighton, yesterday morning when he heard a voice calling for help through the letter box of a house in Overhill.

He looked through the slot and saw retired builder Harry Spicer sitting in a chair, pleading for assistance.

Ricki, a pupil at Glebe School, Shoreham, kept calm and told Mr Spicer, who is believed to have fallen, that he was going for help.

He said: "I heard him shouting 'Help me!' as I was putting the newspaper through his letter box.

"At first I didn't know what to do and I just froze. But then he started shouting again and I switched on and I went and knocked on the door of the neighbour's house to get help.

"Then I went back to the house and stayed with the man until the neighbour arrived and kept him company.

"He told me he had been in agony all night and that he couldn't stand up. After a while he went silent and it was then I started to get a bit

worried."

One of the neighbours had a key to 84-year-old Mr Spicer's house and they were able to open the door.

Ricki, who is a Sea Scout and lives in Oakapple Road, Southwick, with his parents Robbie and Wendy, and brother, Ryan, two, said: "I got him a drink of water while we waited for the ambulance. I wanted to go to the hospital with Mr Spicer to make sure he was all right."

An ambulance arrived and when the paramedics saw Mr Spicer could not stand or put any weight on one of his legs they took him to Worthing Hospital.

Last night his condition was described as comfortable and he is expected to make a good recovery.

After seeing Mr Spicer safely into the ambulance Ricki continued on his way to school and he had to wait until last night to meet up with his new friend again.

Mr Spicer, recovering in Worthing Hospital said: "I couldn't get up and I waited to hear the paperboy rattle the letter box and I started shouting for him to help me.

"Ricki heard me and said he was off to get help. And he wouldn't leave me until he knew I was well taken care of. He is a good lad."

Mr Dipper, a firefighter at Gatwick and Shoreham said: "I am very proud of him. He did really well."

Ricki's boss, Sheriff Beard, owner of Holmbush Stores, Holmbush Way, said: "He is a great kid."

To thank Ricki, who wants to join the military when he's old enough, former soldier Mr Spicer has offered to show him his medals.

Why Jill gave her three babies away

SERIAL surrogate mum Jill Hawkins has given away three babies during the past seven years.

Jill, a 35-year-old legal secretary from Brighton, helps desperate, childless couples for fulfilment and a fee classed as 'expenses'.

Tonight she is the subject of a BBC documentary on the controversial subject of surrogate

motherhood.

Jill talks frankly about the trauma of handing over a baby and the financial rewards, which can total £10,000 per child in some cases.

At the end of her third pregnancy, Jill gave birth to a 9lb baby boy called Jamie, conceived by artificial insemination, after 45 minutes in labour.

The following day, in the lounge of her parent's home in Saltdean, she handed Jamie over to a couple who had struggled with infertility for six years.

Jill, who is single, said she didn't want children of her own, but found great fulfilment in helping others achieve their dream.

She said: "There has to be a bond of trust. It is still half my child. I have to really like them. For the couple the joy is about to start, but for me, I've got to go downhill a little before I get back on top."

Some mothers never meet the child again, but Jill continues to see all three babies, and regards herself as a special 'auntie' to them all.

Her mother, Brenda, a 54-year-old telephonist at Sussex University, said: "She is a very unique person. Quite apart from being extremely proud of her, it is an extremely brave thing to do."

She and her husband, Brian, 58, who works for a pine furniture company in Newhaven, fully support their daughter's actions.

Brenda said: "Jill has never wanted children of her own. I cannot see her ever having children of her own. Even as a little girl she didn't want to play with dolls. She was never that way inclined.

"But she has always had a vague desire to know what it is like to be pregnant.

"It is done through artificial insemination.

"Obviously you have got to like the couple you are helping. You have to built up a rapport with them. It is not done overnight. It can take many months."

She said expenses were covered, but declined to go into details. However, surrogate mothers are regularly paid between £5,000 and £10,000.

Brenda, who has three children, Jill, Susan and David, prefers to talk about the joy a baby brings to childless couples.

She said: "I can assure you there are hundreds of couples who now have surrogate children. The joy and pleasure it brings these people has to be seen to be believed. It is just wonderful to see. As far as the parents are concerned, these children are extremely special.

"My neighbour said to me 'I think your daughter is wonderful'. My husband's mother is 84 years old. Something like this wouldn't even have been considered when she was younger, but she is very proud of Jill."

Brenda said she and Jill met up with all three children, and their parents, two or three times a year for a big get-together and they all got on well.

Jill became a surrogate mum after contacting a voluntary organisation called COTS (Childlessness Overcome Through Surrogacy), which helps would-be parents meet potential surrogates.

COTS voluntary secretary Gena Dodd said: "Every birth means the end of years of agony for the couple."

In the past 11 years, more than 300 babies, including 21 sets of twins and two sets of triplets, have been born in this country as a result of surrogacy arrangements.

The most common conditions leading to a couple considering surrogacy are premature menopause, a hysterectomy, multiple miscarriages and a women being born without a womb.

However, there is alarm in Government health circles about surrogacy, fuelled by a row in 1997 when a mother refused to hand over the child after giving birth.

It resulted in a review of regulations, including payments.

The report, which is still being compiled, recommends that payments to surrogate mothers should be restricted by law to genuine and verifiable expenses only, but COTS fear this could result in fewer mothers coming forward.

There are also calls for agencies involved in surrogacy to be

registered.

But Brenda said: "People who say bad things about surrogacy are ignorant and don't know what they are talking about."

Surrogate Babies is on BBC1 at 9.30pm.

Victim's long wait for help

Teacher Richard Lewis was was left in an accident and emergency unit for more than three hours before beingX-rayed, a court heard.

Mr Lewis, who later died from his injuries, was admitted to Worthing Hospital at 10.30pm after being assaulted, but it was not until 2am the following day that he was found to have broken his neck.

The 47-year-old physics teacher, who worked at Dorothy Stringer School in Brighton, was attacked by Worthing teenager Sam Brown in May 1997.

He slipped into a coma and died eight months later.

Brown, 18, had already admitted assaulting Mr Lewis, causing grievous bodily harm, in a previous trial. He is now being tried for murder at Lewes Crown Court.

Mr Lewis was attacked at The Montague pub, in Shoreham High Street, after Brown had entered the pub "ranting and raving".

Shortly after he was X-rayed on May 18, he had difficulty breathing.

Despite attempts to revive him, he went into a coma and died in January 1998 without recovering.

On the second day of Brown's trial, defence barrister Nicholas Valios QC said Mr Lewis had been in casualty for two hours before his face was cleaned.

Criticising the priority Mr Lewis was given, he said it was almost "have an aspirin and go home".

Nurse Margaret Peters told the jury: "He told me he could not feel his legs and that his arms felt heavy. He told me had a

bone condition called spondylitis in the neck and he could not lean forward because he would have difficulty breathing."

She drew a doctor's attention to him shortly before 2am and he was X-rayed.

She said: "I never saw Mr Lewis with a spinal board or a collar."

An ambulanceman said Mr Lewis had refused a stiff collar three times on the journey to hospital.

PC Ivan Spence, who went to the pub shortly after the attack, said: "His face and his shirt had blood on them. They were covered in blood."

Other witnesses said Brown repeatedly kicked and punched Mr Lewis.

Brown denies murder. The case continues.

Absolutely Monstrous

Julia Sawalha, best known as the long-suffering Saffy in Absolutely Fabulous, likes a challenge.

Julia, however, also has many years as a stage performer under her belt.

But now she has decided to step out of the limelight to take up a new venture - to produce a version of Frankenstein at the Komedia Theatre in Brighton.

She was given the task by her friend and director of the play, Tanushka Marah, who recently formed the Company Collisions theatre group.

Julia said: "I met up with Tanushka when I came down to Brighton on tour with A Midsummer Night's Dream.

"She told me about this idea she'd had to put on a production of Frankenstein which stayed true to Mary Shelley's original.

"I'm a big fan of her work so I wanted to get involved, but as I haven't done physical theatre before I didn't think I could act in it."

The 31-year-old actress said she was delighted when her suggestion of taking over the production side was met with approval.

She added: "I helped on one of my dad's plays a couple of years ago, but I was only an assistant. I really wanted the chance to see if I could do it, and if I'd enjoy it.

"This is the first time I've been given the chance to go it alone and I'm really loving it. I just hope Tanushka will allow me to make a few mistakes!"

The last time Julia appeared in a performance in Brighton she starred in Shelagh Stephenson's ghostly comedy, The Memory of Water, at the Theatre Royal.

But Julia, the youngest of three sisters - Nadia who used to play Annie Palmer in EastEnders, and Dina, a full-time mum - says she also likes to spend time in the town when she's not working and has ambitions to set up a theatre group here.

She said: "The people here are overflowing with talent and they seem to be very enthusiastic about life.

"My dream would be to put together a group down here with everyone from artists to writers and directors - all working with each other."

Animation

But Julia is keen to quash any rumours she might be about to give up the acting game.

She says she is still keen to tackle the kind of roles she has become famous for, like Saffy, for which she won the Royal Television Society's 1992 award for Best Female Performer, and Lydia Bennett in the TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

She explained: "I want to do my acting as much as ever, but it's nice to have a sideline."

As well as doing Frankenstein, Julia has been given a role in an animation film called Chicken Run alongside Mel Gibson.

She said: "We have to act our roles as normal then our characters are animated by computer, so I haven't really met him as we all work separately.

"It's strange seeing a huge animated chicken that looks and sounds like you!"

And the good news for fans of Absolutely Fabulous is that a spin-off show has been written which uses all the same actors but in totally different roles.

Julia laughed: "I can't let on any more until we've started filming, but at the moment I'm concentrating on Frankenstein."

The production aims to reclaim Frankenstein from Hollywood's hands by concentrating on Shelley's fear of genetic manipulation and cloning, rather than simply on a huge monster with a bolt through his neck.

Director, Tanushka Marah, from Brunswick Place in Hove, had dreamed of turning Shelley's book into a play ever since studying it at university.

Lucky

She said: "I was lucky to meet the right people at the right time so I could try and make it work. Julia had mentioned she'd like a stab at producing so we went from there.

"It's great having Julia there because she gives acting guidance as well, and rehearsals have been great fun."

Tanushka also plays the part of author Mary Shelley in the play.

Frankenstein will be at the Komedia in Gardner Street, Brighton, on February 13 and 14. Tickets cost £6/£4 concessions.

Pinamonte to sign for Bees today

Italian loan striker, Lorenzo Pinamonte has played his last match for Albion.

He is joining Brentford today in a £75,000 deal from Bristol City.

It follows further talks between Albion chairman Dick Knight and Pinamonte's agent Atol Still.

Pinamonte will sign a lucrative three-and-a-half-year contract when Bees' boss Ron Noades returns from holiday.

Pinamonte was on the bench for Albion's 1-0 defeat at Mansfield last night. He came on in the closing stages and threw his No. 35 shirt to Albion fans at the final whistle.

"It was my goodbye to them," Pinamonte said. "They have been great for the two months that I have been here.

"I am a little bit upset to be leaving and I would love to come back in the future. I wanted to stay but for my future it is better to leave.

"money talks and I will be playing in a higher division."

Albion manager Micky Adams joked: "We will be taking the cost of the shirt out of his wages; they don't come cheap!

"It was his last game for us. I had discussions with him before the match and he is going to sign for Brentford today.

"We both decided if that was the case I had to look at the games ahead and that is why he was on the bench.

"We thank him for his services. He has done sterling work for us. We have enjoyed working with him and I am sure he has enjoyed being with us."

Pinamonte added: "I will probably buy a flat in Brighton because Brentford train at Gatwick which isn't far away."

Russell's hat-trick shatters Horsham

RYMAN League big guns Dulwich Hamlet last night joined the scramble to sign Matt Russell.

This came after the YMCA hot shot fired an historic derby hat-trick.

Russell's high-class treble gave his County League side a first ever home win over their neighbours and left watching Dulwich boss Dave Garland planning an official approach for his services.

But Dulwich, fourth in the premier division, will face stiff competition from several Sussex clubs, including Bognor, who will host YM in the last eight of the Senior Cup as a result of this remarkable scoreline.

Russell, a former youth teamer at Nyewood Lane, has 35 goals to his name, but insisted: "I'm staying here for the rest of the season."

He made the breakthrough in the closing moments of a first half which Horsham had shaded when he latched onto Lee Butcher's through ball and finished expertly.

The second period was controlled by a solid YM side. Their hit man, who will be 21 at the end of this month, thrashed home an astute Andrew Price pass before sliding in Neil Vanson's cross for his hat-trick.

Boss John Suter beamed: "I love goals like the third one because we worked the ball to the byline and then cut it back.

"Matt will get the headlines because he gave us a cutting edge, but our second-half team display was our best of the season."

Former Horsham striker Phil Churchill completed Horsham's humiliation with a mis-hit cross which drifted inside the far post.

But the night was all about Russell, who said: "It's always good to score just before half-time and I thought we were superb in the second half. I'm not bothered when people come to watch me and just get on with my game."

Russell's only contribution for 44 minutes was to accidentally kick Gary Charman in the face when attempting an overhead kick.

Charman's departure with a broken nose added to Horsham's striking woes, given that Gavin Geddes was cup-tied and Steve Flain away working.

They would have been ahead by then but for sharp saves by Jason Dumbrill from Charman and skipper Matt Smart.

Boss John Maggs must now lift them from the doldrums for the second time in a matter of weeks, and he knows it.

He said: "This has shown me we need a stronger squad but, if we had a frontman like Matt Russell, perhaps our dominance early on would have brought a goal or two."

Pier of the realm?

Size isn't everything. Southend may boast the longest pier in the world, but Brighton's historic West Pier is the only Grade I listed pier in Britain and supporters say that puts it well and truly in a class of its own.

Leaders of the West Pier Trust are amazed by Sir Teddy Taylor's House of Commons attack on 'rubbishy piers'.

Rachel Clark, general manager of the West Pier Trust, said: "I can't believe he is referring to the West Pier.

"Southend's pier may be the longest, but we have the only Grade I listed building in the country. It is completely unique."

Work is due to start on the long-awaited restoration of the West Pier this spring thanks to a £14.2 million grant from the National Lottery heritage fund and £15 million of private sector money.

Just under £500,000, some of it lottery cash, has already been spent carrying out stabilising work on the structure to ensure it withstood winter storms.

But in Southend an application for lottery money for the Essex resort's pier was turned down three years ago because it failed to meet the necessary criteria.

Tour

Lottery bosses decided the longest pleasure pier in the world was not worthy of a handout because while the structure was intact, the original buildings could not be restored.

The town pleaded its case, saying that thousands of day trippers every year enjoy walking along the pier, which is more than a mile long, but the appeal fell on deaf ears.

A festering wound was reopened a year later when Southend learned Brighton's decaying West Pier would receive a multi-million lottery grant.

Today Southend is adamant its 110-year-old pier still has a case for funding.

Campaigners who have spent years working to save the West Pier can understand the MP standing up for his town, but say he is wrong to do so by rubbishing other piers.

And Rachel Clark has an invitation for Sir Teddy. She said: "He is welcome to come and have a tour of the West Pier and see why it is so special. I would be delighted to show him around. Southend may be very deserving, but the West Pier is recognised as one of the most important piers built in this country. It is listed for its architectural merits and its Grade I status sets it apart from others.

"The huge majority of local citizens want to see the pier restored and the trust has been campaigning since it closed in 1975 to have it reopened.

Interest

"The West Pier is not just something the people of Sussex and Brighton care about, it is important nationally.

"It is already attracting a huge amount of interest from a wide area, not just Sussex. We have taken about 20,000 people on guided tours of the pier over the last three years.

"No way could it be described as rubbishy. It is not the longest pier, but it is unique."

Brighton and Hove mayor Jenny Langston stressed that years of effort had gone into the campaign to save the West Pier.

Coun Langston said: "I am sure most people would agree the West Pier is of national, not just local historical importance, and that is why it is attracting the money to restore it."

Planning permission for the first phase of the work on the West Pier was granted in November and will involve restoring the piles underneath the 134-year-old structure.

It will be followed by work to restore buildings on the pier, and completed with a final phase of development on the shore. If all goes to plan, the pier will reopen in 2002.

The private sector funding is coming from a consortium called Eugenius, which includes the boxer Chris Eubank and property developers Prestbury.

The West Pier is one of 11 piers around the country that have received lottery grants, but the award to the Sussex pier is the largest.

A spokesman for the lottery's heritage fund said: "We look at every project very carefully and we have very strict criteria including value for money, heritage and public benefit. Southend put in an application, but it was rejected."

Speaking after his Commons outburst, Sir Teddy said today: "This is something I feel very strongly about. Some of the piers I have visited are very short; some are little more than extensions of the promenade and full of gaming machines, and yet Southend has the longest pier in the world. We have suffered a fire, we have had vessels crashing into it and yet we haven't had a single penny of lottery money spent on it."

But the MP insisted he had never intended to label the West Pier as 'rubbishy'.

He said: "I am sorry if I have caused offence to the good people of Brighton, but I wasn't thinking of the West Pier when I was talking about rubbishy piers.

"I don't want to start a row in Brighton, I have had a couple of lovely holidays there and my wife thinks it is a wonderful place.

"But I was making the point that Southend has got a unique pier and, when so many other places are getting money, we haven't got a penny. Southend is getting a raw deal."