Archive

  • New hope for Omar release

    Human rights campaigners in Sussex were celebrating last night after moving a stage nearer to securing the release of a prisoner detained in Guantanamo Bay. Foreign Secretary Margarett Beckett told the House of Commons yesterday afternoon that Bisher

  • Mums-to-be face 20-mile trips to give birth

    A hospital maternity unit could temporarily close this summer with women being sent up to 20 miles away to give birth. Changes to the way junior doctors are trained come into force on August 1 meaning services could be cut at either Eastbourne District

  • Kidnapper jailed

    A man who kidnapped a terrified teenager has been jailed for more than three years. Zaheer Ahmed believed 17-year-old Alan Clinch knew where his missing sisters were. He was desperate to track them down after they fled from their family and asked for

  • Ding dong over church bells

    A parish council has caused an almighty ding-dong in a village by accusing the church of not ringing its bells often enough. The council is refusing to pay a £250 church grant because members claim they are being starved of the sound of the bells tolling

  • Banned broker faces new probe

    Financial watchdogs are investigating a discredited insurance and mortgage broker after it emerged he is a director of a Brighton-based company. George Robert Piggott, 39, of De Courcel Road, Brighton, is banned from giving financial advice and is not

  • Drunk man died after falling on railway line

    A man was electrocuted after stumbling onto a live rail as he walked home from a nightclub. Alexander Bain was attempting to take a short cut home on his way back from a night out drinking with friends when tragedy struck. His girlfriend, Gabriel Egleton

  • Road accident victim contests damages award

    A man who was seriously injured in a road accident by an untraced driver today claimed that the Government was to blame for the level of damages he received. In 1999, Kenneth Moore was awarded £376,000 in respect of the April 1995 accident by the Motor

  • Gardner could have a bright future

    The closure of the Gardner Arts Centre (The Argus, March 13) is not only very sad, it is more importantly a retrograde step in respect of local arts culture in the city of Brighton and Hove. The "concentration on the city centre" will only add

  • The council should be more open

    I can find little justification for the situation which demanded that I attend Hove Town Hall, left, sufficiently early to obtain a ticket in order to observe councillors decide whether or not we would have the King Alfred project. Not while

  • Tributes paid to councillor

    A dedicated local politician and former international banker has died at the age of 53. Michael Sullivan, district councillor for Franklands ward in Burgess Hill, had been battling diabetes for the last eight years. Coun Sullivan was an Oxford graduate

  • We all ought to swim in the sea

    What is all this fuss about lack of swimming facilities in Brighton and Hove (The Argus, March 26)? We have six miles of what must be among the best swimming beaches in Europe. And as a Victorian commentator pointed out, the English Channel is

  • I want Blair impeached, says Eubank

    Former world boxing champion Chris Eubank answered bail today for his one-man protest against Prince Harry going to Iraq and said: "I want the police to charge me and I want Tony Blair to be impeached." Eubank, 40, was arrested for driving around Whitehall

  • The Unexpected Guest, Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne

    The abrupt, surprise beginning to this Agatha Christie classic is a portent of things to come - it is plainly not a tea-and-biscuits murder mystery, rather a large Dubonnetwith a twist. Set in the home of someone recently murdered, we encounter

  • Tracy Beaker Gets Real, Theatre Royal, Brighton

    Over the past 15 years, Tracy Beaker has made new friends in homes all over the country as the star of Jacqueline Wilson's bestselling stories and TV show - and now she has a new home on stage. Played by a cast of grown-ups and bursting with

  • The Bees, Audio, Brighton

    A good definition of an intimate gig could be one where you bump into the band's frontman in the toilets before they go onstage. The Bees have long passed the stage of sharing their facilities with the great unwashed but as the six-piece shambled

  • Faithless, Brighton Centre, Brighton

    "That was bloody brilliant. I hoped it would be like that. I never really expected it would be." Those were the words of a man walking out of the Brighton Centre next to me. They were probably the most accurate summary of a majestic Faithless performance

  • Awaiting the last post

    Post Offices across the country await their fate as the Government prepares to announce how many are to shut. Up to half could close in areas of Sussex and 2,500 are threatened nationally because of huge financial losses. Sub-postmasters and postmistresses

  • Woman hurt in hit-and-run

    A woman has been left with serious injuries after being struck by a lorry in a hit-and-run crash. The victim was taken to the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards following the crash in Ferry Road, Rye. Police want to trace two witnesses who helped at the

  • Fertiliser bomb plot trial jury still deliberating

    Jurors retired for an eighth day today to consider their verdicts in the year-long fertiliser bomb plot trial at the Old Bailey. Seven British men were arrested in March 2004 following the discovery of more than half a ton of chemical fertiliser in storage

  • Driver injured in crash

    A driver was badly hurt after his car crashed into a wall and flipped on to its roof. The accident happened in Bohemia Road, Hastings, shortly after 3am today. Firefighters were needed to cut the driver, a 20-year-old local man, from the vehicle. He

  • Traders to have a say on Open Market plans

    Traders have been given a six-month extension to present plans for the £10 million redevelopment of their run-down market. Brighton and Hove City Council wants the stall-holders to have a say on the future of the Open Market. But so far they have been

  • Sussex cricket ground plans revealed

    Sussex County Cricket Club has released artist's impressions of the planned development that has left its future in doubt. The drawings show the proposed six-storey complex at the centre of a row between the club and Brighton and Hove City Council

  • Quitter Sam, 16, backs the smoking ban

    A 16-year-old gymnast who has beaten a ten-a-day smoking habit is backing the ban. Sam Ward, who started smoking when he was 14, hopes the new law will encourage other smokers to follow his example. He said: "I would say to anyone, just don't

  • Final curtain at Gardner Arts Centre

    An audience filled a landmark arts venue for the final time in its 38 year history last night. A packed house watched the curtain come down at the Gardner Arts Centre, at the University of Sussex in Falmer, Brighton, for the last time at the

  • Abi stars in TV show Musicool

    A wannabe musician is enjoying a taste of stardom after being selected ahead of thousands for a reality TV show. Abi Ryan is hoping her blend of pop and R and B will shine through in Channel Four's reality programme, Musicool. The 20-year-old was selected

  • Fears over King Alfred project cost and delays

    Councillor Brian Oxley says there are concerns that the proposed Gehry towers on Hove seafront may attract terrorist activity (The Argus, March 26). If they are built according to the artist's impressions which have appeared in The Argus (Letters

  • Faster journeys

    Dr Earthey of Saltdean (Letters March 27) is quite right to highlight the need for faster public transport from the outskirts of the city to central locations. This is why Brighton and Hove City Council is working with partners in East Sussex

  • Wireless city

    Brighton and Hove is on its way to becoming the technology capital of Europe with free wireless internet access for all. The city council is considering installing a WiFi network covering central Brighton next year which would be extended later across

  • Life is so cheap

    Isn't it amazing that Ruth Kelly can get involved when it comes to the Falmer site for Brighton and Hove Albion (The Argus, March 13) but won't get involved in the protest against the proposed incinerator in Newhaven? I wonder if it is because

  • Speaking out

    I would like to express a personal apology to Mr RG Jenkins (Letters, 25 March) for what he understood as an accusation of arrogance. I wish to apologise without reservation to him. It was not my intention to suggest that he personally was arrogant

  • Value for money in question

    Much has been made recently of the Theatre Royal Brighton and its 200th anniversary. However, on March 3 myself and four friends went to see Old Times, starring Neil Pearson. We had seats in the second circle costing £22 plus a compulsory £1 levy

  • Accept change

    I am continually frustrated by the letters and articles published regarding the closing of local post offices (The Argus, March 20). While I can of course understand the people who continue to use them will suffer, I do not see what alternative

  • Alive and well

    Regarding Susan Bentley's comments (Letters, March 27), I too am mystified and upset at not being able to listen to FIP radio anymore. It seems to have been crowded out by various UK stations. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any UK stations

  • PC cowboys

    There are many computer cowboys out there who will take your hard-earned money without really knowing what they're doing. Cast your mind back to the cowboy gas fitters who were around before a proper statutory training programme was introduced

  • Policing needs

    Having seen your front page headline about thugs posting violent images on the internet (The Argus, March 26), I opened the paper and read the Letters pages. The first letter, from a Labour councillor, stated that having a police officer at

  • With Respect

    I am a Hove resident of four years. I am also a member of the local Respect party and am standing in the Hangleton area of Hove in the May council elections. I, along with fellow Respect members and other strong activists, was active in leafletting

  • Emin made a Royal Academician

    Brighton-born artist Tracey Emin has been made a Royal Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts. Emin, 43, whose work has included her own unmade bed surrounded by used condoms, underwear and vodka bottles, will now be able to put the initials RA after

  • Murder suspect 'has brain damage'

    A man accused of killing a homeless alcoholic had brain damage, a court was told. Anthony Griffiths' responsibility for his actions was likely to have been diminished as a result. Professor Nigel Eastman, a leading authority on forensic psychiatry

  • Ferry link will see French tourists pour into Sussex

    French tourists are set to pour into Sussex after a new ferry link was set up to the continent. A new daily summer crossing between Newhaven and Le Havre will operate from May 1 to September 30. The new line was added because the popularity of travelling

  • Deepcut progress made, says Government

    The Government is confident it has done all it can to prevent a repeat of the death of a Sussex trainee soldier at Deepcut barracks, according to forces minister Adam Ingram. Recruits Sean Benton, 20, from Hastings, James Collinson, 17, from Perth, Scotland

  • Heather 'surprised' by dancing show reaction

    Heather Mills McCartney has admitted she is surprised by the positive reaction to her participation on US TV show Dancing With The Stars. Sir Paul McCartney's estranged wife, who lives in Hove, won a place in the second round of the contest after stunning

  • Council reports recycling rate increase

    A Sussex council has said its residents have increased their recycling rate by nearly six per cent year-on-year. Arun District Council has published its recycling rate for 2006/7 - despite the fact the financial year does not finish until March 31.

  • City gets casino boost

    The chances of Brighton and Hove getting the right to build a super-casino received a boost last night after a shock blow to the Government. Peers rejected controversial plans for a super-casino in Manchester and 16 other large and small casinos

  • Eubank to answer bail

    Former boxer Chris Eubank will answer police bail today after being arrested last month while protesting against Prince Harry's deployment to Iraq. Police detained the flamboyant retired sportsman on February 22 after he drove a huge black truck emblazoned

  • Farepak families told a repeat will never happen again

    Hard-up families who lost money when Christmas hamper firm Farepak collapsed were yesterday promised it will never happen again. The Government announced new safeguards to prevent a repeat of the Farepak "nightmare" which led to some 150,000 families

  • Guards beat me senseless, claims asylum man

    An asylum-seeker claims he was beaten unconscious by security guards while being taken to a Sussex detention centre. Volunteers who visit detainees at Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre at Gatwick raised Mohammed Koroma's case as he prepared to

  • Fire unions launch bid to stop death blasts

    Firefighters have begun lobbying the Government to change fireworks regulations so the kind of explosions which killed two of their colleagues can never happen again. Fathers-of-two Brian Wembridge, 63, and Geoff Wicker, 49, died on Sunday December 3

  • Family fury at death crash verdict

    Relatives of a man who died after being hit by a rubbish truck have been left furious after his death was ruled as misadventure. Stephane Aineto, 28, was run over by the vehicle in a pedestrianised area of East Street, Brighton, in the early hours of

  • Trucker a hero in fatal car smash

    A truck driver has been hailed a hero after saving the life of a woman involved in a horrific pile-up at a notorious accident blackspot. One man died and queues stretched for miles towards Brighton and Hove yesterday following the smash on the A27 at