7 Days of Headlines with Phil Mills
Tickets to the Games, The Angel of Mostar, eco-conscious visitors & Preston Street improvements
Brighton’s Sally Becker, credited with saving scores of lives in Bosnia, found herself standing alongside the likes of boxing giant Muhammad Ali in a surprise appearance at the spectacular Olympic opening ceremony.
The Angel of Mostar as she became known was chosen to help carry the Olympic flag before it was raised in the stadium. Sally, a goodwill ambassador for Children of Peace and who dodged snipers’ bullets to bring aid into war-torn Bosnia, said she was “incredibly honoured” to carry the flag: “It was the best moment of my life – magical.”
Thousands of locals made it to one Olympic event or another – includng Sussex brothers Finlay, nine, and Ethan, seven, who were photographed by their dad outside the aquatic centre – but not so pleased were Latest 7 readers who were turned down for tickets and were shocked when they watched TV coverage and saw hundreds of seats left empty. Tina Robertson said: “It was very frustrating to think many of those seats were left empty by corporate guests when it was us, the British taxpayers, who paid for the stadia and didn’t get a chance to enjoy it.” What do you think? Email comment@thelatest.co.uk
Staying with sport, crowds turned out for the opening of a new skate park in Bexhill Road, Woodingdean, and the Withdean Sports Complex has won £150,000 Olympic legacy (National Lottery) money to replace the running track and install electric start/finish equipment. Phoenix Athletics Club Chairman, Paul Collicut, said: “This is the news that athletes from all the clubs that use Withdean have been crying out for. In this Olympic Year it’s the best news possible for the future of athletics in this great city.” Chris Carter, Chairman of Brighton & Hove City AC, said: “Although the track has been re-chipped a couple of times since it was laid in 1980, the year that Brighton & Hove’s Steve Ovett won the Olympic 800 metres, this will be the first time in more than 30 years that it has had a complete resurface.”
In other news, work has started to improve the appearance and pedestrian linkages to Preston Street. The work includes around £50,000 of improvements to the southern and northern entrances of the street using good design and high quality materials to improve the appearance and pedestrian accessibility.
An online guide to eco Brighton has been launched by green holidays website, Greentraveller.co.uk, in collaboration with the city council’s destination marketing body, VisitBrighton (www.visitbrighton.com /green-brighton). The guide shows visitors how to make the most of the city in a way that has a low environmental impact while having a positive impact on the region’s economy, local communities and surrounding natural landscape.
On the crime front, a 19-year-old man and 16-year-old girl were attacked with a broken bottle in Hove Park. She suffered bruising and the man was cut on an arm. Police were hunting the attacker. And a 63-year-old man was robbed of a laptop at knifepoint in Pavilion Gardens. Meanwhile, Fr Wilkie Denford from Shoreham will stand trial at Lewes Crown Court later this year charged with sexually abusing two boys more than 20 years ago.
An inquiry is underway into three deaths at Lewes Prison in a month. Former detective Peter Foster was found hanged three days after Nathan Vaughan-Jones was found hanged in his cell. Earlier, the body of sex offender Colin Morton was discovered at the prison.
Lastly, and back to the Olympics, under fire Sussex-based security firm G4S is reported to have banned executives from attending hospitality parties during the Games. “Can’t think why,” I hear some say.
