7 Days of Headlines with Phil Mills
Brighton tackles underage drinking, no sign of work (men), pupils are A* and dogs bark fire
The vast majority of youth crimes committed in Brighton and Hove are drink related so it was disappointing to learn that some shops may be prosecuted for selling booze to under age youths.
Test purchases by Sussex Police and the city council were carried out at four outlets in the city – and all failed and sold alcohol to under 18s. Insp Roy Apps said: “This does not reflect on what most of the premises are doing but all should be aware – there will be more operations like this and there will be zero tolerance to those who fail.”
Booze was blamed for a couple getting carried away and having sex on the Brighton beach in broad daylight, causing outrage among families sitting just yards away. Police let the couple off with a fixed penalty for “lewd” behaviour. City councillors are worried by the boozy “hen/stag party” reputation the city has gained. What do you think? Email comment@thelatest.co.uk
Crowds crammed into the city over the Bank Holiday Monday – shame the sun stayed away and was replaced by wind and cloud – but the weekend proved again why this city is the place to be.
Have you noticed how, every so often, you come across road works where there’s never any sign of anyone doing any work or there are sets of temporary traffic lights yet no visible sign, like a hole in the road, as to why the lights have been installed? Elizabeth Jones emailed about lights at the junction of Eldred Avenue and Tongdean Lane, in Withdean, Brighton. She said: “I go to the nearby gym several times a week and have yet to see a workman there or any reason why the lights were put up. The least they could do is put up a sign to say what’s going on.” Take note council please. And have you got a roadworks rage you want to get off you chest? Email comment@thelatest.co.uk
City school pupils won top marks for GCSEs – they boosted their A*-C results to 56 per cent, up from 52.8 per cent last year – bucking the national trend for results, where A*-C grades saw a fall for the first time since the exams were introduced 24 years ago. Cllr Sue Shanks, chair of the council’s children committee, praised teachers: “They have been willing to try new strategies to secure improvements in pupil performance, and I’d like to thank them.”
Meanwhile, it was announced that there’ll be a public meeting in October over plans to set up a £1.7m permanent travellers’ site at Horsdean, Patcham. Opposition is growing and there is an online petition calling on the South Downs National Park Authority to reject the scheme.
Do you have photographs, posters, tickets or other memorabilia from the 1950s? Mementos are wanted for a Memory Wall at Jubilee Library from 8 September. Go to http://www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk/WhatsOn/Pages/CityReads2012.aspx
Police are hunting thugs who attacked and tried to rob a Korean student as he got off a bus in Hollingdean, and officers were investigating the rape of a woman in her 40s on Brighton beach. In the courts, Rawad Bastawi was jailed for eight years for raping a 13-year-old girl after plying her and other girls with drink and cannabis in Whitehawk.
And finally, a Hove woman’s dogs woke and saved her life when fire broke out at her home in Cambridge Grove, Hove. One neighbour mused: “The dogs are heroes – they should take a bow-wow.”
Are you affected by underage drinkers? comment@thelatest.co.uk
