Local: Pevensey Asda car fall death woman named

A woman who died after falling from her car as she was leaving a Sussex petrol station has been named.

Sheila Moger, 70, from Croydon, was driving along the access road to the Crumbles Retail Park, Pevensey at 1020 BST on Friday when she lost control.

She fell out of the driver’s door of her Renault Modus as she was turning left leaving the Asda petrol station and suffered a serious head injury.

She died at Eastbourne District hospital early on Saturday.

Sussex Police are appealing for witnesses and said they are particularly keen to talk to a blonde woman driving a black car who they believe witnessed the incident but left before police arrived.

(BBC.co.uk)

Thieves cause problems for customers of phone group O2

Customers of mobile phone company O2 are experiencing problems after its equipment was damaged by thieves.

O2 customers in parts of east London, north London, east Sussex and Kent cannot make calls, use the internet or send or receive texts and emails.

Engineers are working to replace the stolen equipment and repair damage caused at one of the network’s sites in east London.

The problem was discovered in the early hours.

Police were called once O2 discovered that there had been a theft.

No compensation
The network has said its engineers expect the network to be working normally later in the day.

The company said it did not know how many of its 22 million customers are affected. It is planning a full investigation.

O2 would not give details of the damage or the exact location of the incident but a company spokesperson revealed it was “a well organised theft”.

The spokesperson said: “Mobile networks are not completely fault-free but incidents like the one we have experienced today are extremely rare.

“In light of this we do not, as a rule, offer compensation but customers can be reassured that we are doing everything to restore full service as soon as possible following this unforeseen incident.”

(From BBC News)

Local: Lewes Priory reopens after restoration

The ruins of a medieval priory in East Sussex have been reopened to the public after an £800,000 restoration project.

The work, at the 11th Century Priory of St Pancras in Lewes, has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and English Heritage.

The two-year project conserved the ruins of the Grade I-listed Norman property in Cockshut Road to make them safe for visitors. Entrance is free.

The opening is being celebrated with a family fun day and medieval festival.

“We want to have a great fun day and celebrate the existence of the priory and the fact that it has been wonderfully restored,” said Sy Morse-Brown of Lewes Priory Trust.

The priory is described by HLF as “one of the most important historical buildings in south-east England”.

Work carried out while the priory was closed included improvements to access and interpretation of the medieval monastery.

The inner fencing was removed and firm pathways, benches and interpretive signs were installed.

Surrey man held after six-car collision in Eastbourne

A man has been arrested on suspicion of careless driving following a six-car collision in East Sussex in which one driver was seriously hurt.

Sussex Police said the crash happened in Lottbridge Drive, Eastbourne, at midday on Easter Monday.

Six cars, all travelling south, were involved in the collision.

One motorist, a 63-year-old man from Caterham in Surrey, was taken to hospital in a serious condition. The other drivers had minor injuries.

Police said a 31-year-old man from Greenford in west London, who was driving a Honda Accord, was arrested.

A force spokesman said he had been bailed until 18 June while inquiries continued.

Describe the town where you grew up…

Eastbourne, East Sussex, England.

Yup, this is my home town. I still live here. 90 odd thousand population but it doesn’t feel like a big town. We’re a seaside tourist resort with a reputation for attracting the elderly as well as students. Our most famous ‘feature’ is a cliff called Beachy Head which is a notorious suicide spot, people come from all over the world just to commit suicide.

The Seven Sisters cliffs are just along the coast from Beachy Head – these are also famous but not for suicides. Just for being so pretty and the fact there are seven!

We have a pier, two lighthouses (one in the sea, on on land – the one on land is now a B&B), beaches (hardly any sand it’s mostly pebbles), the usual shops and a few places to visit.

It’s about 30-35 mins away from Brighton and an hour and a half from London by train.

The link to the Wikipedia page about Eastbourne is here.

Arson probe into Eastbourne retail park fire

BBC News link here

A fire at a retail park in Eastbourne that damaged three shops was started deliberately, fire crews believe.

More than 80 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Crumbles Retail Park, in Sovereign Harbour, which started at 2030 GMT on Saturday.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said the fire started towards the rear of Boots.

Shoppers were evacuated from the Asda supermarket and Next clothes store but nobody was injured.

‘Deliberate act’
A spokesman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was put out at 1400 GMT on Sunday.

He said: “An investigation has concluded that the fire is most likely to have been caused by a deliberate act.”

A spokeswoman for Boots said the company was working closely with police and fire officers.

Det Insp Paul Phelps, of Sussex Police, said: “Four national businesses have all been badly damaged and at such a busy time of the year it will no doubt have a knock-on effect to the local economy.”

Incident commander Chris Baker advised businesses to take precautions and reduce the risk of fire spreading.

He said: “It is also very important not to store rubbish against the shop and if bins are stored nearby to ensure rubbish is regularly cleared away, as fires involving this can easily penetrate into the building.”