Kirsty’s Cuba ride boosts air ambulance


A MEDICAL secretary from Barming cele- brated her 40th birthday by cycling across Cuba to raise funds for the Kent Air Ambu- lance Trust during its 20th anniversary chal- lenge. Kirsty Bevan joined 35 other cyclists on


the 370km, five-day trek which started from the Bay of Pigs. Kirsty, a mum-of-two, has raised nearly £3,000 for the charity through sponsorship. It included selling cakes at football tourna- ments and a non-uniform day at her son’s primary school. Kirsty, a keen cyclist who works for con- sultant surgeons at BMI The Somerfield Hospital in London Road, Maidstone, was glad she trained hard beforehand. “It was incredibly hot and humid. I was


grateful that I put in the time to train. It paid off, especially the spin classes which helped to build stamina. We were in the saddle for up to eight hours a day.


A PLAN has been submitted to convert a former shop into a restaurant or hot food takeaway at 8 Gabriels Hill, Maidstone. Applicant Trainfield Ltd


wants to make use of the vacant former home of Express Kitchen. The supporting state- ment said: “The application property has been vacant now for almost 12 months, despite active marketing by two of the town’s leading commercial agents. “As vacant premises, the


to be forgotten: “It really was a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity, and to have raised funds for the Kent Air Ambulance during their 20th anniversary year made it even more worthwhile. “It was my big milestone birthday too,


and to be able to look back and say Imarked the big 4-0 in such a special way is fantastic. “The air ambulance team were brilliant. It


Kirsty with her medal for completing the ride


“The route was stunning and the views


were beautiful.We passed tiny villages that seemed frozen in time. We were cheered and waved at by the villagers, it really was incredible.” Kirsty said the experience was one never


Gabriels Hill restaurant plan


property makes a wholly nega- tive contribution to the town’s retail “offer” and to the charac- ter and appearance of the con- servation area, and this alone should justify a flexible ap- proach to its future use. “Furthermore, the listed sta-


tus of the property means that it is important that a new use be found for it to avoid further risk of deterioration of the fabric of the building.” Maidstone Council will de- cide on the application.


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was so good to get to know them and to hear about the vital work they do. I feel very lucky knowing that they’re in the skies above Kent. In my own small way I’ve helped fund one of their life-saving mis- sions.” Lynn Hyder, county fundraiser for Kent


Air Ambulance, said: “We’re really very grateful to people like Kirsty who put their bodies to the test for our charity, especially for our anniversary year challenge.” If you would still like to support Kirsty, log on to www.justgiving.com/kirstybevan


Mystery of garden flood


A BIZARRE theft of a garden tap left the leader of Maid- stone's Lib Dem group scratch- ing her head. Fran Wilson and husband


John – who is also a borough councillor – had just returned from a trip to see their grandson in a school Christmas produc- tion in Hastings. To their amazement they dis- covered the garden was flooded – the result of vandals severing the tap fitting outside their util- ity room, which had left the


pipe gushing water. "It was un- believable," said MrsWilson, of Old Tovil Road. "We think it was wanton van- dalism as the tap was of no value, there was no copper." The couple reported the miss-


ing tap to police who said noth- ing similar had happened locally. TheWilsons fear the incident


may be related to them being Lib Dems. They even taped up their letterbox overnight to pre- empt potential arsonists.


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