Pre-school praised by Ofsted


AWEST Malling pre-school has received praise from Ofsted for the quality of its early years pro- vision. Swan Street Pre-School was


said to be good at meeting the needs of children because each youngster was respected by staff and treated as an individual. Inspector Linda Coccia, who


visited the centre in January, said that since the last inspec- tion, staff had worked on their policies and procedures to pro- vide more effective care for chil- dren. The pre-school, which has 40


children on the roll, and oper- ates from two rooms in the Bap- tist church, was rated as good in all categories. The report said parents are


fully involved in the cultural as- pects of their children’s learning and some provide food items


Asbestos blamed


for engineer’s death PETER Owen (77) of London Road East, Royal British Legion Village, died of malignant mesothelioma having come into contact with asbestos dur- ing his working career. An inquest heard he worked


as an oil boiler engineer during the 1970s and 1980s. It was thought that during this time he had dealt with heating pipes that had become blocked with asbestos.


from home for the youngsters to sample. There are good relationships


with local schools. The inspector considered


children were good at number work, reasoning and problem


solving. They grow fruit and vegetables in the summer and enjoy eating the results. Supervisor Crista Worsley


said: “We are delighted with the report. It is very much a team ef- fort here.”


A RETIRED Leybourne man took his own life by overdosing on prescribed morphine having be- come depressed at suffering chronic knee pain. An inquest heard how former London black cab


Light up a Life service takes


place at last THE HEART of Kent Hospice’s Light up a Life event took place at Aylesford Priory, following delays because of heavy snow. Originally meant to take


place in December, the event had to be rescheduled, but this did not dampen the atmos- phere and £7,000 was raised for the charity. The procession to the Friars


was followed by a service and refreshments with music pro- vided by the Harrietsham Pri- mary School choir, East Peckham Silver Band and soloist Romily Doust. The event provided the op-


portunity to remember lost loved ones by lighting a candle and entering their names in the hospice’s book of remem- brance.


Overdose was the answer to excessive knee pain Mrs Wooley returned to the home at 2pm and


driver Patrick Wooley (73), of Willowmead, was diagnosed with depression after his physical con- dition inhibited him from enjoying an active re- tirement. He enjoyed playing golf with Doreen, his wife of 23 years, but was unable to do so be- cause of the injury and a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease.


Following a replacement knee operation in


2006, he overdosed on two occasions before fa- tally doing so in April last year.


found her husband in his usual spot with his leg on a pouffe. He told her he had taken some pills and was then admitted to hospital. She said: “When I got to the hospital I walked


over to him and he just looked at me and said, “Doreen, I love you and I am sorry. You’ll have a better way of life”. That’s all he said. MrWooley died at Maidstone Hospital six days


later after his condition failed to improve. His widow said: “He was a young 73-year-old


who didn’t want to laze in bed every day. He could hardly walk by that stage. He could only shuffle along.”


Tomorrow’s citizens’ vision of a bright future MrWooley had taken countless quantities


of different medication for both his physical and psychological ailments. Five days before the overdose, he started a course of Zomorph, a slow-acting form of morphine, in the latest attempt to relieve the pain. He finished the remainder of the packet – around 40 tablets of 10mg strength – in just one day. Dr Michael Batley, consultant physician at Maidstone Hospital, said: “There are people who take high dosages on a daily basis but their systems have adapted. He was not used to taking that dose so his had not.” Coroner Roger Sykes said: “In the past few


years when he had overdosed on tablets and told people he wanted to lose the pain, rather than end his life. However, on this oc- casion I am satisfied that he took a large amount of morphine with the intent to take his life. He was a passionate man who tried every possible treatment but to no noticeable effect.”


THIS class at St Mark’s Primary School in Eccles is at the forefront of a bold new proj- ect to create a plan for the village’s future. By the time the project reaches fruition


these seven- and eight-year-olds will be teenagers, so it is important they have a say on how their community takes shape and what facilities it could provide for them and all the other residents. The scheme has attracted the interest of


local councillors, MPTracey Crouch, edu- cation, police and other officials, many of whom attended a presentation at the school. The class has been focusing on “Eccles –


past, present and future”, which is leading to a community-led plan for the village – a 10-year vision that contains a detailed blue-


6 Malling


print for improving the area. A partnership has evolved between the school (assistant head Clare Fullager in par- ticular); Medway Valley of Visions plan- ning expert Jill Harris; Eccles community warden David Leipnik; as well as ACRK (Action with Communities in Rural Kent). ACRK rural officer Carl Adams said:


“The next step is to get local residents in- volved in community-led planning, which has already been approved by local coun- cillors and for which we are seeking vol- unteers. Some have already expressed an interest


and no doubt more will step forward after they’ve seen the incredible work of St Mark’s pupils and their hopes for the fu- ture.”


Bike track scuppered


Continued from page one is good that the police took the problem and looked to find a solution. “A lot of hard work has already been done.


I think it will be very sad if the whole thing is completely scuppered.” The villagers’ campaign followed a private meeting, chaired by Sgt Brigden, at Holmes- dale Technology College, Snodland, when a steering committee was formed for the proj- ect. Attendees included Chathamand Ayles- ford MPTracey Crouch, Cllr Moloney, and members of the moto-cross community. Birling Parish Cllr Jackie Westwood, who


also attended, told residents the project’s in- tention sounded extremely good but the parish council was concerned that it had not been told what was going on.


Visit Downs Mail’s website—downsmail.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40