From pub to Paris – and not a single puncture!
MAGNIFIQUE! These pub pals have raised more than £22,000 for charity by ped- alling 220 miles to Paris. It took 14 of them three days to reach the French capital – and they returned to a heroes’ welcome at The Chequers in Laddingford. The team decided to boost the Kent Can-
cer Trust’s funds as one of them, consultant oncologist Mark Hill, is a trustee. Amazingly, there was not a single punc-
ture during the trip – a total of 3,000 miles between them. Nor were there any injuries – and the weather was perfect! Banker Des McElroy (53), whose son Joe
(24) also did the marathon ride, said arriv- ing in Paris via a canal-side cycle path was fantastic. “Much more fun than cycling in
London,” he quipped. Not so brilliant was getting “hopelessly
lost” coming out of Beauvais after a lunch stop. But Des added: “The highlight was the big welcome when we got back. We took the Eurostar from Paris and eventually arrived at Paddock Wood station, where our back- up vehicle met us with our bikes.We cycled from there to the pub. There was a huge crowd, balloons and streamers. It was fan- tastic.” The other “Chequers Racers” were Stan Faulkes, Jim Seymour, Nick Thomson, Colin Miller, Neal Turner, Harry Harrison, Mick Owen, SteveMerritt, Ian Moore, John Griffiths and ChrisWillis. Publicans Charles and Tracey Leaver, plus
Demand for new tip Continued from page one
member Ian Chittenden said: "A lot of people are coming from the other side of Maidstone to dump their rubbish at the tip. It's worth us arranging ameetingwith KCC to discuss getting a tip else- where. " In 2008, when KCC made improvements to vehicle access at the
tip, it announced it had a £2million budget to fund a facility else- where in Maidstone. It undertook a feasibility study but concluded there was no suitable site. Cllr Chittenden added: "The money that was in a budget was re- moved a year ago, so any project would have to be included in a fu- ture budget and would not be available in the current financial year." Tovil Parish Council is seeking to arrange a meeting with KCC members responsible for transport and waste to discuss the feasi- bility of a new tip on the other side of Maidstone and improvements that could ease the queues and traffic congestion emanating from the Tovil site. A road rage incident occurred in Burial Ground Lane, Tovil, which saw a bus driver and motorist receive penalty notice orders.
Congestion problems extend
TRAFFIC congestion from the tip has not just been affecting Tovil. “It’s causing problems in East Farleigh and Coxheath with peo-
ple trying to get through,” said Cllr John Wilson, the borough member for those villages. “The problem is getting from Dean Street into Farleigh Hill, into
town and then coming back. If you have traffic queues both ways you just can’t get through. I have been queued up there for 15 minutes. “I have no idea how the buses are able to get through. It is caus-
ing traffic to go to town through the back of Tovil.” CllrWilson, a member of the Conservative-run cabinet, believes
the rise in congestion has been too recent to be explained by the borough council’s waste management changes. He thinks a recent Maidstone Council clampdown on flytipping “seems a more log- ical” explanation. He added: “We have a refuse place in Allington [on the 20/20 estate] but there isn’t the ability for the public to access the site. “If youwere to open that up you would have a public tip in the
north of town as well as in the south. It would stop the cross- Maidstone traffic and I don’t think the cost would be that great. It would cause less impact for the people in Allington than the cur- rent arrangement does to the people of Tovil and East Farleigh.”
Pizza thieves beat up delivery man
AGANGwas convicted of mug- ging a pizza delivery man. Three youngmen were locked
up and four others, including Dean Cundall (21), of Hubbards Lane, Boughton Monchelsea, were given community orders. Three pizzas were ordered for
a false address in Maidstone. When the 19-year-old delivery man arrived there he was beaten with a rolling pin and
22 South
the food stolen. Maidstone men Wayne Acott
(21), Adam Chawner (20) and Joshua Allchin (18) were sen- tenced to youth custody of more than a year each for conspiracy to rob.
Cundall was given a supervi-
sion order with a drug rehabili- tastion requirement. He and three others admitted conspir- acy to steal.
Laddingford’s Chequers Racers celebrate their arrival at the Eiffel Tower.
local electrician Tym Wright, were their support team. Sadly, Tym,who would have been the oldest cyclist, suffered a torn calf beforehand, which prevented him joining in.
Each member paid his own costs to en-
sure all money raised went to the trust. Events at the pub, including a quiz night and an auction, helped to boost the total.
Go Compare at music festival
OPERA star Wynne Evans, who features in the “Go Compare” TV ads, will be Katherine Jenkins’ guest at Music on the Hill. Wynne, whose debut
album“ASongInMy Heart” was recently at number one in the classical chart, will be performing with the National Symphony Orchestra on the opening night of Friday, June 24, at Kings Hill. He was also the opera voice
for Gary Lineker in a crisps ad- vert and has performed at more than 30 international rugby games. He said; “I am really looking forward to accompanying Katherine Jenkins on stage for Music on the Hill in June. It’s a fabulous event to be part of, to perform in a more intimate set- ting and for two great causes.” Music on the Hill will take
place in a dedicated arena at Kings Hill, and all profits will go to Demelza Hospice Care for
Children and The Children’s Development Trust. Tickets for the Katherine Jenk-
ins concert cost £35, and those for McFly the following night are £33.50. The line-up for the family fun day on Sunday, June 26, will include ABC, Bjorn Again and reality TV star Stacey Solomon. Family tickets are £80. Top girl band The Sugababes
will be joiningMcFly on the bill for the Saturday. Sugababes member Heidi Range and boyfriend, DJ Dave Berry, who is in the line-up for the follow- ing day’s family fun day, have supported the hospice for sev- eral years.
Walkers step out for Bluebell event MOREthan 1,300 people took part in the annual Bluebell Walk, which raised around £30,000 for the Heart of Kent Hospice at Aylesford. The hospice’s 24th
walk covered an 8.5- mile circular route across the Downs and through privately owned woodland opened spe- cially for the event by the Torry Hill estate.
Football fete A SUMMER fete has been organised by Marden Mi- nors FC to raise money for new balls, goal posts and training kits. The fete on the village playing field will have a bouncy castle and stalls and runs between 11.30am and 3pm on July 25.
Walkers Nichola Aleen, Lynne Hornby and LouiseWilliams.
Staplehurst mobile
home proposal A PLAN has been submitted to site an additional mobile home for res- idential use at Stable Paddocks, Marden Road, Staplehurst. The existing site consists of three mobile homes, a workshop and garage. The proposal also includes the introduction of a 2.5m-high close-boarded screen fence.
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