Hockey player dies during game


A STALWART of Sutton Va- lence Hockey Club collapsed and died during a match. Dave Gambrill (60) was playing for the Veterans at Chelmsford when he suffered a heart attack. He died on the field despite the best efforts of first aiders and para- medics. A statement on the club’s website said: "Dave was a generous hearted person who was much loved by hismany friends.His sudden death has come as a terrible shock to us all. He will be greatly missed." The statement explained:


"Dave was a leading member of our growing club in the 1970s and early 1980s, and was captain for many years. "He organised a very suc- cessful celebration of the club's silver jubilee in 1979. On the field, he was a very effective goal scorer.” Dave, a solicitor based in Rochester High Street,


lived in Allington. In the 1980s, he left Sutton Valence to play for Cobdown at Ditton.


THE quaintly named Gravelly Bottom Road has a new, if unwanted, claim to fame – it is the pothole capital of Maidstone. During the four summer months, from May 1 to August 31, more than 100 roads were repaired throughout the borough at a cost of £217,000. But the road with the highest individual number


of potholes filled was Gravelly Bottom in the parish of Broomfield and Kingswood,with 36. Parish clerk Sue Wotton said she was not sur- prised. “Gravelly Bottom Road is an ongoing prob- lem, with drainage and flooding issues leading to surface-layingwater.


“After it’s been icy we do get a lot of potholes. But when I’ve contacted Kent Highway Services they have been good, coming out and filling them.Credit where it’s due, they are good on potholes.” In all, there were fixes to 538 potholes –mainly a


legacy of the harsh winter – as well as 9,544 sq m of patching on 115 different roads. The other locations withpothole repairs in double figures were (Maidstone unless otherwise stated):


UlcombeRoad, Langley, 27;Her- mitage Lane, Detling, 25; Darman Lane, Yalding, 25; Middlesex Road, 25; Western Road, 24; The Street, Stockbury 20; Church Road, Harrietsham, 18; Bicknor Lane, Bicknor, 17; Coldblow Lane,


Thurnham, 17; Boxley Close, 15; Burtons Lane, Col- lier Street, 13; Hastings Road, 13; Bell Lane, Boxley, 12; NottinghamAvenue, 12;Gallants Lane, East Far- leigh, 11; Hollingbourne Hill, Hollingbourne, 11; Longend Lane, Collier Street, 10; Park Barn Road, Broomfield and Kingswood, 10; and Bunce Court Road, Otterden, 10. Gallants Lane also had the biggest area of patch-


ing, 524 sq m, according to a report to the Maidstone Joint Transportation Board.


Gardens hope for Sandling residents KEN Swinburne has applied to erect 1.8m-high fencing adjacent to Chatham Road, Sandling, to enable local people to have their own gardens. KCC and Boxley Parish Council have agreed that the land from


the boundaries of Nos 2, 3 and 4 Pilgrims View to the nearby footpath be sold to the owners of these properties. The land would be incorporated into the adjoining properties and used as private gardens. Maidstone Council will decide on the planning application.


THE new Archdeacon forMaidstone, the Venerable Stephen Taylor MBE, was officially welcomed to the county by a host of guests at a special service in All Saint’s Church,Maidstone. The service followed his installation


Rt Rev TrevorWillmott, led the serv- ice.


But he was still instrumen-


tal in bringing back past members to the club for the Exiles game each autumn. NickWillson, the Vets’ vice captain who knew Dave from the ‘70s, said: “He had al- ways been a very good friend of Sutton Valence.We always felt he would return one day. Ironically, it was only last season that he came back to play for the Vets.” The club statement added: "Although incredibly sad and very premature, his death among friends while playing the game he loved for Sutton Valence was somehow appro- priate for someone who had given so much to the club in the past.” The weekend after Dave’s


death, aminute’s silence was held in his memory prior to all the club’s matches.


He was a former pupil of King’s School, Rochester, and his funeral was held at the cathe- dral.


Dave leaves his widow Caroline and two sons, Simon and Peter.


Getting to the bottom of Gravelly’s potholes


Warning after Dale Farm evictions


RESIDENTS were put on high alert for fresh gypsy arrivals after a council officer advised them that evicted travellers from the Dale Farm site in Essex were approaching the borough. Steve Goulette,Maidstone Council’s assistant director of environment,wrote in an email: “We have been told that some of the gypsies evicted from the site in Basildon are on theM20. Ob- viously at this stage we don’t know where they will go to but we need to be alert.” The message was circulated


on the first day of evictions to senior council officers, includ- ing chief executive Alison Broom, and forwarded to parish council clerks by head of demo- cratic services Neil Harris, under the instruction of Mr Goulette. As Downs Mail went to press,


there had been no reports of gypsies from Dale Farm, which had been Europe’s largest trav- eller site, surfacing inMaid- stone.


Headcorn Parish Council chairman TimThomas said: “I am not aware of anyone from Dale Farm coming down here. As a parish council we have to keep an eye out and notify Maidstone Council of any movements. “I fail to see whatMaidstone Council could do if any of them did arrive in the borough as they are hardly going to block entrances with their ve- hicles. You can keep an eye on it but that will not stop them moving in and, once they’re there, you have the usual prob- lems of enforcement and plan- ning.” Cllr Thomas believes it is unlikely any Dale Farm evictees will arrive in Maid- stone. “They probably had places to go to because they al- ways knew they would be moved on eventually. “Travellers are family-ori-


ented and generally like to stick with their extended fam- ily. So it is unlikely they would move to a site where there are existing families.”


Archdeacon receives a warm welcome in his new diocese Archdeacon Stephen (55), previously


at Canterbury Cathedral, presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr RowanWilliams. KCC chairman Cllr Paulina Stockell


and High Sheriff of Kent Georgie Warner joined other guests, including Maidstone Council chief executive Ali- son Broom, local clergy and church members, to welcome the new archdeacon. The Bishop of Dover, The


the Canon Provost of SunderlandMin- ster and an Honorary Canon of Durham Cathedral, officially started his new role in mid-October. As well as helping clergy and congre- gations in theMaidstone area, Archdeacon Stephen will work across the whole diocese to help churches to better support their local communities.  Maidstone mayor Brian Mortimer cut the ribbon to open the new archdeaconry offices in Redcliffe Lane, Penenden Heath, on October 31.


The Venerable Stephen Taylor with High Sher- iff of Kent, GeorgieWarner


Visit Downs Mail’s website — downsmail.co.uk East 29


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