Family’s tributes to crash victim


FAMILY and friends have paid tribute to 31-year-old Snodland scrap dealer Darren Woodger, who died after his car over- turned on Birling Hill. Mr Woodger,


of Booth Close, Holborough, was taken to Medway Mar- itime Hospital with head in- juries after the crash, but died two days later, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 1. Mourners left flowers at the


scene of the accident and posted tributes on a Facebook page set up in his memory. Paula Woodger thanked everyone for their support and added: “He was our angel.


Festive worship CHRISTMAS services at St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Aylesford, are as follows: Acarol service will be held in


Aylesford village square at 7pm on Friday, December 21, fol- lowed by mince pies. On Sunday, December 23,


Holy Communion will be sung at 10am and there will be a carol service at 4pm followed by refreshments. A crib service will be held on Christmas Eve (Monday, Decem- ber 24), for children to enjoy. Midnight Mass starts at 11.15pm on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day,Holy Com- munion will be said at 8am and there will be a family Com- munion service at 10am.


“He’s with his nans now –


they will both look after him, they both loved him as we al- ways will.” In an appeal for witnesses,


police said Mr Woodger had been driving a silver Peugeot 308 down Birling Hill at about 11pm on Tuesday, October 30, when it overturned near the junction with Holly Hill. No other vehicle was involved. An inquest, which was ad- journed to an unfixed date heard that a post-mortem exam- ination showed that Mr Woodger may have died from alcohol intoxication rather than crash injuries. The funeral took place at Vin-


ters Park on November 15, fol- lowed by a wake at Ham Hill Workingmen’s Club, Snodland.


Charity climb EAST Malling man Stuart Big- gar really does have a mountain to climb in his bid to raise money for Cancer Research. Stuart (34), of Jasmine Close,


is planning to hike to the base camp ofMount Everest. He gave up smoking last year,


and sees the expedition in March as the chance to prove he has made a positive change. The cause is one close to Stu-


art – in the last few years his mother has been treated for breast cancer, his aunt has been affected by the disease and his wife has lost members of her family to cancer. To sponsor Stuart go to


www.justgiving.com/stuart- Biggar1.


Pre-school impresses inspectors


OFSTED inspectors who went to the Jack and Jill Pre-school in Larkfield found its childcare provision to be improved since their last visit in 2009. Children at the pre-school, which was judged to be good, were


said to manage their own well-being well and were independent learners. They were beginning to get an excellent phonic knowl- edge and had a good understanding of safety. However, parents and carers felt they were not fully involved


in their children’s learning and development, and the pre-school needed to work on this to become outstanding.


MAIDSTONE Hospital’s day assessment unit and foetal assessment unit have been presented with a cheque for £640, raised by marathon runner Kirsty Jones. Kirsty’s sister Sadie was cared for by the units during her preg- nancies with both her daughters, Tilly (two) and Holly, aged five and a half months, when she suffered from pre-eclampsia. Sadie, from Maidstone, said: “Iwanted to do something as a ges-


Marathon cash for baby unit


ture to say thank you for their care. As my sister was running the London Marathon earlier this year, the Maternity Unit Trust Fund seemed like the perfect place to raise money for. “Everyone forgets about this side of pregnancy – the main focus


is always on going into labour and having your baby, but the pre- birth experience is so important. The staff here really do provide a personal touch and deserve recognition for what they do.” Adriana Perera, Midwifery Lead for the DAU and Ante-Natal


Clinic (ANC), said: “We are extremely grateful to Sadie and Kirsty for recognising the work we do here. We hope we will be able to use some of the money to improve the waiting area for patients.”


Have you got news for us? Phone our News Desk on 01622 734735 Malling 7


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