Mystery of cyclist’s road death
A VERDICT of misadventure was recorded on a keen cyclist who died after his bike ran headlong into a truck in Snodland. A Maidstone inquest heard that 56-year
old Graham Hughes, of Allington Drive, Strood would have died instantly when his racing bike ploughed into the back of the lorry, which had broken down on the A228 Snodland bypass. It was thought he was on his way home
from work. A statement from eyewitness Camille Thomas told how Mr Hughes, who had worked for the Wincanton haulage company in Snodland for 23 years, was seen pedalling at speed along the bypass, with his head bent down. Although accident investigator PC Mark Chapelhow said it should have been possi- ble to see the lorry from a distance of around 100 metres, giving Mr Hughes a stopping distance of around 10 seconds, the evidence indicated that he had not slowed down his speed of around 20-25 miles per hour prior to the accident. Miss Thomas said: “He was cycling with his head down, very steadily and pretty fast.
New service
for commuters RESIDENTS of Kings Hill are enjoying a new commuter coach service to London, which is being provided by Chalkwell of Sittingbourne. The service was launched
early after an announcement of parking restrictions on a coun- cil-owned car park on the A20, which was popular with com- muters using one of Chalkwell’s six daily commuter coaches. Customerswere asked a short
series of questions regarding pick-up points, journey times, destination in London and evening departure from the capital, and the service was de- signed around their answers. The service starts at 6.25am
and the route includes Oxley Shaw Lane, Leybourne. Details of the timetable as well as ticket information are available on line at
www.chalkwell.co.uk
tax credits date TONBRIDGE and Malling’s 6,700 tax credit claimants are being reminded by HM Rev- enue and Customs (HMRC) to renew their claims by the July 31 deadline or their payments might stop. The borough has the third lowest number of claimants for all authorities in Kent which has a total of 120,700. The council area with the highest figure in the county is Medway which has 20,900 and the lowest is Sevenoaks with 5,
200.Maidstone has 8,800. Renewal packs have been
sent to about 5.8million people throughout the UK since April. Claimants are asked to act as soon as they receive a pack. Last year more than 80 per cent of claimants renewed by the deadline.
30 Malling Reminder of
When he was a few inches from the back of the lorry, I realised he was not going to stop or cycle round it.” When police and paramedics attended the scene, they found Mr Hughes’ head- phones and iPod, with music still play- ing. However, all at- tempts to resuscitate him failed. Consultant patholo-
gist Dr David Rouse had initially given the cause of death as mi- tral valve disease – a heart condition. How- ever, he admitted to the inquest that this was often given as a cause of death when no other reason could be found. He told Mid-Kent and Medway Coroner Patricia Harding that Mr Hughes had only minor external injuries from the accident, no internal injuries apart from fractures to his ribs following resuscitation attempts and no discernible head injuries – but he did have a slightly distorted heart valve.
Having heard the evidence, however, Mr
Rouse said itwas more likely that Mr Hughes had suffered sudden heart failure as a result of his head hitting the back of the truck. Dr Rouse said: “I cannot prove how he
died in a medical way, but circumstantial evidence would indicate that Mr Hughes died as a result of the impact.” Dr Rouse said he dealt with up to 150
road fatalities a year and this was the only one where it had been impossible to detect a medical cause. In recording the verdict, the coroner said:
“This is a most unusual case but I am satis- fied, having heard the evidence, that Mr Hughes’ death arose from an accident. It is very tragic as he was otherwise a fit and healthy man who enjoyed cycling and took it very seriously. “Unhappily, it also caused his death.” Mr Hughes and his wife, Julie, would have been married for 29 years on October 1 last year, which was the date of his funeral at Medway Crematorium, Bluebell Hill. The couple had two children, Gary and Zoe, and two grandsons, Harry and George.
Primary school Lifesaving skills recognised
TWOlifeguards at LarkfieldLeisure Centre have been awarded the title of Pool Lifeguard of the Year. Jared Dungate (above left) and
Steve Cox received their award from Mark Foster at theRoyal Life Saving Society/Institute of Quali- fied Lifeguards Awards ceremony. They were nominated by the leisure centre for an incident in February 2012, when they saved the life of a leisure centre user. During a karate session, a man complained of chest pains and
Jared detected signsof cardiac ar- rest. The lifeguards administered CPR and defibrillation for 20min- utes until the paramedics arrived. Paul Sutton, chief executive of
South East Cost Ambulance Serv- ice, said their calm and well-co- ordinated actions undoubtedly saved the man’s life. Kirstin Brimsted, general man-
ager of Larkfield Leisure Centre says: “The management team at the centre appreciates the vital role lifeguards play.”
Village stocks back at lock-up RESIDENTS in Wateringbury will need to be on their best be- haviour after a set of stocks were installed next to the lock-up. The stocks, in Bow Road, are a replica of the original ones which stood on the same site, probably for more than 500 years. The stocks were designed and
made in English oak by Mounts Hill Woodcraft of Cranbrook, and have been carved with the name of the village, a crown and the date 2013, to mark the Queen’s Dia- mond Jubilee. They were funded by theWater- ingbury Local History Society and the village amenities fund of Rostrum, the parish magazine. Stocks have been part of English life since Saxon times, and a statute in 1351 made it law for every township to provide a set of stocks to punish wrong-doers. The statute has never been re- pealed. However, they gradually fell out of use in Kent after the formation of the Kent County Constabulary in 1857.
Visit Downs Mail’s website —
downsmail.co.uk
making progress AYLESFORD Primary School is making reasonable progress to- wards the removal of special measures. In the second monitoring in- spection since the Teapot Lane schoolwas given a grade4–in- adequate – every permanent teacher at the school was ob- served teaching and inspectors spoke to pupils and staff. Since the inadequate inspection in September 2012 Aylesford has joined the Valley Invicta Acad- emies Trust, two teachers have left, the governing body has re- signed and a new one been ap- pointed, and the number of classes has dropped from 11 to 10. Pupils are starting to make better progress, the monitoring report said, although progress across the year groups is un- even because teaching remains variable. The monitoring report said:
“Teaching has improved and the proportion of good teaching is higher than previously.How- ever, there is still too much teaching that requires improve- ment. Whole-school weak- nesses are being addressed through training sessions, for example for phonics teaching, which is now better.”
Extension plan ROBERT Brown, of 31 Anson Avenue, Kings Hill, has applied for planning permission for a single-storey rear extension and internal alterations at the prop- erty. Tonbridge and Malling Council will decide.
Football club raid VANDALS forced the door of the changing rooms at the foot- ball ground in Bull Lane, Ec- cles, and obscene graffiti was sprayed on the outside wall of the building.
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 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48