Town June 2014

News

downsmail.co.uk Ben’s gi of life to a stranger

A24-YEAR-OLD Maidstone man who may have given someone the gift of life is urging other peo- ple to sign up to a life-changing register.

Ben Potts, from Sutton Road,

was inspired to join the British Bone Marrow Register by his late father, who had had a heart trans- plant. Just six months after signing up

as a potential donor and three months after his father’s death, Ben found out that hewas a match for someone in desperate need of a transplant. He donated his stem cells in

March and is now encouraging others to follow his lead. Ben’s father underwent a heart transplant in 1998, when Ben was just nine years old. Inspired by the donor who had

saved his father’s life, Ben signed up to donate blood as soon as he was able to, and joined the bone marrow (or stem cell) register in July 2013. In January 2014, Ben received a

call from the Anthony Nolan Trust to say that he was a potential match for someone in need of a transplant. Bone marrow transplants can provide a complete cure for blood cancer and are usually used as the

Charity quiz

A QUIZ night is being held at the Mercure Maidstone Hotel to raise money for two cancer charities. Half of the donations made at the

event at 7.30pm on June 20 will go to Breast Cancer Care, and the other half will go to Abbie’sArmy, a charity set up by the family of Abbie Mifsud, who died from a brain tumour at the age of six. The charity aims to raise awareness of Abbie’s particular strain of cancer (DIPG) and contribute to research. Entry to the quiz is £50 for a team

of six. A ploughman’s supper will be served and there will also be a raffle. For more details, please email lynette.wood@jupiterhotels.co.uk or call her on 07775 898131.

Trees could go TWO protected trees could be felled at Priority House in Her- mitage Lane, Maidstone. The unit, which treats mental

health patients, says a flowering cherry is decayed and a lime has a major cavity through the length of the trunk. A planning application, which

will be determined by Maidstone Council, also proposes work on four beech trees, two Scots pines, a London plane, redwood conifer and another flowering cherry tree.

30 Maidstone Town June 2014

patient’s last chance of survival. Ben said: “I felt ecstatic and emo-

tional because I knew I could give someone a chance at life, just like someone had for my dad. I also felt that itwas really lucky I had joined the register – it’s difficult to find a matching donor and if the patient had needed a transplant six months before, I wouldn’t have been on the register.” Ben joined the British Bone Mar-

row Register when he was giving blood. However, people can also sign up simply by giving a saliva sample. Ben, a former pupil of St Simon

Bone marrow donor Ben Potts, pictured with his father and sister Sarah

Stock Catholic School, said: “You donate bone marrow only if you are a match for someone who needs a transplant. There are thou- sands of types of bone marrow and most people are not called as a match.” Sadly, Ben’s father died in Sep- tember 2013, following a stroke un- related to his heart transplant. However, the transplant gave

Ben’s father an extra 15 years with his family. Ben’s donation took place in

March this year and it will be some time before he hears whether the transplant was successful.

He said: “The donation proce-

dure feels no different from donat- ing blood and took about four hours. You have some injections beforehand, but everyone talks you through the whole thing so you know exactly what to expect. “I found out afterwards that I

had produced more than 7 million cells, when they only need 4 mil- lion, so Iwent back to the hotel for a well-earned nap!” He added: “You never know

when your life, or the life of some- one you love, might depend on a gift from a stranger.” Ann O’Leary, head of register de-

velopment at Anthony Nolan, said: “Ben has done an incredibly self- less thing and given someone with blood cancer their best chance at survival. We are delighted that he has been inspired to encourage others to sign up as donors. “We particularly need young

men to join the register as they are the most likely to be chosen to do- nate.” People aged from 16 to 30 can

join the register online atwww.an- thonynolan.org.

Homes agreed on carwash site Parking fines To the south, the existing trans-

WRY Developments has been given planning consent to build eight houses at the former Kent House, Beaver Road, Allington. The building was used for of-

fices before it was demolished; a car wash now occupies the site. The proposal is for five four-bed- room, two three-bedroom and one five-bedroom homes. There will be a mixture of detached and semi-detached properties.

port yard has planning permission for 43 dwellings. To the east is Beaver Road, a DFS furniture su- perstore and a Premier Inn. Maidstone Council’s planning committee voted unanimously in favour of granting outline permis- sion for the layout and scale. De- tails of the design, external appearance and landscaping will be considered later.

Trees improve play area

FAMILIES turned out to plant trees and clear another part of Tovil Mill play area after being invited to join Valley Conservation Society volun- teers.

Adults planted trees, hedg-

ing and cleared rubbish with the help of youngsters and local councillors. Dennis Usmar of the VCS

said: “We were very surprised by the number of adults and children from Tovil Mill. Cllr Hogg and Tovil residents also came out to help, which cre- ated a good community spirit.” The area by theWoodbridge Drive playground is slowly being cleared of rubbish and scrub by VCS and Maidstone Council’s parks department and turned into a green, open space where children can play safely. Mr Usmar added: “The feedback we have had from residents is very en-

couraging. They have remarked on how clean the area is becoming, feels safer to walk through and is safer for children to play in.”

MAIDSTONE Council issued 30,848 parking fines to motorists last year – the ninth highest num- ber for any council outside London. The figures were revealed by Churchill Insurance, which re- quested the figures under the Free- dom of Information Act. It found fines by local authorities

last year totalled about £255m, ex- cluding tickets issued by the police and private companies. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells councils also found their way into the top 10 local authorities outside of London, issuing the most tickets per head of population, with Maid- stone coming sixth, and Tunbridge Wells fifth. A spokesman for Maidstone Council said: “Our parking en- forcement officers work to make sure traffic can flow freely around Maidstone, maintain access for emergency services, and give everyone a chance to get a parking space close where theywant to go.”

Scheme refused

WEALDEN Homes’ plan for hous- ing inValley Drive, Loose, has been refused, despite being downsized. Earlier applications for eight and

seven homes were turned down. The latest proposal, for six de- tached homes, was again deemed visually harmful to the area by Maidstone Council.

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