downsmail.co.uk
News Inquest into death of soldier AN inquest has heard how an Army captain from Allington was killed in Afghanistan when the
Canadian helicopter hewas travelling in spun out of control and hit a security fence. Captain Ben Babington-Browne
was trapped as the Griffon aircraft crashed, flipped over and burst into flames at the Forward Operat- ing Base Mescall, in Zabul Province. The helicopter had just picked up
Capt Babington-Browne, a former pupil of Maidstone Grammar School, andwas 10 seconds into its take-off when the accident hap- pened. Captain Babington-Browne – a “rising star” within the Army ranks – was just 27 and serving with the 22 Engineer Regiment. He was one of three people who died in the crash. The inquest into his death finally went ahead at County Hall in
Vandals aack
mayoral car THE windscreen of the Mayor of Maidstone’s civic car has been smashed in an act of vandalism in- volving several other vehicles. Bricks are reported to have been thrown at several cars and prop- erty during the attack in the early hours of Sunday, September 6, in Wouldham.
It is understood the mayor’s car – a Lexus – which was out of ac- tion for several days, was parked outside his chaffeur’s home. A spokesman for the borough council said: “The front wind- screen of the car was damaged and has been repaired by our insur- ers.”
Police have said a 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspi- cion of causing criminal damage and released on bail until Decem- ber, pending further inquiries.
Maidstone on August 26 – five years after the incident in July 2009, owing to the Canadian mili- tary authorities’ delay in provid- ing information, in spite of re- quests from the soldier’s family. The inquest heard that the
Griffon helicopter was overloaded as it tried to lift out of the com- pound and the pilot lost sight of the ground as a dust ball engulfed the craft. The pilot’s efforts to cor- rect the helicopter inadvertently caused it to career into the security
fence and erupt in flames. Mid-Kent assistant coroner An-
drew Campbell-Tiech noted that the inquest had proceeded without any evidence from those present at the scene of the crash, saying: “A raft of obvious questions concern- ing the immediate circumstances of Captain Babington-Browne’s death has therefore gone unasked and unanswered.” They included, says his report,
why Capt Babington-Browne was sitting on the floor with his legs hanging out of the open door. Had anyone raised concerns about the landing area? How common were dustballs on take-off at FOB Mescall? And why was there no
fire-fighting equipment? He concluded that Capt Babing- ton-Browne died while on active duty in Afghanistan as a result of an accident. He had suffered mul- tiple injuries, but his death was di- rectly related to the post-crash fire and the inhalation of fire fumes. A series of 19 recommendations
was made to the Canadian military authorities in the context of the in- quest, including the provision of eye protection for pilotsworking in sandy conditions and the fitting of approved crashworthy seating or, at least, directions to passengers to be seated on the floor with their en- tire body inside the helicopter cabin.
Rowers bring home haul of trophies
MAIDSTONE Invicta rowers came away fromSt Neots Regatta clutching eight trophies, after a hugely successfulweekend’s rowing. With two full days of racing, MIRC
juniors, seniors and veteranswent up to Cambridgeshire to compete in 1,000m and 500m sprints. Seniors duo Kelsie Gibson (21)
fromMaidstone and Mirella McGee (20) fromCanterbury, got the weekend off to a flying start, beating Auriol Kensington to win their event while MIRC’s Lewin Hynes raced against Peterborough City Rowing Club, winning by four lengths. The eight-man veterans crew, led
by stroke pair Brian Humphris and Steve Bickers, competed against St Neots RC in the first 1,000m heat, winning by more than three lengths. The finalwas against Sudbury RC
where Humphris and Bickers pushed the Maidstone crew to a higher
Kelsie Gibson, Katie Lilington, Harriet Taylor [coxswain] Megan Lilington and Mirella McGee
rating to give them a win of two- and-a-half lengths. Thiswas the first win of the season
for the D8+ crew andwas also the racing debut for coxswain Cathy Metcalf. The D4+ vets also didwell, led by
strokeman Geraint Evans, going straight to the final against Milton Keynes RC,which theywon easily. Each came away with their second
Boat reopens despite £12k debt Continued from page one
that we needed to set up a new company to trade again. “The restaurant itselfwas owned
by the bank and not by us. As di- rectorswe have personal loan guar- antees. The bank has allowed us to carry on trading under a new com- pany name to pay back the money we owe them. “The reason there is no money to
pay creditors or Maidstone Coun- cil is because the money owed to the bank was over and above the value of the property.” The council spokesman added: “When limited companies go into liquidation the shareholders’ re- sponsibilities are limited to the amount of any unsold shares in the
company. The council and other creditors have no legal powers to directly recover money owed to them.” Mr Bailey (pic-
tured) says he has lost £180,000 of his own money in running the ves- sel. “The old com- pany
failed
because the over- heads, such as staffing costs,
were too high,” he said. “In this to- tally different company we have looked at the whole business and reduced a lot of the overheads.We are doing better thanwe did before when we got in this mess, but we have still got a hell of a lot ofmoney
to repay in a short space of time. “I would not wish this on any-
one. I have had to keepmyheadup and drive forward through very, very difficult times. I amleft with a debt that I didn’t have before. “Thousands of people have struggled through the recession and it is only through my tenacity that I am still here. My family has gone through the ropes but I can hold my head up high. “We are currently paying rates to Maidstone Council under the new company.” Council officers have recom- mended writing off £273,273 in rates owed by 17 businesses, who include clothes retailer Madhouse (£12,059) and leather luggage seller Boros (£29,337).
piece of silver to round off the day. Humphris alsowent on to win his
singles races in the Mas C1x against Yare with some powerful strokes. On the second day, Humphris
added to his haul of pots, coming away with a final three tankards. Finally, Kelsie and Mirella, twins
Katie and Megan Lilington (17), with Harriet Taylor (16) as cox, beat Barnes Bridge Ladies and Sudbury.
Call to back Kent Show
A PLEA to help safeguard the fu- ture of Kent County Agricultural Society and the Kent Show by re- versing the trend in falling mem- bership was made by president Lady Astor of Hever. At its peak, membership was
about 4,000 and held steady at about 2,000 up to 10 years ago. Since then it has dropped to just over 1,000. The society has now built up ben-
efits for the £50 subscription (£35 for family additions), which in- clude three-day admission to the show, member area privileges and discounts and priority parking.
Formore local news
www.downsmail.co.uk Maidstone Town October 2014 33
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