downsmail.co.uk


News New delay in Lauren murder trial


THE mother of aWest Malling teacher who was brutally murdered in Qatar flew back to Britain furious at yet another delay in the retrial of the man convicted of her killing.


Alison Patterson, from Ley- bourne Chase, had flown to Doha for the hearing, which was due to commence on March 27, only to be told it would not now go ahead be- fore May. In March 2014, Badr Hashin Khamis Abdallah-al-Jabr was con- victed of killing 24-year-old Lauren Patterson six months previously. The burned remains of Lauren’s body were found in a pit in the re- mote part of the Doha desert, with a knife still lodged in her rib cage. Al-Jabr claimed Lauren’s death


was an accident, but he was found guilty of her murder and sentenced to death. A second man, Mo- hammed Abdallah Hassan Abdul Aziz, was sentenced to three years in prison for helping the killer to dispose of Lauren’s body and other


Warning of burglaries


POLICE are warning businesses to be on their guard after a string of commercial burglaries in the Malling area. Officers received seven reports of business premises being targeted in Aylesford, West Malling, Trot- tiscliffe, Shipbourne and the Wrotham area on Monday, April 4. Properties targeted included a garage on the London Road at Aylesford where tools were taken. Batteries and tools were also taken from a premises in Mills Road, Aylesford, which is believed to have been targeted between 11am on April 1 and 8.30am on April 4. A padlock and doors were dam-


aged at an outbuilding on the Lon- don Road atWest Malling and half a drum of diesel was stolen in an- other raid on the London Road, this time at Wrotham. Police are urging business own-


ers to report any suspicious activ- ity, identify vulnerable areas, check their CCTV and alarms are work- ing and remove high-value goods from windows and vehicles. Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101.


Plant stall


MEMBERS of St Peter’s and St Paul's Church Aylesford, will be running a plant stall on Saturday, June 4 in the car park of the Brassey Centre, Aylesford, from 10am until noon. Lots of bedding and vegetable plants will be on offer.


Formore local news 24


www.downsmail.co.uk Malling April 2016


thousands of pounds since Lau- ren’s death on flights and legal fees and launched an online appeal for £30,000 to continue her campaign for justice. She was overwhelmed by the


Alison and Lauren Patterson


incriminating evidence. Qatar’s court of appeal agreed to


a retrial of al-Jabr after throwing out his conviction, but Mrs Patter- son arrived in the Gulf state to dis- cover the defendant’s counsel hadn’t turned up. Mrs Patterson has spent tens of


public support she received, with almost all the money raised within a month and donations coming in from as far away as Australia and New Zealand. She said: “I am absolutely over- whelmed by everyone's generosity and cannot thank you all enough. “Thank you everyone from the bottom ofmyheart. You have given me the extra strength I needed with all your wonderful messages of support.” Lauren disappeared after a night


out with friends in October 2013. Mrs Patterson said: "On the Sat-


urday afternoon the call I'll never forget came through, it’s every mother’s worse nightmare as they told me a body had been found but they weren't sure if it was Lauren as she had been put into a pit in the desert and burned beyond recogni- tion. "I travelled to Qatar the next morning and for the next four weeks I stayed in Doha trying des- perately to get my daughter's body flown home. "Not onlywasmy daughter mur-


dered in a foreign country, but I was unable to identify her because whatwas leftweighed only 7.5kg. "Her feet were the only part of


her body left intact as they had been over the edge of the fire pit and her red nail polish that she lovedwas still visible."


Luxury spa opens at leisure centre


A LUXURY spa has opened at Larkfield Leisure Centre after a £360,000 refurbishment. The makeover involved stripping


the old spa area back to its shell and redesigning the space to provide a wider range of facilities. These include a sauna with a capacity for 10 people, steam room with seating for eight and a spa bath that can also accommodate eight people. There is also an ice feature to


cool down after using the sauna or steam room, new showers and mobility equipment. Tonbridge and Malling Council


invested £300,000 in the redevelopment with a further £60,000 from Tonbridge and Malling Leisure Trust. Cllr Maria Heslop, the borough


Cllr Maria Heslop cuts the ribbon with Alan Nichol, chairman of the trust, and borough councillors


council’s cabinet member for community services, said the spa provided “an inviting oasis of calm for visitors”. She added: “It will no doubt become the place to de-stress and relax after a busy day.”


Leisure trust chairman Alan


Nichol said: “Our mental health is as important as our physical health and the new spa allows us to cater for both, offering holistic health and wellbeing for local people.”


Former MEP facing jail Oven blaze


A FORMER MEP from Snodland has been warned he faces going to prison after making false expenses claims amounting to nearly £500,000.


Peter Skinner


(56), from Recre- ation Avenue – a Labour MEP for the South East from 1999 to 2014 – was found guilty of improp- erly using his Parliamentary


Assistance Allowance to pay his ex- wife, father and fund holidays after a trial at Southwark Crown Court. Jurors heard he claimed thou-


sands of pounds for support staff over a five-year period which actu- ally funded hotel stays, restaurants and jewellery. Skinner, who stood down in 2014,


was found guilty of one count of making a false instrument, one count of fraud and one count of false accounting between 2004 and 2009. He was cleared of one count of making a false instrument in relation to a form submitted to the European Parliament in 2006. Skinner,whowill be sentenced on Friday, April 29, claims hewas con- fused over the rules and blamed a lack of information given to him by the European Parliament, in spite of having been an MEP for 20 years.


FIRE crews were called to a blaze in the kitchen of a house near Mere- worth after an oven caught fire. Two fire engines went to Lysander Road, on the Airfield Es- tate, off the A228 at about 5.45pm. Firefighters wore breathing ap- paratus and used a high-pressure fan to clear the smoke from the two-storey building. No one was injured.


Plant sale


AN annual plant sale takes place at St John the Baptist Church, Water- ingbury, from 10am to 4pm on Sat- urday, May 28. Flowers, shrubs and plants will


be available, with proceeds helping to raise money for the church.


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