From the archives

Nov 24 2008 Surrey Herald

10 years ago

November 26 1998 CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save the accident and emergency unit at Ashford Hospital acquired another useful weapon in their armoury - proof that the emergency department at St Peter's was struggling.

A senior manager at St Peter's revealed in a leaked document that an emergency patient waited 24 hours for a bed.

Protestors said the document showed that transferring emergency work to just one site would harm patients' well-being.

A GROUP of Virginia Water residents offered to pay to install CCTV cameras in the village after Runnymede Council refused to come up with the cash.

Council officers said no to the service in the wealthy village because it would be unfair on other areas which have higher crime rates.

Runnymede Council said it only had enough money for cameras to watch over Addlestone, Chertsey and Egham after the first year of the Safer Runnymede scheme.

AN ESTATE of homes built for needy women was set to open, 25 years after the original homes were demolished.

The old Denham's almshouses, originally built in 1764 for 'needy widows and spinsters' stood at the foot of Egham Hill until 1973, when they were demolished to make way for the widening of the A30.

The site changed hands several times, but finally in 1996, the plans were completed for replacement homes, and building work began.

25 years ago

November 24 1983 GLUE-sniffers were blamed for leaving a trail of destruction at Spelthorne College, which ended with a minibus being wrecked.

Burglars broke into the college in Church Road, Ashford, and damaged various rooms including the general office, vice-principal's room and science laboratories, and glue was smeared over furniture and telephones.

The vandals were believed to have taken the keys to the college minibus, which was later found smashed into the back of a lorry in Boundary Road.

A STUDENT was stabbed after gatecrashers attempted to join dancers at a Royal Holloway College disco.

The student was wounded in the lower back by a 3-inch blade after a group of youths who had been refused admission began causing trouble.

Police stayed at the college for about an hour and a half, but when they left, they found their patrol car had been vandalised.

THE RISKS of motorcycling were brought home to two Ashford families when a pair of 12-year-olds ended up in hospital after crashing through a fence.

Matthew James and Dean Cayley were treated for head injuries at Ashford Hospital, after their ride across Staines Common on a motorcycle went wrong.

Both boys were later released from hospital, but their motorbike was given away to someone else, as their parents would not let them ride it again.

50 years ago

November 28 1958 A 50-YEAR-old man was found lying injured and unconscious on Staines Moor,suffering from cuts and bruises and covered in mud.

He was found by the moor keeper,who called an ambulance and the man was taken straight to Ashford Hospital.

He later told police that his injuries were caused when a horse jumped at him and knocked him down, and that while he was unconscious, other horses had trampled on him.

A COUNTY Council experiment of using television in schools for teaching purposes, was being operated at Kenyngton Manor County Secondary School, Sunbury.

The school was the first in Surrey to be included in the experiment to look at the benefits of television in teaching.

The television sets were given to the school free by the council and officials received regular reports about how useful they were, before extending their use to other schools.

THE STORES at two girls' schools were broken into over the course of a weekend.

First was Abbotsford School in Stanwell Road, Ashford, where thieves targeted the school office and stole packets of chocolate biscuits and other items of food.

A wireless set and a case of French educational records were also stolen from Longford Girls' School in Tachbrook Road, Feltham.