A van driver had a lucky escape when his van flipped onto its roof after a tyre burst on the M3, on Monday, January 5, at about 11.18am.

The incident happened on the southbound carriageway, between junctions 2 and 3, when the burst tyre caused the vehicle to collide with the central reservation before turning onto its roof.

A car was written off after a smash with a lorry at junction 13 of the M25 at 6.40pm on Monday December 15.

Firefighters cleared the scene at the Thorpe junction and neither driver required hospital treatment.

Land in Runnymede that could provide new housing over the next 20 years is to be recorded in a new register.

Runnymede Council is calling on landowners, developers and other public bodies to come forward with sites that could accommodate 10 or more homes in order to assess what land in the borough could be developed for housing.

Talented singers from Thorpe Lea School, Egham, got a taste of life in the fast lane after winning the inaugural Mercedes Benz World choir competition, on Friday November 28.

The year 5 and 6 pupils fought off competition from neighbouring schools' choirs to clinch a prize any budding Lewis Hamilton would be envious of - a ride round the test track at Mercedes Benz World in a Mercedes.

Each of the choir members won a 30-minute slice of high-speed action, and teacher and choir organiser, Gemma Straw, was lucky enough to get an hour tearing round the circuit.

Headteacher, Sarah Tarrant, said she was beaming with pride at winning the award and said that their choir were a bit special.

"We are exceptionally proud of them. Particularly as it was the first time they have run this competition and because we were quite different to the other schools.

"Most of them had proper choirs whereas we just sang to a backing CD and pranced around in tinsel - the judge said we brought a bit of 'life' to the competition."

A driver and passenger had to be cut from their car after a three-vehicle crash on Friday (November 28) on the anti-clockwise M25 between junction 13 at Staines and 12 at Thorpe at about 8.30pm.

A blue Toyota Starlet, a green Rover 25 IL and a blue Saab estate vehicle were all involved in the smash that resulted in the road being partially closed until just after midnight, when it fully reopened.

The elderly driver and passenger of the Rover were cut from their car by firefighters, before being taken to St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, and treated for minor injuries.

More than £12,000 of public and private money has been spent repairing a 170-year-old wall around a disused animal pound in Thorpe.

The Association for the Improvement of Runnymede (AIR) secured £8,750 of National Lottery funding and further contributions came from aggregate company, CEMEX, Runnymede Council, Thorpe Park and TASIS American School, making a total of £12,500.

Local drama group, Thorpe Players, is looking to the future with its next production. The play, "Comic Potential", is set a few years hence, when daytime TV soaps are even further down the scale than they are now. Actors are not always Humans any more, some of them are Androids. But what happens if an Android falls in love? Director Karen Noble was drawn to this futuristic love story, saying that "This play gives the group a great challenge; it is a chance to show both human and mechanistic movement and emotions. It is wonderful opportunity to explore beyond the norms of our currently known limits."

The group is presenting the play at Thorpe Village Hall, Coldharbour Lane, on Wednesday 3rd to Saturday 6th December at 8pm. Tickets are a credit-crunch friendly £8 and are bookable in advance on 07923 583295 - any unsold tickets are available on the door each evening. "Comic Potential" is by Alan Ayckbourn and is written with all his usual observant wit. He gives us an heartwarming play which is sometimes farce, and sometimes something much deeper, set in a time when "everything has changed, except human nature".

Amateur dramatic group, the Thorpe Players, will perform their production of Alan Ayckbourn's Comic Potential from December 3-6 at Thorpe Village Hall, Coldharbour Lane, at 8pm.

The play is a humerous and observant take on a future where androids could fall in love.
Tickets, which are £8, are available by calling 07923 583295, with unsold tickets on the door.

Monks Walk footpath, which runs between Thorpe village and Staines Road, re-opened on Monday, November 10, after being closed by Surrey County Council for one month.

The path was closed to the public so Thorpe Park, which owns it, could undertake inspections to 11,000 volt electricity cables that lie underground along its length.

The world's first horror movie-themed rollercoaster ride will scare the daylights out of visitors to Thorpe Park when it opens next year.

Saw - The Ride, is based on the smash hit horror film franchise, the best-selling in history, and aims to frighten the wits of thrill-seekers brave enough to jump on board.