Useful Info

Spelthorne voters turned out in full to vote for 'the black Boris Johnson' at a meeting designed to choose the next Conservative candidate for the borough.

Four hundred and nine people packed into Kempton Park Racecourse to listen to six hopefuls give a 30 minute presentation each, and although local candidate Philippa Broom was tipped to win, the accolade went to Eton and Cambridge University educated Kwasi Kwarteng.

Staines residents are set to benefit from the rebranding of the Abbey building society as Santander.

The change, which takes place today, gives Abbey customers access to Santander's vast UK network of more than 1,000 branches across the UK.

Work has begun on a £387,000 upgrade to Staines railway station.

The department of transport are funding the work, which is due to completed early next year, and will see a new canopy provided as a shelter near the entrance, and an improved waiting room.

Residents and councillors have given mixed reactions to the possible decision to close Ashford, Sunbury, and Shepperton police stations.

Chief constable Mark Rowley said in November that the force are planning to close numerous old police stations in the county and employ 200 extra front line bobbies in the face of their budget being cut by the government this year.

The Labour party have chosen their candidate for the up and coming 2010 general elections.

Adam Tyler-Moore beat four other Labour candidates, and believes he has a good chance of becoming elected.

An extra 200 police officers could be seen walking around the streets of Surrey in the near future.

Chief constable of Surrey Police Mark Rowley has said the force are looking to close police stations, make cuts of senior officers and lower bureaucracy as part of radical plans due to be discussed on December 10 with Surrey Police Authority.

A new store will be opening in Two Rivers shopping centre on Saturday November 21.

A party will be held to celebrate the opening of Maplin Electronics, which will include a wheel of fortune game, fancy dress, and promotional give-aways.

The Herald and News would like it to be known that Surrey Police do have access to social networking sites while investigating crime.

The titles' sister paper, the Staines Informer, reported last week that an investigation into brick wall vandalism in Lower Sunbury was being hampered as officers couldn't get access to social networking site Facebook because of an internal ban.

But Spelthorne acting neighbourhood inspector Rebecca Kempster has stated that the force can access the site, along with others such as auction page eBay, to investigate or prevent crime.

The Herald and News is happy to clarify these points.

Inspector Kempster said: "Surrey Police want to clarify that we can get access to Facebook and other sites when investigating crime."

The investigation is still ongoing into the 20 incidents of vandalism in Elizabeth Gardens and Saxonbury Avenue which occurred on Monday 19 and 26 October.

It is believed children are being blamed for the thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Anyone with information should call the police on 0845 125 2222 if they know of anything.

An extremely rare brown shrike was spotted on Staines Moor prompting thousands of birdwatchers to drop everything and flock to the beauty spot over the last ten days to catch a view of the small brown spectacle. Herald & News reporter Russell Butt donned his wellies and grabbed his binoculars to see what all the fuss was about.

There's not many things more frustrating than when your holiday plans go awry.
So imagine the surprise of one small, brown bird who should be heading from Siberia to South East Asia for the winter, but has found himself perched atop a hawthorn bush in Staines.

Imagine its further surprise to instantly achieve celebrity status on arrival, with more camera lenses being pointed at it than Kate Moss gets stumbling out of a Soho nightclub.

An extremely rare bird has been sighted in Staines Moor, attracting a throng of bird watchers in the process.

A Brown Shrike was first spotted on Monday October 11 in some Hawthorn bushes on the moor, about 100 metres north east over a concrete bridge over the River Colne.