It was time for Crawley Town’s players to stand up and be counted. They had spent the opening half hour largely on the back foot as visitors Luton Town showed more desire and more all-round ability.

Then came a rather fluky goal for Cameron McGeehan that gave Luton a merited lead but sadly denied new keeper Darryl Flahavan a clean sheet on his debut.

The Reds held out until half-time and went on to dominate the second half. Luton were knocked out of their stride and the match was won by two expertly taken goals.

Gwion Edwards was superb on either flank and it was from the right that he crossed precisely to Rhys Murphy who had ghosted into space and headed the equaliser.

Matt Harrold’s low drive for the winner rewarded another battling display and demonstrated the striker’s class.

Other players, most notably Josh Yorwerth, either showed their superiority or raised their games from previous matches.

All in all it was enough to quieten the vociferous Hatters’ fans and that brings us back to counting.

Luton’s support topped 1400 and got closer to the horrendous prospect of the away supporters at Broadfield Stadium outnumbering the home fans.

A lot of the season is still to come but CEO Michael Dunford must be concerned at the level of regular support for the Reds at home.

The players are doing their best with the indication they may have turned the corner but the residents of Crawley are significant by their absence.

It is true that many more now pass through the turnstiles than in the days at Town Mead that were recalled in the 119th anniversary programme but the club has moved on and the locals don’t seem to care.

The Hatters’ fans took great delight in evidencing the lack of noise and pointed out “You’re supposed to be at home” but they shut up in the end.

I wonder where are Crawley’s “Ultras” as the Bruce Winfield Stand looked half empty but the more reserved occupants of the West Stand were just as quiet.

The campaign has to be contested both on and off the pitch and it is off it that the greatest shortfall is to be found.

The coming week brings two exceedingly long round trips to Morecambe and Hartlepool.

Understandably not many will take on the best part of 1200 miles over five days but it would nice if another 3000 plus gate watched the game against York City.

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NOISE from a Sussex music festival which prompted a series of complaints was ‘not excessive’, a senior environmental health officer has concluded.

A review of Wild Life festival’s premises licence will be conducted on Tuesday, triggered by noise complaints during the two-day event at Shoreham Airport in June.

The Shoreham Society has called for sound levels to be limited – backed up by a survey of 142 residents, of which nearly a quarter said noise was ‘excessive’.

But a report to be considered by Adur District Council’s licensing committee suggests noise recorded at the time was not inappropriate.

A representation by senior environmental health officer Michael Lavender, who measured the sound levels at complainants’ properties during the event, said: “My own subjective opinion was that the noise was audible but it was not excessive, a view shared by my colleague who also monitored the event.

“I could hold a normal conversation without having to raise my voice and given the event is only one weekend a year, I would not consider the disturbance caused by it to amount to a public nuisance.”

The application registered 19 letters of support, with 16 in favour of organisers SJM.

Complaints included ‘an unacceptable continual thump of bass’ and a resident reportedly ‘unable to sleep in our home with the windows shut’.

The society has called for sound levels to be limited to 65 decibels, instead of the current 75 decibels.

But the report states recordings taken at complainants’ properties was at or below the limit called for.

A representation by Vanguardia, SJM’s sound specialists, argued noise management was ‘a success’ throughout the weekend, with no breaches of the festival’s licence.

A total of 47 complaints were received throughout the weekend – a level it considered as ‘low’.

It details planned improvements for next year, including tweaking stage locations and investigating better control of bass.

The review will be heard at the Shoreham Centre, in Pond Road, from 6.30pm.

An extra day has been scheduled in case the hearing overruns.

In granting the original licence for alcohol, regulated entertainment and the sale of late night refreshment, the licensing committee imposed 106 conditions.

Detailed plans for the revitalisation of Burgess Hill town centre have been revealed in a formal planning application.

submitted to Mid Sussex District Council.

The £65 million investment proposal by NewRiver Retail features a 10 screen Cineworld Cinema, a 63 bed Travelodge hotel, 142 residential units, a purpose-built modern library, 283 additional car parking spaces and an extra 70,000 square feet of retail space.

NewRiver’s plans show a high quality modern design, with glass fronted retail units at ground level and town centre apartments above. A pedestrianised walkway will continue to link Church Walk and Civic Way but the retail units either side will be enlarged to attract big name retailers to the town. The Heights commercial building will be demolished to make way for the 93,000 square foot Cineworld cinema and new shops will face out on to Civic Way. A 7,700 sq ft library will also feature and provide a new active frontage at street level along Civic Way.

“Burgess Hill town centre is in urgent need of investment and this proposal will breathe new life into the town,” said Councillor Garry Wall, Leader of Mid Sussex District Council.

“It will create over 500 new jobs, kick-start further investment in the area and transform Burgess Hill into an attractive shopping and leisure destination for families and young people.

“A modern shopping centre like the one proposed is what’s needed to attract big name retailers to Burgess Hill. It will modernise the retail experience, triggering greater local

“These kinds of opportunities don’t come around very often, so it’s important we make the most of them when we have the chance. There will be the usual public consultation by the council as part of the planning process and local people will be able to make comments to the planning department that will be fully taken into account in the lead up to a decision.

“As part of the process, NewRiver will also be displaying the plans locally so everybody can see what is proposed. I hope local people take the time to have their say on what is a very important development for the future of Burgess Hill.”

François Nairac, Development Director at NewRiver said: “The submission of our detailed planning application marks a highly important milestone towards the major transformation of Burgess Hill Town Centre. Our proposed £65 million investment across 465,000 sq ft of mixed-use space, working in partnership with Mid

Sussex District Council, will be a significant catalyst for regeneration, providing a dynamic and attractive town centre. We believe that a vibrant and successful town centre is crucial for the future economic and social wellbeing of Burgess Hill and we are committed to delivering that through this substantial investment.”The Burgess Hill Town Centre revitalisation plans can be viewed online at

www.midsussex.gov.uk using the planning reference DM/15/3858.

The leader of the county council will be working a shift in a care home to find out what life is like for workers and residents.

Louise Goldsmith will be working at Valerie Manor Care Home in Henfield for a day as part of West Sussex Care Month.

Sean Ruth, executive director communities and public protection and chief fire officer, and other senior councillors and staff are also taking part by spending time in care organisations around the county.

Cllr Goldsmith said: “I am really keen to experience first-hand what life is like for our care workers and residents of care homes. We all hear about the challenges faced in the care sector and I am keen to really see what the reality is really like.”

West Sussex Care Month aims to raise awareness about care and support available in the county.

Information about Carewise, the council’s funding advice scheme and about becoming a shared lives carer is available on the County Council’s website, social media sites, at events around the county and in libraries.

Peter Catchpole, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, who is also undertaking a shift in a care home in Worthing, said: “This is the first West Sussex Care Month we have organised and is all about helping our residents to access information and advice to help them make the right choices.

“We all know it is easy to put off thinking about planning for our care but I hope people will take advantage of the month and find out more about planning for the future. Even if you don’t need the information immediately it is good to know where to turn when you do.”

For more information see {http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/caremonth|www.westsussex.gov.uk/caremonth}

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It’s an issue that many of us are unaware of and the vast costs from non-adherence are felt across the entire healthcare system and impact patient well-being and patient lives.

A recent report states that the costs of medicine wastage are at a staggering annual £300m, at least half of which is avoidable.

Whilst the cost to the NHS of people not taking their medicines properly and not getting the full benefits to their health is estimated at more than £500m a year.

The consequences go far beyond what most patients envisage when they forget to take their pills; in the EU alone, nearly 200,000 deaths occur each year due to missed doses of medication.

Featuring in this video to discuss the topic is Paul O’Hanlon (Managing Director of Omnicell, UK & Ireland and Pharmacist) and Ashley Cohen, (Pharmacist), who shed some light on why this is such a widespread problem in the hope of raising awareness during National Medication Adherence Week. They look at consequences of failing to take recommended medication, which can not only have a consequence on our health but to our wallets too.

The experts look more in depth into the research conducted by Omnicell such as the main reasons for people forgetting to take their medication, (key examples being ‘forgetting’ to do so, the claim that it made them feel ill and due to the side effects.)

They are also ready with helpful tips and professional advice on ways to remind ourselves to take our medication daily and the health implications when failing to do so.

For all this and more watch the video.

The prospect of a new food waste recycling service in West Sussex has been raised by a county council cabinet member.

A number of local authorities across the country have introduced separate bins for items such as tea bags and left-over food.

The current level of recycling is 41.6 per cent in West Sussex, but under an EU directive member states will need to reach 50 per cent or more by 2020.

At a West Sussex County Council meeting last Friday, David Barling, cabinet member for residents’ services, said they were working with district and borough councils to establish a ‘direction of travel’ to get past 50 per cent.

He explained how a major way to increase recycling would be through considering a ‘stand alone food waste service’.

District and borough authorities are responsible for collecting rubbish in their own areas, but the possibility of creating a West Sussex-wide system to save money was floated by the county council’s UKIP Group back in 2013.

It was mentioned again on Friday but Mr Barling explained how it was not currently possible as local authorities all had contracts that ended at different times, and different recycling methods in place.

Since April, when pots, tubs and trays could first be included in recycling bins in West Sussex the total amount of plastics recycled has risen each month.

Taxpayers save money whenever rubbish is diverted away from landfill as the tax is £82.60 per tonne.

Arun District Council has put its waste collection service out to tender and Mr Barling said that Worthing Borough Council was intending to make an offer as part of the tender process.

What do you think? Would you welcome a food waste recycling service in West Sussex?

Comment below or email {mailto:copydesk.sussex@jpress.co.uk|the newsdesk|the newsdesk}.

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A Cuckfield woman has been given the green light to fight to keep developers off land which has been used as a village play area.

Flis Irving has been told she can take Mid Sussex District Council to the High Court over their grant of planning consent for the controversial scheme to build on the meadow in Courtmead Road.

One of the country’s top judges gave the go-ahead for the resident to mount a fully contested legal battle over the scheme to build a house on the council owned land.

The community made a bid to buy the meadow for more than £100,000 last year but the council did not accept it.

Mrs Irving said she hoped her court battle could bring this bid back into consideration.

“If they can be stopped from building on it there’s a chance they will need to revisit the community bid and there’s a chance it can be kept green for the community which is what it’s all about.

“The judgment in the High Court in London last Thursday, following the quashing of the previous planning permission earlier this year, is a very positive signal for those fighting to preserve precious open spaces for local recreational use.

“The council has been going against the National Planning Policy Framework. They’ve managed to get through these rules so far because they’ve been judge and jury to themselves.

“But now the case is going to the High Court, it’s possible that the will of the local people will triumph over the council to keep The Play Meadow for the community, which would be amazing.”

Mrs Irving added: “This piece of land has been used for generations by children and the general public. It is outside the development boundary and within the conservation area. The council had to appropriate it, flying in the face of the National Planning Policy Framework and the Cuckfield Neighbourhood Plan which had this area earmarked as public space.”

In giving Mrs Irving permission for a full hearing Mr Justice Mitting said that Government planning policy relating to such developments was unclear.

In seeking permission for the challenge, Mrs Irving’s lawyer, Andrew Sharland, argued at the court in London last Thursday (October 15) that the meadow ‘is important to the whole village’.

He told the judge that until recently local children played on the land and it was also used by the nursery. They would, he said be ‘locked out’ if the development goes ahead.

“This is a very controversial decision. It has generated a huge amount of controversy,” he said.

In giving the go-ahead for what has the promise of being a legally complex case, the judge agreed with Mr Sharland that paragraphs 14 and 49 of the National Planning Policy Framework appeared to be ‘in tension’.

The judge said that a Government lawyer should be invited to attend the appeal to help sort out the issue.

Paragraph 14 relates to the approval of developments when they accord with local development plans. Paragraph 49 relates to the protection and enhancement of the countryside.

No date has been fixed for the case to be heard.

Plans to borrow more money to help fund West Sussex County Council’s infrastructure projects has caused concern among councillors.

West Sussex County Council’s five-year capital programme unveiled last week is looking to respond to 57,000 new homes due to be built over the next 15-20 years, and includes £77m for more school places, and £61m towards maintaining the county’s highways network.

But councillors expressed concern at provision for up to £75m worth of additional borrowing to fund some of the projects alongside money from Government grants, capital receipts, and revenue contributions at a Performance and Finance Select Committee meeting on Monday (October 19).

Steve Waight (Con, Goring) pointed out that since they were already struggling to balance their books and were looking to make a further £141m worth of cuts in the next four years.

Any added borrowing would put further pressure on the revenue budget through repayment, and by 2036 they could be repaying £46.6m a year.

Mike Glennon (UKIP, Lancing), leader of the UKIP Group at WSCC, said he was ‘deeply troubled by the increase in borrowing’ and described debt as a ‘drug you can’t get off’.

While some schemes would be ‘dead certs’ he argued they needed a way of evaluating the merits of all the projects so they could look at them in reverse order and inspect in detail those they had least faith in.

He added: “We need to look at some of these schemes and look at whether we can reverse this borrowing binge as it worries me. Putting £75m liability on to a balance sheet is nothing something to be taken lightly.”

But Louise Goldsmith (Con, Chichester West), leader of WSCC, said: “I want to make it quite clear, throughout our deliberations we have not looked at it with recklessness.”

She added: “It’s not a binge, it’s not a gamble and we are not spending the full £75m.”

She explained that the £75m figure was not about giving the Cabinet a blank cheque, but an ‘envelope to work within to manage the five year plan’.

Michael Brown (Con, Fernhurst), cabinet member for finance, explained that the £75m was an upper limit and not a target.

As they had spent £722m on capital schemes over the last five years and were proposing £676m over the next five years, he said in no way could the programme be construed as the council ‘embarking on a wild spending spree’.

Richard Burrett (Con, Pound Hill and Worth) said: “It’s quite a fine balance but at the end of the day whilst I understand the risks and I have concerns about the risks, I think we have got to grasp the nettle and go forward with this.”

But Peter Lamb (Lab, Northgate and Three Bridges) said they might as well not have seen the list of capital programmes because of the lack of information and detail available on them.

Meanwhile Brad Watson (Con, Nuthurst and Southwater) argued that when he looked at the list of schemes there were some ‘obvious gaps in the county’, especially in the north of West Sussex.

Mr Brown replied: “There are huge competing demands for a finite amount of money. There will be losers as well as winners.”

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A librarian from West Sussex has received a national award for his ‘dedication’ and ‘excellent work’.

Russell Allen, who works as a team leader for children’s services across the West Sussex Library Service, received the Public Librarian of the Year award from the Public and Mobile Libraries Group (PMLG), which is part of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

Beating nominees from up and down the country, Russell was presented with the award at the PMLG Conference in Staffordshire, where more than 100 delegates met to consider the important contribution libraries make to local communities.

David Barling, West Sussex County Council’s cabinet member for residents’ services, said: “We’re extremely proud of Russell. This award is testament to his excellent work, as well as the dedication he shows to his profession.

“To nominate Russell, the application required a range of testimonials from other professionals and partners of the library.

“Everyone approached was not only happy to support him but were glowing in their recommendations.”

Russell has worked for the county council’s library service for 18 years in a variety of positions. Starting in 1997 as a Saturday assistant and homework helper at Angmering & Ferring libraries while studying for his library and information degree, he now works across the county leading on library work with children and families.

As a much valued member of the library management team, Russell also contributes to a number of regional and national organisations supporting strategic developments across the national library network.

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Dairy farming in West Sussex should be supported by a range of actions by the county council - according to the Labour Group.

West Sussex county councillor Michael Jones has submitted a motion calling on leader Louise Goldsmith to lobby the Government to do all it can to support and sustain the dairy industry in West Sussex, and also urging the council to encourage its own suppliers to engage with the farmers, and work with local businesses to encourage them to support the dairy farmers.

A briefing note from county council officers explained how milk prices have hit a 30-month low according to Government figures, with many farmers struggling to pay their bills.

Mr Jones said: “I put forward this motion because it seemed to the West Sussex Labour Group that this should be an obvious concern when the plight of dairy farmers producing milk at a lower price than supermarkets will pay for it has been highlighted nationally as a crisis.

“The National Farmers Union (NFU) have informed me as part of my research into this issue that there are currently 60 dairy farms across West Sussex, covering a significant area, and there are around 24,000 dairy cows.”

He explained how the NFU informed him the national average price is 24.25 pence per litre (ppl), and while some farmers may have arrangements with supermarkets who have better deals, there were others who received an even lower price.

Mr Jones added: “I’m frustrated by the lack of urgency from WSCC to try to help this problem - I remain unconvinced the decision to postpone a debate at Full Council on Friday is going to help, particularly when that means it won’t be voted on until December at the earliest.

“I would also like the council to be putting pressure on the Government to be more proactive on this issue, rather than just letting ‘market forces’ take their course and potentially destroy local livelihoods.”

The motion was referred to the leader at a Full Council meeting last Friday and was not debated by councillors.

Mr Jones intended to challenge Mrs Goldsmith to consider how WSCC could lead by example, as it is a significant consumer of milk, especially through its schools.

He continued: “It seems difficult to believe that we couldn’t reach some better arrangements, or that West Sussex farmers wouldn’t want to take part in making sure local milk got supplied to local people and children, if they could. It would be more environmentally friendly, too.”

According to the NFU although a lot of issues facing the industry stem from global economic pressures, the Government can still help by creating a supportive policy framework that recognises the importance of farming to the local economy, and by encouraging retailers to treat milk producers fairly.

The officers’ note describes how the lifting of milk production quotas has led to a ‘developing crisis in dairy farming across Europe’, while the Government is encouraging UK farmers to invest in processing equipment to diversify their businesses and produce products such as cheeses, yoghurt, cream and butter.

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The response of emergency services to the Shoreham Airshow crash has been praised by county councillors during their first full meeting since the tragedy.

Eleven people died when a Hawker Hunter aircraft taking part in the event crashed into the A27 at Lancing.

On behalf of West Sussex County Council, leader Louise Goldsmith expressed her deepest and sincerest condolences to the bereaved families and friends at a Full Council meeting on Friday.

She explained how the crash presented the council and other agencies with a ‘major challenge the like of which they had never seen before’, but felt the response was a ‘shining example of public service at its finest’.

She said: “One of the county council’s guiding principles is that we will be there in an emergency and we were shoulder to shoulder with colleagues from police and the ambulance service and the voluntary sector.

“So today I want to put on record the council’s and my considerable appreciation and thanks for the considerable work that was undertaken.”

Sue Mullins called the emergency services ‘unsung heroes’ going about their jobs with ‘unending consideration and compassion’.

Andy Petch, who was part of a fire service crew that attended the incident on the day, described the ‘harrowing’ scenes, and praised not only the emergency services, but the other agencies involved.

This was echoed by Christine Field, WSCC’s cabinet member for wellbeing, who expressed their gratitude to the work of the employees in the coroners service. She said: “I would just like to thank them for their work which continued well beyond the 22nd of August.”

Lionel Parsons, whose division borders the crash site, said he found the compassion shown by the community quite moving and added: “The community has pulled together so well in such tragic circumstances.”

He thought it was important a thorough investigation established ‘rigorous measures to safeguard against a future tragedy such as this’.

James Walsh, leader of the Lib Dem Group, expressed his condolences to the bereaved families, and also welcomed the decision not to take down the ribbons placed on the Old Toll Bridge in memory of Matt Jones, who was from Littlehampton, before a meeting had taken place with his family.

This point was echoed by Mike Glennon, leader of the UKIP Group, who thanked the leader for allowing the ribbons to stay a little longer. He added: “It’s an important thing for the bereaved to feel there is a symbol there.”

Mrs Goldsmith added: “One of the strengths of this county council is when the chips are down we pull together and I can’t think of a finer example of this now when everyone thanks all of the emergency services and the work that they have undertaken.”

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An 11-year-old boy has been taken to hospital after a crash this morning (Wednesday October 21).

Emergency services were called to Woodfield Road, Crawley, at around 8am.

Police said an 11-year-old boy riding a bicycle had been involved in a collision with a car.

He sustained minor injuries and was taken to the East Surrey Hospital, in Redhill, for checks.

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A road has been cleared after a two car collision earlier this morning (Wednesday October 21).

Emergency services were called to a crash on the A23 London Road, near Pyecombe, at around 8.30am.

A police spokesman said: “Those involved suffered minor injuries and the road was clear by 9.45am.”

The slip road northbound on the A23 London Road, towards Pyecombe, was partially blocked due to the crash.

Delays were reported between Patcham and Pyecombe.

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The number of people living with diagnosed HIV is continuing to rise in the UK – according to a report by Public Health England.

More than 85,000 people in the UK were seen for HIV care in 2014 and 6,151 people were diagnosed with the virus, an increase on figures from 2013.

HIV is most prevalent in London – which had almost half of new diagnosis at 2,671 – and the south east of England.

In 2014, Brighton and Hove had the most cases of diganosed HIV on the south coast, with more than 4 in every 1,000 people aged between 15 and 59 living with diagnosed HIV.

Across East Sussex and West Sussex, the borough of Crawley had the highest rates with between 3 and 3.99 in every 1,000 people living with HIV.

The districts of Hastings, Eastbourne, Lewes, Worthing and Adur had between 2 and 2.99 people with HIV in every 1,000.

Mid Sussex, Chichester, Arun and Rother recorded between 1 and 1.99 people per every thousand – but Horsham and Wealden district recorded the lowest with less than 0.99 people per every 1,000 living with the virus.

Two out of five people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2014 in the UK had ‘late stage’ HIV, and of 613 people with HIV who died last year, most had been diagnosed late.

Natika Halil, chief executive of FPA, a sexual health charity, said: “The proportion of late diagnoses has decreased but it is still high at 40 per cent, and particularly so among black African people (58 per cent) and heterosexual men (61 per cent).

“Once diagnosed and on treatment, people with HIV can expect a near-normal life span, so it is vital for us to increase testing.

“It’s also important to consider that one in six people now living with HIV in the UK is aged over 55.

“This reflects the effectiveness of treatment we have but it also highlights challenges for healthcare professionals.

“As we have more and more people living with HIV in older age, we must ensure suitable care and support is in place, especially in managing HIV along with other conditions they may have.”

One fifth – 21 per cent – of English local authorities had a diagnosed HIV prevalence above 2 per 1,000 in 2014.

The report said: “There is an urgent need to increase HIV testing opportunities and uptake for people living in these areas, in line

with national HIV testing guidelines.”

In 2014 as estimated 3,360 men acquired HIV through sex with men, with 2,490 people – 1,065 men and 1,425 women – acquired HIV through heterosexual sex.

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Two lanes have been closed after a four vehicle crash near Bolney this morning (Wednesday October 21).

The lanes have been closed southbound on the A23 near Bolney Cross.

Delays are being reported in the area.

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West Sussex county councillors have demonstrated their support in the fight against Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE).

The pledge, taken during a Full Council meeting on Friday, follows a multi-agency summit in September, hosted by the county council to encourage organisations and groups to take a stand against CSE.

It is a type of abuse in which children and young people under the age of 18 are sexually exploited for money, power or status.

Louise Goldsmith, leader of WSCC, asked everyone to stand up ‘against the most repugnant thing that could happen in our county’, and added: “It’s a difficult topic to talk about but we should speak about it.”

She explained how the Standing Up Against CSE Summit, held at Parkside in Horsham, was aimed at raising the profile of CSE across West Sussex, and everyone attending the event was asked to make a partnership pledge to stand up against CSE.

Peter Evans, WSCC’s cabinet member for children – start of life, said: “Sadly this is an issue which can affect anyone from any walk of life and we simply must make sure that people are aware of the signs and know what to do if they spot them.”

He asked all councillors to take up the fight against all facets of CSE.

More information can be found on the West Sussex Safeguarding Children Board website at www.westsussexscb.org.uk

To report concerns people can call the county council’s Children’s Access Point (CAP) on 01403 229900 (9am-5pm Monday–Friday) or email cap@westsussex.gcsx.gov.uk

This is a secure email system which can only be accessed by professionals.

People can contact the Police on 101 (or 999 in an emergency), and they can also call Childline on 0800 11 11 or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.

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British Airways will launch flights from Gatwick Airport to New York.

The daily routes to JFK airport will start on May 1 2016.

The flights, which will be on Boeing 777s, will depart Gatwick at 4.40pm and arrive at 10am.

Lynne Embleton, British Airways’ managing director at Gatwick said: “The new route from Gatwick to New York’s JFK airport will enable us to offer access to a third London airport, giving our customers maximum choice and flexibility.

“New York is British Airways’ flagship Atlantic route and will always be one of the most popular destinations for holidaymakers and business travellers alike. The flight will offer fantastic connections to our extensive network of short-haul flights to 112 destinations across Europe.

“The new route also complements our almost hourly service from Heathrow, thanks to our transatlantic Joint Business with American Airlines. Customers can choose from 13 daily British Airways flights and another three on American Airlines to New York, as well as our double-daily business class only service from London City.”

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One of the best annual events in Hassocks has been saved from closure at the eleventh hour thanks to a major roadworks delay.

The Light Up Hassocks committee revealed this week that the popular family Christmas lights event would not be able to take place this year, due to planned roadworks causing a diversion through Hassocks village centre.

But just days after the announcement, the county council informed the committee it would defer the roadworks so the event could take place.

On hearing the news, committee member Paul Simpson said the committee would need to work hard to ‘de-cancel’ the event. He said: “The committee has spent the last few days cancelling the event, and all of the infrastructure surrounding it.

“We are now doing our best to de-cancel as much as possible. We are hoping to hold the Procession and a Light Up Hassocks event on November 27, and will confirm details once we have them.

“We would like to thank everyone who has helped bring this about, and for the support for LUH from the community.”

The news was greeted with jubilation from the community on Facebook.

Nix Freestone said: “This is brilliant news. It is definitely one if the highlights of the year and the kids enjoy it so much!”

A spokesman for West Sussex County Council said: “The road closure for New Road is being deferred to the new year so we can accommodate the closure of the High Street for the Light Up Hassocks parade.

“This is to repair a failed culvert. We were only made aware last week of the wish to close High Street. Fortunately, we have been able to change things around to allow the event to happen.

“We always strive to meet the needs of the local community when works to the infrastructure are required and we have been able to do that in this case.

“However, it must be said that requests for road space at short notice are often met with disappointment.”

This year’s fund raising Light Up Hassocks calendar, with photographs taken by Matt Freestone and Ben Langhorne, is now on sale at shops around the village, as well as Downlands School reception, Downsview Deli, Proper Coffee, Station Garage and The Thatched Inn.

To help the committee email lightuphassocks@gmail.com

An elderly man was rescued during a flat fire in Hurstpierpoint this morning (October 21).

Firefighters were called to the blaze in the ground floor flat kitchen, in Trinity Road, just before 6.30am.

A West Sussex Fire and Rescue spokeswoman said the fire was believed to have been caused, accidentally, by cooking equipment.

The spokeswoman said an elderly male occupier was led to safety by firefighters, treated for smoke inhalation and left in the care of ambulance paramedics.

The flat was 60% damaged by smoke.

Sussex Police are urging homeowners to stay safe this winter as the force launches a new anti-burglary campaign today (October 21).

The campaign will highlight the devastating impact that burglary can have on victims through victims’ own stories and tips to protect the home.

The move comes as part of Operation Magpie, a police initiative to reduce home break-ins across the county.

Detective Chief Inspector Tanya Jones, campaign leader for Operation Magpie, said, “We know that there is an increase in home burglaries once the clocks go back and the evenings become darker.

“Unlit properties can easily suggest that no one is home, and of course many of us are out at this time of year celebrating bonfire activities.

“Evidence suggests that campaigns like this have helped to continue a year-on-year reduction in burglaries. It’s important to continue the good work and ensure both police and residents are doing all they can to deter criminals.

“Burglary can have a devastating effect on how people feel in their own homes as well as on local communities and we encourage everyone to share these important messages with family, friends and neighbours and to take steps to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of this type of crime.

“Raising awareness of the impact burglary can have through victims’ stories is one way we hope people will stop and think and take a few extra home security steps, as we all think it will not happen to us.

“By deterring potential burglars the aim is to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of crime. Prevention is always better than cure.”

Police say they hope the campaign will help reduce burglary over the winter months, which usually see an increase in break-ins.

Burglaries in Sussex fell by 5.8 per cent – from an average of 275 per month in 2014 to an average of 259 burglaries per month in 2015 – but officers say they are committed to seeing the number drop even further.

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, Katie Bourne, said, “I’m pleased that the number of burglary dwellings across the county has reduced. The impact of a burglary can have a profound effect on victims and they may often describe it as a robbery or an invasion of their home; terms that actually relate to acts on a person not a property.

“This reinforces the deep, personal impact that a burglary has on someone who experiences it. We all have a part to play to help keep Sussex safe and as the nights draw in and I urge residents to follow police advice and keep their property secure so that they are not a target for burglars.”

More information about the project can be found on the Sussex Police website {http://www.sussex.police.uk|here}.

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