Following the recent opening of the newly refurbished multi-use games area in Hersham recreation ground just before the Easter holiday we are excited to announce that work is about to begin on replacing the outdated gym equipment in Long Ditton recreation ground Originally installed with funding from the London Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 this equipment is long overdue for an upgrade The gym area will be closed for 4 to 5 weeks while we install new We have taken care in selecting equipment that will offer something for everyone and all fitness levels The new equipment includes a variety of items designed to enhance outdoor workouts Calisthenics exercises are essential for overall body function This new versatile exercise space guarantees a comprehensive workout without the need for additional items The design emphasises safety and personal space with an uncluttered equipment layout and plenty of free space for warm-down exercises Next on the list of refurbishment works at Long Ditton recreation ground is the basketball court The new Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) will replicate the design at Hersham recreation ground featuring a variety of equipment to accommodate multiple sports and activities For more information on local improvements to parks and play areas around the borough visit our parks directory Stay up-to-date on council and borough news through WhatsApp and our newsletter.  Join Elmbridge Borough Council’s WhatsApp  Sign up to the Elmbridge Borough Council newsletter Help improve this site by giving feedback We are continuing to invest in parks and recreation grounds to provide residents with increased opportunities to enjoy the outdoors and connect with nature. Outdoor play plays a significant role in children’s development and wellbeing but it is equally important for families to have access to modern and multi-use games facilities providing a wider variety of sports to enjoy Here are the projects we have delivered or will complete this spring: We are delighted that the new play area at Summer Road Recreation Ground in Thames Ditton is now open This exciting new play space was designed based on the feedback we received from families as part of last summer’s consultation We hope the children will have a fantastic time enjoying the new equipment with their friends and families Ongoing works are transforming the Hersham Recreation Ground basketball court into a multi-use games area to maximise the number of sports and activities that can be enjoyed on site works at the Long Ditton sports court will kick off in mid-April with the installation of a similar facility The well-loved outdoor gym in Long Ditton recreation ground will be replaced with calisthenics equipment in mid-April Works are on tracks with the new eco-friendly splash pad in Churchfields recreation ground in Weybridge to open in May 2025 This interactive play facility is designed for both fun and sustainability While guaranteeing hours of fun in the summer it will be also be more efficient in terms of water and energy usage with a recirculating water system and solar panels to minimise carbon footprint.  Planning to spend more time outdoors this spring and summer? Visit our parks, play areas and green spaces directory to find further updates about the play area refurbishment programme we are excited to continue our play area refurbishment programme this autumn ensuring children and families have access to fun and Hersham play areas will all enjoy these fantastic upgrades: Most work will start week commencing 7 October with Grovelands Recreation Ground already started Weather permitting the new play equipment will be ready for use in early November and provide children and families with even more reasons to explore and have fun in their local parks emphasises our commitment to play area enhancements.  “We know how important play areas are to young people and families in the local community We have based our choice of new equipment on their feedback and are planning to continue to get them involved in future refurbishment initiatives Their views are important to make sure we offer the right play spaces to local communities in the future We appreciate their patience while works are taking place and hope that children will enjoy exploring the exciting new play facilities this autumn and throughout the year” Our plans for improving play areas in the Elmbridge will continue beyond autumn The basketball courts at Hersham and Long Ditton Recreation Grounds will be refurbished and the existing fitness area in Long Ditton will be replaced with callisthenics equipment A new play area for Summer Road in Thames Ditton We have heard from residents in Thames Ditton this summer to gather their views on preferred play equipment the next stage of consultation to come out at the end of October will focus on presenting design options in line with their wishlist so we can deliver a brand new play space in the course of 2025 Visit our parks, play areas and green spaces directory to find further updates about the play area refurbishment programme The most wonderful time of the year is on the way there is always so much happening in Elmbridge and we’re here to provide you with a handy guide.  Due to high winds and rain some of these events have been impacted Please find the update on the relevant Facebook pages Christmas is always a truly magical time in Elmbridge; with a variety of events on offer for all the family Walton Festival of Light 2024 will include a Christmas market performances from local schools and community groups and the light procession leading to the ‘Town Tree’ switch on A full schedule of live music including some very special stars Both on the main stage and dotted around the village.  who starred as Elsa in the West End's 'Frozen' musical Santa's Grotto like you've never seen before - the big man himself will be setting up in the coolest location on our high street Thursday 28 November from 5pm join the fun for music If you would like us to give your Christmas event a shout out on social media, please tag @elmbridgebc on Instagram Love Sustainable Elmbridge at Christmas  Our commitment to a Sustainable Elmbridge is stronger than ever at Christmas and we always recommend planning for a sustainable Christmas where possible This may involve choosing recyclable wrapping paper and cards or shopping at eco-friendly refill stores or for second-hand items at charity shops We also encourage our residents to shop local to embrace our small businesses and avoid driving long distances that can produce harmful emissions.  We suggest taking advantage of the below local Christmas markets: Christmas lights switch on week commencing 25 November We will begin the Christmas season with the switching on of the lights across Elmbridge high streets in East Molesey As sustainability is embedded within all we do the Christmas lights are LED and are on set timers to only be on from 6am to 9am and then from dusk until midnight each day The summer looks fun and bright for children in Elmbridge.  We are thrilled refurbishment works have been completed in West Molesey Recreation Ground and Molesey Hurst play areas just before the school holiday started and children are now making the most of the long summer days having fun with friends at the play spaces they helped to design as part of last year’s consultation.  These refurbished / replacement play areas are the latest additions to our 2022-2027 refurbishment programme we recognise the importance of outdoor play for children’s development and wellbeing and we want to make sure our play areas deliver a good and fun experience for visitors we welcome and take community views into account before we design our play spaces said: “It is great to see the new play areas come to life with input from families to create safe but exciting spaces for the children We believe play is crucial to build active and healthy communities We hope that the play areas will be enjoyed for many years to come.” We prioritised the order for refurbishment based on play areas most in need of renewal and on an independent RoSPA* inspection report The £419,000 refurbishment costs are met by funding from the strategic Community Infrastructure Levy funding programme and some of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.  For more information about the play refurbishment programme, please email greenspaces@elmbridge.gov.uk RoSPA*: The Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents Receive our news on WhatsApp April 2024: Vital Village at the Thames Ditton Centre The Thames Ditton Centre for the Community is now being managed by the Vital Village Community Interest Company whose goal is to create a vibrant and sustainable community hub with engagement from the local community.  More information on Vital Village and hiring the centre 19 March: Moving forward with the community hub at Thames Ditton   We are delighted to move forward with the community hub at the Thames Ditton Centre Laura and her team at Vital Village will play a huge part in community life before long In supporting Vital Village at Thames Ditton Elmbridge Borough Council is enabling the development of a vibrant We will retain ownership of the building and we are investing up to £130,000 to support the success of this new community hub a board of directors will be appointed by Laura to provide guidance strategic advice to Vital Village’s management The Board will include at least one local ward Councillor We have a positive vision for community services in Elmbridge which will strengthen the support provided to the community Working with our partners and the community we are ensuring we have the most appropriate support in place to meet the needs of the community now and the future Vital Village is contacting existing hirers and Centre users to bring them into the Vital Village family from April 2024 More information on Vital Village. 15 March update: Go-ahead granted for a vibrant sustainable and inclusive community hub at the Thames Ditton Centre it was decided that no further action is to be taken in which case Cabinet’s decision can be implemented without further consideration or delay sustainable and inclusive community hub at the Thames Ditton Centre will go ahead 28 February update: Decision to create a community hub at the Thames Ditton Centre has been ‘called-in’.  The Committee has three options available for decision This call-in decision does not impact the relocation of Dementia Services to the Claygate Centre Further information on the procedure can be found in Elmbridge Borough Council’s Constitution. inclusive and sustainable community hub in Thames Ditton Our overarching aim is to support our residents, especially our more vulnerable residents. To enable this, we have developed the ‘Elmbridge Connects strategy’ This is a positive vision for community services which will strengthen the network of support we are able to provide through a collaboration of council all with the common goal to help the Elmbridge community Our strategy will connect people and provide support across the generations It also sets out that we will engage with the community to enable the delivery of the community services they need Elmbridge Cabinet agreed to lease the Thames Ditton Community Centre to Vital Village a community interest company founded by a local resident As a Community Interest Company the goal of Vital Village is to create a vibrant inclusive and sustainable community hub that serves as the heart of the local community It wants to adopt a holistic approach to community health and wellbeing encompassing not only physical but mental health and understanding that personal wellbeing goes hand in hand with a healthy and sustainable planet Vital Village will coordinate a varied programme of activities and events that will be primarily based on community needs (to be established through community engagement) The programme might include initiatives such as fitness and exercise programmes recycling programmes and community gatherings To explore the potential for what could be achieved in Thames Ditton we engaged with the Health Creation Alliance the leading national cross-sector movement addressing health inequalities  The team at Health Creation Alliance facilitated a series of workshops with representatives from the voluntary and community sector we were approached by a local resident wanting to set up a community interest company to take over the management of the Thames Ditton centre and run a community wellbeing and sustainability hub a third workshop was convened in early December 2023 to explore the value and benefit of this offer It reflected on the aspirations to move from a good to a great community centre and provided a forum to explore community questions and concerns the premise of the Community Interest Company - Vital Village - was supported and recognised as having the potential to increase both the number of activities on offer to the community and usage of the building How would Vital Village be supported to succeed What about Dementia Services based at them Thames Ditton Centre Hirers were reassured of their value and that there would always be a place for them at the Thames Ditton Centre Petition against changes to the Thames Ditton Centre There is a strong feeling among some in the Thames Ditton community that we should continue the management and running of the Thames Ditton Centre in order to secure future services for the wellbeing of the community As a council our focus is on how we can best work together to secure the outcomes implicit in our Elmbridge Connects project We have a central role to play as a convenor The council will continue to own the building and have oversight of how the community is served We believe this collaboration with Vital Village will be better for residents The council will retain ownership of the building and will work in partnership with Vital Village The collaboration will increase the number of activities and variety of support available to residents This will secure the future of the Thames Ditton Centre we will invest up to £130,000 to support the success of this new community hub established by Vital Village at the Thames Ditton Centre which will in turn benefit so many in the local community Vital Village will be monitored by a board of directors who will be appointed on their ability to provide guidance strategic advice and oversight to Vital Village’s management Establishing measurable performance indicators will also be important in supporting success user satisfaction scores plus financial sustainability We will use these to ensure Vital Village delivers the increased services Continuity of care for Dementia Services based at the Thames Ditton CentreProviding dementia services is a key priority for us We aim to provide best in class dementia services; therefore carers and family members can be re-assured that the Vital Village offering will not adversely impact this important service we will ensure continuity of care at all times We are currently considering appropriate accommodation for Dementia Services which is at least as good as the facilities provided at Thames Ditton We fully recognise the importance of ensuring that if Dementia Services does move to a new location it will be a fit for purpose environment which continues to benefit our clients and carers A positive vision for community servicesWe want to reiterate that we have a positive vision – expressed in our Elmbridge Connects strategy - which will strengthen the support provided to the community Watch the February Cabinet on webcast February Cabinet Agenda We have written to our Dementia Services clients and carers to update them on their service and to reinforce the continuity of care they will receive you will see some council communications about Vital Village and its involvement in the Thames Ditton Centre for the Community This is based on a report being taken to Elmbridge Cabinet on 7 February We will of course send you this communications when it is available but importantly we want to reassure you that the Dementia Services we offer will not be lessened by the Vital Village proposals for the Thames Ditton Centre We will continue to provide the best care for those living with dementia We are currently considering appropriate accommodation for Dementia Services which is at least as good as the facilities provided Thames Ditton We hope to provide a further update very soon We are grateful for your support and if you have any queries, please contact us through dementiaservices@elmbridge.gov.uk  Following the third facilitated session on the future of the Thames Ditton Centre we are working through the feedback and actions and assessing the options we have to ensure the Centre supports the local community We expect that to happen over the next few months is hiring the Thames Ditton Centre and inviting residents to come along and hear more about what they do This is not a council event and is not related to the final decision on the Centre It is an opportunity for local residents to find out more about Vital Village Throughout the discussions around the future use of Thames Ditton Centre for the Community we have collaborated with local community partners and always sought to be open and transparent about our aims and actions We have confirmed that the existing groups eg Men in Sheds and Boomerang Bags are valued within the community and will be accommodated within any future proposals To date we have held two facilitated workshops to explore what a ‘great’ community centre looks like A third facilitated session will now be held in December This will reconvene the partners and community stakeholders from the previous two sessions for a further discussion about the potential future use of the Centre The East Elmbridge Primary Care Network and the potential community-led opportunity for the Centre will also both be invited to attend We will report back on the next steps from that meeting in the New Year We want to restate that we are open to listening to all views and that while no decision has been made the intent from all involved is to serve the community in the best way possible We continue to work on the future use of the Thames Ditton Centre for the Community Our discussions with the East Elmbridge Primary Care Network (covering Thames Ditton East and West Molesey) are ongoing and we have been approached about a complementary potential community-led opportunity for the Centre one that would also be aligned with our aim to support those most in need in Thames Ditton and the surrounding area When further work and due diligence has been undertaken we will update you further and host a presentation at the Centre In June we said we would update you in the weeks ahead on the future use of the Thames Ditton Centre for the Community Our apologies for the delayed response.  We reiterate that no decision has been made and that our aim remains to support those most in need in Thames Ditton and the surrounding area. We are continuing our discussions with the East Elmbridge Primary Care Network (covering Thames Ditton albeit those discussions have been delayed slightly over the summer period We will update you further when we are approaching a meaningful solution In addition, while the discussions are underway, we regret that it is not possible to enter into agreements for regular, repeating, long-term hires although short-term and one-off hires may still be possible. Please see Centres for hire for more information We want to be clear about our thinking around the Thames Ditton Centre for the Community Residents may be aware that we have been engaging with the local community in Thames Ditton to explore how we can ensure the Centre for the Community at Mercer Close has a sustainable model for the future while ensuring existing Centre users continue to benefit from the Centre.  We have consulted with community groups to identify how best we ensure the Thames Ditton Centre can meet the needs of many more people in the community those consultations and discussions are leading us towards a number of options including supporting community health and wellbeing with the East Elmbridge Primary Care Network (covering Thames Ditton recognising that the best way to deal with many health issues is to prevent them occurring in the first place.  No decisions have yet been made – we are still at the early stages - but ultimately we are determined to support those most in need in Thames Ditton and the surrounding area We will provide a further update in the coming weeks Sign up to receive Elmbridge News West Sussex-headquartered Sigma Homes has acquired a prime 1.2-acre (0.487-Ha) site in the prized Surrey village of Thames Ditton to deliver 26 eco-efficient mixed-tenure homes Known to be one of the most sought-after neighbourhoods within the county residential sales values in Thames Ditton can exceed £800psf the brownfield site has been purchased from a private landowner with full detailed planning consent in place The plans for the £18m scheme feature a range of 14 one- alongside 12 three-bedroom semi-detached houses Eight of the apartments are designated for affordable housing while a further two will be sold under the Government’s ‘First Homes’ initiative which enables selected first time buyers to benefit from a 30-50% saving on the open market value of the home The initiative will be coordinated by the local authority and the discount factor will be attributed to the two apartments in perpetuity said: “We are thrilled to have secured this rare opportunity to deliver much-needed new homes within Thames Ditton This village is highly sought after because of the connectivity into central London array of picturesque buildings and traditional architecture boutique shopping and community facilities “Our collection of 26 eco-efficient houses and apartments will enable local people to climb onto or up the property ladder as well as boosting the village’s supply of high-quality affordable housing This will be the first Sigma Homes development to offer ‘First Homes’ and with the imminent conclusion of the long-running Help to Buy initiative we are pleased to be able to cater for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to buy a home of their own “We are already underway with our pre-construction preparations and the team is looking forward to commencing work on site in the New Year.” All Sigma Homes developments are built utilising timber-frame construction to maximise thermal efficiency The 12 houses at the newly acquired Thames Ditton development will each be installed with EV car charging points while the 14 apartments will have access to communal EV charging points The development also provides ample secure storage for bicycles The scheme has been designed in three distinct phases drawing on architectural references from the local vernacular and bordering character properties detached villa style property will contain eight affordable apartments A contemporary-designed mansion property will house six apartments for open market sale and ‘First Homes’ The largest phase will feature the 12 semi-detached houses with the internal accommodation designed across two and half floors The triangle-shaped site is bound by private residences along the western and southern boundaries while the north east boundary borders Esher Sixth Form College The development is located half a mile from Thames Ditton train station which offers frequent 30-minute commuter services into London Waterloo A further three train stations are also within walking distance an independent co-educational school for two- to 11-year-olds Local amenities – and bus stops offering connections to the nearby towns of Esher and Kingston-upon-Thames – are found on Hampton Court Way (A309) Located within the district of Elmbridge Borough Council the other nearby towns include Walton on Thames – five miles away The Borough of Elmbridge directly borders the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames The company currently has five live developments in premium locations across the south of England and is on track to deliver 200 homes per annum by 2025 © London West (powered by ukpropertyforums.com) Sign up to receive your free bi-weekly London West journal here and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" UK Property Forums enable forums and events in the property sector which help to create business development opportunities Office Address:UK Property Forums Ltd is located in Reading 0203 478 7340info@ukpropertyforums.com We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again Forgotten/Reset your Password Squire’s Garden Centre in Long Ditton has named The Royal Star & Garter Home in Surbiton as its Charity of the Year for the second year running It follows a successful year of fundraising for The Royal Star & Garter Homes from the Woodstock Lane North garden centre in 2018-19 Squire’s Long Ditton raised £1,879 for the Charity including £1,340 from its Santa’s Grotto through a percentage of ticket sales and a bucket collection manned by volunteers from The Royal Star & Garter Home The garden centre also gifted 1,000 tulip bulbs which have been planted in the Home’s beautiful garden Residents from The Royal Star & Garter Home a charity which cares for ex-Servicemen and women and their partners living with disability or dementia are also regular visitors to Squire’s Long Ditton where they are treated to afternoon tea at the cafe bar Partnerships Manager at The Royal Star & Garter Homes “We couldn’t be happier to be chosen by Squire’s as their Charity of the Year again We look forward to further developing a successful partnership and raising even more money for The Royal Star & Garter Homes over the next 12 months.” “Our staff really enjoy supporting such a worthy local charity and love seeing some of the residents for afternoon tea The assistance provided by the volunteers from The Royal Star & Garter Homes with Santa’s Grotto is very much appreciated and we look forward to raising much needed funds for the Charity again this year as well as donating the Christmas Tree for its Starlight Service.” e: goolistan.cooper@starandgarter.org e: cally.madden@starandgarter.org The Charity provides award-winning care for military veterans and their partners who live with disability or dementia The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916 to care for the severely injured men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War state-of-the-art Homes offer a pioneering approach to nursing We continue to expand our services to reach even more veterans we were able to support 186 residents in our Homes and 36 guests at our Day Care service We also offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel We provided 11,700 individual sessions of physiotherapy and speech & language therapy last year to support our residents’ health and over 5,600 places to residents for activities We are proud to have enjoyed Royal patronage since our foundation including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to the present day Twitter: @starandgarter Facebook: facebook.com/starandgarter Website: www.starandgarter.org The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a member of the National Care Forum – the leading voice for not-for-profit care providers. A national perspective may be available from info@nationalcareforum.org.uk or by contacting 02476243619. More details on NCF available at www.nationalcareforum.org.uk By @Cobseo 55 years ago ©2004-2025 Confederation of Service Charities Site by Run | Change cookie settings In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here Home > News > Man charged with attempted murder after stabbing outside BMW dealership News A man has been charged with attempted murder after two people were stabbed – one of them outside a BMW showroom The victims are in a serious but stable condition after the attacks at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and outside Berry Thames Ditton BMW next door about 1.45pm on Sunday has also been charged with having a bladed article He appeared before Guildford magistrates yesterday and will appear at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday Elmbridge borough commander Insp Bert Dean said: ‘We are working with our partner agencies local schools and the staff at the hotel to support those most impacted by the incident ‘We appreciate that the heightened emergency services’ presence and the nature of the incident may have caused distress to the local community and officers will be out and about in the local area over the coming days to answer any questions and listen to any concerns ‘The investigation itself remains ongoing and we are appealing for anyone who has any information which could assist our inquiries to contact us.’ told the PA news agency shortly after the incident: ‘I saw someone in handcuffs coming out ‘There was another guy that came out with a bandage around his head and his bicep John has been with Car Dealer since 2013 after spending 25 years in the newspaper industry as a reporter then a sub-editor/assistant chief sub-editor on regional and national titles John is chief sub-editor in the editorial department Parish book groups can help to widen involvement in church The audience at a BookBox monthly book-related outreach event READING for pleasure is an uncontested good from increased articulacy and more complex brain connections to correlation with higher levels of happiness and empathy A therapeutic form bibliography does good through books by using literature to support mental health Sharing books is versatile and highly cost-effective and is often alongside other forms of therapy Just as I was beginning the formal discernment process for ordination and at a reception after a Candlemas service I was asked what professional experience I might bring to the Church I replied: “Organising book groups to encourage involvement.” As so often happens when you are asked a question without notice or when you are writing the first postcard while on holiday My involvement has been in a variety of settings to ease the uncertainties that they tolerate — the charity Reading Force links military families through shared reading and was set up in 2011 — to the transition to university particularly for first-generation students effectively turns the university where I teach into one large book group to help students to acclimatise to their new environment the use of shared reading to ease the transition between junior and secondary schools — Read Up Kingston now operates in schools throughout the borough of Kingston-upon-Thames — and shared reading with veterans in prison which helped to bolster family relationships with those outside All these initiatives have been monitored through anonymous questionnaires published in academic journals (mostly Logos from Brill); so we are familiar with the reasons that people do and don’t join — and how they find the experience OFFERING to run a book group in my sending parish seemed a good way to try out these ideas in the Church — to see whether the widening participation initiatives trialled elsewhere would work in a faith context I worked with my Vicar, the Revd Andrew Cowie, of St Nicholas’s, Thames Ditton, in the diocese of Guildford and then shared books within the wider Emly deanery when it proved successful another member of my initial-ministerial-education cohort We used the same questionnaire to monitor feedback from participants and I offer a monthly book-related outreach event It’s important to point out the value of an anonymous questionnaire which enables us to hear what those in the pew — and increasingly from the wider community —really think (but might never tell us) Here are ten key things that I have learned from my experiences so far It is already well established that shared reading can help people to make connections and friends There is much that we can learn from how the process has been managed in other contexts in relation to our missional purpose as a Church The Revd Professor Alison Baverstock is Assistant Curate of St Mary’s, Long Ditton, in Guildford diocese. For information on BookBox, St Mary’s monthly book-related event, visit: stmaryslongditton.org.uk The BookBox social team prepare for an event Nicholas Reed Langen examines the Supreme Court ruling on gender Read reports from issues stretching back to 1863 search for your parish or see if any of the clergy you know get a mention Explore the archive We are a partnership of six diverse and welcoming congregations in the northern districts of Milton Keynes offering a rich tapestry of worshipping traditions – Anglican USPG is looking to appoint 3 Trustees (lay or ordained) committed to global mission within the Anglican Communion The Diocese of Gloucester is looking for a practical team member to join the Department of Mission and Ministry who brings a creative and flexible approach as we seek to develop and implement innovative approaches to collaborative ministry across the Diocese The Bishop of Lincoln seeks an ordained colleague to lead in vocational discernment within the Diocese The Diocese of London is delighted to welcome applications for the position of Area Director of Ministry (Willesden) and Diocesan Clergy Wellbeing Adviser Non-subscribers can read four articles for free each month Hospitality & Catering News Lichfield – opening late January 2024 The Plough and Harrow (formerly known as the George Evelyn) is in Long Ditton South West London and will undergo an extensive refurbishment The pub will have 139 internal dining seats aided by an extension to the rear which will feature bifold doors opening onto the garden the large garden will be landscaped to create a further 100 dining seats including 38 in a newly constructed garden room located in the historic heart of the cathedral city of Lichfield will be extensively refurbished to create a spacious and relaxed bar area with lounge seating around a traditional fireplace there will be 128 dining seats including a semiprivate dining space for up to 14 guests a light and airy garden room for up to 50 guests and cosy booths and snugs in Heartwood’s signature warm and welcoming style tiered courtyard will create a further 74 seats designed for year round dining with a heated pergola The acquisition of the two inns follows the announcement two weeks ago by Heartwood Inns that it has acquired its first pub with rooms and which is also due to open early in 2024 Heartwood Inns also recently opened the Black Swan in Henley in Arden Both new pubs will benefit from Heartwood Inns’ signature style with characterful touches throughout and will be serving a menu that reflects Heartwood Inns three star rating with the Sustainable Restaurant Association Vibrant bars will sell carefully sourced wines local beers and ales and an extensive cocktail list said: “The acquisition of two new freehold pubs marks a hugely exciting period in the growth of Heartwood Inns “We are delighted that two iconic pubs in Long Ditton and Lichfield will be joining the Group We are firmly committed to investing in both of the pubs for the long term We cannot wait to see them re-open as Heartwood Inns.” For more information on Heartwood Inns please see here For more information on Heartwood Collection please see here Copyright © · Hospitality & Catering News Home > News > Police make arrest after suspected attempted murder at suburban BMW dealership A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a frenzied knife attack at a suburban BMW dealership One person is believed to have been attacked at Berry Thames Ditton BMW in Surbiton yesterday (Sunday) afternoon That followed a similar assault at the neighbouring Crowne Plaza Hotel on Portsmouth Road – a site that houses Afghan refugees Both victims suffered stab wounds and were rushed to hospital before local residents described seeing a man told the PA news agency: ‘I saw someone in handcuffs coming out said he witnessed the commotion from his upstairs window He said: ‘I only saw it after the police arrived There was one car sitting in the middle of the road which was obviously where all the commotion was around.’ The incident took place about 1.45pm on Sunday and Surrey Police were quick to attend the scene Officers are now appealing for anyone with any information to come forward A spokesman for the force said: ‘While we appreciate that this may be extremely concerning we would like to reassure you that we believe this was an isolated incident ‘An investigation is under way to establish the circumstances of the incident and remains ongoing ‘The man who was arrested is currently in custody.’ the BMW garage was placed behind a police cordon Forensic officers were spotted working at the scene as they looked to gather evidence from the site A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We take the welfare and safety of those in our care incredibly seriously ‘We are aware of an incident in Surrey at a hotel housing Afghan refugees ‘We are working closely with Surrey Police and partners on the ground to support the investigation and those affected by today’s events.’ Jack joined the Car Dealer team in 2021 as a staff writer He previously worked as a national newspaper journalist for BNPS Press Agency He has provided news and motoring stories for a number of national publications including The Sun The situation in Long Ditton first came to our attention last October 2020 after two residents reported that they had been suffering from extremely slow broadband speeds for many weeks which would see daytime performance drop sharply to as little as 4-30Mbps (Megabits per second) or even less This seem to be true no matter which package the customers were taking we thought it was just a localised capacity problem or a power issue on the line not least since their neighbours a couple of doors down seemed to have stable speeds we started to hear from others in the wider area (mostly within the KT6 and KT7 postcodes) all suffering from either similar or significantly worse problems with performance and connection stability Meanwhile others have had to return to their places of work in order to get a good connection despite Government guidance to “work from home where possible“ Local Facebook and WhatsApp groups are similarly filled with posts telling how locals are being impacted by the problems, many of which have expressed frustration at the continuing lack of clarity and effective support from Virgin Media’s customer service team. A Twitter hash-tag setup by the community (#losingmyvirginIT) has also attracted plenty of related gripes “A fault on the Virgin Media network has existed since November 2020 with the speeds reduced to just a fraction of what they should be impacting both download and upload speeds to the extent that many customers have found the service unusable during working hours Some customers paying for speeds of 100mbps download and 10mbps upload regularly find the service dropping out during the day and experience upload speeds that rarely get above 0.10mbps making Zoom meetings and online lessons impossible at times Some residents have resorted to working from their cars parked in neighbours driveways and some teachers impacted by the problem have had to go into their schools despite the fact that they could teach online from home if they had functioning broadband Many customers have been switching to alternative providers however this has created further problems as the surge in demand has exhausted all of the high speed connections from the local exchange on the Openreach network meaning that those who have not yet switched have no alternative but to wait for Virgin to resolve their issues Staff at Virgin Media Customer Services originally seemed unaware of the scale of the issues with some claiming that there were no known issues at all on the network and sending out replacement routers suggesting the faults lay with peoples equipment More recently they have been reading from a script and advising of a resolution date which has already been moved back on 4 occasions This week the fix date was further delayed from 12th February to 26th February.” some customers have reported that it took them over 1 hour+ to get through to the ISP via their support lines (a sadly not uncommon gripe during the COVID-19 crisis) while others claim to have been told by the provider that the issue is estimated to be affecting more than “25,000” premises Virgin Media denied this and suggested that it was only affecting hundreds of customers Meanwhile the provider’s service status page has continued to claim that there are “no known problems” and then Richard claims that “messages are then sent to say it has been resolved at 6pm each day only for it to return the following day.” “A small number of customers in Long Ditton are experiencing intermittent issues with their broadband service which means that their speeds can be Work to fix the problem has taken longer than anticipated and been made more challenging by coronavirus restrictions We are working hard to resolve the issue as soon as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused.” The provider has acknowledged that the local issues are indeed taking longer than they expected to resolve although they did not elaborate on the cause of all this (network congestion is a strong candidate) or provide a firm date for when it might be resolved Meanwhile some locals have informed us that Virgin Media now plans to have the issues fixed today but customers have little faith in such predictions One of the affected customers claims to have been told that the estimated fix date has just been pushed back I’m always slightly surprised by how poor the auto diagnostics are on the VM network VM *should* know about this as soon as something goes wrong Tracking down this sort of thing on a properly set up FTTP network should be trivial and it should be auto-flagged No reason why it shouldn’t be on a cable network either I am guessing the reason that VM don’t want the robustness data is that then it would be discoverable (by OFCOM and courts) And an extension of the old automakers excuse “we don’t have the warranty date therefore we cannot tell you how unreliable our vehicles are…..” of course that was blown into the long grass by the EU saying all cars must be designed to reliably do 120,000km and manufacturers MUSt keep component failure data Solution is that OFCOM forces all ISP’s and CP’s to keep robustness data This is going to become a bigger issues as a large % are fobbed off with a VM Gig connection while FTTP catches up The old management consulting dictum “if you measure it it gets better” applies here VM would loose their dreadful reputation for customer service and fixing faults they’re called virgin media for a reason I like the adage if you are not measuring it you cannot manage it EVERY time VM run a check on my equipment “it is taking a little longer than usual” VM have a very strange idea what “usual” means I have never ever in my entire over four decades of existence witness customer service as horrendous as the one offered by Virgin They have successfully broken all known humanity and legal consumer service regulation I live in Leicester and this same scenario is what we experience Can never get through to customer service and you are sent a bill in the mail This does not even happen in third world countries Well at 2:26am I’m having to switch to 4g yet again!!…and at various times throughout daytime for any use my new Android phone a simple Google search says I’m offline!!!!(PAYG 2gb of data per month) so can’t rely on that to watch or listen to videos streaming services be done in a matter of hours HENCE why I pay for Broadband! I’m up trying to use when there is less traffic just had new cables and router replaced and service to my phone is patchy at Best! TV on demand and Catch up patchy dodgy and this been going on for years it’s a race to the bottom from every aspect of Virgin Media!!beginning to end their service is beyond abysmal!!Can oy post this through network data! they could not even find where the cable went in to our offices (tower block in richmond) even though the next door company had VM working… If a company can sell you something they can pay someone for support I guarantee its a over utilisation issue for where you live i had a similar issue in Liverpool a about 5 years back mainly because my local council wouldn’t give them the permit to put better cables in Make shure you get a service refund on your bill They have an obligation to be doing this with Ofcom We have the same issue in Pineham a new build area in Northampton Since a reseg the internet has been unusable It’s the only thing that works especially if City fibre is at the entrance of the estate yes but they cannot progress the build in as the roads are not adopted So stuck with Virgin for now until this changes I was going by maps on other broadband website Towpath Avenue are showing as available on Vodafone (ISP on Cityfibre in Northampton) south of Hunsbury Meadows off Banbury Lane Crikey thats years away from being finished and adopted I wonder if Openreach will FTTP over there as Northampton is a fibre first town and they all over Hunsbury moving west at the moment we were also FTTP’d last year as well as Cityfibre Nothing but ADSL for 8 years then two FTTP providers inside 6 months It’s just as bad in parts of Birstall in Leicestershire speeds are nearly at at a standstill all day now with the home working and home schooling My parents are on the 350Mbps package which is the fastest VM will allow in this area but most times speeds are around 70-80Mbps they have had a number of engineers out but all say same thing the network is over capacity A lot of this is due to Openreach not keeping their network up to standard with no FTTC available and no plans for FTTP so even more people who were on the forced ADSL service have had to move to VM just to be able to work from home Open reach have nothing to do with the Virgin Media network If they would have 80 mbs that’s plenty for remote work I think the point being made here by Jamie Simms is that customers are being forced to choose VM as a provider because Openreach can only supply ADSL in the area (no FTTC/FTTP) and so the choice is VM or unusably slow broadband Very slow latency and packet loss at peak times 8am to 10pm Only acceptable performance if you’re a night-owl VM have shown no interest on multiple occasions Set yourself up a “broadband quality monitor” on thinkbroadband.com to see how congested VM’s network really is + theres a constant need to tell us that due to Covid they cant offer the “same service” – yet they still charge for the “same service” I live in telford Shropshire vm 350meg been dropping out to 0.5 to 10mb for over a month vm sending me new hub3 not going to hold my breath hub3 are usless This was going on last October in my part of London Then had the stress of changing providers over the Christmas period Virgin throughout were difficult to communicate with and uncaring I never got emails confirming my request to cancel the whole package I had to make further ( also unconfirmed) requests to get the whole miserable thing out of my house I already complained about Virgin Media TV but I was offered a mobile deal a few years ago they sent phone out and I sent it back following day well took me months to stop them charging me they took 1st payment a day after phone arrived!!That’s not even standard practice had to jump through several hoops to prove I’d sent it back even though tracking code was given for return and charged me twice after!!I cancelled DD and think eventually got refund Thanks for highlighting this – I am one of the impacted customers Im in Hayes Middx and we have had similar issues My daughter ended up back at the office because of speed issues She is now back to working from home and having speed issues and drops in signals Customer services is exremely difficult to get through I was the one who was told it was affecting 25k households The advisor read from a script that said this She said the first time they were aware was 19th November – she gave me a fix date of 26th Feb The fact that Vorgin now deny it is affecting 25k customers is disgusting I’m going too see if I can get a recording of the call This same issue has been affecting me from Jan2021 in Hounslow No proper response and has made the internet completely unusable but virgin media fails to accept there is a issue and keeps saying it’s intermittent Our hub has been changed twice and we have had three engineer visits so far And yet there is no resolution and the service status page always says “no issues in your area” when all the residents with VM on the estate are having the same issue It’s just appalling but as the roads are unadopted there is no other alternative for FTTP I’m in North London and last year I suffered chronic slow upload for about 6weeks Virgin eventually said it was a vault at the exchange and blamed BT Downloaded wasn’t effected so I don’t think that many people noticed… At the time I was occasionally working from home and regularly send and recieve large files In the end I had to go to a Co-working space as it was so slow it would take hours to send a 10mb file Last week I noticed it was painfully slow again and even though almost 2 hours with virgin tech help they insisted there wasn’t an issue where they admitted there was a fault and upgraded my line for free to hopefully solve the problem… I should be getting 35mbs upload during the day it’s 2-5 but full speed in the evening If there was anyone else I would have left them already sadly there are no other isps offering the same data speeds Yes I have the same problems as all of you,100 meg supposed service but drops to 4 or5 quite often,every Sunday night the service drops out totally for about 3hours.our security cameras and the whole system then does not function and we loose all recordings I have written to Virgin,but get the same reply we are looking into your complaint three letters each taking a month to get a reply to each so over 3 months complaining but no help at all,last letter said as your complaint is over 28 days old we will contact you soon you now have the right to complain to the ombudsman but for the effort swapping my emails to a new address and the added stress I would have left long ago.let us all complain to the media en block make this as public as we can I get told to reboot..reboot oh an they send boosts. yet ive used 80% of my data in a 2 days and not left house. I’ve experienced really slow speeds and constant drops in service for weeks I have had problems with virgin media for years. I pay just over £100 a month I have the oomph deal in 3 rooms in the house and suppose to have the fastest speed vm offer but since the upgrade about a 18months ago I have never experienced the speed they said I would get it’s about half of what they said it would be and thats on a good day My main problem is in 1 of the rooms o cannot get wifi connection so I cannot get on demand TV or mobilephone connection so they have sent me the hub3 which I feel is worse than b4 iv been sent a booster but still no difference with or without the booster Now they r offering a new booster for free only for customers on the oomph package but have not got any in stock so I’m on a waiting list apparently they will contact me when they get them.i do get a discount because of all the problems iv been having but still £104 a month is alot of money for a service that’s often got issues it would have been £140 without the discount which is just simply taking the mic Also getting through to vm is so so stressful having to wait for so long and then to get fobbed off feels too much to have to go through every so often its starting to make me feel depressed and vm r not willing to reduce my bill for the speeds I never get but said I would I’m stuck with vm as all my household equipment wifi TV mobile phones r all with vm and to end the contract will cause issues having to change over etc etc They should have a governing body that looks at all the issues vm have and automatically discount all vm customers for werever they do not keep there promises with there customers 2 x sky q minis and all channels and pay £65 for that We have 2x three contracts at £10 per month for 12gb per sim and go binge fast internet (when it works) and mobile phones with enough data to cope with a few days of Virgin outage A powerline network adapter should fix the TV problem Powerline adaptors are the best solution for your room that cannot get a signal Significant problems in Hampstead/South Hamstead/Primrose Hill too https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/hampstead-residents-virgin-media-internet-connection-7313244 Paying for 200 Mbps but at best 70 download falling to 20/30 on many occasions I live near croydon and we have awful speeds – started phoning before xmas and have had various dates for when it will be fixed latest being 19th February From some of the posts looks like they are now pushing into March They are also holding off giving a refund until it’s fixed Worrying that there is no spare capacity even if you decide to switch providers if you complain 21vdays later you get a resolution say customer educated it your equipment I go down to 30mbs download and 2 to 2 mbs upload every day and when you try to call to raise an issue expect ti o wait an hour and then get cut off it is happening in many other areas including parts of leicestershire For two days now in SO53 postcode been suffering very slow speed (<4Mbs)and complete drop outs of internet connectivity from Virgin has the 1st one was old and the 2nd one was faulty I was not even aware of the charges until I called in VM doesn’t change for new router if it develops a fault they just replace it All supplied equipment remains virgin property it’s provide to you as part of your service and repair or replacement to it is free of charge I’ve had router replacement before zero fee I can’t get more than 10mbps in day time on a 100mbps line and the response from Virgin customer relations team our engineer will come and look when their own tech team told me Why do you all not contact Watchdog I’m sure you will all have it sorted on no time All getting royally done over paying stupidly costly monthly cost and getting poor service Why don’t you all vote with your feet and leave for alternative supplier only then will VM take notice when subscribers reduce It’s not just down south here in johnstone Scotland mine is terrible I pay for the 350 mbps and do a test each day on an app recommend by virgin I am between 20 and 200 mbps if I’m lucky but still pay nearly £60 a month I’ve had bills range from £13.08 to £300 After this contract runs out they will be to problem is everyone is working on getting thd gigabit roll out going my downloads have been 20-25mbps download 17mbps upload lately I dont like varjinmidiya b coz 3 month good speed and thane poor canection and i call vajin midia so give astra mony and take speed i dont like vajin midia I used to have VM – reliable for many years Then a year or so ago it started getting very unreliable so switched to PlusNet (BT-based service) fast broadband Saved myself heaps of money and got a much more stable service I am still waiting for a refund from VM nearly a year later so it will be off to the small claims court soon Over the last 6 months I needed to boot my modem mode superhub 2 several times a week to get speeds back up from ~the 200mbs I pay for After a recent bout of snow and cold speeds plummeted to 17 down 20up so I went checking the outside cable and saw it was frayed I phoned vm and told them the outside cable was damaged they had me out the modem back to router mode so they can test I highlighted to them I was only getting 2 locked down channels which the support guy stated was normal He then asked to boot the modem several times then remove the cable from the modem and reinsert after which I got no bandwidth at all The support guy hen insisted I had not inserted the cable properly and sent an a replacement superhub 3 and an engineer to connect it despite me explaining over and over again that the outside cable was damaged Replacement modem arrived a few days later followed by the engineer I showed him the frayed cable which he repaired and service still didn’t return he subsequently found other frays in the cable I didn’t see so replaced the lot I’ve seen issues like this in the past when every time it rained my service plummeted 15 engineer visits later and it was a filter on the outside of the house getting wet that was killing the service I suspect the issues in dItton and others is damaged cables getting wet and service degrading Is the service better once it’s been dry a few days Despite I only getting 2 locked down channels vm’s auto tool was stating nothing wrong with the service or equipment comparing the Docsis channel details with historic norms should have been the most obvious way to spot a line issue There are six of us in the house (two gamers on line two that are on Zoom all day and a child on Microsoft Teams for school) Never any speed issues and costs £39.99 a month Got rid of Virgin 15 years ago with terrible customer services We should all get away from virgin media.they offer you the worst customer service ever and vm are not to be trusted we pay 100 a month and hardly get to watch films as the buffer time is unreal Issue appears to be intermittent and widespread i am getting the exact same issues reported above in Rochdale Greater Manchester Appeared to start as they rolled out the gigabit service in some cities Suggest their central load balancing servers are having issues I am the same I live in Runcorn in Cheshire and I have been paying £43.50 a month for a service that never changes whatever you have I’ve had the 200mbs package the 100mbs package and still on get an average speed of upto 30mbs they blame it on conditions WiFi doesn’t work properly if the walls are thick something is blocking the router I don’t have anything blocking the router my walls are plasterboard the excuses are endless I miss admit oh also it could be the time of day your are using it I was with sky 23mbp it was fine.and theni want to swap with virgin media for my kids using zoom and some works i thought it will be good i have 100 mbp but.for the first month and then it becomes too slow less speed then sky.and too many problems When they want to fix that problem it takes one day.im from southeast foresthill haha backup internet connections are mandatory when you have Virgin Media lol Been rubbish for months and no one in VM customer service seems to know what is going on – some don’t acknowledge the issue others give a date to fix which simply extends each week and am aware that several people in the area are experiencing the same Has become worse over the last couple of months complete loss of service nearly every other day have not had a proper connection for 10 days now My WiFi used to be great (regularly get 300+) until about 2-3 weeks ago (Tested on iPhone XS Max & brand new iPad Air and sons gaming PC via Ethernet) I would bin them off by have very little alternative in my area Live in a small hamlet outside London called Watford Before Virgin had BT and was fine for over a year BT claimed I had changed something on my network I wait impatiently for someone to install FTTP and will jump ship as soon as I can Also may try it in modem mode again with my other router I did indeed have enough of this crap for a year until I realised 200mbs means sweet FA when you can’t even get 1\10th of and and you paying full price for the honour I’ve been reporting it since end of October 2020 I’ve had an apology and an education given email I’ve had too engineer appointments book but nothings on there system I’m at the moment trying to home school 6 children who can not get into most of there lessons on line due to connect errors At this very moment I’m on the phone again will they go through there pre installed check list New update I’m getting another router for free so that’s the the third one now Very soon I’ll be able to set up my own virgin media company Virgin’s headline speeds are great if/when they work But frankly they are erratic and variable at best I’ve been with BT for 6 years now and always seem to get a minimum of 40meg Do Virgin still throttle you if you use p2p\torrents they seemed to automatically and seriously derate your download speed when connecting to suspicious levels of peers Try switching off any p2p for a couple of days Also what a pile of crap the super hub 2 is after trawling forums showing tons of others with weak Wi-fi signal Think it’s time to vote with my feet and get on the Openreach FTTP Well true to their word they said they would get back to me and I had an email message to say my WiFi has now been upgraded at no extra cost to me well its better than it has been for about 6 months but has taken little over 3 months of writing to V.M no I am expecting it to revert back to sweet f.a things went wrong 4 years ago when I moved here from a distance of 1/4 mile away entire package supposed to move with me but ended up with no phone line as cabinet capacity was nil,at my old home I was told the service was fiber but I confronted the engineers working on the cabinet and they laughed and said ther is no fiber cables here only copper nearest fiber is some 15 miles away said I was the only and next on the list for a phone line so I asked the engineers and they showed me a list for the road and that said 5 others were waiting for lines like me As it would be embarrassing for the company they seem to make up lies as they go along about this and they offered a discount as the phone line was not possible I also said that on my bill it stated FIBER but the next bill had this deleted I asked my neighbour if as the list I was shown he was waiting for a land line his reply was I am No 1 on the list for one and no one else is waiting I politely informed him no you are No.4 on the list And the bad news is it will be according to the engineers at least another3 maybe years before any planned expansion to the area system takes place Lies lies and more lies.I refuse to phone CS as I have been shouted at and told that I do not understand my system no contracts just a get out of jail free when it all goes wrong must go now as I am loosing the will to live I pay for 104 meg and had a good speed until Covid got under way I eventually got in contact with a virgin engineer at home who supposedly reset my router Then my two laptops no longer connected or my Echo and Alexa boxes Needless to say my speed didn’t improve Luckily it seems they have corrected the speed problem today (Sunday 28th Fen) The annoying thing is Virgin will never admit they have a problem https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-media-hub-3-ios-14-weak-security Virgin pushed WiFi update to the hub a month or so ago since then WiFi connection became a nightmare Its clear ofcom’s speed estimate regulation is inadequate for VM they can use national averages to hide problems with capacity in specific areas when ordering I expect if they were forced to give an estimate based up on the cabinet you connected to and as such affect marketing these problems would suddenly get more priority and fixed `I have been having intermittend issued with my virgin 500 service for a couple of weeks – they told me earlier that the issue is probably due to me connecting to thwe hub with a cat5 cable I became quite rude to the script reader at that point but it randomly drops to 0.05 down 0- dialup speeds I’ll be calling them again in the morning Comments RSS Feed Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two people were stabbed in Surbiton. One person is believed to have been assaulted at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Portsmouth Road – a hotel that houses Afghan refugees – while the other man was attacked at the BMW garage next door. Both victims were rushed to hospital after being stabbed on Sunday at around 1.45pm. A Surrey Police spokesperson said: “While we appreciate that this may be extremely concerning, we would like to reassure you that we believe this was an isolated incident. “An investigation is underway to establish the circumstances of the incident and remains ongoing. “The man who was arrested is currently in custody.” Detectives are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has any information, to contact them. Mark Knight, 41, who lives in Long Ditton, Surbiton, told the PA news agency: “I saw someone in handcuffs coming out. “There was another guy that came out with a bandage around his head and his bicep. They put him in an ambulance.” He said the man he saw in handcuffs was wearing a shirt and a blazer. Mr Knight said he noticed there was “drama” at the hotel at around 1pm, and saw the road “jam-packed” with police vehicles. Fraser Howie, 36, who lives in Portsmouth Road, said he witnessed commotion from his upstairs window. He said: “I only saw it after the police arrived. “[I saw] lots of police cars. There was one car sitting in the middle of the road which was obviously where all the commotion was around.” A large police cordon was put in place along Portsmouth Road blocking vehicles and pedestrians from accessing the entrance of a BMW garage and the Crowne Plaza hotel, and forensic officers were working at the scene. A Home Office spokesperson said: “We take the welfare and safety of those in our care incredibly seriously. “We are aware of an incident in Surrey at a hotel housing Afghan refugees. “We are working closely with Surrey Police and partners on the ground to support the investigation and those affected by today’s events.” Both victims were rushed to hospital after the stabbings govt and politics","score":0.829047},{"label":"/society/crime/personal offense/homicide","score":0.738518},{"label":"/automotive and vehicles","score":0.733438},{"label":"/automotive and vehicles/cars","score":0.720297},{"label":"/automotive and vehicles/cars/car culture","score":0.717569},{"label":"/law govt and politics/law enforcement","score":0.678701},{"label":"/automotive and vehicles/auto parts","score":0.666456},{"label":"/automotive and vehicles/cars/performance vehicles","score":0.632843},{"label":"/automotive and vehicles/cars/hybrid","score":0.622924},{"label":"/law was batting at Long Ditton Cricket Club when he was struck in the chest News | UK The family of a talented young cricketer who died after being struck by a ball today told of their devastation as it emerged a team-mate desperately battled to save his life on the pitch was batting at Long Ditton Cricket Club in Surrey on Sunday when he was struck in the chest Fellow players told how the Sri-Lankan-born batsman initially gave a thumbs-up to indicate he was OK but then took a couple of steps behind the stumps and collapsed An air ambulance was scrambled but the cricketer later died of suspected heart failure who played for Manipay Parish Sports Club in the British Tamil League He had been working in an off licence near the Oval cricket ground to fund his studies Friends said he came to Britain around four years ago and hoped to become a nutritionist Speaking from the family home in Jaffna in Sri Lanka his brother Banugapan an engineering student told the Standard: “He was a wonderful boy He was a champion chess player as well as being an excellent cricket player and family person We would like to thank everyone for their kind condolences to my amazing and clever brother” dies of heart failure after being hit in chest by ball during Surrey match Video: Michael Clarke leads the tributes as Australia says farewell to Phillip Hughes see you out in the middle': Michael Clarke leads tributes at funeral of Phillip Hughes Mr Pathmanathan’s father died some time ago and he and his younger brother and older sister Barathy a bank worker were described by friends as a very close family.The cricketer’s childhood friend Gideon Satheesram described him as “one of the best people you could know” He added: “I have known him since the age of 10 and grew up in the same town and went to the same school He came here for the educational and work opportunities and wanted to stay When he joined the Tamil cricket club he was so excited and for it all to end like this is such a tragedy.” General secretary of the British Tamil cricket league Thusha Thushaarah said: “He was a humble very nice guy You would never see him sledging or bad mouthing the opposition like some He was great club player and will be sadly missed.” Surrey chief executive Richard Gould added: “Everyone at the club has been deeply saddened to learn of Bavalan’s death.” Australia batsman Phillip Hughes died two days after being struck on the top of the neck by a ball during a domestic match in Sydney A report by the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (Fica) found last month that cricketers are as much at risk from lightning strikes mental illness and terrorism as they are of being seriously injured by the ball Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Royals watch historic flypast as huge crowds turns out for VE Day 80th anniversary  Royals watch historic Red Arrows flypast for VE Day 80th anniversary Stacey Solomon 'regrets doing reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason Stacey Solomon 'regrets reality show with Joe Swash' for tough reason Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin • Bavalan Pathmanathan was playing for Manipay Parish Sports Club in Surrey• Manipay Parish: ‘Our club was totally shocked by his death at this young age’ A British Tamil batsman has died after being struck in the chest by a ball while playing in a residential suburb in Surrey over the weekend Bavalan Pathmanathan turned out for Manipay Parish Sports Club (UK) in division three of the British Tamil League on Sunday at Long Ditton recreation grounds A spokesman from South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed they had attended the ground at around 7pm to reports that a man in his 20s had been injured by a cricket ball striking his chest “We sent an ambulance and two cars to the scene along with an ambulance from the London Ambulance Service and the air ambulance also The man was treated at the scene and then taken to Kingston hospital in a life-threatening condition.” Pathmanathan was given CPR and treated by ambulance as well as air ambulance doctors but the 24-year-old subsequently died from his injuries A statement from Manipay Parish SC on their Facebook page said: “Our cricketer Bavalan Pathmanathan is no longer with us He was hit by the ball on his chest while batting Our club was totally shocked by his death at this young age.” The Surrey chief executive Richard Gould said: “Everyone at the club has been deeply saddened to learn of Bavalan’s death and would like to extend their sympathies to his family friends and everyone who knew him from within the community of cricket.” Batsmen’s safety on the field of play has been a topic of conversation in recent months following the death of former Australia international Phillip Hughes who was struck in the neck by a bouncer last November.