Category Archives: Surrey

Coroner warns about NHS physician associates after misdiagnosis and death of woman

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Pamela Marking, suffering severe stomach issues, diagnosed in hospital with nosebleed and sent home by PA

A coroner has issued a warning about the role of physician associates in NHS hospitals after a woman with severe abdominal problems was wrongly diagnosed as having a nosebleed and died four days later.

The family of Pamela Marking, 77, were under the mistaken impression she had been seen by a doctor when she was examined in an emergency department, rather than a physician associate (PA) with far less training.

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What are sinkholes, how are they formed and why did one appear in a Surrey street?

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Failed water main or mineshaft most likely culprits as hole opens up in the village of Godstone

Residents of Godstone in Surrey have been evacuated from their homes amid fears that two large sinkholes in their high street could trigger a gas explosion. Here we look at what causes sinkholes, whether they are becoming more common and what can be done to prevent them.

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Rick Buckler, drummer of The Jam, dies aged 69 after short illness

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The musician, along with band members Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton, had many hits in the 1970s and 1980s, including four UK No 1s

Rick Buckler, the drummer of the rock group The Jam, has died aged 69 after a short illness.

In a statement, his management company said Buckley “passed away peacefully on Monday evening in Woking after a short illness with family by his side”.

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‘We’re just terrified’: People evacuate homes after sinkhole appears on Surrey high street

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Water supply turned off in Godstone as 20-metre hole swallows up a garden

Villagers in Surrey have been forced to evacuate their homes over fears of an explosion after a large and expanding sinkhole appeared in the high street.

On Monday night, a sinkhole appeared on Godstone High Street. By Tuesday afternoon, it had grown to at least 20 metres, which led to water supplies being cut off and a garden being swallowed up.

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Watchdog to investigate two former figures at bankrupt Woking council

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Exclusive: Local authority in Surrey declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023 after series of risky investments

Two former senior figures at bankrupt Woking council are to be investigated by the UK’s accounting watchdog after it racked up more than £2bn in debt on a failed investment spree.

The Surrey council declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023 after ploughing vast sums of borrowed money into skyscrapers, a luxury hotel and other risky commercial investments, in what was one of the biggest financial failures in local government history.

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Sunbury-on-Thames sees biggest house price rise in UK in 2024

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Surrey town saw 12.5% increase in asking prices last year with rest of UK rising just 1.4%, according to Rightmove

It’s very name conjures images of warmth, and now Sunbury-on-Thames has been named as a property hotspot. According to listings website Rightmove, the Surrey town recorded the biggest rise in asking prices in Great Britain last year, registering a 12.5% leap in the average, from £527,005 to £592,976.

The town has long been popular with commuters, as it takes less than an hour to travel into London Waterloo station, and is close to the recently expanded Shepperton Studios, which now claims to be the second biggest film studio in the world.

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Surrey councillors ask ministers to ‘write off’ Woking’s £1bn debt

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Taxpayers asked to shoulder burden as beleaguered council expected to merge with neighbouring authorities

Taxpayers are being asked to shoulder £1bn in debt amassed by a bankrupt Surrey council that will be merged in the government’s plan for the biggest transfer of powers to England’s regions this century.

Posing a fresh financial headache for the government, councillors in Surrey have requested that ministers “write off” £1bn in debt held by troubled Woking borough council to enable a merger between the county’s 12 local authorities.

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Child in Surrey dies after being struck by a branch that fell from a tree

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The incident happened in Banstead and was attended by police, the fire brigade and the London ambulance service

A child has died after being struck by a branch that fell from a tree in Surrey.

Emergency services were called to Grove Place near the junction with Carshalton Road, Banstead, shortly after 4pm on Saturday, the Metropolitan police said.

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M25 weekend closure: drivers told to expect ‘incredibly busy’ routes

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Roadworks mean stretch between junctions 10 and 11 will be shut from 9pm on Friday to 6am on Monday

Drivers have been warned to expect delays this weekend as part of the M25 shuts down for the third time this year.

Major roads in the south-east will be “incredibly busy” this weekend as National Highways closes a section of London’s orbital motorway for roadworks in both directions between junctions 10 and 11 in Surrey from 9pm on Friday to 6am on Monday, the AA said.

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‘I hope he loses’: Jeremy Hunt facing uphill battle in Godalming as voters long for change

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Many describe Hunt as a good local MP but some are looking to tactical voting to punish the Conservatives

The beautiful Surrey Hills are well known for two things: a high concentration of some of the UK’s richest residents, who commute from the “stockbroker belt” to well-paying jobs in London, and some of the country’s most popular cycling routes.

The two combined on a recent chilly Saturday morning in a 100km bike ride that passed through the picturesque lanes of the newly created Godalming and Ash constituency. Most of the 10 riders from Velo Club Godalming Haslemere were happy to chat politics as they pedalled up (and down) 1,168 metres of the county’s steepest hills on customised carbon-fibre racing bikes, some of which cost more than a family car.

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Surrey police face criticism after using car to ram escaped cow

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Home secretary demands ‘urgent explanation’ over ‘heavy-handed’ attempt to capture wandering animal

The home secretary has asked Surrey police to provide a “full, urgent explanation” after footage showed officers using a car to ram an escaped cow.

James Cleverly made the comments after footage posted online showed officers ramming the cow twice with their police car, while an onlooker is heard shouting: “What are you doing that for?”

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Artificial cornea implant saves sight of man, 91, in NHS first

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Cecil Farley says implant, which could become standard treatment, means he can still see his wife of 63 years

A 91-year-old man who became the first patient in England to have his sight saved by an artificial layer in his cornea has praised the procedure for allowing him to still see his wife.

Cecil Farley, from Chobham in Surrey, had problems with his right eye for about 15 years before losing his vision. He required a cornea transplant to save his sight but his previous surgery – a graft with a human cornea – failed and doctors warned the next might too. And the shortage of human corneas from deceased donors meant Farley faced a year-long wait.

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M25 reopens ahead of schedule

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A five-mile stretch of the London orbital motorway had been closed since Friday night to demolish a bridge

The M25 in Surrey reopened eight hours ahead of schedule on Sunday after the first planned daytime closure of the motorway.

The five-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 had been closed in both directions at 9pm on Friday and was scheduled to remain inaccessible until 5.30am, in order to demolish a bridge and install “a huge gantry”.

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‘Glimmer of hope’ for local news as Surrey publication given charitable status

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Guildford Dragon will be able to benefit from tax breaks after becoming UK’s first charitable public interest news provider

A local news website conceived over a pint and named after a mythical creature has become the first in the UK to be given charitable status, providing a “glimmer of hope” to the future of local journalism.

The Guildford Dragon has become the UK’s first charitable public interest news provider after a six-month application process that experts hope will provide a lifeline to the decimated local news industry.

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‘I’ve seen solid waste float by’: Surrey riverside residents try to Stop the Poo

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The sewage treatment works at Horley seem to be crumbling, much like owner Thames Water itself

The brochure boasts of a family-friendly community located in tranquil green space within easy reach of high-speed links to London.

However, the residents of a new development of 1,500 homes in Horley, Surrey, have recently set up a WhatsApp group, whose title illustrates a less attractive feature of the community: Stop the Poo.

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Thousands without water after Storm Ciarán disrupts Surrey treatment works

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Thames Water has provided bottled water to people in Guildford, Godalming and surrounding areas

Thousands of people have been left without water after Storm Ciarán caused problems at a treatment works in Surrey, Thames Water has said.

A major incident was declared as at least 13,500 homes in Guildford, Godalming and the surrounding areas were left without water or with low pressure by 2.50pm on Sunday, while a further 6,500 were expected to lose supply later in the day.

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