Street lights in Surrey are to be turned back on for an extra hour overnight just a year after the council decided to switch them off.

Since last December, more than 30,000 lights have been switched off for five hours each night to help fund multi-million pound budget savings.

Surrey County Council said they would now be left on for an hour longer, until 1am rather than midnight, beginning tomorrow (Thursday 23 Nov).

It said the decision was taken after listening to residents’ concerns.

They are able to do this because the savings from turning off the lights in the early hours of the morning are likely to be higher than anticipated.

Looking ahead, the council was also considering using LED lights because the savings they offer could outweigh the cost of installing them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-42038325

A woman from Reigate faces a bill of over two and a half thousand pounds after she left a bag of rubbish in a recycling bin in Woodhatch.

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council issued Ms Hien Nguyen with an £80 fine after identifying her from her refuse which the council had found in a recycling bin.

As Ms Nguyen did not pay the initial fine, the council took her to court where magistrates issued a fine, together with added costs and a victim surcharge, making the total over two and a half thousand pounds.

When wrong materials are put in recycling containers, the council risks having the entire contents refused for recycling, meaning that it will be sent to landfill instead.

Burns specialists at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead have seen an increase in the number of children being admitted to its burns unit with scalds from accidents around the home, all of which are preventable.

Today (Wed 18 October) it’s national burn awareness day, and the hospital’s experts want to remind people of the importance of prevention and also effective first aid if you’re first at the scene.

Half of the children admitted to the paediatric burns unit at the hospital in the last year were treated for scalds, the majority of which occurred in the child’s own home. Many of them were under 2.

Tea and coffee scalds were the main cause.

The hospital is supporting the British Burns Association’s ‘cool, call and cover’ first aid guidance:

• Cool the burn with running cool tap water for 20 minutes and remove all clothing and any jewellery
• Call for help – 999, 111 or your local GP for advice
• Cover with cling film while transferring to a hospital/GP surgery. The hospital/GP should apply a sterile dressing. Cling film should not be left on a burn for more than a few hours and only while wounds are being assessed by health professionals.

For more information please contact the QVH Press Office on 01342 414508.

More than 30 Gatwick Express train services between London and the airport are being cancelled daily because of the possibility of leaves on the line.

The company said it was “inline with the rest of the industry”. But Southern and Thameslink who run on the same track, is making no changes its services.

The 33 cancellations affect weekday services between 05:30 and 22:30 and will be in force until 8 December.

There are also no overnight trains during the period.

On its website, the company said that the changes would help to reduce congestion and reactionary delays to Gatwick Express and other services on the Brighton Mainline.

Southern and Thameslink services will continue to run throughout the night.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-41606531