A mother from East Grinstead claimed her family is being “penalised” by West Sussex County Council, as her autistic son has not been offered a place at a suitable school.

5-year-old, Max had to stay in nursery for an extra term, but can only remain there for one more term before he must start school.

His parents, Nirvana and Stevie claimed one of them will have to quit their job if Max is not offered a place at a specialist primary school by December.

West Sussex County Council said it was experiencing “significant pressure and demand” but had been “working closely with parents and nurseries” to address challenges.

A volunteer youth worker has been jailed for publishing hundreds of indecent images of children on social media.

Perry Cornish posted explicit content from his computer while at his home address and also while at a youth centre in West Sussex. We have chosen not to disclose the name or location of the centre for safeguarding reasons.

Police became aware of his offending after it was reported by X (formerly Twitter) in December 2021 and January 2022.

The 23-year-old, of Dower Walk, Crawley, was subsequently arrested and a number of his electronic devices were seized. Analysis revealed the children in the images were aged between four and 17 years of age.

He was charged with the following offences:

• Making 86 Category A indecent images of a child;
• Making 56 Category B indecent images of a child;
• Making 21 Category C indecent images of a child;
• Distributing a Category A indecent image of a child;
• Distributing a Category C indecent image of a child.

While the case was going through the judicial process, police received a further report relating to Cornish in April 2024.

He had used an online platform to engage in conversation with users he believed to be under the age of 16 – but the users were in fact undercover police officers.

He was further arrested and charged with the following offences:

• Two counts of intentionally attempting to communicate with a girl who he did not reasonably believe to be 16 or over, and encouraging them to make a sexual communication, for the purpose of sexual gratification;
• Two counts of intentionally attempting to communicate with a girl who he did not reasonably believe to be 13 or over, and encouraging them to watch or look at an image of sexual activity, for the purpose of sexual gratification;
• Intentionally attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child who he did not reasonably believe to be 13 or over, for the purpose of sexual gratification;
• Making two Category A indecent images of a child;
• Making nine Category B indecent images of a child;
• Making 240 Category C indecent images of a child.

Due to the overwhelming evidence presented to him, Cornish pleaded guilty to all offences.

At Lewes Crown Court on 30 September, he was sentenced to a total of 32 months’ imprisonment and given a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Investigating officer, Detectives Sergeant David Rose, said: “This case demonstrates that we continue to take offences of this nature extremely seriously, and anyone found guilty of committing such offences can expect to be dealt with robustly.

“While there is nothing to suggest any of the children in the images were known or connected to the defendant in any way, the content is deeply distressing.

“We would always encourage anyone who is a victim of a sexual offence, or anyone who knows of someone who is at risk, to contact us. Know that your voice will be heard.”

An analysis by the BBC has showed Surrey County Council is facing a black hole of nearly £152 million pounds over the next two financial years.

Surrey is also among 10 local authorities in England set to make the most savings in the 2024-25 financial year.

Rising costs on services such as road repairs, and adult social care are putting a financial strain on the council who are looking to save just under £54 million pounds.

Conservative Surrey County Council leader, Tim Oliver, says he is “realistic that there isn’t going to be a magic money tree” and that local government will not get “significant sums”.

Local government minister Jim McMahon says the government will work “hand-in-hand with councils by moving towards multi-year funding settlements to provide long-term stability.

Due to continuing high levels of fly tipping at The Mound car park, Tattenham Corner, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council will be closing its recycling site at this location permanently on 17 October.

All collection bins will be removed from the site, except for the four clothes banks, and additional car parking spaces will be created.

The borough’s recycling sites can attract large quantities of non-recyclable rubbish, which is fly tipping, and a quarter of all reported fly tipping incidents in the last year have been from the Tattenham Corner site next to The Mound car park. The Council’s cleansing team is removing the equivalent of 300 transit vans full of dumped waste from the area annually.

To deter fly tippers, the Council has used mobile CCTV and has issued 16 fixed penalty notices for fly tipping and 12 for littering at this site since January. Updated signage installed in March 2024 informed visitors to the site that ongoing misuse could lead to the facility being closed without further notice.

However, the number of fly tipping cases has not reduced and continues to include commercial and trade waste, as well as non-recyclable household rubbish continues to be dumped. The Council estimates around 70% of the dumped waste is made up of items that cannot be recycled, which contaminates the recyclable waste that people are disposing of responsibly.

As a result, the Tattenham Corner recycling site, which is on Royal Drive, will close permanently on Thursday 17 October. The Mound car park will close for one day on 21 October to allow for the creation of additional car parking spaces.

Cllr Hannah Avery, Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services says: “When fly tipping at one of our recycling sites blights the local area and prevents us from recycling all the waste that we can, it is doing more harm than good. It reduces the environmental benefits, increases the financial costs of waste disposal and takes our Cleansing team away from other work to keep the borough clean.

“I want to thank the majority of residents who are recycling their waste responsibly and especially those that are going the extra mile to arrange local clean ups.

“I want it to be easy for Reigate & Banstead residents to recycle as much of their household waste as possible, but I also want them to be confident that their recycling gets recycled properly and has a positive environmental impact.”

The Council originally established its network of recycling sites for those residents who may not have access to its full household recycling service. However, with the rollout of the flats recycling service, all residents in the local area can now recycle all the items being collected at the Tattenham Corner recycling site from home (with the exception of textiles).

Local residents with additional recycling can use the nearby recycling site at Asda in Burgh Heath or visit Surrey County Council’s Community Recycling Centre at Epsom just over three miles away.

All householders, businesses and charities must make sure their rubbish is disposed of properly, or risk prosecution or a £400 fixed penalty notice. People can check whether a waste collector is properly licensed by visiting www.gov.uk/find-registered-waste-carrier.

To report a fly tip to the Council, visit www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/report-it.

Photo credit:  Reigate and Banstead Borough Council.  Photo shows Councillor Richard Biggs with Jonathan Lees, Good Company Managing Director at the Banstead Pantry launch event.

A community initiative in Banstead that offers affordable, healthy food has celebrated its opening with a launch event. 

The Banstead Pantry is part of the national Your Local Pantry network and has been jointly funded by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, Good Company, and Raven Housing Trust together with some government funding.

Residents can apply to be members of the Pantry or referrals can be made by partners such as the Council and local food banks.  Membership is not means tested but aims to support those who may be struggling with the cost of living.  It also serves as a community hub offering workshops and social activities. 

The initiative already has a team of 20 volunteers and over 70 households currently holding membership.