The Chancellor, George Osborne announced on Wednesday in his autumn statement that he is awarding £1.5 million to the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance.

Additionally, Mr Osborne is planning to exempt the charity from VAT.

Crawley MP Henry Smith commented on how delighted he was that the Chancellor has acted in the interest of this important local charity.

The Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance became the first in the country to operate a 24 hours Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) last September.

It celebrates it’s 25th anniversary next year

A tree of a different kind is featuring outside Crawley Library to celebrate Christmas this year – and West Sussex County Council have asked local school kids to design the star that will sit at the top of it.

The tree’s made from 600 plastic bottles and it’s been built by a team of artists to raise awareness of plastic waste.

It’s been made to support Pledge 4 Plastics – a campaign that aims to encourage households to recycle one additional plastic bottle each week.

All primary schools in Sussex have been invited to design the star which will crown the tree.

The official switch on will take place on next Wednesday (10 December 2014) from 5.30pm, with the winning school in attendance.

An appeal for information has been launched following a fire in Horsham.

Fire crews were called to Crawley Road shortly after 6 o’clock the evening of 23rd November.  A blaze had broken out in a flat above Horsham Car Centre.

It is believed the fire was started deliberately in a bin in the hallway.

No-one was injured.

Enquiries continue into the whereabouts of jewellery stolen from a property in Smallfield.

The items, which are of huge sentimental value to the rightful owners, were taken during a burglary on 6th November.

Anyone who has seen the jewellery or been offered it for sale is asked to contact Surrey Police on 101 quoting reference 45140093938. Information can be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Crawley has picked up another prestigious award.

The town earned a silver award for its clean streets.

Judges from the 2014 Clean Britain Awards made unannounced visits to random locations across Crawley in the Summer and assessed the streets against four key criteria:

• Litter
• Aesthetics
• Waste Issues
• Highways

Crawley featured in the small local authority category at the awards on 26th November.

If you want to report litter and fly-tipping, you can use Crawley Borough Council’s online form and interactive map. Visit www.crawley.gov.uk/litter to find out more or report a problem.