Photo above credit:  Royal Marsden Cancer Charity

A couple from Redhill have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List. 

Vicki and James Woodall were awarded MBEs after helping to raise more than £2,000,000 for the Royal Marsden Hospital with their Giant Pledge to Help Beat Childhood Cancer campaign. 

Their fundraising began when their son George was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the age of 4, to raise awareness and support other children and families going through the same thing.  George is now 11 and cancer-free.

Mr and Mrs Woodall’s campaign has supported a range of paediatric posts and research work through the Royal Marsden Cancer charity. 

Speaking on Susy Radio just after her son’s diagnosis in 2017, Vicki Woodall shared her motivation for the campaign.

Photo below:  Vicki Woodall in 2017 at the Susy Radio studios.

Photos credit:  The Belfry Shopping Centre

Marks and Spencer has confirmed that it will close its branch in the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill. 

Staff at the store were given the news on Tuesday morning, six weeks after M&S started a consultation with its Redhill staff.  The last day of trading for the Redhill branch will be Saturday 17th August.  Staff were advised that their roles will either be terminated or relocated by 31st August. 

In October 2022, M&S announced it was restructuring its business to focus on its food-only stores as part of a plan to close over 100 sites. 

Manager of the Belfry Shopping Centre, Andy Nash wished all M&S staff well and thanked them for being part of the Belfry’s history. The store has been located in the Centre for 33 years. 

Earlier in the year Marks and Spencer announced the closure of its Crawley store located at Queensway.

Photos credit:  Surrey Fire and Rescue Service

Fire crews remained on the site of a fire in a barn at Norwood Hill Road in Charlwood for four days, after it broke out in the early hours of Thursday morning. 

Initially several fire pumps including the aerial ladder platform and two water carriers attended the scene. 

The fire was in a commercial storage unit containing composite decking which was plastic-based and waterproof.  Surrey Fire and Rescue Service removed and extinguished the damaged contents of the barn on Saturday evening and remained on site for a further three hours to monitor the scene using thermal imaging cameras. 

The cause of the fire is unknown.