Isle of Wight News- #IW NEWS Isle of Wight Gazette

Seriously ill Man Transferred

A 79 year old was transferred by Coastguard Helicopter 104 from St Mary’s hospital this evening after his condition worsened.

A request was made by the islands ambulance services for a medivac with nursing staff to move the OAP.

Hampshire police gave the Ambulance a blue light escort to Southampton General Hospital just after 10pm tonight(Wednesday).

The man has been transferred to the Neuo Unit at Southampton General where his condition is said to be stable.

Independent lifeboat Ryde inshore rescue was called out to a kite surfer in difficulty tonight (Wednesday)

At about 5:20 p.m., a man was reported to be in the water and had ran into difficulty, according to Coxswain Nick White.

Using the independent life boat tractor unit Ryde Tango. Coxswain Nick with the help of the kite surfers friend helped to recover the man and his equipment.

A guest house owner in Sandown has told how he dialled 999 after recognising the pub landlord hunted by police after his fiancee’s body was found in a freezer.

Mike Tucker, 49, vanished as his staff at the Compasses Inn in Snettisham, Norfolk reported landlady Becky Thorpe, 28, missing. Police found her dead at 1pm on Tuesday when they searched the freezer in the pub’s outhouse. Tucker, meanwhile, had caught a ferry to the Island t and checked in just after 11am at the £30-a-night Bernay Hotel in Sandown, a two minute walk from the beach. He told owners Geoff and Jeanette Avison that he had stayed at their B & B years ago and was now looking to buy property on the island.

By 9pm, police had realised that Tucker was on the island and officers and a coastguard team were scouring clifftops and the beach in the Shanklin and Sandown areas. Inspector Martin Gilholm confirmed at the time that officers were searching for a “high risk, vulnerable missing person”. The hunt ended when Mr Avison recognised Tucker from a missing person description released by police. He was arrested on suspicion of murder at 10pm at the B & B. Mr Avison said: “The man turned up and checked in on Tuesday night. “He was no different to any other guest as far as we were aware. “My wife and I went out shopping and on our return we found a call from the police saying they were looking for a missing person. “It gave a description and I recognised our guest from it. “I called the police and told them that I thought he might be here and they turned up and took him away.”

His wife Jeanette said: “He arrived at 11am without a car and paid £30 in cash. “He said he was here on business looking to buy a property on the island. “He said that he had stayed with us 12 years earlier. “He was just a run-of-the-mill guest. He was not scruffy and his demeanour was nothing out of the ordinary. “My husband showed him to the room. “When he was arrested, the police searched the room and it was still made up. “They sealed off the room and we had to move all the other guests out of their rooms. “It is normally lovely and quiet here and I am shocked by what has happened. I just want to forget all about it.” Police were waiting for Miss Thorpe’s body to defrost before pathologists could establish a cause of death. Tucker was today being brought back to Norfolk for questioning.

The fate of military road took a dramatic u-turn this evening on the eleventh hour at the IW council cabinet meeting.

Council members were due to vote on the future of the crumbling military road but it was delayed after representation from Jill Warehan, Lib Dem prospective candidate explaining that she knew an expert who would be willing to help.

Cllr Edward Giles explained at the meeting that he believed further consultation period was needed to explore all options with prospective land owners.

Councillor Chris Welsford said “thank you for reconsidering and asked if Ventnor ward could be considered when the new talk takes place

Full story in this weeks IW Gazette Newspaper, Out Friday!

An MP has admitted “a bit of a boob” after mistakenly sending a letter to Lord Mandelson referring to him as “Mr Mandelweasel”.

Andrew Turner, Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight, wrote to the Business Secretary on official House of Commons headed paper. The letter, sent by Mr Turner’s office in his name, highlighted a constituent’s concerns about proposals for the Digital Economy Bill.

In his original complaint to Mr Turner, the constituent had branded the Labour peer “Herr Dictator Mandelweasel”.

Mr Turner’s office then inadvertently repeated the insulting Mandelweasel nickname.

The MP’s official correspondence stated: “Please find enclosed a letter from Mr [constituent’s surname] who is concerned about the ramifications of Mr Mandelweasel’s 3 strikes and disconnect policy.”

The complaint refers to proposals which could mean that users illegally sharing copyrighted files would receive three warnings before having their internet access terminated.

Business minister Stephen Timms wrote a three page reply to Mr Turner on Lord Mandelson’s behalf – and made no reference to the insult.

In a statement, Mr Turner said:

“We all make mistakes sometimes. This is obviously a bit of a boob - and I hold my hands up. Interestingly, Steve Timms, the minister who answered the letter, appears not to have noticed our error. He certainly didn’t mention it in his three page response. I know that Lord Mandelson has been called much worse in the past!”

Mr Turner’s letter, which was not signed by him, was sent in November last year but the gaffe has only just come to light. His office was today blaming a temporary worker for the embarrassing blunder.

A Department for Business Innovation and Skills spokesperson said:

“The Government is determined to support our creative industries, in particular by dealing with the problem of unlawful filesharing. The Digital Economy Bill contains proposals to tackle this problem.

“Lord Mandelson and his ministerial team are concentrating on this important issue and others facing our digital economy.

“Weasels are beyond his remit, for now at least!”

Welcome to the photo gallery from the Chine marching band parade

Photos galleries are updated weekly, you can buy copies, email photos to your friends and even rate them.

You even have the facility to create your own albums and invite your friends to come and check them out.

Click here to enter the gallery

Welcome to the photo gallery from the media band awards hosted at the Riverside Centre

Photo galleries are updated weekly, you can buy copies, email photos to your friends and even rate them.

You even have the facility to create your own albums and invite your friends to come and check them out.

Click here to enter the gallery

THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY and IW Council have issued a flood watch for the Cowes area because of a high tide later tonight and strong winds.

Flooding is expected of low-lying land and roads, with high tide at 0012 and winds predicted to be a south westerly Force 8. The flood watch warning is in force for two hours after high tide.

Residents and businesses are advised to take appropriate flood precautions.

Anyone requiring further information or help should contact the council’s out of hours control centre on (01983) 525121

The IW Gazette can reveal a 15 year old boy has been arrested on suspicion of assault inflicting actual bodily harm following a stabbing in a classroom.

The incident happened at Sandown High School and police were called to the school around 10:40 this morning.

The injured victim, a 14 year old from the school was taken to St Mary Hospital suffering from a small chest wound. He was treated and has since been released.

UPDATE - 31st March

Following on from the arrest of the 15 year old boy at Sandown High School the Gazette can now reveal that the injured boy was treated at St Mary’s hospital for an open wound to his chest and was given two stitches after being struck by a chisel in a wood working lesson. Two police cars and an ambulance turned up at the school yesterday.

It’s also believed that the 15 year old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons was also in possession of cannabis when arrested.

Full story in this weeks IW Gazette Newspaper | Out Friday

Newport picked up three welcome points in their Sydenhams Wessex League Premier Division match against Laverstock at St Georges Park.

The Island side needed a morale-booster after an indifferent spell and ran out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from Tom McInnes, Darren Powell and Matt Evans.

Having completed his suspension, Gary Streeter returned in goal for Port and soon found himself picking the ball out of his net. But the Laverstock effort was ruled out for handball. Laverstock continued to dominate and Streeter did well to keep the scores level before the home side took the lead just before the break.

A James Butt free kick was headed back inside by Adam Howarth for McInnes to score from close range. Then a Butt was cleared off the line.

Newport doubled their lead on 62 minutes when Powell netted from 10 yards, but 10 minutes later Laverstock pulled one back when Danny Young raced down the right and crossed for Eddie Perrett to beat Streeter.

Newport’s restored their two-goal advantage 10 minutes from time when a long throw from Ross Gregory enabled Evans to score with a spectacular volley.

Brading Town lost 1-0 to Bournemouth Poppies, with the visitors scoring midway through the opening half. Brading thought they had sneaked a point late on, but had an effort ruled out.

Cowes Sports went down 2-1 to Bemerton Heath Harlequins who scored a last-minute penalty, while in Division One, two first-half strikes from John McKie gave East Cowes Vics a 2-0 home win over Verwood Town.

The Wightlink Raiders took on Chelemford

The IW Gazette photographers were at the match and snapped some great pictures

Photos are updated weekly, you can buy copies, email photos to your friends and even rate them.

You even have the facility to create your own albums and invite your friends to come and check them out.

Click here to view the gallery

The Wightlink Raiders ice hockey heroes pulled off a magnificent winning double over Cardiff Devils, the team hotly tipped by many to go all the way in this year’s playoffs.

A large, noisy crowd descended upon Ryde Arena full of high hopes for the Island side, however few could have anticipated just how well the Raiders would suit playoff hockey.

Alex Murray opened the scoring with a neat goal early in the first period, after a well controlled feed from new line mate Kevin Tanner and head coach Jeremy Cornish.

The lead stood for five minutes before Cardiff slotted home a power play goal. But Andrew

Robinson’s relentless enthusiasm paid off in the final minutes of the period to give the Raiders the lead heading into the first interval with an excellently timed effort assisted by eventual man of the match James Udell.

Two goals for Cornish and the second of the night for fans’ favourite Robinson ensured the Island side maintained the lead after 40 minutes of play the score stood at 5-3.

The next goal was scored by Raiders as new-found forward Kevin Tanner hit the back of the net on a play from Alex Murray. Cornish completed his hat trick 25 seconds later with assists coming from Niall Bound and Kevin Tanner to close the Raiders account for the evening.

Two late goals for Cardiff inside the last three minutes of play saw Raiders fans on the edge of their seats as the final seconds counted down, but Raiders bagged an impressive 7-5 scoreline.

Full of confidence from the night before the Raiders pulled off another top class performance as they secured their second win of the weekend and became the first team to beat Cardiff in

their own barn all season.

Goals from Damon Larter, James Udell, Kevin Tanner and Jeremy Cornish put the Raiders on the right side of the 4-1 score line after three periods of play, and ensure the full four points for their weekend’s efforts, giving the team the best possible start to their first playoff campaign in recent years.

The Easter weekend gives the Raiders a much deserved break, before the team return to action and hope to continue their good form as they play host to the Chelmsford Chieftains on Saturday April 10 before the team head to Essex the following day for the last game of the group stage.

Waterlogged conditions caused the postponement of the Isle of Wight Grand National and Ashey Scurry, which was due to be staged at Ashey Farm, Ryde last Sunday,

The event will now take place on Sunday April 18. Event chairman Susie Sheldon said a downpour the previous day flooded the course and forced organisers to call it off for three weeks..

A unique training pontoon facility for all users of the River Medina in Cowes, has been inaugurated by the RYA?s International training manager, James Stevens.

Welcoming guests to the ceremony at the 11-metre pontoon on the Folly Reach, Cowes Harbour Commissioner, Captain Peter Jackson, explained that every boat owner needed at some stage to acquire essential boat handling skills such as berthing. He explained that during the peak summer months in Cowes this was akin to trying to learn to fly at Heathrow Airport!

Ben Willows, Operations Manager at the UKSA, who contributed to the venture, welcomed the initiative on behalf of the numerous South Coast sailing schools who sometimes struggle to find space for training.

David Walters, Chairman of the Cowes Harbour Advisory Committee, said the new pontoon would significantly reduce the chance of conflict between river users and occasional damage to moored boats.

Mr. Stevens congratulated Cowes Harbour Commission on providing what he believed to be a unique facility in the world. He went on to say that the RYA very much welcomed the initiative as it encouraged all boat owners to improve their berthing skills and enhance safety by training family and other crew members to handle their boat properly in case of emergency.

Cowes is a favourite destination for many South Coast yachtsmen and in particular the large number of sail training organisations visiting from Poole, Hamble, Portsmouth and further afield. Cowes Harbour Commission has now taken positive steps to ensure that all yachtsmen have somewhere to acquire these essential skills, and that inconvenience and disruption to other river users is minimised.

The IW Thunder under 16 ice hockey team faced a tougher Oxford side than they beat 7-0 just two weeks earlier, but still ran out convincing 6-2 winners.

They soon got into their stride and scored the first goal as two of the Under 14 players combined, Sean Molloy netting after good work from Alexander Trendall.

The second period was far better from the hosts and their dominance paid off when Trendall scored, assisted by Aidan Doughty and Aaron Craft. The turning point of the game came midway through the period when two goals within 30 seconds were scored by Doughty, with one of the goals assisted by livewire Archie Bicknell.

Oxford scored their first goal after a couple of minutes of ill discipline from the Thunder. However, the hosts did have the final say in the period when Doughty scored after a strong assist from captain Luke Bontoft.

The third period enabled all the lines to get plenty of ice time and also back up netminder Hannah Bowkis to step between the pipes. As in so many games this season the lesser experienced players really made the most of their ice time and caused Oxford all sorts of problems.

Liam Denness and Daniel Bennett probed away at the Oxford defence along with Ben Thomas-Hart. Cheri Price also iced for the first time in a good number of months after an operation and certainly didn’t look at all rusty.

The pressure certainly paid off and with just three minutes to go the Thunder scored the last goal of the game with the Doughty-Bicknell combination doing the damage.

The defensive quartet of Andrew McCloskey, Dylan Ronald, Archie Bicknell and Luke Bontoft were once again the backbone of the result backed up admirably by Bowkis and Powell in goal.

Man of the match: Alexander Trendall. Spirit of the game: Joss Osman

Island authorities have been told they will receive nearly £275,000 from Government funding to help repair the potholes caused by the harsh winter conditions.

Repairs have already been taking place across the Island, but the funding is not expected to meet the full cost of replacing tarmac which was badly damaged by severe frost and snow.

The Wight Diamonds Marching Band (WDMB) and the Wellingborough Music & Arts Centre Bands (WMAC) will be joining forces to play at a number of events on the Island over the Easter Weekend..

The WMAC will have around 70 playing members from their Festival Band. They are an award winning concert band, who recently took part in the National Festival of Music For Youth Competition.

They on tour to the Island for the first time in several years and are a very talented band of young people led and conducted by Ruth Allen. They have a very broad range of playing styles that include film music, popular classics, marches, theme tunes and even some jazz numbers.

So the Wight Diamonds Marching Band are naturally delighted to have the opportunity to play with this level of Concert Band.

The playing itinery for the weekend is:

Saturday 3rd April: WMAC - East Dene Fun Day, Bonchurch 12.00 - 1.00pm. WDMB & WMAC - Havenstreet Steam Railway Easter Fun Day, 2.30 - 4.00pm

Sunday 4th April: WMAC - Blackgang Chine 12.30 - 1.30pm. WDMB & WMAC CONCERT, Rylstone Gardens, Luccombe, 3.00pm

A shop owner is set to be the first person to stand trial in Britain on charges of selling a ‘legal high’ party drug.

Martin Smith is accused of supplying mind-bending ‘Space E’, a type of plant food that can contain killer drug mephedrone - nicknamed ‘meow meow’.

Police forces nationwide looking for a way of tackling the sale of legal high substances, ahead of any changes to drug laws, are keeping a close eye on the landmark prosecution.

Smith, 49, runs two stores called Spaced Inc in Ryde and Newport on the Isle of Wight.

They claim to be “the island’s number one headshop” offering “herbal highs”, “head candy” and mind music”.

He appeared before Newport magistrates this week facing three counts in a joint prosecution brought by Hampshire Police and the Isle of Wight Council Trading Standards Service.

Smith, of Newport, was charged with two offences under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.

It is said that in July last year he, as a trader in a commercial practice, produced a product not safe for the market.

The third charge under the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 alleges that Smith sold ‘Space E’ carrying the wording “manufactured in the EU” when it was, in fact, imported by him after manufacture in China.

Smith pleaded not guilty to all three charges and will stand trial at Newport Crown Court later this year after being bailed.

The Military Road could be allowed to fall into the sea rather than spend £8million trying to save it.

The IW Council Cabinet will meet on Tuesday to further discuss the erosion that is threatening to close the route from Niton to Freshwater.

The Cabinet are set to recommend that ‘when the road becomes unsafe traffic is diverted away from the area onto alternative roads such as the A3054, Newport to West Wight road and B3401 “middle road” Newport to West Wight route. Any remaining local traffic would be diverted inland and onto the middle road from junctions at Chale, Brighstone, Brook and Freshwater Bay.’

A major scheme to save the road could cost up to £8million, but Jill Wareham, Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for the Island, has expressed he concerns at the Council’s ‘lack of consultation’ over the state of the road.

She is also surprised that the fate of the Military Road is in the hands of seven Councillors. She said: “I am astonished that the fate of a major road will be determined by a Cabinet of seven people. Transport Councillor, Edward Giles is recommending to his six Conservative Cabinet colleagues that the council shut the road at Brook when it becomes unsafe.

“This Tory-run Council again shows its arrogance by its complete lack of consultation. The Council identifies ‘Parish Councils, Key stakeholders, Public’ as consultees. There have been no public meetings or engagement with the public. The only Parish Council consulted was Brighstone who put forward very strong views in keeping this vital route open. The lack of importance that the Tories put on this matter is highlighted by the fact that it is agenda item 8 after five major items.

“The Military Road is one of only six ‘A’ Roads on the Island - it is a major strategic road. “The impact on tourism and businesses in the South and West Wight will be massive.

“Rerouted traffic will have a major impact on the villages of Brooks, Hulverstone, Mottistone and Brighstone. Newport town centre and Whitepit Lane will also bear the brunt of misplaced traffic.

“We are told there is an extra £40m in the PFI scheme, some of this money could be used to reroute the road? I cannot believe the Conservative administration can take this issue so lightly – how can a major road be closed without a full debate on the issues and impact?”

Cllr Edward Giles, IW Council cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “As an Islander myself, I am well aware of the iconic nature of this route and the affection held for it by residents and visitors alike.

“This is indeed a difficult decision and it would be very sad to see this stretch of the Military Road closed but, in all the circumstances, it is a decision we must take with our heads and not our hearts.

“It is very unlikely Government would fund a scheme that did not have employment or housing benefits, there are likely to be objections from statutory bodies that would need to be overcome, parliamentary procedures may be involved and any new road would still be subject to the same processes of rapid erosion that have damaged the current highway.

“It is not a question of us not having the will to preserve the Military Road, it is a case of there not appearing to be a realistic way in which we can.

“While closure seems to be the only option, there remains the opportunity to maintain pedestrian, equine and cycle access along this stretch as well as to create viewpoints and picnic areas which will offer amenity areas from which both residents and visitors can continue to enjoy the stunning landscape.”

Welcome to the ploughing match photo gallery from Mottistone Farm

Photos are updated weekly, you can buy copies, email photos to your friends and even rate them.

You even have the facility to create your own albums and invite your friends to come and check them out.

Click here to enter the gallery