Sussex weekly round-up: 13 April - 19 April 2024
Russell Cook crossed the finish line in Tunisia on 7 April after 352 days
- Published
The story about Russell "Hardest Geezer" Cook, the man who ran the length of Africa, announcing his next challenge will be running the London Marathon proved a popular read this week.
A variety of local issues featured on the BBC News website, BBC Radio Sussex and BBC South East Today.
We have picked five stories from the past week in case you missed them.
Concerns over plans to downgrade Eastbourne tennis tournament
Madison Keys won the competition in 2023
Concerns have been raised in Eastbourne after it emerged the town's tennis tournament could be downgraded.
If plans are approved, the Eastbourne International would still go ahead but only three top-30 players could play.
The downgrade would be a result of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and the All England Club achieving their aim of staging a women's tournament at Queen's in London in the first week of the grass court season from 2025.
Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce chief executive Christina Ewbank said the impact on the local economy could be "huge".
Police apology over 1986 schoolgirls murder case
Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows (right) were killed in Wild Park, Brighton, in 1986
The families of two schoolgirls murdered in 1986 have received an apology from Sussex Police over mistakes in its investigations.
Russell Bishop killed nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in a woodland den in Brighton.
In 1987, he was cleared of their murders, but went on to kidnap another girl, leaving her for dead.
Bishop was convicted of the murders in 2018 after double-jeopardy laws were changed, permitting a second trial.
No stopping rules introduced on Brighton roads
The A23 that runs alongside Preston Park is among the Red Routes
Red Routes are now enforceable on certain roads in Brighton, meaning vehicles cannot stop on them apart from in designated bays.
Restrictions came into force on London Road, Preston Road and Lewes Road seven days a week on Monday.
On its website, Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) said the Red Routes would help "tackle anti-social parking and to keep traffic in the city moving".
Roads are marked with double red lines, instead of double yellow lines, and fines can be issued to road users who break the restrictions.
Longstanding Tory MP Tim Loughton to stand down at election
Tim Loughton has announced he will not be seeking re-election
A Conservative MP has announced he will not stand at the next general election after more than 27 years in Parliament.
Tim Loughton has represented the East Worthing & Shoreham constituency since 1997 and has won seven general elections.
The veteran backbencher, who served as deputy chairman on the Home Affairs Select Committee, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, announcing the news, saying it was “wiser to leave five minutes too soon than to continue for five years too long".
He is the latest Tory MP to announce that they will not be seeking re-election in the next election.
Girl, 13, makes crisp packet blankets for homeless
Savana made seven blankets as part of a Duke of Edinburgh volunteering scheme
A 13-year-old who has made survival blankets for homeless people using crisp packets has said she did it to "make a difference close to home".
Savana, from Hastings in East Sussex, has made seven blankets, each from roughly 56 crisp packets, to fulfIl the volunteering requirements for her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.
The blankets were for the Crisp Packet Project, based in St Leonards, which creates survival blankets and sleeping bag covers out of plastic waste.
Savana said it was "fairly easy" to piece the packets together once she was given a tutorial but "you have to be precise".
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