Sussex weekly round-up: 22 June - 28 June 2024
The festival was to celebrate compassion, show the talents of refugees and raise awareness
- Published
The story about a Ukrainian festival celebrating the nations heritage during Refugee Week 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.
Eastbourne road has most delays in England - data
Journeys on the strategic road network were delayed by an average of 10.6 seconds per vehicle per mile
Delays on England's motorways and major A roads have hit a record level, with the worst road being in East Sussex.
Journeys on the strategic road network (SRN) were delayed by an average of 10.6 seconds per vehicle per mile (spvpm) in the 12 months to the end of March, Department for Transport (DfT) data showed.
That is the longest in records dating to 2015 and is up from 9.5 spvpm in 2022/23.
The major road with the longest delays was the A2270, which runs between Eastbourne and Polegate, at 179.3 spvpm.
Tournament could grow despite downgrade - director
Rebecca James said she first watched tennis at Devonshire Park when she was seven years old
Eastbourne's annual tennis tournament is "going to remain the same or get bigger and better" despite being downgraded, a Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) director has said.
From 2025, the women's event at Devonshire Park will face greater limitations on who can enter, including the number of top-ranked players.
LTA tournament director Rebecca James said of the five Grand Slam single champions competing in 2024, four would still be eligible in 2025.
"The players love coming down to be by the sea," she said.
'I would dread it when the Euros were on'
Lisa knew the violence would increase when the football was on
Lisa met her partner Lee when she was 19 years old. One year later the violence began.
Not long after their son Josh was born, Lee tried to choke her with a dressing gown cord.
"He's knocked me out a few times, just from punches on my face. Out cold for hours on end," she told BBC News.
It was even worse when international football tournaments came round every two years.
Volunteers give away 100 free school prom dresses
Those who receive the donated outfits can choose to either keep or return them
A group in West Sussex which gives away school prom outfits says it has provided almost 100 dresses and 50 suits to students so far this year.
Prom Dreams, which started in Brighton in 2019, opened in Warnham in May after being given a temporary site in an empty care home.
Emma Green, who started the annual initiative, was not sure she would be able to run the project before being offered the site by Splendid Healthcare.
"Our aim is to help families and make it more affordable to get the perfect prom outfit with [the] same experience as going to a prom shop," she said on her fundraising page.
Man who ran length of Africa to release book
Russ Cook, nicknamed “Hardest Geezer”, has raised more than £1m for charity
The man who ran the entire length of Africa is to release a book detailing his experiences during the challenge.
After complications with visas, health scares, geopolitical issues and an armed robbery, Russell Cook, nicknamed “Hardest Geezer”, crossed the finish line in Tunisia on 7 April after 352 days.
The 27-year-old, from Worthing, West Sussex, has raised more than £1m ($1.27m) for charity.
Mr Cook said the book will tell stories from “the most insane year of my life”.
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