Local people

Two Spelthorne residents have been given awards for giving more than 175 blood donations between them.

Susan Burgess, of Lammas Road, Staines, and Linda Bishop, of Queens Walk, Ashford, were given a crystal decanter for more than 100 donations and a a crystal plate for more than 75 respectively at a National Blood Service ceremony.

A disabled man whose life was turned upside down when his miniature horses were stolen from him has been reunited with his loving pets.

Daniel Nicholls, from Ashford, was shocked to hear his animals Tinkerbell and Bailey had been taken by heartless thieves just after Christmas from stables in Charlton Village.

A husband and father of two boys who died in a frozen lake was 'one of the most caring and loving people.'

Philip Hughes, 45, known as Beano to his friends, passed away at the World Professional Darts Championship when his body was found in an icy lake at Lakeside Country Club, in Frimley Green on Thursday January 7.

Mr Hughes, who grew up and lived in Ashford for nearly all of his life, has been described as popular, loving, caring, funny, and kind by his family.

Wife Cherie Hughes, 44, said: "He was such a caring person who would have done anything for anybody. We were the complete opposites but were soul mates."

Please see the January 21 edition of the Staines and Ashford/Egham News and Surrey Herald Shepperton and Sunbury edition for the full interview and pictures.

For most people the new year can be a depressing time, but not for one resident of a care home in Staines.

On New Year's Day great great grandmother Ellen Watson of Anchor Homes' Meadowside celebrated her 110th birthday, which saw family, friends, and other residents turn up for a celebratory party in the Knowle Park Avenue home.

A hopeful band will be launching their debut EP at a promotional gig in Staines in December.

On December 12, the Dirty Crawlers, whose four members are from Ashford, Staines, and Chertsey, will be performing at The Hobgoblin, in Church Street, to promote their first EP Bottleneck.

The victim of devastating fire in Stanwell earlier this month has died in hospital.

Maria Jones, 64, of Windermere Close, suffered burns to her arms and legs after she was dragged out alive from her house on Monday October 19 by two neighbours.

Mrs Jones passed away on Sunday October 25 in St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, and post mortem examination carried out at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford concluded she died from injuries sustained in the fire.

The cause of the fire, which occurred at 4am on the day and completely gutted the house, is no longer being treated as suspicious by police.

A police spokesman said: "Following a joint Surrey Police and Surrey Fire and Rescue Service investigation the cause of the fire at a residential address in Windermere Close, is believed to have been the result of an electrical fault."

Do you have a tribute you would like to leave in memory of Maria?

If so, please use the box underneath.

The re-elected Surrey County councillor for Ashford has created a neighbourhood watch for her area.

Cllr Carol Coleman, of Nelson Road, decided to set it up after a burglary happened in the road in May, and is in the final process of sorting out the paperwork.

The aims are to keep the residents vigilant and make them feel safer by notifying Surrey Police when they see suspicious behaviour.

Tributes have been given for a community midwife who gave her time helping people less fortunate than themselves.

On Monday May 11 a thanksgiving service was held at the Salvation Army Centre in Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, to remember Wendy Howells, who passed away on April 23 of a pulmonary embolism.

Framework, the framing shop in Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, is to close on Saturday, March 14 after 21 years.

Owners Jim and Mary Cowell, who began framing in 1985 in a unit in Tilly's Lane in Staines before moving to Ashford three years later when Two Rivers was built on that site, are retiring when their lease comes up for renewal.

As a new programme hits our screens documenting the toils of working as a medic on Afghanistan's front line, Ed Saunt met one of the men who risked his life to treat the injured.

It is one thing facing a torrent of abuse while picking up the pieces on a Friday night but it is quite another treating a wounded soldier while under enemy fire in Helmand province.