Life expectancy in Hastings could remain below the national average over the next 15 years, a new study has found.

The findings, based on Office for National Statistics data combined with advanced mathematical modelling, suggests that average life expectancy for women in England and Wales will rise from 83.3 in 2012 to 87.6 in 2030. For men, it is predicted to increase from 79.5 to 85.7 over the same period.

But for Hastings it is predicted to be 84.02 years for men and 86.03 for women in 2030.

This year the average rate for men’s life expectancy in Hastings stands at 78.91 and for women, 82.98 years, according to the study, which was published this week.

Figures for the Rother district, which covers Rye, Battle and Bexhill, fare better in the study.

In 2030 men’s life expectancy is expected to be an average of 86.81 years and for women, 88.89.

The average rate for 2015 in Rother stands at 81.86 for men and 85.42 for women.

The study’s forecasts for England and Wales for 2030 are higher than those issued by the Office for National Statistics by 2.4 years for men and one year for women.

Investors who bought shares to secure the future of Hastings Pier had the chance to talk a walk on the attraction’s completed section on Saturday (April 25).

More than 300 shareholders attended the Community Benefit Society’s first annual general meeting (AGM) at the White Rock Theatre before taking the tour.

Last year the Hastings Pier Charity share scheme attracted more than 3,000 investors, including some from as far away as Australia. More than £580,000 was raised from the shares, which were available for a six-month period.

The works to restore the pier, which total more than £14 million, will be completed later this year. But it will officially open for business on March 21 next year.

Simon Opie, chief executive officer for Hastings Pier Charity, said: “The pier must pay for itself. It has to be self-supporting, not just to ensure it stays open and well-maintained but so that it becomes a landmark attraction across the south east. We believe that to open at the beginning of winter would be setting out on the wrong foot.”

The Community Benefit Society will own and run the pier once it is open. Mr Opie added: “The success of the share scheme proves just how much the people of Hastings and the area value the pier. We had a terrific first AGM which really demonstrated the value our shareholders can bring to the project.”

Anyone wishing to view the three presentations made at the meeting, which talk through the restoration work, the community activities around the pier and The Hub, plus some of the attractions and activities planned once the pier opens, can access them from www.hpcharity.co.uk.

Sussex Police is making plans to hold future disciplinary hearings in public following new legislation which came into force on today (May 1).

The then Home Secretary, Theresa May, announced the new regulations on March 12 requiring gross misconduct hearings against police officers to be held in public to make them more open and visible and to increase protection for whistleblowers.

As from January next year, those chairing the hearings must also be legally qualified.

Superintendent Lisa Bell, head of Sussex Police’s professional standards department, said, “We are very open to being as transparent as possible in all of our work and this is an important aspect of ensuring that our disciplinary processes are similarly visible to the public.

“In recognition of the important position of trust we hold in society, we also have a responsibility to ensure that people who work for us meet the very high standards of honesty and integrity that we demand and expect.

“There are no dates set at this stage for any hearings, but details of how members of the public will be able attend them will be available on our website - {http://www.sussex.police.uk|http://www.sussex.police.uk/} - in due course.

“We are currently in liaison with the College of Policing to ensure that our arrangements fall into line with other police forces. As with similar hearings, such as criminal or coroners’ courts, the public will be able to attend as observers only and will not be able to comment on proceedings or have a part in the decision-making process of the hearing.”

Police are hunting two men on the run after a burglary in Eastbourne

Officers are on the scene, searching for two men after a home in Victoria Drive was broken into today (May 1).

Sussex Police said, “We were called shortly before 2.30pm to a report of two men acting suspiciously in the area.

“Officers on foot and the police helicopter are currently looking for two suspects.”

The search is centred around the Victoria Drive and Willingdon Road area.

Police are appealing for information to a series of burglaries in Hastings.

Since the beginning of April officers have received seven reports of break-ins and attempted break-ins to sheds and garages concentrated in the Conquest ward area of the town.

The areas where the breaks happened are Ghyllside Avenue, Hillside Road, Old Roar Road and Sedlescombe Road North. The items stolen have included tools and bicycles.

PCSO Jill Croft, from Hastings neighbourhood policing team, said: “Crime prevention is key to deterring those who have a mind to break into someone else’s property.

“Security doesn’t need to be a huge expense. A security light together with a good quality padlock may help to prevent your property from being targeted by thieves.

“Your neighbourhood police team are working hard to find the culprits. Equally if you see someone behaving suspiciously in the area where you live, call us. Your call may stop a crime from taking place.”

Anyone with information should email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk quoting Operation Gladstone, call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service is reminding drivers to take care as we head into the May Bank Holiday weekend.

A spokesman said, “We expect the roads around East Sussex and Brighton and Hove to get busier as people head out to enjoy the long weekend, whether they are getting away from it all or simply enjoying a staycation.

“As part of the Safer Summer campaign, the Service is urging people to take simple steps to ensure everyone gets to have fun this Bank Holiday and stay safe and well.”

It gave the following tips:

- Drivers should always assume that someone, or something, could be around any corner. Slow down, especially round bends and do not overtake when you cannot see what’s ahead.

- Motorists should clean windscreens regularly and keep washer fluid topped up – smears or dirt could affect your vision.

- The sun can dazzle in the summer. Make sure you have a pair of sunglasses handy.

- If you’re on two wheels, wear the right protective clothing and make sure you can be seen.

- Watch out for dehydration – it can affect your concentration. Motorcyclists are particularly at risk due to the heavy protective clothing they wear.

- There is no “safe” level of alcohol. If you are planning to go out for a drink, don’t drive. Please find another way of getting home.

- Cyclists and motorists – as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents says “treat every road user as if they were a member of your family.

Sussex Police has arrested a man on suspicion of burglary, and another is still at large.

Officers on foot and a police helicopter were searching for two men after a burglary in Victoria Drive, Eastbourne.

The call came in at 2.30pm to a report of two men acting suspiciously in the area.

Just before 3.30pm, a 21-year-old man from Romford, Essex, was arrested on suspicion of burglary.

Another suspect remains at large.

Protestors took to the streets in Hastings on Saturday (April 25) to demonstrate against privatisation of the NHS.

A dozen people met in Wellington Place in the town centre to gather support for their Save Our NHS campaign.

The national Save Our NHS day, held just 11 days before the General Election next Thursday (May 7), was coordinated by independent campaign group 38 Degrees.

People in Hastings joined thousands of others protesting on the same day in high streets and town centres across England.

They are now calling on people in Hastings and Rye to use their vote next Thursday to save the NHS.

More than 2,400 people in the area have already signed a petition calling on support from parliamentary candidates. Local campaigners estimate that 400 more signatures were added on Saturday in just one hour.

After collecting hundreds of new signatures, campaigners delivered their 2,845-strong Save Our NHS petition to three of Hastings and Rye’s parliamentary candidates, Sarah Owen (Labour), Nick Perry (Liberal) and Jake Bowers (Green).

Roderick Osborne, a 38 Degrees member from St Leonards, said: “Collecting signatures for the petition was an amazing experience. “Person after person praised the NHS for the treatment they had received in the past, a surprising number volunteering they owed their life to the NHS.

“More than one older petitioner commented that they don’t want a return to the days before 1948 when you had to pay to see your doctor.

“This is what our campaign is about. We want to protect the NHS. It’s an incredible public service - free at the point of use whenever our family, friends and neighbours need it.

“Experts have also named it the most efficient health system in the world. So it makes no sense that some politicians are trying to hand huge sections of our NHS over to private companies. The threat to our NHS is very real. I don’t want any of my family to be cared for by profit-driven companies.

“This is why I’d encourage anyone who feels the same to vote on May 7 with the future of our NHS in mind.”

The Leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband, visited Hastings this morning (Saturday, May 2) ahead of next Thursday’s General Election.

He was joined by Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Hastings and Rye, Sarah Owen at Sussex Coast College in Station Plaza where he gave an impassioned speech to Labour supporters, students and members of the public in the college’s atrium.

As he arrived there were cheers and applause from supporters.

Mr Miliband said if he becomes Prime Minister his government would ‘put working people first’.

He added: “I will stand up to the energy companies and make sure gas and energy bill rises are frozen until the start of 2017.”

Mr Miliband also called for a ban on ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts.

He said: “The future of this country is on the ballot paper at this election and I believe we need to build hope again in our country.”

Mr Miliband added Labour had a ‘real chance’ of regaining the Hastings and Rye constituency in next Thursday’s election.

A nurse who dedicated her career to improving the lives of others has retired after more than four decades.

Helen Simpson, a community stroke rehabilitation nurse for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, held a farewell party this week.

She worked for the NHS for 43 years in total.

Helen started her career as a nurse cadet at Hastings School of Nursing where she qualified as a special registered nurse, working at the Royal East Sussex Hospital.

Following a brief spell in Swindon in Wiltshire, she returned to Eastbourne in the late 1970s where elderly care was changing at an extraordinary pace with the new idea and concept of multidisciplinary team working. This meant a holistic approach to better understand the patient as an individual, enabling them to have the best possible chances of rehabilitation and returning to a state of independent or assisted living. This new way of working was becoming recognised worldwide with Hastings, Eastbourne and Helen at the forefront.

In 1978, Helen was appointed sister at All Saints Hospital and was to open one of the first ever stroke rehabilitation units in the country.

In 2003, she obtained a first class honours degree in professional practice in gerontology. Gerontology is the study of the social, psychological, cognitive and biological aspects of aging.

It is distinguished from geriatrics, which is the branch of medicine that specialises in the treatment of existing disease in older people.

In 2006, Helen joined the then newly-established Hastings community stroke team, working at the Conquest Hospital, on The Ridge. It subsequently moved to the Irvine Unit at Bexhill Hospital where the community stroke rehabilitation team is still based.

Colleague and friend Jacqui Hinves, from the stroke team, said: “Helen has been an integral and inordinate part of the history of stroke management and rehabilitation as it is known and recognised today. Helen has dedicated her professional career to improving her patients, their carers and colleagues’ lives.”

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust provides hospital and community services throughout the county at the Conquest and Eastbourne DGH, as well as at hospitals in Bexhill, Crowborough, Lewes, Rye and Uckfield and a number of clinics and health centres.

Last week I hinted at ways you can use the tools online to add workflow, by categorising different posts within a Google+ Community.

Well, it turns out there is much more to it than that. You can of course use categories to organise your information, but what can you do if you are drafting a report with multiple contributors? It wouldn’t be practical to simply share each amendment separately.

If you are using a Facebook group, you might have noticed the Files tab. Inside there are two buttons, ‘Create Doc’ and ‘Upload File.’

Using the first button gives you the opportunity to create a basic text document from within the Facebook page. Formatting options are available to make things bold, italic or underlined, plus the option to create lists, but that is it. If you choose to upload a file, contributors can then download the file, edit it locally and upload a revision.

In both cases group members can comment, just like they do on any normal post. In fact, each file you create appears as a post, with space for you to write something. Perhaps an introduction to the file being shared, or a question about it.

Two problems stood out like a pair of sore thumbs while testing this. While multiple people can edit a Facebook Doc at the same time, the last edit that is saved overwrites everything else, which means edits will be lost. Also if you are working on a Word document with multiple revisions (or any other type of file upload), you end up with multiple versions of the same file being downloaded to yours and everyone else’s computers that are contributing. Not the most efficient way to do things! Another downside is that the files all appear in chronological order. So no organising things into folders like you are used to doing on your computer at home or at work.

Google+ Communities do not allow you to create documents directly, or upload them to a special area for the community. However, Google+ itself is heavily integrated with Google Drive, which means cloud storage and Google Docs to the uninitiated. Just having a Google account means you have access to a full suite of productivity software.

Here is a practical example of how it all fits together. Say you are collaborating with people from across the globe on a project. It might be something to do with the arts, business, a sporting event or something else. You can set up a private Google+ community to house all of the communications, while also setting up a shared folder within Google Drive. Once you have created a document, you can share it directly with your fellow collaborators in the community, just by clicking ‘Share’ from within the document. Clicking on the resulting ‘attachment’ takes you straight to the document, that you can then edit in real time with others. Yes, multiple editors can make changes simultaneously. You can also add comments and suggest amendments directly on the page.

Everything I have mentioned above is available for free from both Facebook and Google.

Alan Stainer
https://www.alansitsolutions.com

Police in Hastings are again supporting a charity skate event to raise money to improve a public park.

Hastings business 4Down Distribution is opening its doors to BMX riders and skateboarders of all ages and skill levels to join this year’s 24-hour Skateathon, raising money for The Boyley Trust, supported by Sussex Police and Hastings Borough Council.

The trust was set up in memory of Richard Ball, known as Boyley, after the death of the 24-year-old BMX biker in a road accident in 2002.

Money raised at the event will fund work at Boyley Skate Park in White Rock Gardens in the town.

This year’s event will start at 6pm next Friday (May 8) and finishes at 6pm on Saturday, May 9. It is being held at 4Down Distribution in Unit H of Ponswood Industrial Estate, next to the Royal Mail sorting office.

Any rider or skater only has to pay £10 once to ride at any point during the 24-hour period. To get involved all they need to do is arrive at the venue, pay their money, receive a wrist band and ride or skate for as long as they wish.

As always, there will be pro riders and pro skaters at the venue so if visitors are lucky they may be able to pick up some tips from them.

The last two events raised £2,310 but the organisers are hoping to generate even more this year. Parents and guardians are welcome to go along and there will be refreshments available. This is a no alcohol event.

The eastbound carriageway of the A27 between Devil’s Dyke north of Brighton and Ashcombe Roundabout at Lewes, which was closed at midday today (Sunday 3 May) as the result of diesel leaking from a broken tank on a lorry, is now re-opened as Highways England have completed their work to clear the road of fuel.

Several minor collisions occurred on that stretch before the closure as vehicles spun out of control on the diesel spill, although only one minor injury was reported, from a woman whose Mini overturned on the carriageway at Falmer

Inspector Andy Judson of the Surrey and Sussex Road Policing Unit said; “Highways England and Sussex Police appreciate the patience of drivers who will have had their journeys disrupted during this period.”

The westbound carriageway of the A27 remained open throughout.

The lorry believed to involved was traced to the A27 at Southerham and police have examined the vehicle and spoken to the driver.

A fire tore through a house in Stone Cross on Friday (May 1).

Firefighters from the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene, on Dittons Road, and used cranes to tackle the flames on the roof.

The blaze caused substantial damage to the property but it is not yet known what caused it or if anybody was injured.

More information to follow.

Newhaven’s Severn Class lifeboat was launched on Friday, May 1 to a 16ft fishing vessel with a fouled propeller near Seaford Head.

Commercial vessel Coast Runner had spotted the fishing boat drifting close to shore at Seaford Head with the skipper frantically waving to get assistance.

The skipper of Coast Runner, who is the Newhaven Coastguard Station Officer, gave immediate assistance by attaching a line and towing the disabled vessel into deeper water and requested the lifeboat to be launched.

Newhaven’s Severn Class lifeboat, the ‘RNLB David and Elizabeth Acland’, and volunteer crew proceeded to the position south of Seaford and was quickly on scene. A tow was established and the disabled fishing boat was then safely towed into Newhaven harbour.

Newhaven lifeboat then returned to station at 10:28 and was again ready for service shortly afterwards.

A 75-year-old woman died and another man has been seriously injured in a collision on a major Sussex road over the weekend, police have confirmed.

The serious two-car accident happened just before 5pm on Sunday, May 3, at the junction of Flansham Lane and Hoe Lane, A259 just outside Bognor Regis.

The A259 remained closed for several hours before reopening at around 11pm.

A statement from Sussex Police said: “At 4.37pm on Sunday, May 3 2015, a red Nissan Qashqai travelling southbound on the A259 came into collision with a white VW van.

“As a result of the collision a local female aged 75 sadly died at the scene.

“The driver of the van, a local male aged 54, sustained serious injuries and has been flown to St George’s hospital in London.”

Anyone who witnessed the accident has been asked to contact Sussex Police on 101, quoting Operation Calcutta.

http://www.chichester.co.uk/news/local/update-serious-crash-on-the-a259-at-flansham-bognor-1-6723710

A fire investigation is underway after flames gutted a house in Stone Cross on Friday night (May 1).

Crews from Eastbourne and Hailsham attended the scene on Dittons Road at 7.30pm and used four breathing apparatus, two hose-reel jets, one jet and a hydrant to tackle the blaze.

All persons inside the house were accounted for and the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service is now launching an investigation to determine what started the devastating fire.

A seafront hotel was evacuated in the early hours of this morning (Tuesday, May 5) after a fire broke out in the basement.

Emergency services were called to the East Beach Hotel, on Royal Parade, at 5am on Tuesday morning.

Four fire engines attended the scene, where firefighters used breathing apparatus to put out the small fire in the hotel’s basement.

Police officers and paramedics also attended but there were no reported injuries.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has launched a fire investigation to determine what started the blaze.

An obstruction on the railway line at Bexhill is causing delays between Eastbourne and Hastings this morning (May 5).

A tree is reportedly blocking the Coastway East line, causing delays and cancellations to train services.

Click {http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search|here} to check your journey.

Officers from British Transport Police (BTP) are encouraging passengers to report any unwanted sexual behaviour on the transport network.

A short film called Report it to stop it follows a woman’s journey in which she experiences escalating incidents of unwanted sexual behaviour on board a train.

Viewers are encouraged to interact with the film by deciding at which point they would report the incident by texting 61016.

The purpose of the video, which is aimed at women aged between 16 and 35, is to tackle under-reporting by raising awareness that people can, and should, report all behaviour that makes them feel uncomfortable and that the police will seek to take action as a result.

All front line staff working for BTP have undertaken additional training to raise awareness of what constitutes unwanted sexual behaviour. In tandemn, we have strengthened investigations of sexual offences and detection rates are on the rise.

Richard Mann, Detective Superintendent of British Transport Police, said, “Everyone has the right to travel on the transport network safely and we will not tolerate any unwanted sexual behaviour.

“We want the travelling public to feel confident that we take every sexual incident seriously, no matter what has happened, and we believe what is reported to us.

“By working with our partners we want people to feel encouraged to report unwanted sexual behaviour, and to know we will do everything we can to find those responsible.”

Unwanted sexual behaviour is anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. You can report anything of a sexual nature, including rubbing, groping, masturbation, leering, sexual comments and indecent acts. You don’t have to prove that it was a criminal offence or intentional to report it, the police can investigate that for you.

A Tumblr site has also been created to provide information to help break down the barriers that prevent reporting unwanted sexual behaviour. The site will ensure there is one location for all the information people need and actions they can take to report.

To visit the site, click {http://report-it.tumblr.com|here}.