Welcome

I have created this website to display my work from the past year. It includes written news and feature articles, television and radio news packages and news websites.

Most of this work was completed at university, with my fellow colleagues, some being assessed pieces, and other bits are my own work.

Please browse the site and leave any comments if you wish. Alternatively, find my contact details under the tab above.

I am currently looking for work experience in the broadcast journalism industries; if this is something you could help with, or you would like a copy of my CV, do get in contact.

Builder dies in tragic worksite accident

A MAN died after falling from scaffolding on a construction site in the centre of Canterbury on Monday.

Stanley Allanson, 53, fell through an open gate on the fourth floor of a scaffolding platform on the site on Robertshawe Road. He was rushed to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

Mr Allanson, of Brayley Avenue, was working as a brick layer for Sturdy Construction PLC on the site of a new office complex.

The company’s Chief Executive, Robert Brimelow, left a statement on their website: “Sturdy Construction PLC wishes to express its condolences to the family of Stanley Allanson this morning. We have an excellent safety record but none-the-less treat all accidents with the utmost seriousness.”

Mr Allanson also worked as a part-time football referee for the Canterbury District Football Association. “He was one of the most knowledgeable and respected figures in local football,” said friend and Director of the FA, Michael Grundy.

“All our thoughts are with Stanley’s family and his children.”

The Allanson family have requested that their privacy is respected and they are not approached at this time.

Dodgems driver is sentenced

A woman who pleaded guilty to causing injury by dangerous driving was in court on Monday to hear her sentence.

The judge heard how Hannah Lamb, 21, of Parsonage Farm, North Elham, purposely drove into another woman’s car, injuring the driver and two other passengers.

She was given a 10-month suspended prison sentence for two years, banned from driving for one year and ordered to do 100 hours community service. She must also pay two of the victims £1,000 each in compensation and she has been electronically-tagged for four months.

The incident happened back in April. Lamb had become increasingly annoyed with her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, Kirsty Watts, and claimed Miss Watts had been stalking the couple for weeks. Lamb told the court how she planned to lure Miss Watts to a car park and confront her.

Her and her boyfriend, Matthew Bibby, decided to write on Facebook that they were going to the McDonalds Drive-Thru on Sturry Road to see if Miss Watts would turn up there as well. When she did, she parked up with her sister, Kylie, and another passenger in the back.

Then, Lamb, who was alone in her Fiat Punto, drove at 30mph and smashed into Miss Watts’s car. Her and her sister both suffered serious whiplash injuries and the third passenger went to hospital with a jaw injury.

Lamb’s barrister, Oliver Saxby, said: “She knows what she did was wrong and that she has to pay for it.” She now has to remain indoors between 9pm and 6am as a condition of her tag.

New gardens need your help

THE newly refurbished Westgate Gardens officially re-opened on Saturday after being restored to their former glory.

The gardens, in the St. Dunstan’s area of the city, had been neglected for the last 20 years. Now they have been redesigned to allow for over two hundred different types of plants to grow and the locals’ best-loved features to remain.

The work has cost over £5million and English Heritage has funded £3million of it as part of the Lottery grant won by The Friends of Westgate Gardens. FOWG have campaigned for the refurbishment for years and had to raise the extra £2million.

There is still an outstanding shortfall, though, and there are now concerns that an entry fee may be charged unless the extra money is raised.

Mr Arroll Winning, the President of FOWG, said: “We have had hundreds of messages of support and lots of congratulations.

“Many people have worked very hard to help us raise the money we need but this last £257,000 is proving difficult and we may be forced to charge entry. That would be a tragedy.”

FOWG are appealing for people to send donations to the Canterbury Westgate Gardens Trust, care of the Curator’s House, Clarkehouse Road, Canterbury, CT1 3ND. For more details call 01227 237440.

A show-stopping line-up

THE famous Marlowe Theatre has announced its brand new season of shows when it re-opens in October this year.

Organisers wanted to open with a bang but were advised to start with a series of ‘soft shows’ to test the theatre, the stage and the audiences. Once it’s fully re-opened, though, there is a full autumn season of shows and productions.

On Tuesday, October 4, the theatre is opening with a gala evening and then there is a Family Weekend that officially celebrates the re-opening. The public will be invited to tour the new building and watch performances in the main auditorium.

Following this, there are a number of special shows including ‘The Madness of George the Third’, a new production of Alan Bennett’s classic, ‘The Nutcracker’, performed by the Northern Ballet, and the West End version of ‘Top Hat’. This stage production of the 1935 film stars Tom Chambers (of ‘Holby City’ and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’) and Summer Strallen (‘Hollyoaks’). ‘Grease the Musical’ will also be showing for two weeks early next year.

The theatre is also host to a number of productions by Propeller Theatre Company who perform Shakespearian plays and shows for the younger generation. Cinderella is 2011’s Christmas pantomime which is followed by Peter Pan on Ice where the new stage will be turned into an ice rink while it is showing.

New to the theatre, The Marlowe Studio, is where smaller performances and workshops take place and there’s also a strong line-up of events and activities for young audiences.

Mark Everett, Theatre Director, said the whole team is pleased with the line-up for the opening season. “We are all really excited about October, not only that we will be in a brand new building but the shows we have got booked should attract audiences and ensure a really positive re-opening. It’s important that the theatre offers the right shows for a wide range of audiences. It is a popular choice for an evening out, for local residents, but also for people further afield, therefore we work hard to provide fun and interesting productions.”