A man from Merstham has been imprisoned for serious sexual offences against children.

Neil Cameron pleaded guilty to four offences which occurred between 2006 and 2015.

The 57 year-old was sentenced to 20 months in prison and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.  He is also on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

A mother from Ifield is in training for a fundraising marathon.

32 year-old Leanne Parker is preparing to run her first marathon in April.  She is hoping to raise money for East Surrey Hospital’s neonatal unit where her twin daughters were born prematurely.

Savannah and Sienna weighed less than four pounds between them when they were born three and a half months before their due date.

They spent 10 weeks at the unit in Redhill where staff cared for them.

You can sponsor Leanne by visiting her Just Giving page at: www.justgiving.com/Leanne-Parker31

An ATM machine has been recovered in an abandoned van in Bewbush.

Around 2 o’clock Saturday morning, two men in dark clothing forced their way into Mulberry’s convenience store in Shire Parade, Crawley.  They loaded the cash machine into a white Peugeot van.

The van was spotted a short time afterwards at Turners Hill Crossroads but the driver refused to stop when requested.  The Peugeot was later found abandoned in Bewbush with the ATM.

Both have now been seized by police for further investigation.

Two men have been given custodial sentences after attempting to bribe a Surrey County Council employee.

46 year-old Saeed Shakir of Betchworth pleaded guilty to offering a bribe contrary to the Bribary Act 2010.  He has been sentenced to 20 months imprisonment.

Muzzafar Hussein from Redhill, also 46 years old, has been imprisoned for 3 years after being found guilty of the same offence.

It follows an incident back in 2013 when Shakir offered a £500 bribe to a contracts compliance officer on behalf of Hussein, with the promise of ongoing payments of a four-figure sum.

The county council employee reported it immediately to his line manager and group manager, who subsequently contacted Surrey Police.

Crawley Councillors could remove and reduce some of their allowances if the recommendation is approved at Full Council on 6 April.

The Governance Committee voted to reduce and remove certain allowances for some chairs and vice chairs.

A proposed allowance increase for the Chair of the Development Control Committee was challenged by councillors, who have asked the panel to reconsider.

The committee also recommended the removal of some Members’ subsistence allowances/expenses.

Council leader, Peter Lamb noted that money was tight and that they were doing everything possible protect people’s services.