Photo credit: Surrey County Council

Surrey’s 39 gritters will trial running on treated vegetable oil  fuel from this week.

The vehicles will run environmentally friendly Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel as part of Surrey County Council’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions. 

The HVO fuel reduces the carbon produced from combustion engines by up to 90%. Over the course of the winter season, Surrey’s gritters will use around 30,000 litres of fuel and by switching to treated vegetable oil rather than diesel, the carbon produced from gritting activities will be reduced by around 102 tonnes.

A campaign to recruit care workers is running in West Sussex.

‘Proud to Care’ is promoting careers in the sector by supporting potential candidates to discover opportunities.

The service is online and free and aims to match people with vacancies.

The Proud to Care Team helps promote careers in care by supporting potential candidates to discover opportunities working in care, as well as helping care providers across West Sussex with recruitment.

It is currently running and will end on 31st March.

You can find out more here: https://www.facebook.com/ProudtoCareWS

If you need any further information please get in touch with the Proud to Care Team at ProudtoCare@westsussex.gov.uk

Website: https://www.proudtocarewestsussex.com

If you have news for Sussex and Surrey, contact us on news@susyradio.com

Surrey Search and Rescue volunteers have just completed their one thousandth mission. 

The group of 60 people became an official lowland rescue team in 2012.  This has the same status as mountain rescue teams but covers hills and lower terrain.

The organisation has to raise £55,000 each year to keep going.  Eighteen new members have been recruited in the past year, with the equipment needed for a single volunteer costing more than one thousand pounds. 

Photos:  Surrey Search and Rescue

Photo credit:  Tracey Franklin.  Photo shows St Mary’s Church in Bletchingley.  The flag is currently flying at half mast

Bletchingley and Godstone residents have paid tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu who died at the weekend aged 90. 

The Nobel Peace prize laureate helped end apartheid in South Africa. 

The Archbishop had been Assistant Curate at St Mary’s Church in Bletchingley from 1965-66 where he lived in Clerk’s House and his children attended the local school.  He returned to Bletchingley several times; a Daily Mail article shows his return in 1985 when he came back as a bishop to conduct the Harvest Festival service. 

Photo from the Daily Mail:  Archbishop Desmond Tutu returning to St Mary’s Church in Bletchingley in 1985 to conduct the Harvest Festival.

A portrait of Archbishop Desmond Tutu is displayed in St Mary’s Church (below):

Speaking on BBC Radio Surrey, Godstone resident, Mary, met the Archbishop when he conducted parish visits as Assistant Curate in Bletchingley.

Photos credit:  Tracey Franklin.  The flag at St Mary’s Church in Bletchingley is currently flying at half mast.