THE chief of the AA has called for an investigation into why three lanes of the M25 were closed for almost a day after the road collapsed.

Most of the anti-clockwise stretch of the busy motorway was closed near Junction 9 from the early hours of Friday until 5.30am on Saturday morning.

A section of the road collapsed leaving a large pothole, after a section of the carriageway failed to set properly following overnight maintenance undertaken by Highways Agency staff.

The closure meant travel chaos for thousands of motorists all day, with three-hour queues back to Junction 12 and traffic problems in surrounding towns as drivers searched for alternative routes.

Now the president of the AA, Edmund King, has called for an investigation.

Mr King said: "The M25 is critical to the nation and [Friday's] incident highlights just how dependant we are on it to function 24/7.

"There must be a thorough investigation into this incident. It is disappointing that not only did the road fail but it placed many drivers in danger and also reportedly damaged a number of vehicles.

"If this happened on the railways passengers could claim compensation. As it has happened on the roads drivers just have to put up with it."

One motorist, Michael Parish, 52, told the Mirror no-one from the Highways Agency or any other agency informed drivers of what was happening.

He added that no-one had been round with bottles of water or other sustenance for the beleaguered occupants of cars who moved just two miles in two hours, and problems had been exacerbated by drivers occupying the three lanes which were closed off.

He said at the time: "Traffic is being signposted to the only remaining lane, which is open following this morning's collapse of the road surface.

"But drivers are ignoring the lane closure signs and forming a bottleneck where there is only one lane open."

Andrew Broughton, a Highways Agency spokesman said: "Safety is a top priority for the Highways Agency and its contractors; failures of this type are extremely rare and we are taking it very seriously."

He said an investigation into what happened is ongoing.

REDHILL chairman John Park described it as "the best thing that's happened to the club in ages" after the youth teams of Redhill Town agreed to re-join the senior Lobsters.

The merger has been ten months in the making, but Park is delighted an agreement has reached which will see teams from U7s up to the senior Ryman League side play under the Redhill banner.

And Lobsters chairman Park, who will work alongside the board of the youth section, believes the merger is not just a great move for the combining clubs but also the local community.

"I would like to see parents bring their young children to us with confidence that if they have the ability the child will able to progress all the way up to senior football," Park said.

"And, perhaps more importantly, if they don't, then we will have the best coaches and support to help the child achieve the best level they are capable of.

"Redhill Town came to us about ten months ago after a few changes in personnel, and there was a warmth and willingness to work together again. We never wanted to separate in the first place. We took it slowly and discussed the advantages and disadvantages, and frankly there weren't any downsides. It was almost absurd to not be one unit.

"It isn't just about us. It's about the community and providing a footballing hub for Redhill and the surrounding areas.

"Other clubs have done it, we know we aren't the first, but it's something we are very excited about."

Since taking over in the spring of 2012, Lobsters first team manager Mike Maher has worked hard to ensure there is progression from the club's existing U18 side into the senior side and Park is confident the merger will only offer further possibilities.

"Mike is 120 per cent behind the merger," the chairman said. "He's already had a look at the youngsters playing for the older sides and was impressed with the talent they showed.

"At the moment we have Leyton Regan in the first team who has come through the youth team and there are two or three others knocking at the door.

"That's what we want, to bring players through from a young age."

And while the clubs will become one, with the youth section set to drop the 'Town' from their moniker, there is one element which remain separate – the finances.

"Parents pay money for membership and fees and we wanted them to be confident where that money was going, so the youth and senior sections will be financially separate," Park added.

HEAD coach Jonny Hylton has urged his Old Reigatian team that "Saturday is ours for the taking" – as long as they approach the game with more confidence.

Old Reigatian have had a mixed start to the London Two South West season and have dropped to ninth in the table after four successive losses.

The most recent defeat came at the hands of league leaders London Cornish, and despite the 20-0 scoreline, Hylton admitted he came away from the game counting the positives in the performance.

"The scoreline didn't really reflect the game," he said. "We played some really good stuff but London Cornish haven't conceded a try in the last month. We went close to scoring a couple of times but when you are playing a side full of confidence like London Cornish are then they are going to punish you for not taking those chances.

"It looks like a heavy defeat but there was actually a lot of positives to take. It was a really good performance."

And Hylton wants his team to take "belief" from the way they played against London Cornish as they prepare to face fourth-placed KCS Old Boys at Park Lane on Saturday.

"Saturday's performance will hopefully give the lads a lot of confidence," the head coach said. "If we play like that again this weekend then we should get a result.

"We just need a little bit more belief in ourselves which is something that we have been lacking at times this season. With the way we are playing then I think a big win is only just round the corner.

"The guys need to realised that we can take on any team in this league and beat them; it's just a mindset issue. It's been a quite an open league this season; there hasn't been any runaway leaders.

"This Saturday is ours for the taking."

Izzy the police dog helped make an arrest - in her first week on the job.

She sprang into action after a burglary on November 16

Police chased a car from the scene in Egham.

After the getaway vehicle crashed, the suspect ran off.

Izzy sprang into and stopped the fleeing man in his tracks as he tried to escape over a high fence.

Her handler PC'S Laura Heathcote said: "I''m so proud of her. She dealt with the incident really well."

JASON THOMPSON has called for more consistency from Whyteleafe in the league after contrasting fortunes in the cups this week.

Leafe played Ryman League Premier Division side Leatherhead twice at Church Road in the space of four days, losing 4-1 in the FA Trophy on Saturday before avenging the defeat with a deserved 2-1 win in the League Cup on Tuesday night.

And Thompson, who netted the winning goal as Leafe came from behind on Tuesday, said it was important for the team to keep alive their hopes in at least one cup competition after recent exits from the FA Cup, Surrey Senior Cup and FA Trophy.

"It is good to have the chance of a cup run and it gives other players the chance to play in these games," he said.

"We were pleased to get the win and the gaffer wanted us to get our own back after Saturday.

"We felt that it was a bit of an injustice because we played well on Saturday and we didn't deserve to lose 4-1, but they scored a couple of great goals."

Leatherhead winger Vas Karagiannis was a thorn in Leafe's side on Saturday, netting two goals as the Tanners withstood a fightback from Leafe, who had equalised through former Leatherhead striker Greg Andrews.

But Karagiannis' second goal of the game, together with goals from Mark Nwokeji and Kiernan Hughes-Mason settled the tie in the Tanners' favour, setting up a clash with Burgess Hill Town in the next round.

Tuesday's game looked to be following a similar pattern as Leatherhead drew first blood through an inswinging Becka Kah Dembele free-kick that evaded everyone and found the net in the 19th minute.

But a cool finish from Jason Henry restored parity on the half hour mark, before Thompson curled a sumptuous 25-yard free-kick into the net to put Leafe ahead on 38 minutes.

Leafe could and should have extended their lead in the second half but spurned several opportunities, before Leatherhead defender Joe Bruce was shown a straight red card late on for his part in an altercation with Whyteleafe substitute Shawn Lyle.

But Thompson said he felt Leafe were good value for their win, which puts them through to the third round of the competition.

"We came out and played well again and I think we deserved the win," he said.

"The gaffer wanted us to get our own back and we did that, so that is good."

And the skipper is hopeful that Whyteleafe can pick up where they left off on Tuesday when they travel to face lowly Ramsgate in the Ryman League Division One South on Saturday.

Leafe currently sit sixth in the table and just outside the play-offs, with Thompson admitting that while they are happy with the position, the players feel they could be doing even better.

"We just need to get a bit more consistency in the league now and try and move forward with that," he said.

"We know that anyone can beat anyone in this league and if anyone had offered us sixth place at this stage, we would have bitten their hand off.

"But we are still a bit disappointed because we have dropped points that we shouldn't have done.

"I guess we have nicked a couple of points in games too and so it goes in swings and roundabouts, but we just need a bit more consistency."

Rail delays and disruption are causing headaches for Caterham and Whyteleafe commuters heading for London or Croydon.

A broken down train at Kenley station just under an hour ago has brought a halt to northbound services.

One passenger said: "Its going to take a while.

"You might want to get the bus."

WHYTELEAFE boss John Fowler says another promotion push is not beyond his players this season.

Leafe currently sit sixth in the Ryman League Division One South, just outside of the play-off places following their promotion from Southern Counties East League last season.

And the manager believes that his side are capable of pushing towards the top of the table again, even though he admits it will be difficult to overhaul the teams above them.

"I don't think it is beyond us," he said.

"There are a few good teams around us though and it depends if we can keep in touch with them beyond the Christmas period.

"We have a tough December coming up and if we can stay in the mix after that, then who knows."

A public meeting on Wednesday will discuss plans to revamp Warlingham Green.

It takes place from 7pm at Warlingham Rugby Club in Limpsfield Road.

It has been organised by a group, calling themselves the Warlingham Home Guard, over the parish council's ideas for the green.

Initial plans call to close off the stretch of road in front of the Co-op and make the other sections of Limpsfield Road around the green two-day.

The part-pedestrianisation of the green could also a refreshment kiosk and a pond installed, with more planting and new benches, and possibly some trees demolished.

The parish council's draft plan, dated 08.05.2014 and marked Proposal plan 4 , can be viewed in Warlingham Library or at www.warlinghampc.org.uk

A Warlingham Home Guard statement said: "The council has already spend thousands of pounds on this project.

"We feel strongly that, before any more cost is incurred, the parish council and other interested parties have the chance to find out what the people of Warlingham want for the future."

A BANSTEAD doctor has pleaded guilty to secretly filming more than a 1,000 patients, including children, in a three-year campaign.

Hearing specialist Lam Hoe Yeoh, 62, of Garratts Lane, pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court in London this morning to seven counts of voyeurism, six counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and one count of possessing extreme pornography involving an animal.

Prosecuting, Peter Clement said described the offences, which began in 2011, as a "sophisticated, organised, planned, long running campaign of voyeurism", the scale of which was "vast and beyond any previously encountered by the Metropolitan Police Service".

The court heard that Yeoh filmed patients, children and colleagues, as well as friends he invited to his home.

In total officers found 22 covert recording devices at his home, in his car hidden in boxes for hearing aids, and at hospital offices including St Helier's in Carshalton.

His crimes came to light in April this year when a camera rigged in toilets in St Anthony's Hospital in Cheam fell on the floor and was discovered by a female colleague.

Upon viewing it, saw Yeoh had inadvertently recorded himself installing it.

Following his arrest, subsequent searches found hard drives and memory sticks of hundreds of video files, labelled using graphic descriptions of the contents, or the time and date the footage was recorded.

Yeoh had also edited together videos of specific people which featured in a number of his videos. The films began with him greeting them in his clinic - filmed by a pen camera - then shows his consultation with them and then cuts to the patients using the lavatory.

Mr Clement said Yeoh, a father of three, "grossly abused" his position and "betrayed" those who trusted him.

The court also heard he filmed passengers using train toilets, including one girl who was around 3 or 4 years old.

Yeoh's voyeurism offences involved 32 named victims and more than 1,000 unknown.

The offences all took place between January 1, 2011 and April 15, 2014.

In mitigation, defence counsel Sally O'Neill said Yeoh's "obsession" with collecting videos was his bid to gain "some sense of control" amid a busy work schedule.

Judge Warwick McKinnon will sentence Yeoh tomorrow morning (Wednesday).

Yeoh's wife, Ivy Muihong Sng, also faced a charge of voyeurism, which was this morning discontinued.

This is a photo of the 19-year-old who today admitted murdering Caterham boy Breck Bednar.

Breck, of Crescent Road, died from a stab wound to the neck in February at a flat in Grays, Essex.

Essex Police have released the image of Lewis Daynes, 19, from Grays, after he admitting a murder charge at Chelmsford Crown Court this morning.

A complaint by the family of murdered Caterham boy Breck Bednar has led to a shake-up in Surrey Police procedures.

Assistant Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, said today that they received a call last December from a relative of Breck's expressing concerns about online grooming.

Two months later - on February 17 - he lay dead in an Essex flat after suffering a fatal stab wound.

And this morning computer engineer Lewis Daynes, 19, from Grays in Essex, pleaded guilty to murder when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Asst Chief Constable Stephens added: "A review of practises in our call handling centre has since been carried out and changes have been implemented to improve the way information is handled and shared."

A DAMAGED water main has closed a Chipstead road and "completely flooded" two flats.

In a statement on its website, Sutton and East Surrey Water said a "special situation" is currently taking place in Outwood Lane and warned Banstead and Chipstead residents that they may experience poor pressure and a total lack of supply.

The road is shut both ways between Lower Park Road and Rectory Lane and firefighters and police officers are attending.

One onlooker told the Mirror: "There's a whole street of houses that are flooded. They can't stop it."

Mike Austin, who lives in the road, said: "[Workers] have drilled through a water main and it's coming out like a river."

He said surface water had rushed from the damaged main towards a nearby block of flats. Mr Austin said the building's two ground floor properties had been "completely flooded".

Mr Austin added: "It started about half an hour ago. It's coming out like a river, there's a car park at the bottom and I should think the water is in cars by now.

"The two bottom flats are completely flooded. [One of the owners] said to me, 'Walking on the floor is like being aboard a boat'."

The water company said remedial works were taking place and it expected supply to return to normal later this evening.

A REDHILL student has spoken at a Remembrance event attended by the Queen.

Beulah Berrisford, 14, a pupil at The Warwick School, read the exhortation at the November 6 opening of the First World War Flanders Fields Memorial Garden at Wellington Barracks. in London.

"The garden enshrines soil brought from each of the 70 Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries on the fields of Belgium.

Beulah's participation, together with history teacher Amy Bradford, is a result of the school's twinning with a school in Belgium.

Pupils at the Noke Drive school have visited some of the wartime memorial sites there.

Beulah said: "It was an incredible honour to be asked to read the exhortation. I was terrified to do this properly as it was such a solemn occasion.

"But it was also a real honour as it was such an important event, both because the Queen was there but also because it recognised the sacrifice of all the soldiers who died."

A COUNCIL leader has urged a rethink over plans to increase council tax to pay for more policing.

Earlier this month Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Kevin Hurley warned that the cash-strapped force would have to make job cuts.

He said the only other option, which would instead double the number of uniformed response officers, would be for Surrey residents to pay an average £1 extra per week for policing – a 25 per cent rise.

But such a move would need residents' backing in a Surrey-wide referendum – and that would cost up to £1m to hold.

Tandridge District Council leader Gordon Keymer said: "I suggest the Commissioner thinks very carefully before going ahead with this increase.

"The referendum will only offer a choice of the budget limited by the government and Mr Hurley's suggested 25 per cent increase. No explanation for the excess increase is allowed on the ballot paper. It is a high risk use of £1m which could itself be used for front-line policing.

"I encourage him to follow Tandridge District Council's example where we have frozen council tax at the same level for four years, while maintaining a high standard of service."

THE new headmaster at Caterham School will be returning to his roots.

Ceri Jones, a former head of history at the school, will take over the hot seat next September after a 10-year spell at Tonbridge School.

Last year, father-of-two Mr Jones was seconded as executive principal to an academy in Kent which Tonbridge School co-sponsors.

And in 2012 he launched an access programme for disadvantaged but academically bright Year 9 students from non-selective maintained academies in Kent.

Jones will be replacing current headmaster Julian Thomas, who will be taking on a new headship at Wellington College.

Jonathan Bloomer, who chairs Caterham School's trustees, said: "We had a large number of applications from many heads and deputy heads.

"After a very competitive process there was strong agreement amongst the trustees that Ceri is ideally suited to take the school forward, building on all the achievements at Caterham over the past decade."

EAST Surrey MP Sam Gyimah has welcomed the publication of new advice to help residents protect themselves against financial fraud.

The British Bankers' Association guidance follows action taken this summer when Mr Gyimah led calls for a new, industry-wide public information campaign to improve awareness of the latest scams.

It came after he had helped a Godstone couple recover their life savings of £42,300 stolen through a "vishing" (voice-phishing) scam.

Financial Fraud Action UK identified vishing as a key driver for the 14 per cent rise in card ID theft last year.

The House of Commons Treasury Select Committee is investigating how to combat this.

Mr Gyimah said: "The experience of my constituents and others targeted by financial fraudsters is truly horrifying, and it could happen to anyone.

"When I met with the British Bankers' Association we discussed the need for the banking sector to do more to ensure customers are well-informed of the dangers posed by fraudsters.

"I am delighted that as part of this effort, the Know Fraud, No Fraud public information campaign has now been launched."

For more information about the campaign log on to www.bba.org.uk/landingpage/know-fraud

TACKLING poaching, speeding and the plight of a confused pensioner – it's all in a day's work for Tandridge's top cop.

Inspector Angie Austin gave a snapshot of her world when she hosted a public question and answer session on Friday evening on the Tandridge Beat Facebook site.

In answer to a query about poaching, she said: "We have had a few results on poaching recently.

"Two cases of fish poaching were dealt with, and a further three reported for summons to court after they were caught with animals – some of which we were able to free.

"If we have the evidence we do deal with them."

Only the night before the online chat police seized an air rifle, she added.

Residents taking part raised concerns over speeding on the A22 Caterham Bypass and also Croydon Road in Caterham.

Insp Austin said once a road was deemed a priority, police worked with Surrey County Council to look at long-term safety measures rather than just speed control measures.

Others voiced concerns about dangerous and irresponsible parking, both near Warlingham Village Primary School and outside the new Oakgrove development in Coulsdon Road, Caterham. In reply, the police chief said: "We get a lot of complaints about parking and obstruction. We try to deal with obstructions reported but we can't be everywhere."

Parking comes under Tandridge District Council's remit, with Reigate and Banstead Borough Council officers carrying out enforcement patrols.

But there are also more grassroots issues to contend with, Insp Austin explained: "Two officers have just spent over two hours dealing with an elderly and confused gent that turned up at the nick.

"Whilst essentially not a police matter we cannot walk away from it.

"But getting other agencies to actually help takes time and it keeps us off the streets."

She said such issues were the "silent priorities" they had to deal with every day.

MORE must be done to stop flooding on a major road.

That is the call from frustrated residents in Salfords, who say gullies along the busy A23 are so clogged up there are plant growing in them meaning water cannot drain away.

According to those who live near it, the busy road, which runs through Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords and into Horley, regularly floods near the Beefeater Grill restaurant in Salfords.

Stephen Rolph, who lives nearby, told the Mirror: "When you have a kitchen sink that is blocked you can drain it away yourself, but until you get the pipe itself cleaned properly it's going to keep happening.

"There was a gulley cleaner out in the evening last week doing some of the gullies but they still did not cope with the rain we had at the weekend ."

The call comes after the Met Office announced that its three-month outlook for the coming winter "suggests an increased risk of milder and wetter than average conditions for the period November-December-January".

Mr Rolph's concerns also follow flooding chaos last Christmas which led to the same section of the A23 being submerged.

However, at the time Surrey County Council spokeswoman Joy Ridley denied blocked drains and gullies could be blamed and instead said flooding was due to the volume of rainfall.

But Mr Rolph says the road has flooded around 10-15 times in the last year.

"The main issue is vehicles not being able to get through," he said.

"But also if a vehicle goes through selfishly and you have got some kids walking down with mum they are going to get swamped."

He also said there was a vegetation build up on the pavement on the Beefeater side of the road, which makes the path difficult for walkers to use.

Mr Rolph added: "I would like the county [council] to do a full, thorough gulley clean including rodding through the pipes for the gullies that take them into the flood water drains and into the river.

"There are pipes draining into the river which have to come from gullies and these are blocked with vegetation coming out of them.

"[The A23] takes the strain when the motorway shuts and there are five buses an hour in each direction."

When asked for a comment by the Mirror, Andy Robinson, a spokesman for Surrey County Council, did not dispute the problem was due to blocked gullies.

He added: "Surrey has over 169,000 gullies and a programme to clean the gullies most in need more frequently and more efficiently is underway, this programme will reduce flooding in these areas."