A WESTCOTT company hit the small screen when their products made an appearance in a primetime television series.

The Empty Box Company, which makes handmade luxury hat and dress boxes, was commissioned to supply 120 Edwardian-style boxes for ITV's popular new drama Mr Selfridge.

The first episode of the show, which tells the story of the opening of the first Selfridge's department store in 1909, prominently showed a large stack of the items in the shop's foyer.

Company director Giselle Hulme, 48, said: "We were thrilled to see our boxes in such a perfect setting, a period drama set in Edwardian times when hats and dresses arrived in beautiful boxes."

The Balchins Lane-based company, which employs 16 people, was approached with a mysteriously large order from the show's producers last year.

After the network picked out a white design teamed with a bottle green ribbon, Ms Hulme's team set to work, taking 60 hours to make the 120 containers.

The boxes were shown behind Mr Selfridge, played by Jeremy Piven, as he gave an inspiring speech to his staff. As well as their initial appearance, the boxes have featured in later episodes.

Ms Hulme, a mother of three, who lived in Westcott for many years, added: "We didn't know it would be on the programme until we saw the trailer. We were very excited."

The company was founded 25 years ago by Ms Hulme and her husband James Teague.

Their products are handmade at their workshops in Westcott and Tavistock, Devon, where the couple now live. The firm has previously supplied boxes to the Welsh National Opera for use in a stage production.

Mr Selfridge can be seen on Sundays at 9pm on ITV1.

To purchase your own Mr Selfridge hat box, go to www.emptybox.co.uk

IF YOU are going to have an enforced break because of snow, it is nice to go into it top of the league. but Lisa Nightingale insists Oxted are desperate to get back out on the hockey pitch.

Oxted had their game last weekend postponed due to the weather and have been able to train outside due to snow on the pitches, but captain Nightingale is hopeful of Saturday's game at Wimbledon II being on - and not just because the alternative is extra fitness sessions.

"We haven't been able to train outside so we have been doing circuit training - it might be good for us but it's not much fun," she confessed. "Unfortunately, even underneath the snow a lot of pitches are still frozen so while we are hoping the Wimbledon game is on, a lot of it comes down to clearing the snow and seeing how it is underneath.

"If we have to rearrange there are spare dates though. In our league no games are organised for school half-terms so we can arrange games then."

Oxted are currently two points clear of second placed Surbiton in the Surrey Ladies' Hockey League Premier Division, and Nightingale is confident the circuit training will put her team in good stead for the second half of the season.

"We had a win in our last game the weekend before last against Woking but from there you really want to play as soon as possible to keep up the momentum," she said. "It is nice to have the rest but if we carry on training hard hopefully we will be raring to go for our next game."

A MOTORCYCLIST has died following a multiple-vehicle crash on the M3 southbound this morning (Tuesday, January 29).

The collision happened just before 7am and the motorway is open to traffic on the hard shoulder only between junction 2 at the M25 junction and junction 3 at Lightwater.

The motorcyclist was in collision with a car, and a number of other vehicles have been involved but there are no further injuries.

South East Coast Ambulance (SECAMB) paramedics were at the scene shortly before 7am. 

A SECAMB spokesman said: "We sent two ambulances and a car, however sadly the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene."

Surrey Police is advising motorists to seek alternative routes as traffic is currently backed up on the M3 and the M25 and motorists may face delays of a few hours.

LEATHERHEAD Football Club have expressed their relief that no one was seriously injured after a wall collapsed at the Tanners' Fetcham Grove ground on Saturday.
A wall collapsed behind one of the goals at the ground in the 78th minute of their clash with Dulwich Hamlet, as visiting supporters celebrated Dulwich's second goal.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident, but the referee took the decision to abandon the game on health and safety grounds, with nails reportedly found by the side of the pitch from a broken advertising hoarding.
After the game, Tanners' boss Richard Brady said it was fortunate no one was hurt in the incident and Leatherhead chairman Peter Ashdown has since released a statement echoing the manager's view and confirming that the incident is the subject of an investigation.
The statement reads: "The extraordinary scenes that resulted in the abandonment of Saturday's Rymans League game in the 78th minute are the subject of a Ryman League Investigation.
"The club is of course offering every assistance it can to the League.
"It is not our policy to apportion blame, but we are pleased to report that nobody was injured when a section of the wall in front of the terracing collapsed whilst Dulwich Hamlet supporters were celebrating their second goal."
The statement adds that the club will keep supporters informed of any league decision as a result of the investigation and whether the game is to be replayed.
The matter is expected to be discussed at a monthly Ryman League Board meeting on Thursday (January 31).

ROYAL Surrey County Hospital has been listed among NHS hospitals with the highest mortality rates in the country.

Some 122 more people than expected died at the Guildford-based hospital during 2011-2012, according to new figures.

The hospital was tenth in a list of 12 Trusts where "excess deaths" were recorded over a 12 month period.

The figures, released in a study by health care analysts Dr Foster and led by professor Sir Brian Jarman, show a 14 per cent rise in the mortality rate at Royal Surrey County Hospital.

This compares with an almost 20 per cent rise in deaths at Northern Devon Healthcare - the highest in the list. Professor Jarman has called on the hospitals listed in the report to act quickly to bring down mortality rates.

SURREY'S Police and Crime Commissioner Kevin Hurley has said he will investigate the case of a prolific Woking burglar who was let off with a caution for 113 thefts and burglaries.

Jason Dernbach, of Claremont Avenue, escaped with a retrospective caution after raiding the homes and cars between 2005 and 2007.

The 24-year-old was handed the punishment by Surrey Police while in jail for 26 separate offences.

The police force's policy of multiple cautions has since been suspended, but the county's newly-elected PCC Kevin Hurley is reported to be investigating the case.

Dernbach is serving 54 months imprisonment for burglaries carried out during June to November 2011.

A YOUNG woman suffered a suspected head injury after being hit by a car earlier this morning (January 29).

The 18-year-old was walking along Victoria Way near the junction with Chobham Road just after 9am when she was in collision with a silver Toyota Rav 4.

She has been taken to St George's Hospital with a suspected head injury. The driver of the Rav 4 was shaken but not injured.

Emergency services have been on the scene and the road remains partially open.

Police have been called to a multi-storey car park in Epsom town centre following concerns for the safety of a man there.

The incident, at The Ashley Centre car park was reported to the police at 10:45 this morning.

The A24 Ashley Avenue is currently closed and there are restrictions on pedestrians while emergency services attend to the situation.

More to follow.

A teenager, who officers were concerned for at the Ashley Centre in Epsom, has been brought to a place of safety.

Police were called to the Ashley Centre multi-storey car park in Epsom town centre at 10:45 this morning following concerns for the safety of a man there.

Negotiators at the scene brought the man in his late twenties down at around 12:45.

The A24 Ashley Avenue was closed where emergency services attended the situation but the one-way system has now reopened again.

Epsom's Royal Automobile Club will host a charity fashion show, with trends from one of Surrey's top boutiques on show.

The proceeds will go to Leatherhead based charity Happy Child International, which rescues children from the streets of Belo Horizonte and Recife in Brazil.

The charity was founded in 1993 and has helped 9,000 children to date.

The fashion show will display the new spring/summer collection from Courtyard designer boutique in Guildford and sought after collections from designers such Marc Cain and Fabian Fillipi will be on show.

Sarah de Carvalho, Chief Executive of Happy Child International, says: "As a Surrey-based charity we wanted to hold a local event for our supporters and thought that a day of fun and fashion would be a great way of raising funds for our cause".

"Happy Child is hoping to raise between £6,000 and £8,000 from the fashion show which will be used to support two new projects which we will be opening in the city of Recife in the poor north-east of Brazil in March this year".

"One of the projects will be helping girls living on the street while the other is helping young men aged between 18 and 21 escape a life of crime".

"We need the support of the community in Surrey now more than ever to help get these young people off the street and give them a chance in life."

The show starts at 12 noon on Monday 11th March and tickets cost £45.

For more information about the event and how to buy tickets, visit Happy Child's website at www.happychild.org.

ZAC KING says Chris Robshaw is an inspiration to all young rugby players at Warlingham.

The former Warlingham minis player was this week re-appointed as England captain ahead of the forthcoming RBS Six Nations.

And Wars skipper King said it was fantastic for the club to have representation at the highest possible level.

He said: "Chris has done a great job and he is a fantastic player.

"His dedication and commitment is clear to see on the field and his attitude is a massive example to all the youngsters at the club.

"It is fantastic for us to wheel out that he was from Warlingham and it is great for our young players to see what is attainable."

And King says it also speaks volumes of the England skipper that he does not forget his roots, having visited Hamsey Green last year to help coach some of the club's youngsters.

"He was nice and friendly and he still recognises his club and where he has come from," said King.

"And it was fantastic that he took the time to come and see some of the young guys."

One young player, 11-year-old Archie McMillan, also had the opportunity to walk out with Robshaw as mascot for England's match with South Africa at Twickenham last November.

And the young Warlingham junior said it was a great occasion to meet one of his idols.

Meanwhile, England head coach Stuart Lancaster has praised his skipper, who led England to second place last year in the Six Nations, before receiving the prestigious Pat Marshall award at the Rugby Union Writers' Club dinner.

In doing so, the Harlequins flanker became the first England captain since Martin Johnson in 2003 to win the award and only the third in the 52-year history of the award.

Lancaster said: "Chris stepped into the role 12 months ago when we were building a new team, and he has grown as a leader on and off the field. He showed those leadership qualities during the QBE Internationals, and especially against the All Blacks, when the whole squad got behind him.

"We have a number of leaders and I know they will all take this team forwards with Chris as we look to kick on from that result."

Robshaw himself said he was really pleased to be asked again.

He said: "There are other leaders in the squad that Stuart could have turned to so I am really honoured.

"The lads have been great over the last year and now our focus is on building on the New Zealand performance and getting a result against Scotland."

England begin their Six Nations campaign at home to Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday, February 2.

A FORMER policeman who became a curate is off on a new "beat".

Bob Weldon spent 30 years as a Surrey police officer – before retiring three years ago to work in the church.

Since then he has become a familiar sight amid the Whyteleafe and Chaldon communities, with his dog collar constantly on show.

He served as curate of St Luke's Church, in Whyteleafe Hill, and St Peter and St Paul Church, in Rook Lane, Chaldon.

But on Friday he left for pastures new – having made an "immense" impression on his flock.

Grandfather of one Mr Weldon, 56, who lived in Boxwood Way, Warlingham, has been appointed vicar in the Kent village of Westwell, near Ashford.

He said: "I have loved my time in Whyteleafe and Chaldon, and am leaving some wonderful people behind.

"I've mixed feelings about going."

Mr Weldon said his proudest moments included establishing links with the nearby Whyteleafe Tavern – which has flourished into a weekly senior citizens' lunch club at the pub – and a ministry to Whyteleafe Station.

He added: "I make myself available to chat to commuters.

"One man eventually confided in me that he was undergoing a bit of a mid-life crisis.

"Through gradually talking with me more confidently, we managed to resolve some of his issues."

Back on his first day as a police constable, Mr Weldon was stabbed in the face by a knifeman in Camberley.

He said he tried to put his Christian principles into practice throughout his career – although it was not always easy.

Mr Weldon recalled: "I spent about 30 weeks in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire during the miners' strike. I felt the miners were fighting for their livelihoods, and many of their communities ended up being virtually destroyed.

"I used to give away my food to some of the strikers and play football with them.

"I regret what happened to them."

He also took part in a relief convoy to a Romanian orphanage soon after the country had been freed from communism.

Rev Tim Goode, the vicar for Whyteleafe and Chaldon, said: "We will miss Bob hugely.

"He has made an immense contribution to the parish and has left a lasting legacy with the links to the pub and the pastoral care of commuters.

"He has a huge heart.

"We take big satisfaction knowing he is leaving to take on greater responsibility."

Mr Weldon returned to Whyteleafe on Sunday to preside at his final service, the 9.30am Holy Communion at St Luke's.

Members of both churches gave him a send-off with a shared lunch in St Luke's Hall from 1pm.

RESIDENTS are being invited to plot the future of an eyesore former car showroom site which was once the stamping ground of famous actor Bill Nighy.

The Pinewood site in Chaldon Road, Caterham, has gradually become a wasteland since it shut down in 2006.

The building, which was targeted by arsonists and graffiti vandals, was eventually demolished in 2007.

Now the public's views are being sought on the future of the site.

Alan Weston from Weston Architects – based in Stafford Road, Caterham – is seeking the public's wish lists over what they believe should be done to transform the redundant land.

A planning application seven years ago for 21 flats there was rejected by both Tandridge District Council and a planning inspector.

Mr Weston said: "Some form of residential use may be the most likely action. But a part-commercial use is an option.

"I drive past this site regularly, and I think everyone would like to see the back of it in its present state."

Sarah Burningham, who chairs Caterham on the Hill Parish Council, said: "Many local residents want something done about this site.

"In its present state it presents a poor image at one of the 'gateways' to the town."

The site has a quirky connection with a prominent TV and film actor.

Bill Nighy, whose credits range from Love Actually to Doctor Who, lived in the adjoining house as a child.

His father Alfred managed the garage.

David Fisher, who lives in adjacent Auckland Road, recalled: "I remember seeing this boy playing in the garden of the house next door.

"I asked him who he was and he said 'I'm Billy and I live here'."

Mr Fisher added: "The site has turned into an overgrown eyesore.

"The flats plan they had before was quite good, although maybe with a few less properties and a few more parking spaces."

There was a brief flurry of excitement in February 2009 when a four-foot-high drawing of a woman in tears appeared on a side wall at the site.

It prompted some locals to conclude that it might be the work of secretive guerrilla artist Banksy.

Hopes were diminished when the same images cropped up overnight on other derelict buildings in Caterham Valley.

Any views on the future of the site can be e-mailed to aw@westonarchitects.co.uk

FURIOUS care workers took to the picket line in protest at "horrendous" changes to their contracts.

Staff working for Prospect Housing and Support Services are being forced to take on new contracts with lower wages and fewer holidays – amounting to a loss of up to £16,000 per year for some individuals.

Most of the staff are former NHS workers whose contracts have been transferred over the last two years to the company, which provides workers to care homes as well as at-home support for vulnerable adults across East Surrey.

But workers have just been told they must sign new contracts by April or face losing their jobs.

Around 30 protesters, supported by GMB, the union for care staff, protested outside Prospect's Horley offices in Massetts Road on Friday calling for new contract talks and the resignation of chief executive Deborah Tosler.

GMB organising officer Sheila Carlson said: "You are talking about real hardship.

"What she's [Ms Tosler] done is horrendous, she had a consultation, we objected and she's imposed it.

"We asked if she would be willing to have her wages cut and she said no."

Protesters claim the company's managers pressed on with drastic cuts to employees' pay packets without reviewing the company's efficiency.

The revised contracts mean some workers will lose around a fifth of their salary, along with fewer holidays and a cut in paid sick leave days.

"I am appalled at what the chief executive has done," said Patricia Maloney, GMB branch secretary who will lose £8,500 from her salary.

"It is appalling to do this to hard working care staff. Some of us have worked for 20 years."

Mrs Carlson says GMB and Surrey County Council have agreed to meet with Prospect to discuss the matter but Ms Tosler has refused to meet.

The protesters accused Ms Tosler of putting the vulnerable adults at risk by threatening workers' jobs and called her "unfit" for her position.

"Staff have lost faith, trust and confidence in her ability to run the company," Mrs Carlson said.

THE future of Sainsbury's redevelopment plans in Redhill hang in the balance.

The supermarket giant secured planning permission to treble the size of its London Road store, as well as build a 98-bedroom hotel, gym and 562-space car park on site, last year.

But, following concerns that Travelodge – the hotel provider involved in the deal – would be unable to go through with the plan, developers submitted a second "back-up" application without the hotel. Members of Reigate and Banstead Borough Council's planning committee met last week to discuss the revised application and looked set to reject it.

But following a lengthy debate, they decided to defer a decision for at least a month to the next meeting. Many councillors voiced their opposition to the new plans including council leader Joan Spiers, who, despite not being on the planning committee, urged them to reject the plan.

"The town needs a hotel," said Councillor Spiers. "The hotel will provide jobs for Redhill and it will bring in a lot of people. My attitude is quite simple. Sainsbury's asked for a hotel because they knew that is what we wanted."

Redhill West councillor and cabinet member for regeneration Natalie Bramhall said the inclusion of the hotel was a major factor in the development.

She added: "This would provide something that people really need. It would be something where business people could stay and then go out into Redhill. It would bring more vitality to Redhill. I don't want to say we don't want it at all but what we want is what we agreed over a year ago with the hotel."

Green Party Councillor Jonathan Essex also objected and provided written reasons for refusal.

But rather than reject the revised plan outright, councillors deferred making a decision to consider how the application will affect employment levels and to check the legal implications of rejecting it. Travelodge has also since confirmed it could run a 70-bed hotel on the site and a third application could be submitted.

Sainsbury's and Aviva Investors spokesman James Mallinson said: "Following the deferral of our planning application, we will continue discussions with Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. We hope to achieve a positive resolution as soon as possible to give the development, including a hotel, the best chance of being delivered."

"WE ARE a community racecourse and will remain that way" – this is the pledge from the new executive director of Lingfield Park, Andrew Perkins.

Fears that the Arena Leisure-owned racecourse could become "another Folkestone", which was closed last year with the possibility of 800 houses being built to fund a refurbishment, were quashed by Mr Perkins on Monday.

The Racecourse Road venue has recently spent more than £2 million on an all-weather track.

Mr Perkins said: "The simple answer is no, we have no plans to sell any part of the racecourse and that kind of investment would not be made if this was in the pipeline at all.

"We are considered to be the flagship racecourse for Arena Leisure and long may this continue."

He added that he would maintain and grow the racecourse's relationship with Lingfield villagers.

He said: "It would be too easy for us to be considered on our own, but we want to be a huge part of the community.

"We will continue to work with and for the community of Lingfield."

Originally from Birmingham, Mr Perkins, 35, returned to the UK after three years working at the Rome Park Marriott, in Italy. Although he has never worked within the horse racing circuit, he has pledged to "learn quickly and accurately".

He said: "I was looking for a move and when I saw this job come up, it intrigued me.

"My background is in hotels and hospitality, but this would also teach me about horse racing."

Mr Perkins joined the venue in October. He said: "In the three months I have been here I have realised what an amazing sport horse racing is.

"The excitement and thrill on the race days is remarkable."

He added that he wants the racecourse to be seen as a "resort", because it has a hotel, spa, gym and golf course on site, and said: "We want to encompass it all and it is a huge selling point."

The racecourse will hold 104 race days this year.

Mr Perkins said that he had learned a lot within the first few months.

He added: "Because we have so many, I have learnt so quickly what racing involves and the team here know so much in their own roles that we have a lot of expertise in one venue."

He believes Lingfield Park is one of the busiest racecourses in Europe.

He said: "We do not consider ourselves to be in competition with any other racecourse because we are unique and every other racecourse has different things to offer.

"I feel very proud to work here and I hope we will continue to be part of the community."

A CATERHAM fighter says the "sky is the limit" for mixed martial arts as he prepares to fight in Redhill next month.

David Zetolofsky, who fights as a middleweight in the K1 form of kickboxing, is on the card for the mixed martial arts event at the Harlequin Theatre on Sunday, February 17.

And the 27-year-old, who is a full-time father, says he is looking forward to the buzz of a hometown crowd. He said: "I am sure it will spur me on having friends and family in the crowd and it should be a good night."

Zetolofsky, who trains under Extreme Fighters in Redhill, got into fighting about five years ago and has since travelled up and down the country to make a living and support his children.

"If I get asked to fight somewhere, I go there and do it," he said.

"It is my career and I don't really care if I go somewhere and get booed, that just spurs me on even more as I have got that stubbornness.

"Fighting is something I always wanted to do and having tried boxing, I saw a video of some guys cage fighting and thought I want to do that.

"So I got training and eventually I got to fight the guy I had been watching on YouTube."

And Zetolofsky says he aims to try and get as far as he can in the sport.

"Everyone's goal is to get to the Ultimate Fighting Championships," he said.

"For me, I would love to get there, but I will just keep doing it as long as I am healthy and able to and see where it takes me."

Beyond fighting, he hopes to be able to run his own gym, with Zetolofsky already helping to coach youngsters locally. "If I can get to the stage of making an impact in the local community, that would be great," he said.

Meanwhile, with the February event in Redhill already sold out, Zetolofsky said the ticket sales prove the demand there is for mixed martial arts as a mainstream sport.

"I think the way it is going, it is seen as more of a sport now than a spectacle.

"The days of it being viewed as thugs having a fight put a lot of people off of it.

"But I think it is becoming like boxing now and that will never die out.

"Mixed martial arts will one day get to that stage and I think now it is at that stage where it is make or break for the sport.

"I think the sky is the limit for it, but we will have to wait and see."

A PREP school is making big plans to expand to make more room for pupils and improve teaching facilities.

Priory Preparatory School in Banstead has submitted a planning application to Reigate and Banstead Borough Council for a new building which will house eight classrooms.

Governors at the all-boys school, which was founded in 1921 and currently has about 200 students, also want to create two larger teaching spaces with room for extra facilities.

But, since being placed on the council's website, the plans have come in for criticism.

One Bolters Lane resident writes: "My concern rests with the potential number of pupils that the school may aspire to. In theory it could almost double pupil numbers.

"In my experience the school does not have a good record of relating to its neighbours and is quite frivolous in its ability to apply a major obstruction to Bolters Lane by parking coaches that often wait a considerable time for pupils to fill them. I would be less concerned if the decision gave a specific limit of pupils that cannot be exceeded without a further application to the council, preferably the existing 200."

The Banstead Village Residents Association, local councillors and neighbours are currently being consulted on the plans, before a final decision is made later in the year.

It is hoped the development, if approved by the council's planning committee, will be completed in time for the new academic year in September.

Following a meeting of the school's governors last Wednesday, head teacher Graham Malcolm declined to comment on the school's plans or aspirations.