new milton advertiser man found dead after inferno destroys flat

NEW MILTON ADVERTISER
Stockists of
8 Mallard Buildings . Station Road
New Milton . BH25 6HY
[email protected]
Telephone 01425
FREE
PA
RKING
618848
Barton-on-Sea and
Lymington Times
INCORPORATING LYMINGTON
AND MILTON CHRONICLE
66, Old Milton Road,
New Milton, BH25 6DX
Tel: 01425 - 613384
Fax: 01425 - 610257
[email protected]
www.newmiltonadvertiser.co.uk
[email protected]
[email protected]
No. 4570
SATURDAY, JANUARY 16th, 2016
MAN FOUND DEAD AFTER
INFERNO DESTROYS FLAT
MAN died when flames
6tore through his flat above
A
a village’s parade of shops in the
early hours of Wednesday morning.
About 30 firefighters responded to
the blaze which broke out in the
first floor dwelling over Ashcroft
Hair salon on Lyndhurst Road,
Ashurst, shortly after 2am.
The property’s roof had completely caved in by the time crews from
Lyndhurst, Totton, Redbridge,
Hightown and St Mary’s had
brought the emergency
under control.
Wearing breathing apparatus,
they entered the building and
retrieved the body of the victim, a
man named locally as Ian who was
thought to have been in his 70s.
Paramedics were alerted around
2.30am and an ambulance was sent
to the scene, along with a full hazardous area response team
(HART). However, a South Central
Ambulance Service spokesman said
it soon became clear there was
nothing the crews could do to
help the victim.
Police sealed off the area, including the car parks of the adjacent
Happy Cheese pub and Ashurst
Hospital until around 7.45am while
initial investigations took place.
However, the main stretch of Lyndhurst Road was not affected.
Officers were collaborating with
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service
as they worked to establish the circumstances of the tragedy.
In a statement released on
Wednesday afternoon, Hampshire
Constabulary said: “At this stage
the cause of the fire is not believed
to be suspicious and we are preparing a file for the coroner.
“We are currently not in a position
to release any further details of the
deceased as no formal identification
has been made.”
A force spokeswoman told the
‘A&T’ health and safety risks had
delayed investigators in gaining
access to the gutted property to
[email protected]
Investigation: police and firefighters at the scene in Ashurst on Wednesday
carry out a thorough examination.
The incident has shocked traders
and shopkeepers on the parade.
Nick Hunter, owner of The Happy
Cheese pub, paid tribute to Ian,
who he said had been a regular customer and was very popular
with the staff.
“When I found out who it was I
was absolutely gutted as I knew
him very well,” Mr Hunter told the
‘A&T’. “He used to come into the
pub a lot – just about every day. Me
and the wife often had a good
laugh with him.
“He always sat on that stool at the
bar and drank from the same pewter tankard. He will be sadly missed.
“Our condolences go out to his
family. They were all here for Christmas lunch not long ago, and he was
in here only last night.”
Assistant manager Harriet Frampton said: “You could have a bit of a
joke with him.
“Whenever I was closing he’d say,
‘Are you closing on your own? I’ll
wait with you till you’ve finished’.”
Ms Frampton said staff had
become so used to him being at the
pub, they had previously knocked
on his door to check he was OK
when he failed to show up.
Mr Hunter described him as “like
part of the fabric of the building”.
“The manager of the pub, Liz
Blundell, was devastated when I
told her about it over the phone this
morning as she’s visiting relatives
up north,” he added.
Pauline Brown, who has run nearby Southern Sewing and Upholstery
Services for 14 years, told the ‘A&T’:
“It’s dreadful. I did hear something
about it earlier this morning, but I
didn’t know exactly where it was
until we got here. It’s just a shock
really. It’s sad.”
Seema Stovold, receptionist at
Unicorn Vets, added: “You don’t
really see this sort of thing happening in Ashurst.
“ We d o n’ t k n o w t h e p e r s o n
involved. A lot of the businesses
here don’t know the people living in
the flats as they are often out at
work themselves while we’re here.”
40p
A Big Issue for Ed as
he’s named top vendor
Stewart who died on Saturday
after suffering a severe stroke at
his home in New Milton.
Devastation: the rear of the property
AWARD WINNING CHIROPRACTIC CLINICS
Dr Shelley Irving consulting in our New Milton practice is a
highly experienced Chiropractor with extensive experience in
treating a wide spectrum of complaints - from headaches and neck
pain to low back and leg pain. The majority of Shelley’s patients are
referrals from other happy patients.
The 74-year-old was best known
as the host of the BBC Radio 1
show ‘Junior Choice’, which attracted up to 17-million listeners, and
the hit TV show ‘Crackerjack’. In
recent years, Ed had been invited
back to BBC Radio 2 to host festive
editions of ‘Junior Choice’, and the
most recent of these aired on
Christmas Day.
Over the last few months, Ed had
been working with Ian Woolley, the
founder of the New Milton-based
national quizzing website Quiz Britain, and was set to launch ‘Stewpot’s Music Quiz Tour’ next month.
In November, Ed and Ian held a
charity event at the Walhampton
Arms in Lymington to test the quiz
and
raised
£650
for
Oakhaven Hospice.
Ian told the ‘A&T’: “Ed had a wonderful sense of humour, he was
always laughing and joking. Only
last Friday we were out together for
WIN
a 7-day Luxury
River Cruise for
two with
EW MILTON Big Issue
6seller Ed Sirani, who
N
says the job has been crucial in
helping him get off the streets
and stay sober, has been
named local vendor of the year.
A familiar face in the town, Ed
(58) travels by bus from Bournemouth around four to five times
a week to sell copies of The Big
Issue from his regular spot in
Station Road.
He told the ‘A&T’: “I know the
town very well after seven years
and the people are very nice – I
see them like a family. Lots of
people stop to talk to me and
everyone seems ready to help out
if they can.”
To cover his £6 bus fare Ed must
sell at least five magazines a day
for the £2.50 cover price as he
pays The Big Issue £1.25
per magazine.
He said: “My sales are not enormously high – I have about 40 to
50 regular customers who tend to
buy the magazine from me every
week and others who buy it once
a month or so.
“I do understand that there are
lots of elderly people with not
much money so I always say that
they shouldn’t feel they have to
buy it every week. I know that
there are many people who
are struggling.
“If the weather is very nice I can
sell quite a few but when it is cold
and rainy it can be more difficult.”
Ed credits selling The Big Issue
with transforming his life and
enabling him to secure temporary
accommodation.
“When my father died I found it
very difficult to cope and had a
problem with drinking,” he
explained. “Since I’ve been selling The Big Issue I haven’t been
drinking at all.
“At the moment I have temporary accommodation and I am
doing everything I can to try and
stay off the streets. I won’t give
up — I will carry on and hope
for the best.
See page 15
for your entry form
DISTRICT
NEWS
NEW FOREST
A new case of Alabama Rot has
claimed the life of a dog which had
recently been walked in Lyndhurst.
Winchester-based Anderson Moores
Veterinary Specialists revealed on
Thursday the lurcher had to be put
to sleep after developing the disease,
which is known to have led to the
deaths of 16 dogs in the district.
Page 3
WATERSIDE
The head of a health trust which
was criticised for failing to investigate the deaths of people with mental health problems and learning difficulties was bombarded by calls to
resign. Chief executive of Southern
Health NHS Foundation, Katrina
Percy, came under fire during a
meeting at the organisation’s Tatchbury Mount base in Calmore on
Monday. Page 10
WALKFORD
“It is important to me to sell
The Big Issue, which also supports other homeless people
through The Big Issue Foundation. I was homeless for quite a
few years so I know the feeling
that people have and it encourages me to do all I can
to help them.”
Fond memories of ‘Stewpot’ who
made his home in New Milton
RIBUTES have been paid
to DJ and children’s telT
evision presenter Ed ‘Stewpot’
A&T ReAdeR CompeTiTion
a meal at the
Hounds in Sway.
Hare
and
“He was always happy to laugh at
himself and he liked to play on the
fact that he was tight. He would say,
‘I’ve got an impediment with my
reach’, referring to reaching for his
wallet. He was actually not tight at
all but he was always happy to
laugh at himself.
“Ed had friends dotted all around
the world – I had only known him
for a few months but we had
become quite close.”
Born in Exmouth, Devon, in April
1941, Edward Stewart Mainwaring,
was brought up in Wimbledon and
attended St Edward’s School in
Oxford. He demonstrated a love of
music from an early age, playing in
the school orchestra and singing
in the choir.
His presenting career started in
Hong Kong when he was 20. After
arriving to take part in a tour as the
bassist with a jazz band, he found
work at a local radio station. After
spending four years at the station
honing his skills, he returned to the
(Continued on page 2)
Ed was chosen to receive the
Bournemouth office’s 2015 vendor of the year award for his commitment, customer feedback and
sales record.
A spokesperson for The Big
Issue said: “Ed has worked tire(Continued on page 2)
Woman dies
after vehicle
hit on A31
has died after
6her stationary car was hit
AMOTORIST
by another vehicle on the A31
near Stoney Cross.
Nicola Price’s silver Toyota MR2
was struck by a black Mitsubishi
Mirage while it was stopped on the
nearside lane of the westbound carriageway at Bratley Arch around
3.25pm on Friday last week.
A contentious plan to build a cookery school in the grounds of the
Chewton Glen hotel has been given
the go-ahead after it was backed by
TV chef James Martin. Christchurch
Borough Council had refused the hotel’s first bid, but agreed this time
around after Mr Martin told them
the scheme represented a “great opportunity” for young cooks. Page 12
regular features
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Bankruptcy
p7
Obituaries
p8
Christian Comment
p 14
Sport
p 16, p 17 & p 18
50 Years Ago
p 20
Puzzle Corner
p 20
Local Women’s Activities
p 23
Theatre Review
p 23
Clubs & Societies
p 25
Planning
p 25
Letters
p 26
eating Out
Local restaurants on page 8 & 9
What’s On
Forthcoming events on pages 20-22
Ms Price (39), from Stockbridge,
had suffered serious injuries and
was flown by air ambulance to
Southampton General Hospital,
(Continued on page 2)
Jewellers & Watchmakers
119 High Street, Lymington, Hampshire
Telephone: 01590 672665
Our services include:
valuatiOns: for insurance and probate.
Jewellery repairs: a complete service.
“
I have been visiting Shelley for a number of years and can
honestly say she has made a huge difference to my overall health
and well-being. I had been suffering with neck and lower back
problems, which were affecting my daily routines and activities.
With regular Chiropractic adjustments my symptoms have virtually
disappeared. I think more clearly and I feel much healthier! I
always look forward to my visits to Shelley. I know she really cares
about her patients and always goes that extra mile to provide
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”
(Joanne Bird)
Teacher, Brockenhurst
In-Clinic X-ray Department • Patient Parking
restringing: of Pearls and Beads.
silverware: Repair, Restoration.
Re-plating and Gilding.
watches & clOcks: All types. Antiques
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The above are carried out quickly and professionally
by our own craftsmen at reasonable prices and are
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Member of the British Chiropractic Association and
Registered with the General Chiropractic Council
27 Old Milton Road, NEW MILTON
(01425) 62 88 44
www.britchiro.com
We are also able to specially design and
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