www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk June 12, 2009 MERCURY M 7
Newsbriefs
THE East Herts Ramblers'
Association has launched its
walking programme for the
summer.
The first walk, which will take
place next Sunday, June 21, will
be a 10-mile (16.1km) circular to
Braughing, when walkers will
meet at the Clapgate/Albury
village car park at 10am and will
stop for lunch in Braughing.
A circular walk west of Hertford
will take place on June 28 at
10am, meeting at Thieves Lane
car park and walking via Birch
Green, Tewin and Bramfield.
A circular walk east of
Buntingford will take place on
July 18, which will meet at 10am
at Buntingford car park with
lunch at Anstey.
There will be a circular walk via
Furneux Pelham on August 22,
meeting at 10am at Clapgate/
Albury village hall car park.
Lunch will be at Furneux
Pelham.
For more information contact
easthertsramblers@ntlworld.com.
Boots are out for
summer rambles
FIRE crews battled a car blaze in
Benington in the early hours of
the morning.
Firefighters raced to High Elms
Lane on Monday at around
12.25am and used breathing
apparatus and one jet to
extinguish the blaze.
No-one was injured and the
cause of the fire was doubtful.
Doubtful cause of
early morning fire
Angry gym man
called manager
`a thieving Arab'
Family can't be found
a house large enough
A HERTFORD man was fined �740 for
racial abuse after calling a gym manager
"a thieving Arab".
Paul Hart, 45, was angry that his
daughter could not swim in the pool at
Nuffield Fitness and Wellbeing Centre
because no lifeguard was on duty, St
Albans Crown Court was told.
Prosecutor David Chrimes said on
Monday that 6ft 4in (1.92m) Hart, of
Valeside, became involved in a heated
argument with the manager at the gym
on the Madford Retail Park, off Ware
Road, and a receptionist.
During the course of the row, Hart said to
the manager: "Leave me alone, you
thieving Arab."
Police were called to the incident on
Sunday January 18 and arrested Hart,
who was handcuffed and spent eight
hours in custody.
Hart pleaded guilty to an offence of
racially aggravated public order. Defence
counsel Robert Colover said Hart offered
an "unreserved apology" for the events.
Judge John Plumstead ordered Hart to
pay a total of �540 compensation and �200
legal costs. He told him: "I am extremely
sorry to see you here, You are a
respectable man who, when faced with a
petty irritation, spoke out in an
unacceptable way."
A FAMILY of six who have spent
a year waiting to be rehoused are
beginning to despair that they
will ever find a big enough prop-
erty, because of the lack of four-
bedroom homes available.
David Horswell and his wife
Tracey, of Tower Road, Ware, have
been told that they can only bid for
homes with four bedrooms
through the Choice Based Lettings
scheme, because a three-bedroom
property would be too small for
them.
In the meantime, they are hav-
ing to live with their four children,
aged between 8 months and 8
years old, in a two-bedroom flat,
with the parents sleeping in the
living room.
Now Mrs Horswell is expecting
another baby and the family is des-
perate to move, but say that only
about four properties large enough
have been available in the last
year, and their bids have not been
successful.
Mr Horswell said: "My wife's
pregnant and we live on the first
floor, so she has to struggle with a
double buggy and she's fallen
down the stairs once."
When the family moved into the
flat two years ago, they only had
two children, but since then their
family has grown.
A spokeswoman for East Herts
Council said: "We are aware of
this particular case. There is only
a limited demand for four-bed
houses and, as in the private sec-
tor, there is not a large stock of
such properties in East Herts.
"We are currently speaking to
some developers in Buntingford
with a view to seeing if they can
provide some four-bed houses as
part of their social housing obliga-
tions. We have to find a balance
between having enough four-bed
houses and having an oversupply,
which would lead to underoccupa-
tion."
A spokeswoman for Riversmead
Housing Association said: "We
have 24 four-bedroom properties in
the East Herts area, none of which
are vacant at present. Whilst we
seek, like most housing associa-
tions, to increase the number of
affordable homes, in doing so we
respond to the needs expressed by
the local authority in their Local
Housing Strategy and in line with
planning policies.
"We have plans to add to the
existing homes we currently own
over the next five years, some of
which will be larger three- and
four-bedroom homes.
"We are acutely aware of the
shortage of large homes for local
families. We sympathise with Mr
Horswell and are continuing to
work with him to improve the fam-
ily's housing situation."
By CATHERINE
LOFTHOUSE
CHIEF REPORTER
catherine.lofthouse@hertsessexnews.co.uk
DESPERATE:
The Horswells,
left, are worried
that they may
not be found a
home large
enough for their
expanding
family. They
are, from left,
Jessica, 4;
Reilly, 8
months;
pregnant mum
Tracey; Kian, 19
months, dad
David and
Jamie, 8
Photo:
MER0560706
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