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Wednesday January 16 | 2019
Root and branch reform begins in bid to save tree on River Lawn SPECIALIST treatment started last week on the horse chestnut tree on River Lawn that became a cause celebre before Christmas. The tree is on the boundary of the new Tonbridge Medical Group surgery, which is being built by Assura on the site of the Teen and Twenty Club. It was scheduled to be cut down until supporters of the campaign group Keep River Lawn Green [KRLG] staged a week-long vigil around it – and in the branches. The protesters called on the developer to save the tree, which suffers from bleeding canker, and Assura have authorised leading arboriculturalists to treat it.
COURAGEOUS Paula Hudgell, Tony and Tom Tugendhat with the petition
Petition demands longer prison sentences for cruelty to children By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk AN ADOPTIVE family’s fight for stiffer sentences on those who perpetrate acts of cruelty against children was taken to Parliament last week. Tom Tugendhat, MP for Tonbridge & Malling, handed in a petition with 12,000 signatures calling for an increase on the current 10-year maximum term. The petition was set up by Paula Hudgell of Kings Hill, whose family adopted Tony after his birth parents ‘left him at death’s door’. Jody Simpson, 24, and Tony Smith, 47, carried out the attacks in Maidstone in 2014. Tony, now four, was just 41 days
old when he was admitted to hospital with sepsis, multi-organ failure and multiple bone fractures and limb dislocations. He had to have both legs amputated as a result of his injuries.
‘The work they are putting in to change the law and protect others is inspiring’ The couple were found guilty of two charges, causing or allowing serious harm to a child and neglect, and were sentenced to 10 years and five years on each count. The terms were set to run concurrently rather than consecutively. Initially the Crown Prosecution Service
Considerate
was not going to press charges but Mr Tugendhat intervened to help ensure Tony’s birth parents were prosecuted. The father-of-two will continue to lobby MPs on what he described as an ‘incredibly important issue’. Mr Tugendhat said: “Paula and her family are amazing. Their love and care for Tony shows they are his real family and the work they’re putting in to change the law and protect others is inspiring. “The number of signatures they have collected shows just how much support they have. I will keep working with them to make sure abusers like those who hurt Tony serve sentences that truly reflect the crimes they have committed.”
The decision, which should see the structure saved if it does not pose a threat to health and safety, was greeted with jubilation by protestors, who praised Assura’s sensitivity on the matter. Lucy Athey, KRLG’s secretary, said: “Assura have been considerate and transparent, letting us know in advance the nature of the work and when it is scheduled so we could warn our supporters not to panic if they saw the tree surgeons. “This is really the best possible outcome. We are grateful that Assura not only listened to the enormous outpouring of public and press support our campaign generated, but have also gone above and beyond in ensuring the health and longevity of our well-loved horse chestnut.”
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