Dunstable News Desk

All Saints Leighton Buzzard, The Luton & Dunstable Hospital and Whipsnade Zoo all have a place on the Parliamentary Covid quilt.  The quilt was organised by Dawn Butler MP and individual panels were sewed by MPs to contribute to it. It is proposed that it will be displayed in Parliament. South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous, said, "The Covid pandemic massively affected every constituency in the country and I wanted my contribution to reflect some of the institutions across the constituency who played their part. "I am aware of the amazing work done by many churches and different faith organisations in supporting people through the pandemic which is why I included All Saints Leighton Buzzard.  "The Luton & Dunstable Hospital is our main hospital and staff there were at the forefront of dealing with the pandemic.  "Covid is a zoonotic disease and Whipsnade Zoo is part of the Zoological Society of London who are involved in world le

Priory Church Dunstable. Celebrating Pentecost and the Platinum Jubilee - very suitable for all ages. Portrait display. Afternoon tea. Cheese plate. Prosecco. Crafts for children. Fancy dress parade 2pm to 4pm Dress as king or queen. Live music. Pray in a creative space. Saturday 4 June 10am to 5pm More local events: https://bit.ly/hr-events-page

Signposts knows only too well the issues homeless people face when trying to open a bank account, but thanks to their work with HSBC UK that’s all about to change.   Having a bank account is one of life’s basic necessities, however, if you’re living on the streets or in emergency accommodation the act of opening an account is a huge challenge and for many Signposts residents a massive hindrance to a positive move forward. HSBC is helping people without a fixed home address to open a bank account. This gives them a safe place to keep and spend any money received from work or benefits, as well as a way to spend or save for their future. To access the No Fixed Address programme, a person must be experiencing housing or homelessness difficulties and receiving support from one of HSBC's partner charities, such as Signposts.  HSBC UK’s No Fixed Address programme is a specialist service available in selected branches. If you’re facing housing issues, or you know someone who is, you can g

Waste services will be operating as normal this bank holiday says Central Bedfordshire Council. Kerbside collections : The council will be collecting waste as normal over and after the upcoming bank holidays. This includes the Spring bank holiday on Thursday, 2 June and the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday on Friday, 3 June. Residents are being asked to leave their waste out by 7am on their normal collection days. Tidy Tips :  The four tidy tips,  in Ampthill, Biggleswade, Grendall Lane in  Houghton Regis , and another in Leighton Buzzard, will also be operating their normal opening times across the bank holidays. The council expects their tips to be busy over the holidays. Luton Council waste collection services, however, will be disrupted. How this affects a Luton Council home.

A Dunstable Scout group has received a donation of £1,000 from the team at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Dunstable. Scout groups promote the development of young people and encourage them to achieve their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential. Development is encouraged as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of local, national and international communities. The donation from Amazon to 3rd Dunstable St Peter’s Scout Group will go towards the purchase of new camping equipment so that the group can put the skills they learn each week at their meetings into practice. Omer Kartal, General Manager at Amazon in Dunstable, said, “We are pleased to support 3rd Dunstable St Peter’s Scout Group with their camping adventures and look forward to hearing all about what the group learns on expeditions.” Ed Waymark, the employee at Amazon in Dunstable who nominated 3rd Dunstable St Peter’s Scout Group for support, said, “It is so good to see Amazon investing in y

Thursday 2 June   An evening of entertainment and celebration as the Dunstable Downs Beacon is lit to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. No need to book. The event starts at 7.30pm and will end at 10.30pm. The beacon will be lit at 9.45pm in line with other beacons throughout the country.  Please walk to the site if you can. Note that it will be very dark when the event finishes. Sensible footwear is recommended.  Bring a picnic if you like, but please take your litter home with you. Music by Luton Youth Funk Orchestra and swing singer Tony Bignell. The Gateway Visitor centre will be closed during the event.  Food and drinks stalls to be available. Temporary toilets will be provided. Dogs on leads only. Strictly no barbeques. More details from National Trust website . More local events

One of Taster session of a new group little explorers! 6th June 2022 at the Methodist church hall Dunstable. £5 for an hour, packed with fun. Details in poster.

More local events https://hr-events-page The Salvation Army, Bullpond Lane, LI6 3AH

A fraudster who pretended to be a pharmacy manager to defraud taxi drivers has been jailed. Gerardo Gaudiosi , 55, of no fixed abode, was jailed for one year and five months when he pleaded guilty to 37 offences of fraud by false representation between October 2019 and February 2022, for offences in Luton and Dunstable. Gaudiosi would call taxi drivers claiming to be the manager of Boots Pharmacy, and ask them to collect some urgent software on his behalf, pay cash for the software and drop it off at the pharmacy. Whilst he promised they would be reimbursed, the software discs were actually blank, and upon arrival at Boots, they would discover he was not employed by the company, they did not have software issues, and they did not make this request.   He defrauded the taxi drivers from the money they handed over upfront, plus the fare price that was never paid. Gaudiosi was arrested on 7 April, having already been charged with 33 offences, and was charged with a further four. Officers

By Andrew Selous, MP Help With Rising Prices Rising prices, greatly exacerbated by Putin’s barbarism in Ukraine, are top of the political agenda at the moment. Central Bedfordshire Council has already helped 9,000 vulnerable households including providing over 12,000 food vouchers. A further £1.5 million has been provided by the government to the council to help pensioners and anyone else who is having difficulty paying utility and food bills. A reduction in National insurance for 70% of the population comes in July and I continue to lobby the government to make sure that we do everything necessary to look after people in need. Ukraine Talking of Putin, I was one of only 287 MPs and the only Bedfordshire MP to be sanctioned by Putin , for calling out General Mikhail Mizintsev’s brutality in his destruction of Mariupol, something he also did in Aleppo. I view the sanction as a badge of honour , and the UK must continue to support Ukraine. [ On 18 May 2022, in 'Achieving Economic

A man has been charged with manslaughter after a 28-year-old man died following an incident outside a pub in Dunstable. Police were called just before midnight on Saturday (12 February), to reports that a man had been injured during an altercation outside the Wheatsheaf, in High Street North.  The victim, 28-year-old Aaron Bateman from Dunstable, was taken to hospital and was later pronounced dead in hospital. A murder investigation was subsequently launched and a 43-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident. Wilfred Fantie, 43, of Henley Road in Bedford has been charged with manslaughter and released on bail. He is due to appear at Luton Magistrates Court on 23 June. 

By Cllr Liz Jones Tonight I have been nominated by fellow councillors to take on the role of Town Mayor for the next 12 months. It’s been a great evening with colleagues, family and friends, as well as a vast representation of local businesses, organisations and charities.  I’m excited to take this on for a second time and emulate my dad who was Mayor of Dunstable twice, mum and grandad having also been mayor, and although family think I’m bonkers I’m committed to putting the residents and businesses first in the town I have lived all my life.  I’ll be raising money for charity throughout the year,  my events list of what I have planned is in the pictures.  Ticket prices and timings will be confirmed around 6 weeks prior to each event via Ian Reed, Ian.reed@dunstable.gov.uk. Privileged to have the High Sheriff Lady Jane Clifford in attendance.  Deputy Mayor is Cllr Lisa Bird.  Thank you in advance to everyone for their love, support and generosity - I’m overwhel

School pupils in Central Bedfordshire will join thousands of children across the UK taking part in Walk to School Week* (16 – 20 May 2022). Walk to School Week takes place during Living Streets’ National Walking Month each May, with this year’s campaign focusing on the health and environmental benefits of walking to school. This year’s challenge, #PowerUp, will engage pupils on how being active helps improve their health, happiness and local environment through video-game inspired design and resources, encouraging them to travel sustainably to school every day of the week. Families are encouraged to walk, cycle, scoot or ‘Park and Stride’ for the whole week to see the big differences that come from small steps, from healthier and happier children to fewer cars outside the school gates. Pupils will enjoy classroom packs, filled with activities to complete on the way to school and in the classroom. Each day, the #PowerUp challenge will take pupils through five levels: ‘Team Up’, ‘Defeat

A dad who fraudulently used his 14-year-old daughter’s disabled Blue Badge when she was not present, has been found guilty and fined a total of £620 at Luton Magistrates’ Court this week. Mohammed Asif, 39 of Selbourne Road, Luton pleaded guilty of mis-using the badge to park in the Ashton Square car park in Dunstable in September 2021. At the time of the incident, Mr Asif said he was picking up his daughter, however the council investigation proved this was not the case. When formally interviewed he stated he unknowingly parked in the disabled bay and the badge is always displayed on the dashboard of his vehicle. Mr Asif received a criminal conviction and was fined £80, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £34 and costs of £506 – a total cost to him of £620. Councillor David Shelvey, Executive Member for Corporate Resources at Central Bedfordshire Council said, “People who mis-use Blue Badges to park in bays reserved for registered holders are inconsiderately taking

Review of the Premises Licence for Ultimate Bar and Lounge, 4-6 Albion Street, Dunstable LU6 1 SA. A licenced premise in Dunstable has lost its right to play music and had its opening hours curtailed following complaints that made resident's life "hell". The Four Licensing Objectives To promote the following Licensing Objectives: 1. Prevention of crime and disorder 2. Public safety 3. Prevention of public nuisance 4. Protection of children from harm A Licensing Committee met today to discuss the future licensing of The Ultimate Bar and Lounge operating address is 4-6 Albion Street, Dunstable. The committee decided to take away the licencing permission for music to be performed or played and reduced the licenced hours of opening. Licensing Sub Committee - Friday, 6th May 2022 at 10:00am - Central Bedfordshire Council Webcasting [tip: if not playing, try restarting from the beginning, then click forward again ] An emotionally drained resident that

Three teenagers have been charged with attempted murder, after gunshots were fired in Luton last month. At around 5pm on Tuesday, 19 April, police responded to reports of shots being fired at a vehicle in  Wauluds Bank Drive , in the Marsh Farm area of Luton, by a group on pushbikes. Emergency services attended the scene and found that the targeted vehicle had been involved in a minor collision with another unrelated vehicle. No one was seriously injured. Lewis Gatehouse , 19, from  Luton , and a 17-year-old boy from  Luton , who cannot be named for legal reasons, were arrested in  dawn raids in Dunstable and Luton  on Wednesday, 27 April, by officers from Boson, Bedfordshire Police’s guns and gangs unit. Two of the three teenagers were arrested in dawn raids on Wednesday, 27 April. They were subsequently charged with attempted murder and appeared at court on Thursday, 28 April, where they were remanded ahead of a future court hearing. A  17-year-old boy from Dunstable , who cannot be