New Milton Advertiser 18th December 2020

6 · Friday 18th December 2020

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Forest trader set for jail makes pandemic appeal News

Charity boss beats age, Covid and heart attack

LAWYERS acting for a Burley trader convicted of a £3.5bn energy deal fraud in the US are claiming he should not to go prison there because of the pandemic. Mark Johnson’s legal team told a US court hearing he should be given a compassion- ate reduction to his two-year sentence. They said medical issues put Mr Johnson in a high risk cat- egory if he developed Covid-19 while serving time. Mr Johnson is due to fly to the US to report to prison in March next year after his latest bids appealing his convictions and sentence were rejected by the US Supreme Court. As reported in the A&T, the former HSBC foreign curren- cy executive was given a two- year jail sentence and $300,000 fine in April 2018, having been found guilty by a jury at a high-profile trial in New York of

A NEW Forest founder of an international aid charity is still going strong after a year in which he turned 80, contracted Covid-19 and suffered a heart attack. The indomitable BY ANTONELLA LAZZERI John Hunt marks 80th having helped more than 10,000 people

and having a great team behind me.” Among the charity’s key pro- jects are the JSR Home and Skills Centre for children with special needs – the first of its kind in Uttrakhand which ca- ters for more than 80 boys aged 6-16 who have disabilities ranging from cerebal palsy to Down’s syndrome. Lotus also set up the Brah- maputra Home for railway chil- dren who are bought up in the slums lining the tracks. It has also established a skills centre for women, a nunnery and an English language school in Ladakh. When pandemic travel restrictions are lifted, John hopes to take groups of students on life-changing trips. John has worked in the chari- ty sector for 30 years. In 2019 he received the Special Recogni- tion for Contribution to Equal- ity Award from Power Brands Global for his work with Lotus Flower Trust in India. He also won the Hero Award at the BT Childline Awards in 2006 after being nominated by many students he worked with in Northern Ireland.

John Hunt, from Hyde, is celebrating his birthday as he also hits the mile- stone of helping to change the lives of more than 10,000 people in India by funding 60 projects in 10 years. He set up the Lo- tus Flower Trust which has been rais- ing money to help set

Mark Johnson

nine counts of fraud and one of conspiracy. Mr Johnson went to prison for a few weeks after the ver- dicts but was released on his appeal.

John has changed the lives of thousands in India. Left, John winning one several awards

Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajast- han and Ladakh. He said: “I keep going be- cause I feel there is much more for me to achieve, so many poor people need our help. Hitting 80 is yet another challenge in life.

“There have been so many over the years – it is just a date in life’s diary. “I have never considered re- tirement – it’s just not for me. The secret to staying active is keeping fit in body and mind

that have hit him recently,

John still starts work at 8am every morning, raising funds for deprived and destitute people in remote, rural areas of India including Uttrakhand, Assam,

up schools, nurseries, children’s homes and other initiatives in some of the poorest areas of India. Despite the health problems

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                

Town given £30k boost as cleaning budget increased

Donors hit £100k for Forest’s young carers

CLEANING budgets are to be increased by tens of thousands of pounds as part of BCP Coun- cil’s pledge to “restore pride” in the conurbation – including £30,000 for a Christchurch re- generation strategy. Cllr Drew Mellor highlighted his top priorities, after becom- ing council leader in October’s change of administration, as he spoke to Josh Wright of the Local Democracy Reporting Service . The Conservative said his pro- posals would “level up” servic- es across the three towns and “maximise positivity and pride”. More than two-thirds of the £365,000 allocated by the new Conservative administration as part of its “100-day plan” for immediate priorities following its takeover in the autumn are aimed at improving town cen- tres. Cllr Mellor said he wanted the public to see a “noticea- ble difference in the safety and cleanliness” of the conurbation within the first 100 days of his leadership. Among measures included in his plan are more than £50,000 to ramp-up street and pave- ment cleaning in Christchurch, £40,000 to provide rough sleep- ers with lockers, and £46,500 for a new anti-social behaviour and CCTV upgrade strategy. Others include:  Almost £50,000 to bring

GENEROUS donors helped ex- ceed a £100,000 fundraising tar- get set by a charity supporting young carers in the New Forest during a week-long campaign. The nationwide Big Give Christmas Challenge 2020, held over the first seven days of De- cember, saw Honeypot Chil- dren’s Charity inundated with contributions from 368 indi- viduals, along with five match- funders including the Child- hood Trust. The money will go towards continuing efforts to help iso- lated carers aged between five and 12 years old, with 2,500 places in new support services. A challenging year brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic has seen the charity forced to temporarily close its two resi- dential respite houses, includ- ing Honeypot House just out- side Blackfield. The other is at Pen y Bryn in Wales. But services were adapted, with weekend and holiday on- line activity workshops and Zoom sessions proving very successful. Viv Carter, Honeypot’s com- munity fundraising officer, said: “So many individuals, schools and community groups have donated to help us achieve this amazing result, including Walhampton School, Fernhill Friends (New Milton), the Jam Tarts and Inner Wheel clubs. “2021 will be an exciting year for Honeypot. We will be cele- brating our 25th anniversary and can’t wait to welcome our young carers back for their res- idential breaks and fill Honey- pot House with laughter again.” Since its launch in 1996, the charity has provided residential respite breaks and outreach support to thousands of young carers, with 327 Honeypot chil- dren living in Hampshire.

Cllr Drew Mellor

back a budget for six street cleaning staff  £12,500 for a pilot Bourne- mouth “town team” aimed at “improving visitors’ experienc- es”  £24,000 to cover empty shop windows in Bournemouth and Poole  An outsourced fly-tipping investigation and enforcement service, through which the council will take a 5% share of fines These are all outlined in a budget monitoring report for the council’s cabinet. It said: “The emphasis is on anti-social behaviour, commu- nity safety and street cleans- ing. This year has seen signif- icant challenges across these areas.” Cabinet members have been asked to approve the projects, totalling just under £365,000. Cllr Mellor said the funding was “just the start” of its work, adding: “Our regeneration plans to deliver homes, boost the economy and improve the prospects of those who live here are underway, and are ambi- tious. “They will take time to come to fruition and in the meantime we must get the basics right. “This is what this initial budget allocation is all about – the first step to making this amazing place even more spe- cial.”

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Two young carers with guinea pigs at Honeypot House on a residential respite break, taken before the Covid-19 restrictions

Its new support services in- clude three-day residential respite breaks and outreach playdays/trips which are set to resume when restrictions allow. There are also online activ-

ity workshops, educational breaks in conjunction with local schools and a wellbeing fund to buy essential items to help re- duce young carers’ stress and worry.

Trust celebrates £24,000 fundraiser MINSTEAD Trust, which supports more than 200 peo- ple with learning disabilities across Hampshire, celebrat- ed raising almost double its £12,000 target during the Big Give scheme. health, with more outdoor work spaces, personal equip- ment and interactive activi- ties to boost health and well- being, as well as online signing sessions.

Dawn Wood, the trust’s di- rector of development, said: “We are so grateful to all of our supporters who are helping us to ensure that people can come to day opportunities confident that they are being kept Covid-secure, and will be able to join activities from their own homes.”

The total of £23,957 col- lected from more than 100 donors and matched funds from Monday Charitable Trust will fund a shift in em- phasis in the charity’s day op- portunities. There are plans for a well- being centre to boost mental

New Year, New Office 2020: a year we shall never forget and as we come to its end we are now looking forward to 2021. New year and new beginning as our Lymington office moves to new premises whilst our New Milton office remains at 82 Station Road, New Milton. Heppenstalls has been in No. 75 High Street in Lymington for over 100 years, but with the death of the premises owner and our former partner Nick Filbee it is now the right time to look for a different future. We are taking a more modern approach now with a lovely new office to work from and we will continue to provide the same consummate professional service we have always offered. The new, very modern premises will be at 49 South Efford House, Milford Road, Lymington SO41 0JD close to Otter Nurseries. There is ample free parking for staff and clients, with excellent disabled access, having both a permenant ramp and a lift to our bright and airy meeting room. This will be the new home for our Lymington teams and from where we shall continue to provide our residential Conveyancing Services, Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Probate and Trust matters. Our contact details remain the same, so do telephone us on 01590 689500 or email enquiries@heppenstalls.co.uk

Milford school helpers Bertie, Harry and Thea with former caretaker and MCV member Chris Barrass Primary school goes wild with tree planting

MCV also funded £500 of wildlife nesting boxes for dor- mice, swifts and bats and three hedgehog homes for winter hi- bernation. MCV spokesperson Keith Metcalf said: “We had great help from John the new school caretaker, who installed several of the bat boxes. “We also wish to thank the deputy head Mr Willis and the all teachers who helped young- sters feel part of this long term tree wildlife enhancement pro- ject.” A second session is to be ar- ranged to install the rest of the nest boxes in time for spring next year.

BAT boxes, hedgehog hide- aways and a wildlife corridor of more than 50 trees have been planted at Milford Primary School. The screen of 52 trees was installed along the boundary of Milford Primary school and new housing development the Swifts, to coincide with the Woodland Trust’s Green Tree award scheme. Supported by Milford Conser- vation Volunteers (MCV), pupils fromall year groups got involved. The trees were donated to the school by the I Dig Trees in- itiative, which has helped plant more than 1.45-million trees in community spaces across the UK.

New Milton Office 01425 610078 | Lymington Office 01590 689500 enquiries@heppenstalls.co.uk

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