New Milton Advertiser 9th Oct 2020

Friday 9th October 2020 · 5

news@adt.press · advertising@adt.press · 01425 613384

News

Driver’s near miss as tree crashes on road

BAR • RESTAURANT • ACCOMMODATION THE BARN

Early Riser BUY 1 GET 1 HALF PRICE * Includes: Pot of Tea or Filter Coffee, Fried Egg, Farmhouse Sausage, Bacon, Grilled Tomato, Baked Beans & Toasted Bloomer. Valid September - 31st October 2020. 8am – 11.30am. Monday - Friday. Gore Road, New Milton, BH25 6SJ | 01425 618800 www.thebarnnewmilton.co.uk

Motorist ‘so lucky’ after Storm Alex brings wind and rain

BY CHRIS MARCH

*Terms and conditions apply

A STUNNED motorist said she was lucky to be alive after a large tree branch fell across a main road just feet from her car as Storm Alex battered the New Forest. The dramatic near-miss hap- pened as Joanne Page (58) was driving along the A337 South- ampton Road, Lymington, on her way home shortly after 10.30am on Saturday. Having slammed on the brakes the moment she saw the branch coming down, Joanne managed to bring her Jaguar estate to a stop about 10 feet away. “I just thought, ‘Bloody hell, I’m so lucky’,” she told the A&T. “Had I just gone a little faster, got in the car a bit earlier, just a couple of seconds – it’s Sliding Doors, isn’t it?” Joanne had been taking extra care in the horrendous condi- tions, having been involved in a collision in similar weather in Boldre more than 20 years ago. At the time of Saturday’s collision, Joanne said the road did not seem particularly busy, although one other motorist stopped behind her to check she was alright. “I just could not believe what I saw,” she continued. “It was like some sort of film I

Read by 38,484*

Local People

To be part of it contact our Display Advertising Team 01425 612594

Joanne Page (inset) just managed to stop her car in time

cident as she watched the tree branch crash through a fence alongside the road. It brought back further memories of the devastation wreaked on the New Forest by the great storm of 1987, when she worked at the Rhinefield Manor Hotel. “It was a tear-jerking experi- ence to walk through the For- est back then,” she said. “You couldn’t go through Rhinefield Road because all the trees had fallen down.” But she added: “To see a tree

of that size actually fall across the road [on Saturday] – that there were no fatalities or inju- ries is quite remarkable.” Following her lucky escape, Joanne decided to leave the scene quickly in case any more trees or branches came down. She added: “What’s so eerie about all of this is that over the last 10 days or so, I had tried to stop thinking of my mortality. It had got to the point where I even phoned up about my life policy to check it was okay!”

was watching as this tree was falling. I could see this flash of white as it fell right in front of me. It was like it was happening in slow motion. “It was huge. The word I’d use is ‘majestic’. If I had been closer to it, my car wouldn’t have been able to accelerate away from it. “I’m not a flaky person. I’m 5ft 4in tall, with white hair, and have had quite a lot of trauma in my life. I wasn’t shaken, but I was just completely stunned.” Joanne said she experienced a flashback to her previous ac-

Rogue trader warning after pensioner conned

RESIDENTS are urged to be wary of doorstep callers after an elderly man lost £80 to rogue traders in Dibden Purlieu. The pensioner was ap- proached at his home in Bev- erley Road around 2.15pm last Monday by three unknown men who told him work needed to be carried out in his garden fol- lowing complaints from nearby neighbours. However, after he agreed and handed over the cash, the trio quickly left the scene

without completing the work. Police have launched an in- vestigation into the offence and people are being urged to come forward if they can help trace the culprits. A spokesperson for the Hampshire force said: “If resi- dents have doubts about those who are approaching them, and are concerned, we advise that they don’t engage and report serious suspicious behaviour to the police directly by calling 101.”

Food bank £2.5k boost from chemical giant New Forest Basics Bank has seen increased demand during the pandemic

PORCELANOSA TILE SALE NOW ON 40% OFF all Porcelanosa tile ranges. Sale Ends 25th October

NEW Forest Basics Bank has been boosted by a £2,500 do- nation from the petrochemical giant Ineos, which has offices in Lyndhurst. The amount was pledged through the global firm’s £1m community fund and will help support the provision of food parcels by the Lymington-based service. The charity was set up in 2004 and has since helped more than 20,000 people in the district. Oliver Stanley, New Forest Basics Bank chair, said it was “incredibly grateful”, adding: “During the Covid-19 crisis we have seen a significant increase in demand for our services. “The poor in our community are even more vulnerable at the moment and it is hugely impor- tant that we are able to contin- ue to provide food parcels to those who need them most.” Ineos’s community fund helps support charitable organ- isations and was established

by the firm’s chairman, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, in March in tandem with its Covid-19 Hands On campaign. That set up six new factories to provide millions of bottles of free hand sanitiser to thou- sands of hospitals and frontline staff, every month. Nathan Moore, Ineos group financial controller, noted the “overwhelming surge of de- mand” for food banks, adding: “They are such an important service to many in communities all over the world and we are so pleased to be able to help the New Forest Basics Bank. “The work they do in provid- ing food parcels to the vulner- able in our community is vital and it is imperative that their service is able to keep running.” As reported in the A&T, mul- ti-billionaire Sir Jim, who has a home near Beaulieu, recently changed his primary residence from the UK to the tax haven of Monaco.

Coastal Bathrooms 147-151 Old Milton Road, New Milton BH25 6DS 01425 620866 | www.coastalbathrooms.co.uk

NEW CLASSES STARTING NOVEMBER FREE Taster Sessions in October

For more information on classes please contact Charlotte on 07932 620758 or email charlotte@surginet.org.uk

Free Valuations Friday 16thOctober

Our specialist valuers will be available on this date at the Wimborne office for Free Valuations and sale advice. Special focus will be on furniture, glass/ metalware, barometers, ceramics, clocks, statuary, garden and architectural items etc. Free Valuations take place in Wimborne every Friday, appointments are advised.

Hannya Robinsonwith Lymington Business Centre’s DonaldMackenzie

Hannya’s coastal art wins gallery prize

An early 18th century, George I walnut games tablewith petit point interior SOLD FOR £19,500

THE winner of a Lymington art gallery’s annual open exhibi- tion was Hannya Robinson with her aptly titled Coastal Isola- tion. St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery’s 20th event received entries from across Hampshire, Dorset and beyond. Each year visitors to the show choose their favourite piece, and Hann- ya’s artwork received 860 votes.

Museum curator Steve Mar- shall said: “It’s always interest- ing to see how our visitors vote. They take the task very serious- ly, with family members often having debates in the gallery.” As a keen sailor, Hannya is donating her £200 prize money to the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust. The award was spon- sored by Lymington Business Centre.

8 West Borough, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 1NF Tel: 01202 842900

www.semleyauctioneers.com