The Argus • 19/04/2025

MP says Hove is 'giving Miami a run for its money'

Labour MP Peter Kyle for Hove and Portslade praised the new Hove Beach Park in an interview with The Argus. The project, known as Kingsway to the Sea, was established by Brighton and Hove City Council to regenerate the “underused” and “run-down” seafront in West Hove by creating a new park. Following a public online vote in February 2023, the park was then named Hove Beach Park. “I was very closely involved in Kingsway to the sea. In fact, I signed the original application for having...

The Argus • 18/04/2025

Technology secretary and Hove MP reveals why he used ChatGPT to ask about policy

Peter Kyle, the secretary of State for science, innovation and technology, told The Argus that media reports about his AI usage in government have “no context”. On March 13 an article was published in New Scientist headlined "How the UK tech secretary uses ChatGPT for policy advice" following a Freedom of Information request asking for his records using the AI software. READ MORE: Residents contact MP ‘in terror’ over disability benefit cuts The Hove and Portslade MP explained that h...

The Argus • 17/04/2025

Man left with bleed on brain after e-bike delivery driver 'hit and run'

Adil Elyas, from Hove, was crossing the road in Western Road, Brighton on Tuesday afternoon at roughly 3pm when the collision happened. Three eye witnesses told The Argus that they saw Adil fly into the air, flip over and hit his head against the road and watched as the delivery driver rode off. READ MORE: School teacher banned after sending ‘intimate’ emails to female pupils Adil was rushed to A&E at Royal Sussex County Hospital, where he was diagnosed with the bleed, along with bra...

The Argus • 17/04/2025

Ex-police officer found not guilty of assaulting member of public

Adam Burke, 30, appeared at Staines Magistrates’ Court for a two-day trial on April 9 and 10, after he denied a charge of assault in connection with use of force on a member of the public at an incident in Brighton on December 8, 2023. Burke resigned as a police constable from the force in December 2023. The matter was referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct who directed that a local investigation by the force’s Professional Standards Department should be conducted. Crim...

The Argus • 17/04/2025

Shoplifter banned from stores across Sussex

Mwiya Kamutumwa, known locally as Kush, targeted stores in Chichester including Tesco Express and the Co-Op in South Street, TK Maxx in East Street and One Stop in St Paul’s Road between February 18 and April 14. Sussex Police said Kamutumwa stole hundreds of pounds worth of goods, such as household cleaning products, trainers, an Easter egg and multi-boxes of chocolate bars. His offending was reported by the businesses, which allowed Sussex Police to build a file to present to the Crown...

The Argus • 16/04/2025

School teacher banned after sending ‘intimate’ emails to female pupils

Reece Morgan was teaching English, classics and Latin at Seaford College near Petworth, West Sussex, when he began regularly emailing a girl, referred to by the panel as Pupil A. The teacher and pupil sent dozens of emails to each other, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard, which “became increasingly more inappropriate over time”. In some of the messages Mr Morgan sent to Pupil A, using their personal email addresses, he said “sleep tight” and described himself and the pupil as a “d...

The Argus • 16/04/2025

Constance Marten’s baby potentially exposed to 'substantial risk of hypothermia'

Marten, 37, and Mark Gordon, 50, are accused of the manslaughter of their daughter Victoria who died after they went off-grid and slept in a tent in early 2023. The child’s body was discovered with rubbish inside a shopping bag for life in a disused shed near Brighton after the defendants were arrested in Golf Drive, Brighton, on February 27, 2023. On Tuesday (April 15), jurors heard evidence from a chartered ergonomist who conducted experiments on the risk of hypothermia to Victoria....

The Argus • 16/04/2025

Man charged with sexual offences against young girl

Sussex Police launched an investigation in 2023, into offences against a girl who cannot be identified for legal reasons. The alleged offences relate to the early 2020s and the girl has since received support from specially-trained officers. READ MORE: Full police statement after women dies following sea search Shaun Gannon, of an address in Crowhurst, was charged with three counts of sexual assault by touching of a girl under the age of 13, and two counts of making a photograph or p...

The Argus • 16/04/2025

Residents contact MP ‘in terror’ over disability benefit cuts

In an exclusive interview, Sian Berry, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion slammed the government’s proposed £5 billion of savings through welfare reforms, as she says it "rips away" vulnerable people’s ability to live. She told the Argus that 31 per cent of her constituents are living with someone who is disabled. “Why are they [the government] cracking down on the people who are already struggling so much?” the MP said. “They said they want to grow our domestic product but then they're...

The Argus • 15/04/2025

Company boss stole £150,000 in Covid support funds

Mehmet Akyuz of Conway Street in Hove, fraudulently obtained three maximum-value Bounce Back Loans worth £50,000 each in 2020 for his Green and Hove Limited and Leathers Wear Limited companies.  Both Green and Hove, trading as Organic Earth Cafe, and Leathers Wear, were not trading at the time of Akyuz’s applications.  Green and Hove and Leathers Wear were incorporated in February and March 2019 with Akyuz as the sole director. The former was a retail food and grocery store with a ca...

The Argus • 15/04/2025

Kebab shop found guilty of selling lamb doners made with 'other meats'

Directors of Worthing Kebab Ltd, trading as Worthing Kebab House & Pizza at 32 Teville Road, Worthing, appeared at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on April 3 and pleaded guilty to all charges. West Sussex Trading Standards had previously visited the premises in August 2021 and July 2022, providing detailed food safety issues which included allergen advice. In 2023, the company and its director, Mr Yasar Kizilcay, were prosecuted for failing to provide accurate allergen information and for dis...

The Argus • 12/04/2025

'Young people are moving to London because its cheaper than living here'

In an exclusive interview with The Argus, Peter Kyle, Labour MP for Hove and Portslade, emphasised that he wants young people to “stay local if they want to” and that he is “pro-development”. “It's rare for me to oppose development,” the MP said. “I see part of my job as steering development, developers and communities to come together to get the development that communities like. “People want us to be a city where young people can grow up, leave home, but stay local if they want to....

The Argus • 11/04/2025

Woman with 'limitless greed' stole from club and pushed it to near bankruptcy

Jeanette Gardner, 66, of Meadow Road, Hailsham, had worked her way up from bar staff to a position where she controlled the club’s finances at The Hailsham Memorial Institute. The family social club in Western Road, was facing bankruptcy after Gardner abused her position as an employee to steal thousands of pounds from its accounts. Following an extensive police investigation, Gardner, who denied wrongdoing, was held accountable and has now been ordered to pay back some of the stolen mon...

The Argus • 11/04/2025

Man named and charged after 'shaken' baby taken to hospital

Police were called to a report of a baby being shaken and aggressively handled by a man in Bear Road, Brighton on April 9 at 5pm. Officers attended the scene and a man was arrested and taken into custody. Following further enquiries, a 38-year-old man, and 36-year-old woman, both from Brighton, were arrested on suspicion of neglect. They have since been bailed pending further enquiries. The baby remains in hospital at this time while assessments continue. READ MORE: Boy, 13,...

The Argus • 10/04/2025

Boy, 13, charged after another boy is 'stabbed' on board bus

Police were called to an incident on board the number 1 bus service in Cornfield Road, Eastbourne on April 5 at 7.40pm. It was reported that a teenage boy was approached by other teenage boys and was assaulted, near the Co-op store. He sustained an injury consistent with a stabbing, and attended hospital. The injury was not life-threatening and he has since been discharged. Police initially arrested a 13-year-old boy on suspicion of attempted robbery and on suspicion of causing griev...

The Argus • 10/04/2025

Parking permits cost increases by more than 300 due to council ‘error’

Lancing Parish Council has confirmed that it was wrongfully charging Lancing residents £60 for annual parking permits in the last three years due to an “error by the previous Clerk”. This effects permit holders for the Lancing Beach Green and Widewater Lagoon car parks. The council has confirmed that the annual fee for the coming year will be £250, a 317 per cent increase from the previous year. Lancing Beach Green car park (Image: Eddie Mitchell) In a letter to permit holders, the p...

The Argus • 10/04/2025

Trust to transform Grade II-listed manor into creative hub for young people

The Argus can reveal that East Brighton Trust (EBT) will take up residence at the historic Moulsecoomb Place, Brighton. The “much-loved” Manor House, Tithe Barn, and the beautiful surrounding grounds will now be home to their latest community-driven project in partnership with AudioActive. Ty Goddard infront of the Manor House (Image: The Argus/ Ramy Abou-Setta) Ty Goddard, chairman of EBT, spoke exclusively to The Argus whilst on a first look of the site which will be transformed into a...

The Argus • 08/04/2025

'53 more roads in city will be resurfaced' thanks to funding boost

The Argus can reveal that the overall funding for road maintenance this financial year will be £7.3 million - up from £5.7million last year - after getting extra money from the government.  Cllr Jacob Taylor and Cllr Trevor Muten in Hillside, Moulsecoomb visiting the road resurfacing (Image: NQ) Council cabinet members Jacob Taylor and Trevor Muten visited the first road resurfacing paid for by the increased funding in Hillside, Moulsecoomb, on April 3. Highway maintenance workers were a...

The Argus • 08/04/2025

Murder charge as tributes paid to 'a good, kind boy'

Metodi Petrov Ivanov suffered fatal stab wounds in the attack close to the pier, in The Esplanade, Bognor on April 4 at 9.40pm . The 20-year-old, who lived in the town, was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, where he died from his injuries in the early hours of April 5. His next of kin have been informed and supported by specialist officers, and have issued the following statement: "We are devastated at the loss of our beloved Metodi. He was a good, kind boy who had a...

The Argus • 06/04/2025

Jobs saved at primary school after parents, teachers and politicians strike

National Education Union (NEU) members at Western Road Community Primary School, Lewes, have persuaded their employer to abandon plans to cut more than half the school’s teaching assistants. Nick Childs, the NEU senior regional officer, said he was “pleased” that the school has been able to “avoid compulsory redundancies of permanent teaching assistants”. Parents, teachers and students protesting against the cuts in Lewes (Image: Supplied) The move comes after members took part in strike...