A Leighton ‘sweetheart’ is now the proud head of a family with five generations after the birth of a baby girl.

Elsie Thompson, 98, who lives in Carrington House care home in Vandyke Road, Leighton, is now a great-great-grandmother of Layla Elsie Mead, who is lucky enough to share the same name as her granny.

Jan Forrest, 71, of Bicester, Oxfordshire, is next in line in the family tree followed by her son Simon Mead, 49, of Wavendon Gate, Milton Keynes, and his son Dan Mead, 26, of Princes Way, Bletchley, who is dad to Layla.

Jan said: “My mum is the first of five generations and is a real sweetheart who has had a full life and been involved in the church throughout.

“She is always helping other people and after my dad died, the church became her life.”

Elsie was a member of the Atterbury Mission women’s group at the Methodist Church in Vandyke Road where she shares fond memories of the town she grew up in.

Elsie was 14 years old when she first moved to Leighton Buzzard and after living away from the area with her eldest daughter Jan for 12 years, she was adamant about returning to her roots in 2009 when she moved into Carrington House.

Jan said: “She really wanted to move back to her hometown.

“She amazes us because two years ago she broke her wrist in three places and took a long time to recover, but she soldiered on.”

Elsie has suffered from glaucoma and macular degeneration for the past ten years, which has meant that over this time her sight has deteriorated and she is now registered as blind.

Jan added: “She copes extremely well and is a real sweetheart who has been a great mum and loves all of her grandchildren.

“She has always been such an independent lady, as much as she can be now.”

From the age of 14, Elsie worked in service for ten years before marrying her true love Leonard, and living in Hockliffe Road, Leighton Buzzard, where they had two children and grandchildren who were then all born in Leighton.

It was in service that Elsie found out her love for cooking and knitting, which held her in good stead to spoil six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and now her first great-great-granddaughter.

Jan added: “Working in service in those days must have been really hard, but I think that has what has got her through everything that has happened to her since.

Preparation for the London 2012 Olympics gave a lucky Leighton runner a once in a lifetime opportunity as he was treated like an Olympic athlete and invited to run on the renowned track.

Simon Coombes of Mannock Way, Billington Park, ran in the 3,000m Steeplechase with 100 other athletes as part of the Olympics Test Event on August 1, to make sure everything was ready for the start of the Games on the following Friday.

He said: “We were treated like the Olympic athletes as we were taken to the holding bay and warm-up areas before being led into the actual stadium.

“Our names were on the big board and we had start line cameras in front of us.

For more on this Olympic related story, pick up a copy of the LBO!

There may be a sleepless night ahead for apprehensive pupils ahead of GCSE results being released across the country tomorrow.

One week on from A-level results day and it is now time for the younger students to see what grades they have achieved in their exams this year.

Reporter Amanda Devlin will be at Cedars and Vandyke upper schools tomorrow to meet the elated teens who have hopefully passed with flying colours, so make sure you have a chat so you can be part of the LBO’s GCSE feature next week.

A wine shop owner has been left feeling like an ‘idiot’ after being ordered by trading standards to check every customer’s proof of age – even if they clearly look over 25.

Ali Azhir, 61, owner of Buzz Wine on North Street, Leighton Buzzard, said his staff mistakenly served alcohol to two underage people within thirty days and were then given this condition by Trading Standards, which began last Tuesday.

He said: “It is going to make us look quite ridiculous.

“We have tried our best to form a good relationship with our customers, but now we are being battered from both ends because they will complain and there is nothing we can do.

“It just makes us look like idiots.”

To hear the reponse from Central Beds council on their determination to protect young people from alcohol, pick up a copy of the LBO.

THERE’S something about slapstick that makes it appealing when times are tough. The sight of grown men subjected to cartoon levels of violence is always a hit with the kid inside all of us, and there are few people who can do childish as well as the Farrelly brothers.

So when Bobby and Peter, masters of the modern bad taste comedy, decided to pay homage to three of the most witless heroes of cinema chucklefests, it was always likely to be a winner.

The Three Stooges aren’t well known these days, but in their time they were what we might term the Channel 5 version of the Marx Brothers, a comedy crew who would endure any indignity if it meant a laugh.

Summoning up the spirit of Curly, Larry and Moe for a 2012 audience are pretty much unknowns Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos and Will Sasso.

All three have decent TV exposure in their back catalogues, with Hayes the best known from his long stint in Will and Grace, but none have had this sort of exposure before.

Think the Blues Brothers meets Bottom as three witless siblings try to save their childhood orphanage and get involved in a predictably painful set of mishaps.

There’s absolutely nothing big or clever about this, and that’s just the way the Farrellys, the men who brought you Dumb And Dumber.

If all you want to do is laugh, and wince every now and then, this one’s for you.

> A less reliable laughterfest comes in the shape of Keith Lemon: The Film. The character comedy of Leigh Francis is an acquired taste and I seem to be immune – I thought he was doing well to get TV gigs, and suddenly here he is on the big screen with comedy foils of the likes of Kelly Brook, Verne Troyer and David Hasselhoff.

Plot? Leeds lad comes to London, finds fame and fortune by mistake and enjoys the high life before it all goes wrong. If nothing else, you can play spot the celeb in those long moments waiting for a gag that works.

> More serious stuff now – Shadow Dancer is the tense tale of an IRA terrorist (Andrea Riseborough) who turns M15 grass to protect her son.

Clive Owen is the spymaster who sends her back to Belfast and the script is based on the novel by Tom Bradby, who also wrote the script. A nail-biting history lesson from not so long ago, and well worth seeking out.

> Back to comedy, and there are plenty of familiar faces backing up Ben Stiller in The Watch, in which a group of dads organise themselves into a neighbourhood watch group in order to defend their little patch of suburbia from hoodies and other small-time nuisances only to find themselves on the front line against a planned alien invasion.

The story comes from Superbad screenwriters Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and alonside Stiller there’s reliable support from Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and the latest Brit doing very well in Hollywood, The IT Crowd’s supergeek Richard Ayoade.

A developer has signed a multi-million pound deal to build the UK’s newest Center Parcs resort near Woburn.

ISG has agreed a £61million contract to build the accommodation element of the holiday village in Warren Wood, Millbrook.

The venue, to be known as Woburn Forest, will be the operator’s fifth UK village, with 625 lodges across a 365-acre site. It will open in spring 2014.

The work is set to take 59 weeks, with a series of two, three and four-bed lodges being built.

Almost 3,000 jobs are to be created by the opening of Center Parcs, including 1,200 for the construction phase. Center Parcs has previously said that the new jobs will be mostly sourced locally.

As well as the holiday lodges the site will feature a 75-bed hotel and 12 associated spa suites, plus two main centres including sports facilities, restaurants and retail outlets.

The Cottesloe School is celebrating its best ever GCSE results with 77% of students having achieved 5A* to C, with over 60 students achieving 10 or more good GCSE passes.

Headteacher Nigel Fox said: “I am extremely proud of our students and I would like to congratulate them on their achievements. Many will be joining our Sixth form and I expect them to be equally successful in their future A Level studies.”

“I am also proud of the teachers who have worked so hard to improve the quality of teaching and learning and to inspire students to succeed. This is an exciting time for The Cottesloe School and we are confident that we will continue to build on this year’s success.”

Full coverage of GCSE results day will be featured in Tuesday’s LBO.

Celebrations could have been heard in Linslade and beyond after Cedars Upper School released their GCSE results, which were higher than the national average.

Results show that 67% of pupils achieved five or more passes at A*-C including english and maths and a pass rate of 71% for grades A*-C overall.

Zedric Grosvenor, of Meadow Way, Leighton Buzzard, successfully achieved one A*, six As and four Bs and will go on to study maths, further maths, physics and science at sixth form.

He said: “All of my grades are pointing to a career in science, physics, astronomy or astrophysics, so I am really pleased and looking forward to my future.”

Headteacher at Cedars Upper School, Steve Palmer said:

“We are delighted to have maintained the pleasing improvement in results, especially with the talk of pass rates falling nationally.

“We are determined not to be a school that stands still but one which is constantly looking to improve.”

Full coverage of GCSE results day will be featured in Tuesday’s LBO.

There has been GCSE joy for students at Vandyke Upper School as they received their marks that they have been working towards for two years.

An impressive 86% of students achieved five or more A*-C and 60% managed to get five or more top grades including English and Maths.

Savannah Bangs, Gemini Close, was estatic at getting Bs in media, english language and english literature and has dreams of becoming a journalist.

She said: “I am so happy that I get to go to sixth form.

“I have a motto that I always say, which is ‘you are only the future if you believe you are’.”

Keri Bradley of Pegusus Road, Leighton Buzzard, got two As in art and literature and a B in history and is looking forward to starting sixth form to study english language, history, psychology and law.

“I am glad I got the results I achieved and am happy for everyone else, who have all done so well.”

Headteacher of Vandyke Upper School, Tim Carroll said:

“I am thrilled with the results this year. They have exceeded last year’s record results by some margin.

“In addition to some exceptional individual performances this is Vandyke’s best ever set of GCSE results that demonstrate students making outstanding progress and reflect the school’s high aspirations for our students.

Full coverage of GCSE results day will be featured in Tuesday’s LBO.

How times have changed. The crowd of officers in this picture were just part of a shift at Leighton Police Station which turned out to congratulate one of their civilian workers, Joan Lambert, on receiving her MBE back in 1988. Now, from October 1, the station, in Peel Court, Hockliffe Road, will be used as a base for just a handful of community officers, a move which has caused outrage in the town.

Until the 1970s Leighton-Linslade had two police stations to deal with a population of about 30,000 people. Besides Peel Court there was a second station in Wing Road, Linslade, which was made famous when the Great Train Robbers were housed in its cells.

The Linslade station, and its adjoining courthouse, were sold off in the 1980s after more than 100 years of service. They’re now flats.

Today we are facing a massive increase in housing growth that will push the population over 40,000 at a time when Beds Police is being forced to make drastic cutbacks following reduced government grants.

Joan’s partner, Norman Didwell, 92, who lives just a few doors from the Hockliffe Road station, said: “There are about 16 officers in the photo and that was just part of a shift. You also had six CID officers, cells, civilian staff and a court on the site. I think local people, and the local police themselves, are appalled at what has become of the station.”

A Leighton man who was chosen to be a torchbearer for the Paralympics hopes that the increasing interest in sport will continue.

Tony Skinner, 63, of South Street, was one of five people who carried the torch through Brent, Milton Keynes, on Wednesday.

He said: When I got there and saw the crowd it was exciting, because of their enthusiasm.

“People of all ages, including small children, came up to be photographed with the torch.”

Tony was nominated to hold the torch by MK Sailability, an organisation that gives disabled people the opportunity to experience the sport of sailing, which he volunteers for.

For more on this story, see Tuesday’s LBO.

If you are thinking ahead and planning a firework display to celebrate Guy Fawkes night in November, then seek advice from a Bedfordshire safety group.

Central Bedfordshire Safety Advisory Group is looking ahead to November and giving early advice and support to those planning a public firework event.

The Safety Advisory Group (SAG) brings together public protection services from Central Bedfordshire Council and the emergency services to make sure that organisers of big public events put in place effective safety plans and arrangements. T

The Group is offering the advice at a time when local groups start their initial plans and discussions about hosting a public firework event.

Councillor Brian Spurr, Executive Member for Sustainable Communities (Services) at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “We want everyone – organisers and the public alike – to be able to really enjoy firework displays in Central Bedfordshire.

“There is a lot of careful planning and organisation involved in setting up a public display and a lot of essential guidance to follow on public safety and safe storage of fireworks or explosive substances.

“If you are in the planning stages of a display please get in touch with us as soon as possible. We will work with you to make sure that everything runs smoothly and you have a safe and successful event.”

More information can be found on the council’s website, www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/community-safety/SAG.aspx

Questions can also be emailed to SAG@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

Outgoing president of Leighton Buzzard Lions Club, John Gout, has handed over the presidential chain of office to Lion Peter Richardson.

Both are Charter Members of the club each having served the local community for over 40 years!

Lion John, who was president for two years, oversaw earnings of over £15,000 generated from many outings of Lionel the Train, a Fashion Show, Canal Festival, various stalls at local fetes and fairs together with the Annual Fireworks Spectacular, held at Brooklands School.

Donations of £5,000 have been made in the past 12 months alone, the vast majority locally.

Full details of the work of the club can be seen on the website www.lblions.com where readers can also make contact to discover more about the fun that can be had by being a Lion. Alternatively call 0844 414 4017 during office hours.

Two pedestrians and a cyclist have been hospitalised after they were involved in a collision with a car in Leighton High Street.

The driver of an automatic blue Suzuki Wagon R in his 80s was not injured in the accident that happened at 2.50pm yesterday.

Three ambulances arrived at the scene as well as two police cars that arrived shortly afterwards.

The car is believed to have collided with the cyclist before hitting a wall and then colliding with the pedestrians.

A female pedestrian is in hospital with a head injury and a male cyclist in his 70s has also been hospitalised.

Another male pedestrian is thought to have suffered a leg injury, which is being checked at Luton and Dunstable Hospital.

Megan Potter, 18, of Bideford Green, is a shop assistant at Creighton’s Chocolatiere saw the aftermath of the collision, which happened just outside her workplace.

She said: “I heard a really loud screech and then heard everyone start to panic.

“I looked outside and saw three people lying on the floor and then everyone started flooding down to come and see what had happened.

“My manager was at the back of the shop and heard a bang as the car hit the wall.

“People were trying to see if they could help.”

PC Thompson from Beds and Herts roads policing unit said: “It is not as serious as first thought, but all pedestrians have been hospitalised.”

Leighton High Street has now been reopened after being closed for about an hour.

Crime in Bedfordshire has fallen by 16 per cent so far this year, new figures from the Bedfordshire Police Authority show.

Chief Constable Alf Hitchcok said this plummetting crime follows a highly successful 12 months for the force.

The biggest reduction was in crimes of most serious violence, which fell by 29 per cent in the period of April 1 - July 31 2012, compared to the same period in 2011.

Vehicle crime was reduced by 21.1 per cent for the same period, and domestic burglary and robbery were also reduced, by 7.2 per cent and 7.0 per cent respectively.

Chief Constable Alf Hitchcock said: “I’m delighted that crime has continued to fall but this isn’t really about numbers and statistics, it’s about Bedfordshire residents not coming home to find they have been burgled or the windows of their car smashed.

“All our staff have worked hard, along with the other agencies that we work alongside, to achieve this. I’m particularly pleased considering we’ve had some big challenges to face in the last 12 months, and will continue to face them as we strive to improve even more in the next six months.”

The force has also focused heavily on anti-social behaviour, which was reduced by 9.3 per cent in the April - July period.

A new pilot is currently taking place in Luton which is aimed at delivering further positive results and improving the experience of members of the public reporting these offences.

There have been some changes made to the way the force investigates crime, including using a system to monitor the most prolific offenders and work with local agencies to reduce re-offending rates.

The way the control room operates has also been changed, including the introduction of a new non-emergency appointment system.

Keeping your eye out for anything irregular is usually the way to spot illness before it is too late – but for one Leighton woman it was a visit to the opticians that saved her life.

Margaret Ayris, pictured right, 52, of Richmond Road, went for a simple check-up in June of last year to Specsavers at Waterborne Walk, Leighton Buzzard, which led to the discovery and diagnosis of a brain tumour and has only been able to talk about it now after a long recovery.

Margaret said: “I am so grateful to Specsavers for noticing the irregularity in my eye test, without their thoroughness I may not have known about my illness until it was too late.”

Having originally booked an appointment because she felt the vision in her left eye had weakened, Margaret then found out there was a potentially fatal problem.

Optometrist, Tom Clark, detected high pressure at the back of her left eye and immediately referred Mrs Ayris to Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

This was where Margaret had to undergo several tests before she was finally diagnosed with a brain tumour on July 13, 2011.

This was what had been applying pressure behind her left eye, which had caused impaired vision.

Soon after Margaret had surgery at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on July 21, 2011, to remove the tennis ball-sized lump that was found on her brain, and she has been slowly recovering at home.

She added: “They really did help save my life, which is definitely something I had not associated with a visit to the optician.”

Ekta Kotecha, store director at Specsavers, Leighton Buzzard, said: “We are so pleased that we were able to spot the pressure behind Mrs Ayris’s eyes and get her to go the hospital as soon as possible.

“Thankfully they spotted the tumour early enough to save her life.”

A well-loved and popular dance teacher from Linslade has been honoured by her students with a fitting festival to mark her legacy following her sudden death earlier this year.

More than 100 past and present students of Aylesbury High School created a Dance Festival in memory of their teacher, Sally Surguy, of Southcourt Avenue, Linslade, who unexpectedly died from a blood clot following a broken hip on March 31, aged 60.

Her husband John Surguy, 59, still lives in the house they shared for 29 years and was “blown away” by the talent of the girls and the wonderful tribute that they had put on for his wife.

He said: “It was a really wonderful and fitting tribute to Sally and so professionally done. My family were delighted with it and were were completely blown away. She had a tremendous impact on the school, I did not realise how popular and well-loved she was. It was a very moving and I am so pleased with the fantastic job they have done raising a lot of money for the charity.”

After rehearasing all day Saturday, students performed twice on Sunday, September 9, and raised £2,235 for Macmillan Cancer Care, which was the Surguy family’s chosen charity, through ticket sales and a ‘Macmillan Coffee Interval’ where staff-baked cakes were sold.

Before the evening event, a statue commemorating Mrs Surguy’s legacy to the school was unveiled at a ceremony attended by family, friends, colleagues and representatives from the student body.

John, who met Sally while teaching at Denbigh School, Milton Keynes, made an emotional speech at the ceremony in which he said: “She had a wonderful smile and one she gave to everyone, it didn’t matter if you were a 1st year student or sixth form, the cleaner, secretary, caretaker or fellow teacher, she smiled.

“We have heard a lot about legacy this summer. the family would hope that her legacy would continue for many years to come.”

Student Emily Simmonds, 16, of Orchard Lane, Stewkley, said: “She was the best dance teacher you could ever have asked for, and she will be loved and remembered by her students forever.”

The dream of having a big family has certainly come true for a Leighton couple.

Jason and Becky Ellaway felt another child would round off their family of four.

But mother nature had other ideas and their expected one bundle of joy turned out to be THREE.

The couple, of Redwood Glade, are now the proud parents of seven children after the birth of girl triplets.

Jason, 39, said: “We had always wanted five children as we always dreamed of a big family and we have certainly accomplished that.

“So our ‘one more’ miracle gave us three more gorgeous children.”

For more on this story see the LBO on sale now.

The launch of a Christmas initiative has been halted as Leighton-Linslade Town Council admit they do not have the resources available to drive it forward.

Under the town centre regeneration and enhancement project, the Town Council led the organisation of ‘Winter Sundays’ leading up to Christmas in a bid to get locals spending in the town.

The Sundays before Christmas would include Christmas markets, entertainment, marketing, removing traffic and retailers opening on Sundays.

But councillors have now raised concerns about the concept, saying it does not have the resources.

And Leighton’s independent traders were divided on the issue.

Patricia Mellett-Brown, of Making The Best in Bridge Street, said: “We would definitely give it a go and be open on a Sunday.

“November is actually one of our busiest months, but if it brings more people into town then even better.

“It will help people not to go to Milton Keynes, but shop locally instead because there are so many specialist shops here. It is a really up and coming town.”

Ian Dillamore, of Dillamore’s Furnishers in Leighton High Street, said although it is important to attract people to the town, family life could suffer if businesses are open seven days a week.

He said: “I understand people’s need for Sunday shopping, but consideration needs to be made to traders.

“If it is just in the run-up to Christmas then we need to pull together and make sure we are available for all customers that work six days a week and don’t have any other time to shop.”

“We were open for the Christmas festival weekend, but events like that detract from the shops.

Caroline Gates of Room No. 9 said: “It is something we would talk about because lots of customers ask us to open on a Sunday because they can’t shop at any other time.”

Ann Beggs of Ann’s Bridal Room in Leighton High Street said: “I think it is a really good idea that can attract people into the town and anything you can do to attract them is a good thing.”

Billie Littlechild of Ollie Vee’s in Market Square said: “We will open if other people will. We hope to boost sales in the run-up to Christmas and give shoppers the option.

“People like to walk around and browse on a Sunday.”

They were going for gold but Leighton-Linslade has once again had to settle for a silver award in the Anglia in Bloom competition. But they will be back next year aiming even higher.

The Anglia in Bloom 2012 awards were announced on September 2012 in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, where Leighton-Linslade Town Council were awarded the High Silver Gilt Award, having been entered in the small city category, for between 35,001-100,000 residents.

Councillor Alan Brandham said: “I am thoroughly delighted to get the high silver gilt award. It is a brilliant achievement and the flowers have made the town look rather pretty ever since. We were very pleased to get what we got.”

As well as raising £1,894 for Willen Hospice, Leighton received positive comments and praise for the planters and hanging baskets throughout the town centre, but were pipped to the post by Colchester who won the section.

Mr Brandham added: “It is very difficult to get gold and the only ones that I know of to get it often is St Albans. It depends on how much money is spent, as well as the ideas and concepts so it is a major step to get gold. You are obviously in the hands of the weather, but we will look at the other categories to enter more next year and achieve special awards. To get gold is like being at the Olympics, you need training, money and dedication. The work that goes into it is quite tremendous.”

Under the Best Industrial/Commercial Area, the ‘Off The Rails’ team at Leighton Railway Station received a nomination but lost out to The Old Station, Heacham, while in the Best Young Persons Project, the Tactic Centre was also nominated but Acle High School Garden Club triumphed and the overall winner of Anglia in Bloom was Halstead.

The award ceremony was attended by the Town’s ‘In Bloom’ team and senior operations manager, Lisa Jarvis, who said: “We would like to thank everyone involved in the Anglia in Bloom campaign. A big thank you goes out to the many volunteers and businesses who donated time and money which contributed to the success of this year’s entry.”