People

MORE than one fifth of staff at Hillingdon Hospital and Mount Vernon Hospital are battling with stress, according to a new report.

In addition to this, figures show that 17 per cent of staff have suffered injuries sustained at work in the last 12 months.

THE partner of a woman who died from an alcohol-related brain injury has warned of the dangers of binge drinking.

Elita Eltermane (pictured), 43, slipped over and cut her head while celebrating her friend's birthday at her boyfriend, Peter Collins' home in Ladywalk, Maple Cross, on September 21 last year.

Ms Eltermane later complained of feeling unwell and was rushed to hospital the following day where she suffered a major brain haemorrhage.

She was taken to intensive care but doctors were unable to save her.

A MAN has been charged with death by dangerous driving after a 'beautiful' couple from Moor Park were killed in a car crash.

Alan and Rochelle Bernard (pictured) were walking along Banks Road towards their holiday home on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula in Poole, Dorset, when a silver Mercedes smashed into them on September 11 last year, at about 10.35pm.

Mr Bernard, 53, and his wife, 51, of South Approach, were pronounced dead at the scene, as reported in the Gazette.

WHEN spirited Kelsey Trevett won a Pride of Britain Award - and the hearts of the nation - for courage, he told of his ambition to take to the skies.

And now that dream has come true for the plucky nine-year-old, who, despite losing his sight to cancer aged five, has refused to let blindness destroy his life.

A couple of days before Kelsey, a pupil at Frithwood School in Carew Road, Northwood, appeared at the national ceremony, he dreamed he would be able to fly around the room with his award, but host Carol Vorderman told him it wouldn't be possible for health and safety reasons.

THE director of a project management firm based in Rickmansworth is set to join an expert judging panel for Channel 4's Grand Designs.

James Bryden (pictured) will offer tips and guidance at the programme's live show, which is aimed at anyone with an interest in interiors, kitchens, bathrooms, gardens and technology.

About 80,000 people are expected to attend the event, held at the London Excel Centre, to learn how to turn their dream home into a reality.

CHILDREN were given a backstage pass into the glamorous life of a pop singer after five reality TV stars hosted a music masterclass in Northwood.

The famous five - Rikki Loney, Anthony Kavanagh, Shaun Smith, Stacey McLean and Emma Beard, all familiar faces from the X-Factor, Britain's Got Talent, Grease is the Word and Pop stars: The Rivals - performed songs from hit television series, Glee, delighting dozens of excited youngsters.

A PRESTIGIOUS national art exhibition in London will feature stone-carvings produced by a Northwood artist.

Linda Zelin, 70, a member of Pinner Sketch Club, was selected from almost 1,000 entries to display her semi-abstract figures at The Royal Society of British Artists' annual exhibition next month.

The show will take place at the Mall Galleries, near Trafalgar Square, from March 2 - 12.
Mrs Zelin, of Batchworth Lane, said it was the best achievement in 25 years of being an artist.

"Some of the sketch club's members do these exhibitions from time to time but when they told me I would be showing three of my sculptures, I was thrilled," she told the Gazette.

A MOTHER-of-one from Croxley Green has told of her fears for friends and family after a powerful earthquake struck her native New Zealand for the second time in five months.

Jennifer Oldfield, of Harvey Road, together with husband, Alex, 38, and their one-year-old son, Oscar, were visiting parents in a Christchurch suburb when they were caught in a severe quake last September, as reported in the Gazette.

The family (pictured in New Zealand last September) escaped without injury and returned home feeling lucky to be alive, but Mrs Oldfield, 36, says she was horrified to learn another tremor had hit the town.

A state of emergency was declared in Christchurch after it was struck by a 6.3 magnitude quake on Tuesday (22). The death toll has risen to 75, with hundreds missing.

A WOMAN accused of causing the death of a Northwood Hills police officer's wife through dangerous driving has made another appearance in court.

Diane Wright, 49, wife of Sergeant Dave Wright, who works for the Northwood Hills Safer Neighbourhood Team, was killed in a car crash near Baydon, Wiltshire, on September 23 last year.

Paula Barnes, 43, of Aldbourne Road, Baydon, has been charged with the offence and appeared at Swindon Crown Court on Friday (18).

She is due to return to the court on April 15, to enter a plea.

A BLIND pensioner has blasted the 'undignified' swimming facilities for disabled people at a Mill End leisure centre.

Teresa Lee (pictured left), 61, of Fotherley Road, Mill End, says William Penn Leisure Centre offers woefully inadequate pool access, apart from a 'degrading' hoist and 'old fashioned' upright steps, which she describes as 'impossible to use'.

The mother-of-two, who has two grandchildren, has resorted to paying to use a private pool in Denham, Buckinghamshire.