Local, National and International
OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Wing OK, GH reas NOver RO OU ng a co NB OR ndi A B ou CR OWsurr CRthe
Times
All the news that matters
d an
Wednesday May 19 | 2021
HELPING YOU ON YOUR FINANCIAL JOURNEY We will be with you every step of the way whether it be planning for retirement, growing and potentially exiting your business, investing for your financial future, intergenerational planning or buying your dream home. 01892 559555 • Email us on Info@panoramicwealth.co.uk • Visit our website at www.panoramicwealth.co.uk • Panoramic Wealth Management Limited, 16 Lonsdale Gardens, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1NU
“We are ecstatic to be back and to see our regulars again”
Cloud Solutions Hosted Desktop Data Back-Up and File Sharing Cyber Security
See Yourself at Claremont PHOTO: Lottie Bulmer
IT Support
PUBS and restaurants across Tunbridge Wells have reopened their doors to allow customers inside for the first time since last year. With the various lockdowns and tier restrictions, most venues in the town have not had people inside since November. Following the easing of the rules on Monday [May 17], publicans and restaurateurs said they were ‘ecstatic’ to welcome customers back inside. Solomon Preece at The Bedford on the corner of Tunbridge Wells High Street, told the Times: “We’re ecstatic to be back. “It has been very difficult as we do not have any outdoor space so have
St Leonards & Bodiam
• VoIP
See more on Page 2
01892 267200 hello@hostmyoffice.co.uk www.hostmyoffice.co.uk
Teenager’s park death prompts police changes to avoid any similar tragedies Open Day By Richard Williams
AN inquest into the death of a schoolboy who killed himself in Dunorlan Park after a phone call plea to police for help, is due to end today [Wednesday]. Police did not conduct a search of the Tunbridge Wells grounds because it was thought too large an area to cover. The body of Matthew Mackell, a 17-year-old pupil at Skinners’ Kent Academy, was discovered in Dunorlan Park in the early hours of May 7 last year. At Matthew’s inquest at Maidstone County Hall, which began last week, the coroner heard how the teenager had dialled 999 on the night he died and said to call handlers: “Can you send someone to pick me up, I’m about to kill myself.” Despite this plea for help and there being officers available in the area,
police did not turn up to look for Matthew because they couldn’t pinpoint his phone’s exact location in the Dunorlan Park area. This was despite police staff believing the teenager was ‘likely’ to be in the 78-acre [31 hectare] grounds. The inquest had already heard from
‘Inquest hears how schoolboy asked 999 call handlers for help’ Matthew’s father Michael Bond who had shown in a video that his son’s body had been found near the car park at the entrance to the park. Mr Bond had told the coroner: “This is where Matthew went to sleep. “And that [pointing to the path] is where they would have been if they had
come down to look for Matthew.” The inquest heard that Matthew called 999 at around 10.18pm on May 6 and made his plea for help to a call handler. The call was relayed to PSE [Police Staff Employee] Amy Hopper at the Maidstone control room who called Matthew back, but the Year-12 pupil had told her he was now ‘fine’. A number of other calls were made to Matthew’s phone including from the control room’s team leader PSE James Gregson, who phoned the teenager to offer help, only to be told by Matthew: “What do you mean help me?” The teenager hung up again. The hearing heard how PSE Gregson escalated the call as ‘immediate action required’ and traced Matthew’s phone as
Sat 22 May 9.30am - 1pm
Call to register! 01424 751555
Or visit...
claremontschool.co.uk /events 2019
David Salomons Estate, Broomhill Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN3 0TG
RAISING A GLASS: Diners enjoy a return to indoor drinking amd eating at Mount Edgcumbe
See more on Page 2
194x45 OD 0421.indd 1
05/05/2021 09:21