Wednesday January 2 | 2019
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Langton Green man is charged with the murder of his brother A MAN from Langton Green will appear at Maidstone Crown Court tomorrow [Thursday] after being charged with the murder of his brother. Lee John Robert Eldred, Tonbridge, believed to be in his 30’s, has been named as the victim of the suspected murder which took place on Friday. Police were called to the incident, which occurred in a vehicle near Hadlow Manor Hotel on the A26, at around 10:30pm. A Kent Police spokesperson said: “The incident happened inside a vehicle and the man was treated at the roadside by the South East Coast Ambulance Service before being declared deceased.”
Trial His brother, Carl Eldred, was charged with one count of murder the following day. Eldred, 33, of Little Footway, Langton Green stood in the dock at Medway Magistrates Court on Monday wearing a grey jumper and blue jeans. He spoke only to confirm his name and nationality as British. The trial will now continue at Maidstone Crown Court. It is the second time in four months that Hadlow has been the subject of a murder investigation. In September Jack Ralph was charged with the murder of two women and the attempted murder of a man in Carpenters Lane. The 28-year-old is accused of killing Margaret Harris, 78, and her daughter Sharon, 55, at their home in a neighbouring property. Mrs Harris’s husband David, also in his 70s, was seriously injured.
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OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Bishop believes that social media is helping to ‘demonise’ people He calls for tolerance and understanding on public debates including Brexit By Richard Williams ONLINE platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are causing us to become intolerant to the views of others with the problem being highlighted by the Brexit debate. That’s the view of the Rt Rev Simon Burton-Jones the Bishop of Tonbridge, a role that also takes in Tunbridge Wells. In his New Year’s message for the Times he has called for more tolerance and understanding in public debate. Rt Rev Burton-Jones, who was made Bishop at St Paul’s Cathedral in July, was invited by this newspaper to outline his hopes for the New Year. “It would be great if 2019 could see an improvement in the way we debate with one another publicly about what matters,” he said. “Listening is out of fashion and the tendency to demonise people we disagree with and let the world know online is making for a harsher climate. Societies flourish where there is forgiveness and strangers are shown kindness.” Rev Burton-Jones warns that the internet and social media are causing us to be intolerant to the opinion of others, with the debate about Brexit being symptomatic of the problem. “Slowly, without noticing in our networked world, we are surrounding ourselves with
people who think the same way we do. Brexit is only a symptom of this, not a cause. We no longer know what to do with opinions we disagree with.”
‘We no longer know what to do with opinions we disagree with’ The Suffragen Bishop, whose role is to support the Rt Rev James Langstaff, Bishop of Rochester, believes that while asking for tolerance is a good thing, people need to go further. “GK Chesterton said a long time ago - tolerance is all that’s left when love runs out. We need a richer understanding of what it means to love other people, especially those who are not like us and whom we do not particularly like. Good
communities are built on tolerance - the best are founded on love,” he argued. “So, what does it mean to love our neighbour, as Jesus called for?” he asked. “We can find talk of love too embarrassing, as if it’s kids’ talk and not a grown up thing. But it is shown in simple, practical ways, like hearing someone out and trying to get into their shoes before we rule them out. “As someone once said: listening to someone is as close to loving them as to be indistinguishable,” added the Bishop. Also in his New Year’s message, Rev Burton-Jones hopes that the way we regard people with mental health problems will start to change. “It would aid the lives of millions of people,” he argued. “I think the tide is turning on this, but the waves still have a long way to come in.”