On this week: September 1-7 2002 in Fakenham, Hunstanton, Gayton and Dersingham

In our weekly feature, we look back through the pages of the Lynn News from September 1-7, 2002 as well as a picture from 1984…

The killer seal virus PDV has wiped out five times more animals in The Wash than anywhere else in the UK. According to figures released from the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrew’s University in Edinburgh, 408 animals have been reported dead and 334 of these were from England and, particularly, The Wash area. Some 39 seals have been sent for post mortem and of these 13 have been confirmed positive for the phocine distemper virus (PDV) and all the positive cases came from The Wash. This means nearly one in ten of Norfolk’s 3,000 strong seal population has perished and more are washing up dead every day.

A £10,000 appeal to restore Fakenham parish church clock to full working order has been jointly launched by the rector, the Rev Adrian Bell, and Fakenham town mayor, Alan Tickle. Both clock faces have been out of action for some months and it is hoped to have them functioning again by Christmas. Originally built in 1864 by T. Cook and Sons of York, the clock has been described as of “Rolls Royce” class.

Youngsters coming to the coast during Hunstanton tennis week have been blamed for a night of vandalism in Brancaster. Car and pub windows were smashed, a memorial tree was damaged and notices on the village green noticeboard were set alight. Now the parish council is planning to discuss the problem and what can be done at its next meeting. Publican Mike Chesterman, of the Ship Inn which had been targeted by vandals, said: “Last year was mediocre and we put it down to high spirits as nobody had any serious damage. But this year they went for the jugular. During tennis week everyone has to batten down the hatches, but now we are back to a quiet village.”

A special community partnership has seen Gayton residents and two local authorities work together to build a much-needed footpath. After months of work by the village’s parish council and Norfolk County Council, the new path has been built in Grimston Road, one of Gayton’s busiest and most dangerous byways. Two households have given up part of their gardens to make way for the path, which links up with another one on the opposite side of the road – and it means it is a lot safer for the children and elderly people who live in Grimston Road.

The distinctive call of the nightjar is making a welcome return to West Norfolk after recent fears that the numbers were declining rapidly. The loss of their natural heathland habitat saw 60 years of decline in the population, but restoration work by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust has shown a new trend. Only a dozen “churring” males were recorded at Roydon Common seven years ago, but 22 have been recorded this year after six years of restoration work, while three birds have also been recorded at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Syderstone Common.

Residents in Dersingham are being given the chance to shape how their village grows and develops over the next decade. The parish council is drawing up a ten-year plan and wants villagers representing all walks of life to come up with ideas. Representatives from all aspects of Dersingham will be asked to form a working party responsible for drafting the plan and looking at such issues as housing, rural transport, businesses, recycling, renewable energy and village services.

Council houses in Sutton Bridge may be sold off because South Holland Council cannot afford to bring them up to “decent homes” standards. A committee is being set up to consider four main options available as part of a housing options appraisal, including selling off its 4,178 houses throughout South Holland district, or leasing them to a private company. The aim is to meet Government standards so that each council house is wind and watertight, warm and with modern facilities by 2010.

Following the tragic deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham last month, a worried Gaywood mother of five has set up a petition campaigning for the introduction of Sarah’s Law. Already, 2,000 people have signed Sue Judd’s petition which backs the campaign by the family of murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne to allow parents to have access to see lists of sex offenders living in their area.