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Sussex World reporter Sam Morton brings you the news making the headlines on Monday, December 4
Transcript
00:00 Hello, I'm Sam Morton and here is your daily Sussex News Bulletin on Monday December 4th.
00:06 Some very sad news to start off with as a 99 year old woman has died in hospital following
00:11 a suspected arson attack at a house in Bexhill. Police and firefighters were called to the
00:16 blaze at a first floor masonette in St Mark's Close which affected the first floor and roof
00:20 space at around 11pm on November 13th. Following the incident, a 99 year old woman and neighbour
00:27 was taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation but later died in hospital, police
00:32 have confirmed. The cause of her death is under investigation. A 26 year old man from
00:37 Hastings was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and was released
00:42 on bail pending further enquiries. Anyone with information is asked to report it to
00:46 the police online or via 101 quoting 1457 of the 13th of November.
00:52 Meanwhile a popular Sussex village gift shop and tea room has announced it is set to close.
00:57 The Cornstall Emporium and Tea Room at Swan Corner in Pulbara is to shut at the end of
01:02 February. Owner Helen Johnson announced the closure on social media with a heavy heart.
01:08 She said the premises lease was up for renewal and after seeing the terms of the new lease
01:11 decided that we could not continue. She said the personal risks involved heavily outweigh
01:16 the financial gain. She added "The last three years have presented us with many challenges,
01:21 road closures, bridge repairs, parking problems and the extortionate increases in utility
01:26 bills alongside the ever increasing threat of flooding. We have survived all of these
01:31 and come out even stronger. We have enjoyed every minute but there comes a time when the
01:34 head has to overrule the heart." Hopefully someone shall continue a similar style of
01:38 business at the property as we know how important it is for the village at Pulbara and as far
01:42 as we are aware there are no plans to develop the building.
01:46 Finally staff at the original factory shop in Rustington took Elf on the Shelf to a whole
01:50 new level with a festive day of fundraising hosted by comedian Danny Mills in support
01:55 of West Sussex charity Waders Animal Rescue. The store had fun on Saturday with staff on
02:00 the shelf putting a unique spin on the popular elf concept. Store manager Louise Miles was
02:06 put on the shelf and funds were raised for the fairing based charity as customers helped
02:10 to rescue her from the naughty elves. The fun day included a tombola, cake sale and
02:15 several elves on the loose in the store. Louise said "We had an amazing day. We raised £400
02:20 for Waders. All money raised will help provide care for the hundreds of pets needing new
02:25 homes and the thousands of wildlife casualties that the charity rescues every year." Jenny
02:30 Freeman Waders fundraising manager said "The team at the original factory shop, Rustington,
02:35 have been a fantastic support to Waders and we are so grateful for their brilliant fundraising."
02:39 For all of those stories and much more you can see our website sussexworld.co.uk