News | Page 33

One school has taken the plunge and revamped its calendar – Greensward College in Hockley, Essex. Seven years ago its then chairman of governors, Ian Foster, led the move, which is aimed at cancelling out unpredictability caused by a floating Easter.

The victim of a burglary at a sports club managed to free himself and alert his colleagues to the crime. The man suffered bruising during the night-time incident at the Drift Golf Club, in Forest Road, Effingham, in Surrey. He had been bound by a gang, who then took cash from the safe. The group of three robbers fled in the victim’s car, which was later found abandoned in nearby Cobham.

The Westminster Parliament is due to announce later today the results of the first strategic defence and security review in 12 years.

A major fire has destroyed most of Hastings Pier, a day after redevelopment plans were invited. A passing police patrol and local people had raised the alarm after seeing a small fire, but the pier was rapidly engulfed in flames. Fire service spokesman Simon Rose said 95 per cent of the upper structure had been destroyed.

The new minimum wage rates come in as Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Business Department published their national minimum wage annual report for 2009/10, which showed inspectors retrieved more than £4.4 million in arrears for more than 19,000 workers. The average arrears per worker was £228, some 18 per cent higher than the previous year.

Some campaigners argue that one aspect of a new equality law undermines the legislation. "Rowing back on the requirement for big business to publish and take action on any differences in pay between men and women employees is tantamount to endorsing the shocking gender pay gap," said Ceri Goddard, chief executive of the Fawcett Society.

Brightlingsea could be one of seven police stations across Essex to close to cut costs. Brightlingsea councillor Alan Goggin said: “We will be campaigning to make sure that the merger of stations is not concealing further cuts to the service.” He added: “I understand that all Government departments are looking at every little saving.

An ongoing row means yet again London Underground workers will go on strike from Sunday evening, causing travel chaos for workers and other passengers on Monday (October 4), union leaders have warned. Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) and other unions are due to walk out from 7pm for 24 hours in a dispute over plans to axe 800 jobs.

Fire crews from Surrey and Berkshire were called to a major operation when a block of timber framed flats under construction caught ablaze. One hundred individuals were requisitioned to deal with the incident in neighbouring Hampshire. Investigators are now examining the wreckage to see what caused the fire. Chief Officer John Bonney said: "When timber framed buildings catch fire the actual structure burns.

Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ leader Bob Crow has called for a campaign of "civil disobedience" in the face of a squeeze on jobs and public services. Mr Crow, born in Shadwell, London, and who lives in Woodford, Greater London, has been the most outspoken of members of the General Council of the TUC.

The BBC’s Panorama current affairs programme found that more than 9,000 public sector employees are earning a higher wage than the prime minister, who has previously questioned pay levels in top jobs. At the local council level, the chief executive of Tory-controlled Wandsworth Council in south London, Gerald Jones, is the highest earner on £299,925, leading a list of 362 local council employees earning more than David Cameron.

Jobless figures in Dover fell faster than in any other part of the county of Kent for July. The number of people out of work in the district dropped by 4.2 per cent to 2,045, which was a reduction of 89 on the previous month. Unemployment across the county fell by just 1.4 per cent, with 31,599 people looking for work in Kent.