ANYONE who popped into Hobbycraft at County Oak Retail Park on Saturday may have got a surprise – as all the employees were in fancy dress.
Staff were invited to come in dressed as their favourite superhero – with the theme being stretched a little by some. Visitors were met by employees dressed as Michael Jackson, Rupert Bear and the Queen of Hearts, as well as two Superwomen.
The craft shop also put on a host of fun activities to keep children entertained.
Store manager Paul Cleeton said: "We had face painting, a guess the name of a big papier-mâché giraffe competition, and a guess the number of beads in a large jar competition."
In exchange for the fun and games visitors were invited to make a donation to children's charity Together For Short Lives.
MORE than 500 Scouts of all ages celebrated the 50th anniversary of Stanford Camp Site, off Old Brighton Road in Pease Pottage, at the weekend.
Campers arrived on Friday night to pitch their tents. After a good night's sleep, activities took place on Saturday before another night sleeping under the stars.
It is estimated that 25,000 Scouts have camped at Stanford over the years. Among the groups there at the weekend were the 7th Crawley Beavers.
Leader Yvonne Seetayah said: "It was marvellous. It was a gorgeous weekend – the sun shone from morning until night.
"The most popular activities on the Saturday were the inflatable laser tag arena and the obstacle course that the Army were doing. The children enjoyed that tremendously.
"The rifle shooting and the archery were popular too, as was the water slide. And the children buried a time capsule and planted trees to replace the ones that had fallen over the last year.
"Then on Saturday evening we had a campfire and sung happy birthday to the campsite and campfire songs."
The evening was rounded off with a fireworks display at 10.15pm.
The Scouts stayed at the 28-acre campsite until Sunday, when there was a service of remembrance to honour those lost in the First World War, which broke out 100 years ago.
A TWITCHER from Northgate felt like he was flying high after capturing some stunning pictures of a rare bird of prey.
The short-toed eagle, which has a wingspan of about 6ft, has been causing quite a stir around the Ashdown Forest since it was first spotted there about three weeks ago.
Wildlife enthusiasts say the bird disappeared for a few days before returning to the heathland last week, where it has survived on a diet of snakes and lizards.
Avid bird watcher John Stanton, 49, captured some stunning images of the majestic creature – including the one shown here – last Monday.
The 49-year-old, of Crosspath, Northgate, said: "It's been around for two or three weeks.
"I think it was first spotted in Dorset and since then it has moved to the New Forest and across the whole of the South East.
"With its huge wingspan, it can easily fly 300 miles in one afternoon. It's an amazing creature.
"Luckily, it has turned up on Ashdown Forest and it's quite a sight.
"You don't get one every year; you get one every 15 or 20 years, so it's an incredibly rare bird in this part of the world."
Experts suspect the short-toed eagle is about two years old and that it may have been blown off course from France.
Mr Stanton, an online retailer and grandfather-of-seven, added: "This bird is like royalty. It's so rare that a lot of people might not see one in their entire lifetime.
"Fortunately, it has settled for a while in a place that is accessible to the public.
"It's a step up from anything else I've ever seen."
Short-toed eagles are usually found in southern Europe. They are much paler than buzzards and red kites which are more regularly seen flying above Ashdown Forest.
Have you taken any fantastic photos? If so, e-mail them to editor@crawleynews.co.uk
THE manager of a weight loss firm has revealed how an incurable disease left people thinking she was pregnant.
Lorenza Samuels was left upset and embarrassed by the symptoms she experienced as a sufferer of Crohn's disease.
The 27-year-old has bravely spoken about her lifelong condition this week, which experience is teaching her to manage, in the hope her story will inspire others fighting the illness.
She said: "For the past six years I have had problems, but I was only diagnosed recently.
"I have gone to hell and back, but I have managed to control it through changing my diet.
"I used to have several attacks every week and each time it would leave me floored.
"It starts with a really high pressure headache, where it feels like my head is in a vice, then my stomach swells up, but it's rock hard.
"I would bloat up like I was nine months pregnant, and feel really dizzy and sick. I could hardly even get out of bed.
"So many people have mistaken me for being pregnant. It can be really embarrassing and it made me lose a lot of confidence. I was constantly feeling down in the dumps and emotional."
Lorenza, from Woodside Close, Crawley Down, feared the bloating effect would make her "look like a fraud" for her company Slimming World, for whom she is the Sussex manager.
At its peak, she was suffering three or four attacks a week, but she has controlled the illness to the point where its symptoms arise just once every six weeks now.
"There's a few things I can't eat, such as pasta, wheat, bread, broccoli, onion and garlic," she said.
"They're known as trigger foods and, for me, mine are pizza and alcohol. But rather than looking at the foods I can't eat, I look at the foods I can eat.
"A simple change in diet means I can enjoy life a bit more without constantly worrying about my condition and it saves me £72 every six weeks from not having the drugs I was on before.
"I want to be able to help people see that although it is a lifelong thing, it's also quite a normal thing.
"It's not curable but it can be manageable. You just have to identify your trigger foods and work around them."
Other symptoms of Crohn's disease include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss.
TENSION "remains high" among members of the Muslim community in Crawley due to the police searches of houses carried out in February.
As part of the South East Coast Terrorism Unit (SECTU) investigation into a Syrian suicide bombing, homes were searched in Langley Green and Three Bridges.
As well as the home, in Martyrs Avenue, Langley Green, of suspected suicide bomber Abdul Waheed Majeed, officers also searched homes in St Joan Close and Langley Drive, both in Langley Green, and Punch Copse Road in Three Bridges.
Arif Syed, chairman of Crawley Mosque, said the execution of search warrants on the other properties came as a shock and the households are still waiting to have personal items returned to them.
He said: "The searching of these homes is one of the biggest concerns we have. Police told the people living there they had search warrants to examine any evidence that could be linked to terrorist activity.
"They seized computers and electronic devices but to the best of my knowledge – I was updated last week – we are now months later and they still haven't been returned.
"The families deserve to know the outcome of what is happening to their items."
We asked SECTU why the personal property had not been returned, but received no response before we went to press.
1: Long-horned bee
This little critter is creating a real buzz among conservationists in the area as it is an especially rare species in Britain.
A small community of the bees, which have a distinctive and extraordinarily long antennae, has been discovered living close to Gatwick Airport.
2: Harvest mice
These loveable rodents are a declining species nationally because their habitats are being reduced.
However, the tiny creatures, which are Britain's smallest rodents, have been found on protected land close to Gatwick.
3: Bechstein's bat
This rare breed of tree-dwelling bat has also been found within the protected zone within spitting distance of Gatwick.
These bats have pink faces, long ears, reddish-brown fur on their back and pale-grey fur underneath.
They are very rare due to the extensive loss of their woodland habitats.
Pesticide use has also reduced the insect populations which they prey on.
4: Death's-head hawkmoth
Known as the "bad boy" of the moth world, this strikingly large moth, which has skull-like markings and squeaks when alarmed, was traditionally seen as an omen of death.
Rachel Bicker, Gatwick Airport's on-site ecologist, explained: "This is a migrant species which has been blown over from southern Europe or Africa."
The Death's-head hawkmoth is very rare and only a handful make it over from the Continent each autumn.
Rachel believes it is the fact the undisturbed area around the airport has not been changed for agricultural use which makes it so rich with wildlife.
She explained: "This area has been left to grow wild; that's why we are finding so many interesting and funny things here."
5: Nightjar
This summer migrant bird from Africa has an "eerie" call which males make at dusk.
It can be found at Buchan Country Park, in Broadfield, however the RSPB has this species listed as red, which means it is globally threatened and in serious decline because of habitat loss.
Simon Rowledge, a ranger at the park, explained that these birds enjoy the open heathland at Buchan.
He said: "The males make an eerie sound at dusk which sounds otherworldly and definitely not from this country."
6: Dormice
In decline in Britain, this small mammal is mainly nocturnal and can hibernate for up to six months of the year.
The dormouse, a protected species due to loss of habitat, can be found at Tilgate Park where the conservation team monitors them.
They are agile climbers and are very rarely seen.
7: Grass snakes
These slippery creatures are one of the UK's few native reptiles.
It is a protected species, as the loss of grassland and wetland habitats through human activity threatens its survival.
Despite its declining numbers it can be found in Buchan Park and in Gatwick's protected "green zone".
8: Adders
Britain's only venomous snake. Although not aggressive, they have the most highly developed venom-injecting mechanism of all snakes.
Adders will only use their venom as a last means of defence, usually if caught or trodden on.
No one has died from an adder bite in Britain for more than 20 years, which is reassuring to know if you come across one in Buchan Country Park, where they can be found.
9: Slow worms
Unusually named as it is neither a worm or slow. It is actually a lizard.
Like grass snakes and adders, these slippery fellas can be found in heathland, such as at Buchan Country Park, and are also a protected species.
Ranger Simon Rowledge explained that these reptiles' biggest problem is a weakened gene pool.
He explained: "Unlike birds that can fly and migrate, these reptiles cannot. So young males have no choice but to interbreed which weakens the gene pool."
A loss of habitat, which creates a lack of connectivity, is one of the causes.
10: Northern bald ibis
These birds can be seen at Tilgate Nature Centre, which is involved in a breeding programme to help restore their declining numbers.
Simon Woodard, who manages the centre, explained that at one stage there were fewer than 1,000 in the world.
He said: "These are critically endangered, you can't get rarer than this.
"At one stage there was just one colony of birds left – in Morocco."
Hunting, pesticides and loss of land contributed to the birds' rapid decline.
The ibis is about the size of a turkey, has a bald head and red face and a long, thin red beak.
CRAWLEY'S MP has met the Home Secretary in a bid to ensure more is done to prevent Muslims from the town travelling to Syria or Iraq to take part in those countries' conflicts.
Henry Smith had a meeting with Theresa May last week to express his concern that not enough work is taking place to prevent members of Crawley's Muslim community being radicalised. About 500 British nationals are thought to have been recruited by extremists to fight abroad.
Mr Smith says that "for security reasons" he cannot reveal if anyone from Crawley is believed to currently be fighting in either country.
He said he wants to ensure nobody else gets lured into the conflicts, after the suicide bombing at a prison in Syria in February, which is believed to have been carried out by Abdul Waheed Majeed, a dad of three from Martyrs Avenue, in Langley Green.
Mr Smith told the Crawley News: "With the suicide bombing in Aleppo in February and the links with Crawley, our town has definitely been in the spotlight. I asked for and had a meeting with the Home Secretary Theresa May last week to specifically discuss the situation in Crawley.
"We have had a history of success in using the Prevent strategy (the government's counter-terrorism programme) but I told the Home Secretary that I think this needs a refresh and refocus in Crawley.
"There is more that can be done to give support to people who could be vulnerable to radicalisation."
Mr Smith spoke to leaders of the town's Muslim community before the meeting and they repeated their pleas for no one to travel to Syria or Iraq.
The Crawley MP added: "It is understandable that some people want to contribute towards providing aid but Syria and Iraq are currently two of the most dangerous places on Earth.
"I actively discourage anyone from Crawley joining an aid convoy. Contribute by supporting the aid delivered by big agencies such as the UN or Red Cross.
"There is a real danger for anyone who travels out to Syria or Iraq. In the worst case they could find themselves killed or open themselves to becoming radicalised by extremists.
"It is important the Muslim community in Crawley continues to act to ensure that particularly young people, who could be impressionable, don't make the wrong choice."
The town's Muslim leaders have told the Crawley News they are not aware of anyone from the town currently being in Syria or Iraq.
But they backed Mr Smith's call for the town to receive greater funding from the Prevent programme.
Arif Syed, chairman of Crawley Mosque, said: "We have worked with the Prevent team for seven years but the input has decreased in the last year to two years, with funding withdrawn. The programme allows us to hold conferences and get everyone around the table.
"For example, I had doubts about what level of aid the British government was giving to help the people of Syria and I found out at a conference in February that Britain is the second largest national donor. It made me aware and took away my concerns.
"It also creates a platform for young people to express their grievances."
Crawley's mosques agreed in February to not undertake further aid missions to Syria.
Two convoys travelled there from Crawley last year so money raised and goods donated could be distributed.
Mohammed Parvez, chairman of Langley Green Mosque, said: "It is definitely the case that we still don't want anyone to go out there.
"We are discouraging anyone from travelling to Syria or Iraq.
"Everyone who went on the convoys returned, apart from Majeed, and we do not know of anyone else who has gone there since."
