AN independent company specialising in the production and installation of glass partitioning has been bought for £2.4 million.

Tufwell Glass, in Church Road, Lowfield Heath, has been acquired by Brownhills Glass in Walsall, which will boost its customer base.

Tufwell, set up in 2001, is a glass-processing business, supplying toughened, laminated and mirrored glass.

Both Tufwell and Brownhills have thrived during the recession where other similar businesses have struggled.

Andrew Maslin, managing director of Tufwell Glass, said: "Our businesses are like-minded and Brownhills is one of the leading glass production companies.

"It has a bigger access to glass stock and will allow us to build on our customer base."

Tufwell will not change its name and will remain at the same Crawley site, although it would have to move if a second runway is built at Gatwick.

Chelverton Asset Management, an investor group, raised half the amount needed for the sale.

OPINION appears divided on whether Crawley town centre is safer than in years gone by – after a BBC news report claimed it used to be a "no-go area" but was now virtually trouble free.

The main story on the News at Ten last Wednesday featured a visit to our town, to illustrate how violent crime has fallen sharply in England and Wales to its lowest level for more than a decade.

But when asked by the Crawley News if this was the case in Crawley specifically, Sussex Police was unable to provide any statistics to back the BBC's claim.

The BBC's home editor, Mark Easton, spoke to Inspector Zahid Khan and Adam Foxley, who is manager of Moka nightclub.

They both agreed that there are now fewer fights in the town than was the case a few years ago.

But Mr Easton went further in his report, claiming: "A few years ago Crawley town centre at night was regarded as the worst in the county – a no-go area for the law-abiding majority.

"But recently police, publicans and the local council have worked together to transform the culture of the night-time economy."

Following the report the Crawley News visited businesses in and around the High Street, and found opinion to be split on whether things were ever as bad as Mr Easton suggested and whether violent crime has dropped.

Sophie Anderson, a supervisor at The Brewery Shades pub, thinks crime levels have largely stayed the same.

The 23-year-old said: "I wouldn't say it has got worse but it has not got any better.

"We have never had any issues in here, though. We don't have bouncers on the door; we don't need any. I don't think it was ever bad."

But Zulkuf Demir, owner of Kismet Kebab on Broadwalk, thinks things have improved.

"I think it's better, much better," he said. "I used to see a lot of trouble on the High Street and round here in the square. This was years ago.

"We never used to see Sussex Police at weekends. I used to say there should be an officer at the top of the High Street and one at the bottom.

"But now it's different and we see more police on the streets and it's stopped trouble."

However, Jamie Campbell, 27, a director at The Boardroom skateboard shop in Church Walk, feels that judging by recent events, violence is still an issue in the town centre.

He said: "Since we've been here there's been a number of stabbings.

"We have had a break in. There was a drug-related stabbing [nearby] and a rape reported in the churchyard.

"From our experience we have gone from having a shop in Dorking, where we never had issues, to suddenly having a couple of incidents."

Rafik Saoud, 36, who used to own and work at Cafe Bistro, on Broadwalk, believes there are now fewer problems, however.

He said: "We had a few issues in the town centre but it is more organised now, there are things like Pubwatch and police react quickly when there are issues.

"Last year we had to close the shop for half a day because of an incident. But there were more police around after that, which caused people to stop drinking."

Do you agree that there is less trouble now in Crawley town centre than in recent years? E-mail your views to editor@crawleynews.co.uk

A SUPER gran is to jump 10,000 feet out of an aircraft in support of a cause close to her heart.

Pauline Robins, of Tiltwood Drive, Crawley Down, is terrified of heights but has made the daredevil decision to do a tandem skydive on May 10 to raise money for Queen Victoria Hospital, in East Grinstead.

The 71-year-old, who still works and who played badminton at county level until four years ago, gave it no second thought when she saw an advert for applicants.

"I hadn't even had a drink when I made the decision," she said.

"I wouldn't normally put myself in a situation like this, but the hospital needed volunteers and I thought, Someone has got to do it, so why not me?

"I didn't give it enough thought to consider my fear of heights; I just signed up.

"It's getting scarier and scarier as the date approaches, but there's no going back now."

Mrs Robins has already raised more than £500 for the hospital thanks to donations from friends and family.

She said: "My eldest grandson Josh, who is seven, was frightened about going into a badminton tournament because he'd never entered one before, so I told him I was doing a skydive for the first time.

"The next thing I knew, he had gone to get his money box from his room and he emptied it completely – giving half to me and half to his mum Caroline, who ran the Brighton Marathon for the British Heart Foundation. It really brought a tear to my eye.

"His brother Jake, aged 5, then donated to my skydive as well."

Mrs Robins received physio at Queen Victoria Hospital after a knee replacement operation and also underwent blood tests there when being treated for a rare form of cancer.

To sponsor Mrs Robins, visit www.justgiving.com/pauline-robins1

A MAN who made a huge contribution to the town's voluntary sector and a former teacher who kept councillors in check as well as schoolchildren are to be honoured.

Ron Cornwell MBE, a former member of Crawley's Royal British Legion and founder of the charity Furni-Aid, will have a road named after him in the new Forge Wood development.

And Arthur Earl, a former Thomas Bennett teacher and chair of Crawley Borough Council's standards committee, will have an education room at the new Crawley Museum named after him.

The honours were announced at last Wednesday's Crawley Borough Council meeting.

Mr Earl, who died in September 2010, taught at Thomas Bennett from 1964 until 2001, and set up a series of university courses for older people to earn degrees.

Speaking after the meeting, at which a number of councillors spoke fondly of Mr Earl, his wife Margaret said: "We were all absolutely delighted when we first heard that this was going to happen.

"The comments made were somewhat overwhelming."

Mr Earl started out as a geography teacher at Thomas Bennett but took on a number of other roles, running parent and toddler groups as well as the school's youth wing.

He also founded Learning In Later Years, which gave over 50s the chance to study a range of subjects.

It was later incorporated into a similar scheme called the University of the Third Age.

Mr Earl previously lived in London where he was an officer with the Boys' Brigade.

He started working in telephone engineering but despite becoming successful in that field, he yearned to go back to his greatest passion, working with young people.

"He was a people person and very enthusiastic in everything he did," said Mrs Earl.

Members of each of the men's families were invited to last week's meeting.

Mr Cornwell was described by mayor Bob Burgess as a "wonderful man who gave a lot of time to other people".

He was a member of the Royal British Legion, forces charity SSAFA and the Royal Air Force Association.

And he founded Furni-Aid, which provides furniture and household items to families who would otherwise struggle to afford them.

Mr Cornwell, who lived in Gossops Green with his wife, served in the RAF for 23 years, having joined before his 17th birthday.

He was also a magistrate for 15 years.

He spent 42 years in Crawley and his contribution to the town was recognised in the New Year's Honours List in 1997.

Mr Cornwell died suddenly in February last year at the age of 83.

Work on the Forge Wood development, which is north of Pound Hill, has already begun with the first homes expected to be completed by the summer.

It is not yet known exactly what the road named after Mr Cornwell will be called.

Crawley Museum will move from its current home in Goffs Park into the The Tree and The Tree Annexe in the High Street in October 2016 after £3 million was granted to the council to renovate the buildings. Mr Earl will have the museum's education and community room named after him.

Do you think a road at the Forge Wood development should be named after someone in particular who has made an impressive contribution to Crawley? If so let us know who and why by e-mailing editor@crawleynews.co.uk

JOHN SINCLAIR says it would be amazing for East Grinstead Town to be promoted to the Ryman League Division One South.

The Wasps gave themselves hope of winning promotion by beating Ringmer 3-0 at the Caburn Ground on Saturday to guarantee second place in the Sussex County League Division One.

It is not yet known if that will be enough to win promotion, but the Wasps skipper is hopeful it will be, adding that it would be just rewards for everyone at the club.

"It is what we have strived towards and it would be amazing for the club," he said.

"Last season we did better than the season before and it has been a gradual progression, and we have been the second best team in the league. No one has been in a position to compete with East Preston, so it was about trying to finish second and we have managed to do that."

Meanwhile, Sinclair says he has not made his mind up yet on a decision to hang up his boots, with the 31-year-old admitting last week that he is considering retirement.

He said that he could be swayed by whatever happens in terms of a possible promotion, but he says he will discuss his future with Wasps boss Simon Funnell and his assistant Adam Simpson in the coming weeks.

"I would say I am still 70-30 on retiring, but that could still go higher or lower," he said.

"I will try and enjoy some down time now and then have a chat with Si and Adam in the next couple of weeks.

"It has been a massive privilege to lead these boys out each week and it gives me a buzz every time I do it, and to achieve what we have achieved makes it extra special."

But, regardless of whether or not he does continue playing next season, Sinclair is confident that the Wasps can have another successful season, whichever division they are in.

"We have a great bunch of lads and I am sure with a few more in to strengthen the team, we will be all right," he said.

"We would need a couple more for Ryman South level, because I know from playing there that you need a good squad to compete and, at the moment, we are probably a couple short.

"But if we don't go up, we have to be looking at trying to win the Sussex County League because, finishing second, there is only one place you can go to improve."

LINGFIELD boss Dixie Dean bemoaned three mistakes from his side as they ended their season with defeat at Selsey on Saturday.

Dean's men crashed to a 3-2 defeat on the south coast, with the hosts earning three precious points that kept them in the league.

It was only Selsey's second win of 2014 after a disastrous run of form, but Ryan Morey's hat-trick was enough to give them all three points against a depleted Lingfield side, for whom Joel O'Hara bagged a brace.

The result left Lingfield 15th in the division, just one point above their opponents and four above Lancing, who finished third from bottom.

But Dean said he was confident that his young side would benefit from the experience of this season as they look to push on next year.

He said: "It all went downhill for us after a game against Rye United, when we were 3-0 up and ended up drawing 3-3, with Dean Hamlin getting injured and a few of our players going off the boil.

"We lost Nicky Forster, too, and after that I went with the youth team.

"We have played six 16-year-olds this year and I don't think you will find many teams that do that.

"They have done all right and learnt a lot, and I am sure that will benefit them next year.

"We will be a mid-table team next year with a mix of experience and youth, but with a lot of local lads, and hopefully young players will look at Lingfield and want to come and play here, because they know they will get a chance."

THREE stunning second-half goals at Ringmer were enough to help East Grinstead Town secure second place in the Sussex County League.

Wasps captain John Sinclair was potentially playing his last game for the club as he contemplates retirement, but he finished on a high as Grinstead survived a tense first half before eventually running out comfortable winners.

The visitors hit the bar in the very first minute and several other first-half chances went begging as the Wasps hit the post again midway through the half.

But the second half started well, with Dan Turner looking sharp and capitalising on a defensive error in the 48th minute.

Kieron Pamment then added a second stunning goal direct from a free-kick after 76 minutes.

East Grinstead hung on with Ringmer trying to salvage something from the game, before substitute Craig Goodsir added a third for the Wasps in the 90th minute to put the gloss on the victory and spark celebrations at the end of the game.

And Wasps boss Simon Funnell was delighted with his side's display, which gives them hope of a promotion to their highest-ever level of non-league football.

"It was obviously a bit tense, possibly with so much at stake," he said.

"We knew that we had to win the game to put ourselves in second position and to give us the best shot for promotion should the chance come around.

"The pitch wasn't great, but we needed the first goal. Once we got the first goal we knew it would settle us down. We hit the woodwork early on and we couldn't get a goal in the first half, but we had a few words at half-time, even though they hadn't looked that dangerous.

"Jon Hampson had to make a good tackle to stop them at one point, but they didn't cause us too many problems.

"And once we got the first goal, the second one came along after and then we got a third late on.

"It was a good performance and we got the result that we deserved and, overall, I think we have probably got what we deserved over the course of the season."

The Wasps must now wait for the decision of the FA as to whether they will be promoted to Ryman League Division One South, with Funnell adding that he is hopeful they will find out within the next couple of weeks.

JOHN GREGORY has insisted he is looking forward to the "challenge" of building Crawley Town's squad on a tight budget.

The Reds announced on Monday they are releasing 11 players this summer, including Billy Clarke, Paul Jones and Sergio Torres.

That leaves Gregory with a team of seven players with the possible additions of Dannie Bulman, Mat Sadler, Jamie Proctor and Mike Jones – who have all been offered new contracts but are yet to sign.

But the Reds boss insists he is happy with working within a tight financial remit, adding it is less pressure than having a large budget.

"It's going to be very hard work," he said. "One or two others [who have larger budgets] have gone out of out of our league – and Preston, Rotherham and Peterborough are big spenders.

"Those three all have the chance to go up a division and Wolves have already gone.

"Sometimes it comes down to your ability as a coach, which is a massive challenge to me. When I'm thrown something like that it's like, 'Yeah, bring it on!'. I'll have a go.

"I'm a little bit excited about that. I'd probably be more worried if I had a huge budget because you have to spend it properly.

"You have seen teams before with big budgets make many mistakes because they can, financially they can take gambles on players. We can't.

"Everyone who comes in next year has to step up to the plate. They have to be good. I can't afford any [Bosko] Balabans!"

FOOTBALL: Louise Brooks scored twice as Crawley Wasps U18s won the Sussex County Women's & Girls' League Cup.

The Wasps overcame a difficult first half to beat Worthing Town 3-1 in the final – Siobhan Miller scoring the Crawley side's other goal.

Wasps started brightly but after ten minutes the Worthing midfield began to dominate and this gave them the opportunity to play through balls for their nippy strikers.

In the second half Brooks fired a tremendous shot that looped over the Worthing defensive wall and in off the post.

Rebekah Dunt latched onto a through-ball from Miller but her shot hit the post. However, that disappointment wasn't to last long when from a corner Miller headed home.

Worthing rallied and with five minutes remaining they got their reward when from a corner they scored from a fine header by Elder. It was an edgy few minutes for Wasps but Brooks powered another free kick that the Worthing keeper failed to hold to leave the final score 3-1.

SUBWAY has confirmed that none of its Crawley branches serve halal meat, after it was revealed almost 200 across the country now do.

A story in the national media revealed that about 185 branches across the UK now only sell halal meat.

Muslims can only eat certain types of meat that have been slaughtered in a specific way. This is known as halal.

The decision on which branches serve halal meat is made at the time of opening.

The nearest halal Subway branch to the town is in Croydon.

The news follows a campaign being launched in Crawley asking for Nando's in the leisure park to be converted into a halal branch, so that the town's Muslim population can eat there.

But the idea led to a backlash online from critics who claim the practice, in which the animal has its throat cut with a knife, is cruel.

A Subway spokesman said: "We put a programme in place in 2007 to ensure that the population demographic is taken into account when new store openings are considered in order that we meet consumer demand in each location.

"All our suppliers comply with EU animal welfare legislation as a minimum and we require suppliers of halal products to adopt the stunning of animals prior to their slaughter. "All halal Subway stores have numerous signs stating that they serve halal food."

IFIELD went back to its roots as an old English village on Monday as thousands of residents streamed into its streets for the annual May Day celebrations.

Maypole dancing, morris dancing and the crowning of the May Queen gave Ifield May Fayre a traditional feel, while bouncy castles and bungees provided the spring event with, well, plenty of spring.

The Ifield May Queen was crowned, having been chosen ahead of the event, and she was paraded from The Mardens to outside Ifield Barn Theatre and St Margaret's Church, where the main event was held.

Crawley mayor Bob Burgess crowned Jessica Budd-Jeffreys, before she officially opened the event.

Mr Burgess then got stuck into the fun himself, putting his trust firmly in the Scouts by walking across a rope bridge over Ifield Mill Pond, which they had constructed themselves.

Mr Burgess said: "I trusted the Scouts completely in that they wouldn't allow me to fall into the water.

"I was too busy concentrating on getting across safely to notice, but apparently I got a cheer once I got across."

Speaking about the event as a whole, he added: "It was heaving basically.

"At one point I wanted to go past The Plough pub but it was actually easier, because there were so many people outside, to go through the pub."

Xavier Gaterell, manager of The Plough Inn, on Ifield Street, said it was the pub's busiest Ifield May Fayre ever.

He said: "We were six-deep at the bar for quite a while but we had plenty of staff on.

"I think I can speak on behalf of everyone – the Barn Theatre, the stallholders and everyone else – and say it was very successful. If anything it seems to be getting busier every year.

"It's one of those traditional English things that everyone seems to chip in with.

"I know it's a bit cheesy with the morris dancing and everything, but people love it."

On one of the hottest days of the year so far the NTC (Nautical Training Corps) Superb marching band trooped in their full get-up, providing a rhythm to the parade.

Their colleagues, the NTC Glorious band, played at the fayre before the May Queen was crowned, and the Crawley Millennium Concert Band also performed during the day.

Sue Gilbert, from the Ifield May Fayre committee, said the event's popularity is down to its traditional feel and the fact the price of many of the games have not gone up for several years.

She added: "It's a very busy day for the committee, so we tend to bask in it at the end of the event with a good few glasses of wine."

NIGEL BRAKE is like a fine wine, according to Three Bridges manager Paul Faili – the left-back just keeps on getting better.

It has been 15 years since Brake was making waves for Crawley Town, but now after finishing his third season at Three Bridges, the left-back, who picked up the Crawley News player of the year award at Saturday's end of season dinner, has the same enthusiasm for the sport.

"Nigel has been an outstanding player for us," Bridges boss Faili said. "I know how old he is, but I'm not allowed to say, but he still has the same enthusiasm and energy as the teenagers in the squad. In fact, sometimes he has too much enthusiasm which results in penalties.

"Nigel has very high standards and he always gives you 110 per cent. I'm not sure there is a better left-back in the league."

The manager also had praise for his skipper Lee Carney, who won the Manager's Player accolade and also the Dave Sharpe Award, a recognition for going above and beyond.

"Lee is just 100 per cent committed to the cause," Faili said. "He has often sacrificed his craft this season, spending more time defending, for the good of the team.

"He's so modest, he's never seek the limelight but he's an inspiration and wonderful to watch."

Three Bridges Honour List 2013-14

Players' Player: Martin Grant

Manager's Player: Lee Carney

Crawley News Player: Nigel Brake

Young Player: Charlie Leach

Supporters' Player: Tony Garrod

Goal of the Season: Lee Carney at home to Whitstable Town

Vets – Players' Player: Paul Power

Vets – Manager's Player: John Mist

U21s – Players' Player: Harri Nourse

U21s – Manager's Player: Jordan Morey

U19s – Players' Player: Keith Porter

U19s – Manager's Player: Mitchell Casselman

U18s – Players' Player: Martin Reed

U18s – Manager's Player Martin Reed

U16s – Players' Player: Joe Pickering

U16s – Manager's Player: Jack Sivill

Club Member of the Year: Lorraine Bonner

Supporters of the Year: Stuart Russell and Keith Medcalf

100 Appearances: Williams Peauroux and Abu Touray

Bobby Nash Award: Alan Ladd

Dave Sharpe Award: Lee Carney