A teenager from Laleham won first prize in a national canine photography competition organised by the Kennel Club.

Daniel Combes, 14, who lives with his parents, David and Christine, in Abbey Drive, Laleham, took a photo of a collie cross dog they were looking after for Stanwell-based dog carer, Barking Mad, and entered it into the contest.

Mary Trojak, who runs Barking Mad, which organises for families to take care of people's dogs while they are on holiday, said: "Daniel was so excited about winning. He was presented with a framed photo of Jake plus a day out with an animal photographer."
Daniel was presented with his prize earlier this month.

A lottery terminal was installed at The Best One in Shepperton Road, Laleham, on Thursday November 13.
The food and wine shop installed the terminal after requests from customers.

A lottery terminal was installed at The Best One in Shepperton Road, Laleham, on Thursday November 13

The food and wine shop installed the terminal after requests from customers.

Sleigh bells rang as Santa pulls into Notcutts Garden Centre in Staines Road, Laleham at 11am on Saturday November 8.

He arrived on a seasonal sleigh, courtesy of the Rotary Clubs of Shepperton, and children will be able to visit his festive farm and meet his farmyard animals and his reindeer.

The garden centre, in Staines Road, Laleham, has seven Christmas themed areas, including Midnight Rouge and Winter Garden.

Santa's Farm will be open until December 21.

For more information call the garden centre on 01784 460832.

Children at Buckland Primary School in Laleham did their bit for the Help for Heroes (H4H) charity with their mufti day on Friday November 7 and raised about £240.

The pupils at the Berryscroft Road School - aged between four and 11 - all wore an item of red clothing to school to correspond with the colour of poppies, the emblem for Remembrance Sunday, and donated £1 each to the charity, which supports service men and women who are wounded during their tour of duty.

Floral Christmas decorations will be the subject matter when Staines Flower Arrangement Society meets on Wednesday November 19 at Laleham Village Hall at 2pm.

A demonstration called Christmas Countdown will be presented by Christina Wallis and entry is free for members and £1 for visitors.

The number of burglaries in Spelthorne during October was up 82% on last year.

Fifty-one homes were burgled in the borough between October 6 and November 2 compared with just 28 last year.

Overall crime for the month also increased from 691 recorded offences in 2007 to 715 in 2008.

• Have you been affected by the increase? Leave your comments below or contact us on 01932 561111.

Laleham Primary School is set for a facelift after planning permission was granted for a new entrance, reception and offices.

The single-storey extension to the 1960s building will see a new disabled entrance installed and the floor space increase by 115sqm.

The school in the Broadway needs the extra space to deal with overcrowding in its administration offices and the new entrance to make it easier for disabled people and parents with prams to get into the building.

The application was submitted to Spelthorne Council in September and planning officers gave the project the go-ahead last week.

Green-fingered children at Buckland Primary School were busy planting bulbs as part of a Big Green Day on Monday October 20.

The Staines school also hosted a green poetry competition, a school litter pick, a recycled materials art, an eco fashion show and other gardening.

When Ann and John Betteridge married at St Mary's Church in Stanwell 50 years ago, hula-hooping was all the craze.

And even though Ann had never done the hula before, she was game for a laugh and had a go in her wedding dress for a national newspaper to capture the trend in a photo.