Caravan club raises cash for charities

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by Chris Malone

A caravan club has raised hundreds of pounds for charity as part of its anniversary celebrations.

The Freedom North East 2000 Caravan Club is now in its tenth year and recently held a three-day rally to mark the occasion.

According to the Northern Echo, it conducted a number of fund-raising events and brought in more than £624, which will be donated to the mayor of Durham’s charity fund.

It is not the first time Freedom North East 2000 Caravan Club has raised money for charity.

The club has a history of donations to bodies including the Great North Air Ambulance and Hartlepool and District Hospice.

A check will now be presented to mayor Mamie Simmons at Durham Town hall later this month and club secretary Elaine Bell told the newspaper that the politician’s charity was chosen after members heard of the good work she was doing when she visited the celebration.

“The club’s donation to my charity appeal is very generous and I am grateful to everyone who took part in the fundraising activities,” Ms Simmons told the Northern Echo.

“The money will be well spent by St Cuthbert’s Hospice and Diabetes UK.”

In other news, X Factor star Cher Lloyd has revealed that she spent part of her childhood living in a caravan.

X Factor star Cher Lloyd was raised in a caravan

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by Chris Malone

X Factor hopeful Cher Lloyd may enjoy performing songs on the show with her own urban twist, but she has revealed that her roots lie not in the city, but in the Welsh countryside.

The young singer spent the early years of her life living in a caravan as a Romany traveller, just as her family had for generations.

Cher is said to have spent some of her childhood in a second-hand tourer from Buccaneer Caravans that was parked in lay-bys around Wales. As a result, children at her school used the playground taunt “pikey” to disparage her Romany lifestyle.

The road to stardom

Aged just 17, Lloyd has already made a name for herself on the show with her fierce renditions of urban classics and her penchant for rapping. She is considered among the front runners to scoop the lucrative record deal prize offered to winners of the X Factor.

However, her uncle Jessy Smith told the Daily Mirror that the star’s upbringing was far-removed from the glitz and glamour she is currently experiencing.

“Cher was just a few months old when they moved out of her mum’s,” he said.

“[Her parents] Diane and Darren bought an old Buccaneer six-berth caravan with plastic windows and a battered Ford Transit Mark II pick-up for £200.”

Mr Smith explained that life was not easy for the young family, but spoke with pride that his niece had made it so far in her quest to become a pop star.

Camping and Caravanning Club win three gold rosettes for 2011

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by Marcus Dubois

The Camping and Caravanning Club has triumphed again in this year’s David Bellamy Conservation Awards achieving three gold rosettes for 2011.

Club Sites that were lauded for “the exceptional lengths they have gone to in order to protect and enhance the natural environment” are Corfe Castle (Dorset), Delamere Forest (Cheshire) and Oban (Scotland).

The Friendly Club also received a silver rosette for the Chipping Norton Club Site in Oxfordshire.

“A commitment to environmental excellence”

Awards assessor Tom Pridmore commented on the success of the Cheshire site and noted “the commitment to environmental excellence at Delamere Forest is evident on arrival with the park obviously an integral part of the adjacent forest park. The managers are clearly striving to develop and improve the park in harmony with nature.”

Meanwhile, Oban and Corfe Castle Club Sites were also commended by their respective assessors for being good neighbours, as well as for their sustainability and ecological management.

Bellamy himself added: “2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and the sites can be proud of the fact that they are doing vital work for Britain’s environment and wildlife.”

Caravan sites for conservationists

An impressive seventy-seven percent of the Club’s site entries have achieved gold rosettes since the Club first entered the Awards Scheme in 2002.

Bob Hill is the Sites Director of the Friendly Club, and he was proud of the “fantastic achievement” for the Club while immediately looking to the future.

“We are continuously working to develop our site facilities to ensure that they are environmentally friendly and this is a great indication of our efforts so far.”

David Bellamy Conservation Awards are given to those sites that have shown the steps they have taken to; support their local community, manage their land as a haven for wildlife, lessen their use of energy, water and other resources and reduce, reuse and recycle the waste they produce.
The David Bellamy Conservation Award scheme is one of the longest running green tourism awards in the UK and is a joint partnership between the Conservation Foundation and the British Holiday & Homes Parks Association.

If you’re interested in staying on any of the Club’s gold rosette-winning sites, then inquiries can be made via the Club’s Contact Centre on 0845 130 7633 or 024 7647 5426. Alternatively via the website: campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk

Next generation of speed cameras to catch multiple offences

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by Holly Tribe

A new generation of speed cameras is being developed which can detect up to five driving offences at once.

On top of license plate recognition and speeding offences, the Advance Safety and Driver Support for Essential Road Transport (ASSET) cameras can check if the car has valid insurance and road tax cover, and distinguish whether the driver is tailgating and wearing a seatbelt from up to 150 ft away.

Caravanners beware

The developers of the Asset camera are also designing an automated overload control system. Using pads in the road to weight axles and wheels even at high speed and it can determine whether the vehicle is overloaded.

AA president Edmund King, tentatively welcomed the cameras, but indicated that he hoped they would not be deployed as a money making scheme.

“Tailgating is more dangerous in most cases than speeding so I think most motorists would welcome it.”

‘But it needs to be a safety measure, not a money-making machine,’ he added.

How does it work?

Connected to police computers via GPS, the trailer mounted devise can potentially detect misdemeanours and issue a fine instantly.

Two 3D cameras takes multiple images before sending details back to a central database via a satellite system. Images over a month old or that don’t detect any traffic violations are destroyed.

The development of the camera is being funded with £7.1 million of European Commission money and it is currently undergoing trials by the VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland.

If tests go well, the camera which is currently mounted on a trailer, will be converted to fit inside police vehicles and used on UK roads from 2013 at a cost of £50,000 per camera.

Ricky Gervais sidekick Karl Pilkington recalls first caravan holiday

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by Chris Malone

TV and radio funnyman Karl Pilkington has recalled his first memory of a caravan holiday with his family during an interview with the Independent.

The producer told the newspaper that his earliest recollection of being on holiday was at a caravan site in Cornwall with his parents, brother, sister and some cousins.

“It was a battered old caravan that we couldn’t all sit in at one end at once, because it would tip up,” he said. “It was like the end of The Italian Job.”

The comedian explained that Wales is his favourite British travel spot thanks to his frequent visits as a child.

Pilkington added that “messing about on the beach and in arcades” with friends he made on the site was great fun as a kid.

He noted that Rome is his favourite city, thanks to the fact that you can walk around and see lots of famous and interesting sites for free.

Karl Pilkington is perhaps best known for his work with Ricky Gervais and has appeared in numerous shows alongside him.

Caravan fires in Wales highlight need for safety and insurance

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by Chris Malone

The need for caravan insurance was highlighted by arson attacks in north Wales over the weekend.

According to the Daily Post, police are looking for information on two incidents, which saw caravans in Kinmel Bay and Towyn torched.

The mobile homes were located at Sunnyvale Holiday Park and Whitehouse Leisure Park respectively.

Fire crews attended both incidents, but they were too late to save either caravan.

Both attacks occurred within three miles and 60 minutes of each other, leading officers to believe that they were related.

A third, unrelated attack was reported in Bangor, where a derelict caravan was torched by vandals.

Whitehouse Leisure Park owner Mark Whitehouse called it an “upsetting incident” and revealed how the owner of the caravan was present before the fire started.

“We thank our security guard, staff, residents and the emergency services for their response,” he told the newspaper.

In other news, a family is hoping to use images from Google Street View to help them catch the culprit who stole their caravan.

Caravan theft pictured on Google Street View

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by Marcus Dubois

Police are appealing to the public for help in tracing a man over the theft of an Abbey caravan – after he was pictured next to the tourer on Google Street View moments before the theft.

The owner of the stolen Abbey Aventura spotted the potential suspect while looking at his house on Google Street View.

The unnamed middle-aged man was recorded by the online search giant’s mapping cameras standing next to what appears to be a forest green Vauxhall Frontera 4×4. Derbyshire Police have issued the snapshot of the large, bald man with spectacles in an attempt to trace him for interview.

Stolen in broad daylight

According to Sky News last year Rebecca Soanes returned to her house in Linton, Derbyshire to find her caravan had been stolen. The white Abbey Aventura was towed away from Cauldwell Road in Linton sometime between the hours of 9.30am and 2pm on June 5th last year. She believes the Google image may have been taken sometime before the theft occurred.

After the stolen caravan worth £7,000 was reported there was initially little evidence to help Derbyshire Police. A forensic examination of the wheel-clamps that had secured the caravan took place, but the investigation failed to reveal any suspects.

Eye in the sky

Yet a stroke of good fortune has helped re-open the case after the owner’s son looked up the family house on Google Street View and spotted the stranger and the 4×4 on the driveway.

Neither Rebecca Soanes or her husband recognise the man and a neighbour who saw the stranger at the time has since said they thought he was a friend of the family.

Unfortunately for the couple vital information contained in the picture is unavailable to the investigation. Mrs Soanes told Sky News Online that police could not obtain the numberplate information from Google. The search engine firm reportedly said unblurred imagery from StreetView is retained for 12 months as part of a process to improve “blurring quality” before it is permanently altered to obscure details.

PC Adrian Mason is investigating the couple’s case and said “It is amazing that we have such a clear image of a man who we think will be able to give us information that would help the police enquiry. It was an amazing co-incidence that the Google Street View car was passing at that time.

“I’ve made extensive enquiries since the image was discovered but because the registration plate of the 4×4 is blanked out we have been unable to trace the man through his car.

“That is why we are appealing for the public’s help.”

Anyone who recognises the man should contact PC Adrian Mason on 0345 123 33 33. Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.

Caravan site generator causes problems

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by Chris Bryant

A generator installed at a Yorkshire caravan park has caused residents to complain about excess noise.

According to the York Press, tenants at the Osbaldwick caravan park are unhappy with the electrical device, which was installed by the council.

The newspaper noted that residents have asked the local authority to upgrade the electrical supply, but claim it has refused to comply.

One caravanner explained: “The generator breaks down a lot, and we’ve had no hot water since Friday. It’s next to where my kids sleep and it’s quite loud, so when it works, it keeps them awake.”

Problems have reportedly been ongoing for months and include a black-out on Christmas Day last year.

City of York Council explained that it was trying to resolve the problems as quickly as it could and has applied for funding for an upgrade project.

In other news, travel agent Tourdust.com has noted how Scottish camping holidays are becoming more popular.

Family caravan holidays from £101

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by Chris Malone

Caravan enthusiasts will be given the chance to enjoy a family holiday in the north-west of England next year from just £101.

South Lakeland Parks is offering customers the opportunity to stay at one of its nine sites in the Lake District, Ribble Valley and Morecambe Bay at a discounted rate if they book early.

Those who secure their holiday before January 2nd will be able to do so with a low deposit and will receive a further £10 discount if they book online.

Holidaymakers will also be able to choose their own pitch, meaning that those who book early will be able to stay wherever they wish.

Ideal for families and holidaymakers on a budget, the offer applies to both caravans and lodges, with bedding and fuel supplements included.

Visitors will be able to make use of the heated indoor pools, entertainment, children’s play areas, bars and restaurants during their stay.

Meanwhile, caravanners heading north of the border may be interested in Visit Scotland’s recently-published list of the country’s most haunted venues.

Police confirm caravan explosion victim was a woman

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by Gemma Roskell

It has been confirmed that a body found following an explosion at a caravan in Cornwall was that of a woman in her 60s.

According to the BBC, police have not yet formally identified the victim of the blaze, which began on the night of Tuesday December 28th.

Firefighters were called to the incident in Sancreed, west of Penzance, at around 22:25 GMT following reports of an explosion.

They discovered a body inside the motorhome once they managed to extinguish the flames.

It has now been confirmed that the remains were those of the caravan owner, who lived alone on the site.

Police said the death is not being treated as suspicious and that an investigation is still underway into the cause of the fire.

It comes after Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service issued a warning to caravan owners about wood burning stoves, open fires and candles, all of which increase the risk of fire during the winter.

Fifth Wheel Company to expand UK operations

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by Holly Tribe

A specialist caravan manufacturer is set to invest £250,000 in a major expansion programme developing its design and manufacturing methods.

After two years of successive growth the Fifth Wheel Company has doubled its workforce and now has a turnover of £2 million. With an order book full until April 2011, the Welsh firm has quickly outstripped its initial design and manufacturing capabilities.

Using profits amassed over the last two years along with funding from a government-run scheme, the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Coleg Menai, the firm will appoint a graduate KTP associate to re-evaluate the design-to-manufacture process.

Operations Manager Adrian Parry-Jones told Business Post: “As the company grows and we become a bigger operation, it’s essential that we constantly review our design-to-manufacture process and quality systems, in order to reduce any work duplication and wastage.”

Where it all began

The company began importing fifth wheel type tourers from the States in the late 1990’s converting them to comply with European safety standards for the UK market. Encouraged by an enthusiastic response from customers, the decision was made to design and build an in-house range of Fifth Wheelers which have been in production since 2002.

Mr Parry-Jones explained: “When someone asked why we didn’t start producing them, we couldn’t think of a good reason. Within six months we had developed our first prototype of a UK version, and now we design and manufacture them here.”

Fifth Wheelers explained

Originating in the US Fifth Wheelers are attached to the towing vehicle, not by the traditional tow bar as with other caravans, but via a connection plate similar to those found on articulated lorries. They are built to be towed by pick-up trucks and open backed vehicles like the Nissan Navara (pictured). The Fifth Wheel Company build models which are better suited to smaller UK roads and driving conditions.

National Forest caravanners set for Christmas treat

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by Chris Malone

Caravan enthusiasts visiting the National Forest over the coming weeks will be able to give their kids a special treat.

The popular woodland area is set to play host to Conkers[‘] Winter Wonderland, which will feature a full grotto complete with a century-old log cabin.

Inside, Santa and his elves will be waiting to bestow early Christmas gifts on lucky children, who will also get to see St Nick’s famous reindeer at close quarters.

Those who are brave enough can even reach out and stroke Dasher, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen and all their friends.

Santa will be present on November 27th and 28th, as well as December 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th and then every day between the 18th and 23rd, when he will set off to make the final preparations for Christmas Day.

The site will also feature the pantomime favourite Cinderella, which takes place on December 18th, while the Ibstock Bric-Brass Band will entertain guests with a candlelit carol service on December 23rd.

The National Forest is a UK project which aims to transform 200 square miles of land in the centre of England into woodland.