Brave trio plan

parachute jump

THREE former pupils of Torpoint School are set to do a parachute jump in a bid to raise £10,000 for a good cause.

Jane Smith and Jo Lloyd-Davies, who each have two young children, and Helen Oliver are planning to jump out of a plane to boost the funds needed to pay for new facilities for disabled people at Antony Village Hall.

The trio have paid all the costs involved in a parachute training course and are due to jump at Wadebridge on May 4.

Jane and Helen grew up in Antony while Jo is connected to the village by marriage.

Businesses and individuals in the village are supporting the women's fundraising.

Torcare has given a donation whilst the new licensees of the Ring O'Bells pub, Matthew and Liz Raymond are hosting a barbecue and country & western evening on April 27.

The owners of the Village Post Office & Stores, Allan and Chris Dowdeswell, are involved, and funeral director David Pidgen, whose father Francis built the hall in the 1920s, is giving whole-hearted support. Other businesses providing support include East Cornwall Repair Garage, Ian Dart Car Body Repairs, C & R Burchell Home Improvements, Colin Tucker Property Maintenance and the Fir Cottage guest house.

Local resident John Street of Channel 4 is completing a video film about Antony and events connected to the fundraising effort will be included.

Average tax

bill up £80

THE average household in Torpoint faces a council tax bill of £957.84 in the new financial year, compared to £877.45 last year.

Band D households will be paying more than £80 extra for services provided by Cornwall County Council, Caradon District Council, Devon and Cornwall Police, and Torpoint Town Council. Around three-quarters of the tax goes to the county council for services including education, social services, highways and the fire service.

Households in Torpoint in Band A, the lowest band, face a bill of £638.56 for the year which started on April 1, while those in the highest band, Band H, will have to pay £1,915.68.

Band D household bills in other parishes include: Antony, £937.38; Maker, £930.26; Millbrook, £966.62; Sheviock, £930.13; and St John, £919.19.

Uniform

to change

THE familiar bottle green uniform worn by pupils at Torpoint Infant School is to be replaced.

The school says that after much discussion it has been decided that the dark-coloured sweatshirts and cardigans will phased out over the next couple of years.

New brighter uniforms for the school in Albion Road will be available in gold or light green.

Meanwhile, the school has asked parents with dogs not to tie them to the school railings while they are collecting their children.

The narrow pavements outside the school become congested at the end of the school day and there have been complaints about the dogs tied to the railings.

The school has asked that dogs are not tied there in the interests of the well being and safety of both people and the animals.