Thieves have ruined the replanting of the village green in Claygate just hours after work had been completed by the village’s Green Team in preparation for this year’s Claygate in Bloom initiative.

Parish Councillor Jehan Master said that the Green Team’s Carol Manley and fellow volunteers had been working flat out all day to get the work completed at what has become known as ‘the pointy end’ of The Green. But local residents returning home from work that evening had just a few hours in which to admire the tremendous results.

Later that night heartless criminals drove into the old village and parked alongside the Hare and Hounds. A witness saw them pulling up the plants and putting them into the back of their vehicle. When the thieves were challenged, they got back into their vehicle and drove off towards Red Lane. The registration number of the vehicle was recorded and given to the police.

Melanie Wallner may have died in 2006

Media reports today suggest that the body of a woman found in a wheelie bin outside a house in Hamilton Avenue, Cobham last weekend may have been hidden in a freezer for three years.

Thirty-two-year-old Melanie Wallner’s remains were discovered hidden among rubbish when her foot was seen poking out of the top of the bin.

The police arrested her husband, Peter Wallner, 33, at Gatwick airport. Peter and Melanie were married in North London in 2001.

It has been alleged that he told friends that his South African wife – whose maiden name was Van Der Merwe – had died several years ago.

Detective Chief Inspector Maria Woodall explained: “We have received varying accounts from Melanie’s family, friends and neighbours about her recent history. Some had thought she moved away from Surrey in the last few years and others believed she may have died in 2006.”

Peter had been staying with his new wife, 23-year-old Lilia Fenech and her family in Malta when he became aware that police wanted to speak to him. He contacted officers on Tuesday and agreed to voluntarily return to the UK.

Peter met Lilia in 2007 while working at Woodlands Park Hotel in Cobham as head chef. She was a trainee. They had married about six months ago.

Forensics experts are continuing a search of the address in Hamilton Avenue and officers have extended their house-to-house enquires.

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation – particularly people who knew Melanie Wallner or have seen her since August 2006 – are asked to call Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222 or the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Drowned: Bishal Gurung

Two men have been cleared of murder but found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter of a Nepalese waiter from Esher who was beaten up and thrown into the River Thames.

The Old Bailey heard that Kemik Thakali, 20, of Legion Court, Morden, south London, and Rocky Gurung, 21, of Haig Place, Morden were part of a group that chased Bishal Gurung along the Thames Embankment after celebrating the Nepalese New Year on board the Yacht Club – a floating bar by Waterloo Bridge.

When the victim was caught, he was beaten up and thrown into the river. Two weeks later a member of the public found his body in the river.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Bishal - who worked at the Sherpa Kitchen in Esher High Street – was still alive when he was thrown into the river.  He had a two-inch cut to the back of his head and deep bruising to his skull but the cause of his death was drowning.

The court was told a third man, Arjun Gurung, had been identified as one of the people who threw Bishal in the Thames but he had returned to Nepal.

Griffin: Fighting extradition

An Oxshott businessman fighting extradition to France over the murder of his millionaire girlfriend was mentally unfit to attend court on Wednesday.

Ian Griffin, 40, was arrested following the discovery of the body of his Polish girlfriend Kinga Legg at the Hotel Le Bristol in Paris.

French police said the 36-year-old died from internal bleeding as a result of injuries.

According to national press reports, the couple had rowed after drinking heavily in their hotel suite. Her naked and battered body was found the next day in the bathroom.

The couple lived together at a mansion on the Crown Estate in Oxshott, and were neighbours of Chelsea football stars.

Bizarrely, Mr Griffin was arrested after being found asleep in a tent in woods in Cheshire after a week-long search, not far from the homes of football stars from Manchester.

He was due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday to face extradition proceedings. But defence lawyer, Stephen Vullo said Mr Griffin had been taken to St George’s Hospital in Wandsworth.  

His family and legal team had been barred from seeing him because of his mental condition. As Mr Griffin was not well enough to attend, the court hearing could not go ahead.

Marist girls go green

Girls at the Marist Senior School in Sunninghill have shown their green credentials, having been awarded an Eco Schools Bronze Certificate.

To raise awareness of environmental concerns, the entire school participated in a range of different eco projects based around the theme , "Reduce".  Lights were turned off where possible to reduce electricity, taps were turned off properly to save water, and waste was recycled diligently. All students aimed to check a print preview of their schoolwork before printing documents to ensure no unnecessary paper was wasted. A book exchange programme was also instigated as a further way to save paper.

All form rooms competed for the title of "Most Eco Friendly Classroom" by adhering to these goals.

The school library encouraged the girls to learn more about environmental issues by visiting displays of photographic images and news articles that had been created in connection with concerns at both a local and global level.

Several girls planted tree saplings in the school grounds and vowed to take responsibility for the trees as they grow. 

Major maintenance work will begin next month on the A3 Esher Bypass between Hook Interchange (Junction with A309) and Clayton Road Bridge.

A 40mph temporary speed limit will be in place for the duration of the works and a diversion route through Esher will be in place during overnight closure of the A3.

The work will start on Monday 15 June and is due to finish on Friday 7 August, subject to weather conditions.

In order to get the work done as quickly as possible, there will be 24 hour working which includes maintenance of worn out carriageway,

surfacing and drainage, upgrading of lighting and safety barriers to bring them in line with current standards.

Road closures and lane reduction will only be in operation during off peak periods.

In order to carry out the works safely, there will be overnight main line and slip road closures, lane width restrictions, speed restriction, hard shoulder running.

Delays will be low during peak periods and could be severe during off peak periods when closures are in place for the safeguard of drivers and the workforce.

Students from Brooklands College will attend Brands Hatch on June 22 to monitor the progress of a Formula 4 car that they have helped to develop.

“Although we have carried out extensive testing at our fantastic motorsport facilities, including developmental power runs on our own rolling road, it is a great to put to the test the theory we teach at college, in a real life event,” said Jonathan Nicholls, manager of the Engineering Centre of Vocational Excellence.

The single seater race car that the students have helped to develop is sponsored by Revelation Motorsport, a motor racing manufacturer from West Yorkshire.

The car recently competed in the first round of the Formula 4 Championship at the Anglesey Race Circuit, North Wales.

Michael Fryatt, a Revelation approved drivers, competed in the event.

The race team at the event comprised four staff from the Engineering Faculty and two Brooklands students who independently travelled and spent their own time at the sponsored event to experience motorsport first hand, by watching and supporting the Brooklands staff team.

Students saw how teamwork is essential for building and developing a race car and were able to appreciate how the skills they have learnt during their motorsport course are applied at the track; including motorsport engineering, electronics and the setting up and tuning of the chassis.