Latest news with #Worthing
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Pet artist Hercule Van Wolfwinkle raises £450,000 for charity
A pet-portrait artist who draws self-proclaimed "rubbish" pictures has raised more than £450,000 for charity after his latest fundraising challenge. Phil Heckels, from Worthing, West Sussex, began working under the alias Hercule Van Wolfwinkle in has just completed challenges and drawn portraits in 15 locations around the UK where StreetVet, one of the charities he supports, is based. Mr Heckels, who raised more than £38,000 in eight days, said: "I was completely overwhelmed, humbled and grateful to have had such amazing support." The artist and fundraiser travelled 1,800 miles (2,897km) around the his charity challenges was getting a tattoo in Brighton, abseiling the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, shaving his head using dog clippers in Cornwall, learning the bagpipes in Glasgow and running a 5K dressed as a dog in said: "The highlight for me was probably the final day when I was joined by a group of volunteers to walk 18 miles along the Thames Path and then climb over the O2."The reality is that the StreetVet volunteers who give up their time to do their work are the true heroes and it was lovely to spend time with them."Mr Heckels added: "I hated walking around in fancy dress all week."I really have a fear of heights, so my abseil was really horrible for me." Mr Heckels, who had his second book of his artwork published in April, has won awards for his fundraising and even embarked on a 24-hour charity "drawathon" began in 2020 when he drew his own dog and put it on Facebook, offering paid-for commissions as a joke, but genuine requests flooded trademark wonky legs and crooked eyes have proved really popular with pet owners. All of the pet portraits are uploaded to Hercule Van Wolkwinkle's social media pages in return for a discretionary donation to one of his two chosen charities: Turning Tides, a homelessness charity, and Heckels said: "My next big target - raising half a million pounds - suddenly feels in reach."It is such a big milestone that I never thought I would achieve."
The Sun
4 days ago
- The Sun
How dark secret of kebab shop could hold key to missing Georgina Gharsallah who vanished without trace
IT'S been seven years since Georgina Gharsallah suddenly vanished without a trace from a town centre in Sussex. The 30-year-old had popped into Worthing from her mum's house to get her phone fixed on March 7, 2018 - and was caught on CCTV entering a shop. 11 That was the last time Georgina was seen alive - and now a new Channel 4 documentary investigating the case suggests her mysterious disappearance could be linked to a gang of Albanian drug dealers. Georgina, a loving mum to two children, was working at an Albanian-owned Kebab shop called Albion Kebab Shop - which at the time was linked to an investigation into an Albanian gang. A policeman who infiltrated the group told In the Footsteps of Killers presenters Emilia Fox and Professor David Wilson that violent gangs had a foothold in the city - and it "wouldn't surprise him" if Georgina had got mixed up in it. The officer Andy - not his real name - said: 'My job for over 15 years was to investigate organised crime. Gangs were starting to take a much stronger foothold in the city. 'This particular Albanian gang was the Dema family. 'Don't mess with them' - that was the reputation. There would be some serious violence. They would do that in a way that wouldn't draw attention to them. 'It was a focal point for the start of our operation. We would be looking at the front of Albion Kebabs, to understand the people who were working there, who controlled it, to build a picture." Asked if he thought Georgina had fallen foul of the gang that owned the shop where she worked, and been disposed of, Andy said: "It wouldn't surprise me at all. 'I know the levels of work that have gone into that case. And my gut feeling is she's not coming back. I don't think we're going to find any answers.' Since Georgina went missing her bank cards have never been used, her prescriptions never collected and friends and family haven't heard from her either. In August 2019 the case was reclassified as a murder case from a missing person, as there were no signs she was still alive. Georgina Gharsallah's family make desperate appeal on This Morning to find her after she vanished in 2018 Police still haven't found a body, or even so much as a hair sample. Georgina's devastated mum Andrea doesn't believe there are sufficient grounds to declare her daughter dead. She said: 'We were like, 'Well how [can they say she's dead]? You haven't got any evidence.' They just say it's because of the lack of proof of life, but for me that's not enough.' Georgina's family had assumed she was staying with friends or her partner when she didn't return that day in March 2018. When Georgina's worried boyfriend Christian Slater rang Andrea asking of her whereabouts, the family raised the alarm. But Andrea and Georgina's family were confident she would return. 'We still at Christmas [2018] laid the table for her,' Andrea said. '[I] told everyone to get presents for her, because she comes back [sic]. 'I used to think I don't want the bad answers, and go all my life looking, and have that hope. But I'm at that stage now that I want the answers, even if they're bad.' Dangerous crowd 11 Georgina had become involved with unsavoury characters in the town, according to people who knew her. She was also alleged to have been hiding drugs in her flat for convicted drug dealer Aldo Aringa, who was in prison at the time of her disappearance. Shop owner Mick Symes claims he saw her hanging around with Albanian drug dealers, and told the documentary: 'The common denominator of people I've seen Georgina walking round the town with or talking with or I know, know her, are involved in class A drugs. 'I'm not saying that Georgina was. But certainly the people she went around with were involved in the supply of drugs, and some quite serious and unpleasant situations. 'I believe [her disappearance] is related to the drug supply in Worthing and Brighton. And the people who are involved at the higher end.' Georgina's boyfriend Christian also told how she appeared to be struggling and had turned to binge-drinking in an attempt to cope. He claimed her erratic behaviour had led to their relationship starting to break down. So when she didn't answer his calls and texts for a few days, he'd assumed she was ignoring him after a disagreement. 'It was a really good relationship in the beginning - it was after Christmas time that everything just went a bit crazy,' he said. 'She started drinking more, arguments started to occur. When she got upset, she got a bit fiery. I was the same. We were two peas in a pod in that way.' Christian said Georgina would walk out during arguments and visit her "Albanian friends". 'Everyone knew Georgina, she knew a lot of people in Brighton," he said. "When we used to have an argument, she'd go down and see her Albanian friends. 'She'd stay with her Albanian friends at the Royal Albion Hotel, that was where she'd go down and see them. "The kebab shop she used to work in was the Albion Kebab shop.' 'Wall of silence' 11 It wasn't just family and police who reached a dead end trying to find out what happened to Georgina. Even local journalists looking into her disappearance were stonewalled. Steve, a freelance journalist, said: 'What we ran into very quickly was almost a wall of silence at the time. 'A lot of it was fear - a lot of her friends were too scared to come forward. 'There was talk that Georgina had become involved with people who may have been dangerous.' He added: 'We found at times Georgina was a troubled soul, but what was clear was that she had a lot of family support around her.' Former police officer Andy reckons the silence is for a reason - because the gangs don't want to be caught. He told the documentary: 'There would be some serious violence [if you crossed the Albanian gang]. They would do that in a way that doesn't draw attention to them. 'Many years ago there was a shooting in Hove not far from where we are sat. That brought a lot of heat on the Albanian community at that time. 'I think from that moment on, they realised that by doing that, you're bringing yourself into that headlights [so they're more discreet]." Presenter Professor Wilson said: 'It's almost like she's swallowed up by the darkness… of organised crime." In the Footsteps of Killers airs tonight at 10pm on Channel 4. 11 11 11
The Sun
4 days ago
- The Sun
What happened to Georgina Gharsallah?
A 30-YEAR-OLD mother-of-two disappeared without a trace in March 2018 while she was out running everyday errands. Here's everything we know about what happened to missing mum Georgina Gharsallah. 4 4 What happened to Georgina Gharsallah? Georgina Gharsallah from Worthing, West Sussex, vanished on March 7, 2018. That morning, she left her mother Andrea's house to go to a shop to replace her broken phone before visiting the local JobCentre. Her disappearance was initially treated as a missing person case. Georgina was supposed to meet her father later that day, but didn't show up. When her mother couldn't reach her and learned that her ex-boyfriend hadn't seen her either, the family reported her missing to police. At first, police did not consider the case suspicious. However, when it became clear that Georgina's phone and bank cards had not been used since the day she vanished, the investigation was escalated into a possible major crime. Grisly messages Georgina's mum Andrea received flurries of grisly messages from online sleuths claiming to know what happened. Some of these sickos suggested she was butchered and burned by a drugs gang, who then scattered her remains "all over". Andrea has pleaded with internet detectives to stop spreading stories that "are not supported by evidence". Missing Georgina Gharsallah's family release reconstruction of her last known movements - with lookalike actress She said: 'Whatever theories any of you may think you have come up with, there is absolutely nothing to confirm or corroborate those. 'The police have no idea what happened to Georgina. 'It's only those few that do know who saw her that morning or anyone that spent some time with her, the ones who have not come forward and the ones that we are not aware of, who hold those answers. 'There are people that contact me quite frequently with what they think has happened to her and I am fully aware they talk of these across the crime groups. 'But there is no evidence whatsoever to support any of these stories. 'For the story tellers who gossip on the sidelines of the crime groups, it's not helpful, but these people will always be the same. 'They are not clever. Georgina is missing still and nobody has any answers.' Investigation The investigation into Georgina's disappearance has been extensive. Sussex Police have conducted over 1,000 house-to-house enquiries, taken more than 2,000 reports and statements, and investigated over 100 potential sightings. Despite these efforts, no credible evidence has emerged to explain what happened to her. 4 The last definitive sighting of Georgina was on CCTV around 9.50 am on March 7, 2018. It shows her entering the Clifton Food and Wine shop in Worthing, where she asked for help with her phone. In August 2019, Sussex Police officially recorded Georgina's disappearance as a homicide, citing the complete halt in her social media and financial activity as evidence that there was 'no innocent reason' for her disappearance. No trace of her has ever been recorded — despite a £20,000 reward, Crimewatch appeals and a Crowdfunded campaign by her family. In the Footsteps of Killers: The Disappearance of Georgina Gharsallah Season three, episode two of In the Footsteps of Killers focuses on the disappearance of Georgina Gharsallah. Emilia Fox, David Wilson and Dr Graham Hill investigate the circumstances surrounding Georgina vanishing, retracing her last known movements and examining the police investigation. The program brings renewed attention to the case, highlighting the unanswered questions and ongoing efforts by both authorities and Georgina's family to finally find out what happened to her. Channel 4 at 10pm on June 24, 2025.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Striker Cashman makes Crawley Town move
Crawley Town have signed Worthing striker Danny Cashman on a two-year Crawley-born 24-year-old scored 36 goals in two seasons for the National League South side - including 20 last term - as he twice helped Worthing reach the play-offs. The former Brighton youngster has also had spells at Coventry City, Rochdale, Walsall and who will formally join Crawley on 1 July following the expiration of his contract with Worthing, told the Red Devils' website, external he was "over the moon" to join his hometown club. "Being from Crawley myself, I have supported and followed the club for a long time, and I know a lot of the past and present players," he said."I didn't think it would happen, but when the opportunity came about it was one that I could not turn down."
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Worthing's Grafton car park may remain shut amid safety concerns
Councillors will be asked to approve the continued closure of a car park in Worthing which was forced to shut last month due to concerns over unstable engineers have been assigned to investigate the Grafton multi-storey car park after recent inspections raised safety concerns about the of Worthing Borough Council (WBC) will later be asked to consider a report on the car park's condition, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The cabinet will also consider a report to return in July to discuss the future regeneration on the site alongside assessing the progress made since the initial closure on May 16. In a note requested by WBC, HOP Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers said it supported the closure of the car park until further notice. 'Debris detachment' It said: "Our note outlines that there are risks of failing/falling parts of the structure that threaten the safety of the public, users of the car park and is dangerous. "Hence, we agree it is appropriate to close the whole of the car park for urgent investigation and review."According to HOP, the monitoring approach used for several years to manage the "resulting overhead debris risk" is becoming "increasingly unreliable at pre-empting overhead debris detachment".The car park, which is over 60 years old, was closed because of am unstable High Alumina Cement November 2023, Worthing Borough Council announced plans to sell and demolish Grafton car park, a move which had first been mooted in 2007.
