Gravestone nearly crushes toddler

By Hugh Cadman

A GIRL aged two was almost crushed to death by a large headstone which smashed to the ground right in front of her in a churchyard on Saturday.

Little Tamzin Waldron's father, Stuart, snatched her away as he saw the five-foot gravestone topple over onto the main path of the old St Gluvias graveyard at the end of Love Lane.

He said: "We were walking back up the path towards the gate after tending my mother-in-law's grave and I noticed the headstone starting to move. My daughter was just in fron, a few feet from it and I grabbed her. She was two on Monday and I could have been attending a funeral instead of a birthday party."

Runaway lorry No 2

A RUNAWAY lorry gathering speed as it came to the end of the Penryn bypass narrowly missed cars and pedestrians as its driver steered it into a nearby boatyard on Monday.

It is the second time since the bypass opened earlier this year that a runaway lorry has found its way into the boatyard as a means of escape.

Many others have had to use the escape lane and there have been tell tale signs daily that many vehicles have had problems as they descend the hill.

Monday's incident ended with no one being injured but a very badly shaken lorry driver was counting his blessings.

His lorry had brake problems on the hill as it approached the end of the bypass. Gathering speed the driver steered the lorry round the roundabout and headed for the gates opposite into a local boat yard and came to rest after hitting a wall.

Luckily the main road was clear of other traffic at the time but much earlier it would have been at the busiest time of the day.

Police were called to the scene but said there was little that could be done. The lorry would be examined and it was expected that brake fade or failure to be the cause.

"The slope of the hill is deceiving," said one motorist this week.

Mr Alan Ibbotson at county highways department said all accidents on the county's roads were investigated but they would have to wait for a report from police first.

He was unaware of this incident, but as it was not a fatality there was no reason to send to it.

Landlady hits back at yob tenants

By Stephen Ivall

A PENRYN landlady has hit back at people she says are quick enough to complain about rented property yet think nothing about looking after other people's property.

Mrs Yvonne Smith said it was about time someone spoke up for landlords who found their properties vandalised, equipment stolen and the general decor abused continually by tenants who did not care.

Enough was said in favour of the homeless and deprived, but there was another side.

Mrs Smith owns a large detached house in Highland Park, Penryn, which is split into six bedsits.

Repeatedly she has had trouble with tenants. "I have had fire extinguishers taken away and thrown over the railway line, equipment taken, fridges gone, even a microwave taken. I report it to the police, but there is little that can be done," she said.

At the weekend more damage was caused to the house and again the matter was reported.

Not all Mrs Smith's tenants were bad but many were. All signed an agreement when they moved in. "But that is not worth the paper it is written on," she said. Mrs Smith advertises her bed sits whenever vacancies arise. "You think you have made the right choice then this happens," she added.

Mrs Smith has been letting the property for the past three years, having once lived there, but now living in the Camborne area. Letting the house was not possible.

"I have been doing this for three years and it has been the worst three years of my life," she said.