Crawley Town topscorer Bez Lubala has dropped to the bench as head coach Gabriele Cioffi makes four changes from Saturday's 2-2 draw at Northampton Town.

Ollie Palmer and George Francomb are absent from the match day squad, while Josh Doherty misses out through suspension. The quartet have been replaced by Ashley Nathaniel-George, Panutche Camara, Dannie Bulman and David Sesay.

Former Borussia Dortmund striker Denzeil Boadu could be in line to make his Reds debut. He is on the bench.

Walsall manager Darrell Clarke has made two changes from Saturday's 1-0 home win over second-from-bottom Scunthorpe United.

Northern Irish forward Caolan Lavery is not amongst the squad, while right back Gary Liddle drops to the bench. Elijah Adebayo and Mat Sadler take their place.

Crawley Town: Morris, Sesay, Dallison, Tunnicliffe, Young, Bulman, Ferguson, Grego-Cox, Camara, Nathaniel-George, Bloomfield. Unused: Luyambula, Payne, Allarakhia, Sendles-White, Galach, Lubala, Boadu.

Walsall: Roberts, Clarke, Scarr, Sadler, Jules, Holden, Sinclair, Guthrie, McDonald, Adebayo, Gaffney. Unused: Rose, Norman, Kinsella, Gordon, Hardy, Cockerill-Mollett, Liddle.

A 30-yard rocket from captain James Clarke gave the Saddlers the lead on 14 minutes before Elijah Adebayo doubled the deficit on 27 minutes.

The Reds pulled a goal back from Ashley Nathaniel-George's spot-kick two minutes before the break. But Wes McDonald restored Walsall's lead just a minute later.

In a second half light on quality, Josh Payne struck a late consolation goal but it wasn't enough as Crawley tasted defeat for the first time since August 20.

Crawley Town topscorer Bez Lubala was dropped to the bench by head coach Gabriele Cioffi as part of four changes from Saturday's 2-2 draw at Northampton Town.

Ollie Palmer and George Francomb were absent from the match day squad, while Josh Doherty missed out through suspension. The quartet were replaced by Nathaniel-George, Panutche Camara, Dannie Bulman and David Sesay.

The opening ten minutes was a quiet affair. Both sides probed without creating anything clear cut.

But the game's deadlock was broken on 14 minutes after a thunderbolt from Saddlers skipper Clarke. Receiving the ball 30-yards from goal, the Walsall captain took a touch before unleashing a howitzer past Reds keeper Glenn Morris into the top corner to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

The Saddlers now had their tails up. Three minutes after the goal McDonald cut inside from out wide but his shot went straight down Morris' throat.

Crawley had a penalty claim turned down on 20 minutes. Reece Grego-Cox sped past Zak Jules before going down in the area but referee Sam Purkiss remained unmoved.

Grego-Cox then forced a corner two minutes later. The Irish winger fired a cross-cum-shot from a tight angle that Walsall keeper Liam Roberts could only punch over. From the corner, Nathan Ferguson found Tom Dallison but the defender's header lacked conviction and was easily claimed by Roberts.

Despite the Reds cranking up the pressure, the Saddlers doubled their advantage on 27 minutes. McDonald drove forward out on the flank before drilling a cut-back to Adebayo and the striker tapped home.

Crawley were struggling to impose themselves on the game and seemed to miss the presence of the injured Palmer and the benched Lubala.

Ten minutes before the break, the Reds had their first gilt-edged opportunity. A deflected Nathaniel-George shot fell to Mason Bloomfield in the box. The Norwich City loanee did well to round Roberts but his effort was superbly blocked and turned behind for a corner by two Walsall players.

But on 43 minutes the Reds were handed a lifeline. Bloomfield burst into the area but was brought down by keeper Roberts. Referee Purkiss thought long and hard about his decision but, to the relief of the home support, he pointed to the spot.

Up stepped Nathaniel-George. The winger was calmness personified as he swaggered up to the ball and coolly slotted home the penalty.

Crawley's joy was short lived. It took just a minute for Walsall to recover their lead. A marvellous pass from Rory Holden picked out McDonald and the midfielder cut inside once more, but this time fired a beautiful curled strike past Morris.

Unsurprisingly Lubala was thrown on as a half-time substitute to add some impetus to the Reds attack. But somewhat surprisingly he replaced goalscorer Nathaniel-George.

Lubala almost made an instant impact five minutes into the second half. The in-form striker let rip with a ferocious 30-yard strike that was mere millimetres past the post.

Lubala was in the thick of it again three minutes later. The sub found Ferguson on the edge of the box but the midfielder's first-time effort went well wide.

Despite the Reds early attacking intent the game fell into a bit of a lull. But Crawley did spark back into action on 63 minutes A Sesay cut-back found Grego-Cox but the the winger fired well over the crossbar.

In truth second period was a damp squib. The Reds had the majority of possession but couldn't carve open the Walsall defence while the visitors were content to mount a rearguard action.

With 15 minutes to go, Sesay darted into the area but he launched his strike well over the bar.

Lubala stung Roberts' fingertips on 82 minutes. The forward let fly with a thunderous strike that the Saddlers stopper could only tip over.

Payne fired home from outside the box to give the Reds a late, late consolation goal but it was too little, too late for Cioffi's charges.

Crawley Town: Morris, Sesay, Dallison, Tunnicliffe, Young, Bulman (Payne 63), Ferguson (Allarakhia 89), Grego-Cox, Camara, Nathaniel-George (Lubala 46), Bloomfield. Unused: Luyambula, Sendles-White, Galach, Boadu.

Referee: Sam Purkiss

Attendance: 2,275 (264 away)

Here's how we rated each Crawley player, during their 3-2 home defeat.

James Clarke's lightning bolt gave the Saddlers a 14th minute lead before Elijah Adebayo doubled the visitor's advantage on 27 minutes.

The Reds reduced the deficit through Ashley Nathaniel-George's spot kick three minutes before half-time. But the impressive Wes McDonald restored Walsall's two goal lead just a minute later.

Crawley huffed and puffed but had to wait until second half stoppage time to find a breakthrough. Josh Payne's strike gave the Reds hope of yet another late revival but they couldn't force the equaliser as they dropped to tenth in the table.

The defeat was Crawley's first in League Two in six, and their first in eight in all competitions.

Cioffi admitted that the Reds were 'a bit unlucky' to lose their unbeaten streak but conceded they have 'had a lot of luck in the past'.

He said: "When there is an end there is a new beginning. So we begin again.

"I think the performance was decent considering the rumour and noise during the week.

"The episode that changed the game was when it went to 3-1. It changed the game because we conceded a silly goal.

"We were a bit unlucky but we've had a lot of luck in the past. We have nothing we regret."

Crawley Town have played five game in a fortnight, including their famous penalty shootout win against Championship outfit Stoke City in the Carabao Cup.

Despite the Reds' gruelling schedule, Cioffi played down any notion of tiredness within the squad, calling them 'resilient'.

He added: "I think we are a resilient squad. Myself, I'm a resilient person. We are like a mirror.

"We thought it would be enough with 75 per cent of our attitude.

"But I'm happy. Because we lost we have a chance to improve."

The Reds host Norwich City U21s in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night before they visit fourth-placed Forest Green Rovers in League Two on Saturday.

Cioffi revealed that his squad will be using the time between now and Tuesday night to 'touch on the points where they need to improve', and hoped victory over the young Canaries would provide a springboard for their trip to The New Lawn.

He continued: "We have tomorrow morning to recharge the batteries.

"We'll clear our minds and we'll touch on the points where we need to improve.

"We'll start with the first game against Norwich.

"We want to get the three points to give us confidence in the tournament and for the game against Forest Green."

Crawley Town manager Gabriele Cioffi has acknowledged Reds' upcoming 'tough run' of games but believes his side are up for the challenge.

Crawley suffered their first League Two defeat in six matches following a 3-2 home loss against Walsall yesterday afternoon — ending their best run of form since 2014.

The Reds host Norwich City U21s in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night before a big test away on Saturday at fourth-placed Forest Green Rovers, who will be going into the game fresh from their 4-0 victory away at Salford City.

Crawley then have a home league tie against Colchester United, just over two weeks before they meet again in the Carabao Cup. In between those games, Reds travel to high-flying Bradford City and Newport County, before facing another play-off challenger in Swindon Town at home.

Speaking after the defeat against Walsall, Cioffi said: "Today we learn. The positive thing is that we're giving consistency.

"We can improve. It's a process of learning.

"You win you are a good manager, you lose you are a bad one. That's football

"We know we have a tough run but we are ready to challenge them."

Sitting tenth in the table, two points short of the play-off places, Cioffi said Reds 'remain in a positive moment'.

He added: "We know that we want to the 50 points as soon as we can.

"I think sometimes to lose is healthy. This is something that can help us."

Bez Lubala surprisingly started on the bench against Walsall but made a positive impact after coming on at half-time.

When asked why the club's top scorer wasn't picked to start, Cioffi said: "Lubala was sick. It was a tough decision but there was a reason.

"Ashley (Nathaniel-George) was good. Why should I play a good player who is sick when I can play a good player who isn't.

"Ashley did really well in the first half and did really well with the penalty."

Ollie Palmer was also absent yesterday through injury.

Cioffi explained: "Ollie has a stress fracture. He's out for a couple of weeks. The players that are out will be out for a while.

"But at the end of the day I really do believe in all my players.

"I think we should talk about what we could do better for the players on the pitch."

Have you read?: Crawley Town will 'begin again' after Walsall defeat

Crawley Town 2- 3 Walsall: How Reds rated in first league defeat since August

Sometimes football makes no sense.

Crawley Town are getting used to conceding the opening goal. Against Plymouth Argyle they were outplayed; at Northampton they took time to find their feet but against Walsall they dominated the play, looked a cut above the opposition yet were two goals down inside 27 minutes.

It was more than just against the run of play it was baffling as Walsall were the lowest scorers in the division. The reasons were clearly evident as Reds were exposed at the back. Nobody was near James Clarke as he blasted in the opener from 30 yards. The Saddlers’ skipper had enough time and space to have re-laced his boots before shooting.

SEE ALSO Crawley Town 'ready for a challenge' — Gabriele Cioffi | Crawley Town will 'begin again' after Walsall defeat | Crawley Town 2- 3 Walsall: How Reds rated in first league defeat since August | Crawley Town 2 Walsall 3: Reds fall to first league defeat in six
On the flank David Sesay, who was great going forward, twice declined to tackle Wes McDonald who set up the second and crashed home Walsall’s third himself. Crawley bossed the middle of the park through Nathan Ferguson, Panutche Camara and Reece Grego-Cox with the match stats later emphasising their dominance.

Defensively the visitors held firm, ably marshalled by former Reds’ favourite Mat Sadler, and we often faced two banks of four defenders. The inventiveness of the build up was frequently wasted as we tried one pass too many and there was a return of the old failing of not being willing to try a shot.

Bez Lubala. on as a substitute, showed the way with an early cracker from distance that went narrowly wide and similarly Josh Payne announced his return with three attempts. His first was woeful but his second made it 3-2 before he nearly saved a point with virtually the last kick of the game. Ashley Nathaniel-George also scored with a nonchalant penalty.

It was a big set back after the euphoria of Tuesday evening’s defeat of Championship club Stoke City in the Carabao Cup. Their place in the relegation zone was explained by their error-prone and shambolic performance which did not offer the threat that Walsall’s subsequently did.

Despite that our win was hard earned. Not for the first time the team’s efforts fell apart in the opposition’s penalty area and the need for better coaching in shooting became ever more obvious. It is no use dominating play if your finishing leaves you with nothing to show for it.

Reds’ reward for their penalty shootout win was dubious as they will face divisional rivals Colchester United who have now eliminated both Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace. It will be tough and not necessarily a money spinner. Interestingly the U’s are the next visitors to Broadfield in the league.

I felt a great evening was tarnished by the moronic throwing of flares that the ground staff insisted on removing rather than covering thus spreading the pall of smoke. No doubt the FA will back up their warning and the club will be fined. Disappointingly an understandable pitch invasion included some adults who should know better.\

Firstly the Stoke City EFL League Cup game was a cracking entertaining match as the Red Devils came from behind in front of another healthy attendance to beat a Championship side who are having so far a difficult season – but don’t let that fool you, they had players who on their day should be capable of beating a Championship side, let alone a League 2 team.

When the player was sent off for the foul on Panutche Camara in the second half, the Town were actually dominating the game, but with the man advantage just couldn’t get the goal to win it in normal time. You could see that the five players who took the penalties were really up for it and all scored, this was after Vokes had planted the first Stoke penalty his against the cross bar.

The draw for the fourth round has been a little unkind, but against fellow League 2 side Colchester United at home is very much a winnable game and we should be looking to progress to the last eight – Colchester will I’m sure be thinking exactly the same. The game is on Tuesday October 29 with a 7.45pm kick off in front of hopefully another full stadium.

The game against Walsall on Saturday was disappointing, having had most of the play and having created so many chances we failed to capitalise on them and allowed the visitors to gain a 2 goal advantage after half an hour with the defence being exposed down the flanks with both David Sesay and Lewis Young having poor games defending.

Crawley pulled one back just before half time by Ashley Nathaniel-George from the penalty spot, only to be undone again within two minutes when Walsall regained their two goal advantage. The second half the home side were creating chance after chance but either the finishing was wayward or the visiting keeper was on great form to keep them out.

Josh Payne a second half substitute for Dannie Bulman scored with a long range deflected strike in added time and then had another that just cleared the bar as the final whistle was blown, the Red Devils had lost their seven match unbeaten run.

Manager Cioffi was forced into making changes to the starting team as Ollie Palmer has been playing with ankle fracture since the Mansfield game and Josh Doherty was serving a one match ban for five yellow cards, with Bez Lubala feeling unwell was only on the subs bench, but came on at half time. Crawley slipped two places and are now 10th in the league, but only six points behind the leaders.

The Red Devils entertain a youthful Norwich side on Tuesday evening in the next match of the EFL Trophy having already lost to Portsmouth need a win to carry on any hope of reaching the knockout stage with another game against Oxford to play in Early November at home.

Up Up and Away - Next Saturday they have a trip to Forest Green Rovers with a 3pm kick off – the supporters coach departs from the Stadium at 9.30am with a buffet lunch at the Majors Retreat at Tormarton before the game. We only have a few seats remaining on the coach, please contact us if you want to travel. Cost is £10.00 for all travellers. This will be another difficult game with the hosts now in 4th place after a 4-0 win at Salford.

Answers have been demanded over the absence of West Sussex County Council boss Nathan Elvery.

The council confirmed on Friday its chief executive, who is on a £190,000 a year salary, is ‘currently away from duties’ and provided no other details.

Both James Walsh, leader of the Lib Dem group, and Labour group leader Michael Jones have called for answers from the council’s Tory leader Louise Goldsmith.

The county council has been approached for further comment to explain why Mr Elvery is ‘away from duties’.

According to an internal email Lee Harris, executive director of place services, is covering the day to day running of the council.

Meanwhile at the weekend Mr Elvery took to social media to share several cryptic messages.

He retweeted a cartoon which depicts two stalls one labelled ‘comforting lies’ and ‘uncomfortable truths’, with the former much busier than the latter.

He also tweeted: “Is this cup half full or half empty? The correct answer is both, but only one perspective will enable you to lead by your values, passion and create the culture needed to do great things.”

He added: “For anyone struggling to know which direction to go at the moment, follow the path your heart tells you, not the one you might be told to follow.”

During his time at the helm of the county council, the authority has received an ‘inadequate’ rating for its children’s services in May, and a critical report of its fire and rescue services months later.

Repeated questions have also been asked about a £49,500 payment made by the county council to Mr Elvery originally believed to be for his relocation to West Sussex.

However after it was revealed that he still owned his family home in Surrey alongside a new flat in Chichester, the county council said it had waived any requirement to permanently move to the county in his case.

Meanwhile last year he was challenged by a library assistant about the £3,288 cost of 5,700 new lanyards for staff to promote the council’s core values.

Responding on an internal messaging board, Mr Elvery said: “Thank you for reminding me how far we still have to go in tackling the ugly underbelly of our organisational culture.

“This ‘passive aggressive’ nature of our current culture has the potential to blind our organisation from the reality we face, the changes which must come about if our organisation is to be successful and indeed survive the challenges which local government faces today and embrace the opportunities which are evident for us to improve as one organisation.”

Proposals to cut more money from social care have led to West Sussex County Council being compared to Pontius Pilate.

Members of a County Hall scrutiny committee had strong views about plans to halve the £200,000 Local Assistance Network budget, which had already been hacked from £806,000 in April.

The network provides assistance to families and individuals in times of crisis and helps to fund foodbanks, children and family centres, social enterprises and Citizens Advice.

At a meeting of the Health & Adult Social Care select committee, Amanda Jupp, cabinet member for adults and health, said that since the budget reduction in April, the council had ‘not been made aware of any significant impact’ on those services.

With the council under pressure to find £75.5m of savings over the next four years, attention returned to the assistance network, which it is not legally required to fund.

But James Walsh (Lib Dem, Littlehampton East) was furious with the whole idea.

Dr Walsh said he was ‘shocked by the level of complacency’ shown and reported that he had been told by organisations involved that the cuts had hit them ‘very, very hard indeed’.

He added: “We’re talking about people who don’t have a voice to actually voice their concerns.

“Mothers with young children who are going to family centres and who no longer have that service don’t have time to come and lobby us.

“We are the voice of those people and we ought to be responding on their behalf. They are the most vulnerable people in society.

“You talk to the church groups, you talk to the community support groups of the desperation that some of these people are feeling.”

Dr Walsh slammed the reasoning that there was no legal requirement to provide the service as ‘glib’, and accused the council of washing its hands of the most vulnerable.

He said: “It’s a Pontius Pilate attitude which I distance myself from 110 per cent.

“It’s outrageous that we say we don’t have a statutory responsibility. We may not but we are fellow citizens of West Sussex and we have a moral responsibility as holders and dispensers of public money for these services.”

He was supported by Lt Cdr Noel Atkins (Con, Durrington & Salvington) who said the council had a ‘duty of care’ to the people who used the network.

He added: “It is just so important that we look after these organisations and support them.”

The council is in the middle of a consultation with the service providers and there was incredulity among some members that they were being asked to comment without hearing the results first.

Chairman Bryan Turner (Con, Broadwater) said the issue would be looked again by a working group in November when the results of the consultation were available.

The group’s comments would then be shared at the next committee meeting.

Mrs Jupp urged members to encourage people to share their feedback with the council so that a clear picture could be drawn of the impact of the budget cuts.

The Local Assistance Network was set up in 2013 after government funding to parts of the benefits system was cut and responsibility for providing discretionary service transferred to local authorities.

West Sussex has been funding it from its base budget since 2015.

Karen Dunn , Local Democracy Reporting Service

A man who bit a police officer after being arrested for shouting racial abuse on a plane has been convicted in court, Sussex Police said.

Officers responded to reports of a disruptive passenger on the easyJet flight inbound from Faro to Gatwick Airport on 18 May, a spokesman said.

Having been asked to sit down and put his seatbelt on as the aircraft prepared to land, Keiran Croxley, 44, a labourer, of Howell Walk, Southwark, London, became aggressive towards cabin crew, according to the spokesman.

He added: “[Croxley] also used a number of expletives, of which some were racially aggravated.

“Police attended the aircraft as it came to a standstill.”

The officers asked him to follow them, at which point he again became abusive and started swearing, Sussex Police said.

As they attempted to arrest him, Croxley bit one officer’s hand and dug his nails into the arm of another, causing the skin to break.

While being transported into custody, he attempted to bite a third officer.

The spokesman added: “He was subsequently arrested and charged with using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress; behaving in a threatening, abusive, insulting or disorderly manner towards aircraft crew; and three counts of assault on an emergency worker.”

At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on Thursday September 26, Croxley pleaded guilty to all five offences, police said.

The spokesman added: “He was sentenced to 16 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

“He was also ordered to pay a £900 fine, £450 costs and a total of £325 in compensation to the officers he assaulted.”

Croxley was arrested as part of Project Disrupt – an annual campaign run by Sussex Police to combat drunken and disruptive behaviour.

Inspector James Biggs, of the Gatwick Prevention Team, said: “This sort of behaviour is completely unacceptable.

“No member of aircraft crew, nor their passengers, should have to experience such abuse.”

Emergency service workers should not expect to be assaulted for ‘simply carrying out their duties’ according to inspector Biggs.

He added: “This case should serve as a reminder to passengers of their responsibilities before they board an aircraft.

“Incidents of drunken and disruptive behaviour will not be tolerated, and anyone who compromises this will be dealt with robustly.”

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Schoolchildren have teamed up with a street artist to brighten up a bridge outside Three Bridges station.

The collaboration between artist Lionel Stanhope and pupils from Three Bridges Primary School, Pound Hill Junior School, Maidenbower Junior School and Milton Mount School has led to the creation of a mural adorning the railway bridge.

Schoolpupils created artwork on the theme of train travel after the project was put forward by local councillors. Lionel Stanhope then took all the pictures to create a composite mural and painted it during the summer.

The mural joins the existing artwork from Oriel High School currently on display in the underpass at the station.

Emma Collins, teacher at Milton Mount School, said: “I ran a workshop for our gifted artists for this project. The children absolutely loved it and I feel really proud of them. I know that in years to come they will look at the mural and think ‘I was part of that!’. For some of our pupils, it is a massive confidence boost to see their work up on display for everyone to admire. I hope that more projects like this are organised in the future.”

Fiona Morton, community rail development manager, said: “This beautiful mural is the result of lots of talented people working together to improve the environment around a key community asset, Three Bridges Station. Rowena Tyler, Sussex Community Rail Partnership Line Officer, was able to bring together the talents of five local primary schools, an artist, local councillors, the Station Manager and Network Rail to bring the wow factor to Three Bridges.”

Crawley Borough councillor Brenda Burgess thanked the Network Rail community rail officer, Southern’s station manager, the Sussex CRP Arun line officer for all the support on this project, and the pupils and staff from the five schools.

The mystery surrounding the absence of West Sussex County Council boss Nathan Elvery has deepened as we can reveal he has removed his job title from a social media profile.

The council confirmed on Friday its chief executive, who is on a £190,000 a year salary, is ‘currently away from duties’ and provided no other details.

Both James Walsh, leader of the Lib Dem group, and Labour group leader Michael Jones have called for answers from the council’s Tory leader Louise Goldsmith.

But when the county council was approached for further comment to explain the reasons for his absence a spokesman said they ‘have no further information at this time’.

According to an internal email Lee Harris, executive director of place services, is covering the day to day running of the council.

In the past few days Mr Elvery has removed the words ‘WSCC CEO’ from his Twitter profile, which were present as recently as 8.55am on Wednesday, according to a previous version of the page, captured by Google.

He also took to social media at the weekend to share several cryptic messages.

He retweeted a cartoon which depicts two stalls one labelled ‘comforting lies’ and ‘uncomfortable truths’, with the former much busier than the latter.

He also tweeted: “Is this cup half full or half empty? The correct answer is both, but only one perspective will enable you to lead by your values, passion and create the culture needed to do great things.”

He added: “For anyone struggling to know which direction to go at the moment, follow the path your heart tells you, not the one you might be told to follow.”

During his time at the helm of the county council, the authority has received an ‘inadequate’ rating for its children’s services in May, and a critical report of its fire and rescue services months later.

Repeated questions have also been asked about a £47,500 payment made by the county council to Mr Elvery originally believed to be for his relocation to West Sussex.

However after it was revealed that he still owned his family home in Surrey alongside a new flat in Chichester, the county council said it had waived any requirement to permanently move to the county in his case.

A dad had to ‘catch’ his newborn son while driving as his wife gave birth on the way to hospital.

Mum Jessamy Shreeves, 32, of London Road, was taken by surprise as her third child decided to make an appearance as they travelled from their home in Handcross to the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath last week.

Jessamy first noticed contractions starting at 7pm so decided to have a bath. By 9.30pm the contractions were becoming ‘more intense’.

She said: “Getting out of the bath and getting dressed when having contractions is hard work.

“We got into the car and as I got in my waters broke.”

Realising the baby was making up time for being almost two weeks ‘late’ and that things were progressing fairly quickly, the couple set off to hospital with Jessamy in the front seat and Keir, her husband, driving.

However, as they drove along they realised they were not going to make it to hospital in time, deciding to divert to Jessamy’s parents house ten minutes away while Keir phoned for an ambulance.

Realising the call handler could not hear what Keir was trying to say on the phone due to Jessamy, she decided to hang her head out of the car window.

Moments later, driving with his right hand on the steering wheel, Keir suddenly had to use his left hand to catch his newborn son as the head appeared.

“I was hanging out of the car window and it was still moving while Keir was driving with his right hand and catching the baby,” Jessamy said. “By that point we were halfway down my parents’ drive and we lost phone signal.

“I pulled back in from the window and picked him [the baby] up off the seat.”

Jessamy then had to unhook the umbilical cord from around the baby’s neck and, after yelping, the nine-pound baby started breastfeeding.

Jessamy is the daughter of the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Davina Irwin-Clark, whose house they arrived at.

“Luckily my parents are very calm in a crisis and they went and called an ambulance and then dad brought the phone out to us so that the call handler could ask us to check his airways.”

However, that was not it for the drama as Jessamy ended up delivering the placenta on her parents’ Perisan rug in the hallway.

Three members of the ambulance team arrived and checked mother and baby, before taking them to the Princess Royal for tests, after Keir had cut the umbilical cord.

Jessamy and the baby, Orlando Shreeves, are now safely back home and doing well.

Jessamy joked: “We upgraded to a Skoda Kodiaq because we’d heard it was such a good family car with space for all three car seats...we didn’t realise we’d need it to double as a birthing suite!”

Only six weeks before, the High Sheriff had spent five hours in Lewes as an official visitor at the Sussex Police Control Centre for 999 calls.

Mrs Irwin-Clark, the wife of the former vicar Peter Irwin-Clark from St Mary’s Church in Broadwater, Worthing, said: “I recently saw the outstanding skill of our police emergency call handlers when I spent the day with them at their control centre.

“Now, having experienced for ourselves being on the receiving side of the service from South East Coast Ambulance, we are personally grateful to the emergency services for their assistance, as well as being even more directly impressed.”

Paramedic Christopher Neal said: “It’s great to hear mother and baby are doing well and we really appreciate the kind words.

“Dad did a great job prior to our arrival and we wish the whole family all the very best for the future.”

The High Sheriffs of West and East Sussex are jointly hosting a service at Lancing College on February 20, 2020, for members of the Emergency and Support Services, to celebrate their work for the community.

Craig Ghochani, 29, showed no emotion as the jury convicted him of killing James ‘Jimmy’ Fitzgerald.

Lewes Crown Court heard Ghochani stabbed Mr Fitzgerald was fatally wounded during a fight over drugs in Haywards Heath just before Christmas last year.

The jury were told a witness heard one of the men shout 'That’s what you get' as Mr Fitzgerald was stabbed multiple times.

Earlier the court heard the two accused had acted like pack dogs during the attack.

The 11 members of the jury took three and a quarter hours to convict him and clear James Creaghan of being his accomplice.

Mr Creaghan held his head in his hands as he struggled to control his emotions after the jury cleared him of murder and possession of a knife.

Ghochani will be sentenced on Wednesday afternoon (October 2).

Her Honour Judge Laing QC told the court it will be a life sentence.

She told Mr Creaghan: “I hope you have learned something,” following the verdict.

James ‘Jimmy’ Fitzgerald, 29, died after suffering multiple knife wounds during a fight in Haywards Heath just before Christmas last year.

Lewes Crown Court heard one of his attackers shouted: “That’s what you get,” as he stabbed him several times in the back.

He died 40 minutes later from a heart attack caused by internal bleeding.

The three men fought before Mr Fitzgerald raised a bicycle above his head as if to throw it at his attacker's car, shouting: “Come back here and fight like a man.”

Here is a round-up of some of the most serious Sussex court sentencings revealed by police in September.

All sentencing details are accurate at time of convictions. Hover your mouse over the pictures to read the full picture caption. All pictures provided by Sussex Police.

Forward Faye Rabson admits Crawley Wasps will now be a hunted side after their remarkable start to life in the third tier of women’s football.

After back-to-back promotions, Wasps now sit top once again having won six of their first seven games in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division.

They beat Oxford United 3-1 on Sunday, with Rabson – who started at Wasps as an Under-8 before a career at Chelsea, Brighton and Lewes – receiving player of the match.

“We do have a target on our back,” Crawley-based Rabson, 30, admitted. “People want to beat us and you can see them trying that 10 per cent harder.

“But we also set high standards for ourselves – our back line gets annoyed when one goal goes in.

“We seem to have gelled really well as a squad, the characters fit together in the dressing room.

“We’ve got a big squad but there’s no big-time players who aren’t happy being on the bench. We all know rotation is necessary to keep everyone fit in a busy season.”

Rabson has been one of the few constants this season, starting all bar one game – the impressive 2-1 win at Yeovil.

And her performance against Oxford, when she scored and won a penalty, shows she is still at the top of her game.

“I’m glad Paul [Walker, Wasps manager] has got confidence in me and how I’m performing. I just want to keep injury-free.”

Wasps don’t have a game this Sunday but return to action next midweek, away to Gillingham.

The Barns Green Half Marathon started just after 10am and twenty minutes later the Barns Green 10km race started with over 650 runners.

You can see our picture gallery from the event here

Muntham House School Principal, Harry Anderson acted as official starter for the Barns Green Half Marathon. The male winner of the half marathon race was Paul Navesey from Crawley AC in a time of 1 hour 8 mins 25 secs with Ben Savill from Lewes AC second and James Turner third.

The women’s race was won for the second year running by Rachel Hillman of Hailsham Harriers in a time of 1 hour 23 mins 50 secs with Dani Tarleton of Arena 80 AC second and Elspeth Turner from Horsham Blue Star Harriers third. After the race, Paul Navesey, said “I am thrilled to have come home first. The course was great and the organisation as always very good. It was tricky conditions with the wind and rain but a great atmosphere”.

The men’s 10k was won by Maxwell Dumbrell of Horsham Blue Star Harriers in a time of 31 mins 59 seconds. Max has also previously won the Barns Green Half Marathon. Freddie Sherwood finished second and Richard Murphy of Denmead Striders was third. The winner of the Barns Green women’s 10k race was Kat Owens from Crawley AC who completed the course in 38 mins 40 seconds. Tara Shanahan was second, with Laura Vowels third.

The weather was to say the least challenging with strong winds and showers.

However the worst of the rain had passed by the time the races started. After the races some extra effort was required by the marshals to get all the cars out of the waterlogged car parks and all the runners safely on their way home after another great day. On the day, 140 volunteers gave up their time to help with car parking and marshalling and the many other jobs necessary to make sure everything ran smoothly and the runners enjoyed the experience.

This unique village event raises a lot of money for charity and local sports clubs and societies. The official charity this year was once again St Catherine’s Hospice and this year’s event is expected to help raise £5,000 for the wonderful work that they do.

Commenting on the event, Race Director, Vernon Jennings said: “I couldn’t be happier with the way that the day went.

"We were nervous when we saw the weather forecasts for the day but with some great effort from everyone involved we were able to start just a few minutes behind schedule. It was great to see so many runners register and take part in the race and while numbers for the half marathon continue to be very strong we have seen terrific growth in our 10k race since it started in 2016. The high levels of competitors enable us to give donations to all the local clubs and societies that help us to stage the event and also boost the money that we can donate to our wonderful charity, St Catherine’s Hospice.

"I would once again like to thank our local residents for their great support and cooperation and understanding with regard to the road closures during the races and thank all our helpers and marshals who worked so hard to get the races under way and everything tidied up so well and efficiently after the races.”

Entries for next year’s Barns Green Half Marathon and 10k are already open with an early bird offer. The date is Sunday 27th September 2020. For further details visit the website; barnsgreen-half.org.uk

‘Good old-fashioned leg work’ gave Brenda Burgess a clue as to what was on people’s minds when she stood for and won the West Sussex County Council seat in Three Bridges.

Mrs Burgess, who also serves on Crawley Borough Council, secured 1,102 votes during last week’s by-election, almost twice that of her nearest rival, Labour’s Angela Malik.

While surprised at the size of the victory, she said she felt it sent a strong ‘get on with it’ message about Brexit from a town that voted to leave the EU.

Mrs Burgess said: “I felt, when canvassing, that the result would be very close although I did experience strong positive remarks aimed at the government in favour of them ‘getting on with the withdrawal from the EU.’

“When the results finally came through showing that I had won the seat, I felt both pleased and honoured that people had chosen to vote for me; however, I must admit to being amazed at the size of the win!

“I feel that the size of the result was perhaps a strong message to Government that people do just want them to ‘get on with it’.”

This by-election, and another in Tilgate, was called following the death of Charles Petts, who represented the wards at county and borough level.

Looking at the path ahead as she takes over from him, Mrs Burgess said: “I want to be a strong voice for the division of Three Bridges with Pound Hill South. I hope to continue the work that Charles started and will try to honour his name. His death was a sad loss to us all.”

High on her ‘to-do’ list will be weeds, the clearing of, which she has highlighted more than once only to be told it was a county council issue. She said she would feel ‘elated’ if she could get that done.

Mrs Burgess added: “I hope to do the seat justice and have just a few months to prove myself before all West Sussex seats are up for election in 2021.”

The honours in the Tilgate by-election, for a seat on Crawley Borough Council, went to Maureen Mwagale.

Ms Mwagale saw off her closest challenger, Labour’s Kiran Khan, by 741 votes to 396.

While Mrs Burgess’ victory makes no real difference to the Tory-dominated county council, the borough balances on something of a political knife-edge, with Labour holding the fort by 19 seats to 17.

The turnout for the county by-election was 25 per cent, with only five ballot papers being rejected, while the borough turnout was 29 per cent, with 11 papers rejected.

Ms Mwagale was approached for comment.

RESULTS 

TILGATE (Crawley Borough Council)

Derek HARDMAN (Green) 70

Arshad KHAN (Justice) 5

Kiran KHAN (Labour) 396

Maureen MWAGALE (Conservative) 741 ELECTED

Angharad OLD (Lib Dem) 82

Turnout: 29 per cent

THREE BRIDGES (West Sussex County Council)

David ANDERSON (Lib Dem) 257

Brenda BURGESS (Conservative) 1,102 ELECTED

Danielle KAIL (Green) 136

Arshad KHAN (Justice) 9

Angela MALIK (Labour) 628

Turnout: 25 per cent

The long wait for construction to begin on a controversial development, that includes Sussex's first IKEA superstore, could soon be over.

Work on the New Monks Farm site in Lancing, near to Shoreham Airport, is planned before the end of the year, according to a report to Adur and Worthing councils' joint strategic committee.

Planning permission for the scheme, which also includes more than 600 homes, a country park, relocation of the Withy Patch Gypsy and travellers’ site and a pumping station, was granted last October by Adur District Council's planning committee.

The decision was passed on to the Secretary of State, who opted not to make a ruling on the decision in order to give 'more power to councils and communities to make their own decisions on planning issues'.

The meeting report, to be discussed on Tuesday, October 8, said: "Whilst the project has been delayed by the Secretary of State (considering whether to call in the application) it is expected that the planning permission will be finally issued in the next few weeks or so following the completion of the legal agreement.

"The developer, New Monks Farm Ltd hopes to make a start on site before the end of the year."

The report says the council will receive £5.7million of funding from the Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which it plans to put towards a new roundabout on the A27 to replace the Sussex Pad junction.

Next week's committee meeting will see councillors discuss whether to enter into a funding agreement with the LEP to secure the funds.

The funds would be granted to the council but passed straight on to the developer New Monks Farm Ltd to carry out the construction. The report proposes a side agreement between the council and New Monks Farm Ltd to offer legal protection for the council should grant conditions not be met and funds demanded back by the LEP.

To make sure the financial risk does not sit with the council, the report said, it will enter into a contractual arrangement forcing the developer to comply with the terms of funding. No funding would be released to the developer until the side agreement had been signed, should the report's recommendations be agreed by the committee.

It added the council would not be adding any of its own additional funds to the project.

Read more here: All you need to know about the IKEA decision meeting

Hastings star Mark Davis has found out his English Open first round opponent.

Davis, who reached the final last year, faces former World Champion Graeme Dott on the evening of Tuesday October 15.

Judd Trump faces a tough draw against former World Champion Peter Ebdon in the first round of the 19.com English Open in Crawley.

The draw and format for the world ranking event has been announced, with crowd favourites Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan both in action on the opening day at K2 Crawley on Monday October 14th.

World Champion Trump will take on Ebdon at 1pm on that day, with O’Sullivan to play Jamie O’Neill at 7pm.

Defending champion Stuart Bingham has been drawn against Poland’s Kacper Filipiak, with that match to be played on the Monday afternoon.

Other stars in action over the first two days include Mark Selby, Mark Williams, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Mark Allen, Bexhill's Jimmy Robertson and Jimmy White.

For the full draw and format see www.worldsnooker.com
In all there will be 128 players in the field, each needing to win seven matches to capture the Steve Davis Trophy and a top prize of £70,000.

The tournament runs from October 14 to 20. It’s the first Home Nations event of the season, followed by tournaments in Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff, with a £1 million bonus available for any player who can win all four. All events are televised by Eurosport and Quest.

Tickets are on sale now and there are still seats available, but now that the match schedule has been released they will sell fast so fans must book quickly.

Special offers include all-day tickets for students for £8 and an event pass for every session of the tournament for just £160.

For details visit www.worldsnooker.com/tickets or call 0871 620 7052.