Recently by James Cracknell

HOPES of a new GP surgery opening in Pinner were dashed by NHS Harrow this week, leaving 2,000 unregistered patients to find a doctor elsewhere.

Following The Village Surgery's sudden closure in April last year, the primary care trust (PCT) decided at a board meeting on Tuesday (11) that issuing a new GP contract was too expensive, given its £16million budget shortfall.

A PINNER pub hopes to bounce back from the brink after the award of a new premises licence.

The Starling Pub in Rickmansworth Road will relaunch itself in 2011 with a new 'entertainment offering' since its licence was granted last week by Harrow Council.

SEVERAL Pinner residents were among those recognised in the New Year's Honours, including a CBE for the first person of African descent to be called to the English Bar.

Former local celebrity David Suchet was also made a CBE, for services to drama.

The 64-year-old actor is well known for playing Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot on television but has also performed a variety of roles on stage and screen during a career spanning four decades.

THE families of two pensioners killed by a driver from Pinner who blacked out behind the wheel have appealed for a change in the law to prevent further tragedies.

An 18-month jail sentence was given to Enid Mills, 72, at Harrow Crown Court on Friday (17) following her conviction for two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

SANTA Claus has paid a visit to Pinner, but it wasn't just the children who received an early Christmas present.

The grotto in West House, its first since it was reopened in June following a restoration, saw almost 200 youngsters receive games and toys.

But Cynthia Wells, a trustee of the West House and Heath Robinson Memorial Trust, said just having the historic building in Pinner Memorial Park open for use by the public was a gift for the community who helped save it.

NHS Harrow forced the closure of Pinner's Village Surgery, one of its former partners has alleged, while a local councillor has threatened the primary care trust (PCT) with legal action.

Dr Paul Sheridan told the Observer today (15) that he was asked to sign off the termination of the contract by the PCT within 24 hours of its closure.

HEATHFIELD School has appointed a new permanent headteacher.

The independent girls' school in Beaulieu Drive, Pinner, has been led this year by interim head Susan Whitfield, but will now hand over to geography specialist Anne Stevens in September 2011.

POLICE in Harrow are objecting to a change in a Pinner pub's premises licence which they fear could lead to anti-social behaviour.

The Starling pub in Rickmansworth Road is applying to Harrow Council for permission to allow patrons to remain in the pub's outdoor terrace area after 11pm.

HEATHFIELD Girls' School in Pinner is celebrating more success by its pupils in the swimming pool.

Eleven-year-old Lucy Thornton will end the year top of the national swimming rankings for her age group in two events after her performances at the Crawley Open.

A TEENAGER has appeared in court, charged with causing the death of his friend by dangerous driving.

Jack Guinchard, 18, of Cuckoo Hill Drive, Pinner, spoke only to confirm his name at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Thursday (2).