Patrick Barlow

BBC News • 12th December 2025

Child's evidence helps convict Robert Rhodes of wife's murder

On a bank holiday evening in 2016, Robert Rhodes turned to his child and said: "Do you want to get rid of Mum?"Those words, the child recalled years later, were the start of a plot for Rhodes to kill his wife, Dawn, in their Surrey home and cover up her death as an act of defence - of himself and his child.

BBC News • 27th July 2025

Hove woman remembers playing football for England in 1972

A former England women's footballer who paved the way for the Lionesses says her team could never have dreamed of the current team's success and the changes to the game more than 50 years on.Julia Brunton played for England in 1972, becoming part of the first officially affiliated team to play for their country after a 50-year ban on women's football was lifted the year before.Now Julia, who lives in Hove, East Sussex, says seeing the game grow in England with the success of the Lionesses has sh...

BBC News • 3rd April 2025

Kent headteachers back smartphone ban after Netflix's Adolescence

Children as young as seven are being given smartphones, with some primary school pupils consuming harmful misogynistic content, a headteacher has said.Sophia Dover, headteacher at Cheriton Primary School near Folkestone in Kent, says the school is to support campaigners by implementing a smartphone ban in September after problems with pupil WhatsApp groups and social media sites such as Snapchat.She is calling for a national ban, citing examples from another school where pupils set up an "Andrew...

The Argus • 7th October 2024

Life in the neighbourhood blighted by drugs and anti-social behaviour

People living and working in the Regency area of Brighton are reporting a rise in anti-social behaviour with “blasé” drug dealing and taking in their streets becoming a daily nuisance. Residents fear trouble is linked to hostels in the area.

The Argus met with residents to discuss the complex issues behind the problem and what can be done to help eradicate the issue.

A man pushing another man outside a homeless hostel in Oriental Place (Image: Supplied)

Sitting down with one long-sta...

The Argus • 29th April 2024

Alcohol deliveries 'could be costing people their lives', workers warn

Twenty four-hour services in Sussex mean that spirits, wine and boxes of beer can be delivered within 15 minutes, sometimes without proper ID and sobriety checks.

The Argus found some people suffering from alcohol abuse can obtain drink at any time of the day or night through services advertising late-night alcohol delivery.

Alcohol can be ordered 24 hours per day and seven days a week (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

Concerns were raised by care workers and drivers that the serv...

The Argus • 28th November 2023

'This is the worst it has ever been' - doctors share reality of Royal Sussex A&E

One said they “don’t think there’s anyone in the department who isn’t thinking about leaving”.

Up to 40 patients at a time are treated in corridors at the Brighton hospital due to lack of space.

Consultants said they are working as hard as possible to provide excellent care but said hospitals such as their own are "barometers of system failure".

The Argus visited A&E at the Royal Sussex and spoke to multiple consultants about the issues they face day in, day out.

Dr Fiona Barratt...

The Argus • 18th April 2023

Scores of police officers investigated for domestic abuse or sexual offences

Statistics revealed under a Freedom of Information request found that 95 officers were investigated between 2017 and 2022, with figures for sexual offence allegations rising considerably in that period.

The figures include allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment and abuse of position for a sexual purpose. Annual figures for sexual offence allegations increased five-fold between 2019 and 2022.

Over the five-year period, 68 officers were investigated for allegations of sexual offe...

The Argus • 27th February 2023

Dad of killer spoke to his son on the day he stabbed his grandmother - court told

Sue Addis, 69, died in her bathroom in Cedars Gardens, Brighton, in January 2021 after she was attacked by Pietro Addis, 17 at the time.

A post-mortem investigation found that the restaurateur, who ran Donatello, was stabbed 17 times, with the cause of death being given as “stab wounds to the neck and chest”.

Addis, now 19, is standing trial for the alleged murder of his grandmother.

He admits killing Mrs Addis but denies murder.

Expert psychiatrist Dr Duncan Harding told Lewes C...

The Argus • 30th January 2023

Heartbreak at death of beloved sister after she was treated in corridor for 12 hours

Tamara Davis, 31, died in intensive care after spending hours in the corridor of an emergency department where she was coughing up blood and suffered from severe diarrhoea, her family said.

Following her death, her sister Miya Davis has described her treatment as “disgusting” and called on more to be done for patients in the future. The NHS Trust that runs the hospital has sent their condolences to the family.

Speaking to The Argus, Miya, 24, said: “I think the treatment was disgusting....

The Argus • 17th January 2023

Patients are dying in our corridors – inside the Royal Sussex A&E crisis

As many as 40 people at a time have been receiving treatment in a walkway at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton as there is no room in bays and cubicles.

NHS doctors at the hospital have now shared their horror stories of working on the ward, where  some patients are waiting as long as 15 hours for treatment.

Dr Alison Beadsworth, a consultant in the Royal Sussex A&E department, said: “Some of these people may die eventually but certainly having to spend your last few days of y...