People

A campaign is underway to make Queen guitarist Brian May a Freeman of Hounslow.

May grew up in Walsham Road, Feltham and returned to the town last month to unveil a memorial to friend and bandmate Freddie Mercury, who also hailed from the area.

Now politicians want to recognise Brian himself by bestowing on him the highest honour the borough can give and raised the suggestion at a council meeting last week.

MPs Alan and Ann Keen over-claimed £353 worth in service charges last year, newly-released documents have revealed.

The couple were forced to pay back the money after they had claimed £4,284 between them to pay a bill at their central London flat of just £3931.

The latest in a series of expenses scandals to plague Mr and Mrs Keen has emerged after Parliament published the claims of all MPs over the last 18 months.

The memorial to Freddie Mercury in Feltham town centre remains sealed off to the public as it has not been finished and is vulnerable during the bad weather.

The 2m by 2m star, which was unveiled by former bandmate Brian May in front of more than 2,000 people last week, was not finished in time for the ceremony and the persistent bad weather has left it still incomplete.

Tradesmen working on the Hollywood-style star still have to seal it with a protective coating and hope to have it done towards the end of next week, weather permitting.

Driving his Mazda sports car can reduce Stuart Baker to tears. But the 33-year-old mechanic is not emotional over the time or money he has spent on the car - he has turned the motor into a memorial to his friend who died of cancer.

Stuart, of Redford Close, Feltham, grew up with Peter Bourne, who died aged 33 of Leukaemia almost exactly two years ago. Ever since he has wanted to find an unusual way of remembering his friend and raising money for a cancer charity, so he came up with the idea of turning a car into a shrine.

A memorial to Freddie Mercury will be unveiled by Queen's Brian May at a ceremony on Tuesday(24) in Feltham.

The tribute to Freddie will take the form of a Hollywood-style star and hundreds of fans are expected to make the trip to see May and Mercury's family pay tribute on the 18th anniversary of the rock star's death.

A 15-year-old girl who shot to fame on Britain's Got Talent has signed a record deal but said 'hands off' to her young male fans because she's got a boyfriend.

More than a million people have watched Demi Bennetts and Megan McKenna's performances as Harmony on the video website Youtube - support that was enough to have record companies vying for their signatures.

They wowed the judges on the ITV show before being eliminated in the semi-finals but last week Demi, of Redford Close, Feltham and pal Megan, from Essex, put pen to paper on a three-album contract with SoundBytes Media.

QUEEN guitarist Brian May is to visit Feltham for the unveiling of a memorial to former bandmate Freddie Mercury.

The big-haired rocker will be guest-of-honour at the ceremony on November 24 in which a Hollywood-style star will be laid in tribute to his flamboyant friend, who died of AIDS in 1991. Mercury's mother Jer Bulsara and sister Kash Cooke have also said they will attend the event.

The family lived in Gladstone Avenue in Feltham for 10 years in the 1960s and 70s and Mercury studied art at Isleworth polytechnic, which is now West Thames College.

Two Feltham churches are welcoming new leaders to the town.

Mark Conlon held his first service as lay pastor at Christ Church in Hanworth Road last Thursday, while Father Chris Vipers took over at St Lawrence's RC Church in the Green last weekend.

Mr Conlon, 45, who was born in Hertfordshire, is a keen chef and was previously based in Essex, was given a warm welcome by a large crowd at his first service.

A Hollywood-style star will be unveiled in Feltham next month in memory of former resident Freddie Mercury.

The memorial to the former Queen frontman, situated outside the library at The Centre, in Feltham High Street, will be officially unveiled on November 24.

The rock legend, who died in 1991, came to Feltham from Zanzibar with his family in 1964, when he was 17. He lived in Gladstone Avenue and studied at Isleworth Polytechnic, which is now West Thames College.

Father Gerry Burke retired from St Lawrence's Church in Feltham this week after 12 years as parish priest.

Fr Burke, who has served as a priest for over 50 years, has suffered several heart attacks and had heart surgery last year, so stepped down for health reasons.

He studied for the priesthood with former Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor in Rome and, although originally from London, served the church all over the world.