AT THE beginning of December 2004, the Forkan family – who had upped-sticks and left their family home in Purley to go travelling – flew to Sri Lanka for Christmas.

By the end of the month, both parents would be lost to the tsunami that hit the coast, and six children would be left orphaned.

Rob Forkan who is now 25, remembers staying in a house on the beach, just metres from the water's edge. All his family were there except his two older sisters, who had left the morning before.

"There was no warning. It happened at 8am and everyone was still sleeping," he said.

"We still don't really know what happened. There was no hill to run up away from the wave, there were only roofs to cling to.

"I was sharing a room with my younger brother Paul and we escaped through the window onto the roofs. We managed to find our little brother and went to a temple for safety for a bit. Then we spent all day looking for our little sister and found her right at the end of the day."

Rob does not mention what happened to his parents, Sandra and Kevin.

Six years later, Rob and his brother Paul, now 23, are flying all over the globe – signing deals with some of the world's largest retailers – and the company they set up two years ago is about to take off.

The pair have started a "social enterprise" selling flip-flops called Gandys, a commercial vehicle which is also raising funds to build orphanages around the world.

Rob said: "We said when we came up with the idea that we wanted the first one built in Goa, India on the 10th anniversary of the tsunami, when our parents died. We are right on track for that to happen."

He said they had chosen Goa because they had travelled there as a family many times before and that none of them had been able to go back to Sri Lanka since 2004.

After two years of hard work and consistent pitching and sales to small boutiques, the boys' company has taken off and dozens of major retailers like Selfridges, House of Fraser, John Lewis, Topman, Office and Schuh are selling the flip-flops. The huge American fashion chain Nordstorm will start selling them in the summer.

"Flip-flops seemed very appropriate at the time when he started thinking about the company," Rob said. "We spent all our time in flip-flops when we travelled as a family. After the tsunami, we came home with nothing on our feet.

"No other brand in the world has a message like ours. Ten per cent of our profit goes straight to our charity and towards creating these orphanages. It's purchasing with a purpose and lots of big companies really want the social responsibility aspect now. I want us to be recognised for our ethos – our brand is the ethos rather than the product."

Rob says the brothers' business sense was honed at an early age on the streets of Purley.

The former Woodcote School pupil said: "Paul and I were always quite entrepreneurial. When I grew up in Purley, I was always going off making money by washing people's cars.

"What started in our bedroom has really taken off now. It's mad going down Oxford Street and seeing so many big names selling our flip-flops; I feel like we've come a long way.

"The thing is, with a life like ours – with so much moving around and travelling as a family, and then the tsunami and losing our parents – it didn't occur to us to do something 'normal'.

"We've been through a lot and it means we can face huge challenges and get over them.

"That's been really useful in starting up a company, as there are a lot of highs and lows."

"I'M NOT in it for any personal recognition. I'm just proud to be involved with Amnesty and that we have achieved so much."

For the past 21 years, Amnesty International volunteer Beverley Foulkes-Jones has been fighting human rights abuses in Tunisia -organising campaigns which have helped to secure the release of at least 50 political prisoners.

Now the Waddon resident's tireless work has led the organisation to award her the Purple Finger – a symbol of free elections – for "services to human rights beyond human endurance".

Mrs Foulkes-Jones, 53, was made Amnesty's country coordinator for Tunisia after helping to secure the release of Ahmad Abd Al-Karim, imprisoned in Syria for ten years, in 1991.

The part-time lawyer is tasked with lobbying authorities from Foreign & Commonwealth Office to the Tunisian Embassy, as well as promoting campaigns in the press, giving talks and keeping the Tunisia section of Amnesty's website up to date.

When not lobbying, she enlists the help of the public to write letters to the Tunisian Government as well as to the prisoners directly.

"It's a pretty huge job, but it's a great feeling when someone we have campaigned for is released, especially when you find out what these people went on to do with their lives," said Mrs Foulkes-Jones, citing the release of Mohammed Abbou, imprisoned in Tunisia in 2004 for posting an anti-torture article on the internet.

"After the revolution he became deputy prime minister for administrative reform in the new Government," she explained.

"It's pretty amazing to think he was in prison and then he went on to that sort of position."

For all the tales of hope, there are campaigns which go unanswered. In some cases, the people Mrs Foulkes-Jones and Amnesty are fighting for are dead.

Manal Boualagi, a 26-year-old mother of two, was shot and killed by riot police during peaceful protests in Regeub, in Tunisia, in January 2011.

"It was a very tragic case because she left two little children; aged six and four," said Mrs Foulkes-Jones.

"We campaigned to have her killers prosecuted.

"In January one them was sentenced to ten years, the other 20 years.

"She may be dead but at least through Amnesty, people have seen that if they commit criminal offences, then they will be brought to justice."

Mrs Foulkes-Jones is one of the longest serving members of Croydon's Amnesty Group, which has recently joined the voices calling for the release of Shaker Aamer, the last remaining British detainee at Guantanamo Bay.

Their latest focus is on women's issues in Afghanistan.

Treasurer Rachel Lindley said: "Bev's commitment and passion make her stand out. Also, she actually does stuff.

"It's really easy just to see all these e-mails and think 'that's really tragic' but not actually write to people or organise events, but she always does it."

In December 2010, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest at his goods being confiscated by a municipal officer.

His death sparked violent street demonstrations and led to the downfall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the first Government to be overthrown in a series of revolutions which became known as the Arab Spring.

Mrs Foulkes-Jones had hoped the uprising would herald a time when Amnesty might not have to concentrate so much of its time on Tunisia, but she says new human rights abuses are emerging.

"Things have been getting better in Tunisa.

"There has been the first free elections in more than 50 years, they are drafting a constitution and all prisoners of conscience from before the revolution have been released," she said.

"But there is a new strand of human rights abuses based on freedom of expression and religion which we are seeing in new cases.

"I thought with the Arab Spring things were going to change and I might be able to give up with Tunisia but I don't think I'll ever be able to stop."

Mrs Foulkes-Jones was presented with her award at Amnesty's annual general meeting at Warwick University on April 13.

THE internationally acclaimed playwriting festival run by the Warehouse Theatre is going ahead.

There were fears the closure of the theatre, in Dingwall Road, could spell the end of the festival, which has been one of the cornerstones of the Warehouse's artistic programme since 1986.

But the reins have now been taken over by a new company, Warehouse Phoenix.

And while the dilapidated state of the theatre premises means the festival cannot be put on there, negotiations with the management at nearby Fairfield will see the plays staged in the Arnhem Gallery.

Ted Craig, director of Warehouse Phoenix, said: "We are very excited.

"There were a number of theatres around London who were interested in putting on the festival but this means we can keep it in Croydon, which is where we have always wanted it to be."

The playwriting festival has become renowned over the years as a vehicle for new writers, with Peter Moffatt, writer of the hit TV series The Village, and Guy Jenkin, whose hit series' include Drop the Dead Donkey, among those to benefit.

This year's festival has attracted between 250 and 300 entries, with selected plays being performed in four programmes over two days on June 29 and 30.

Tickets are available from the Fairfield box office on 020 8688 9291 or online at www.fairfield.co.uk

ASHLEY Giles has told Jade Dernbach to put playing for England this summer to the back of his mind and concentrate on taking wickets first for Surrey now the new season is underway.

The 27-year-old began the year by featuring in four of England's five one-day matches in India in January and then the three Twenty20 internationals with New Zealand a month later.

However, Dernbach was not part of the one-day squad in New Zealand, with James Harris favoured instead, although the Middlesex seamer wasn't to make his England bow.

Dernbach isn't out of England's one-day picture though, according to limited-overs coach Giles, with eight 50-over matches scheduled for this summer as well as the ICC Champions Trophy on home soil in June.

But what Giles wants to see foremost is Dernbach hit the ground running with Surrey, like he did last week with a five wicket haul in Somerset's first innings.

"Jade was involved with us in India and he came to New Zealand for the Twenty20s and he has good skills in the limited-overs format and will be discussed," said Giles.

"He will want to go back to Surrey and fill his boots with lots of wickets. County cricket for all the guys in contention is important.

"What you want from all of the players is for them to take their eye off selection and just do their jobs with their county. If your job is to get runs and keep wicket or bowl and get wickets just do it because the rest will take care of itself."

Dernbach has made 43 appearances across the one-day and Twenty20 formats for England with 56 wickets in total, although his 50-over average is just under 40.

However Giles, who was appointed England's limited-overs coach in November, believes Dernbach's variation and continued desire to bowl at the death is unparalleled.

"The variations he has are very impressive. The slower ball he has and the yorkers he can bowl are great. He bowls a lot of overs at the death and just takes it on."

See the best eight teams in one-day international cricket in the ICC Champions Trophy from 6-23 June at The Oval, Cardiff and Edgbaston – tickets are available now at icc-cricket.com or call 0844 249 2013.

A LAWYER has branded Croydon council's decision to stop providing transport to and from a specialist centre for children with learning difficulties as "unlawful and immoral".

The council used to pay for pupils with special educational needs to travel to the literacy centre at Purley Oaks Primary School, South Croydon, but cut the service to save money.

Anthony Kennedy believes the decision contravenes the Education Act 1996, which states that no charges can be made for travel related to learning.

"The law is very clear – local authorities cannot charge for travel which is for the purposes of education," he explained.

"If kids are going off on a school trip to a museum or a performing music at an outside event then that's different.

"But what is more fundamental to education than teaching someone to read and write? To charge parents for that is unlawful and immoral. I'm determined to do something about it."

Mr Kennedy's daughter Lauren, 7, is so severely dyslexic that she is three years behind her classmates at Margaret Roper Catholic Primary in Russell Hill Road, Purley.

Lauren has recently been given a statement of special educational needs which entitles her to extra support at the Literacy Centre at Purley Oaks Primary, which she attends twice a week – on a Wednesday and Friday – during school hours.

The fee paid by her school for the literacy lessons had included the cost of providing transport to and from the centre, but the council changed its policy in response to the growing cost of transporting disabled and special children to and from school.

Parents of the most seriously impaired children still receive a door-to-door service. Others are expected to make their own arrangements.

Mr Kennedy, who lives three miles from the centre, in Mayfield Road, South Croydon, was advised to contact approved taxi firms which quoted between £780 and £936 a year, not including waiting times of 30p per minute.

"I have spoken to the other parents and they are of much the same opinion – it's absolutely ridiculous," he said.

"If they can't do it themselves then they have to get a private taxi firm to do it. I was quoted nearly £1,000 a year and I live fairly close by.

"Just think how much it would cost someone who lived on the other side of Croydon? It's obscene."

When parents expressed concerns after the policy was changed in 2011, Cllr Tim Pollard, cabinet member for children, young people and learners, said they would not need to pay for their child to get to the literacy centre because the plan was for staff to come to them instead.

"No such change in working practices of the centre ever took place," said Mr Kennedy.

"As a matter of routine children, including my daughter, are still taught at the centre."

As he works from home Mr Kennedy is currently able to take Lauren to and from Purley Oaks himself, but will have to pay when it starts to clash with his job.

"I'm in a fortunate position because I can afford to do that," he said.

"I'm not a single mother on an estate in the north of the borough, or a father out of work or on a low income. Their children need the special help this centre offers just as much as mine does, but they won't be able to afford it."

THE surge in the prison population after the 2011 riots did not contribute to a Croydon man's death, an official report has concluded.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman found "failings" around the care of James Best at Wandsworth prison, but said overcrowding was not behind these failings.

In the report, published last week, the ombudsman added that the death of the 37-year-old, who was awaiting sentencing for stealing a gingerbread man from a looted London Road bakery, was "unpredictable" and not preventable.

Mr Best died from a heart attack on September 8, 2011, after exercising vigorously on the rowing machine at the prison's gym.

The 1,665-capacity prison housed 1,680 prisoners around the time, compared to 1,599 in June that year and 1,625 in September the year before, according to the report.

But the ombudsman wrote: "Whilst some failings were identified in the investigation, there is no evidence to indicate that population pressures or a large number of new arrivals at the prison were a significant contributing factor to these.

"Indeed, the clinical reviewer comments that his immediate physical health needs were identified and managed appropriately on his arrival."

Failings after that, however, including over the gym induction process, scarce emergency medical equipment, and Mr Best's poor mental health care, sparking a raft of recommendations in the report.

Mr Best had tried to kill himself three weeks before entering prison for the first time, and was taking anti-depressants.

The prison doctor who saw him a day after he arrived made an "urgent" referral to the mental health team, but no consultation was arranged.

Gym induction procedures have been tightened since the death of Mr Best, who visited the gym with his cellmate after they each smoked a cigar given to them by a prison workman, the report says.

He was allowed to use the gym unsupervised despite suffering from asthma, Chrons disease, and recording high blood pressure when he arrived.

The report also recommends better placing of emergency equipment, such as defibrillators, around the prison.

The on-call nurse had to collect an emergency bag from a separate wing and arrived at Mr Best's cell "a number of minutes" after an emergency call was made to say he had collapsed.

However, the ombudsman dismissed concerns raised by Mr Best's foster brother, Owen Daniel, that he might have been better placed in somewhere with more support for mental health patients.

The report concludes: "I do not think his death was preventable.

"He had a sudden, unpredictable heart attack, in the absence of a prior history of heart disease, and died of a cardiac arrest."

At his inquest last month, Westminster coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox recorded a narrative verdict saying that "opportunities to save his life were not maximised".

Mr Daniel has previously paid tribute to his foster brother, telling the Advertiser: "I would never have become half the man I am today without his influence; he was a true inspiration to our family."

A MONTHLY market may be coming to Purley's town centre if a marketing man with a plan can raise enough money to start it.

Simon Cripps, who will be taking over from Lisa Downham as the chairman of the Purley Business Association in May, has been busy drawing up ideas to get the town back on its feet.

He said: "It's really important to raise the profile of businesses in Purley.

"Everyone just thinks of the shops you can see on the high street but the town has so many behind the scenes which need promoting; at least 200. They all need help in this climate.

"What I plan to do is run a business expo at the same time as the Purley Festival and collect enough money to start a monthly market in the town's high street.

"The expo would gather all the businesses in Purley together for networking and skill-swapping as well as seminars, hopefully in the United Reformed Church.

"It means the town's businesses can use and support each other rather than outsourcing.

"The idea is that it will collect enough funds to start a market here in the town.

"You need to pay about £1,200 to the council for things like road signs but other than that, I don't think it will cost that much.

"There has been the occasional French market there and they've done really well and been popular. I think there would be lots of people in the area and from outside who would want to set up artisan, food or craft stalls here."

Louise Bacon, the assistant manager of the Coughlans Bakery in High Street, said the market would give Purley a much needed facelift.

She said: "The town really needs cheering up. We're not as busy as we used to be and a lot of the shops around here are not doing that great.

"This would be a good way of picking the town up.

"I think a monthly market would be really good for the town and can see it working."

Ian Harris, who runs the Jolly Farmers pub on Purley Cross, thought the idea was excellent, as long as it took off.

He said: "It's been mooted for a few years now and we did try a small one in the pub car park some years ago which wasn't a great success.

"The person running it really needs to know what they're doing and make sure there are stalls selling local produce and things of interest to the public.

"If it's just a stall with loaves of bread going for £5 each, it won't work."

LISA NIGHTINGALE admitted that Oxted Ladies weren't at their best as they were defeated on penalty flicks in the final of the Investec Women's Vase on Saturday.

The Os lost out to Guernsey 3-0 in the shootout, having drawn 1-1 in normal time, and the skipper admitted that the squad was gutted to lose out in a competition they won for the first time last season.

But she said that unlike in other rounds of the competition, the Os did not produce their best on the day at Beeston in Nottinghamshire.

She said: "It was a pretty gutting way to lose in the end, but to be fair their penalty flicks were really good.

"We didn't score any of our first three and unfortunately we didn't play our best."

Oxted did take the lead though in the first half, with Amelia Lewis finishing off a great solo run from Luji Aromando.

But Nightingale said the holders' failure to score a second proved to be a barrier, adding that while they enjoyed a lot of possession, they did not create many chances.

She said: "We did put them under pressure, but we just couldn't get another goal.

"We had a few chances, but nothing clear-cut and to be fair, we were fairly evenly matched sides.

"Maybe if we could have brought the good performances from previous games, we might have gone on to win.

"But we didn't bring our best on the day and we knew that they were a strong side."

Guernsey equalised with 15 minutes to go in the match and Nightingale admitted it would have been even more galling for the Os if they had lost the lead in the closing stages.

Instead, she said both sides had the chance to win it in normal time and a nerve-wracking period of extra-time, although neither side could convert them.

As such, the game went to the lottery that is penalty flicks and Aromando, Helen Durrans and Gemma Chicky missed for the Os while Guernsey scored three of their first four to claim victory and deny Oxted from replicating the achievements of East Grinstead – the only side to have ever won the Vase two years in a row.

But Nightingale said: "We will enter the Vase again and hopefully do well, but I think we will have to see how we are doing in the league."

CHARLIE ROBERTSON delivered a consistently strong showing throughout the first event of the brand new BRDC Formula 4 Championship at Silverstone over the weekend, finishing the race meeting fifth in the driver standings.

With a best result of fourth position during round three on Sunday afternoon, the 16-year-old reigning Ginetta Junior Champion was fifth in the season-opening race on Saturday and also added a hard-fought seventh place in round two to bag a very important haul of points.

"The main thing this weekend was to score well in each race, which we've done, and have a strong start to the season so I'm happy enough with that", said the Whyteleafe teenager.

"It would have been nice to be on the podium but for my first three races in single-seaters, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome."

Robertson's weekend got off to a trying start during qualifying for round one, ending up ninth after having to back off during his quickest lap due to yellow flags being shown.

But he produced a solid drive to work his way up to fifth in the race, with some outstanding overtaking moves helping him along the way, while his best lap was just half a second shy of the quickest.

In the second race, Robertson found himself down in eighth early on, although the Caterham School pupil worked his way back up to sixth, before eventually finishing seventh.

But his best result came in the third race, with Robertson overcoming a poor start to just miss out on a maiden Formula 4 podium by one-and-a-half seconds, finishing fourth.

Afterwards, he said: "Race three was definitely our best chance of a podium and if I hadn't got pushed back at the start then I think we had the pace to do it.

"Overall it's been a decent start for us, a good foundation to build on during the next rounds at Brands Hatch."

Robertson will be back in action three weeks from now, over the weekend of May 18/19, for rounds four, five and six of the BRDC Formula 4 Championship at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.

Marking the biggest race meeting of the season for the F4 competitors, the category will run as part of the support card for the visiting DTM 'German touring cars' and FIA Formula 3 European Championship.