An 18 year old man injured in an accident at Horseshoe Bay last week is recovering from a successful five hour operation to repair his spine.

Matthew Raynor, the son of Reginald Raynor and Sheila Darrell of Southampton was airlifted to the Lahey Clinic in Boston last week for treatment after he broke his neck.

Matthew dove into shallow water at the beach last Thursday evening after he had been for a run.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette from Boston, Mr. Raynor said Matthew can move parts of his body. Family members are hopeful the popular young runner and boxer will make a one hundred percent recovery. Doctors are also hopeful that Matthew will fully recover after undergoing physiotherapy.

?His recovery begins now, his family is all hopeful he will walk again,? said Mr. Raynor. ?He is moving his arms and limbs ? he?s a real fighter, it?s the Raynor coming out in him.?

Matthew regained full mental and speech capabilities shortly after his accident. Mr. Raynor, who runs Raynor?s garage and gas station in Southampton has closed his business for the week to tentatively open on July 19.

?My son comes first now and money comes second,? he said. ?We are thankful to everyone for all the prayers that are going out to him and all the support.?

Two men remain in critical condition after serious traffic accidents in Hamilton on Saturday morning, a King Edward VII Memorial Hospital spokesperson said last night.

A 23-year-old Paget man was a passenger in the car that collided with a van near the junction of Victoria Street and Court Street 4.45 a.m. Saturday. Details surrounding this incident remain unclear.

A 24-year-old Pembroke man involved in a single vehicle traffic accident at Crow Lane 4.30 a.m. Saturday sustained head injuries.

He is in a ?critical but stable condition? KEMH staff said. Both men are ?in the Intensive Care Unit?, KEMH staff said.

A thief broke into HWP?s Appliance Service Department on Cox?s Hill Road in Pembroke this weekend Police said.

Police said the break-in that happened sometime between 1 p.m. on Saturday and 7 a.m. yesterday. Police said the thief got away with an unknown amount of cash, a Nokia cellular phone, and a black 13 inch RCA television. Inquiries are underway.

The Bermuda Housing Corporation has not yet finalised the eligibility requirements for people seeking to buy the planned low-cost housing at Southside.

In the beginning of June, Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent announced a plan to build 200 homes at Southside in a joint public-private sector initiative with Sonesta owner Clifford Schorer. Of those homes, 100 will be sold at market value and 100 for as low as $195,000. At the time, BHC General Manager Vance Campbell said the qualifying income levels and criteria allowing people to purchase the cheaper homes was still being worked on. As of yesterday that criteria still has not been determined.

?Mr. Campbell says the criteria has not been decided on yet,? Government spokesperson Bev Morfitt said. ?When it is decided, there will be a public announcement."

American International Group is planning to revamp its Hamilton offices and build underground parking.

Project and facilities manager Eric Robinson told The Royal Gazette yesterday the construction would proceed in three phases.

Firstly, a grass embankment would be created on the east side of the building to provide about 30 temporary parking bays for employees, although some staff may have to use Bull?s Head car park instead. The second phase would be to begin the construction for the underground parking, said Mr. Robinson.

?As we bring it up to the ground level hopefully, we will be able to use the underground parking while we are putting up the building.?

The third phase of the construction was the new office building itself, he said. The building at 29 Richmond Road, is expected to be seven storeys with an atrium link to the existing offices. An application for the renovations was sent to the Planning Department last month.

The West End Development Corporation are planning to expand their marina.

Commercial development manager Edward Williams said the current lease to Dockyard Marina runs out in 2006 and that company and others are being asked to submit plans for an expansion.

The marina is adjacent to the site used by cruise ships.

Mr. Williams said the current marina was built in 1996 but demand for boating space had moved on since then, particularly with the visiting vessels.

?We want to seize the opportunity to get the best kind of facilities.?

He said the whole of Dockyard was being expanded with more retail and residential space. The closing date for bids is August 5.

Evidence of Planning violations at a beach in Somerset is so strong that the Planning Department is leapfrogging through the usual enforcement procedure in an attempt to close the case.

Planning director Rudolph Hollis said yesterday that he is waiting for an update on the case, which involves property at Gilbert?s Bay owned by Henry Talbot.

In May environmentalists and neighbours called foul on Mr. Talbot, owner of Talbot Enterprises, after he bulldozed through natural rock formations and longtail nests before cementing the remaining rubble in to place on the beach.

Planning promptly launched an investigation into what Shadow Environment Minister Cole Simons called ?environmental terrorism?.

Yesterday Mr. Hollis said the usual enforcement procedure is not being followed in this matter, adding: ?We are satisfied that something has taken place that is forbidden.?

The matter has already been sent to the Attorney General?s chambers, Mr. Hollis said. An update was requested last week, however Mr. Hollis said he has not received it yet.