Local News

Witnesses are being sought following a fatal collision near Faversham in the early hours of this morning (Monday 2nd May).

A black VW Polo car was travelling along Lower Road in Teynham, towards the village, when it was involved in a collision with a green Barracuda bicycle.

The collision took place at around 12.30am and the cyclist, aged in his late teens, sustained injuries and was confirmed deceased at the scene.

An 18-year-old man from Faversham, a 19-year-old man from Sheerness and a 20-year-old woman from Chatham were arrested in connection with the collision and taken into custody.

The Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU) are investigating the incident and are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage taken in the area is also asked to come forward.

Witnesses should call the SCIU appeal line on 01622 798 538 or, alternatively, they can email sciu.td@kent.pnn.police.uk quoting reference KH/COJ/51/22.

An overturned lorry on the M2 caused commuter chaos during this morning's rush hour.

The HGV crashed at around 7.40pm last night (Wednesday 27th April) and shed its load across the London-bound carriageway between Junction 5 (Sittingbourne) and Junction 4 (Gillingham) and the road remained closed for 10 hours.

Kent Police were on the scene throughout the morning with diversions in place via the M20 at Maidstone and the A2 up in to the Medway towns. At one point the National Highways website said: "Due to the complex nature of the recovery we have no time for reopening at this stage. Motorists are advised to follow the 'solid square' diversion symbol on signs".

Kent Police confirmed: "officers were called at 7.45pm last night after a lorry overturned and there were no serious injuries. The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving with excess alcohol and after also failing a roadside drugs test."

There were long delays on the A249 all morning and the 106.9 SFM Jambuster Line took lots of calls from frustrated motorists. Delays at one point were up to an hour on the road.

National Highways confirmed that the London-bound carriageway was re-opened at 8:00am but that the junction 5 entry slip from the A249 remained closed for the clean-up operation. National Highways warned that long delays remained.

Tune in to 106.9 SFM for the latest or follow us for updates on Twitter @SFMRadio.

Up to date information from National Highways can be found by calling: 0300 123 5000.

Families in Sittingbourne will find out today (Tuesday 19th April) which primary schools their children have been offered to join in September 2022, with nine out of ten being offered their first preference.

The parents and carers of 17,592 children who applied for a place at a Kent school will receive their offers via email or online. Of the 17,175 Kent applicants, 16,787 (97.74%) will receive one of their three named schools and 15,486 (90.07%) will be offered their first preference.

Shellina Prendergast, KCC’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, told SFM News: “I am delighted to see that we have managed to offer first-preference places to 90 per cent of our children, which shows the broad selection of fantastic schools that Kent offers. The number of children who did not receive any of their preferences is under 2.5 per cent and, in many cases, this is because parents named fewer than three schools, which limited the options KCC could consider before assigning them an alternative. We appreciate this will be a disappointing and concerning time for those pupils and their families, but we would urge them not to be discouraged as this is only the first stage in the applications process".

She went on to add: “Many pupils will secure places through waiting lists and reallocation, and I would like to reassure parents and guardians that a specialist KCC team is on hand to help them make the most of the options available to them. I hope that those in that situation will arrange to visit the school where they have been offered a place and speak to the staff, so they can then make an informed decision about whether or not it is appropriate for their child.”

Parents and carers who applied online will receive an email after 4pm today (Tuesday 19th April), indicating which school they have been offered; the timing of the email will depend on the email service provider. Parents and carers can also log in after 5pm to view the offer online. Those who did not provide KCC with an email address will be sent notification by first class post today.

Details of what to do if you are not happy with the allocation can be found at: www.kent.gov.uk/primaryadmissions or via the email primaryadmissions@kent.gov.uk

Access to a new job and home could be on the cards for people experiencing homelessness here in Swale.

A 12-month pilot programme, with homeless crowd sourcing social enterprise Beam, will be discussed at Swale Borough Council’s cabinet meeting this week (on Wednesday 13th April).

The programme would aim to help 38 people start jobs, 15 people leave homelessness and 23 people avoid homelessness.

Cllr Ben Martin, cabinet member for housing at Swale Borough Council, told SFM News: “Beam are doing amazing work raising donations from the public to help people access the training, and other support they need to get a new job and off the streets for good. We currently have 879 households in Swale accessing our homelessness services ranging from those under threat of becoming homeless to people who are already sleeping rough, and with the cost of living continuing to rise, this number will only increase. With Kent County council cutting homeless funding this year, we must find more innovative ways to form successful partnerships to help local people get back on their feet. This initial pilot programme will give our officers an additional tool to help people get back on their feet for the long term.”

Cllr Martin went on to add: “We have a duty of care to the people who come to us for help with their housing need. We currently have 380 households in temporary accommodation, and I would love to see those who can get back on their feet with a new job and home. If approved, this could provide the much-needed missing link that moves people out of temporary housing and into their new life.”

You can read the full report being given to the cabinet here.