Local News

A drug dealer who supplied class A substances in Chatham has been jailed for three years and nine months.

Christopher Tregunno supplied heroin and crack cocaine on behalf of a county line named ‘Trigger’ and was twice arrested by Kent Police officers in 2020. 

The 30-year-old, of Tonge Road in Sittingbourne, admitted four drug supply offences and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday (9th March).

Tregunno first came to Kent Police’s attention on Monday 16th March 2020, when officers, on a routine patrol of Manor Road, observed him selling drugs to a known user.

The constables approached Tregunno and requested he open his clenched fist. He refused to do so and instead moved his hand behind his back, dropping two plastic cases in the process.

He then opened his hand to reveal two wraps of a class A substance, with the plastic cases later found to contain further wraps of heroin and crack cocaine.

Due to the need to carry out additional enquiries, including a forensic analysis of the substances seized, Tregunno was initially released under investigation. Despite being under investigation, he continued to offend and was arrested for a second time on Wednesday 16th September 2020, after officers carried out a warrant at his home.

A mobile phone was seized and the handset’s data revealed it was being used to coordinate the supply of drugs for a county line called ‘Trigger,’ which was active between July and September. Numerous communications which discussed drug supply were sent during this time period.

Tregunno was charged with possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of both drugs.  He has been held on remand since the arrest.  

Detective Constable Stuart Clayton, from Kent Police’s County Line and Gang Team, told SFM News: "Tregunno first came to our attention thanks to the vigilance of our patrols, who are continually attending areas known for drug supply, gathering intelligence and acting upon it. His determination to make money from supplying illicit substances is shown by his willingness to continue supplying drugs despite knowing he was already under investigation. I am pleased that a custodial sentence has now been imposed."

A £20,000 project, to support bereaved children and set up by two Kent charities with the aim of providing bereaved children the help they need, has started locally.

Demelza Hospice Care for Children, based here in Sittingbourne, has brought Rochester-based Holding On Letting Go (HOLG) on-board to provide pre and post bereavement care to their families.

Whilst Demelza will continue to provide the specialist care and emotional support for families of children with terminal or serious conditions with their medical and wellbeing needs, HOLG will work with staff to offer them guidance and training specific to bereavement care, plus support children ahead of a death, after the death or both.

By drawing upon HOLG's vast and specialist knowledge, the collaboration will help to implement the new Demelza Bereavement Model, to support their current bereavement offering to families and also to increase the skills and knowledge of the volunteer Bereavement Team within Demelza.

HOLG currently supports many families across Kent with individual, currently remote support due to the pandemic, but has also been allowed to continue with their flagship bereavement support weekends where children are invited to come and talk about their loved one who died, learn how to express their emotions, and find out it's OK to feel the way they do.

A big part of the weekend for the children is making memory boxes and items for it, which they take home and can continue to add to. While the children are with the HOLG staff, their parents can meet each other at a support group too. Demelza is one of the venues HOLG hosts the weekend events from and their families will be offered similar support.

The 12-month project will include working alongside families across Kent and providing training for Demelza staff at their three locations in Kent, South East London and East Sussex. The two charities share a 22-year history since they were both founded in 1998 and it's this special link that has brought them together for this collaboration. 

HOLG will partner with Demelza to offer:

• Bereavement training for Demelza's staff and volunteers who support families at the hospice
• One-to-one bereavement care for Demelza's families, offered alongside all of their other services
• Bereaved children and parent support programme
• The development of online and face-to-face parent/carer support groups.
• Resource packs full of useful bereavement information
• Creative memory-making packs for families to create and add to memory boxes - a huge part of bereavement care

The collaboration will be led at HOLG by Debbie McSwiney, who until three years ago worked at Demelza and had been a trustee of HOLG for many years alongside her role; so she knows both organisations well. Debbie told SFM News: "Both Demelza and HOLG have a focus on children, plus our long history together makes this a wonderful partnership. I'm really looking forward to working together with Demelza to support their bereaved families because I have seen what a difference the right support makes to so many of the families we have supported over the years and continue to keep in touch with. It's an amazing opportunity for two such knowledgeable organisations to pool their skills and resources to help build resilience within those families requiring our specialist help and support."

Jo Burton, Demelza's Therapeutic and Bereavement Lead, told SFM News: "The opportunity to collaborate with HOLG could not have come at a better time and I am looking forward to developing the partnership between our organisations, building on our strengths and sharing experiences. With the new Demelza Bereavement Model in place, and the volunteer team on board and currently engaged in training, HOLG has been able to share its invaluable knowledge and expertise in running groups, supporting families in pre and post bereavement work as well as offering us training in specific areas of specialist support for families. This is enabling us to open our new services confidently, knowing that good practice, based on years of experience, is being offered to Demelza families, ensuring a smooth transition and a positive step to the future."

Officers from the Environment Agency’s Environmental Crime Team, along with Kent Police officers, seized a vehicle from a farm near Iwade on Thursday (25th February).

The seized vehicle is an 8-wheeled tipper truck and is believed to be have been used to fly tip waste in the Rainham area.

Alan Cansdale, Area Environment Manager for Kent at the Environment Agency, told SFM News: "This sends out a strong message that we will use all our powers possible to stop waste crime which harms the environment, wildlife and the community, as well as undermining the work of companies that operate legitimately. To help avoid your waste ending up at an illegal waste site, we encourage you to ask for your waste collector’s waste carrier’s registration number and ask to see their waste transfer note, they must have these".

The owners of the vehicles now have until Thursday 18th March to claim to have the vehicles returned to them by the Environment Agency and if no legitimate claim is made, the vehicles will be sold or crushed.

Members of the public can report illegal waste activity anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via the online form.

You can check your waste collector’s by clicking here: waste carriers registration or you can call 03708 506 506.

The Environment Agency can seize and impound a vehicle, trailer or mobile plant without a warrant if it suspects:

• waste is being carried without a valid waste carriers licence
• the vehicle has been or is about to be used in an alleged waste crime offence
• the waste duty of care is being or has been breached

When a vehicle is seized, the police and the registered keeper are notified in writing and to claim the vehicle they need to register their claim within 15 working days of the date of the notice. The Environment Agency may need to keep the seized vehicle and any contents for the duration of an investigation or criminal proceedings and if the vehicle isn’t claimed, or nobody is entitled to it, they can then sell, destroy or dispose of the vehicle and all of its contents.

Earlier this year the Environment Agency and partners launched the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, aiming to stop serious and organised crime in the UK.

Band D households in Swale will be asked to pay  £3.54 per week for Swale Borough Council services in the coming financial year.

The proposals for Swale’s share of the council tax were agreed at a full council meeting on Wednesday (24th February) evening.

The rise will see band D households paying £184.32 a year for Swale Borough Council services, a rise of £4.95.

Cllr Roger Truelove, Leader of Swale Borough Council, told SFM News: “The budget for the coming financial year is under severe pressure. We’ve managed to resist these pressures with regular support from Government through Covid related grants and with good internal financial management, but we still have a long road ahead as the local economy starts to recover. With the budget set for 2021-22, we can manage the challenges for the next year through the same combination of Government grants and sound control of expenditure we’ve demonstrated this year".

He went on to add: “We will only be asking for a council tax increase of 9p a week for band D properties, though I am aware that people’s overall charge will be affected by a larger Kent County Council precept which accounts for almost three-quarters of the total council tax bill for residents. The budget for the coming year outlines how we will carefully manage internal spending as well as drawing on our reserves to ensure we are delivering our core services and making improvements to the borough. We will be setting up the Rainbow Housing Company to provide more affordable housing, a project which is financially stable and allocating funds from our reserves to encourage growth and recovery in the borough. We’ll make it our priority to stimulate the local economy, our visitor economy, our heritage, our environment and public realm and our local community groups.”

Charges for Swale Borough Council services are only one element of the final council tax bill residents receive. Householders’ council tax bills also include charges for Kent County Council, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, Kent & Medway Fire and Rescue Service, and parish or town councils where these exist. These are set by the respective organisations and are collected on their behalf by Swale.

The council tax bill for a band D household for 2021/22 will be made up of:

• £1,418.79 - Kent County Council
• £218.15 – Kent Police
• £184.32 – Swale Borough Council
• £80.82 – Kent & Medway Fire and Rescue Authority

* along with any town or parish council precepts in areas where these exist.

The full report from the full council meeting can be found here.