Local News

Collison investigators are appealing for witnesses following a fatal incident on the A249 Detling Hill earlier today (Thursday 13th September).

Kent Police were called at 6.25am this morning after a red Yamaha motorcycle and a grey Renault people carrier collided on the Sittingbourne-bound carriageway.

Police officers and the South East Coast Ambulance Service attended and sadly the motorcyclist, a man aged in his 30s, died at the scene. His next of kin have been made aware.

The carriageway was closed from the M20 Junction 7 through to the M2 Junction 5, whilst emergency services remained at the scene. The road was re-opened shortly after 3.00pm.

Anyone who saw the collision, or either of the vehicles prior to the collision, is asked to call Kent Police on 01622 798538, quoting reference DK/NR/127/18. Officers are particularly interested in speaking to those who may have dash cam footage. Alternatively you can email sciu.td@kent.pnn.police.uk.

A drug driving arrest was made following a recent morning of traffic checks carried out in the Sittingbourne area by the Kent Special Constabulary.

The Special Constables carried out routine safety checks on vehicles travelling in the Chestnut Street area on Tuesday (4th September) mornings and as a result a 38-year-old woman from Sheerness was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a controlled drug. She has since been released, pending further enquiries.

The vehicle being driven was also believed to have been uninsured and has also been seized. In addition to this arrest 10 speeding tickets were issued to drivers exceeding the 30mph limit. The highest speed being recorded as 48mph.

A Special Constable is an unpaid volunteer who gives up at least 16 hours of their own time every month supporting regular police officers. They have full police powers, wear a uniform and carry standard-issue police equipment.

Anyone who might be interested in becoming a Special Constable can find out more by visiting: www.kent.police.uk or they can follow @KentSpecials on Twitter.

Officers, investigating an assault in Sittingbourne, have released an image of a van driven by a motorist they would like to talk to.

The incident is believed to have happened between 11:45am and 11.50am on Friday 3rd August in Dover Street, Sittingbourne.

The victim, a man in his 20's, was driving a yellow Luton van when another driver overtook him by driving on the wrong side of the road.

Both the victim and suspect become stuck in single file traffic with a taxi between them when the suspect started to make hand gestures towards the victim.

The suspect then got out of his van and started shouting at the victim. Despite the victim saying he did not want any confrontation the suspect leant into his van and is reported to have put his hands around his neck before tightening his grip.

The suspect also made threats to hurt the victim before he let go of him and returned to his van and drove away.

The suspect is described as white, aged between 25-35 years old, around 5ft 10ins with brown hair. He had two moles on one side of his face and was of a medium build and was wearing a white vest top.

The white van driven by the suspect had distinctive alloys and also had a roof rack with three ladders secured on top of one another.

Anyone who believes they know the identity of the suspect or who witnessed the incident is asked to call Kent Police on 01795 419119 quoting crime reference XY/48259/18.

Alternatively, they can contact the independent charity Crime Stoppers in Kent free (from any landline) and anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Hundreds of sixth form students from Borden Grammar, Fulston Manor, Highsted, Sittingbourne Community College and Westlands picked up their A Level results earlier today.

Nationally A-level students have been awarded the highest proportion of As and A*s since 2012, amid changes toughening the exams in England. Some 26.4% of exams have been awarded these top grades this year - but the proportion gaining A* to C dropped slightly to 78.4% from 79% last year.

England's exams regulator has said the results show a steady national picture at a time of significant change. Overall, 97.6% of A-level entries were awarded A* to E grades.

Examiners dismissed the rise in top grades as "extremely marginal", while Ofqual has underlined that results have remained steady - in 2012, for example, 26.6% of exams were awarded As and A*s and in 2017, 26.3% achieved these top grades.

Local results were:-

⦿ BORDEN GRAMMAR: It was another year of positive results for the school with Year 13 students achieving some of the best grades the school has ever had.

A number of students achieved three or more A* and A grades among their results. They were Dominic Byrne, Joshua Diddams, Matthew Doria, Jack Edwards, Luke Friend, Scott Hazell, Jonathan Idowu, Luke Newcombe, Samuel O'Brien, Thomas Saunders and Connor Wade.

Ben Yardley was the best performer with an A*, 2 x As and a B and he's due to take up a place at Worcester College at Oxford University to study History.

⦿ FULSTON MANOR: More than 60 students have been offered places at universities. Among the top performers were Lauren Rogers (3 x A's and 1 C) and is off to study Politics at Newcastle University, Danielle Cross (1 x A, 2 x B's and a D) who plans to do Anthropology at Durham University and Rhiannon England (2 x B's and a D) who will be doing Astronomy, Space Science and Astrophysics at the University of Kent.

⦿ HIGHSTED GRAMMAR: Tehti Patel got an A* in Geography, her extended project and 3 x A's in Biology, Chemistry and French and plans to go to King's College to study Medicine. Maria Doria, Anna Kent and Sian Lo all achieved 3 x A*'s and 1 x A each.

⦿ SITTINGBOURNE COMMUNITY COLLEGE and ⦿ WESTLANDS SECONDARY: Students at Westlands School and Sittingbourne Community College now study under the joint banner of Swale Sixth Form across three sites. Out of the 108 exam takers, 99 of them achieved at least one A* to C. Their top performer, Michael Warman, achieved 3 x A*'s and a C in Business, Finance and History in the extended project. He will be off to the University of Kent where he will be studying Politics And International Relations. Fellow student Max Pearn got a double A* award in Engineering, along with Maths and Physics and will be taking up employment as a Robotics Technician at an online food retailer.