Local News

Officers investigating a serious assault in Sittingbourne last week, have charged two people.

Kent Police were called to Woodstock Road at 10.53pm on Thursday (26th November) after a woman reported that two people had seriously assaulted her partner and caused damage to her vehicle. The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Officers from Swale’s Community Policing Team responded to the incident and stopped a vehicle in Borden Lane at around 11.00pm where two people were arrested on suspicion of assault.

Tommy Robinson, 21, of Playstool Road, Newington, has been charged with grievous bodily harm, criminal damage and dangerous driving and a 17-year-old boy has also been charged with grievous bodily harm and criminal damage.

The teenage boy and Mr Robinson both appeared before Medway Magistrates’ Court on Saturday (28th November) where they were bailed to attend Maidstone Crown Court on Monday 4th January 2021.

An emergency meeting to place this afternoon (Monday 23rd November) to help tackle the number of cases of coronavirus in Swale.

The meeting was called by Swale Borough Council in response to the recent rise in the number of cases in the borough with the latest government figures showing 645.6 cases per 100,000 people in the week up to Wednesday 18th November - just behind Hull, which was the country's worst-affected place last week.

The meeting included representatives from partner agencies such as Kent County Council, Kent Police, HM Prison Service and Public Health England.

Cllr Roger Truelove, Leader of Swale Borough Council, told SFM News: “This was a valuable meeting where we were able to bring together a wide range of interested parties to discuss where we are and how we are going to improve the situation. We received the very latest figures from our public health colleagues, and these showed that whilst we do seem to be starting to see a fall in cases locally, they are clearly still too high. There are also worrying signs that the infection is growing among the over-60’s who are more vulnerable to this virus, and we are sadly starting to see the number of deaths increase. We also heard that Swale has the second highest level of testing in the county, which shows that the work we’ve been doing to encourage people with symptoms to get tested is getting through, and it will ultimately make a difference.

Cllr Truelove went on to add: “We also had confirmation that only 12 per cent of cases in the last couple of weeks are related to care homes and prison settings, and that this isn’t a problem that is just on the Isle of Sheppey, but elsewhere across the borough. The overwhelming majority of cases are through community transmission. It’s spreading in residential settings, and through social activity and it only takes a small number of people to create the clusters of cases that are driving up our figures. This is why we needed to call the meeting, so we could be sure where we need to concentrate our resources to get the cases under control again. We will be getting in touch with local supermarkets to ask for them to be as vigilant as possible, and we will be carrying out work to make sure everyone involved understands the reasons why people might not feel able to follow the rules.

He continued by saying:  “Parents seen with in supermarkets with children who should be isolating may not have any other childcare and can’t afford the minimum spend for a home delivery. People may be unwilling to get a test as they can’t afford to have time off work. These are issues we need to be able to identify so the relevant agencies can step in with the right support. Everyone is committed to making sure people understand the seriousness of the situation to people, and if we don’t follow the rules in place, we face a winter of further restrictions.”

The meeting was attended by officers from Kent County Council, Public Health England, Kent Police, HM Prison Service, the NHS, The Federation of Small Businesses, The Department for Work and Pensions, Optivo and Swale CVS and at the meeting it was revealed that only 12% of the borough's total cases come from it's two maximum security prions and local care homes.

The Borough of Swale officially has the second highest Covid-19 infection rate in the country.

Swale recorded 928 cases of coronavirus, while Thanet (Kent's previous highest authority area) recorded only 725 positive cases between Sunday 8th November and Saturday 14th November.

This latest fugure takes the borough's infection rate from 296.5 per 100,000 to 637.7 per 100,000.

Tony Weaver will be talking to local MP for Sittingbourne & Sheppey, Gordon Henderson, on tomorrow's 'In The Bourne' from 11am. Earlier this week Mr Henderson told BBC Radio Kent that: "the worst hit parts of county for the virus were those that are deeply deprived areas".

If you have a question for Gordon Henderson MP please text: 078 600 2 03 03 (from 6:00am tomorrow* Fri 20/11/20).

Earlier this week Cllr Roger Truelove, Leader of Swale Council, warned 106.9 SFM listeners and local residents that: “Unless we can level off the rate of growth in COVID-19 infections we risk a longer period of high-level restrictions beyond 2nd December. If we don’t do something to contain it, we risk spending Christmas in lockdown."

For more information on COVID-19 infection rates locally please visit: kent.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/health/coronavirus/cases-in-kent.

Swale Borough Council have further information at: swale.gov.uk/news-and-your-council/coronavirus.

A CCTV image of a man has been issued by officers investigating a series of reported shopliftings in Sittingbourne.

Several incidents have taken place at the Shell garage on London Road since Sunday 4th October, in which alcohol has been stolen and members of staff threatened.

Sergeant Chris Skilton, from Kent Police, tikd SFM News: "We believe the man in the CCTV image may be able to assist us with our enquiries and urge anyone who may know who he is to get in touch. While we appreciate that only a small part of the man’s head and face can be seen, we are hopeful someone may recognise him from his haircut or the hooded top he is wearing.’

Anyone with any information is urged to call the appeal line on 01795 419119 quoting reference 46/178345/20. Alternatively they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or complete the online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.