Local News

Officers investigating burglaries and shopliftings in the Sittingbourne area have made a series of arrests over the last few days.

Police executed warrants and carried out proactive searches yesterday (Tuesday 7th April) following a number of reports of thefts from shops across the borough. The shopliftings relate to three reports at Co-op in Murston, one at Tesco in Canterbury Road, Sittingbourne and one at the Wilkinson store on the High Street in Sittingbourne.

Kent Police were called at 6.36pm on Sunday (6th April) to reports of a burglary in progress at a property in Castle Road, Sittingbourne. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 17-year-old boy from Sittingbourne in connection with the incident. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was interviewed by detectives and later charged with burglary other than dwelling, robbery, theft from motor vehicle and five counts of shoplifting.

Detectives investigating the same report of robbery, in which a victim was assaulted and had a mobile phone taken in Tonge Road, Sittingbourne, on Saturday 4th April, have arrested a second man in connection with the incident. The 26-year-old man from Sittingbourne was also arrested in connection with a burglary other than dwelling in Church Road on 6th April, possession of drugs and two counts of shoplifting at the Co-op in Murston. He currently remains in police custody.

Detectives are urging residents to take some simple measures to protect their sheds and outbuildings to ensure they are not victims of crime:-
• Always put tools and equipment away - items left outside could be stolen or used to help a thief break in.
• Disable lawn mowers and other large machinery when not in use and chain items together to a solid anchor point. 
• Record details of your property (make, model, serial number and identifying marks) and take photographs of items for easy identification. 
• Use close shackle padlocks to secure sheds and install shed alarms and security lights. 
• Register your valuables on the National Property Database www.immobilise.com.

Free UV marker pens and shed alarms were on offer during an equine crime prevention meeting at the Teynham Community Hall on Monday (30th March) evening.

Attendees were also given Smart Water to mark equipment, the UV pens, alarms and timer switches.

Rural crime officers from Kent Police were also on hand to offer crime prevention advice, while Kent Horse Watch carried out a number of saddle security markings and issued high visibility trailer stickers. The stickers are part of a security measure and are designed to be used on both the trailer and corresponding vehicle. Failure to do so could result in the vehicle being stopped by police.

The event was hosted by Kent Police and Swale Borough Council as part of the Swale Community Safety Partnership.

Tina Grafton, who co-ordinated the event on behalf of the partnership, told SFM News: ‘We had a good number of horse owners attend the event and during the course of the evening, we issued 14 Smart Water kits and the shed alarms also proved popular. The evening shows there is a genuine partnership approach to tackling equine crime and I hope it has encouraged those who attended to report any suspicious activity to the police, knowing it will be taken seriously and investigated robustly."

The selection of the new Sittingbourne Carnival Court for 2015 took place on Saturday (21st March) evening at the Woodcoombe Sports and Social Club on Church Road in Murston.

The Deputy Mayor of Swale, Cllr. Anita Walker and members from 11 other carnival associations from around Kent made up the audience of around 150 people.  

The judges were Cllr Mike Whiting, Claire Fosbeary (Asda's Community Life Champion and former Miss Sittingbourne 1990) and Leanne Martin (Miss Sittingbourne 2008, Miss Kent 2011). The  adjudicator was Cllr Sue Gent.

The retiring Court of 2014 (Georgia Lane and Ashleigh Taylor) made their retiring speeches and performed their final curstey to the Deputy Mayor of Swale (Cllr Anita Walker), Carnival Chairperson Pam Griggs, their chaperone Audrey Travis and the audience before handing back their sashes and crowns.

Georgia Lane (17) was crowned as Deputy Miss Sittingbourne 2015, Jessica Turner (aged 17) was crowned as Miss Sittingbourne 2015, Abbie Stokes (17) and Rebecca Port (16) were crowned as the Joint princesses for 2015.

The first event for the new court will be this coming weekend on Saturday (28th March) evening at the selection of the new Teynham Court and on Sunday at the selection of the new Dover Town Court.

Two families had to flee their homes within twelve hours of each other after fires in Rainham and Sittingbourne.

In the first incident, a bathroom extractor fan caught alight, quickly spreading to the roof area in Sandown Drive, Rainham. The resident was alerted just after 9.30pm last night (Wednesday 4th March) after hearing a loud bang. She went to investigate and discovered the fan had fallen from the ceiling into the bath below. She alerted her husband who initially tried to tackle the blaze using water from the shower with little success.

The couple and their young child got out of their home and called Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS). Three fire engines were sent to the semi-detached house, the first crew arrived within six minutes of receiving the 999 call.

Medway Watch Manager, Paul Nash, told SFM News: "Many of us use the loft for storage and this family had a number of cardboard boxes and other items stored there which fuelled the fire. Fortunately, we were able to stop it spreading to the neighbouring property and limited the damage to the roof area, so it was a good outcome."

Crews in breathing apparatus used a hose reel and specialist cold-cutting firefighting system, which is able to cut its own access point to the fire using high pressure water and abrasive grit. Firefighters then removed the contents of the loft.

Faulty electrics on a cooker are thought to have sparked the second incident in Gore Court Road, Sittingbourne this morning. A woman heard a loud noise from the oven at around 8.20am, and then the cooker lights and timer went out. She tried to reset the switch on her fuse box and when she returned to her kitchen, she spotted smoke from under the plinth. She got out of the house with her daughter and teenage grandson and called KFRS.

Fire crews wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel to extinguish the blaze, a thermal imaging camera to check for fire spread and a special fan to clear the smoke and fumes from the property.

Sittingbourne Watch Manager, Neil Ryder, told SFM News: "Two fridges, a double oven, worktop and cupboards were destroyed by the fire. The remainder of the kitchen, the utility room and conservatory had heavy smoke damage. The rest of the property had light smoke damage. Electrical fires are one of the biggest causes of accidental fires in people's homes - it can happen to anyone so it's really important that you make sure your electrics are in good working order, that you look out for warning signs and that electrical appliances are turned off when you are not using them - especially overnight. Working smoke alarms are a vital piece of life-saving equipment. Make sure you fit them on every floor and test them regularly. They will give you the early warning needed to fire in your home."