Local News

A routine stop check by Kent Police officers has led to a man being arrested on suspicion of a drug offence.

Officers from the Swale Community Policing Team conducted a stop check of a car in Sittingbourne High Street yesterday (Wednesday (11th July).

When searching the car they found class A drugs, a mobile phone and cash.

The man, a 19-year-old from Sittingbourne, was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply and is currently in police custody.

MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey Gordon Henderson's Facebook page may have fallen foul of new GDPR regulations.

In a Facebook post commenting about the death of 100-year old widow Zofija Kaczan, who relocated to Britain from Poland after the Second World War and was cruelly mugged whilst walking to church in Derby recently, Mr Henderson's page asked for the re-establishment of capital punishment.

A number of comments for and against were then published on the Facebook post and details of an 'open letter', which had been sent to Mr Henderson's office from a number of local constituents, were published, including their names and partial addresses. 

It's understood that a number of constituents, whose details were published, have complained to Conservative Party HQ and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), who administers breaches of the GDPR regulations.

Mr Henderson's office said they were unsure if an ICO investigation was actually taking place and felt it wouldn't be appropriate to comment until such a matter (if instigated) had been concluded.

A spokesman for the ICO confirmed that they had been made aware of an incident relating to an MP's social media account and would be making enquiries.

The major roadworks, for the town centre regeneration, have commenced and will be in place until late September / early October.

The A2 St Michael's Road and B2008 Milton Road are partially closed for the next 17 weeks. The affected area on the A2 St Michael's Road is between the junction with Dover Street and Station Street.

HGVs and through traffic will be diverted along Dover Street, West Street, A2 London Road, Key Street, the Key Street Roundabout, The Old Sheppey Way, Bobbing Interchange, B2006 Staplehurst Link Road, St Paul's Street, Mill Way, Eurolink Way and Crown Quay Lane.

Vehicles under 11ft 9in (3.5m) and heading eastwards towards Teynham will still be able to use St Michael's Road, Dover Street, B2008 Milton Road, B2006 Eurolink Way and Crown Quay Lane.

Cars going west will be able to use St Michael's Road, Station Street and West Street.

The following roads will become two-way during this period, namely:-

• Dover Street between St Michael's Road and Milton Road (past The Water Palace Chinese Restaurant)
• West Street between Dover Street and Station Road (between The Golden Hope and Wilkos)
• Station Road from West Street to the back of The Forum Shopping Centre

Some restrictions may still apply outside the overnight working hours - so stay tuned to 106.9 SFM for the latest updates.

Pic @WindyWilson88 on Twitter

Parts of the M2, A249 and A2 are submerged in water following heavy downpours and thunderstorms earlier today.

A Met Office Yellow Warning remains in place for Sittingbourne overnight and into tomorrow morning's rush hour.

A249 remains closed in both directions between M2 Junction 5 (Sittingbourne) and M20 Junction 7 (Maidstone). Highways England expect this to be in place until tomorrow morning.

Highways England tweeted:

UPDATE: Stockbury, A249; Is closed both ways between M20 J7 & M2 J5 due to flooding. There is flooding, fallen trees and land slides onto the carriageway. With more rain expected in the coming hours the road is unlikely to be re-opened before tomorrow.: https://t.co/LIM7XUtkaJ pic.twitter.com/RO0TGhIOQv

— KCC Highways (@KentHighways) May 29, 2018

Traffic in the centre of Sittingbourne was also hit hard by flash floods causing long delays including Crown Quay Lane, Gas Road, Mill Way, Pavillion Drive and Asda Car Park.

Follow the hastag on Twitter (#SFMTravel) for the latest and don't forget to tune into Pete Flynn In The Morning tomorrow morning from 7.00am for the latest traffic and travel updates.