Local News

A 21-year-old man, who was caught after he robbed a pizza delivery man and boasted about it on social media, has been jailed for over three years.

At around 11.30pm on Friday 10th March, a delivery man was carrying a pizza in Preston Street, Faversham, when he was approached by two men who punched and kicked him to the ground. When a member of the public came to the victim's aid, the two men stole the pizza and the victim's baseball cap.

One of the men was named locally as Reece Thomas. Enquiries revealed the 21-year-old, of St Nicholas Road in Faversham, had posted a photo on social media of himself wearing the cap with the caption ‘Free pizza for me tonight.'

A week later police officers were on patrol in Faversham when they saw Thomas and stopped to speak to him. Thomas swore at them before running away. As the officers gave chase on foot, Thomas pulled a knife with a seven inch blade from his trousers before running and barricading himself into a brick outhouse. After 45 minutes, officers talked Thomas into handing himself in, and he was arrested and charged with robbery, affray, and possession of a knife in a public place.

At Canterbury Crown Court on 18th April Thomas pleaded guilty to all three charges and was sentenced to a total of 40 months in youth offenders institute. He was also ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Mark Silk, told SFM News: "While the items taken may not have been high-value, this was nevertheless a nasty, unprovoked attack on a victim who understandably was left shaken by the whole ordeal. Behaviour like Thomas' is never acceptable and I hope he takes the opportunity in custody to think about the effect his actions can have on others."

Sittingbourne-based Chalkwell have announced that fares for bus travellers of all ages within Swale are to be slashed by up to a third.

At the same time, the local operator will be launching two additional buses which have been refurbished at a total cost of over £50k.

The new lower fares, which will be introduced from Saturday 1st April, will see the price of Youth Travel (for 11-19 year olds) down to just £2.50 a day or £10 for seven days and a Chalkwell Adult Saver will be just £4 a day, or £15 for seven days and these tickets can be used on an unlimited number of times per day or week and can be bought on the bus directly from the driver.

Young people wishing to travel to the Medway Towns from Swale on the 326/327 service will benefit from lower fares of £3.50 a day or £14 for seven days for Youth 11-19, with Adult Saver fares at £5.50 per day or £20 for seven days.

Chalkwell also announced the introduction of a new family ticket costing £11 a day which can be used for groups of up to four people comprising two adults and two children, or one adult and three children.

Chalkwell's Commercial Director, Roland Eglinton, told SFM News: "In terms of a percentage cut, it is up to a third. And with these exciting new lower fares there is even more incentive for people to use Chalkwell bus services. The lower fares and services cover Sittingbourne, Sheppey and the surroundings areas. Our school services are very popular and convenient and with these lower fares we expect even more people to switch to travelling with us rather than using the car or other forms of public transport."

Further information on the new lower fares can be found on their website: www.chalkwell.co.uk.

Overnight on Monday (13th March) thieves stole the back twin-wheels of Rodmersham School's Ford minibus parked adjacent to the playground.

It is etimated that the repair bill will be in the region of £1,200. Mrs Presdee-Colley, the school's Finance Secretary, told SFM News that: "the children were very upset when they learnt of the discovery on Tuesday morning. We have now had to make alternative arrangements as the minibus was going to be used for several trips over the next two weeks. This is going to be very expensive to cover for a small school like ours".

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Kent Police on 101 quoting reference: XY/011448/17 or they can call Kent Crimestoppers, free (from any landline) and anonimously, on 0800 555 111.

A lorry driver who caused the death of an elderly cyclist in Teynham has been imprisoned for three years.

59-year-old William Magee, of Readers Court in Chelmsford, Essex, failed to properly check his surroundings before pulling out across London Road, shortly before 10.15am on Saturday 13th February 2016 and his articulated lorry collided with a bicycle being ridden by 73-year-old Barbara Phipps from Lynsted (pictured), who died instantly.

Mr Magee pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving prior to his sentencing at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday (3rd March), where he was also disqualified from driving for five and a half years.

The court heard how he had completed a delivery at a supermarket on London Road, near the junction with Lynsted Lane, shortly before the collision happened. Magee's lorry was parked on the wrong side of the road facing oncoming traffic, meaning he would need to pull diagonally across the carriageway in order to reach the Sittingbourne-bound lane.

CCTV footage of the incident showed that Magee started moving before he began to indicate, and that Mrs Phipps was cycling alongside the lorry at the time. He continued his journey following the collision but was arrested at the M2 Medway services when his employers called to tell him an incident had happened and that he needed to pull over for the police.

Officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit later carried out a reconstruction of what had happened and ruled that Magee should have been able to see Mrs Phipps if he had properly checked his mirrors. His lorry was also fitted with a CCTV camera to help him check his blind spot, which he admitted he did not use.

Sergeant Hannah Brown, from Kent Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, told SFM News: "all drivers have a duty of care to other road-users to drive carefully at all times, with large vehicles though, the sheer size and weight of their vehicles means that one wrong move can lead to tragedy. William Magee had already broken the Highway Code by parking in the direction of oncoming traffic, but had he been more careful, and used the safety devices fitted to the vehicle before pulling out then this fatal collision simply would not have happened. He will have this on his conscience for the rest of his life. I hope the sentencing result is of some small comfort to Mrs Phipps' family, who have suffered a great deal. Our thoughts remain with them as they continue to grieve for her."