Local News

Kent Police are appealing for information on the whereabouts of a Sittingbourne man who has been reported as missing.

59-year-old Alan Bailey (pictured above) was last seen in the shopping precinct in Rainham on Tuesday afternoon (5th May) when he was wearing a black beanie hat, a jumper and light brown shoes.

He is described as white with grey hair and a full beard. Mr Bailey is a smoker and may have been smoking roll-up cigarettes.

Anybody with any information is asked to call Kent Police on 101, quoting the incident reference number: 05-1482 or alternatively they can call Kent Crimestoppers free (from any landline) and anonimously on 0800 555 111.

Picture: © Camilla Greenwell

BBC One daytime programme 'The Housing Enforcers', featuring Matt Allwright, the champion of consumer rights, heads to Sittingbourne and Sheerness next week.

The programme sees Matt join a number of Council teams across the UK including Swale Borough Council as a trainee housing officer, separating hovels from homes in a number locations across the Borough. In this new series due to be screened all of next week (Mon 4th May - Fri 8th May), Matt confronts all kinds of people associated with housing issues. From landlords to tenants, and even nightmare neighbours, Matt comes to the rescue of anyone in need.

Sue Davis, one of Swale Borough Council's Housing Options Officers who accompanied Matt for several housing visits said she really enjoyed the whole process. Sue told SFM News "When it was first mooted, I was naturally quite nervous about the occasion....after all I don't normally have a camera crew following me around as part of my day job! However, as the programme gathered momentum, it became a really enjoyable experience. Matt himself was extremely professional and was a pleasure to work with. Clearly there is an important purpose to this type of TV programme showing the important work we in Swale do on a day to day basis. Our team work extremely hard to do everything in our power to prevent homelessness and provide sound advice to our residents".

Hannah Holdstock, one of Swale's Housing Support Officers is also featured in the programme and she told SFM News: "I was involved in one or two of the episodes and like Sue, I very much enjoyed working with Matt and his production crew and also thought by drawing attention to these issues, it was a really good idea for us to be involved".

Tune into the series from Monday 4th May at 9.00am on BBC One. Tuesday - Thursday's programmes will start at 9.15am and on Friday it will switch to BBC Two.

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."