Kent Police

Kent Police officers are investigating a fire at an industrial unit in Sittingbourne overnight and are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Kent Police received a report at 12.24am this morning (Thursday 16th March) that a car had been in collision with an industrial unit in Castle Road, Sittingbourne. The unit is currently used as the Rumble Boxing Academy.

Officers attended the scene where a car was found to be alight and crashed in to the unoccupied premises.

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".

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.

Yesterday (Tuesday 28th February) 37-year-old George Bignall, of Middletune Avenue in Sittingbourne, was sentenced to a total of two years and eight months for a distraction burglary, theft and affray.

Two men have been charged in connection with the alleged removal of items from a sunken Royal Navy warship in the English Channel.

HMS Hermes was a protected cruiser built in the late 19th century and converted into an aircraft ferry and depot ship ready for the outbreak of the First World War.

It was sunk by a German submarine in the Dover Strait in October 1914 with the loss of 44 lives.

Two members of an organised drugs group have been jailed following the discovery of £7.7 million worth of cannabis here in Sittingbourne.

Kent Police officers discovered just over a tonne of the class B substance when they executed a search warrant at an industrial unit on Castle Road, at about 9.20am on Friday 23rd September last year (2016).

Thomas Cullen, 57, of St John's Road in Huyton, Liverpool, and Joseph Graham, 48, of no fixed address but with links to the Merseyside area, were also inside the property and arrested as a result.

Kent Police are reminding motorists to lock their cars and remove valuables after receiving several reports of theft from vehicles in Kemsley.

Between 5.30am and 6am on Tuesday (3rd January) Kent Police received reports of theft of property including clothing and tools from five cars in Beauvoir Drive.

Police would like to speak to a man who was reported to have been trying car door handles in the road at the time before running off. He is described as white, aged between 15 and 25 years old, 5ft 8in, of medium build and wearing a blue bomber jacket, and dark trousers.

Kent Police are reminding residents to secure their homes during the festive period following reports of burglaries in Sittingbourne.

Officers have received more than 10 reports of burglaries in the area since the beginning of December where it was alleged that the front door has been used to gain entry into the property.

Just this last Saturday (17th December) police received a report of attempted burglary in Randle Way, Sittingbourne, where it was alleged that between 8.10am and 4pm a person attempted to gain entry into a property via the front door.

A dangerous and unlicensed driver, who caused the deaths of two men in a New Year's Day collision on Friday 1st January this year (2016), has been jailed for seven years.

One other passenger in Ashley Howard's car suffered serious injuries when it crashed into the Jubilee Pump monument and overturned in a garden off London Road, Teynham, in the early hours of the first day of 2016.

Howard, 23, of Quarry View on the Isle of Wight, spent more than two months in hospital himself following the collision.

Kent Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward to help find a missing teenager from the Rochester area.

Officers are concerned for the welfare of 18-year-old Ben Savage, after he disappeared following an evening out. He was last seen at 2.45am on Tuesday (6th December) in Railway Street, Chatham.