Sittingbourne

Thousands of pounds worth of cigarettes, suspected to be stolen, have been seized following a police pursuit in Sittingbourne.

Officers recovered the tobacco last Thursday (9th September) after witnessing a van drive past them on the wrong side of the road near the A2 at around 2.15pm.

Patrols requested the vehicle to stop however it failed to do so. A short pursuit then took place, before the driver and passenger decamped the vehicle.

Officers located a man at Sittingbourne Train Station, believed to be the driver of the car, and he was arrested.

A cleaner who stole around £50,000 from a customer has been jailed.

Jennifer Richards stole the money from an elderly man whom she cleaned for between October 2017 and February 2018.

The 50-year-old was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court yesterday (Monday 13th September) to two years and three months in jail after being found guilty of one count of fraud by false representation and one count of theft, following a trial.

A Sittingbourne driver has been jailed after a teenage girl who was a passenger in his car died following a collision near Ashford.

Fahren Smith was behind the wheel of a Suzuki Swift which had five passengers inside when it left Mundy Bois Road, Egerton and collided with a tree on the evening of Saturday 4th July 2020.

Millie Greenway, 17, suffered serious injuries in the collision and died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. The car's four other passengers all sustained serious injuries and continue to receive ongoing treatment.

Swale Borough Councillors are set to be discussing the lack of options for secondary school places in Sittingbourne and Sheppey at the next round of area committee meetings.

At the Sittingbourne and Sheppey meetings, councillors will receive an introductory paper from Swale Council Leader, Roger Truelove, a statement from Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson, and a presentation from Marisa White, Area Education Officer at Kent County Council (KCC) outlining how the provision of secondary schools can be improved.

An assault, which happened in front of terrified families at a caravan park in Eastchurch last summer, has led to four men being handed jail terms.

Jason Taylor Snr, Oliver Taylor, Carl Allam and Jason Taylor Jnr were all jailed for the violent incident which resulted in the victim being punched and knocked unconscious before the group fled.

The victim was attacked during the day at a caravan park in Warden Road on Wednesday 16th June 2020 by Jason Taylor Jnr, aged 26 and of Mountview in Borden.

The doors of Phoenix House, on Central Avenue, re-opened this week as the new home for The Bus Shelter Kent Project.

The Bus Shelter Kent Project offers hot meals and food parcels to those in need and also helps to find accommadation for anyone who finds themselves homeless in the Sittingbourne area.

After coming out of lockdown the group were using the car park but have now received the keys to the building, previously occupied by Swale Community Centres.

Their Open Day (Thursday 26th August) saw nearly 50 meals being served, with help from Morrisons Sittingbourne.

The Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) were at the scene of a haystack fire on Quinton Road earlier today (Thursday 26th August).

They were called to the scene just after 11:00am and one fire engine was in attendance, with crews using drag rakes and a hose reel jet to prevent further fire spread.

No casualties were reported. 
 
Firefighters asked those living or working in the Quinton Road and Sonora Way areas to keep all windows and doors closed as a precaution due to the smoke but this was lifted at 2.20pm when the fire was finally extinguished.

Local officers are appealling for information following a report a woman, using a mobility scoote and being assisted by a service dog, was harassed by four young people in Sittingbourne on Monday (16th August) morning.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) were called to reports of a fire in corn fields off Highsted Road, in Rodmersham, earlier today (Saturday 14th August).

Rural crime investigators are appealing for information after two sheep were killed in a field in Newington.

The livestock were found dead in Church Lane on the night of Sunday 8th and Monday 9th August 2021.