Sittingbourne

A Sittingbourne sex offender, who targeted children online and in his home town, has been jailed.

On Tuesday 20th February 2024, Ben Murphy went to a park in Sittingbourne and approached two children who were playing on the swings. Murphy made an indecent suggestion to them and they told him to go away. He ran from the scene while the distressed children fled the park and informed their parents.

Kent Police have put in place a Dispersal Order covering Sittingbourne town centre across this weekend.

It's been issued after concerns from residents and business owners over recent incidents of antisocial behaviour throughout the area.

The enforcement earlier today (Friday 9th August) at 2pm and will run until 10pm on Sunday (11th August) night and covers the High Street, East Street, Roman Square, The Avenue of Remembrance, William Street, Grafton Road, The Butts, the entire section of the A2 that passes through the town along with Milton Road and Fountain Street.

Sittingbourne's Erin McNeice, from Rodmersham Green, has produced a superb display to ensure she’ll compete for a medal in Sports Climbing Boulder & Lead.

The 20-year-old was the second of the twenty competitors to attempt the 15 metre wall. Her score, combined with Tuesday’s (6th August), was enough to secure seventh position and a place in this coming Saturday’s (10th August) final in Paris.

Slovenia's Janja Garnbret occupies the top spot, with France's Oriane Bertone and American Brooke Raboutou in second and third place respectively.

A prolific thief has been banned from entering multiple stores in Sittingbourne for two years.

Lisa Willett, 45 and of Grecian Street in Maidstone, was handed a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) on Thursday 11th July 2024.

The CBO prohibits her from entering named stores in the town which include numerous smaller businesses and several supermarkets including Poundland, Aldi and Morrisons. She must also not enter any store she has been previously banned from and must not remain in any premises if she is told to leave by the owner or occupier.

Officers investigating reports of shoplifting in the Swale and Canterbury districts have issued images of two people they would like to identify.

Kent Police is looking into five reports of theft where a large quantity of medication was stolen from stores. Two shops in Sittingbourne reported thefts during the afternoon Saturday 22nd June 2024, in Gadby Road and Eurolink Way.

A further three thefts were reported to have taken place on Tuesday 25th June; from two stores - one in Herne Bay and another in Whitstable.

Today (Thursday 11th July)  saw the tentative opening of the new £92m A249 Stockbury flyover between Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Maidstone helping to improve journey times and safety at this busy junction.

Information is sought to help find a missing man from Ireland who might be in the Sittingbourne area.

Martin Lambert is believed to have arrived in England on Friday 14th June and may have travelled to Sittingbourne on Tuesday 25th June.

He is described as white, five feet six inches tall, with short red hair and is balding on top. He is missing one of his front teeth, and has a tattoo on one arm saying ‘Mum’. On his other arm he has a tattoo of an English bulldog holding a snooker cue.

Officers investigating an incident in Sittingbourne, where a teenage boy was struck by a car, are appealing for the victim to contact them urgently.

Patrols were called to Bristol Close in Milton Regis following reports of the collision at around 9pm on last night (Friday 5th July). It is alleged the driver then got out of his vehicle and assaulted the victim who fled the scene. Constables arrested a 46-year-old local man on suspicion of assault and he was taken into custody. The suspect was later bailed to return to the police station, pending further investigation.

Kent County Council (KCC) has today (Thursday 4th July) issued a Statement regarding the recent traffic problems in Sittingbourne and the Isle Of Sheppey following the closure of the Kingsferry Bridge and the continuing work at the Grovehurst/Iwade junction of the A249.

A KCC spokesperson told SFM News: “We understand how frustrated people living and working in the area feel about the severe traffic delays they have experienced this week while work continues on three major road schemes near Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey.

It was yet another afternoon / early evening of "gridlock" in Sittingbourne again today (Tuesday 2nd July) due to the continuing closure of the Kingsferry Bridge.

The bridge remains closed, for essential maintenance work by Network Rail, until 5am on Sunday (7th July). This will also be the case across the weekend of Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th July and then another full week's closure from Saturday 20th July until Saturday 27th July.