Sittingbourne

Swale's 71 Polling Stations opened at 7am this morning for the EU Referendum and will remain open until 10pm tonight.

For a full list of local Polling Stations please click here.

Despite the earlier downpours stations are reporting a steady stream of voters and are reiterating that voters should not leave their attendance to the last minute, as anyone outside a polling station after 10pm will not be allowed to join a queue if one has formed.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) have confirmed that they received several calls overnight about flooding in areas including: Eastchurch, Herne Bay, Margate and Cliftonville. The majority of calls received by KFRS's emergency control room staff did not need immediate assistance. However, crews were called at 3.48am to Crown Road in Sittingbourne and used a grindex pump to move water away from some properties. They also attended an incident following a call at 6.35am.

Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Nigel Ferage, visited Sittingbourne earlier today to speak to locals about the EU Referendum.

We will have more for you in our local News Bulletins on 106.9 SFM.

A drug dealer has been jailed after cannabis, cocaine and cutting agents were seized by police following a search of his Sittingbourne home.

Richard Dawkins, aged 25, was clutching drug filled containers when he was stopped trying to flee his property in Burnham Close last year.

A search warrant was executed at the address on Friday 9th January, 2015, by officers connected to Kent Police's Operation Jupiter team. As the front door was being forced, Dawkins attempted to push past an officer waiting outside a back entrance.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) were called to Wrens Road in Bredgar earlier today (Wednesday 18th May) to reports of an open sided barn, containing baled hay that was well alight.

Crews used compressed air foam (CAFs) to tackle the blaze, that uses less water than traditional firefighting methods and is more environmentally sensitive providing rapid fire knockdown.

A man who was reported missing from his family home in Rock Road in May 2010 has been found.

Matthew Green, a roofer by trade at the time, was 26 years-old when he was reported missing six years ago.

Kent Police issued a statement today saying that "European authorities have confirmed that he has been located in Europe. Matthew's family have been informed and we have closed our missing person inquiry as of today (16th May)".

At the Swale Borough Council Planning Committee last night (Thursday 28th April) permanent planning consent was given to Kent Speedway at Central Park Stadium, meaning that the sport can now carry on indefinitely at the Stadium. *** UPDATES TO FOLLOW ***

A man has been detained in hospital indefinitely after admitting the manslaughter of his own grandmother while visiting her in Sittingbourne.

Stuart Lay, aged 44, of Homewood Avenue, had been charged with the murder of 85-year-old Jean Robertson, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter when he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court yesterday (Monday 25th April). His plea was accepted and he was sentenced the same day. He has been detained indefinitely under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act. This means he will now be kept in a secure hospital.

Sittingbourne fire crews have issued a safety warning following a flat fire this morning (Friday 15th April) believed to have been started by a cigarette.

Firefighters from Sittingbourne and Faversham were called to the blaze at a first floor flat in Hawthorn Road, just after 9am. Crews were alerted to the fire after a neighbour heard the alarms sounding, saw smoke and dialled 999. The first crew arrived at the property within two and a half minutes of receiving the emergency call to find all but one of the nine flats in the building had been evacuated.

A security guard from Sittingbourne has won more than £12,000 in the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance's lottery.

Nigel Long, who works on the Sittingbourne Retail Park, signed up to the life-saving charity's regular Lottery and Superdraw when a canvasser called at his home last year.