Swale

Teenagers across Swale have been given safety advice and tips as part of a roadshow being presented to schools.

The partnership roadshow included topics such as health and social care, drugs and alcohol, antisocial behaviour, exploitation and knife crime. Staff from Kent Police, Swale Borough Council, Clarion Housing domestic abuse services, charity Uprising Youth and Community, and the NHS were all involved.

A prolific Swale shoplifter has been jailed and will be subject to a strict criminal behaviour order preventing her entering a store with a bag that is not clear, on her release from prison.

Sittingbourne Neighbourhood officers have been working to protect local businesses and their latest enforcement sees Shelley Earnshaw receiving more than three months’ imprisonment.

The GMB union has confirmed to SFM News that is has "begun the process of asking its members who are employed by Suez in Swale and Ashford whether or not to take industrial action".

The ballot is due to a pay disparoty between staff in both Swale and Ashford over Maidstone. Loaders in Swale and Ashford receive £12 per hour and Drivers £15 whilst in Maidstone it's £13 and £17 per hour respectively,

Members are being balloted between now and Monday 19th August. 

An ongoing Kent Police campaign, to protect businesses in Swale from crime, has continued with multiple charges for a suspected shoplifter.

Kent Police was notified that on Monday 21st August 2023, a man had attempted to steal Lego worth almost £280 from B&M in Neats Court Retail Park, Queenborough.

Between Thursday 19th October and Sunday 29th October, staff at Sainsbury’s in Avenue of Remembrance, Sittingbourne reported five separate thefts. Bottles of spirits valued at around £1,000 were allegedly taken by a man who left the store without paying.

Witnesses and dashcam are sought after several attempted break-ins and the theft of a car in Swale.

Officers are investigating 10 incidents in which four men are alleged to have targeted houses and vehicles over seven days in September.

At around 2am on Friday 22nd September, an attempt was made to enter a home in Aspen Drive until the four suspects were disturbed by a neighbour.

Similar reports were received around an hour later in Nelson Avenue, where a group of people were seen trying to break into two properties.

The leader of Swale Borough Council, Cllr Tim Gibson, will write to the Government to ask for help to combat the shortage of general practitioners (GPs) in the borough. 

The request follows the unanimous passing of a motion proposed by Cllr Lloyd Bowen, and seconded by Cllr Gibson, at this week's full council meeting on Wedmesday (11th October), where councillors agreed on the need for more Government support.

The Liberal Democrat Party has selected it's parliamentary candidate for the Sittingbourne & Sheppey constituency for the next general election.

Frances Kneller, a 69-year-old managing director of a housing consultancy and property management company, has been chosen to stand for the party in a bid to become our local Member of Parliament. 

Kent Police have confirmed that 40 drivers have received fines as part of their ongoing work to crack down on motorists committing offences in Swale.

On Saturday 12 August officers from Kent Police’s Special Constabulary spent time in Mill Way, Sittingbourne, where they stopped drivers. During the operation 47 offences were identified and robustly dealt with.

A prolific shoplifter, who repeatedly targeted supermarkets across Swale and stole items totalling around £1,000, has been jailed.

Mark Hewitt was responsible for a catalogue of offences since May 2023, stealing meat and alcohol from shops including Sainsbury’s, Aldi, and Marks and Spencer.