Stoves by Edmed


Mystery of garden flood


ABIZARRE garden tap theft left the leader of Maidstone’s Lib Dem group scratching her head. Fran Wilson and husband


John – who is also a bor- ough councillor – had just re- turned from a trip to see their grandson in a school Christmas production in Hastings. To their amazement they dis- covered the garden was flooded – the result of vandals severing the tap fitting outside their util- ity room, which left the


pipe gushing water. “It was unbelievable,” said


Mrs Wilson, of Old Tovil Road. “We think it was wanton van- dalism as the tap was of no value; there was no copper.” The couple reported the miss-


ing tap to police. Nothing simi- lar had happened locally. TheWilsons fear the incident


may be related to them being Lib Dems. They even taped up their letterbox overnight to pre- empt potential arsonists.


Ambulanceman’s award for bravery


AN AMBULANCE service tech- nician who tried to help a man brandishing a knife has had his actions recognised. Simon Matthews, based at


Maidstone, received a chief ex- ecutive’s commendation at the South East Coast Ambulance Service Trust’s award. Simon and his colleague had


been called to an emergency in Maidstone in January. When they arrived they were faced with a very distressed man. The patient had taken a sig-


Specialist in limestone


mantelpieces, granite and slate hearth. Suppliers of stoves, multi fuel and wood burner


Visit our showroom in


Sittingbourne or click on to www.edmedcoal.co.uk


01622 260514


Solid fuel available for collection & delivery


Prices now available on-line at www.edmedcoal.co.uk


EDMED STOVES - COAL - CHIMNEY SWEEPING 14 East


nificant overdose, coupled with a large amount of alcohol and it was clear he needed to go to hospital. The patient became very agitated at the suggestion and took out a knife. He threat- ened to use it if forced to go to hospital. Simon said: “He was clearly


distressed and very aggressive. I spent about five minutes talk- ing to him and building up trust between us before taking the knife from him. “Looking back, it was a very frightening experience but when you are there dealing with it, you are on auto pilot and if I walked away I don’t know what would have hap- pened to him.” Simon was nominated by clinical operations manager Paul Creasy. He said: “Simon was extremely brave and clearly


put aside his own safety for the welfare of his patient.” Simon was presented with his commendation certificate by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Lord Paul Condon. SECAmb chief executive Paul Sutton said: “Our awards pro- vide us with a valuable oppor- tunity to recognise the tremendous achievements of our staff during the year, in a range of roles throughout the or- ganisation. “Our staff are without doubt,


this organisation’s greatest asset. They work extremely hard in often difficult circum- stances to provide the very best levels of care to our patients.”


Dennis is thrilled with his Pride of Maidstone award


THE founder of the Downs Mail, Dennis Fowle, has been honoured with a Pride of Maid- stone award. It is for his pioneering work


in launching the newspaper and for his close involvement with and chairmanship ofMASH(Maidstone Action for Services


in Hospital),


which has been battling to keep children’s and maternity serv- ices in the town. Dennis, 76, who lives in East Farleigh, was nominated by the leaders of the borough council’s two main political groups, Cllr Chris Garland (Con) and Cllr FranWilson (Lib Dem). Dennis’s successful campaign for a bridge over the A249 at


Detling, follow- ing the deaths of Jade


Hobbs


(8) and her grandmother, earned him the Kent Journalist of the Year Cam- paigning award in 2001. Now president of Downs


Mail, which he started in 1997, Dennis retired as editor- in-chief and chairman at the end of 2008 after spending a lifetime in newspapers and publishing. The awards are sponsored by


the council and the Kent Mes- senger. Dennis said: “I feel so privi-


leged to be honoured by my home town.”


You can e-mail the Downs Mail — info@downsmail.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48