Warning follows Hallowe’en rumpus


POLICE have sent a written warning to par- ents throughout Maidstone following a gathering of around 200 youths at Bearsted Green. Police believe the mass Hallowe’en gath-


ering, which sparked a number of com- plaints, was arranged through social networking sites and involved youths trav- elling into Bearsted from elsewhere in Maidstone. In a letter circulated to secondary schools


in the county town, Maidstone neighbour- hood inspector Jerry Prodger wrote: “Over the course of Hallowe’en, police dealt with a number of incidents on The Green in-


Giant lorry gets stuck down country lane


THE driver of this Spanish lorry spent several hours stuck in Caring Lane, Thurnham. The incident provided more evidence for cam- paigners who want HGVs banned from the coun- try lane. Its medieval bridge, between the A20 and Leeds, has been damaged several times by large vehicles struggling to get through. Local resident Pat Sandford, whose wife Rose-


marie took the photo from the couple’s porch, said: “The lorry arrived at about 11am and for nearly five hours the driver, who spoke not a word of English, wrestled with the controls in an attempt to return to the A20. I did manage to get the driver to tell me (I think!) that he was destined for Arnold Farm, Leeds. “I called the police and just before dark they


were able to get the lorry back on course. The A20 was blocked in both directions and the police had to manually direct traffic. “Then the lorry moved a few yards and ap- peared to jack-knife, which meant that the police


volving young persons who were acting in an anti-social manner. “Although most of the children were


fairly good-natured when spoken to by po- lice and did arrange lifts home, a small mi- nority had to be taken home after drinking alcohol to excess. “Officers also seized and disposed of a


large amount of alcohol. “While we understand that vulnerable


young people need to be protected and therefore police are duty-bound to attend such gatherings, it does mean our valuable resources are unable to be deployed else- where in the meantime.


“In addition, while attending these gath-


erings some of these young people are put- ting themselves at risk through excess alcohol consumption, which in turn makes them more likely to be a victim of crime. “This message is not designed to scare


anyone or cause alarm, but to raise aware- ness as to the possible implications of their actions. I would be grateful if you could dis- cuss with your son or daughter as to whether they are attending these gatherings and ensure that they are behaving in a safe manner while out at night.” Pre-arranged meetings involving under-


age drinking on Bearsted Green are not un- usual. In the summer of 2009, a host


of youths attended the annual Music On The Green event fol- lowing online discussions on Facebook and Twitter. This led to last year’s event


had to continue managing the traffic.” Mr Sandford, a Thurnham parish councillor


who has regularly raised the issue with the Kent highways authority, added: “The worst as- pect of this problem is that when the drivers get stuck they have to reverse their massive lor- ries across the busy A20. “The driver can have no knowledge if the road


is clear, because in most cases he is sitting at least 30ft from the back of his vehicle. “It is a disgrace that KCC Highways know about


this problem and do nothing. One of their excuses is that signage is too expensive. Are they waiting for a fatality before doing something?”


being organised as a more ma- ture affair, with older perform- ers, the omission of the regular youth tent and the introduction of charging for youngsters.


Post offices re-open THE post offices at Harrietsham and Hollingbourne re-opened for business in time for Christ- mas. The two sub post offices had closed after the postmaster, based at the Staplehurst Post Office, went into liquidation over a disputed tax bill. The postmaster’s son took over the business, enabling the offices to re-open in mid-December.


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