A POLICEMAN who orchestrated and presided over the county’s Neighbourhood Watch scheme has retired after 36 years with Kent Police. PC MickWright (61), who lives off Sutton
Road, Maidstone, says he would have con- tinued working but police rules dictate that he had to retire. Instead Mick, who helped resuscitate Kent’s disbanded NHW scheme in 1991 and became the county watch liai- son officer 12 years later, will now devote some of his spare time to volunteering for the scheme. “I have been here for over 30 years and I
am at the natural end of the contract,” he said. “While it would be lovely to stay on and carry on working, it will always be in my blood and I will carry on volunteering.” Mick joined the police force in 1975 and
served as the beat officer for Park Wood, Shepway and Senacre as well as stints at Maidstone CID and the regional crime squad. He then breathed new life into NHW as
the liaison officer in a pilot scheme for the Maidstone and Mallings area, winning a na- tional NHW award in 1994.
But it was NHW’s achievements abroad
that gave him most pride. In 1995, he began working with the large Belgian city Ieper (formerly Ypres) to help establish a scheme modelled on the one he had developed in Kent. He organised exchange trips between Kent and Belgium, which culminated in the creation of Buurt Informatie Netwerk, which is still going strong. Mick said: “Helping that become estab- lished was the biggest achievement. We were the catalyst for changing the course of history in Belgium. This saw two police
THE owner of a forklift truck stolen from Detling showground is offering a £2,000 reward for the vehicle’s safe return. A yellow JCB 535 forklift, which is a diesel hydraulic telescopic handler with the word Abbot written on it in red, was taken at some point between 5pm on Friday, January 14, and 9am on January 16. A green John Deere tractor belonging to Kent Agricultural Society was taken at the same time.
Police officer Mick retires after 36 years… ... but he promises to carry on volunteering
forces join together and helped combat the previous mistrust between the public and police.” In 1997, Maidstone NHW was named the world’s best NHW scheme by the Interna- tional Society of Crime Prevention Practi- tioners in an awards ceremony in Milwaukee, USA. “I have been so lucky to be able to say that
I have enjoyed every single minute of every- thing I have done at work,” said father-of- two Mick, whose wife Marion recently retired as a bank clerk for Natwest branches in Maidstone, Headcorn and Staplehurst. “I learned a lot of lessons about intelli-
gence gathering and how to deal with peo- ple who had information during my CID years.” As for the future, Mick added: “My wife
and I aim to have a little bit of time out and spend some time with the two grandchil- dren. “But to ensure I keep the brain cells tick-
ing over I will continue to do some volun- tary work for NeighbourhoodWatch.”
Reward offered for forklift stolen from showground It is thought offenders climbed over fences of
the show ground, cut padlocks to the exit gate, removed the immobiliser and then drove the vehicles away. Now the owner has come forward offering to
pay £2,000 for information leading to the fork- lift’s recovery or to the conviction of the of- fenders. Anyone with information is asked to contact police in Maidstone on 01622 604210 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Volunteers recruited
for nature reserve VOLUNTEERS are being invited to help improve hedgerows and create glades in the wooded areas of Box- leyWarren nature reserve on Mon- day, February 28. The all-day event, run by the Mid
Kent Downs Countryside Partner- ship, starts at 9.30am. More infor- mation from Mike Phillips on 01303 815170.
6 East
Visit Downs Mail’s website —
downsmail.co.uk
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