Emergency suggestion Dear Sir - Bishops’Way was gridlocked as an approaching klaxon could be heard. Panic showed in the faces of some of the drivers but there was nothing they could do. Whensitting in a car and a klaxon sounds it


can be difficult to determine from which di- rection it is coming and obviously valuable – perhaps invaluable – seconds can be lost by an emergency vehicle trapped in a line of waiting vehicles.


NOTHING stands still – so I


So can I suggest that an information board


(of the type used to display messages such as Maidstone great for shopping) be placed on the central division of Bishops’Way near the Archbishops’ Palace and facing towards Loose advising drivers of the need to clear a passage for an emergency vehicle. All three emergency services come from the Wheatsheaf area so, as they leave their depots the drivers or station staff could press a button triggering a signal on the board by the Palace


(which can be a particularly bad place for hold-ups), stating ‘emergency vehicle ex- pected in three minutes; please leave outer lane empty’ and for that time to be counted down. As the fire, ambulance or police vehicles


pass the board the notice would be automati- cally deleted unless a follow-up vehicle was en route. Have thewarning notices in red and possibly any other messages in white. Ron Stubbs, Silverdale, Maidstone


A depressing look at Maidstone’s past MailMarks


suppose I should not have been so sad on a visit to our museum to be reminded Maidstone has lost so much industry, business and sport. Compared with 50 or so years ago we live in such a different town. Many older readers will re- member Maidstone industries known nationally and interna- tionally. Sharps made creamy toffee;


Foster Clarks tinned vegetables and soups; Grants was a popu- lar cherry brandy; Fremlin brewed successful beers; Read- ers’ cricket balls were used worldwide; Whatman was a leading papermaker at Turkey Mill; and so it goes on. On the business front, Maid-


stone and District’s green and cream buses were everywhere; Woolworths catered for so much that was cheap and use- ful; the town centre was full of department stores like Chies- mans, Army & Navy and Dun-


VEHICLE lights were stolen from a Mitsubishi pick-up parked overnight at Old Goods Yard, Station Approach, Lenham. Seats and gear levers were also taken from a similar vehicle. The catalylic converter was


taken from a white Ducato van parked in Quested Way. Harri- etsham. Asofawas


takenfroma


garage in a block in Gleaming Wood Drive, Lordswood, after the lock was forced. Diesel fuel was siphoned


from a tank in the rear garden in Windmill Hill, Ulcombe. The tank’s padlock had been forced. The tax disc was stolen from


a green Nissan Figaro convert- ible parked in Station Road, Harrietsham. Diesel fuel was stolen from a


plant vehicle at a building site in Chatham Road, Sandling. A grey L-reg VW Passat was


taken from Autumn Glade, Lordswood. It may have been removed on a recovery truck as a scrap car. A maroon C-reg Ford Transit


van was stolen from Cornwall Close, Shepway. An attempt was also made to take a blue J- reg Land-Rover. The Transit van was later recovered. Afuel storage tank was stolen overnight from a pumping sta- tion in PilgrimsWay, Boxley.


DENNIS FOWLE - President Kent Campaigning Journalist of the Year 2001 email: dfowle2011@aol.com


nings; Len Ltd was big in chair manufacture inWater Lane and W. Webb flourished as engi- neers inWaterside. New businesses have arrived,


of course, but they lack the magic of what has been lost. Maidstone Council seeks more well-paid jobs close to the M20 junctions but the recession has brought a halt tomost of this. Perhaps sports followers are


even more saddened. The mu- seum recalls the days of Maidstone United playing suc- cessfully in the Football League at the London Road ground until the financial traumas and sale in 1988. Since then the town club has


struggledwith home matches at Dartford, Sittingbourne and Ashford. Financing a new ground in Maidstone is still proving very tough – but we are not now without hope. The town has also lost its an-


nual county cricket festival for the last six years due to prob- lems at The Mote ground. It was a vital feature of the sum- mer social scene – and a huge loss. It went when a wet wicket


cost Kent a points penalty, but now is more related to an old and inadequate pavilion. The Mote Cricket Club is nowtrying to raise big funds for a new pavilion on the existing site –


Beat the criminals IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE PHONE: Police: 01732 771055 Crimestoppers: 0800 555 111


Thieves smashed patio doors


at a property in Old Mill Road, Hollingboure, and stole a coffee table. A blue and black Barracuda Jacana mountain bike chained to a pole in Peverel


Drive,


Bearsted,was stolen. A quantity of


Kent peg tiles were stolen from East Lenham Farm, Ash- ford Road, Lenham. The 2,500 tiles were in a barn. Oil was stolen from a storage


tank at Ulcombe village hall in Headcorn Road, Ulcombe. A number plate was stolen from a blackAstra car parked in Gentian Close,Weavering. Power tools were stolen after thieves forced open the garage doors of a dwelling in Marston Drive.


Damage was caused to a black


Land Rover estate parked overnight on the driveway of a property in Ashford Road, Bearsted. The lock was forced on a red Metro car parked in Frithwood


Close, Downswood, and the ig- nition barrel damaged. Two white youths, aged 17 to 18, are suspected.


Cheques/cards and jewellery


were stolen from a property in Windsor Close, after thieves gained entry through the front door. Asilver Ford pick-up, 03-reg, was stolen from a nursery in Ashford Road, Bearsted.In a separate incident at the same location, bay trees


and shrubs were among items stolen.


Charity bags left outside Little


Treasures nursery in Willington Street, were stolen. A white Transit panel van, 56-reg, is sus- pected of being involved. Front and rear number plates


were stolen from a grey Fiat Pi- casso parked at Bearsted Golf Course,Ware Street. Two silver-colour metal hang-


ing baskets with flowers were stolen from a property in Weavering Street,Weavering. Trunking was removed and electric cable was stolen from an outbuilding at Paynes Stores at Swanton Farm, Swanton


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330 


with encouragement from Maidstone Council. But there aremountains to climb. Maidstone needs a huge busi-


ness and sporting lift. The chal- lenges currently are immense.


Been to Saltwood? I HAVE enjoyed visits to


many of the best British castles – but none made such a deep impression as a recent tour of Saltwood Castle in the village near Hythe. It was the home ofAlan Clark,


the rakish MP who died almost 12 years ago and is buried in the grounds. Now it is runwith such dedi- cation, energy and charm by his widow Jane (68). She leads pre-booked group


tours with infectious enthusi- asm – and I doubt if any visitor leaves without the greatest ad- miration, both for her and the fifth-century castle and its mag- nificent contents. How does she fit so much


in?


Street, Bredgar. Two brass and copper plant


pots and a television were stolen after thieves forced open the rear door of a property in Eastwood Road, Ulcombe. A fuel storage tank was dam-


aged during the theft of diesel oil from a property in Ashford Road, Hollingbourne. A wooden bird table was


stolen overnight from a rear garden at Lichfield House in Westmorland Road, Power tools were stolen from


a warehouse at William Lillico & Sons Ltd, The Forstal, Bed- dowWay, Aylesford. Copper telephone cable was


stolen from a grass verge on Chatham Road, Sandling. Lead was stolen from the roof


of The Harrow Hotel inWarren Street, Lenham. Four batteries were taken


from two agricultural diggers on land opposite Boxley pump- ing station.


For all your security needs


Amiga Fire & Security Ltd


01622 725225


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East 31


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