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Cricketer joins pavilion appeal


FORMER England and Kent legend Derek Underwood helped Teston cricket club launch its appeal for a new pavilion with a speech that un- derlined the attraction of the game at grassroots level. The club needs to raise at


least £30,000 – in addition to any assistance itmay get from Sport England – if it is to re- place its aged,woodenpavilion at Barham Court. Underwood, who went on to becomeMCCpresident after a glittering career, recalled how he fell in love with the sport when, as a young teenager with Farnborough CC, he and hisbrother dismissed Deptford for a total of just 9 runs. He took 7 wickets for 6 and his brother3for3.Hewas too


Drug arrests at


disused pub SIX people were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences when police raided the derelict Upper Bell pub in Blue Bell Hill village. Officers entered the building


after obtaining a search warrant following reports of anti-social behaviour at the property. A 44-year-old man from Chatham was arrested on sus- picion of theft, possession of a controlled drug and allowing premises to be used to supply drugs. He was later released without charge. A 33-year-old woman from Rochester, a 33-year-old man from Gillingham and an 18-year- old woman from Maidstone were all given cautions for pos- session of a controlled drug. A 41-year-old woman from Maidstone was charged with possession of a controlled drug and bailed to appear before Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on January 15. A 28-year-old man was given


a penalty notice for possession of cannabis. Inspector Nick Sparkes said:


“We had received reports sug- gesting drug use was taking place at the property, and that invariably causes other anti- social behaviour. ” The pub faces demolition


after being targeted by squatters and vandals. Applicant Darren Clarke has notified Tonbridge andMalling Council that the pub should be knocked down because of the risk of third party occupancy and the general disrepair of the structure. He said the work would be mainly manual, to recycle and salvage as much as possible. A planning application con- cerning the future use of the site would be submitted.


12 Malling


young to be allowed in the pub to join his brother and dad to celebrate, and had to sit out- side with a drink. “We had to walkhomeafter. Iwas learning about cricket,” he joked. The launchevent, in TheBull,


East Farleigh,was attended by more than 50 people including local businessmen and Teston's borough councillor FayGooch. Earlier that day, ap- peal organiser Ralph Skinner had received an email from Mark Wellbelove, chief execu- tive of Kookaburra Reader, ap- proving the idea of a future pavilion at the Barham Court ground being named in honour of Alfred Reader, who started his cricket ball factory in the centre of Teston in 1808. The appeal got off to a flying


start when former player and factory worker Don Newick (80) handed over a £2,500 cheque – part of the proceeds of a win on the horses (Downs Mail, November 2012). Itwas followedbyanauction


of three items, including a Reader ball signed by Under- wood,whichattractedwinning bids totalling more than £600 from supporter Peter Dolan, a regular at the club’s First & Last watering hole in Maid- stone. Friend of the club NickElliott


also donated £1,000, and Cllr Gooch contributed £100 from hermember’s fund. To donate to the appeal,


email club secretary peteweb- ley@blueyonder.co.uk or call him on 07985 214513.


Cricketing legend Derek Underwood with Louis Skinner and Don Newick


Man stranded by theft of scooters


A LARKFIELD pensioner was robbed of twomobility scooters in a “heart-wrenching” bur- glary. The 72-year-old, who suffers


from arthritis, was devastated by the theft of his maroon four- wheeled vehicle with flashing lights, valued at £1,000. Also stolen was a blue scooter


worth £300, which had be- longed to his sister before she died. He had kept it for senti- mental reasons and as a back-up to his main scooter. He told the


police it had been signed by several footballers. Burglars entered his shed in


Abery Drive sometime between December 15 and 11am on De- cember 19, when the thefts were discovered by the victim’s son. Also missing was a glass table with a laptop compart- ment, valued at £50. Inspector Nick Sparkes said;


“To take an elderly man’smeans of transport so close to Christ- mas shows the heartless bur- glars in this case have no


Quality mark for nurseries


NURSERIES and pre-schools in the Tonbridge and Malling area are among 68 across Kent that have been rewarded for their work. Seven establishments in the borough have received the Kent Quality Mark, a quality assurance scheme where nurseries and pre-schools evaluate and reflect on their own practice. Hadlow Community Pre- School, in the grounds of Had- low College, Tonbridge Road, and Lunsford Park Pre- School, in the George Holding Centre, Chaucer Way, Lark- field, received the accredita- tion this year, while Mrs B’s Pre-School in Norman Road, West Malling, had its previous accreditation renewed.


Continued from page one “The trust’s target is to have no


more than 49 cases from April 1 this year to March 31 2013 – a 23% reduction on 2011/12 (64 cases). The cause of all but two of the 40 cases has been traced back to using antibiotics to treat an ex- isting illness, and C-diff infection has been caused as a conse- quence.Two casesmayhave been


Every member of staff at the nursery or pre-school is in- volved in the assessment and a number of tools, including case studies, are used to find out how well each setting is doing. This year case studies revolved around working with parents, superhero play, engaging boys in effective learning, transition to school and the national Forest Schools programme, which aims to encourage and inspire children through positive out- door experiences. Mike Whiting, KCC’s Cabi-


net Member for education, said: “The Kent Quality Mark is a really valuable way to en- courage the nurseries and pre- schools in Kent to raise their game and strive to improve.”


C-diff brings review of antibiotics


caused by cross-infection. “While excellent hygiene re-


mains absolutely essential, the full force of the trust’s fight against C-diff has turned towards antibiotics both as a cause and a cure. It is using targeted antibi- otics such as vancomycin to treat known C-diff carriers, and limit- ing the use of broad-spectrum an- tibiotics that can cause infection.”


concern whatsoever for their victim’s needs, happiness or his health.


“No-one could condone this


crime in any way. “It is particularly heart- wrenching that one of the scoot- ers had once belonged to the victim’s deceased sister. It held great sentimental value to him and he is desperate to get it back.” Call Kent police with infor- mation on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.


ATM scam alert SHOPPERS were reminded to beware of ATM scams after a card machine in Snodland was tampered with. A man got his card stuck in


the cash point in the High Street. When he tried to retrieve it, a grey plastic slot which had been spray painted silver came away in his hand. Police said the device was similar to gadgets used for skimming, recording the user’s PIN details. Officers advise anyone who


used themachine to check bank statements. Anyone with infor- mation on the Snodland inci- dent can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.


Charge dropped A SENIOR police officer who was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting will not face crimi- nal charges. Supt Rachel Adams was sus- pended from duty as area com- mander ofMedway police after she was arrested at Kings Hill on August 27. A Kent police spokesman


said: “Papers were submitted by Kent Police to the Crown Prosecution Service, who de- cided not to charge thewoman, as they believe a prosecution would be unsuccessful.”


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