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Maidstone Town Edition March 2013 No.192 Owner’s fury as burglary suspect freed


POLICE chiefs have promised to investigate after the suspected burglar of a property in Bearsted was held by the homeowner, then released by officers with- out charge. Estate agent Tim Ferris (53)


waswoken in the small hours of a Saturday morning by an in- truder trying to get into his home in Thurnham Lane. He kept the man holed up in


his porch for almost half an hour until the police arrived – only to discover later that they had let him off scot-free. Mr Ferris says he was told by police that the incident was “a


mistake” and the trespasser, a 40-year-old man from Tenter- den, was drunk. But Mr Ferris, who has busi- nesses in Bearsted and Penen- den Heath, believes it was an attempted burglary, as he found a man trying to force the inner door of his back porch. “First they tried to tell me that


theman had been drunk, but he didn’t appear drunk to me,” said Mr Ferris. “Then they said it was a mis-


take and the man had been trying to get into the wrong house. By shouldering the door? Surely a normal personwould use a key.”


Stephen’s marathon bid to help big cats


DOWNS Mail editor Stephen Eighteen is preparing to run this year’s London Marathon for Wildlife Heritage Foundation – and needs your help.


WHF, located between Headcorn and Smarden, works to ensure the big cat species of the world are pro- tected from extinction. There are more than 45 big cats, including African lions, Sumatran tigers, jaguars, North Chinese leop- ards and Amur leopards. It costs £1,750 per day to run the charity, which relies on donations, fundraising and revenue from the occa- sional Big Cat Experiences it hosts.


To get to Mr Ferris’s detached property, the intruder would first have had to scale an elec- tric five-barred gate and cross an expanse of gravel drive be- fore heading round to the back of the house – not the most ob- vious door to use. Mr Ferris (pictured) believes


the town’s police are over- stretched and considered the in- cident not sufficiently important to pursue–aclaim denied by a police spokesman, who added: “Following the complaint, we are carrying out a full review of the incident.”  Full story – page 24


Hospice boss in hospital


KATE Bosley, chief executive of Heart of Kent Hospice, was seri- ously injured while cycle training in Tenerife. The


50-year-old


mother-of-four, who has led the Aylesford-based charity since 2007, spent two weeks in intensive care in a hospital on the holiday island but, as Downs Mail went to press, her condition had improved and she was able to be transferred by air ambulance to Maidstone Hospital. A spokeswoman for HOKH


Sponsoring Stephen (33) to run his first marathon on April 21 could make a world of difference to these endangered animals. Stephen said: “Running the London Marathon has been a burn- ing ambition of mine for as long as I can remember so it was about time that I finally bit the bullet, instead of enviously watching thou- sands of others complete it every year. “For a few years I have been going on hour-long runs every day


Downs Mail editor Stephen Eighteen with Mia, a three-year- old cheetah


before work so the main test has been increasing the mileage. For making this possible I must thank the earlier, and dreaded, 5.10am alarm call! “This charity is undoubtedly one of the best-kept secrets of the


Kent countryside. Anything you can offer would be greatly appreci- ated and would go directly towards a great cause based locally.”


You can sponsor Stephen’s marathon run online by logging on to


uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StephenEighteen. If you are a taxpayer WHF can claim an additional 25% in Gift Aid. If you would prefer to donate by cheque or cash, then please


make cheques payable to WHF and send them to the following: Stephen Eighteen, Mail Publications Ltd, Forge House, Bearsted Green Business Park, Bearsted, Maidstone, Kent ME14 4DT.


01622 750733


www.monkeyhair.co.uk 10 St Faiths Street Maidstone


BIG IN OAK The Big Yellow Building, St Peters St, Maidstone 0800 652 0102 www.lincolnfurniture.co.uk


A LEADING Maidstone plan- ning consultancy is promoting the recruitment of a former KCC planning expert to help appli- cants move – or remove – pub- lic rights of way. Matthew Garvey, who worked


as a public rights of way officer with the county council, joined DHA Planning, based at Eclipse House in Sittingbourne Road, Maidstone in June last year. The company has issued a pro-


Viagra case nurse keeps hospital job


P8


told Downs Mail: “Kate’s family are delighted she is now near home and they are enjoy- ing seeing her being able to do a little more each day.” The accident hap-


pened on February 18. Kate, who lives near Maidstone, has raised more than £10,000 for the hospice in a number of long-distance cycling


events.Roger McCorriston, chair- man of the board of trustees at HOKH, said: “We were devas- tated to hear of Kate’s


Firm offers to remove footpaths


motional flyer saying: “There are times when the route of a public right of way can cause difficul- ties for landowners and other in- terested parties. Public rights of way can, in certain circum- stances, be legally diverted or ex- tinguished. Our experience shows that clients want to di- vert or extinguish routes for a multitude of reasons, from bet- ter land management to devel- opment.”


Council tax to go up across borough


P20 P14


P6


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