‘Manipulative’ ex-teacher jailed


A FORMER Aylesford teacher has been jailed for two years after she used her daughter’s fingerprints to try to hide a criminal past. Samantha Bur-


mis (45) of Bell- man Avenue, Gravesend, tried to conceal her criminal record in an effort to win more than £1 million from an employment tribunal claim. At Maidstone Crown Court, Burmis was sentenced to 18 months in prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice and a further six months for ob- taining a pecuniary advantage by deception. Burmis had been pursuing an


MACKENZIES café bar inWest Malling has been sold to high- end bakery and café operator The Hungry Guest. Outgoing owner Mike Ward- Lewis, owned the business in the High Street for several years but closed it down at the begin- ning of 2013 to retire. Agents Christie and Co said


the prime freehold site had an asking price of £775,000 and at- tracted many offers. The Hun- gry Guest, that operates in Petworth,West Sussex, had tar-


employment tribunal claim against KCC for unfair dismissal and racial and sexual discrimi- nation. The dispute related to her employment as a teacher at Aylesford Sports College, be- tween 2001 and 2005, and for which she was awarded £21,788 in compensation. She had hoped to get as much


£1.2 million, but was awarded less because it was discovered she had been imprisoned for a year for fraud in 1995, but had failed to declare this when ap- plying for teaching posts. Burmis decided to fake her fingerprints to clear her name, in the hope she would then be awarded more compensation. She complained to Kent Po- lice that she had been wrongly


identified as a person having previous convictions and in 2008 arranged for an independ- ent expert to take her finger- prints. When the expert arrived at


her home, her daughter, Nina Burmis (23) appeared with her face concealed so only her eyes were showing. She produced a driving licence in her mother’s name but gave her fingerprints. The pair’s deception was un- covered because police also held records of Nina Burmis’ fingerprints. Samantha Burmis was found


guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice at Maid- stone Crown Court on July 2. She was also convicted of ob- taining a pecuniary advantage


Food firm has café deal on the menu


highest average household in- comes in the UK. Andrew Moore, of Christie


Mackenzies is on a prime site


geted West Malling due to its affluent demographics. With Kings Hill nearby, the town is said to have one of the


and Co in Maidstone, said: “Rumours abounded about who had bought the property, with suggestions including Dominos andKFC–which wouldhave caused horror in this quaint High Street. “I am sure the town will be happy with the outcome and am equally certain The Hungry Guestwilldoverywellinits newest location.”


by deception, in relation to money she earned while em- ployed as a teacher atAylesford. Nina Burmis, who was also


found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. DS Sam Hudson-Gool said: “Samantha Burmis has been shown to be a very manipula- tive person. She has used de- ception to obtain employment and by proving she was of good character and with no criminal record she would also have ap- peared more credible with the on-going employment tribunal. This would have had the poten- tial of affecting the level of com- pensation.”


Drink driving scheme


AMONTH-long drink and drug driving campaign saw 18 peo- ple arrested in the Maidstone area and five in the Tonbridge and Malling area. Kent police launched the campaign with its partner agen- cies on June 1. Aswell as usual patrols, static road checks were used for the first time at places where officers believed they were most likely to catch of- fenders. But 72 motorists were stopped at a road check on the A20 in Ditton and none gave a positive test for alcohol.


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