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in crackdown A SCOOTER seized by police offi- cers in Snodland will be destroyed as efforts to target nuisance bike riders continue. The vehiclewas confiscated after


News Scooter seized Rough sleeping bale


BETWEEN 60 and 70 people are sleeping rough on the streets of Maid- stone.


a large number of complaints about anti-social behaviour in the Clock Tower Mews area. PCSOs had stopped two youths


after they saw the red PGO scooter being driven through alleyways and footpaths leading into the es- tate. A 19-year-old man and a teenage boy, aged under 16, were issued with section 59warnings for anti-social behaviour and the scooterwas confiscated. PCSO Kim Lidbury said: “We lo-


cated the scooter thanks largely to the assistance of the local farming community, who reported the vehi- cle being driven into rural areas. The bike will now be destroyed and we are reminding anyone who ille- gally rides a motorcycle off-road to expect the same outcome.” Police said they were aware of


other complaints about nuisance bikers in the town, in areas includ- ing Snodland Community Centre and also near Malling Road.


Bike thieves


given jail terms TWO bike thieves who targeted stations including West Malling were jailed after trying to sell stolen goods to an undercover policeman. Derek Butt (31), of Abbey Place, Dartford, was sentenced to two years and Michael Barnes (32), of Victoria, Street, Belvedere, to 18 months in prison. They admitted conspiracy to commit theft after cy- cles valued at more than £10,000 were taken from across the South East.


Blackfriars Crown Court heard


how the pair drove to stations dur- ing the day in a mini van and used bolt-cutters to remove the locks of high value bikes secured in cycle racks. They targeted 10 stations in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and on a num- ber of occasions between June and August, 2013, met an undercover police office whowas offered stolen bikes for sale. Six stolen bikes were recovered.


PUPILS from Aylesford Primary School have won a national competition for designing a safe toy. Katie Ireland and Beth Proctor scooped first prize in the 6-11 age category for their Cheeky Charlie toy whichwas described by the judges as entertaining with fun comments.


The statistic was revealed to Maidstone’s night economy forum by officers from Maidstone Council who have been trying to get street sleepers and vagrants to “re-en- gage” with society. The council’s Sam Scales told the meeting: “There are a lot more peo- ple out there than we at first thought.” She said the council’s community


safety team now had a “massive” list of people who were begging and sleeping rough. Although some of thesemight have housing, most were homeless and were in- volved in drinking, drug taking or begging. The figure varied from week to week, she said, with some move-


ment in and out of the borough, but the figure of 60-70 men andwomen remained roughly constant. Ms Scales added: “Some of these people have mental health issues; they may indulge in substance abuse. The difficulty is getting them to visit a GP or re-engage with life. Their lives are chaotic. If they miss an appointment,we need to have a means of reining them in.” After months of complaints about


the escalating incidents of street begging, the council is now bidding for funds to provide basic, tempo- rary accommodation for the street sleepers, although Ms Scales stressed it would not be a “wet house” – a place where homeless alcoholics are left to eat, sleep and


drink as much as they wish. In some parts of America, wet houses are seen as a preferable eco- nomic alternative to leaving va- grants on the streets where they can be a burden on social, legal and medical services. Ms Scales said the council was


very pleased with the success of its outreach project but the next step was to find ways of resolving the problem. She said: “The next step is to look


at accommodation, enforcement and injunctions. We are getting there – but slowly.” The council has now issued a


plea for “basic premises” that can easily be washed down and cleaned to act as a halfway house.


Hungry foxes ‘wreck’ gardens


A SNODLANDcouple returned home from holiday to find their own gar- den and their vegetable garden trashed by foxes. Trevor and Denise Lingham live in


St Benedict Road and their veg- etable garden is at the house of their daughter and son-in-law,Hayley and Nick, in nearby Birling Road. Both are near the Dew Pond, an open space at the Groves. Their own gardenwas made good with a little work but the vegetable garden “was wrecked”. "Areas were dug up to bury their


booty, which ranged from eggs, pieces of meat in different states of decay and various carcasses," said Trevor, pictured checking for foxes. "Therewere faeces lying around and the stench of urine was overpower- ing in the warm weather. It was most disheartening as much of the produce was ready for picking and, as you can imagine, the plants that survived were hardly appetising." He added that the Groves area


had had to put up with an ever grow- ing fox population for several years and he asked the town council to ad- dress the situation. "The few notices asking people to kindly stop feeding the foxes have


Pupils’ dream toy is a winner


not had any impact and, in fact, they were removed. Action needs to be taken against the people who continue to encourage the foxes and a population control policy carried out by professional people is essen- tial."


Bob Eves of Gorham Close said


foxes get into gardens through gaps in fences and they have urinated on his lawn and killed the grass. His wife, Carol, left her slippers out overnight and one disappeared. "They bury things, particularly eggs," he said. "You see them wan-


The 11-year-olds both collected


£50 WH Smith vouchers and the school received another £100 worth of vouchers. The Playsafe competition is run annually by the Trading Stan- dards Institute. Teacher Sarah Bone said: “To


have a group of six children from the school reach the national finals was an amazing feat, let alone our two girls to win the national com- petition for their age group.”


dering around, especially late at night and they seem to have routes round the estate. There probably is a problem with people feeding them." Bob added that they seem to have


a favourite place at Dew Pond. He thinks the pond needs cleaning out along with the whole area round it. Karen Sowten, the chief executive


of the town council, said: "While I sympathise with the situation, foxes are classed as wild animals, not pests, and the council has no statu- tory powers or legal rights to eradi- cate foxes on private or other land. "The Dew Pond belongs to Ton-


bridge and Malling Borough Council and I have forwarded the concerns to them and they have arranged for the area to be cleared, which may help." Darren Lanes, head of leisure at


the borough council, said: “We have been made aware that food was being left at the Dew Pond. The council has placed signs on the site advising that food should not be left out for animals and will be under- taking a general tidy up of the area with their rangers involving cutting back foliage and litter picking.”


Squirrel problem


ADITTON resident has applied to cut back branches on a neighbour’s tree which are overhanging his property by 18 to 20 feet. James Vigurs, of 11 Ffinch Close,


told Tonbridge and Malling Coun- cil that the work is needed to in- crease sunlight in his garden and prevent squirrels gaining access to his roof and loft. The field maple, which has a tree preservation order, is in the garden of number 10.


Malling August 2014 31


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