downsmail.co.uk Ipad gifts for


young patients REPRESENTATIVES from Pro- Health Therapy Rooms in Maid- stone have handed over equipment worth £4,000 to the Riverbank chil- dren’s unit at Maidstone Hospital. The moneywas raised through a charity evening at The Townhouse Hotel in King Street, which cele- brated the company’s third birth- day. The event, attended by about 150 clients, included a charitywax- off, a raffle and auction, a barbecue and fire breathers. ProHealth owner Nicola Elliott


said: "We were able to buy 12 Ipads, cases, security stations and iTunes vouchers and we hope that the children on the ward will get lots of enjoyment from them.” Health play specialist Vicki Bel-


ton said: “The Ipads will be used to keep the children calm and happy whilst on the unit.”


M25 death


A MAIDSTONE motorcyclist was killed in a collision on the M25 in Essex, near the Dartford crossing. Paul Garner (53) was involved in


an accident with an HGV. Stana Caltun (35) from Romania


was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and remanded to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on November 23.


Campaign to clamp down on scammers


AHIGH-profile campaign is being launched in Maidstone to alert res- idents to the dangers of scammers. Recent research has revealed that scammers are making more than £10 billion per year from a variety of scams, tricking unsuspecting householders out of their savings and


hard-


earned cash. The youngest known victim in Maidstone is 47 and the eldest aged 98 – but many victims are so embar-


rassed at having been duped, they are unwilling to admit it. Martin Sherwood (pictured), community warden for Bearsted, Harrietsham and Lenham, spent two hours with one elderly lady who said she had been too afraid and embarrassed to tell her family what had happened. He said: “It’s important that these


things are talked about openly in families so everyone is aware of what is going on and what kind of


tricks are out there.A reluctance to discuss it is one sure sign that some- thing is going on and people need to be aware of that.” Information packs, including a


DVD, are available as part of a na- tionwide alert “Think Jessica”, based on the story of one elderly lady whowas conned out of cash. Jessica was repeatedly tricked


into sending cash and making money transfers to criminals in the space of five years. When she died, aged 83, shewas stillwaiting for her promised prizes – and almost 30,000 scam letters were removed from her home. “Her family tried to make her un- derstand she was being scammed but the psychology the criminals used was so powerful that she re- fused to believe it,” said Martin. Although scammers tend to tar-


get the elderly and vulnerable, no- body is immune, he said. In one part of the country, a 17-year-old was tricked into parting with money. Kent County Council and the Trading Standards Institute have


joined forces with Action Fraud in the “Think Jessica” campaign and Martin, along with other commu- nity wardens, has advisory leaflets on the differing types of scam. These include lottery and prize


draw scams, clairvoyant scams, cat- alogue and brochure scams, courier scams, bank and building society scams, PPI scams, parcel delivery scams and prize-holding scams. If you have been caught out once,


the dangers intensify as scammers make lists of the people they have tricked – called “suckers lists” – which they then sell to other scam- mers worldwide, resulting in more mail and fake phone calls. They even create convincingwebsites. Martin said: “You do not have to


get into any discussions over the phone with anyone – and never give out personal information. Keep your business your business.” The Maidstone community war-


dens are happy to spend time ex- plaining the types of scams to concerned residents. Details of your local warden can be found on the KCCwebsite, www.kent.gov.uk.


News


Thinking about a new bedroom? Then think of us.


We have a large portfolio of extremely delighted customers thanking us for our excellent work We are a family run business and we don’t do hard pressure selling, just friendly expert advice and design and a value for money price.


www.bedroomflair.co.uk 01622 729855 169 Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8NA


Maidstone South October 2015 13


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48