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Gambler stole money from her employers
AWOMANwho defrauded her employers of almost £1million to fund a gambling addictionwas jailed for three years and four months.
X Factor star
visits school PUPILS at Kings Hill School were thrilled when X Factor finalist Anton Stephans visited to open the school’s recording studio. Parents and the Kings Hill School Friends raised £2,500 to transform a music room to incorporate music technology so that children could record their own songs. The school will also be working with Music Station to teach children to use the software to produce their own music. A spokesperson for the school
said: “Not only will the children enjoy learning about music compo- sition using the latest technology, but this will also enable them to work with each other and supports our whole school value of coopera- tion.
“The children are very excited
about using the equipment andwe hope to have a whole school song competition once we all have de- veloped our own songs.”
WI birthday
AYLESFORD and Eccles WI will be holding its 10th birthday party at the Brassey Centre, Station Road, Aylesford at 7.30pm on Wednes- day, February 24. Violinist Victoria Yellop will en-
tertain and there will be party food. Members from neighbouring WIs will attend. For more details, contact Eileen
on 01622 715205 or see the group’s Facebook page.
Caroline Dumont (57) worked as
a bookkeeper for three companies based in Aylesford and Longfield and regularly stole money from them between February 2012 and November 2014. One of the firms went into liqui- dation, while a director of another lost the money he had intended to retire on. The boss of plant hire company
Tara Holdings and laterAylesford- based Tara Ltd used his own sav- ings to keep the business afloat and save 40 jobs, including Dumont’s, and suffered dramatic effects on his health and personal life, Maidstone Crown Court heard. Dumont, from Swanscombe, ad- mitted three counts of fraud by abuse of position. The thefts came to light after the
director of Tara Ltd began to query why the business did not appear to be in a better financial position, de- spite a period of significant growth. Dumont’s
work was au- dited when she went on holi- day, when it was discov- ered that she had made 312 fraudulent transactions to- talling £713,000. She was immedi- ately dismissed and other companies where she had worked were alerted. Tara Holdings and Tara Ltd lost
a total of £902,594 and Steadfast Carpentry, based in New Ash Green, lost £33,016.
Detective Constable Craig Malt-
house said: “It soon became clear that Caroline Dumont’s spending on gambling was extreme, as her bank records showed daily trans- actions thatwere typically between £2,000 and £3,000. “Her dishonest actions have had
a huge impact on those who placed a huge amount of trust in her by giving access to their financial ac- counts. “She badly betrayed those who
viewed her as both a competent colleague and friend, and her ad- diction to gambling is no excuse for the vast amount of money she stole.” The court heard that the money
had gone and Dumont was now living in a council house with just £1.50 in her bank account.
Three hurt following caravan blast
A GAS leak is thought to have caused a fire in Addington that left a family with serious burns and re- sulted in the death of their dog. The family had joined the South London Caravan Club’s annual meet in the grounds of Addington Village Hall to celebrate the new year. The three occupants suffered
burns and the couple’s daughter serious injuries following the blaze at 8.40am on New Year’s Eve. A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue described the fire as severe, having taken hold rapidly follow- ing a gas explosion that destroyed two motor homes and caused dam- age to a third. The fire is not being treated as suspicious and is believed to have
Fire takes hold of three caravans at Addington Village Hall car park on New Year’s Eve
been the result of a leaking gas ap- pliance, which ignited. All three members of the family were taken to hospital. Another dog travelling with the
family escaped. Damagewas caused to windows, gutters and the car park at Adding-
ton Village Hall, but the use of the building was not affected. A spokesman for the Caravan
Club said: “We are aware of the in- cident and are doing all we can to support the family – whilst re- specting their privacy at this diffi- cult time.”
Triathlete feels benefit of new oxygen therapy
A LARKFIELD triathlete has bene- fitted from a new health treatment used by sportsmen including Wayne Rooney. Ditton-based runner Ellan Iaquaniello (43) turned to The Oxy- gen Clinic to aid her recovery after taking part in a series of marathons and cross-country events. After hearing about the clinic through her running group in Larkfield, she started with one ses- sion of hyperbaric oxygen treat- ment (HBOT) a week for three months to see how it eased the wear and tear on her body. The treatment is proving benefi-
30 Malling January 2016
cial to people suffering everyday illnesses and conditions such as di- abetes. It can also help with healing after surgical procedures, aswell as recovery from sports-related in- juries, according to Dr Robert Pen- der, who runs Paddock Wood-based The Oxygen Clinic, which is the first private clinic of its kind in Kent offering HBOT. HBOT patients breathe 100% oxygen in high-pressure atmos- pheres – a combination that causes large amounts of oxygen to be dis- solved in the blood and tissues, al- lowing it to revitalise tissues that receive poor blood flow.
The treatment is widely used by sportsmen and women including Team GBathletes, footballerWayne Rooney and tennis star Novak Djokovic. Ellan (pictured) said: “HBOT has
had a significant impact on my re- covery time, allowing me to return to multi-day marathons and events feeling 100%, compared to the usual fatigue I felt withoutHBOT.” Dr Pender said: “We also treated
a young footballer who had dam- aged lateral ligaments in his ankle. The normal recovery time is 16 weeks, but with HBOT this patient fully recovered in three.”
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