News


Two jailed for nightclub aack


AMAN and a teenager have been jailed for a total of more than three years after they violently assaulted staff outside a Maidstone night club.


Arran Treeby


(right) and a 17- year-old male set upon their victims after they had fin- ished a shift at Strawberry Moons,


in


Gabriel's Hill. The attack occurred at about 3.30am, after one of the victims had tried to stop the pair stealing his bi- cycle. When he asked them to leave the bike alone the pair grew increas- ingly aggressive, before the victim was violently attacked. He was punched to the ground by them both, with enough force to leave him suffering a broken jaw. A woman who pleaded with his attackers to stopwas also beaten and knocked to the floor, then left bleed- ing heavily from a broken nose.Two othermenwere assaultedwhenthey tried to intervene, before the offend-


ers ran down Gabriel’s Hill. Officers were called to the scene


and the teenager was stopped and arrested. Treeby was then stopped by members of the public and also taken into custody. The pairwere sentenced at Maid-


stone Crown Court, having both previously pleaded guilty to four counts of assault. Treeby, of Sunder- land Drive, Rainham,was sentenced to two years and three months in prison. The teenagerwas jailed for a year.


Detective Craig Malthouse said:


“Thiswas a completely unprovoked and mindless attack on a group of people relaxing after they had fin- ished work. Their attackers were looking for an excuse to fight and set upon the first people they could find. They struck one of the victims so hard that he had to have a tita- nium plate inserted into his jaw. “I’m grateful to the victims, who


have shown the courage to give evi- dence and help us ensure these two have faced justice. I would also like to thank the members of the public whobravely assisted us in detaining these violent offenders.”


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downsmail.co.uk Fraudster spared jail


THE FORMER chief officer of Age Concern Malling has been spared jail for stealing £200,000 from the charity because he is suffering from terminal cancer. KeithAusten (65), of Tovil Green, Maidstone, ran the business side of the organisation in Norman Road for nine years. When it ran into fi- nancial difficulties, he waived his salary of up to £24,000, but after he left, itwas discovered finances had been mismanaged, with £137,000 owing in tax and National Insur- ance. Austen, formerly of Detling, ad-


mitted defrauding the charity, now known as Age UK, between March 2009 and September 2011. His plea was entered shortly after his wife


died of cancer, and Maidstone Crown Court heard that Austen was now receiving only palliative care for the disease. He was excused attendance for


the court sentencing when he re- ceived a two-year jail term sus- pended for one year. The prosecution put the stolen amount at £217,553, although Austen said it was £63,000. The court heard that he had invested a great deal of time, effort and deter- mination in the charity over the years and had signed over property and cars to make good the losses. He had previously held impres-


sive positions with Bexley Health Authority and University College in London.


Line-dancing for the over 50s


KENT Active Retirement Association (KentARA) will be celebrating 20 years of line-dancing classes for the over 50s at Larkfield Village Hall, New Hythe Lane, this year. A new class for beginners will be held each Monday at noon, followed by


an easy class at 12.45pm and amore advanced class at 2pm. The groupwelcomes all over 50s to join in the fun. Proceeds will help to


fund new active retirement clubs in Kent, and there are currently 84. Formore details, contact KentARA founder and past president Gerald Benham on 01732 870715.


Formore local news www.downsmail.co.uk


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8 Malling January 2016


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