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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 leavehim 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 other men were assaulted when they tried to intervene, before the of-


fenders 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.”


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,


Tovil, ran the business side of the or- ganisation inNormanRoad for nine years.Whenit ran into financial dif- ficulties, hewaived his salary of up to £24,000, but after he left, it was discovered finances had been mis- managed, with £137,000 owing in tax and National Insurance. 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 CrownCourt heard thatAustenwas now receiving only palliative care. 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.


Young achievers rewarded


Continued from page one amazing young woman who,even while sitting her A-levels, volun- teered on the Urban Blue bus on Saturday nights in Maidstone. She is a first aider with the Red Cross and has been a proactive member of St John Ambulance. She cares for her mother, her brother and her family since her mother became ill when Josie was just eight. She was described as being in- credibly kind-hearted and selfless,


with the ability to remain positive and relaxed in all situations. Josie has mentored and supported other young carers, offering advice and homework help. Zoe was described as a talented


young woman who had overcome many challenges to become cre- ative in arts and crafts. She has a studio where she practices tapes- try, felt, rag and crochet work. Her parents are very supportive, al- though their front room is over- flowing with her creations.


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