News Festive offer


PARKWOOD residents facing the prospect of being alone on Christ- mas Day are invited to a free turkey dinner at the Fusion Café. It’s the idea of a group who live


in the area and meet every month for a game of bingo. They told the Downs Mail that they hope the free gesture will ensure Christmas Day is one to remember, for everyone. The initiative has now received further support and funding from county councillor Gary Cooke and a band of volunteers who will be helping on the day. There will be a welcome drink, dinner, with all the trimmings, and Christmas pudding or trifle, fol- lowed by mince pies and coffee. Spaces will be allocated on a first-


come first-served basis. Call Del on 07833 754013 or community worker Aimee Bartlett at Fusion on 01622 691177.


Santa to visit


SANTA will visit the Crafty Grafty Christmas craft fair at Grafty Green Village Hall on Sunday, December 4.


Handmade goods will be on sale


and there will be cake stalls, jew- ellery, cards, gifts, a raffle, hot drinks and mince pies. The event runs from 11am to


3pm. To book a stall, send an email to carolhulm@gmail.com.


downsmail.co.uk


Travellers move on from M20 services after month


A GROUP of travellers who moved onto a patch of grass in the car park of the M20 junction 8 Roadchef service station have left, a month after arriving. They are believed to have been


moved on around November 11, after trying the patience of the landowners. Police had been powerless to


move them on as it is private land and no crimes or disturbances had been reported. At one point up to 20 cars, vans, motorhomes and caravans had been parked up on a patch of grass in the main parking area near the services, which houses Costa, Mc- Donald's andWHSmith. Roadchef had been in contact


with the police to have the trav- ellers moved on. Kent Police said it was a civil matter and up to the landlord to ask them to move on if they are unwelcome. No offences or disturbanceswere reported. One regular user said they have kept the site they occu- pied "spotless". The landowner may have had to apply to magis-


The travellers on the land at the M20 services at junction 8


trates to get an eviction order. Aswell as using the area of grass,


the travellers parked vehicles in the main car parking spaces. One regular user said at the time


they had been there a fortnight: "They don't appear to be causing any harm but they just seem to have set up camp and unless and until they are moved on, they'll stay.


“That’swhat the travellers do, it’s


all pretty well-rehearsed. But in fairness to them, they've kept the place pretty spotless." A litter-picker regularly emptied the travellers’ bins and kept the site


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tidy. When they did leave, there was a large gas canister, a pair of shoes, wrappers, drinks cans and other litter on the grass. The ground at the entrance to the grassed area was left muddy and churned up by the vans, low load- ers and 4X4s which came andwent. Kent Police said: “The area is pri-


vate land and the owners are the ones who have to apply for them to be moved.We have sent patrol ve- hicles into the area from time to time to make sure there were no problems.” The travellers' presence was first reported on October 12.


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