News


Ramblin’ Man kicks off with ear-spliing Saxon


THE organisers of the Ramblin’ ManFair have announced an even bigger Friday night start to the open-air festival in Maidstone – causing concerns over noise lev- els.


Heavy metal heavy-weights


Saxon will headline on Friday, July 28, with the main arena at Mote Park opening at 4pm.


Borough council-


lor Mike Revell (left), who lives in the grounds of Mote Park, said he was unaware of the festi-


val’s bigger – and possibly much louder – line-up for the Friday night. Cllr Revell has recommended


that the speakers for the event are positioned so that the sound would be contained inside the arena. He added: “I don’t think that the council’s officers give two hoots about the residents who live close by and do notwant to upset the or- ganisers of the festival.


Festival-goers can look forward to even more music this year


“I attended the event last year


and the sound inside the arena it- selfwasn’t so bad, but thatwas be- cause most of itwas going over the top of my head.” The music could be heard as far


away as Langley, Kingswood, Chegworth and Harrietsham, and caused upset to many residents who live close to the park. One person disgusted by the


noise levels was Victoria Wallace, the former chief executive at Leeds Castle, who gave the organisers an “absolute mouthful”.


The organisers claimed: “After


the ‘storming’ and the very suc- cessful Friday night at last year's fair we realised we needed to get a much bigger stage for this year. So with that in mind we are opening up the main arena at 4pm.” Last December, chairman of Maidstone Borough Council’s cul- ture committee Cllr David Pickett said: “Large-scale events including Proms in the Park, Maidstone Mela and The Ramblin’ Man Fair pro- vide the opportunity for communi- ties to enjoy open-air, high-quality, family events right on their doorstep. “The Ramblin’ Man was particu-


larly successful this year (2016), with £2.5m income generated into the local economy and visitors from 23 countries. We are aware that these events may cause some disruptions to residents, butwe are committed to looking at ways to limit these impacts successfully.We hope the measures we put in place mean both visitors and residents can enjoy how they choose to


downsmail.co.uk OAP theft scam


- policewarning KENT Police are advising resi- dents to stay safe following reports of distraction burglars posing as of- ficers.


Detectives are investigating eight reports in the county – one of which happened in Coxheath – where men tried to pass themselves off as policemen at the front door. They then enter the homes of res-


idents to search for valuables. In an incident in Rochester on January 24, one man spoke to the victim while another said he was searched the property for items to ensure they were stored in safe lo- cations. When they left, the householder


discovered cash and jewellery had been taken. The first man is said to be white,


in his 60s, slim and approximately 5ft 7ins tall. Hewaswearing casual clothes and white gloves. The second man is white, aged


between 30 and 40, of medium build and about 5ft 7ins tall. He waswearing casual clothes. The offence in Coxheath took


place in Gresham Road between 8.50m and 9.20pm on December 9. Anyone with information can call


Kent Police on 01634 792209 quot- ing reference number XY/3742/17.


01622 829183


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