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Woman jailed A WOMAN who assaulted six po-


lice officers has been sent to prison for a month . Kayley Skelton was sentenced at Mid Kent Magistrates’ Court where she admitted criminal damage but denied six counts of assaulting a po- lice officer and one count of assault- ing a person assisting a police officer. She was convicted of the offences by magistrates.


On May 27, 2016, the 29-year-old assaulted three police officers and a person helping the police at a coun- cil building in King Street, Maid- stone. On June 16, she assaulted a police officer in the same building and between June 21 and 22, she damaged a shop window valued at £450 at a service station in Sutton Road. On July 4, she assaulted two police officers at an address in Sut- ton Road.


Curfew order


A MAN convicted of assault in a Maidstone pub has been ordered to stay at home every night for four months. Matthew Edwards, of Hampshire Drive, denied assault, but was convicted by magistrates. He assaulted a man at the Market Buildings pub on July 24 last year. He was sentenced to unpaid work and given a curfew. He must also pay £250 compensation, £250 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.


Snow thieves THIEVES used heavy snowfall to


stage the theft of a 17.5ft fishing boat. The Warrior 175 craft called Cat-


tfish was stolen from a farm in Wier- ton Hill, Boughton Monchelsea, between 10pm on Thursday, Janu- ary 12, and 3am the following day. Kent was experiencing its first heavy snowfall of the winter at the time. The white vessel, which weighs about a tonne, has a blue stripe along its side and a blue tilted cover. Kent Police are investigating the theft.


Friends’ songs THE Friends of St John the Baptist's


Church, Harrietsham, are holding an evening of music with the Rain- ham Ladies’ Choir on February 18 at 7.30pm. The choir will sing popular classics, show songs and choral music. Refreshments are included. Tickets are available from Stephen Morris on email: chairman@friend- sofstjohn.org or call 01622 850948.


Barn dancing A BARN dance is to be held in


Barming in aid of the RNLI . John and Karen Sweeney will pro- vide the music at Fant Community Hall, Fant Lane, Barming, at 7.30pm on March 4. Tickets are £10 and in- clude a ploughman's supper. Call John Ashbolt 01622 725435 or Alan Cocks 01622 761004.


News


Fringe festival aims to get the town rocking


THEcounty town’s pubs and clubs will be alive to the sound of music in May when the seventh Maid- stone Fringe Festival is staged. Billed as a celebration of the di-


versity of new and original music, the event will be held over five days during the May Day bank holiday. From all-nighters to gentle, fam- ily-friendly entertainment in cafes and coffee shops, organisers hope there will be something for every- one. A local auction company and the business support group One Maid- stone will be supporting the Fringe. Much of the entertainment will be free to attend. So far, a number of town centre


venues have come on board, includ- ing The Music Room – Pizza Ex- press, Molly’s Bar, The Stag and the Social Chill Bar. Among the acts which have been confirmed are The Dredgermen, The Scorchers, Petty Thieves and the Narratones. Former X-Factor finalistBen Mills,


from Chatham, pictured, has been confirmed in the line-up. A Maidstone Fringe Festival


Confirmed so far:


ARTISTS confirmed to play are: The Scorchers, One Day Elliott, TV Smith, Molly’s Bar, Ben Mills, Funke & The 2 Tone Baby, Esk Forte, The Dredgermen, Fowokan, The Soundcasters, Petty Thieves, The Narratones, Clea Llewellyn Trio,The Lowly Strung, Connor Noble and David James Rumsey.


spokesman said: “It follows on from its predecessors in celebrating the diversity of new and original music in Kent and the south-east. “During five days over the May-


day Bank Holidayweekend, the fes- tival will be filling the county town’s numerous pubs, clubs and music venues with live acts from across many different genres. “Incorporated within the festival


are a number of all-day events and dance all-nighters, aswell as family -friendly entertainment in cafes and coffee shops in the town centre.” The festival will put on a wide va-


VENUES confirmed so far are: The Style & Winch, 4 Degrees, The Druids Arms, The Flowerpot, The Source Bar, The Stag, Drakes, The White Horse, The Cellars, The Music Room - Pizza Express, Bar 6, The Royal Albion, Frederic, The Duke Of Marlborough, the Social Chill Bar.


riety of music from rock, indie and pop-punk, through to acoustic and blues acts, ska and reggae, contem- porary folk, funk, soul, dance and hip-hop.


More information can be found at FACEBOOK: maidstonefringe- festival or click onto www.maid- stonefringe.com


First winter snow brings headaches on the roads


WITH the first scenic snows of winter came chaos on the roads. Whilst it was a serene vista for folk looking out over the Weald or Mote Park, for many journeys the experi- ence was far from idyllic.


Just two inches of snow fell be-


tween January 12 and 13 but it wrought havoc on the highways where Kent Police said there were 188 crashes in Kent - 11 in Maidstone and 11 on the M20. The M20 and A20 were described as hazardous with some social media commentators questioning the county’s gritting policy. A car transporter came off the A249 early on January 13 and al- though the road was initially shut and re-opened, it had to be closed again – during rush hour – as the ve- hicle was pulled from a ditch. The driver was unhurt. The acci- dent caused huge problems for mo- torists throughout the day. A family was left homeless after a car crashed into their house in Lucerne Street, Maidstone, at about 7.20pm on Jan- uary 12. No one was hurt. A white Fiat Punto hit the front door of the property and a 22-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of


This serene scene of snow in Bearsted contrasted sharply with the chaos on the A249, which had to be closed


drink-driving. There was gridlock in Leeds vil- lage as one vehicle was abandoned and another struggled to make it up the hill near the George Inn pub, causing massive tailbacks in both di- rections. Villagers later suffered an electric- ity blackout for more than an hour. In other parts of Maidstone and else- where, streetlights on the sides of the roads flickered on and off as snow


and gusting winds played havoc with power networks. Social media was alive with criticism of the British inability to cope with a minor fall of snow. Have your say! Drop a line to the editor or use our social media pages: @DownsMail on Twitter or click onto www.facebook.com


Maidstone Weald February 2017 25


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