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downsmail.co.uk Songbird delights villagers


OFTEN the inspiration for some of the most famous poetic lines, the song of the nightingale is con- sidered the most beautiful of all the birds.


Rarely seen, the songbird enchants


the listener with a broad range of sweet notes, rising and falling in fast succession from the undergrowth where it prefers to skulk. Once associated as a lament from ancient Greek mythology, the in- creasingly scarce nightingale is now so seldom heard in Britain that its audience are just glad of the chance to hear its song. David and Monica Wrattan were


walking back from the village pub in Leeds on a Sunday evening in mid- June at about 9.45pm, when they were stopped in their tracks by the fluting notes. The couple went straight home


Concert finale to family fun


LENHAM’s Family Festival fin- ished on a high with a concert at the Tithe Barn. The City of Rochester Symphony Orchestra (CRSO) put on an in- spired programme for a summer’s evening, with the first half featuring the Alice Suite, by Jacob Bride, con- ducted by Ben Knowles, according to Jim Myers, from the village’s Focus newsletter. He said: “Based on Alice in Won- derland, it provided wonderful op- portunities for dancers from Lenham Primary School and, dur- ing the interval, a chance to admire artwork on scenes from Alice by pupils, with every child making a contribution.” The second half of the concert on Saturday, June 17, featured classics, concluding with the finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No 7. Profits from the ticket sales and


the barwent to festival charities: The Katie Piper Foundation, Lenham Primary School and the CRSO. Jim said: “It was a memorable


evening thanks to Jerome Sadler and his wonderful musicians.”


Village status


OTHAM Parish Council has ap- plied to Maidstone Borough Coun- cil to designate the village as a “Neighbourhood Area”. This is ahead of the council pro- ducing its own neighbourhood plan, highlighting areas appropri- ate for development. A copy of the application, a map


of the area and a supporting state- ment can be viewed on the parish council website and village notice boards. The borough council invited com-


ments but the deadline for these has now closed.


4 Maidstone East July 2017


to hear them quite a bit in the village, but I haven’t heard one around here for many years. “Therewas definitely two of them singing somewhere close by. Butwe haven’t heard them since.” Audrey Browne, a keen bird-


and checked the calls online to make sure itwas a nightingale. ButMrWrattan,whoprepares the wickets for Bearsted and Leeds & Broomfield cricket clubs, is con- vinced itwas not one, but two birds. He said: “Many years ago, I used


watcher and neighbour of the Wrat- tans, said: “It was wonderful to know that a nightingale has been heard in Leeds.” Although the summer visitor is


notuncommonin parts of Europe, it has been on a steep decline formany years in Britain. It is slightly larger than a robin


and a dull brown colour, and breeds mostly in theWest Country and east


from Dorset into Kent. The nightingale is a secretive bird, preferring the safety of a thicket or deep cover. The insectivore arrives on these


shores to breed in April and sings well into June (often at night) before starting the migration back to sub- Saharan Africa from July through to September. The nightingale in now on the red (endangered) list of UK birds com- piled by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) wildlife conservation charity.


Have you seen or heard a nightin- gale in your area? Call 01622 734735 or email info@downsmail.co.uk


24,000 crimes ‘left unrecorded’


KENT’S chief constable has apolo- gised after an official report re- vealed that 24,300 crimes went unrecorded last year. Her Majesty’s Inspector of Con- stabulary (HMIC) showed 16% of all crimes in the county were not logged. Victims were not well-served,


says HMIC, and 20% of violent crimes were not recorded, as were 400 sex assaults and 10 rapes. The Police and Crime Commis-


sioner for Kent Matthew Scott said the force’s failings must be “re- solved urgently”. Ukip spokesman Eddie Powell directly blamed budget reductions for hampering the force’s ability to perform its duties. But he does not believe Chief Constable of Kent Alan Pughsley should resign. Mr Pughsley admitted that the


Cllr Eddie Powell and Kent Chief Con Alan Pughsley


report made “disappointing read- ing” but says he has “responded quickly” to make the changes needed to improve the accuracy of crime recording. He added: “There are a number


of instances where although we have not recorded a crime,we have responded to the victim’s needs, conducted an effective investiga- tion and provided safeguarding to the victims.


£50k fine for calls


A MAIDSTONE firm behind nuisance calls has been fined £50,000. The Information Commis-


sioner’s Office imposed the penalty on MyHome Installa- tions Ltd for pursuing people who had specifically opted out of telephone marketing and re- ceiving cold calls. The ICO received 169 com- plaints about calls from the com- pany to phone numbers listed on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), the UK’s official opt-out of marketing register. The complaints involved un-


wanted calls about electrical sur- veys and home security. An ICO investigation discov-


ered that MyHome Installations used data it had bought over 18 months from third party compa- nies to market its services. These companies told the security business that the personal de- tails had been screened against the “no call” register. But MyHome Installations,


which is based near the 20/20 business park in St Leonard’s Road, Maidstone, said itwas un- able to provide any evidence of consent, due to a previous mar- keting manager historically buy- ing the data. Steve Eckersley, ICO’s head of enforcement, said: “This com- pany blatantly ignored its re- sponsibilities.”


“All of those crimes thatwere not recorded have been thoroughly re- viewed and safeguarding has been put in place. “I would like to apologise to any


victim who has not received the service they were entitled to. “However, on reviewing the recording decisions from this last year, it is apparent there have been administrative errors in thewaywe have been recording crime which has not been in line with the guide- lines.” Mr Powell said: “I don’t believe


that Alan Pughsley should resign but what he should be doing is say that ‘enough is enough’, that the force is cut to the bone, they need more help and need more money.” PCC Mr Scott said: “What this


shows is really vulnerable victims of crime are not getting the service they should rightly expect.”


Garden show


GREEN-fingered fans will be able to check out the competition at Lenham’s Garden Show. Flowers, vegetables and flower arrangements will be on show at Lenham community centre, with special accolades up for grabs in novelty classes, including the longest runner bean and funniest shape vegetable. Doors open to visitors at 2pm on Saturday,August 12, with a chance to feast your eyes on homemade jams and cakes in the various cate- gories. Light refreshments will be available.


Competitions are open to resi-


dents in the Len Valley area; entry forms are available from Lenham Library and several shops in the village, with a closing date of 8pm on Friday,August 11.


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