News Gymmedal
MAIDSTONE’s Courtney Tulloch finished an impressive eighth in the World Gymnastics Championships inMontreal. Tulloch, who trains at Pegasus
Gym Club, was hoping to become Great Britain’s first medallist in the rings at the event. However, hewas unable to get on
the podium, finishing the event in eighth place. Tulloch celebrated his 22nd birth-
day the day before the final in Canada, andwas the youngest of the eight competitors to reach the final. He narrowlymissed out on a spot
intheRioOlympics, buthasnowgot his sights on forthcoming World Championships in Doha and Stuttgart, ahead of the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
Man found safe
A 72-YEAR-OLD man reported missing fromMaidstone on Septem- ber 17 has been found safe. Kent Police thanked members of
the public who assisted with the search for CliveMace,whowas last known to have been in the Barming area ofMaidstone at about 8.15pm. Hewas described aswhite, 5ft 8in
tall, of stocky buildwith short, grey hair and a grey beard. He had been missing for around three weeks be- fore hewas located.
downsmail.co.uk
Marshals back on the street amid gang fears
STREETmarshals are to be back in Maidstone in the coming weeks amid concerns over safety in the town centre. The county town has been tar-
geted by London drug gangs in re- cent months, with a number of youths fromthe capital arrestedand chargedwith drug-related offences. The streetmarshal schemewas tri-
alled in July and heralded as a suc- cess, and they will now be back on the streets in the comingweeks. The move follows the death of
Wayne Chester (50) in Week Street on September 30. He is believed to have been killed by a single punch outsideMcDonald’s restaurant. A16-year-old boy,who cannot be
named, has since appeared in court chargedwithmurder. There have been a number of inci-
dents in the High Street, and some suggestions that gangs are involved. Ilsa Butler,OneMaidstone’s town
centre co-ordinator, confirmed that themarshalswill be coming back. “We have agreed six further day
time sessions with the police be- tween now and Christmas, in addi-
tion to night time sessions every pay day weekend and taxi marshals everyweek,” she said. “We work with Maidstone Bor-
oughCouncil,who supply an excel- lent CCTV service, and Kent Police, who provide uswith invaluable ad- vice on howto keep the town safe. “MBC has implemented a Public
Space ProtectionOrder that has pro- vided enhanced powers to address anti-social behaviour in the town centre. Our police officers and PCSOs are some of the hardest working in the county.” Themarshalswere onduty on five days duringAugust and September,
between noon and 5pm, and night patrols happen between 1am and 5amone Saturday amonth. But as the Christmas shopping
and party season approaches, she insistsMaidstone is a safe place. “Maidstone has a nationally
recognisedbusiness crime reduction partnershipwith 140 businessmem- bers across the town, all ofwhomare connected via our radio network. “The partnership works together
to keep their premises safe and se- cure for their customers.With police resources as stretchedas they are, it’s more important than ever that we work together.” That is a view shared by Nigel
Downes, co-ordinator ofMaidstone Street Pastors. Thepastors –who are volunteers –
are on hand to help people in dis- tresswhile onnights out inthe town. “My view is that Maidstone is a
safe place,” he said. “The terrible death the otherweekwas an isolated incident.” KentPolicedeclinedto answer our
specific questions on gang-related crime inMaidstone.
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Maidstone November 2017
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