News


downsmail.co.uk Policewarn of rogue traders


KENT Police have issued crime prevention advice after reports of rogue traders in theMaidstone area – including onewhere £1,000was demanded for gardenwork a resident did notwant done.


Incidents have been reported in


Coxheath, Lenham and Shepway in the past week of uninvited tradesmen – some even starting work without permission. With that in mind, Kent Police


have issued the following guide- lines to help residents avoid be- coming victimto rogue traders. Do not dealwith doorstep callers offering work on your home or garden and never pay in cash; Check that the tradesman is from the company they say they are from; Ask for quotes in writing;  Ring more than three traders to get a feel for an average price for the job;  Remember traders must give


NewM&S


M&S has confirmed it plans to open a newstore inMaidstone. The new outlet will be on the


EclipseRetailPark, stepping into the spot formerly reserved byWaitrose. Charlotte Hall, store manager at


M&SMaidstone, told DownsMail, the decisionwill create a bigger and better offer for fans of the brand in the town. She added: “We’ve been serving customers inMaidstone for over a 100 years andwe’re really ex- cited about our plans to open a new store at the Eclipse Retail Park. “The whole team will stay with


M&S and, should the plans go ahead, the newstorewill also create new jobs.We’ll make sure we keep the community updated as plans progress.” M&Swill continue to sell clothing


and food from its main high-street store, butwill shut the smallerWeek Street shop.


Drug arrests


TWO London men have been ar- rested in connectionwith supplying cocaine and heroin. Kent Police say a 20-year-oldman


from Clapham and a 21-year-old manwith London connectionswere arrested near Holland Road at 4pm on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. A quantity of drugs believed to be heroin and cocainewere seized and themen remain in police custody.


Ward renamed MAIDSTONE Borough Council is proposing to rename its Barming ward to Barming and TestonWard, although there are no changes to the existing boundaries. It comes at a cost of £1,000 to the rate-payer.MBC claims the changewill “better reflect the area’s community identity”. Public views arewelcomed.


28 Maidstone November 2017 Lions’ final load of aid goes toUkraine


EIGHT tonnes of aid is making its way from Maidstone to the Ukraine to help the thousands still suffering from the after-effects of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. The town’s Lions Club has been


collecting supplies for the poor and sick of Belarus for 10 years. Here people still suffer from the effects of the Chernobyl disaster


31 years on, and many children are in orphanages due to the low life expectancy of adults. This will be the last collection for


the area, which was hit by the dis- aster on April 26, 1986. Malcolm Luxton, from


Maidstone Lions Club, said: “Much of the soil in this region is still contaminated and many adults


are very sick. “The aid sent this year will be


sorted by the Lions Club in Gomel, Belarus, and sent to the orphanages and people in need.” Over the past 10 years the Lions


have sent more than 100 tonnes of aid to this area and equipped a ward with new beds at one of the orphanages.


Balloon lands in field


THE red air balloon flying over Maidstone on Monday landed safely between trees in a small field in Bearsted. Borough councillor Val


Springett called the Downs Mail to let us knowthat allwas well with the Virgin balloon and its basket of passengers after we asked online where it came to ground. Cllr Springett said: “I stood


and watched it for some time and grabbed a few photo- graphs before it landed in Eliz-


abeth Harvie Field, behind Crosskeys. “It came down very carefully.


I gather the pilot was looking for somewhere to land but be- cause therewas so littlewind it opted to come down in the parish council field.” Parish councillor Richard


Ash provided the key to unlock the gate and was handed a £50 cheque for the parish council for his troubles. Cllr Springett said: “I thought it was a nice gesture.”


you written notice of your right to 14 days cancellation when agree- ing to do work at your home, in- cluding work gained from a cold call; If you believe a doorstep crime is happening or about to happen call the police on 101 or 999 in an emer- gency. The first incident happened at


9.20amon Friday,October 6,when two men were reported to have visited an address in Park Way, Coxheath, and one of themstarted to clear the gutters without asking the owner if theywanted thework done. The residents decided to pay as


thework had already been started. Then, on Monday, October 9,


four men visited an address in High Street, Lenham, and started work in the garden that the occu- pier did not want done. The men then demanded £1,000 in cash, and the woman left to go to the bank. But no money was subsequently paid and themen left the scene in a yellow van with a white cab. One of the four was said to have


a Welsh accent, another a foreign accent and the other two could not speak English. Finally, at about 2.45pmon Tues-


day, October 10, Kent Police re- ceived reports of


two men


knocking on doors in Oxford Gar- dens, Shepway, offering to check doors and windows to see if they needed upgrading.


Both were described as white, in


their late 20s to early 30swith large builds. One had light ginger hair and the other short dark hair. Police added: “For advice and in-


formation, members of the public should contact the CitizensAdvice Consumer Service on 03454 040506, or visit www.citizensad- vice.org.uk. “Kent County Council Trading


Standards recommends checka- trade.com, online or call 0333 0146 190, for reputable Kent traders. “Anyonewith information on the


incidents described above is asked to call Kent Police on 01622 604100 quoting 9-648. Alternatively con- tact Kent Crimestoppers, anony- mously, on 0800 555111.“


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