News


Man held on knife charge


DETECTIVES have charged a man with attempted murder, following a knife-related incident in Barming. Kent Policewere called at 7.20pm


on Monday, October 2, to allega- tions that a man had been stabbed in Heath Road. Officers attended the scene and


the victim, in his 70s,was taken to a London hospital with injuries later described as not life-threatening. John Lowe (51), of no fixed ad-


dress, was arrested and also taken to hospitalwithminor injuries. He was later transferred to a po-


lice station before being charged with attemptedmurder. Lowe was remanded in custody


to appear beforeMaidstone Crown Court on November 1.


Drugs duo held TWO men have been chargedwith pushing heroin and cocaine. Ricky Hagger (31) and James


Packham (20) were arrested in Westree Road, Maidstone, at 3.05pmonWednesday,October 18. A quantity of drugs believed to be heroin and cocaine was later seized, say police. Hagger ofMackendersClose, Ec-


cles, and Packham of Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, were jointly charged on Friday,October 20with possession of heroin and crack co- cainewith intent to supply. Hagger was also charged with


driving dangerously and without insurance. Bothmenwere remanded in cus-


tody to appear before Maidstone Crown Court on November 17.


Sex order breach AMANhas been remanded in cus- tody after a breach of a sexual of- fences prevention order. Jamie Stevens (30) was arrested


on Thursday, October 5, following the alleged breach of the order on October 4. Stevens, of no fixed abode, was


charged and appeared before Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on Friday,October 6,where hewas re- manded in custody until his next court appearance on a date which is still to be confirmed.


Handbagburglary


A MAN has been charged follow- ing a burglary inMaidstone. Benjamin Cooke (31) has been


charged following a burglary at an address in Cambridge Crescent on September 26, where a handbag and contentswere stolen. Cooke, of no fixed address, was


arrested on Monday, October 16, and was also charged with a theft of alcohol froma supermarket. He was bailed to appear before


Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on Friday, November 17.


20 Maidstone Weald November 2017


downsmail.co.uk


Death crash driver is nowserving 5 years


ADRUNKwho killed aman driv- ing the wrong way on the M20 motorway has been sent to prison for five years. Christopher Clement (37) was


twice the legal alcohol limit follow- ing a head-on collision onMarch 4, 2017. He was behind the wheel of a


Toyota Corolla, when shortly after 3am the car was reported to have been seen heading in thewrong di- rection on the London bound car- riageway. It


later hit a Volkswagen


Touareg,which had been travelling in the correct direction at a location between junctions three and four. Mohammed Chowdhury, who


was a passenger travelling with Clement, died at the scene. Blood tests show Clement had


169 mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood – the legal limit is 80 mil- ligrams. Traces of cannabis were also detected in his blood and al- though levels were below the legal limit he admitted to consuming the drug prior to driving. Clement, of Orpington, was


charged with causing death by dangerous driving and pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court onOctober 18.Hewas sentenced to five years and fourmonths in prison. He was also disqualified from driving for five years and eightmonths and will have to take


Christopher Clement (left) and (above) the vehicle he was driving is picked up on camera travelling the wrong way on theM20


an extended retest


to


drive again. PC Chris


Oliver-Jones of Kent Po-


lice’s Serious Collision Investiga- tion Unit said:


“Christopher


Clement should never have been behind thewheel of a car. “After the collision, witnesses


told us he wasn’t aware he had been driving thewrongway on the motorway. Driving under the in- fluence of either drink or drugs not only devastates the lives of victims and relatives, but also ruins the


lives of offenders. In this instance, Clement’s reckless actions have re- sulted in the death of a youngman who had his whole life in front of him. I only hope today’s outcome provides some comfort to his fam- ily. “I hope this sentence also serves


as a warning to anyone who is under the influence of alcohol and is considering getting behind the wheel. It simply isn’t worth the risk. Mistakes like this cost lives and I’d like to reassure the public that we will do absolutely every- thingwithin our power to bring of- fenders to justice.”


Award brings back MP’s marathon memories


MAIDSTONE andWealdMP Helen Grant took a trip down memory lane to present awards to long-dis- tance runners at an event organ- ised by theMaidstone Harriers. An estimated 500 took part in


the full and halfmarathons organ- ised by the athletics club at Corn- wallis Academy in Maidstone on Sunday (October 15). And theMP and formerMinister for Sport was at the finish line to


congratulate them. She said: “The last time I ran a marathon was a few days before my first General Election, in London, in 2010. “It was pretty tough but I re-


member the joy and achievement of finishing, the camaraderie of the other runners and the enduring support of spectators along the way.” She described the Harriers’


course as “clearly very demand- ing”. The winner of the full marathon


was Bradley Cameron, fromThanet Roadrunners AC, who put in a per- sonal best after training for 39 days straight, running about 80 miles a week. Pictured left with Helen, he said:


“This was my best result by a long mile but it was a tough course be- cause of all the hills. I reached my first wall at about mile 21 but the whole of the last three miles was very testing.” He says he is now feeling confi-


dent to go for the Malaga Marathon on December 10.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48