News
Rent collector admits fraud
A LETTING agent who stole money fromtenants to fuel a gam- bling addiction has been jailed. LeeGrace (42) stole about £45,000
from customers in Kings Hill over the course of 15months. Grace, formerly of Clyde Road,
Croydon, was sentenced to 20 monthswhenhe appearedatMaid- stone Crown Court inOctober. He began his role as a lettings
manager in the area in late 2014, employedto collect rental fees from customers and large cash deposits on properties. But instead of paying the funds
to his bosses and landlords, he usedthemoney to gamblebothon- line and in betting shops. Grace disguised his criminal ac-
tivityuntil the fraudwasuncovered in February 2016 after a landlord raised concerns that he had not re- ceived any rent. Itwas then discov- eredthat asmanyas 44 tenantswere likely to have been affected. Grace admitted fraud and an-
other charge of transferring crimi- nal property contrary to the Proceeds of CrimeAct 2002. DCCraigMalthouse said: “Grace
didn’t stumble into criminality by chance.He is a repeat offender and took this job knowing it would give him the opportunity to steal and defraud.”
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Death drink-driver sent to prison for five years
A DRUNK who killed a man while driving 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 this year. He was behind the wheel of a
Toyota Corolla, when shortly after 3.00am the car was reported to have been seen heading in the wrong direction on the London bound carriageway. It later hit a VWTouareg, 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
169mg 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
Christopher Clement, below, was jailed for three years afterM20 madness
Councillors John Barned,Matt Burton, Gary Cooke andMarion Ring
d a n g e r o u s driving and pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court. He was sen- tenced to five years and four
months in prison. He was also dis- qualified from driving for five years and eight months and will have to take an extended retest to drive again. PCChrisOliver-Jones ofKent 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. “Clement’s reckless actions have
resulted in the death of a young manwho had hiswhole life in front of him. I hope today's outcome pro- vides some comfort to his family. “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. I’d like to reassure the public that we will do everything within our power to bring offenders to justice."
‘Help us to save HeatherHouse’
A MUCH-loved community cen- tre at Park Wood in Maidstone is to be shut by the borough council. Heather House in Bicknor Road,
which is a favourite venue for the Heather House Short Mat Bowls Club,will close its doors forever on November 30, despite a fight to keep it open. Maidstone Borough Councillor
Matt Burton has been fighting to keep the facility on until a replace- ment can be found. But a council officer - who esti-
mated immediate repairs to be around £20,000 - decided itwas no longer fit for purpose and ordered that no further bookings beyond October should bemade. Cllr Burton and county council-
lor Gary Cooke remain hopeful they can persuade Maidstone Bor- ough Council to reverse the deci- sion. He said: "Over the past few
months, I have been in discussions about a replacement for Heather Housewhich iswell-used and very popular in an area not exactly com- ing down with community facili- ties. Gary and myself wanted to explore the cost ofmaintaining the facility while a replacement was
found. Then, out of nowhere, the officer visited the site and said uni- laterally that hewas going to shut it down. Surely it isworth to pay the money to fix the faulty boiler and other repairs to keep it alivewhile a plan to replace it is solidified. "I am disappointed, naturally,
but I remain hopeful that we can persuade the council to reverse the decision." Aspokesman forMaidstone Bor-
oughCouncil said: “Following dis- cussionswithward councillors and users of Heather House the final decision concerning the future of the community centrewill be taken at the next Communities, Housing and Environment Committee on theNovember 14.” Committee chairman councillor
John Barned said: “Whilst we ap- preciate that Heather House is an important community resource, the cost of immediate and long-term repairs to the fabric of the building are vast. “Given the pressures on council
budgets it is not a financial com- mitment thatwe should undertake without looking into all options first and deciding the bestway for- ward.”
Has ‘cat killer’ struck again?
A SICKENING attack on a family pet has raised concerns that the muti- lation of a cat inMaidstone could be the work of a repeat offender. In August and September of last year, two animals were killed in the
same way in the Sutton Road and Grove Green areas of the town. Their tails had been cut off. In the latest incident, themutilated body of nine- year-old Tilly was left in a neighbour’s garden in Whitmore Street. Her tail had also been removed in the attack onMonday last week. A familymember described the attack as clearly deliberate and not the
work of another animal. The heartbroken owners say they have been left struggling to come to
terms with how someone could inflict such pain and are warning other pet owners to be on their guard, and have suggested cats are kept in overnight. Contact Kent Police on 01622 60410.
12 Maidstone December 2017
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