News Bearsted crash
carnowcleared A VWPassat that left the road and overturned in Bearsted, landing in a hedge, has finally been removed. Aremoval noticewas slapped on
the car after it had been in the hedge for a week. Police then said efforts to contact the driver had been unsuccessful. Maidstone Borough Council
served the removal notice, giving the owner three working days to recover the car, and it was finally removed. A spokesman for the borough
council agreed with residents that the crashed vehicle had become a bit of an eyesore on the approach to the village. The spokesman added: “We
served an immediate removal no- tice on the car, giving the owner three days to remove it. If it is still there on Monday, which allows ample time to recover it, then itwill become an issue for the county council’s waste team. We will, however, continue to chase KCC on behalf of residents until the ve- hicle has gone.” A spokesman for Kent Police
said: “We have carried out a num- ber of checks following the acci- dent on May 29, including calling local hospitals and visits to an ad- dress believed to be linked to the car. But, as yet the driver has not been located. “No offence was committed but
we are keen to talk to the driver to dismiss any concern that the mo- toristmay have been hurt.” The vehicle was removed over theweekend of June 8-10.
Leeds Castle statues stolen
TWO men have been charged over a theft from Leeds Castle – but police are still looking for the pair of cast iron statues they stole. The two stag statueswere taken
at about 1.15pmonMonday, June 4,when it is alleged theywere put into the boot of a car. The statues are around 4ft high and black. The day after the theft, Jonathan
Fuller (35) and Jack Denby (30), both of Merchant’s Way in Can- terbury, were arrested and later charged with theft. They have been bailed to appear before Maidstone Magistrates on June 22.
Anyone with information on
the whereabouts of the statues is asked to call Kent Police on 01622 604100, quoting casefile reference YY/3347/18/CA. Alternatively, they can contact Kent Crimestop- pers anonymously on 0800 555111.
4 Maidstone East July 2018
downsmail.co.uk
Cast iron letter box is stolen fromvillage site
COUNCILLOR Michael Stark thought he was going mad when he walked fromhis home to post a letter on theA20 at Bearsted. The Thurnham councillor, pic-
tured, told DownsMail: “I walked up to the bus stop area as I do reg- ularly to post a letter, and thought, ‘Silly idiot, you must have walked past the box! ‘. But on retracing his steps, he re-
alised the box had disappeared, with just a hole in the ground marking the spot. He reported thematter to the po-
lice, his NeighbourhoodWatch co- ordinator and the RoyalMail. But he was concerned at the re-
sponse he received from Royal Mail, particularly in light of his fear that the box – along with its con- tents – had been stolen. He toldDownsMail: “I called the
Royal Mail and, after about a five- minutewait,was connected to one of their agents, who seemed quite unconcerned bymy story and said that Iwould probably be contacted after a day or so. “Quite frankly, I find such an at-
titude unacceptable. The girl may well have been working to some predetermined plan concerning such events, but one would think that such a happening would be a matter of some urgency.” Downs Mail also reported the matter, and Cllr Stark’s fears that
CllrMichael Stark found a hole in the ground when he went to post letters
the box – and the letters inside – had been stolen were finally con- firmed by
postie Daniel
Humphreys, who was out on his rounds. He said: “Itwas an old-style cast
iron box. It must have been taken some time after it was emptied on Saturday and before we went to empty it on Monday, June 11. I guess it will be replaced, but I’m not surewhen.” A Royal Mail spokesman said: “The theft of this boxwas reported
to me by one of our collectors on Monday, June 11 at 4.30pm. The last time it was seen by our collec- tion team was Saturday, June 9 at 12.45pmand to datewe have no in- formation on itswhereabouts. “This incident was immediately
reported to the police…but unfor- tunately I cannot give a timescale for the replacement. “The box has been temporarily
suspended pending the new box fitting andwe apologise for the in- convenience caused.”
Invicta lad’s Hong Kong posting
AN enterprising sixth-former from Maidstone has won the chance to attend summer school in Hong Kong. ThibauGrumett (18), fromInvicta
Grammar Schoool, will be winging hisway to the ChineseUniversity of Hong Kong after successfully demonstrating his business acumen in a high-profile competition run by theHong Kong Economic and Trade Office. The Grove Green resident will be
sponsored to study in the city for six weeks, after producing a leaflet that put him among the winners of the competition. It was entitled “Hong Kong: The best destination for start- up entrepreneurs”. Thibau is pictured receiving his
prize at a presentation in London on June 6. Julie Derrick, head teacher of In-
victaGrammar School, said: “We are delighted for Thibau. He seizes any opportunity to explore all elements of enterprise;we have no doubt that hewill followinthe footstepsofAlan Sugar and Richard Branson. “To be able to combine this attrib- utewith academia and a natural in-
terest in travel and languages, as well as his exchange visits at school to Hong Kong,will set Thibau up for his next steps verywell. “We cannot wait to see what the
outcome of the summer school will be, but knowing Thibau, itwill be re- ally very good.”
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