News PoliceHQscare


A KENT Police headquarters area was evacuated after reports of a suspicious package.


Itwas received in the office of the


Kent Police and Crime Commis- sioner,MatthewScott and his staff.


The PCC staff and those in adja-


cent buildings were cleared at around 10am.


Kent Police said: "Staffwere tem-


porarily relocated from part of the headquarters estate whilst the package was assessed by a Min- istry of Defence explosives ord- nance disposal team.The package was found not to be harmful.”


Gone to blazes


FIRE crews attended two blazes in Penenden Heath in less than two hours of each other onAugust 5.


In Chattenden Court, three peo-


ple needed treatment for smoke in- halation after a bedroomfire.


A man and woman in their 60s


and aman in his 30swho had been overcome by the smoke. The prop- erty suffered fire, smoke andwater damage.


In the evening, in Barnhurst


Road, a first floor blaze was extin- guished after an hour. There were no injuries. Crews left at 7.45pm.


downsmail.co.uk


Warning to boaters as seal spoed in river


A SEAL has been spotted swim- ming in the river Medway be- tween East Farleigh and the Allington Lock. The animal was spotted by local


river boaters, who notified other users in an effort to keep the seal safe fromany accidental harm. Local wildlife experts say it is


“most likely” to be a common seal, but why it travelled so far up- streamfromthe point atwhich the Medway joins the Thames estuary beyond Sheerness and the Isle of Grain is not fully understood. River Medway Boaters posted


on Twitter: “A seal has been spot- ted in the river between Farleigh andAllington locks. “This is not that uncommon and


has been seen a few times before, but please navigate with care. They tend to follow boats up from the tidal side and will soon follow themback down. Thanks.” Ray Lewis, of the Kent Wildlife


Trust, told the Downs Mail: “It is not unusual to see seals, and this


Ray Lewis, of the Kent Wildlife Trust and left, a common seal


one is likely to be a common seal, at this time of year in the River Medway. “ “They will enter through the es-


tuary and travel upstream to go foraging for food. It is likely that the Medway appeals to them be- cause there are places where they can haul themselves onto the banks and shores. “Common seals are not strictly


marine dependent and are likely to have come into the Medway to


feed on fish and crustaceans. “You could argue that thiswarm


spell ofweather could have driven theminland to find food, ormaybe they have simply lost their way.” Sightings of seals are usual in es-


tuarine waters and have been re- ported at the Medway City Estate in recent years. A decade ago, a seal was affec-


tionately named “Simon” by locals after it made several visits to Allington Lock.


20


Maidstone September 2018


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