News Arrests follow


burglary claim POLICE have arrested two men and a woman after a Maidstone resident said his garage had been burgled. Kent Police were called at about


9.15pmonMonday, September 24, to reports of suspicious activity at an address in Maidstone Road, Teston. The areawas searched and amo-


bile phone was found that was be- lieved to have been dropped by one of the suspects. A 29-year-old woman from Bex-


hill-on-Sea, Sussex was stopped while driving a car on the A21 at Lamberhurst and arrested in con- nectionwith the burglary. A 24-year-old man from St


Leonards-on-Sea and a 33-year-old man from Hastings, Sussex were also arrested near the A21 at Kip- pings Cross on suspicion of bur- glary. All three were later released pending further investigation.


Dogs are stars


LEYBOURNE Chase hosted a Doggy Day to raise money for the Rosina animal centre. The day was organised by a


group of residentswho had hoped for between 100-200 people, but were blown awaywhenmore than 500 people turned up at the event. More than 160 dogs took part in


pedigree and novelty competitions, and therewere stalls, a bouncy cas- tle for children, raffles and beer provided by a local brewery. Organiser Lizzie Humphries


said: “It was wonderful to see a huge number of people helping in somanyways and local businesses donating their time and money in the form of sponsorship, stalls and/or raffle prizes. “It truly was an event by the


community for the community, and we are so pleased with the fundswe raised for RosinaAnimal Centre.”


Bridge death


A WOMAN in her late teens has died after falling from the M20 bridge at Larkfield. The motorway was shut for sev-


eral hours while police and ambu- lance crews attended the scene at Lunsford Lane. She was pronounced dead and


her next of kin have been informed. The incident happened at


10.10pm on Monday, October 1, and the M20 was closed by High- ways England until 5.30am. A report is being prepared for


the coroner. 12 Malling October 2018 Pupils’ colourful cash run


A COLOUR run at Offham Primary School has raised £2,736 to upgrade the school’s decades-old toilet block. The family fundraiser saw children and adults covered in colourful


paint as they ran through dye stations on the school playing fields. The school’s head, Emily John, described the afternoon event as “ex-


citing and vibrant”. She added: “The children have worked hard to gain sponsorship and


we have also received fantastic support the school community.” The school, which has been rated “outstanding” by Ofsted, is now look-


ing forward to re-running the event next year. An organiser added: “The fundraiser was a great initiative to encour-


age children and their families, to spend time outdoors, and raised an amazing amount of money for the school’s refurbishment works.”


downsmail.co.uk


MP calls for action on ‘bullying’ debt chasers


MP TOM Tugendhat claims he has been hounded by an energy company’s debt collectors formoney he does not owe.


Mr Tugendhat, pictured, signed


up to Economy Energy after find- ing a better deal through an online switching site, but cancelled his contract about a year ago. He claims the company sent him


the wrong final bill and, despite thinking he had resolved the prob- lem, a firm of debt enforcers were called in to reclaimthemoney. The member for Tonbridge and


Malling said the debt collectors have been calling almost every day for the past twomonths. He released a statement saying:


“As a victim of Economy Energy’s practices, I want to make sure that others, particularly vulnerable peo- ple, do not fall for harassment and bullying by companies chasing people formoney they do not owe. “Every company has an obliga-


tion to act fairly and not to ask peo- ple to pay money that they do not owe. “Conducting a campaign of in-


timidation against anyone, regard- less of who they are, is not accept- able and should stop. “I look forward to sharingmy ex-


periences with Ofgem to see what they can do to prevent others from facing the same situation as I have.” According to a press release from Citizens’ Advice in December,


2017, Economy Energy ranked bot- tom of the organisation’s league table of energy suppliers between June and September 2017, scoring 1.85 out of a possible 5, and again between October to December 2017, scoring 1.2. A source at Selectra, which han-


dles customer queries on behalf of Economy Energy, told Downs Mail: “It has not really been good customer service and, more re- cently, Economy Energy hasn’t been answering any telephone calls at all.” Economy Energy was ap-


proached for a comment, but had not responded by the time the DownsMailwent to press. Last month, Economy Energy


was criticised by the highly-re- spected MoneySavingExpert.com website for hiking energy prices by more than £300 a year. A spokesman for the site described themove as “ghastly”.


Drugs charge


pair in court A 67-YEAR-OLD father and his son have been charged on suspi- cion of heroin dealing in Maid- stone. Officerswere called to a car park


off Sandling Road on March 19 after reports of suspicious activity. They searched a vehicle and an


address believed to be connected and a large quantity of cash, sus- pected heroin and a device be- lieved to be a stun gunwere found. Kyriacos Achilleos and Andreas


Achilleos (41), both from Christo- pher Road, Chatham, were ar- rested and bailed pending enquiries. Theywere re-arrested on September 18. Both men have now been


charged with possessing heroin with intent to supply and possess- ing the stun gun. Kyriacos Achilleos is also chargedwith being concerned in the supply of heroin. The suspects appeared before


Medwaymagistrates on September 19, andwere remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to the charges. The case has been adjourned to


Maidstone Crown Court on Octo- ber 17.


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