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Driving ban for dad stopped on night out


ADRUNKdad-of-one has been banned fromthe roads after driving into a dead-end street after a night out at a popular club in the county town.


Gerard Wasong (36), of Wood


Street, TunbridgeWells, appeared at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court after almost drinking double the legal limit. James Nichols told the court


that police had pulled Wasong over in Brewer Street at about 3am on October 26. A breath test recorded 62 micrograms of alco- hol. The legal limit is 35mg. The defendant told the court he


had been out drinking at the Dusk2Dawn nightclub in King Street and had only driven 150 yards up the road when he no-


Man charged


with car theft AMAN from Tovil has been charged following the recov- ery of a stolen car. Officers found a series of


stolen number plates from inside the stolen vehicle. On Friday, November 2 , a


Ford Focus was stopped by police on the A20 London Road, Allington. The vehi- cle’s owner had previously reported its theft from out- side an address inMill Lane, Chatham, between October 14 and 15. When the carwas searched,


officers discovered a set of number plates inside. These had also been reported as stolen, but from a different car, which had been parked inWharf Road, Tovil. Maciej Chociej (24), of


Church Road, Tovil, was ar- rested and subsequently chargedwith theft of amotor vehicle and number plates and driving with no insur- ance. He was further charged


with possession of cannabis andmaking off without pay- ment, after allegations of fuel bilking. He has been bailed to ap-


pear before Maidstone Mag- istrates’ Court on November 28.


ticed police behind him. Wasong told the court that hewas stressed that day, but still did not consider his driving “bad”. The PaddockWood warehouse


worker said: “Iwas trying to find my way around and saw a blue light behind me. The police offi- cer asked if I was lost and I told her I was trying to find my way home.” The defendant told the court


that both his family and his em- ployers relied heavily on his being able to drive. He had a wife and young


daughter andwas the only driver in the household, due to hiswife’s diabetes. Wasong told the court: “My job


will cutmy hours if I amdisqual- ified, as I won’t be able to go out and seemy clients, givingme less money to supportmy family. “I am not a rehabilitation type


of person, I do not need help and I’musually not the type of person to drink and drive.” Wasong pleaded guilty to the


charge andwas disqualified from driving for 18 months, and or- dered to pay a £368 fine.


News


Festive food, fun and visit


fromSanta THIS year’sMarden at Christmas event on Saturday, December 8, will involve half-a-dozen outlets and lots of festive cheer. The event opens outside The


Allens, off The High Street, with carol singing,morris dancing and the arrival of Santa from11.30am to 1pm. It then moves to the Memorial


Hall in Goudhurst Road from 1.30pm to 4pm, for a craft fair. The WI will be selling tea and cakes, and there will be a chil- dren’s roundabout. Santa will hand out free gifts for those chil- dren aged up to 11. Visitors will also have the


chance to throw sponges at the devil,whowill be held securely in stocks, atMarden library,while a Nativity scene and Christmas trees will be on display at the vil- lage church,whichwill be serving hot soup. TheUnicorn pubwill be selling


mulled wine and mince pies, while at the West End Tavern, Anno gin and turkey burgerswill be the order of the day. Marden Village Club will also


be providing refreshments to vis- itors from10.30am. The event is organised byMar-


den Parish Council, with Christ- mas gifts funded by Marden Business Forum.


Young cricketers’ success Diner with a


TESTONCricketClub celebrated the emergenceof their youngplayersas the stars of the future. For the first time, all three individ-


ual performance trophieswerewon by teenagers – Matt Fairway topped the batting averages, Toby Allsworth was the best bowler and wicketkeeper Kieron Savage claimedmost in the field. The 2018 “champagnemoment”


award went to all-rounder Toby Hughes, who heard in October that


he had been selected to play for the U14 Kent squad next season – the first time a Teston junior has been represented at county level. The annual President’s Cup (for


contributions off the field of play) waspresentedto JoKnowles, forher role in producing a 100-page book about the project to build the club’s newpavilion at BarhamCourt. Pictured are, from left, Toby


Hughes, TobyAllsworth, Kieron Sav- age, Jo Knowles andMatt Fairway.


CHILSTONParkHotel porter Tad Janeczek has been named Room Attendant of the Year 2018 in a na- tional competition. Tad,whohasworkedat thehotel


in Sandway, nearLenham, for over 14 years,was chosen froma short- list of six by the CEO of support charity, Hospitality Action. He won a trophy and £1,000.


Tad celebrates national prize The hotel also receives a £1,500


room makeover from linen com- pany sponsor. Tad said: “I love working at


Chilston Park, the teamare fantas- tic.Working as a roomattendant is an amazing career and I really enjoy making our guests feel wel- come and ensuring that they have the best experiencewith us.”


local flavour ANEWrestaurant opened in Sta- plehurst onWednesday, Novem- ber 21. The venue, run by Robin Small-


bone and Michelle Gordon, will serve their own specialised beer and ale,which is prepared in their Boughton Monchelsea brewery, Rockin’ Robin. Formerly Helen’s Coffee Shop,


the new restaurant, called the Rockin’ Robin Smokerywill be lo- cated in theHigh Street in Staple- hurst. Miss Gordon said: “I am all


about supporting local producers, so we will be selling real ale, fine wine, andwill be preparingmeals with local meat from local farm- ers tomake sure there’s plenty of flavour. It’s going to be a meat feast. “We have a large smoke oven


and everything is going to be cooked slowand low.”


Maidstone Weald December 2018 23


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