News Driver facing
drugs charge A MAN appeared in court after allegedly driving on the motor- way high on cocaine and on the phone. Carl Cheesman (57) was
stopped by officers on June 16, 2018, at about 8am, after reports of a driver on the M20 travelling at high speed while using a mobile device. The owner of the Vauxhall
Astra had begun to come off at the junction eight services near Lenhamwhen police tried to pull himover, a court heard. Prosecuting, James Nicholls
told Maidstone Magistrates Court: “Mr Cheesman was cry- ing and appeared to be very upset and emotional. “When police conducted a fit
test, they found a quantity of co- caine in his system.” Mr Cheesman, defended by
James Warren, was supposedly travelling at more than 110mph. Chairman of the bench, Jean
Sanderson told the court: “These matters taken in totality are too serious and go beyond our pow- ers.” His casewas adjourned andwas
due to appear in front of Maid- stone Crown Court later. Mr Cheesman ofUckfield, East
Sussex, was arrested for driving a vehicle whilst unfit on drugs, using a handheld mobile whilst driving and exceeding the 70mph speed limit on a motor- way. Mr Cheesman entered no plea to any of the three charges.
Blaze hoods
KENT Fire & Rescue Service has announced its firefighters will carry filtered “escape hoods” during rescues in burning build- ings. The protection gear can pre- vent further smoke inhalation to consciousorunconsciousvictims for upto 15minutes. The kit blocks out the four main
gaseswhichkill – carbonmonoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chlo- ride andacrolein.
Geingactive
THE Aylesford Active Retirement Association,which styles itself as a “group for recycled teenagers”, meets onthe fourthThursday of the month at the community centre. It next convenes onMarch 28. The group welcomes over 50s
who are retired or semi-retired. For more information, call Wayne Sprigmore on 01622 710734.
4 Malling March 2019
downsmail.co.uk
Vicar Ruth geing to know her new patch
AYLESFORDhaswelcomed its newvicar to theChurch of St Peter and St Paul.
Rev Ruth Peet officially took the
reins on February 12, with her main priorities being familiarising herselfwith the patch and its peo- ple. TheYorkshire-bornmumof one,
the daughter of an organist and choirmaster, took over from Rev Jonathan Hall, who left last July after two years in the parish, to take up a ministry on the Isle of Wight. Rev Peet, a former biochemist
and businesswoman, ismarried to Kevin andthey have onedaughter, Corrine, and a grandson,Michael. Writing for the first time in the
parishmagazine, she says: “I have been so excited to be coming to Aylesford. I can’t believe that at last I find myself writing my first piece for themagazine. “It’s going to take a while to
catch upwith everything going on in and around Aylesford and Ec- cles, but I havemade a start.
“I spent a wonderful afternoon
in St Peter’s School,where the chil- drenpresentedmewith a beautiful card they had made to welcome me, and I enjoyed afternoon tea with the teachers, staff and gover- nors. “Idon’t knowtheAylesfordarea
verywell. Parish councillor Trevor Walker kindly offered to showme around. We visted a number of
places, including the RBL memo- rial garden, so nowI have amuch better sense ofwhere I am.” Ruth began her career in the
pharmaceutical industry,working for Wellcome. She then became a partner in her husband’s fishing tackle shop inDartford. Before her appointment, she told
DownsMail: “I’ve travelled down a couple of times and met some lovely people and amlooking for- ward to rootingmyself in the com- munity and doing what I can to ensure the church meets the com- munity’s needs.” RevPeet nowlives a two-minute
walk from the village’s 12th cen- tury church – quite a change from the urban Victorian church where she formerly served. She joins the parish as the first steps are taken to re-organise church boundaries across the Malling Deanery to re- flect the changes inpopulation and newhousing developments.
Details sold
TONBRIDGE and Malling Bor- ough Council made more than £12,000 from selling data to third parties in the past five years. Figures show that TMBC made
£12,632 from passing on informa- tion fromthe electoral roll. The cashgeneratedisusedto off-
set the cost of administering the electoral register. A spokesman said the data is
bought by credit reference agencies to check people’s home addresses.
Funerals go live online Road closed
MOURNERS who cannot attend the funerals of their nearest and dearest will now be able to watch proceedings live in a webcast. Maidstone’sVinters ParkCrema-
torium(pictured) says itwill broad- cast services securely over the internet, allowing invited guests to view them from anywhere in the world. Sharon Smith, Maidstone Bor-
ough Council’s bereavement serv- ices manager,
said: “Live
webcasting is a service that more andmore are choosing. “With an ageing population, eld-
erly family members homebound , those who are not able to travel or perhaps familywho live abroad, of- fering webcasting is a way to in- clude everyone.” Relatives can also select photo-
graphs and music to produce a vi- sual life tribute that plays on screens both in the service hall and vestibule area. AnMBC spokesman said: “As fu-
nerals become more unique, fami- lies are opting for
intimate
favourite songs, often choosing light-hearted or humorousmusic to reflect a loved one’s personality.”
Musicmeet
THEOldBridgeMusicClubmeets at the community centre from 2- 4pmonMarch 22. Members can enjoy toe-tapping
tunes and good company. Call Betty for details on 01622 754564.
A 15-DAY road closure in East Malling is due to end onMarch 19. The Rocks Road has been closed
to enable BT Openreach to carry out newductingworks. The alternative route is via
Chapel Street,WateringburyRoad, Sweets Lane and vice versa.
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