News
Drink driver ‘lost control’
ADRUNK driver “lost control” of his vehicle in an attempt to avoid hitting someone, a court heard. Jonathon Rimmer (24), of Bridge
Mill Way, Tovil, told police he swerved and lost control of his ve- hicle before hitting a road sign. Prosecuting, Mark Kateley told
MaidstoneMagistratesCourt: “On April 6 at around2am,MrRimmer was driving round the corner of Palace Avenue and onto Lower Stone Street in his blue Volkswa- gen Polo.He lost control of the ve- hicle and hit a sign. “Hewas breathalysed and 75mg
of alcoholwas foundinhis breath.” The legal limit is 35mg. Defending, Patrick Bligh said:
“Mr Rimmer understands he will be disqualified today. He is 24 years old and attended Oakwood Grammar School and joined Clive Emson as a trainee negotiator.” The court heard Rimmer trav-
elled around the South East in a company car as part of his job. MrBlighadded: “MrRimmer re-
grets this enormously.Hewent out tomeet a friend. “He was only there for a short
time, but on his way home he re- ceiveda call andwent back tomeet friends.” Rimmer admitted driving while
over the limit andwas given a £558 fine and a 18-month driving ban.
Ducks line up VILLAGERS and visitors face the prospect of some “quackers” en- tertainment on Bank Holiday Monday,May 27,when a flotilla of plastic bath ducks bustles down Loose Stream. The race at Brooks Field, Loose,
starts at 1pm, but ducks should be registered by 11.30am. Therewill also be children's rides
and games, a coconut shy, rural crafts, Punch and Judy, face paint- ing, homemade cakes, a barbecue and a beer tent.
Meet the bats
PEOPLE who want to get batmo- bile can nowjoin an eveningwalk in Mote Park to track down the twilight hunters. Organisers say the venue is one
of the best places in the South East for observing bats and,using sonar equipment,walkerswill be able to track down the animals and dis- cover howthey live and feed. The two-hour walk starts from
the cafe at 9pm on May 21. For moredetails,
visitwww.motepark-
fellowship.org.uk.
18 Maidstone June 2019
downsmail.co.uk
£110k upgradedCCTV ‘won’t bemonitored’
COUNCILLORS have votedto upgradeMaidstone’sCCTVcameras, but have ruled out the likelihood that anyonewill bewatching them.
The borough wants to set aside
£110,000 for new wifi enabled high-definition recording equip- ment, and predicts a long-terman- nual running cost of £118,000. But the authority has not bud-
geted for 24/7monitoring by secu- rity specialists, saying such amove is “not financially viable”. Councillor Patrik Garten, the
only member of MBC’s commu- nity, housing and environment committee to vote against the up- grade, toldDownsMail: “This isn’t a crimeprevention tool, it’s a crime recording tool. Itwill provide high definition images of your attacker, but it won’t stop or deter the at- tack.” Council-run CCTV coverage in
Maidstone has nose-dived in the last three years,with the town’s 60 cameras slashed by half, andmon- itoring nowscrapped. MBC’s head of community serv-
ices, John Littlemore, said the au- thority had carried out a tendering exercise last year to see if it could affordto keepteamswatching over residents,workers and shoppers.
Councillor Patrik Garten (right) voted against the CCTV upgrade
He said: “The outcome…con-
firmed that, even on reduced hours, a monitoring service was not financially viable.” Mr Littlemore added that, de-
spite approaching other agencies, “no offers to assistwith the cost of providing a monitored service were received”. He said the councilwould, how-
ever, save cash on the new kit by “not having the associatedcosts in- volvedinmonitoring the cameras”
Barrister’s Brexit bid
A FAMILIAR figure around theMaidstone law courts could soon be ap- pearing in a new role in Europe. AntonyHook,whoworks as a barrister prosecuting at the crown court,
has been chosen to fight for one of the 10 European Parliament seats in the south east onMay 23.
Married father-of-one
Mr Hook, a Liberal Demo- crat, says he is fighting to stop Brexit in favour of a people’s vote. He secured his place in
the candidates’ list by winning enough of the 18,000 party members’ votes in the south east. Mr Hook said: “Clearly
it is going to be very close. Remainers are unit- ing behind the Lib Dems and we can beat the Brexit parties. “If I get the chance to
serve as MEP I’ll work hard for everyone who lives in Kent.”
and using “WiFi transmission as opposed to renting cables”. Cllr Gartenmaintains that, with
detectivesmore likely to use com- mercial rather than council footage following a crime, Maidstone’s CCTVbudget could be better used in Kent Police’s coffers, financing community support officerpatrols. “These CCTV upgrade costs
could pay the wages of four new PCSOs,” he said, “and we’d still have change left over.”
Charity helps
to repair lift MAIDSTONE charity, the Black- thorn Trust, found itselfwith “ele- vated” financial worries when its lift broke, leavingdisabledpatients unable to access vital services. The elevator in the Blackthorn
Medical Centre, opened by Lord Brian Rix in 1990, needed spare parts costing £26,500. But the CSIS Charity Fund, a
local group dedicated to helping civil and public servants and their families through tough times, stepped in with a contribution of £14,000. The rest of the money came fromother donations. Trust manager Emma Halpin
said: “When something unex- pectedlike this happens, it can take manymonths to raise funds. “With the help of theCSISChar-
ity Fund, we are now able to re- sume a full service and continue to growthe programme." For details of the trust, go to
www.blackthorn.org.uk.
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