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Forecourt fracas ends instabbing


AYLESFORD’S Craig Graham has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after stabbing a man in the stomach, following a bust-up at a petrol station. Maidstone Crown Court heard


how the 37-year-old, of Royal British LegionVillage, left his vic- tim with serious injuries follow- ing the attack in the early hours of July 29, 2017. Graham and his wife Rachel


met the victim and his partner as they queued at an external pay hatch on a forecourt in London Road, Ditton. After initially making friendly


conversation, the four had an al- tercation. Graham smashed a wine bottle and threw broken glass, causing cuts to the victim’s head. He also made threats using an-


other bottle, the court was told, while Rachel Graham assaulted the woman. The pair then left the scene. A short time later, as the victim


was walking home on his own, a group of men attacked him near Larkfield Fire Station. He was re- peatedly beaten with metal poles or baseball bats. He was then stabbed in the stomach by Gra- ham. The offender later admitted to


police that he had been involved in a disturbance near the petrol station, but initially denied stab- bing anyone, or


carrying


weapons. Appearing before Maidstone


Crown Court, Graham pleaded guilty to counts of causing griev-


ous bodily harmwith intent, pos- sessing an offensive weapon in a public place, and criminal dam- age. He was jailed on Tuesday, June 4 to 11 years. Rachel Graham(37), ofHowick


Close, admitted two counts of as- sault by beating, criminal damage and a further charge of intimidat- ing a witness. She was sentenced to 16weeks. Detective Constable Gemma


Warford said: “What started out as a petty disagreement at a petrol station forecourt quickly escalated into a terrifying ordeal. “Craig Graham, in particular,


has shown himself to be a violent and dangerous individual, who deliberately set out to cause seri- ous harm.He is quite rightly now facing a significant time in prison.”


WWII bomb exploded


SOLDIERS detonated a wartime bomb after workmen found it on a Kings Hill building site. The explosive was discovered in Gibson Drive at 6.18pm on Friday,


June 7. Police threw a cordon around surrounding streets and called bomb disposal specialists. The device was subsequently destroyed the following day in a con-


trolled explosion. A spokesman for Kent Police said: “We attended Gibson Drive follow-


ing a report of an old wartime device at a building site. “Officers assisted the Army’s ExplosiveOrdnanceDisposal (EOD) team


and Kent County Council while they worked to dispose of the device. Surrounding roads were closed as a precaution. “An EODteamcarried out a controlled explosion at around 9.10pmon


Saturday, June 8. The scene is now clear and all roads reopened.” Kings Hillwas the site of RAFWestMalling, a frontline airbase during


the Battle of Britain that was the targeted in a number of bombing raids.


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