News Hairdresser’s


second ban A DRUNKEN hairdresser drove home fromher birthday night out more than twice the legal limit. Mother of threeKatheryn Selleck


(38) was driving along the A249 nearMaidstone at around 1amon a Sunday morning when she was stopped by police, who could smell alcohol on her. A roadside breath test revealed


she had a reading of 77mg, more than twice the permitted 35mg. A magistrate told Selleck there


was “absolutely no way” she thought shewould be safe to drive after having two pink gins with lemonade, justhours before getting into her Land Rover. Prosecuting, JamesNichols said:


“This isn’t the first time the defen- dant has been in court for drink driving as shewas disqualified for the same offence in 2011.” Defending, Mary Dinan said:


“She went out for a drink for her birthday and thought she’d be okay to drive, although she did consider stayingwith a cousin. “Her last conviction dates back


toDecember 25, 2010,when she re- ceived a 12-month ban, so it has now been over eight and a half years since that last offence. She lives with her partner and three children and is a hairdresser. Chairman of the bench, Mike


Bean said: “It seems you need help whether youadmit it or not, as this is the second time in 10 years you have been caught drink driving.” Selleck,


of Sittingbourne,


pleaded guilty to drink driving andwas disqualified fromdriving for 40monthswith a £175 fine.


THERE is good news for those looking to find out more about their family ties. The details of over 2.6 million


christenings,weddings and funer- als spanning more than 400 years are nowavailable to search online. The details allow for a search of


3,000 handwritten registers at the KentHistory andLibraryCentre in Maidstone. The details are available in con-


junction with family history web- site Findmypast. Free access to FindMyPast is available at allKent County Council libraries. Mike Hill, KCC’s cabinet mem-


ber for community services, said: “The majority of the parish regis- ters held by the Kent Archives service will now be available to search around the world for the first time.”


28 Maidstone September 2019


downsmail.co.uk


Council slammed over Brexit funds criticism


THELibDemleadershipofMaidstoneBoroughCouncilhas beenaccused of “playingpoliticswithBrexit” after criticisms aboutGovernment funding. In an official press release, Cllr


Martin Cox said £50,000 allocated to each of the country’s 400 local authorities is “derisory” andinsuf- ficient to cover the £1mcost of a no deal Brexit onOctober 31. But Independent Maidstone


councillor Eddie Powell accused the leader of “scaremongering”. Cllr Powell, pictured, added:


“The Liberal Democrats’ view on Brexit is well known and they are ardent remainers, so I detect a cer- tain political slant to this. “He is suggesting a figure about


costs that they cannot really know or understand. It smells of scare- mongering. “All itdoes is create fear andthat


is completely unfair to the people ofMaidstone.” MBC claims the borough will


incur additional costs from traffic disruption to regular services, in- cludingwaste collection, and from littering on busy routesusedby in- ternational traffic like the A249 - DetlingHill. Cllr Cox said: “The announce-


mentmade…to provide £20mil- lion for councils to prepare for delivering Brexit on October 31 is frankly derisory. “Given that there are about 400


councils inEngland, this equates to £50K each, andwe have estimated


that inMaidstone alone our poten- tial costs are over £1million.” Asked if the countil tax-payer


will have to meet a budget short- fall, anMBCspokesman said: “The council tax-payer would have to meet the shortfall in the absence of support fromcentral government, which is the reason we are lobby- ing for funding. “We would look to central gov-


ernment tomeet the shortfall, as it arises fromeventswhich are out of our control. “We hold reserveswhich are in-


tendedtodealwith events like this, but itwould take time to replenish the reserves and the council tax payerwould have to pay.”


‘IsMBC about


to go under?’ MAIDSTONE Borough Council has admitted it has insufficient cash tomeet a no deal Brexit bill. The LibDem-led authority reck-


ons itwill need over £1mfor costs associated with leaving the EU on October 31without an agreement. But a Conservative opposition


councillor asked: “Does thatmean the council is about to go bust?” An MBC spokesman said its


costings are:  Disruption to regular services, including bin collection - £750,000; Littering - £130,000; Extra staffing - £210,000; Procurement costs - £100,000. The spokesman added: “We


have no spare capacity within our budget tomeet these costs.” Conservative opposition group


spokesman Cllr Jonathan Purle asked: “If the Lib Dem leadership believe their ownRemainer hyper- bole, does thismean the council is about to go bust? “Is the director of finance Mark


Green, going to issue the statutory warning, so that this poorly-per- forming council can be taken over by theGovernment?”


Family history Karen’s trek boosts RNIB funds


FUNDRAISER Karen Kamundi com- pletedan18-mile trekacross thepic- turesque South Downs to raise money for sight loss charity the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Karen(49), fromSenacre,was reg-


istered partially-sighted around 10 years ago, after losing her central vi- sion in both eyes due to genetic retina damage. She signed up for Trek South


Downs and exceeded her target of £350. Karensaid: “I’vebeenstudyingfor


a degree with the Open University and graduated last year. I was left wondering what to do next and de- cided to sign up for RNIB’s Trek SouthDowns.Notonlydiditgivemy brain a much-needed break, it also gotme doing something physical.


“RNIB’s treks are guided, so I felt


confidentandreassuredthroughout the day that I would complete the challenge. “The overall daywas great; I loved


everyminute, and it helped that the weather was lovely. It felt great to be outdoors and to be surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the South Downs.” RNIB spokesman Lizzi Wagner


said: “We’re delighted that Karen enjoyed taking part in this year’s Trek South Downs. “Itwas a fantastic day, andwe’re


incredibly grateful to everyone who took part tomake it a great success. “Themoney Karen raisedwill help


us continue to smash the barriers facing people with sight loss, so please dig deep and help her raise asmuchmoney as possible.”


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