News


Call for action aftermurder


ATOWNcentreboroughcouncil- lor has issued a “call for action” following the suspected murder ofAndre Bent (pictured right). Mr Bent (21), of Lambeth, Lon-


don, died following a disturbance in the High Street in the early hours of Sunday,August 25, after allegedly being stabbed. Cllr Jonathan Purle, who


warned against the county town's “descent into barbarism” imme- diately after the killing, has asked searching questions of LiberalDe- mocrat-run Maidstone Borough Council of its crime and disorder policies and of Kent Police. In a letter to Cllr Derek Mor-


timer, chairman of theCommuni- ties, Housing and Environment Committee, he cited concerns about “violence and lawlessness” in the county town. The Conservative member for


Bridgewardwrote: “Anumber of us have for some time been vocal in warning that the level of vio- lence and lawlessness on the


streets of


Maidstone has been steadily and continu- ously rising. “We have in


been met


certain quar- ters with ele- ments of denial and naivety bordering on


dogmatic refusal to grasp the true nature of Maidstone's criminal and antisocial elements and the need for firmaction.”


A 16-YEAR-old boy has been chargedwith themurder ofAndre Bent inMaidstone. The teenager, from Hornsey,


north London, who cannot be named,was arrested on September 1 and has also been charged with the attempted murder of three othermen and possession of an of-


Site of the disturbance in High Street,Maidstone, in which Londonman Andre Bent died


Policing, the effectiveness of


CCTV, licencing issues, street vi- olence and use of antisocial be- haviour legislation arementioned in the letter to CllrMortimer. Maidstone Borough Council


chief executive Alison Broom ac- knowledgedCllr Purle’s concerns in an email: “..we received a ‘Call for Action – The Safety of Maid- stone’s Streets’ from Cllr Purle


fensive weapon. He appeared be- fore Medway magistrates on Sep- tember 2. Kent and Essex Serious Crime


directorate is investigating the death of Mr Bent, and a total of eight people have been arrested, four of which have been charged with violent disorder, with three


Will hopes panto role is his step to stardom


A BUDDING Maidstone actor has been given his “lucky break” after being selected to take to the stage with reality TV personality JakeQuickenden. Will Hodges (22), who has just


finished filming ‘HATE’ by HumzaArshad, andwho recently performed in two plays at the Southend Fringe Festival, will co- star in the Hazlitt Theatre’s adap- tation of Beauty and the Beast later this year. Will (pictured) said: “I’m just a


normal lad fromMaidstone – and this is my lucky break. I got a call fromthe directorMartinCleverley saying I got the part and I jumped at the chance.” He discovered his talents at the


age of 12, when he joined the Ha- zlitt Youth Theatre. He studied there for six years before moving on to the East 15 Acting School, where he has just graduated after three years. As a former Maidstone Gram-


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doing the back-to-back shows this winter. Will is playing the DC, Quickenden’s comical sidekick, in the upcoming production of the fairytale classic. He said: “Jake seems lovely.We


haven’t actuallymet yet but I have a friend who was his backing dancer when he was on Dancing on Ice. I’msurewewill get on very well.” Will knewfroma young age that


performing was his passion, but did not knowhe couldmake a liv- ing out of it until he reached his GCSEs. Will added: “I wasn’t good at


mar School student, he says his roots are firmly in the county town where he grewup. His mother lived in Boughton


Monchelsea and his father is a Sta- plehurst resident. He is shortly tomove inwith his


Maidstone East October 2019


anything else in school. I got very average GCSE and A level results in history, English literature and filmstudies. “But I definitely knew well be-


fore my exams that acting was what Iwantedtodo professionally and as a career.” Beauty and the Beast runs from


grandmother in Bearsted whilst November 30 toDecember 31.


which raised a range of important issues and requested a number of items including contextual data concerning violent crime and ac- tions takenwhich seek to prevent or intervene to reduce the inci- dence and impact of violent crime in the borough.” Chief Inspector Ray Quiller


said: “Imust reassure people that Maidstone is a safe town.”


London teen chargedwith fatal stabbing


others currently on police bail. Anyone with information


should call 01622 654864 or visit Kent Police’smajor incident public reporting site at https://mipp.po- lice.uk/ Alternatively, callCrimestoppers


anonymously on 0800 555111 or visitwww.crimestoppers-uk.org.


OAP robbed


at cashpoint AN ELDERLY man was robbed inMaidstone in broad daylight. The victim, who is in his


80s, had a quantity of money stolenfromhimby amanwho approached him from behind while hewas using a cashma- chine at the Texaco garage in Ashford Road at around 8.45amonAugust 24. The victim was not injured


during the incident but was threatened with an unknown weapon by a man in a yellow top.Once themoneyhadbeen taken, the suspect was seen running towards SquareHill. InvestigatingOfficerDetec-


tiveConstable Iain Joyce said: “We knowAshford Road was busy at the time of the inci- dent andtrafficdirectlynext to the scenewas stopped at a red light when the suspect ap- proached the victim.” Call Kent Police on 01622 604100 quoting 46/163204/19.


downsmail.co.uk


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