downsmail.co.uk


Elaine hoping to find a good read in book box


A BEARSTED resident who turned a phone box into aminia- ture library is asking book lovers for donations,writes Jade Schop- man. ElaineCooper (62) and husband


Jim (66), of Bearsted, built three shelves into the red phone box in The Street on September 6, to get the village swapping and ex- changing their favourite reads. The initiative is known as The


Bearsted Book Exchange and will be trialled by the parish council for sixmonths. Residents are invited to take a


pre-loved book, read it and return it, or leave adifferentpublicationin its place for someone else to bor- row. The mother of three said: “I be-


long to a small book club and somehowthe topic of phone boxes came up. We all knew about the defibrillator being installed in this phone box and thought we could take it one step further.


Elaine Cooper is hoping the Bearsted phone box shelves will soon be full of donated books


“I got in touch with the parish


council and they agreed to do a six month trial. If it goeswell Iwould love to addmore shelves, but first we need the book donations.”


Mrs Cooper says she wants


users to always have a full stock of books available to themto read for free. She added: “I didn’t want to in-


volvemoney in case of any issues with vandals. But we are after all kinds of books, including books for children. “It just has to be left tidy so that


access to the defibrillator isn’t blocked–but I’msure thepeopleof Bearsted will keep an eye on it for me.Other than that, it’s just a great way to get involved in the commu- nity and bring people together.” MrsCooper has received awave


of support on social media, with many overjoyed about having a newreading hotspot in the village. A Bearsted Parish Council


spokesman said: “Not only is it home to one of Bearsted Parish Council’s new defibrillators it is now a place that people can come to find new novel or book of gen- eral interest.”


News Collision cars


block village BEARSTEDcame to anear standstill afteracollisionbetweentwoAudison September 5. The accident happened after 8am


nearTheGreen causing havoc to the school runandcommuters. Traffic in both directionswas de-


layedwhile two police cars blocked the road. The road, which is often usedbyrat-runnersgoingtotheM20 J7,wasparticularlybusyat the time. Parents ferrying their children to


local schools were delayed by the crash.Villagersusedlocalknowledge to find routes around The Green to avoidthedisruption. It is not thought anyone sustained


serious injuryintheprang.Thekerb- side vehicle appeared to have sub- stantialdamage toits rearwheel.


Flood works


THE county council is to place ad- ditional drainage at the bottom of Hollingbourne Hill to deal with flooding near the church following downpours. The work is included in KCC’s budget for 2019/2021.


*Valid until 15th November 2019 Maidstone East October 2019 3


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