News Assault charge


A SUSPECT has been charged after allegedly assaulting a woman be- fore stealing cash and a mobile phone.


The victim, a woman in her 50s,


was in Jubilee Square when she was reportedly pushed to the floor at about 5.45pm on Tuesday, Octo- ber 13. Her bags, including cash and a mobile phone, were then said to have been stolen. The following day Vanessa Hamilton (46) was arrested at her home in Farleigh Lane. Officers seized crack cocaine. Ms Hamilton was later charged with robbery and possession of a Class A drug. She was remanded in custody.


Pupils isolate


TWO year groups at a secondary school in Maidstone are isolating after two cases of Coronavirus. Year 7 and Year 11 pupils at Cornwallis Academy were sent home to learn remotely until November 22. The school was closed on November 16 for a deep clean. At The Malling School, the sixth form was effectively closed after a pupil tested positive. All year 12 and 13 pupils at the East Malling school were sent home on Novem- ber 13 to learn remotely. The rest of the school remained open.


Firm’s award MAIDSTONE Law firm Brachers


has won the Private Client Team of the Year Award at the British Wills and Probate Awards 2020. The virtual awards ceremony on October 22 was hosted by broad- caster and journalist, Jenni Bond. Christopher Eriksson-Lee, head of Brachers Private Clients team said: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious award which reflects the hard work of our team over the last year. This recognition is all the more pleasing in our 125th anniversary year.”


‘Poachers‘arrest POLICE stopped a group of four


suspected poachers breaking gov- ernment guidelines near Maid- stone.


Officers were alerted to two ve- hicles in the Scooks Hill area at 8.50pm on Friday, November 6. The vehicles were traced to the A20 in Lenham and stopped. Lamps, catapults, and ball bear-


ings were seized and the four cul- prits, who were not from the same household, were issued with £200 fines for breaching Covid-19 regu- lations.


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downsmail.co.uk


Book is in memory of former Invicta student


A BOOK of poems, prose, quotes and art by former Invicta Grammar School pupil Bethany Eves is published this week.


Just B.E. promises to be a lasting legacy to the 21-year-old who died in a car accident in May 2019. The accident, which also claimed the life of long-time friend Harry Skilton, a former Maidstone Gram- mar School pupil, happened when Beth’s car hit a fencepost and over- turned in a water-filled ditch near Lydd, on Romney Marsh. Beth had a great future ahead of her. She was a designer at Google, having just completed her appren- ticeship and winning Apprentice of the Year. She spent much of her time play- ing piano and guitar, writing po- etry, singing at open mic nights, painting and designing.


The book, compiled by her mother Emma Gibbons, is testi- mony to Beth’s ability to put pen to paper, capturing the emotions ex- perienced by young adults grow- ing up amidst the difficulties of the world today. Often quite dark, her writing and


art reveal not just her own experi- ences, but also those of friends who shared their deepest, darkest mo- ments with her.


Beth’s innate ability to express insights well beyond her years,


Poet Bethany Eves, and right, her mother Emma Gibbons, with her book


made creating the book an emo- tional and bittersweet journey for Emma, as she drew on contents of notebooks strewn around their Harrietsham home. Emma, a regional HR executive for Biffa, said: “Beth was always a poet. Notebooks were everywhere. She always wanted to do some- thing with her songs and poems but was never brave enough.” “If she were still here, this book would never have happened. It’s a


way of bringing her work to peo- ple and sharing her experiences. “Her poetry, art and ‘Rules of


Life’, will, I’m sure, resonate with young people at some point in their lives. If just one piece brings comfort, help or makes you smile, then that is Beth’s legacy.” Just B.E. can be ordered online from Waterstones, Maidstone or from Amazon. All proceeds from the sale of this book will go to charities.


Cycle lane review planned


MAIDSTONE’S protests have been heard, and big changes can be ex- pected in the road works in both King Street and Earl Street. Councillors expressed their as- tonishment at a Joint Transporta- tion Board meeting on October 14, and were told by Kent County Council Highways department the trial work was of “a temporary na- ture” and comments would be col- lated and looked at in December. Several urgent changes have


been made already, others have been agreed, but most will be con- sidered at the end of the year. The concerns were: a reduction


in well-located disability parking; traffic jams in King Street; dangers for bus passengers alighting into new active cycle lanes; large seat- ing areas for restaurants in the


middle of Earl Street; and impacts on the rejuvenated bus station. After “lack of engagement with stakeholders”, KCC promised wide consultation, including with town centre business organisation One Maidstone. The changes were made by KCC


after limited consultation within Maidstone Council when Govern- ment offered funds related


to


COVID-19 to encourage cycling, walking and public transport but said schemes must be carried out at great speed with no need for public consultation.


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