Local News

Witnesses are being sought after a family were robbed in Sittingbourne in what officers believe may have been a case of mistaken identity.

The couple and their baby are reported to have been targeted at around 8.30pm in Balas Drive on Wednesday (7th November) evening.

Three men are alleged to have followed the victims home from a shopping trip and when they arrived at their house and began unloading their vehicle three men are reported to have got out of a car and threatened them.

They demanded drugs and cash from the victims and started to search their car while the couple's young baby was still inside. No injuries were reported.

Having searched the car, the men then stole the victim's keys and a baby changing bag as well as the items the couple had just purchased from a department store which included an advent calendar with beauty products inside and a baby blanket.

One of the men is described as being of medium build, around 5ft 5ins tall, wearing a balaclava and a dark padded jacket. The second man is described as being around 6ft tall, well-built, wearing a balaclava and a dark hooded top with a black jacket with a white zip. The third man is described as aged in his 20's, 6ft tall, of slim build, with dark hair and appeared to be clean shaven. He was wearing a red hooded jacket.

They are believed to have travelled to and from the scene in a grey Toyota car.

Sergeant Marc Makin, from Kent Police's Criminal Investigation Department, told SFM News: "We are treating this as a case of mistaken identity as the offenders demanded drugs and cash from a young family who had just been on a shopping trip. While these incidents are rare they are still very frightening for those involved. I'd like to hear from anyone who has information or who thinks they saw the suspects prior to or after the incident. I'd also like to hear from any motorists who may have captured the suspect's vehicle on their dash cam."

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Kent Police Appeals Line for Swale on 01795 419 119 quoting 07-1614.

Alternatively they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers in Kent free and anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Kent Police are appealing for information following a collision in Bobbing which left three people with serious injuries.

Officers were called to the scene, A249 northbound slip, at 11.50pm last night (Wednesday 24th October). The collision involved a white Volkswagen Caddy van and a black Audi A1 Sport, which had come to a stop.

A woman in hers 20's and a teenage girl, both from the Swale area, sustained head injuries and were both passengers in the Audi.

The woman was taken to a local hospital for further treatment and the girl was conveyed to a London Hospital. The driver of the Audi, a man in his 20's from Gillingham, also sustained chest injuries and was taken to a London hospital. At the time of the collision, he was standing beside the vehicle.

Officers from Kent Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit would like to speak with anyone who has information, including dash cam footage, linked to the collision.

Anyone with any information can call Kent Police on 01622 798538 quoting reference: HW/DC/149/18.

Or alternatively they can email: sciu.td@kent.pnn.police.uk.

Residents of Borden have been attending a South East Water drop-in session at the Parish Hall to hear about plans to replace a burst prone water main running through the village.

The £520,000 scheme will replace a three-inch pipeline in Pond Farm Road and Wises Lane that has burst 25 times in the last five years and 14 times since 2015, with larger pipe which can withstand high water pressures and deliver a more resilient drinking water supply for the future.

South East Water's Project Manager Jeremy Dufour told SFM News: "There have been a high number of customer contacts and complaints over bust pipes in Borden in recent years and the situation is now critical requiring replacement of the old water main. We are also taking the opportunity to increase the capacity of the local network to further safeguard future supplies of top quality drinking water to our customers."

The replacement water main work is expected to take 25 weeks although engineers hope to complete the project earlier by drilling the new pipeline rather than cutting open trenches in the road surface.

Traffic diversions will be in place at Pond Farm Road, then Wises Lane, as work gets underway.

Construction is due to start early next year and as soon as the company has a confirmed date they will be advising us.

For further information and for the road diversion map please click here.

The newly realigned A2 St Michael's Road, on to Milton Road, has re-opened in the centre of Sittingbourne.

Spirit Of Sittingbourne, the regeneration consortium, told SFM News that this "should improve traffic flow throughout the town centre. The remaining works on Dover Street will continue but are due to be completed next week. We can now begin construction of the leisure quarter, which will bring a host of high-quality leisure facilities to Sittingbourne, as part of the wider regeneration of the town".

For nmore information please visit: www.spiritofsittingbourne.com.