Local News

People visiting Swale’s award-winning beaches this summer are being reminded to stay safe on the coast.

The beaches on the Island remain popular every year, and Swale Borough Council is again partnering with the RNLI to make sure people stay safe at Sheerness and Leysdown beaches.

Lifeguard cover began operating on Leysdown-on-Sea and Sheerness beaches seven days a week, from Saturday 8th July and will be there until Sunday 3rd September, having covered weekends and Bank Holidays since 27th May earlier this year. 

Swale Borough Council has worked with the RNLI for the last 10 years to provide lifeguard cover at local bathing beaches, with incidents remaining low.

In recent years the RNLI has struggled to recruit local lifeguards and have been relying on bringing in people from other areas to cover our beaches. Now, for a range of global reasons, other areas are also struggling to recruit, so the pool of specially trained lifeguards is smaller.

Because of this, the RNLI have taken a decision based on risk assessments to prioritise the busy Leysdown beach, and Sheerness beach where the currents are more likely to catch people unaware. This means the quieter Minster Leas beach will not have a lifeguard presence this year, and despite meeting all of the rest of criteria such as water quality, will be unable to fly the Blue Flag.

Cllr Monique Bonney, committee chair for regeneration and property, told SFM News: “Every summer we welcome thousands of people to the Island to explore and have fun on our beaches and we want to make sure everyone has a safe and enjoyable visit, so they want to come back again. Having the RNLI lifeguards is a welcome reassurance to people, so we are disappointed we’ve not been able to have enough recruits to provide the usual level of cover. If you know of anybody interested, please let us know".

Cllr Bonney want on to add: "To help mitigate this, we are working to bring in some on shore first aid support – which is a large part of the work the lifeguards carry out – and we are working to remind people that they need to take care when in, on or around the water, regardless of whether there is a lifeguard in sight. There’s lots of information and advice on the RNLI website, and I’d urge everyone to have a look at their float to live advice. We want people to have a great summer on our beaches, and we encourage, where possible, people to visit a lifeguarded beach, know the risks, understand the flags, leave inflatables at home and stay safe.”

Charlie Frame, RNLI Lead Lifeguard Supervisor told SFM News: “We’re glad to be back on Sheppey this summer, and hope everyone visiting the coast has a safe and enjoyable time. We advise people to head to a lifeguarded beach, check the weather and tide times before visiting and if they do get into difficulty, or spot someone in trouble, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Despite our best efforts, we have struggled to find new recruits to fill all the roles we have, but we’re confident the cover being provided is appropriate for the risk profiles of the Island’s beaches. We did have several local people interested in what is a fantastic summer job, but they either didn’t complete their application or weren’t able to meet the necessary standard for working on open water.”

The charity is continuing to try and recruit lifeguards to cover Minster-on-Sea and as such the lifeguard unit will remain on the beach in case the service can be resumed at some point during the summer. If anyone is interested in lifeguarding they can go to: https://summerjobs.rnli.org/become-a-lifeguard/find-a-job

For more information about Swale’s beaches visit the council's website: www.swale.gov.uk/seafront.

For more information on beach safety in general: https://rnli.org/safety/beach-safety

Detectives investigating two reported burglaries in Teynham have released a CCTV image. On Monday 3rd July, a man called at an address in Station Road and advised the resident he was there to check the smoke alarms. He was allowed into the address and, after he left, the occupant found a quantity of cash was missing.

On the same day, a pensioner also living in Station Road, was visited by a man who said he had been sent to check the electrics at the premises. Once the man had left the victim found their purse had been stolen.

Detective Constable Emma Laimbeer, of the Kent Crime Squad, told SFM News: ‘We have been investigating these incidents, including the examination of CCTV footage in the area, and are now able to release an image of a man we would like to identify. We are urging anybody who recognises the person or has information that may assist our enquiries to contact our appeal line.’

Anyone with any information is urged to contact Kent Police on 01795 419 119, quoting crime reference 46/118895/23. Alternatively they can also call Crimestoppers FREE and anonymously on 0800 555 111 or complete an online form on their website: www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Swale Borough Council is celebrating after receiving a Green Flag Award for Milton Creek Country Park and Oare Gunpowder Works Country Park.

The news that Milton Creek and Oare have achieved the accreditation - the international quality mark for parks and green spaces - "is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team that care for the green space so that everyone can enjoy it" says the council.

Cllr Rich Lehmann, chair of the environment committee, told SFM News: "We’re delighted that Milton Creek Country Park in Sittingbourne and Oare Gunpowder Works Country Park in Faversham have both been awarded Green Flag Awards again this year. This is the second consecutive year the Milton Creek Country Park has received the award, and the 18th year in a row for the Gunpowder Works. We work hard alongside teams of dedicated volunteers to create parks and green spaces that meet the high standards expected of Green Flag parks. We are lucky to have such a fantastic variety of coastline, countryside, and green spaces across Swale for residents and visitors to explore. We know how much these spaces matter to people, so it’s pleasing to see recognition of all the hard work that is put in to maintaining them.”

Keep Britain Tidy’s Green Flag award scheme manager Paul Todd MBE told SFM News: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved at Milton Creek Country Park and Oare Gunpowder Works Country Park in achieving the Green Flag Award. These are vital green spaces for the community in Swale, bringing people together and providing opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles. The staff and volunteers do so much to ensure that it maintains the high standards of the Green Flag Award and everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their achievement.”

The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.

A full list of Green Flag 2023-24 Award-winning parks and green spaces is available here.

New CCTV images have been released by local officers investigating an assault in Sittingbourne.

The incident happened at around 1.25am on Saturday 24th June inside Lang’s Bar and Cocktail Lounge in St Michael’s Road.

While inside the bar, the victim was reported to have been assaulted after a man, not known to him, hit him over the head with a glass.

The offender then continued to assault the victim by pushing him to the floor where he was punched and kicked. The incident resulted in the victim sustaining deep lacerations to his face. 

During the incident a woman also assaulted the victim by kicking him while he was on the floor.

Officers have previously issued CCTV images of a man they would like to talk to, and are now in a position to issue further images of the same person.

A CCTV image of a woman is also being released.

Anyone who recognises the man or woman in the CCTV should call 01795 419 119 quoting reference 46/111751/23 or, alternatively they can call Kent Crimestoppers, FREE and anonimously, on 0800 555 111.