Local News

Pic: Helen Rum.

Two Chalkwell Buses have been damaged after been attacked on Sonora Way in The Meads development in Sittingbourne.

The 334 service, between Sittingbourne and Sheerness, was attacked at around 6pm yesterday (Monday 17th June) with the bus company confirming that a similar incident happened last week in the same area.

Director Roland Eglinton said: "the damage has cost the company around £1,000 not to mention the inconvenience for customers. If this continues we will have no choice but to withdraw the buses from Sonora Fields part of the 334 route. We carry a lot of children and vulnerable people so we cannot risk their safety.”

Mr Eglinton is encouraging anyone who may have any information about the incident/s to report it directly to Kent Police using the crime reference number: 18/0773.

The new Mayor of Swale, Cllr Ben J Martin, has announced SATEDA and Lupus UK as his chosen charities for the year ahead (2024/25).

Cllr Martin was elected as Mayor at Swale Borough Council’s annual council meeting last month, taking over from Cllr Sarah Stephen.

Each year, the new Mayor chooses two charities to focus their fundraising efforts on. 

SATEDA is a local domestic abuse charity that helps women and children escape and heal from the violence and trauma they experience from the people closest to them. 

Lupus UK is a national charity that supports people with lupus and campaigns to create awareness for the disease and help with early diagnosis. 

Cllr Ben Martin told SFM News: “It's a great honour to represent the people of Swale as Mayor and I am looking forward to fundraising for these important charities. SATEDA is a local charity doing amazing work; supporting the vulnerable women and girls who face abuse from the people in their lives they should be able to trust. They actively help women escape those situations and provide them with much needed mental health support, they also provide free clothing and much more.  I have also selected Lupus UK as my other charity, I have worked closely with a number of people who live with Lupus and it can be a debilitating condition, with symptoms including extreme fatigue, rashes and joint pain. As an autoimmune condition it can lead to further complications, as the immune system can attack the bodies organs, with many people suffering from lupus also experiencing food intolerances and sensitivity to sun light. Whilst there is no cure, Lupus UK are working hard to provide support to people with the disease that makes their lives easier, they are also funding research into Lupus".

Cllr Martin went on to add: “I will do everything possible to champion these two charities and raise funds to help them with their important work, for that to be a success I will need the support of the people in Swale. Please look out for the campaigns I will run and, if you are able to, please support them with donations or your time through volunteering.”

The first of the Kingsferry Bridge closures commenced at 10pm last night (Friday 7th June) and will continue until 5am on Monday (10th June).

Network Rail will be providing a bus replacement for service between Sittingbourne and Sheerness on Sea (calling at all stations except 'Swale') throughout all the closures to enable repais to the road/rail bridge between the Isle of Sheppey and the mainland (here in Sittingbourne). 

This is the first of a series of closures over the next two months, with engineers confirming that the work was “progressing well” and issuing photographs of their work via X (formerly 'Twitter') - shown above.

40 steel ropes, which stabilise the bridge when it lifts and were installed in 1995, were found to have degraded and urgently need replacing following a recent inspection.

The next set of closures will last for nine days from Friday 28th June until Sunday 7th July with further closures from Friday 12th July until Monday 15th July. Another nine-day closure will take place from Friday 19th July until Sunday 28th  July. All closures start at 10pm on the first day and finish at 5am on the last. The last trains will depart Sheerness at about midnight on Fridays when it shuts and the first trains will run from approximately 5.43am on the days when the bridge re-opens.

Investigators are appealing for information following a collision involving a police vehicle in Teynham, near Sittingbourne over the weekend.

At 12.37am on Sunday (26th May), an officer driving a marked patrol car was responding to an urgent call with the vehicle’s sirens sounding and blue lights illuminated, when it was involved in a collision with a white Ford Focus on the A2 London Road.

The police officer and the two occupants of the other car suffered minor injuries in the early morning incident. A 39-year-old local man, who was driving the Ford Focus, was arrested on suspicion of drink driving. He was later bailed to return to the police station, pending further investigation.

Officers from Kent Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU) are appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision, or saw the vehicles beforehand, to call the SCIU witness appeal line on 01622 798538, or alternatively they can email: sciu.td@kent.police.uk quoting XX/COJ/55/24.

Dashcam footage can also be submitted using this link: https://kep.uk.evidence.com/axon/community-request/public/a2-london-road-junctionstationroad