Local News

The Kent Police Swale Local Policing Team 3 spent some time this morning (Monday 28th January) on the Great Easthall Estate following complaints by local residents and public transport users.

Great Easthall Way, between Freeman Drive and Oak Road, was targetted in response to drivers repeatedly contravening no entry signs and using a designated 'Bus Lane'.

19 traffic offence reports were issued, which carry a £100 fine and 3 points on the driving licence for each driver concerned.

Bus company Arriva Kent announced last Wednesday (23rd January) that it was having to cut it's service to the Great Easthall Estate because of the dangers posed by cars illegally using the bus-only route - that links the estate to Oak Road - as a rat-run.

Oliver Monahan, area managing director for Arriva Kent and Surrey, told SFM News: "Unfortunately, with immediate effect, we have had to temporarily stop serving the stops on Great Easthall Way and Mulberry Way on the 349 service in Sittingbourne. This is because of the significant dangers posed by cars illegally using the bus-only lane at Great Easthall, running the risk of a head-on collision between a car and a bus on the single lane bus lane."

He added: "We're currently working with the relevant authorities to resolve the issue and are keen to start serving the stops again once it is safe to do so."

We will keep you updated on this story online and On Air.

A Sittingbourne man has been charged with theft after he was arrested by officers following a foot chase.

Shane Baker, 30, of Bluebell Drive in, Sittingbourne, has been charged with two counts of theft after being arrested on Thursday (17th January).

The charges relate to incidents on Monday 7th and Wednesday 16th January at a shop in Sittingbourne where, on both occasions, three bottles of alcohol were reported stolen.

Mr Baker was spotted in Sittingbourne riding a push bike and failed to stop for officers when requested to do so. He was pursued by an officer on foot and arrested near London Road.

He was charged and bailed to appear before Maidstone Magistrates' Court on Friday 15th February, however he was subsequently remanded in custody as he was wanted on a recall to prison.

A £520,000 scheme to replace a three-inch pipeline, in Pond Farm Road and Wises Lane, is set to get underway on Monday 14th January.

The pipe, which has burst 25 times in the last five years and 14 times since 2015, is set to be replaced with a 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.

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

Two cousins have received prison sentences following a violent disturbance at a private address near Stockbury earlier this year.

At 6.20am on Saturday 5th May, William Smith, aged 29, and 23-year-old Eli Smith, went to a static caravan in a yard off the A249 occupied by two men and two women who were known to them. They smashed the patio doors and started to cause damage inside the caravan, which was also destroyed by a fire during the incident. William Smith also drove a car into some parked Transit vans owned by the victims.

The occupants of the caravan got out and were later found by attending officers standing on a grass verge at the side of the A249. Police patrols, including armed officers, and Kent Fire and Rescue Service went into the yard where the fire was extinguished. The caravan had been completely destroyed and two vans had been damaged. Officers later recovered 13 shotgun cartridges from the scene.

William Smith had left the yard and was arrested later that day, while Eli Smith was tracked down in Sittingbourne and arrested on Tuesday 8th May. William Smith, of Miller Close, Kemsley, later pleaded guilty to affray while Eli, of Lewis Close, Faversham, admitted violent disorder. They were jailed for 19 months and 33 months respectively at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday (21st December).

William Smith's father, also called William, is due to be sentenced in the New Year after pleading guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, and violent disorder.

Investigating officer, Detective Inspector Chris Greenstreet, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, told SFM News: "This was a very violent incident and it is only chance that nobody in the caravan was seriously injured. These convicted men have shown no remorse and a lengthy prison sentence is entirely appropriate".