Sittingbourne

A couple from Sittingbourne have been sentenced after they claimed their car had been stolen before it was involved in a fatal collision with a motorcyclist.

Stuart Powell was behind the wheel of his wife’s car on Wednesday 12th May 2021 when he pulled out in front of a motorcyclist on the B2005 Swale Way inKemsley, near the Milton Creek Fishing Lake.

Powell, aged 34 and of Miller Close in Kemsley, only held a provisional driving licence and was found to have been using his mobile phone at the time of the collision.

Around 70 cannabis plants have been seized and two men have been charged after officers were called to a burglary in Sittingbourne.

Patrols attended Charlotte Street during the early hours of  yesterday (Thursday 29th June) following reports of a break-in at a residential address.

One man was arrested at the scene whilst officers chased another on foot through several gardens and over fences before a second man was detained. It is alleged that during the incident a suspect was running along roof tops and caused damage to tiles.

Resurfacing work will close part of the A2 London Road in Teynham overnight for 11 nights, from today (Tuesday 20th June), meaning a lengthy diversion via the M2 for motorists travelling between Sittingbourne and Faversham.

A section of A2 London Road in Teynham, between Cellar Hill and the Fowler Welch Distribution Centre, will be inaccessible between 8pm and 5am with a diversion in place.

The official diversion route is via the A249, M2, A251 Ashford Road and finally back onto the A2 London Road with the reverse in the other direction (Londonbound).

A machete wielding man who chased two people at two train stations in Swale has been jailed.

During the early evening of Monday 31st October 2022, Joe Tubb was seen brandishing the weapon at Sheerness Train Station while chasing the victim down the platform.

The victim was able to escape Tubb by boarding a train before the 22-year-old ran from the area.

At 11.17pm on the same evening, Tubb went to Sittingbourne Train Station where he was seen having an altercation with a second man.

Officers are appealing for information following a fatal collision involving a car driver on the A249 near Stockbury earlier this morning (Monday 12th June).

The single-vehicle collision happened on the Sittingbourne-bound carriageway at around 4.25am and involved a silver Ford Fiesta.

The driver, a man in his 20s, was pronounced deceased at the scene. His next of kin has been informed.

Officers are seeking information following a collision on the M2 which led to a motorcyclist being seriously injured.

The collision happened at around 11:00am on Saturday (10th June), on the coastbound carriageway at a location close to junction 5. It involved a black Kawasaki motorcycle and a silver Ford Mondeo Estate. Police and ambulance crews attended and the rider of the motorcycle, a man aged in his 50s, was airlifted to a London hospital.

A dispersal order is in place to tackle anti-social behaviour in Swale for the second weekend running.

It started at 6pm yesterday (Thursday 1st June) and will remain in place until 6pm on Sunday (4th June) and will again cover Sittingbourne Retail Park as well as the High Street areas. The order has been implemented again to ensure a swift response to any reports of anti-social behaviour.

Local senior citizen's charity, Age UK Faversham & Sittingbourne, has decided to merge with Age UK Medway to ensure it can still run its vital services for elderly people locally in the future.

It's understood that funding from Kent County Council is coming to an end soon and the board of trustees have taken the decision to merge with the nearby Medway branch following the news that their Chief Executive Clare Burgess was leaving.

Advice about the dangers of carrying knives and taking drugs has been given to young people during a safety event in Swale.

‘Swale Safety in Action’ took place between Tuesday 16th and Thursday 18th May and saw 350 Year Six students from across 10 primary schools invited to take part.

During the event, which was held at Swallows Leisure Centre, they were also told about hate crime, healthy relationships, online safety and road, fire and electrical safety.

On Thursday 20th April 2023 at Sittingbourne Cemetery, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) marked the previously unmarked final resting place of 23 year old Private Leslie Anderson, of the East Kent Regiment, with a CWGC headstone.

At the same time they installed a CWGC Pedestal Marker on the grave of 33 year old Royal Navy Petty Officer Stoker Harry John Baker, who was commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.