Sittingbourne

Local residents in Sittingbourne and Iwade are being asked to check their doorbell and CCTV camera footage after a man was arrested in connection with thefts from cars.

CCTV is sought from people living in the areas of Meadow Rise and Kingfisher Close in Iwade and Newlands Avenue, Sittingbourne. Residents are being urged to check footage relating to the early hours of today (Sunday 31st October).

Swale officers, investigating allegations of a sexual assault in Sittingbourne, have issued a CCTV image of a man they would like to identify.

At around 1.40pm on Thursday (21st October) afternoon a woman reported that an unknown man grabbed her from behind while she was walking along Charlotte Street. It is alleged the suspect touched her over her clothing. The victim was able to get away and the suspect left the scene.

The High Court has rejected an appeal by Wheelabrator to overturn a decision by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to refuse permission for its new Kemsley North energy from waste (EfW) plant here in Sittingbourne.

Increased local patrols are taking place after bricks are reported to have been thrown at motorists from bridges.

Last Sunday (3rd October), at around 5.40pm, officers received three reports of vehicles travelling on the M2, below the Sawpit Road bridge (pictured), having their windscreens and windows damaged. On this occasion, witnesses have not reported seeing anyone on the bridge.

Thousands of residents are currently without power in the Kemsley and Bobbing areas.

UK Power Networks have told SFM News: "Several thousand customers are impacted by a power cut in the Sittingbourne area at 6.42pm. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience the power cut has caused. An underground electricity cable faulted on our high voltage network, causing an area wide power cut."

Stay tuned to 106.9 SFM for the latest.

** UPDATED **

Power was fully restored by 7:30pm.

Three fire engines remain at the scene of a large fire at a recycling plant on West Lane on The Eurolink Industrial Estate.

Crews are damping down any remaining hot spots while maintaining a watching brief.

No casualties have been reported and the cause is not yet known.

People who live or work in the Kemsley and Iwade areas are still advised to keep their windows and doors closed as a precaution, due to smoke coming from the fire, which involved a large amount of household waste and recycling materials.

A drunk van driver, who ploughed into a car and killed a schoolgirl in Bobbing, has been jailed for seven years.

Benjamin Henley was more than two and a half times over the drink drive limit when he collided with a black Audi which had broken down on a slip road on the A249 on Wednesday 24th October 2018.

Henley, 45, of Illustrious Close, Chatham, failed to spot the Audi before he collided with it at around 11.50pm.

Georgia Mann, who was 15 and from Sittingbourne, was taken to a London hospital where she died on the morning of Friday 26 October.

Local MP Gordon Henderson, in partnership with Sittingbourne and Sheerness JobCentres, welcomed over 30 local businesses on Friday (17^th September) morning to their Kickstart Scheme Seminar, where they were encouraged to offer 6-month work placements to young people on Universal Credit.

Thousands of pounds worth of cigarettes, suspected to be stolen, have been seized following a police pursuit in Sittingbourne.

Officers recovered the tobacco last Thursday (9th September) after witnessing a van drive past them on the wrong side of the road near the A2 at around 2.15pm.

Patrols requested the vehicle to stop however it failed to do so. A short pursuit then took place, before the driver and passenger decamped the vehicle.

Officers located a man at Sittingbourne Train Station, believed to be the driver of the car, and he was arrested.

A cleaner who stole around £50,000 from a customer has been jailed.

Jennifer Richards stole the money from an elderly man whom she cleaned for between October 2017 and February 2018.

The 50-year-old was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court yesterday (Monday 13th September) to two years and three months in jail after being found guilty of one count of fraud by false representation and one count of theft, following a trial.