Sittingbourne

Here are the results from the local Kent County Council Elections here in Sittingbourne:-

SWALE EAST:
Turnout: 42.5%

RICH LEHMANN (Green): 3,067
CHARLOTTE WHITNEY-BROWN (Conservative): 2,443
FRANCES REHAL (Labour): 420

SWALE WEST:
Turnout: 31.9%

MIKE BALDOCK (Swale Independents): 3,018
MIKE WHITING (Conservative): 2,367

(Stock Picture)

Kent Fire and Rescue Service were called out shortly after 1:30pm this afternoon (Wednesday 31st March) to a collison.

The KFRS Emergency Cail Centre received reports of a crash involving two cars on Bell Road here in Sittingbourne.

Two fire engines attended and crews used hydraulic cutting equipment to remove a door from one of the vehicles to safely release the driver. 

Sittingbourne has been rated as the country's third 'most resilient small town' during the pandemic, in new research by London-based retail consultancy CWM.

222 towns were analysed in the study by retail consultancy CWM, with Yate (near Bristol) scoring the highest rating followed by Spalding (in Lincolnshire) and then Sittingbourne closely followed by Tonbridge here in Kent.

A drug dealer who supplied class A substances in Chatham has been jailed for three years and nine months.

Christopher Tregunno supplied heroin and crack cocaine on behalf of a county line named ‘Trigger’ and was twice arrested by Kent Police officers in 2020. 

The 30-year-old, of Tonge Road in Sittingbourne, admitted four drug supply offences and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday (9th March).

Volunteers from Kent Police's Special Constabulary have taken part in a road safety initiative to help keep motorists safe here in Sittingbourne.

Last Saturday (27th February) a total of three Special Inspectors, three Special Sergeants and seven Special Constables dealt with issues including drivers not wearing seatbelts, speeding and lack of insurance in a targeted operation in the Mill Way area.

Officers from the Environment Agency’s Environmental Crime Team, along with Kent Police officers, seized a vehicle from a farm near Iwade on Thursday (25th February).

The seized vehicle is an 8-wheeled tipper truck and is believed to be have been used to fly tip waste in the Rainham area.

Four charges have been authorised against a man following a report a business was burgled in Sittingbourne.

A computer and printer are said to have been stolen from a business in Conqueror Court on the night of Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th January.

Following enquiries carried out by the Chief Constable’s Crime Squad, Simon Owen was arrested on suspicion of the offence on Tuesday (16th February).

Local detectives have issued an appeal for information following a report of a robbery in Sittingbourne.

At around 7:00pm on Saturday 16th January, three men entered a shop in St John’s Avenue where two shop assistants were working.

It is alleged one of the men, who was holding a bladed weapon, threatened a staff member while the other two suspects stole a quantity of tobacco. The second shop assistant is reported to have been assaulted and the men then stole cash and some bottles of alcohol before leaving the premises.

One of Kent's oldest rail bridges, at Sittingbourne railway station, has been demolished.

Network Rail engineers used a crane to demolish the original iron pedestrian bridge at the station, in St Michael’s Road, overnight (Saturday 30th January).

The Victorian foot bridge was one of the oldest in the county and was lifted out of the way and taken away for scrap.

A Network Rail spokesperson told SFM News: "it had come to the end of it's life and it was not safe to continue to use".