Sittingbourne

A compulsive gambler, who swindled clients out of more than £750,000 by offering incredible deals on high profile sporting events, has been jailed for three years and four months.

James Edward Maxwell, who ran three Sittingbourne-based sports memorabilia and hospitality companies, "spun a staggering web of lies in order to persuade wealthy clients and charities to hand over cash, including claims that his young son had been diagnosed with cancer" according to Kent Police.

Two men have been charged in connection with an attempted burglary at a Sittingbourne newsagent over the Christmas holiday period.

Kent Police were called at 1.15am on Monday 30th December after an alarm was triggered at Lakeside News in Todd Crescent, Church Milton. Allegedly two men were seen attempting to gain entry to the rear of the store. Patrols attended within minutes of taking the call and arrested two men. A search of the shop revealed damage to the alarm system but no entry had been gained.

The bottom half of Sittingbourne High Street (from Central Avenue downwards) remains closed following the partial collapse of the Bell Shopping Centre in high winds.

A number of vehicles have been damaged in the car parking area to the rear of the centre and behind The Sumnor and the Sports Bar (part of the Snooker Club).

Stay tuned to 106.9 SFM for further updates.

Part of Sittingbourne High Street has had to be evacuated after a partial building collapse.

Revellers in The Sumnor Weatherspoons Pub and The Snooker Sports Bar were evacuated shortly after 6.00pm this evening, following a partial collapse at the rear of their premises that formed part of the old Bell Shopping Centre.

It is understood that there were no injuries involved but that a number of vehicles have been damaged.

Updates to follow >>>>>

Kent Police are still appealing for witnesses to a serious collision in Sittingbourne on the evening of Monday 7th October.

Collision investigators attended the A2 London Road at 7.05pm, after it was reported that a man jogging outside the Coniston Hotel, who had crossed the road had been involved in a collision with a silver Mercedes CLK 320.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, suffered serious head and leg injuries and was taken by road ambulance to a London hospital.

The driver of the car was not injured.

Kent Fire & Rescue (KFRS) firefighters, from Sittingbourne fire station, were called earlier today to tackle a fire in a dutch barn in Tonge.

The KFRS we called shortly afrer 18:15hrs to the dutch barn, situated in Blacketts Road in Tonge, containing approximately 120 tonnes of bayled straw.

A 58-year-old female cyclist suffered serious head injuries, after being hit by a car transporter on Eurolink Way in Sittingbourne earlier today.

Computer-generated images of a man have been released by detectives investigating a spate of distraction burglaries in the Sittingbourne and Newington areas.

All three burglaries, which are being linked by detectives, were reported to Kent Police on Monday 12th August.

A body was found on the mainline near Sittingbourne railway station last night (Monday 12th August) at around 11.15 pm.

British Transport Police have told SFM News: "Officers attended the scene last night and located the body of a man with injuries consistent with having been hit by a train. Medics from the South East Coast Ambulance Service attended but the man, thought to be in his fifties and from the local area, was pronounced dead at the scene. The death is currently being treated as non-suspicious."

Two bus drivers from Sheerness took the top places in the regional final of the Bus Driver of the Year competition, at North Weald Airfield in Essex, on Sunday 28th July.

They were part of a ten-strong contingent from Arriva's Southern Counties region that took part in a series of manoeuvring and theory tests designed to find the best three drivers to represent the company at the national finals of the competition to be held in Blackpool in early September.