Sittingbourne

Sittingbourne officers have secured an extension of a closure order which prohibits entry to a property associated with persistent anti-social behaviour.

The extension was granted at Maidstone’ Magistrates Court on Thursday (24th November) and concerns a flat in Oak Road, Murston linked to repeated threats and harassment to neighbours. The closure order makes it an offence for anyone to enter the property and had originally lasted from Friday 26th August until Friday 25th November 2022.

British Transport Police (BTP) officers, investigating an incident during which a man spat at a member of rail staff, have released an image in connection with the incident.

At 3.30pm on Friday 30th September, a man climbed over a fence at Sittingbourne railway station onto its platform to avoid the ticket barriers.

Rail staff approached the man and escorted him out of the station. As he passed through the booking hall he turned and spat at one of the staff members before leaving.

Illegal drugs with an estimated street value of more than £1,600 have been found after officers pulled a vehicle over in Canterbury.

At around 4.30pm on Wednesday (9th November), officers from Kent Police’s Proactive Targeting Team were on patrol in the Longport area of the city when they received a report from another patrol of a Toyota being driven in a suspicious manner nearby. They saw and stopped the car. It was searched, resulting in a large amount of cannabis found hidden in cavities within the body of the vehicle. Phones and a quantity of cash were also seized.

A suspect has been remanded in custody following reports he made threats with a weapon towards two men in separate Swale incidents.

At around 8.45pm on Monday (31st October) evening, it is alleged a victim was threatened by a man with a machete on a platform at Sheerness train station.

Witnesses are being sought by Kent Police following a fatal collision near Sittingbourne last evening (Tuesday 18th October).

At around 5pm a yellow Renault Scenic was involved in a collision with a bicycle along The Street in Wormshill. The cyclist, a 71-year-old man, sustained fatal injuries and was confirmed deceased at the scene.

Two men from Sittingbourne, aged 35 and 55, were later arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and taken into custody.

Arriva Kent bus drivers have announced another 13 days of walk-outs which will affect services across the county later this month and in to next month.

Drivers have already walked out on two days in September and on Thursday (6th October) and Friday (7th October) last week and Monday (10th October) and Tuesday (11th October) this week. 600 members of the Unite Union, based at Arriva Kent depots in Northfleet, Gillingham (our local depot), Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, voted by a 96.5% margin to take further industrial action.

An injured man who repeatedly spat at ambulance staff who were trying to help him has been jailed for six months.

William Gregory, 36, had been drinking alcohol when he was found collapsed on a grass verge next to a row of houses in Newbridge Avenue, Sittingbourne, on Monday 5th September. He also appeared to have removed a plaster cast from his foot.

Members of the public were concerned for his welfare and dialled 999, resulting in Kent Police officers and South East Coast Ambulance Service clinicians attending the scene.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service were called to Sheppey Way in Iwade to reports of a bungalow fire at around 11pm last night (Thursday 1st September).

Four fire engines attended and crews tackled a fire in the roof space using hose reel jets and main jets.

KFRS’ volunteer response team also attended to provide support the occupants and residents in neighbouring properties affected by the incident. 

There were no reported casualties and the cause is not yet known. 

A suspect has been charged and remanded in custody following a knife assault in Sittingbourne.

Kent Police were called at 9.55pm on last Thursday (18th August), to a report a man had suffered an injury consistent with a stab wound. The victim, aged in his 50s, is alleged to have been assaulted by someone known to him during a disturbance inside a residential address in Romney Court. He was taken to a London hospital and has now been discharged.

National Highways South East have announced that soon they will be starting work on the new slip roads, and to do this safely they will be closing the eastbound (coastbound) entry and exit slips between the M2 and A249 from Monday 12th September 2022 until Friday 13rd January 2023. 

This means that there will be no access to the Stockbury roundabout from the M2 eastbound or the ability to join the M2 eastbound from the Stockbury roundabout at junction 5 during the closure.