Sittingbourne

Information is sought to help find a missing man from Ireland who might be in the Sittingbourne area.

Martin Lambert is believed to have arrived in England on Friday 14th June and may have travelled to Sittingbourne on Tuesday 25th June.

He is described as white, five feet six inches tall, with short red hair and is balding on top. He is missing one of his front teeth, and has a tattoo on one arm saying ‘Mum’. On his other arm he has a tattoo of an English bulldog holding a snooker cue.

Officers investigating an incident in Sittingbourne, where a teenage boy was struck by a car, are appealing for the victim to contact them urgently.

Patrols were called to Bristol Close in Milton Regis following reports of the collision at around 9pm on last night (Friday 5th July). It is alleged the driver then got out of his vehicle and assaulted the victim who fled the scene. Constables arrested a 46-year-old local man on suspicion of assault and he was taken into custody. The suspect was later bailed to return to the police station, pending further investigation.

Kent County Council (KCC) has today (Thursday 4th July) issued a Statement regarding the recent traffic problems in Sittingbourne and the Isle Of Sheppey following the closure of the Kingsferry Bridge and the continuing work at the Grovehurst/Iwade junction of the A249.

A KCC spokesperson told SFM News: “We understand how frustrated people living and working in the area feel about the severe traffic delays they have experienced this week while work continues on three major road schemes near Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey.

It was yet another afternoon / early evening of "gridlock" in Sittingbourne again today (Tuesday 2nd July) due to the continuing closure of the Kingsferry Bridge.

The bridge remains closed, for essential maintenance work by Network Rail, until 5am on Sunday (7th July). This will also be the case across the weekend of Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th July and then another full week's closure from Saturday 20th July until Saturday 27th July.

Volunteers from gas distribution network SGN have been mucking in to support Sittingbourne’s Happy Pants Ranch as part of a new wellbeing initiative.

With just six days to go until the General Election, pollsters Electoral Calculus’ new survey of 20,000 people (across Kent) suggests the Conservatives are still facing a loss in the Sittingbourne and Sheppey Constituency.

Labour is set to win 12 constituencies in the county with the Conservatives taking only 6.

Our local constituencies, both Sittingbourne & Sheppey and Faversham & Mid Kent are both set to be Labour gains on Thursday (4th July).

Pic: Helen Rum.

Two Chalkwell Buses have been damaged after been attacked on Sonora Way in The Meads development in Sittingbourne.

The 334 service, between Sittingbourne and Sheerness, was attacked at around 6pm yesterday (Monday 17th June) with the bus company confirming that a similar incident happened last week in the same area.

A local Sittingbourne resident has been given an honour in HM The King’s Birthday Honours List 2024 announced at 10:30pm last night (Friday 14th June).

Shirley Ellen Goodhew (pictured) is the Chair of Chatham Dockyard Historical Society and has received a BEM (British Empire Medal) for services to Heritage and to the community in Kent (Sittingbourne).

Congratulations to Shirley from us all here at the King's Award For Voluntary Services winning #TeamSFM for helping to fly the flag for Sittingbourne!

Local bus operator Chalkwell has announced temporary amendments to it's 334 bus service to and from the island on Saturdays, following the closures of the Kingsferry Bridge over the next few months.

The 334 will not serve Quinton Road, Sheppey Way and Iwade during the closures with services operating as far as Sonora Fields and Jacinth Drive out of Sittingbourne. They will then join the main A249 and go directly to Queenborough Morrisons via The Sheppey Crossing. The opposite will happen on journeys from Sheerness. 

The first of the Kingsferry Bridge closures commenced at 10pm last night (Friday 7th June) and will continue until 5am on Monday (10th June).

Network Rail will be providing a bus replacement for service between Sittingbourne and Sheerness on Sea (calling at all stations except 'Swale') throughout all the closures to enable repais to the road/rail bridge between the Isle of Sheppey and the mainland (here in Sittingbourne).