Between Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st of August a generator and 1500 litres of red diesel were stolen from an orchard near Spade Lane Coldstore, Spade Lane.
If you have any information that could help investigators please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.
Earlier this month, in response to local resident’s concerns the Parish Council debated the speed of cars in our village and what we could do about it. The Parish Council have invested time and equipment in Speed-watch, and the truth is thatthe drivers speeding in the village more often than not live or work here, and sadly despite everyone’s efforts, they continue to speed through the village and local lanes.
Local drivers are often familiar with roads and complacent about the hazards, they forget they are driving a vehicle weighing about a ton at around two London bus lengths every second! They also forget or may not be aware that, car occupants and motorcyclists are twice as likely to be killed on a country road as an urban road; whilst cyclists are more than three times as likely.
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Speed kills, it is a simple fact and as drivers and road users it is important to understand stopping distances and how they increase with speed, knowing the relationship and being mindful of the consequences could save a child’s life.
If a child steps out from the front of a bus at the moment the front of your car is level with the rear of the bus at 30mph, you cannot stop your car in time, it is nothing to do with how good a driver you are, it is just physics! In fact the average driver won’t have reacted in the time available and not even started braking!
A pedestrian hit at 30mph (that’s the speed limit in our village) has a one in five chance of being killed.The likelihood of death rises significantly to a one in three chance if they are hit at 35mph!. Even slower speeds hide dangers; at 20mph with an attentive driver a car should stop in time to avoid a child running out three car-lengths in front. The same vehicle and driver travelling at 25mph would have only slowed to 18mph when it hit the child, that’s about the same impact as the child falling from a first floor window onto concrete.
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A vehicle’s braking distance depends on how fast it was travelling before the brakes were applied, and is proportional to the square of the initial speed. That means even small increases in speed mean significantly longer braking distances. Braking distances are much longer for larger and heavier vehicles, and in wet or icy conditions.
Technology such as anti-lock brakes and stability control are designed to enable greater control over the vehicle, not shorten stopping distances. There may be a very small reduction in braking distance with modern technology, but not enough to significantly affect the overall stopping distance.
A vehicle’s speed and the attentiveness of the driver determine stopping distances on any roads, however, in a village like ours other factors come into play, and can make speed significantly more dangerous. Often because there is less traffic, drivers feel a false sense of security on country roads, the reality, however, is that they are statistically the most dangerous for all types of road user, accounting for six in 10 fatal crashes.
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Country roads may sometimes appear empty, but they are full of unpredictable hazards. They are used by pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, slow farm vehicles, livestock and wild animals – all of which have a right to be there. They are often narrow with blind corners and bends, pot holes and debris, and no pavements or cycle paths. All these factors mean the 60mph limit on most country roads is usually far too high for safety, giving drivers insufficient time to react in an emergency, despite that country roads are plagued by fast drivers, many of who risk horrific crashes by speeding, taking bends too fast and silly overtaking.
You can help make our village and the surrounding country roads safer by always driving as though someone or something could be round every corner - that means staying well under speed limits, and slowing right down for bends, brows and other hazards, a little thought and a minute or two longer on your journey could save a life.
Drive safely out there!
The THINK! campaign is run by the Department For Transport and provides road safety information for road users. Their aim is to encourage safer behaviour to reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads every year.
Newington Village Festival grows each year and is now one of the largest village festivals in Swale.
Please enable us to make the 2016 festival on Saturday, July 16, even better by completing our short survey at: www.surveymonkey.com/S/2LP7KJK
Dean Coles, chairman of the parish council's organising committee, said: "More than 2,000 people turned out and gave tremendous support to the festival this year. I want to thank everyone who attended and contributed, including all the performers and the hard-working committee and helpers.
"Now we would like your feedback to help us continue to improve and expand the festival."
The Festival Draw winners were: Lunch for 10 at T20 Cricket, Lashings X1 v Parliament X1: Rob Golding, The Bull, Newington
Champagne hot air balloon flight: Andrea Staniforth, Church Lane, Newington
Leeds Castle family pass: Mr Jones, St Matthews Close, Newington
Sittingbourne Greyhounds Race Night and Meal for six: Paula O'Leary, Downs Park, Herne Bay
Afternoon tea at Eastwell Manor, Ashford: Roy Sedge, The Harrow, Stockbury
The winners of the Festival Raffle were:
Royal Engineers Museum family annual pass: Sabina Lis, Thistle Road, Sittingbourne
Upchurch Golf Club pass: Mrs Beavis, London Road, Newington
Diggerland pass: Paul Greene, Church Lane, Newington
Mount Ephraim Gardens family day ticket: Cara Huish, Appleford Drive, Minster
Swallows Leisure Centre family swimming pass: Mrs Hextall, Brooks Close, Newington
Afternoon tea for two at the Thistle Hotel, Brands Hatch: Tracey Finlon, Iwade Way, Newington
Wallbridge Lane will be closed from9:00am on Monday the 24th of August, between the junctions of Oak Lane and Otterham Quay Lane to enable urgent cabling repairs to be carried out.
The alternative route is via Oak Lane and Horsham Lane.
A Public Meeting has been arranged for Wednesday the 26th of August at 7:00pm in Upchurch Village Hall to discuss and organise opposition to the proposed changes to the 327 Bus timetable which take effect on the 1st of September 2015.
All residents of Upchurch and Lower Halstow are most welcome.
The new September 1st timetable is already available on the Chalkwell website here ☞ www.chalkwell.co.uk
