Royston Community Team

Rural Watch

October 2008

Covering Arbury, Ermine, Weston & Sandon Wards.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service are urging people to be extra vigilant at this time of year as we think about switching on the heating for the first time in a while. Gas fired boilers should be serviced regularly to ensure they are working properly and not giving off deadly carbon monoxide.

Royston Fire Station Commander, Sean Comerford, urged people to make sure they have checks on domestic gas boilers carried out by qualified engineers in order to prevent tragedy caused by faulty appliances. “Domestic gas fired boilers can give off lethal levels of carbon monoxide, which is a gas that is not detectable by smell, therefore you won’t know there is a problem until it is too late” he said. Carbon monoxide detectors, which look and work in a similar way to smoke detectors are available from most good hardware outlets and can save lives.

Another thing to watch out for this time of year are candles. People use them for mood lighting and other applications in winter and they can be very effective. A few simple precautions can prevent fire damage to your home.

v Always use a proper holder for candles, and ensure they stand properly, away from combustible materials such as curtains and fabrics.

v Never leave candles unattended, even for a short time and keep them out of the reach of children.

v Tea lights must always be placed on a hard, non-combustible, surface such as a plate or saucer. Placing them directly onto plastic or polished surfaces such as a television is extremely dangerous as the metal casing of the tea light gets very hot and will melt through the T.V.

For more advice on home fire safety, or to book a FREE home safety check, please call the free phone number 0800 587 3347

Royston Fire Station on 01763 822100

ACROSS the County there have been increased reports of pickpockets operating in town centres and supermarkets, ‘dipping’ for purses.

Police are taking positive action to deter pickpockets and to arrest anyone who commits this type of theft but there are measures that shoppers can take themselves to reduce the risk of becoming a victim.

Police are issuing the following advice:

· Be alert when you are out and about. Be aware of who is around you, especially in a crowd and move away if you feel a stranger is too close to you.

· Keep purses and wallets as secure as you can - women should keep bags closed up and men should keep their valuables in their front pockets, not in trouser back pockets.

· When carrying a bag try to make sure that you keep it to your front so you can see it at all times. Preferably use a bag with a zip but if you don’t have one, put your purse and other valuables at the bottom of the bag and not near the top where they could be seen or easily snatched.

· Police do sell purse alarms for £3, please contact us if you wish us to drop one off (01438 757935)

Remember to be as careful with a mobile phone as you are with your purse or wallet

Ashwell	West end / Newham way	10/09/08 1330 - 1400	26 veh / 31 mph / 26.2 mph
Ashwell	Station rd (40 limit)	10/09/08 1300 - 1325	19 veh / 42 mph / 34.8 mph
Bygrave	Upper Bygrave	10/09/08 1515 - 1540	15 veh / 27 mph / 25.5 mph
Barley	Cambridge Road	03/09/08 1000 - 1025	25 veh / 29 mph / 27.2 mph
Barkway	Royston Road	03/09/08 0930 - 0955	27 veh / 32 mph / 24.34 mph
Therfield	The Causeway	03/09/08 1115 - 1140	14 veh / 29 mph / 23.2 mph
Newham	Ashwell road	10/09/08 1440 - 1505	19 veh / 27 mph / 26.45 mph
Weston	Damask Green Road	17/09/08 1000 - 1025	17 veh / 32 mph / 26. 25 mph
Rushden	Moon and Stars	03/09/08 1200 - 1225	16 veh / 34 mph / 28.8 mph
Hinxworth	High Street	10/09/08 1405 - 1430	17 veh / 28 mph / 22.4 mph

G4E; - Ashwell, Hinxworth, Bygrave, Newnham & Caldecote

Thieves siphoned a quantity of fuel from a Mercedes which had been parked locked and unattended in Church Paths, Ashwell overnight of Thursday 4^th September. (Crime no. G4/08/921).

Four garden sheds situated on the allotments, Station Road, Ashwell were broken into over the weekend beginning Friday 5^th September. A quantity of tools was stolen from within. (Crime no. G4/08/934, 935, 941 & 942).

A quantity of fuel was stolen from a tank situated in a yard in Ashwell End overnight of Monday 22^nd September. (Crime no. G4/08/982).

G4D; - Barkway, Barley, Reed, Nuthampstead, Newsells, Kelshall & Therfield

Overnight of Thursday 4^th September, burglars targeted a house in the High Street, Barkway. The thieves broke a ground floor window and helped themselves to a large quantity of antique items from the ground floor whilst the occupants slept upstairs. (Crime no. G4/08/920).

Would be thieves failed in their attempt to break into a Mitsubishi Pick-Up parked at the rear of the Woodman Inn, Nuthampstead overnight of Saturday 13^th September. (Crime no. G4/08/952).

Thieves stole a white Scania Artic trailer displaying a registration of NL52ONF from a yard at Buckland overnight of Sunday 28^th September. The trailer was loaded with HGV tyres at the time of the theft. (Crime no. G4/08/999).

G3C; - Sandon, Wallington, Rushden, Clothal & Weston

Thieves broke into a house in Southern Green, Rushden between 9.20am and 12.30pm on Tuesday 2^nd September. Access was gained via a ground floor window at the rear of the premises and a quantity of jewellery was stolen. We believe that two males may have been responsible and that they had travelled to Rushden in a silver Vauxhall Vectra with a spoiler on the rear. At this stage we are unsure of the registration displayed on the vehicle but we believe that the front offside wheel was actually the spare wheel. If you spot a car matching this description in the area, please do not hesitate to contact us. (Crime no. G3/08/488).

A 23 year old male received a warning after Police Officers patrolling the Baldock Bypass on Saturday 6^th September found him to be in possession of cannabis.

(Crime no. G3/08/494).

Thieves broke into a garden shed in Rushden overnight of Saturday 6^th September and stole a chainsaw and motorcycle cable lock from within. (Crime no. G3/08/496).

Overnight of Thursday 11^th September intruders forced the roller shutter doors of a business premises in Sandon. Entry was gained however nothing was stolen.

(Crime no. G3/08/507).

A blue Ifor Williams trailer was stolen along with a quantity of equestrian equipment and timber cladding when thieves broke into a barn in Sandon overnight of Wednesday 24^th September. (Crime no. G3/08/522).

Two youths have been arrested in connection with an incident of arson which occurred on Thursday 25^th September in Friends Green, Weston. Two haystacks were destroyed in the incident. (Crime no. G3/08/523).

Burglars targeted a property in Maiden Street, Weston between 11am and 3pm on Thursday 25^th September. They entered the property via a door at the rear of the premises and stole a quantity of jewellery before making good their escape.

(Crime no. G3/08/525).

Between 10am and 12.30pm on Saturday 27^th September a house in Weston was broken into via an insecure ground floor window. A laptop computer, Nintendo DS and two mobile telephones were amongst the electrical items stolen from the property. (Crime no. G3/08/528).

Reported Hare coursing Incidents in our area.

	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	April	Total
03-04	3	13	28	3	8	13	9	3	80
04-05	4	13	4	0	4	0	1	0	26
05-06	0	3	0	0	1	1	1	0	6
06-07	0	4	4	6	1	0	2	0	17
07-08	3	10	4	6	9	2	4	3	43
08-09	7

Number of Sunday Hare Coursing and Nuisance Vehicle Patrols Carried Out.
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	July	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
07								3	3	3	0	3
08	9	5	6	8	8	2	2	2	2

Last time we attended

RUSHDEN	02/07/08	SANDON	26/03/08
THERFIELD	26/03/08	REED	05/03/08
BARKWAY	15/07/08	BARLEY	04/02/08
KELSHALL	21/04/08	NUTHAMP	01/05/07
ASHWELL	01/10/08	BYGRAVE	04/02/08
CALDECOTE	05/01/07	WESTON	13/03/08
RADWELL	29/04/08	WALLINGTON	02/07/08
HINXWORT	14/02/08	CLOTHALL	02/07/08

Area	Last Meeting	Next Meeting	Location and Time
G4E	8^th May 2008	19th November 08	8pm Parish Rooms Ashwell
G4D	12^th February	9^th October 08	8pm Reed Village hall.
G3C	20^th May 2008	23rd October 08	8pm Rusden Village hall

Locality

Members

Martin Dingemans, Howard Marshall, Simon Holtom, Robert Law, Teddy Faure-Walker, , Steve Jarvis, Andrew Young, Tony Hunter, Peter Shuttlewood, Keith Bone Christine Schwick, Janette Kingsley.

Meeting

12/08/08

Tasks set

1. High visibility patrols in daylight hours in a bid to Reduce Incidents of hare coursing, Nusience Motor cycling and Nusience 4 X 4 use. Three Sunday Hare coursing Nusience Motor cycling and Nusience 4 X 4 use patrols per months, early start preferred, 7am or 8pm. Log to be published each month.

2. Continue with crime prevention and evidence gathering securing evidence in relation to suspicious vehicles. All suspicious vehicles that appear in rural locations to be full checked and information forwarded to police information systems.

3. Continue with speed checks by PCSO’s to monitor vehicle speeds. Details of locations to be taken from Parish Councils and details published each month. Enforcement was not considered a good use of resources.

Please click on the below link to meet some of the people we wish to becomes friends with.

http://www.herts.police.uk/CCTV/gallery.htm

Rural Watch

Jan

RUSHDEN

SANDON

THERFIELD

ASHWELL

BYGRAVE

CALDECOTE

Please click on the below link to meet some of the people we wish to becomes friends with.