Crime

A MAN from Lower Sunbury has been arrested and charged with using violence to gain entry to a property.

David O'Keefe, 39, of French Street is due to appear at North Surrey Magistrates Court on Tuesday 16 February.

Surrey police officers were called to a residential address at around 8am on Wednesday January 27 following reports of a civil dispute.

The victim, a 53-year-old woman did not sustain any injuries as a result of the incident.

A LEARNER driver has had her confidence shattered after a thug smashed into her car and drove off without stopping.

Sarah-Jane Garside, 17, of Cumbernauld Gardens, Sunbury, has been left distraught by the incident on Christmas Eve in Spelthorne Lane, Charlton, which has left her Ford Ka ruined and made her think twice about carrying on learning.

Seven drivers were arrested during an 11 day crackdown in Spelthorne to target distraction burglars.

Surrey Police held Operation Carlside between November 23 and December 3 along with Surrey Trading Standards and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to target the kind of criminals who wrangle old people and vulnerable people out of money.

A GRAFFITI vandal from Sunbury has been jailed for six months for helping to cause £270,000 damage to tube and train carriages.

Benjamin Standen, 21, from Chaplin Crescent, was part of a six man gang who all admitted more than 125 criminal damage charges after an 18-month rampage.

VIOLENT offenders could be among the criminals living in a new 'bail hostel' somewhere in Ashford - but the government is refusing to reveal its exact location.

The two-bedroom hostel is being run by ClearSprings, which has been warned it could lose its government contract to run the houses after an inmate was murdered by another offender at one of its properties in Teeside, and is being used to accommodate people on bail or on a home detention curfew, which could include offenders who have:

An extra 200 police officers could be seen walking around the streets of Surrey in the near future.

Chief constable of Surrey Police Mark Rowley has said the force are looking to close police stations, make cuts of senior officers and lower bureaucracy as part of radical plans due to be discussed on December 10 with Surrey Police Authority.

Police have released a picture of a man who failed to answer police bail recently.

Officers are looking for 19-year-old Nicholas Little, of Yeoman Drive, Stanwell, after he didn't answer bail in connection with an assault in Staines Road West, Sunbury, in July.

The police have made attempts to find him, but they believe he is moving addresses and staying with friends in Stanwell, Sunbury, and Walton.

He is described as white, around 5ft 7ins tall, with short dark hair, blue eyes, and of a heavy builld,

It is believed he has access to a white Fiat Punto vehicle, but the police have said members of the public should approach him if they see him but to report sightings to them.

The Herald and News would like it to be known that Surrey Police do have access to social networking sites while investigating crime.

The titles' sister paper, the Staines Informer, reported last week that an investigation into brick wall vandalism in Lower Sunbury was being hampered as officers couldn't get access to social networking site Facebook because of an internal ban.

But Spelthorne acting neighbourhood inspector Rebecca Kempster has stated that the force can access the site, along with others such as auction page eBay, to investigate or prevent crime.

The Herald and News is happy to clarify these points.

Inspector Kempster said: "Surrey Police want to clarify that we can get access to Facebook and other sites when investigating crime."

The investigation is still ongoing into the 20 incidents of vandalism in Elizabeth Gardens and Saxonbury Avenue which occurred on Monday 19 and 26 October.

It is believed children are being blamed for the thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Anyone with information should call the police on 0845 125 2222 if they know of anything.

SPELTHORNE Council leader John Packman is warning the borough not to be fooled by an elaborate phone scammer is who is trying to swindle money from residents.

The convincing caller, who calls himself John Peacock and speaks with an African accent, is phoning people pretending to be from BT and tells them their lines will be disconnected because of unpaid bills. He threatens that, unless immediate payment of £31 is made to get the line reconnected, the figure will go up to £118 at a later date.

CAR criminals went on the rampage in Sunbury and Ashford over the weekend, smashing their way into ten vehicles in one night.

They targeted vehicles in Norman and Elgin Roads in Ashford, as well as four cars in Tasman Court, Staines Road West, Sunbury.