Category: Thame news

THE burly men of the village of Ickford in Buckinghamshire, took a dunking in front of hundreds of people of Friday, after a tug-of-war lasting over seven minutes against their Oxfordshire rivals from Tiddington.

This was the second year in row, of the two villages’ 60 annual battles across the River Thame, in which Tiddington have been the victors.

Ickford however, won the Junior’s contest, so future Tiddington ‘pullers’ had better watch out, and the Ickford ladies and veterans also won their contests.

The tug-of-war tradition apparently started as a challenge between two farmers back in the 1950s and has taken place every year since.

The current score is Ickford, 32 wins against Tiddington’s 28.

HERE is the latest Thame neighbourhood update from Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Lucy Thorne, PCSO Diane Jackson, PCSO Chris Hollis and PCSO Richard Howard.

Anti-social behaviour

During July we received numerous reports of egg throwing in various areas of Thame. We have been conducting high visibility patrols to try and locate the offenders as this is classed as Criminal Damage/ASB. All local shops have been visited and they have agreed to monitor the sales of eggs to try and assist us with identifying the offenders.

We have received reports of ASB in the Queen Elizabeth Circle where young people are gathering and creating a noise nuisance. This area is on our patrol plan and will be monitored regularly.

PCSO Lucy Thorne has liaised with the town council to arrange for litter bins to be placed in and around the park area to solve the littering problem.

PCSO Diane Jackson has also liaised with the council regarding animal excrement in the sand pit, and they are currently dealing with this.

We have been informed that visitors to the Queen Elizabeth Circle park area have been parking in Harrison Place and on occasion they have caused an obstruction to resident?s driveways. We would like to remind everyone to be considerate in their parking.

We have received complaints about anti-social use of vehicles through the town centre, mainly in the evening and at night. We have developed a good rapport with the young people in the town, and combine suitable advice regarding noise levels and gathering in public areas, together with enforcement where appropriate. We will continue to monitor this and should we identify vehicles and drivers causing vehicle related ASB, we will be issuing Section 59 warnings, which can lead to the seizure of vehicles constantly coming to note.

All of these community concerns continue to be addressed through our current patrol plan.

Good News Stories

Following two caravans setting up camp on the side of the road, at the Aylesbury roundabout opposite the Esso Service Station, police made enquiries in an effort to identify the people associated with these vehicles and their intentions. Once these details were obtained we were able to encourage them to leave and within a few days they had vacated the roadside.

Offenders brought to justice

In July, 11 offenders were brought to justice for the following:

Harassment
Assault without injury
Drug possession ? excluding Cannabis
Cannabis possession
Public order
Drunk & disorderly
Assault without injury on Constable
Shoplifting
Crime Mapping

Partnership Activity

We continue to work with our partners, ensuring that we liaise on a regular basis with the schools on our sector to maintain our good rapport.

In July, PCSO Lucy Thorne and PCSO Diane Jackson worked in partnership with Barley Hill School to resolve a low level dispute.

We conduct monthly walkabouts with soha housing and Highways, tackling low level neighbourhood issues.

We continue to engage regularly with the Town Council, picking up any concerns people raise. This also helps keep us informed about any community events which are taking place in future months.

We conduct high visibility patrols at key times at our schools. This gives us an opportunity to engage with the pupils and parents, and also monitoring parking.

Pubwatch meetings continue to be held every two months and Country Watch meetings are held quarterly.

Non Partnership Activity

Following reports of people illegally occupying a premise in Thame, we have been working closely with the relevant agencies and local residents to reduce/deter criminal activity. The premise has now been secured and we are conducting regular site inspections to monitor the premise and surrounding area. We have also conducted reassurance patrols, which local residents have appreciated.

Priorities

Our Local Priority for Thame is anti-social behaviour (ASB). To deter any ASB we conduct high visibility patrols in and around the town, engaging with members of the public and listening to local people?s community concerns/issues. Where problems are brought to our attention, we conduct home visits with parents present (if appropriate), issue warning letters and work with offenders to encourage them to move forward. As well as ASB warning letters we can also issue acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs), anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), Section 27 orders ? direction to leave locality, and Section 59 orders – contracts issued for using a vehicle in an anti-social manner.

Planned Activity

We have participated in the following operations during July:

Maginot – this operation continues to run, tackling travelling criminals entering and leaving our area.

Due to an increase in thefts from vehicles in the Thame area and surrounding villages, we have been deploying the Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) device at dedicated times and providing a highly visible police presence aimed at deterring and preventing offences taking place, offering reassurance and assisting in the capture and prosecution of offenders.

ANPR is a powerful tool that can help prevent crime by identifying flagged vehicles.

Benefits of ANPR

ANPR identifies suspect vehicles that may not normally attract police attention.
Unlicensed or uninsured vehicles are likely to be seized on the spot by ANPR equipped officers.
It can be used to gather intelligence on known criminals, and for running pro-active operations using dedicated Roads Policing intercept teams.
ANPR cameras are not safety cameras – they are not used by Thames Valley Police to catch speeding or otherwise law abiding motorists. ANPR cameras are not used to generate money for the Government or other agencies.

Magpie – this operation involves checking parked vehicles in local car parks for valuables left on display. We also conduct these checks on our general patrols.

Mangrove ? this operation has been set up as a result of fuel thefts from heavy goods vehicles in our area. This operation involves us carrying out static patrols in key areas at key times in marked vehicles.

Moonlight – this operation will be running continuously and is working to protect the night time economy of Thame town centre by preventing and detecting ASB/violent assaults and managing licensed premises. PCSOs are working with police officers to conduct high visibility patrols in the town centre and liaising with the pubs, carrying out licence checks.

The Home Office national crime mapping website gives the public access to street-level crime information as well as information on their Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Neighbourhood Priorities and Events – details of Have Your Say and other neighbourhood activities. Log on to www.police.uk, type in your local postcode or neighbourhood name and then click on ?Find out more?.

Have Your Say online

You can now send non-emergency messages to us using the online form that is available on the Thames Valley Police website. A number of people have already sent their concerns using this method. For you to do that please follow the link: http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/yournh/yournh-about-nh-pol/yournh-tvp-pol-area-n153-hys. Please allow some time for us to get back to you as we do check our mail box only at certain times of the day.

There is also the opportunity to attend Have Your Say meetings in person. Upcoming Have Your Say meetings are:?

Thursday 9 August, 2:30pm ? 4:30pm at the Town Hall, Thame with PCSO Diane Jackson
Friday 10 August, 4pm ? 6pm at the Co-Op, Thame with PCSO Chris Hollis
Friday 17 August, 11am – midday at the Co-Op, Thame with PCSO Lucy Thorne
These meetings are an ideal opportunity for local residents to speak to their local police officers and PCSOs about any local issues, no appointment is necessary just turn up and speak to your local officers. Further meetings will be publicised locally and on the force website at www.thamesvalley.police.uk.

If you want any advice or would like to contact the neighbourhood team you can call us on the police non-emergency number 101 or email ThameNHPT@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk. Please note this email address cannot be used to contact Thames Valley Police to report crimes or for any urgent matters. Alternatively you can visit the force website at www.thamesvalley.police.uk to view information on your neighbourhood.

Thames Valley Alerts
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THAMES Valley Police is appealing for help from the public to trace a 47-year-old man missing from his home in Coldharbour, Aylesbury.

Stephen Sandison was last seen leaving his sister?s house in Chinnor, Oxfordshire on Tuesday (31/7) at around 10.15pm.

Mr Sandison is white, medium build with dark brown hair. He was last seen wearing grey tracksuit bottom, a blue sweatshirt and sand coloured work boots which were covered in paint.

Det Insp Ian Purvis, said: ?Mr Sandison hasn?t been in contact with any of his friends or family since he was last seen we are growing increasingly concerned for his welfare.

?He also has friends and family in High Wycombe, Princes Risborough and Sunderland.

?I would urge him to get in touch with his family or the police as soon as possible.?

Anyone with any information about the incident should contact Insp Purvis via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101.

If you don’t want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

SOURCE; Press release

THAMES Valley Police has arrested two teenagers in connection with a fire at a privately-run railway station in Chinnor on July 26.

Arson was suspected after Police officers and the fire service were called to attend the incident at the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway centre. The fire destroyed an historic carriage which was on railway sidings some distance away from the station.

The two 16-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of arson and they have been released on police bail until September 2.

IT looks as though the occupants of a car that overturned on Chinnor Hill on Tuesday, had a lucky escape.

The police and fire service were called out at 10.05pm on Tuesday (31/7) to a single vehicle collision in Chinnor Hill. The car had overturned and was on fire. The Occupants were out of the vehicle, a green Honda Civic, and seemed to have escaped without serious injury. (Confirmation from ambulance service expected)

SOURCE: Thames Valley Police

THAME neighbourhood update for July, from Thame’s Community Policing team, including latest incidents, policing priorities and more, by Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) Lucy Thorne, PCSO Diane Jackson, PCSO Chris Hollis and PCSO Richard Howard:

First of all we would like to welcome back PCSO Lucy Thorne who has had a long period of time off due to personal reasons.

During June, we have received reports of broken glass in the Queen Elizabeth Circle. We are conducting high visibility patrols to try and locate offenders and deal with them accordingly. We have also received reports of ASB in the Cuttlebrook where young people are gathering creating noise nuisance. The Neighbourhood Policing Team carries out targeted patrols in areas that have reported ASB so these areas will be monitored regularly.

We have also had numerous complaints about vehicles speeding through the town centre, mainly in the evening and at night. We have a good rapport with the young people in the town, and always ensure we give suitable advice regarding noise levels and gathering in public areas. We will continue to monitor this and should we identify vehicles and drivers causing vehicle related ASB, we will be issue Section 59 Warnings, which can lead to the seizure of vehicles.

Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

The most common way we can deal with incidents of ASB is by issuing ASB warning letters, acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs), anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), Section 27 orders ? direction to leave locality, and Section 59 orders – contracts issued for using a vehicle in an anti-social manner.

Our Local Priority for Thame is ASB. As well as the action stated above, we conduct high visibility patrols in and around the town, engaging with members of the public, listening to local people?s community concerns/issues. Where problems are brought to our attention, we conduct home visits with parents present, issue warning letters and work with offenders to encourage them to move forward. READ MORE

WHILST cyclist, Bradley Wiggins and rowers, Heather Stanning and Helen Glover have been winning gold medal for Great Britain today, a pub in Thame revealed tonight the winner of its very own Olympic event.

After the final round of its weekly pub quiz, appropriately themed around the Olympics, the landlord of the Cross Keys in Thame, the town’s deputy Mayor, Peter Lambert, announced the winner of the ‘Elephant garlic Olympics’.

The origins of this somewhat idiosyncratic ‘battle of the bulbs’ began back in the Spring when one of the pub regulars broke a bulb of Elephant garlic he had grown into separate cloves, and challenged fellow gardening enthusiasts in the pub to a contest to see whose piece would grow into the biggest new garlic bulb.

And the winner was – the pub’s landlady, Trudi Lambert, who grew her Elephant garlic bulb on her plot at the Stone’s Close allotments in Thame. Trudi insisted that she hadn’t fed her garlic with ‘Mrs Tipple’ beer slops or anything else but attributed her win to all the rain we’ve been having and the good soil up at Stones Close.

Growing Elephant garlic is unlikely to become an Olympic sport any time soon, but who knows? May be the next Thame Show, in 2013, could see the introduction of a new Class in the Domestic section, or may be an inter-pub challenge cup for giant vegetables? Watch this space!

A local school boy has launched a not-for-profit technical support service to help the elderly and disabled to communicate and gain better access to modern technology.

Aaron Sabin, aged just 13, who lives in Chinnor, told ThameNews.Net that he founded Computer-Tech-Support back in April, after deciding that he wanted to do something for a charitable cause using his skills and knowledge with computers.

Aaron is aiming high! He explained: “Computer-Tech-Support is hoping to become a big non-profit company throughout the UK! With our remote support technology we can ‘remote you in’ and fix any problems and errors with your computer or laptop. If we come across a problem we can’t fix, like a monitor or desktop not turning on, we will be able to tell you about a company that could.

“What we’re aiming for is to empower people with disabilities, through knowledge of assisted technology, to help them communicate and increase their independence by using technology to help reduce isolation. Our services are offered free of charge to those who have a disability. Our core aim is to help people with disabilities gain better access through today?s technology.”

Aaron would like to hear from anyone willing to act as sponsor or to be a volunteer to help him with his charitable venture. You can contact him by email via: aaron@computer-tech-support.org

WHILE the Americans celebrated their fourth of July with fireworks and the Stars and Stripes, South Oxfordshire held a very different kind of celebration; Independents? Day, aimed at promoting independent retailers and encouraging people to shop locally.

All four towns in the district, Thame, Wallingford, Didcot and Henley, took part in the event to encourage shoppers to visit in their local independent retailers.

With the chance to win a

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses after a man was assaulted in Thame.

Between 12.30am and 1am on Saturday 21 July, a 24-year-old man was wheeling his bicycle along the area of Rooks Lane and Southern Road, when he was assaulted.

The victim was knocked unconscious in the assault, and sustained other injuries including cuts to his head and face, broken teeth, and cuts to his elbows, knees and chest.

He received treatment at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital and has since been discharged.

Three people, two 16-year-old boys and an 18-year-old man, have been arrested on suspicion of assault and released on bail until 26 August.

PC Ali Foster, investigating the incident, said: ?As the man was knocked unconscious we only have a sketchy account of what happened.

?I would like to speak to anyone who saw the assault, or the victim, who was wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt.?

Anyone with any information should contact PC Foster via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101.

If you don’t want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

SOURCE: Thames Valley Police Press release