Category: Thame news

THE Police are appealing for witnesses after an attempted robbery near the Wheatley university campus recently.

At 7.30pm on Thursday, January 22, a man was walking along Waterperry Road, off London Road towards the Wheatley Campus when he reached the bridge which runs over the A40. Here he was approached by a group of between five to seven men who surrounded him and asked what he had in his bag. When they asked if he had any cash or a mobile phone he replied that he did not and ran away towards the university campus.

The men are all described as being in their late teens to early twenties, and were wearing dark coloured tracksuit bottoms and hooded tops. They were all between 5ft 10ins and 6ft except for one who was around 5ft 5ins.

PC Ali Foster, who is investigating the incident, said: “The men were intimidating and one held a large stick while another man had something shiny in his hand, which could have been a weapon.
“Although the men didn?t get anything, this has left the victim shaken and I am keen to appeal to anyone who might have seen these men, or have any information to help with my inquiries ,to contact me.”

Anyone with any information about the incident can contact PC Foster at Thame police station on 0845 8 505 505, or if you don?t want to talk to the police or give your name, call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

Picture: A bus crosses over the A40 near Wheatley, where an attemped robbery took place on January 22.

FROM tonight only 29% of Oxfordshire’s roads will be salted in an effort to preserve dwindling stocks.

Oxfordshire County Council has ordered more salt but in the meantime, because of the uncertainties of weather conditions next week, is prioritising those roads it will treat. (The council usually grits 43% of the county’s roads)

All main roads that the council is responsible for will be salted, said the council today, as will the busiest ‘B’ roads. But the less used minor roads will not be salted.

The council has made assurances that it will continue to use snow ploughs on all the roads it usually clears, but has warned that motorists will have to take extra care on minor roads which could be very icy.

Very frosty conditions are expected in the county tonight and more sleet and snow for tomorrow.

A woman recently imprisoned for causing a death by dangerous driving, is to have her sentence reviewed following hundreds of complaints from the public.

Philippa Curtis, aged 21, from Bury St Edmonds, was given a 21 month sentence after causing the death of Victoria McBryde, in a collison at Wheatley, near Thame, last November. Curtis admitting texting on her mobile phone during her fateful drive from her home to Northampton to meet her boyfriend.

Since the sentencing, members of the public and the victims mother, have criticised the sentence for being too lenient.

Photo: Phillipa Curtis (Courtesy of INS)

A MAN has been arrested and charged with rape and sexual assault, following an attack on two girls in Thame last year.
Arram Price, aged 19 from Rover Way in Cardiff, has been charged following an incident in Cuttlebrook Nature Reserve on May 10, 2008, when allegedly, one 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and her 16-year-old friend was raped.

Price has been released on bail and is due to appear before Oxford Magistrates? Court on February 17.

ALL three primary schools in Thame, which include Barley Hill, John Hampden and St Joseph’s, will remain closed today, because of adverse weather conditions on the roads.
The closures include John Hampden nursery.
Lord Williams’s school, both Lower and Upper will also remain closed, as will the chinnor Resource Unit at the school.

TWO elderly ladies in the Thame area have been left very distressed after being targeted in two separate burglaries last night (02/02)

The first was at around 8pm when a woman at a house in Old Field, Little Milton, heard a noise and then noticed four men in her bedroom. They said that they were looking for someone before leaving through the front door. The men took the panic alarm pendant from the lady?s neck and stole

THE police have today (2/2) launched a crackdown on serious acquisitive crime, including burglary, auto-crime and robbery, across the Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire.

Operation Maelstrom will targeting prolific criminals using a dedicated team of police officers patrolling towns and villages, using stop check powers and pursuing known offenders, as well as executing warrants at suspects? addresses.

The crack-down will include several Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) operations aimed at catching criminals who are using stolen vehicles or vehicles known to have been used for criminal purposes.

Supt Amanda Pearson, leading the operation, said: ?We have a dedicated team of highly motivated officers who are using intelligence to target high crime areas and prolific offenders throughout the Vale of the White Horse and South Oxfordshire.
?We will continue to work with our partners, as part of Operation Maelstrom, to target priority crime areas focusing on burglary, auto-crime and robbery.
?Our main aims are to disrupt criminal activity, arrest outstanding offenders and collect important intelligence. We want the small number of people who are responsible for most of crime in the area to be aware that we will not tolerate this.?

Anyone with any information that could help the police with the operation should contact Sgt Paul Walker at Thame police station via 0845 8 505 505, or if you don?t want to talk to the police or give your name, call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

A young woman who admitted using her mobile phone whilst driving, today begins a 21 month prison sentance for causing death by dangerous driving and disqualified from driving for three years.
Philippa Curtis, aged 21 from Icklingham in Bury St Edmonds was found guilty of causing the death of Victoria McBryde, in a collison at Wheatly, near Thame, last November.

In a statement issued today, Insp Bill Sykes said:

“On behalf of Thames Valley Police, I would first like to offer our sincere condolences and sympathies to Victoria McBryde?s family and friends. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.
“This tragedy has robbed a young woman of her life, a family of their loved one and the life of another young woman will be changed forever. All this was needless and entirely avoidable.

“Using a mobile phone whilst driving, to call or text, is a dangerous distraction and significantly lowers your concentration. As this tragic case shows, driving needs your full attention and using your phone can have horrific consequences.
“The jury has rightly judged that such acts do amount to driving dangerously and that the individual responsible will be held to account for their actions.
“There is no phone call or text message that is so important it can?t wait until you have time to pull over and park in a safe place. For the want of this simple action, a young woman was needlessly killed and now another is serving a prison sentence.

“We would always advise that if you are a driver and you break down, it is best to get out of your vehicle as soon as possible and stand a safe distance away from the road to make any phone calls and wait for help to arrive. You cannot rely on others to be driving safely and paying attention. If you feel unsafe, don?t get back into your car, but rather call the police.

“Far too many people still use their phones whilst driving. Our message to those of you who are tempted to call or text when you should be concentrating on driving is: think about Victoria and don?t.”

Phillipa Curtis,from Suffolk, hit the back of 24-year-old Victoria McBryde’s stationary car on the A40 near Wheatley, Oxfordshire, on November 30, last year.
Miss McBryde had stopped beside the road after puncturing a tyre.

THAME town hall is now open for business again, after being evacuated this morning following a fire alert.
The fire service has given the all-clear after clearing smoke from the basement and ventilating the building.
It is thought that the smoke came from smouldering rubbish in a ventilation pipe just inches away from a rubbish bin, near the 280 bus stop outside the town hall, psssibble ignited by a cigarette butt.

Fire officers entered the basement of the building at around 11am this morning, using breathing apparatus and imaging equipment to try to find the source of the reported smoke.

After finding the ventilation pipe blocked with a plastic bottle and other rubbish, officers smashed the pipe off and cleared the obstruction. The pipe will now be replaced at a different location by the town council.