Category: Thame news

THE Police are advising residents in South Oxfordshire to be extra careful to protect their property in the run up to Christmas. Over the last two weeks there has been an increase in burglaries and theft from vehicles across the district.

Crime Reduction Advisor, Julia Wheeler, said: ?Burglaries can be distressing for any victim and although we are working hard to tackle these crimes and catch those responsible I would like to take this opportunity to ask residents to help us to do this.
?At this time of year thieves take advantage of the longer, darker nights to commit crime and are on the look out for the opportunity to steal newly purchased Christmas presents.
?Most burglaries are carried out by opportunist thieves. In two out of ten burglaries, they don?t even have to use excess force; they manage to get in through an open door or window.
?Reduce the risk of your home being burgled by making sure you take some simple and inexpensive precautions. Take action now and don?t become a victim of burglary over the coming days.?

?Anything on view in your car or in your house is a target for thieves and I would like to offer the following advice to residents:

? Keep your car locked whenever it is unoccupied, even when paying for petrol.
? Don?t leave any valuables including Christmas presents in your vehicle.
? Make the house looks occupied after dark by leaving a lamp on a timer.
? Don?t leave Christmas presents where they can be seen though the ground floor windows of your house.
? Ensure that front and back doors and windows are locked when you are out and at night.
? Lock valuable or sentimental jewellery away in a large lockable cabinet or in a safe bolted to the wall or floor.
? When putting out your rubbish, break up and dispose of packaging with care so thieves don?t target your house for your new purchases.?

Home security advice leaflets and property marking pens are available from your local police station.

If you have see any suspicious activity or have any information to help the police with their inquiries contact 0845 8 505 505, if you do not want to talk to police you can call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111 and remain anonymous.

Image: Courtesy of libizblog.files.wordpress.com

THE Police are appealing for witnesses after thieves talked their way into a house in Thame and stole money from under an elderly woman’s mattress.
Sometime during the day on Monday (24/11) two people came to the door of the property in Cotmore Close, Thame, and pushed past the occupant, an elderly lady. They said that they were there to fit a water tank upstairs and needed to turn her taps on.

The lady followed them into the kitchen to switch the taps off and noticed that her bedroom door had been forced open and the men had gone.

Det Con Kim Dugmore, investigating the burglary, said: ?The burglar stole her wallet and some money from under her mattress in her bedroom.
?This is a sickening attack where some people have taken advantage of a vulnerable lady by forcing their way into her house.
?I urge anyone who might have seen suspicious activity in the area at the time, to contact me.?

Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to contact Det Con Kim Dugmore 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.

Image: for illustration purposes only; courtesy of Thames Valley Police

CAR PARKING in Thame’s Cattlemarket and in Southern Road could soon be cheaper, if recommendations going to Cabinet next Thursday, are approved.
The Head of Environmental Services at SODC, John Backley, has recommended that car park charges be reduced from April 2009, throughout the district council’s car parks, to refect the Government’s reduction in VAT, and that the cost of season tickets be reduced from January 2009.
Owners of low emissions cars will only pay half for their Season tickets.

The proposed charges are:
Up to 1 hour – FREE in both parking areas
Up to 2 hours – 80p
Up to the 3 hours max at Southern Road –

THAME SPEAKERS CLUB celebrated its foundation recently with tales of taxes on sunlight, Russian spies, porridge explosions, African antics, famous movie stars, grand prix winners, pirates and fattening up for Queen and Country.

The club marked the 27th anniversary of its founding with a black tie meal in a Chinese restaurant and a splendid Tall Tales Contest with nine speakers. The winning tale was John Morris’s important proposal to save the planet by capturing methane from the millions of cows around the world. His demonstration of the method of capturing the methane brought tear(of laughter) to the eyes of his audience and a smile to the face of his demonstration bovine! (See photo)

Thame Speakers Club has a proud history of achievements, having produced:
? three District Governors,
? two Division Governors
? three DTMs
? nine Area Governors
? three District speech contest winners.
The club has also hosted four District Conferences and sponsored five new clubs in the past.

The current President, Jean Gamester, reminded the members and guests of the club?s current achievements and awarded last year?s Area Governor and dedicated club member Jim Robinson the coveted Toastmaster of the Year award.

Thame Speakers Club meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month at 7:45 for 8PM, at Thame Snooker club, St Andrews Court, Wellington Street.

Contact Jean on 07877 970250.

RAYMOND BLANC will be in the Book House, Thame, on Friday, December 5, to sign copies of his new book.
The top chef, who is currently fronting the TV programme, The Restaurant, will be in the book shop from 7.30pm, after he has turned on Thame’s Christmas lights.
The book is called “A taste of my life.”

THAME 1ST Scouts will once again be offering a free Christmas card delivery service to the elderly and the disabled in the town, and in Moreton.
Christmas cards for delivery, with the full postal address on the envelope, can be left at Glynswood, in the High Street The Chocolate Box, on the corner of North Street and Wellington Street, Thame Library, the Thame Gazette Office, Pearce Court or Sharman Beer Court.

Last date for collection is Friday, December 5, 2008.

THE Police are appealing for witnesses following a collision on the M40 in which a driver was left with serious head injuries.

At 10.40am, on Friday (21/11), a red Honda Civic was driving northbound in lane three of the M40, between junctions six and seven, near Tetsworth, when it clipped the central reservation and slid back across all three lanes of the motorway, before coming to rest upside down on the crash barrier.

The 22-year-old driver remains in hospital with head injuries. His condition is described as serious but stable.

Anyone who witnessed the collision or who saw the car travelling on the M40 prior to it should contact PC James Holstead at Bicester roads Policing Department on 0845 8 505 505. If you do not want to leave your name or speak to police, call the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

FOLLOWING the flooding of several homes in Thame back in June, a flood alert scheme has been set up between residents.
A network of phone messaging will operate between residents living close to the Cuttlebrook nature reserve on the Oxford side of the town, some of whom have still not been able to return to their homes after their homes were flooded.
A flood forum made up of residents and councillors will meet in January.

Work to try to eliviate a repeat of recent flooding of Thame homes, is underway. Debris has this week been removed from the brook that runs behind Oxford House, Oxford Road, Thame, and from the Oxford Road bridge across the cuttlebrook, and near Spring Path and the main part of Cuttlebrook nature reserve.
Here, two thirds of the reeds will be removed to increase the brook’s flow and residents along the course of the brook further along have agreed to contribute to the costs of clearing it.

The town council’s Culture, Leisure and Recreation committee was told on Tuesday that the second phase of the plan is to clear ditches on the reserve and then to monitor the brook to see how it copes with heavy rainfall. If necessary, some re-contouring, or raising of the bank in the cox’s Wood area of the reserve may be carried out.

THE young people of Thame are to get a state-of-the-art sheltered meeting point at the skate park beside Tythrope Way (Thame by-pass).
The shelter will include solar lighting and a radio point, and will cost around