Category: Thame news

THAME Town Council is blaming local businesses for an increase in their budget, which could mean an increase of 3.18% on the community charge next year.
The accusation came last night (08/01) as councillors discussed the amount of its Precept (the money it is given from funds collected through the Community Charge to run its services in the town) that it would be asking the district council for, for the next financial year.
The council is claiming that Thame and District Chamber of Commerce (now Thame First), said that local businesses had agreed to pay towards the running costs of CCTV in the town centre, and now the council are accusing them of failing to come up with the money.

In a statement published on its website today the town council says: “Thame Town Council is working very hard to keep down local residents? contribution towards the cost of services in the town.
“There would not have been any increase in the Town Council?s share of the Council Tax for 2008-2009 if the cost of running the CCTV cameras in the town centre had been paid for by local businesses, as had been agreed with the Chamber of Commerce. Efforts are being made to recover some of the

THAME Police are appealing for information and urging the public to be vigilant after a distraction burglary in Thame.
On Saturday (5/1) at about 5.15pm two men, claiming to be from the water board, went to a property in Rooks Lane. They said that they needed to get in and turn off the water because a neighbour was having problems with their water.

One man stayed with the occupier, a woman, while the other man went into the house. The man who was with the woman asked her if she had for a

AN elderly man from Chinnor was dragged from a burning kitchen yesterday by a neighbour, who almost certainly saved the life.
Fire crews from Thame and Slade stations were called to a reported house fire in Musgrave Road, Chinnor at 6.30pm last night (Monday 07/01). A statement from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Information was received that there was an elderly person in the property. On arrival fire crews were informed that the occupant had been rescued already by a neighbour who directed the fire fighters to the kitchen. The fire was quickly put out by crews in breathing apparatus, who were able to ensure the fire did not spread to the rest of the property. The fire was caused by an open chip pan on a gas hob which had caught fire spreading to kitchen units and into the roof.
“An elderly gentleman who was rescued by a neighbour was treated on scene for burns to his hands and smoke inhalation and subsequently taken to hospital by ambulance.
“The neighbour was alerted by a fire alarm system that alerts neighbours and a central call station. The quick actions of this neighbour who entered the house and was able to drag his friend to safety, undoubtedly saved this persons life. He also managed to close the doors to the kitchen which also slowed down the fire spread throughout the house.

“This fire highlights the dangers of open chip pans and the damage that occurs when they catch fire. Chip pans burn at over 360 degrees centigrade and can spread rapidly to overhead kitchen units. The burns the occupant received were caused by attempting to move the chip pan to a sink. Chip pan fires are one of the more dangerous fires one can have in a kitchen, the best course of action is to turn off the gas, cover the pan with a fire blanket if it is safe to do so and then get out, closing doors behind you and call the Fire Service.
“Ultimately we do not recommend the use of open chip pans and would recommend the use of purpose designed deep fat fryers or even go for the healthier option of oven chips!”

Watch Manager, Andy Ford from Thame Fire Station said:”This goes to show the benefits of a working smoke alarm which could well have saved this mans life and is an essential part of every home”.

More Safety information can be obtained by contacting Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Community Safety department, or via Oxfordshire County Council web site.

Photo: The burned remains of a kitchen destroyed by fire in Chinnor last night.

A TWO month operation has been launched by Thames Valley Police in the Vale & South Oxfordshire areas, focusing on priority crimes such as burglary, and Vehicle Crime in a special initiative.
We ask that all members review the security of their homes, including door locks, window locks, garage and shed doors. Also consider identity theft and make sure personal details do not fall into the wrong hands.

Please be aware and keep an extra look out for any elderly or vulnerable residents within your NHW (Neighbourhood Watdh Scheme), who may be targets for Distraction Burglars or Bogus Callers. A FREE crime reduction survey can be carried out by the Crime Reduction Advisor to anyone you feel may be at risk.

Weekly Ringmaster messages will be sent out giving Crime Reduction Advice and you can contact the NHW watch office to obtain supplies of security information leaflets on 01235 556957.

To contact you local Crime Reduction Advisor at Thames Valley Police, please call 08458 505 505

THE Police are appealing for witnesses to a fatal collision that took place yesterday (3/1) on the M40 between JunctionS 1 and 1a, on the northbound carriageway.
At around 3.45pm a grey Mazda collided with an orange RAC transit van, which was stationary on the hard shoulder. The RAC van was attending a breakdown of another vehicle which was not involved in the collision.

The driver of the Mazda, a 67-year-old man from Camberley, Surrey was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. He was the only occupant of the vehicle.

One other person at the scene received minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision is urged to contact PC Simon Kennedy at Amersham Roads Policing 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 32 year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of Dangerous Driving pending further enquiries, following a four-car pile-up on Thame by-pass last Friday (28/12/07).
Four people, including a six year-old child suffering from cuts and bruising, and a broken collar bone, were taken injured in the incident. A woman with head and severe facial injuries remains critically ill but her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
The arrested woman has been bailed until January 24.

Both the child and the woman arrested have been released from hospital.

The vehicles involved in the collision, which occured around 1.30pm, were a black Skoda Fabia, a silver Vauxhall Corsa and a grey Honda CRV.

The road was closed for around five hours following the accident and an investigation into the cause of the crash continues.

Anyone with information on the collision should contact police on 08458 505505 or speak anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

OXFORDSHIRE County Council’s Trading Standards team is warning residents to think before they rush to buy that ?never to be repeated? bargain in the post- Christmas Sales.
The message is:”don?t be taken in by all the claims of ?50% off?; ignore the hype and look at the price before parting with hard-earned money.
While there will be genuine bargains to be had in the sales, shoppers should be very sceptical about price comparisons. Shops can be ingenious in complying with the letter of the law while still appearing to offer maximum savings.

What tricks can be employed?
These are some of the tricks the shops can use to make that bargain look irresistible:

It always pays to ask what was the original selling price. Shops may have kept the item on sale at the higher price at the back of their shop for a month. They can then claim a reduction against this price for the next six months. Would anyone have been silly enough to have bought it at the higher price?

The item may have been on sale at the higher price at just one or two branches – a practice that has been commonly used by a number of large multiples.

Offers of two for the price of one will usually be based on an increased price for the single item. After about a month of this offer the shop will then claim a reduction on its original inflated price. For example shampoo which sells for around

ACCORDING to a recent report, figures available show how Thame’s CCTV cameras are contributing to deterring crime, reducing fear of crime and increasing crime detection.
The figures for the second quarter of 2007 show that CCTV in the town centre was involved in identifying 60 separate incidents in the town, including anti-social behaviour, drug-related incidents and those relating to missing persons.
Two examples given in the report were as follows:

A) The operator heard over the police radio that a man ?was going berserk? in the High Street. The operator gave the specific location and observed the offender until the police arrived and arrested him.

B) The operator observed a group walking from town into East Street. He saw and reported one male kicking cars and causing damage to a wing mirror to one car. Police attended and arrested the man.

According to the report, published by South Oxfordshire District Council, there were 13 CCTV supported arrests, 15 evidence packs prepared using footage, and 20 searches made of the footage during the period.

Evidence packs are packages of recordings which the CCTV operators produce for Police, solicitors and the Crown Prosecution Service for court cases. The same people plus members of the public (they would need to make an application to the CCTV Data Officer) can also request searches; these are searches of previous (not live) recordings for particular evidence/information.

The report stated: “This does not include the routine patrolling of cameras by the operators. The operators patrol the cameras periodically and focus on hotspot areas. Even when they are not being patrolled all cameras are recording 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are set in ?default? positions which are agreed with the Police as the areas most likely to experience problems.”

CCTV cameras, for which town councils pay one third of the running costs, are also installed in the other South Oxfordshire towns of Wallingford, Didcot and Henley-on-Thames.

THE proprietor of a Thame Clinic has denied sexually assaulting a number of women.

Praminder Singh Mankoo, 46, of Brook Lodge, The Nap, Oakley, near Thame, appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on December 27, where he denied the charges against him.

Seven offences of sexual assault on women over the age of 16 years are alleged to have taken place between July 2005 and June 2007 at the private clinic that specialises in hair and scalp problems.

Praminder Singh Mankoo will reappear at the court on Thursday, February 7.