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From the Dover Mercury, 19 January 2017.
Drink-driver had no licence.
A drink-driver caught behind the wheel without a licence or insurance
has been brought to justice.
Kamil Zdanski, 28, of Beaufoy Terrace, Dover, was stopped on December
14 driving in Beaufoy Terrace.
He gave a breath test of 93 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath.
The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
He was also found to be in possession of a quantity of cannabis.
Magistrates banned Zdanski from driving for 24 months and ordered him
to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work.
He must also pay a £445 fine, £85 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.
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From the Dover Express, 26 January, 2017.
Eyesight is damaged by pub brawl.
A 24-year-old woman is coming to terms with losing 85 percent of her
vision in one eye after a vicious assault in Deal.
The victim had attended Beach Street, Deal, to watch a fireworks display
on New Year’s Eve.
At around 10.40pm she sat on a bench outside a pub when an altercation
occurred nearby that she was not part of.
During the altercation it is reported that a can of beer was thrown and
the woman was hit in the face.
She attended hospital where she required emergency surgery on her eye.
Sight.
She has since been told she will only regain 5 per cent to 15 per cent of
her sight in that eye
The matter is being investigated by PC Jade Symons who said: “The Victim
of this incident was innocently sitting on a bench looking forward to
watching fireworks when her life was changed forever.
“Someone knows who is responsible for causing these injuries and it is
important we identify them. I would ask anyone who has any information
about the incident to come forward.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the witness appeal line
on 01843 222289 quoting reference ZY/000111/17. Alternatively contact Kent
Crimestoppers free and in confidence on 0800 555111.
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From the Dover Mercury, 2 February 2017.
Driver banned.
A drink-driver has been banned from the road for two years after being
more than twice the legal limit.
Adi-Clement Ciumasu was found to have 93 microgrammes of alcohol in 100
millilitres of breath, a court heard last Thursday . The legal limit is 35
microgrammes.
Ciumasu, of the Charlton Centre, Dover High Street, had been stopped in
Military Road, Canterbury, on Boxing Day.
He admitted drink-driving but also to using a vehicle without an MoT and
driving without a valid licence.
Thanet magistrates also ordered Ciumasu to carry out 120 hours of unpaid
work.
He must also pay £85 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.
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From the Dover Mercury, 23 February 2017.
Way over the drink limit.
A motorist has been banned from the road for two years after being nearly
three times the drink-drive limit.
Joseph Riddell was found to have 99mg of alcohol in 100 millilitres of
breath in a breath test. The legal limit is 35mg.
Riddell, 34, of St Radigund's Road, Dover, was sentenced by Folkestone
magistrates on Wednesday last week, after pleading guilty.
He was driving a Ford Mondeo in Crabble Hill, Dover, on Sunday, January
29.
Magistrates disqualified Riddell for 24 months and ordered him to carry
out 100 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months. He must also pay £85
costs and an £85 victim surcharge.
Disqualification can be reduced by six months if Riddell completes a
government-approved
course by June.
Guilty plea to drug-driving.
A driver has been banned from the road for drug driving after traces of
ecstasy, cannabis and cocaine were found in his system.
Jacob Burrows, of Station Road, Canterbury, was disqualified by on
Wednesday last week after being found stopped in Barton Road, Dover.
Burrows, 26, was stopped in his Nissan NV200 on Saturday, November 26.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of drug driving.
Folkestone Magistrates banned Burrows from driving for 20 months and
ordered him to carry out
150 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months.
He must also pay £85 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.
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From the Dover Mercury, 15 March 2016. By Chris Price Business Editor.
Kent housebuilder calls for more root-and-branch reform of 'out-of-date
property tax’ but.
Pubs were the big winners from the spring budget, but many firms said
the chancellor ducked the chance to carry out much-needed reforms to
business rates.
Philip Hammond announced drinking holes with a rateable value of less
than £100,000 - equivalent to 90% of the pubs in England - would receive a
£1,000 discount on the tax.
The move was welcomed by landlords, but many called for root-and-branch
changes to the business rates system.
Jonathan Neame, chief executive at pub and beer company Shepherd Neame,
welcomed the £1,000 discount and said the budget shows the chancellor “is
listening to the leisure industry”.
However, he said many pubs were still facing huge rises in their
business rates.
He said; “This doesn’t address the large increases which much of the
leisure industry will see in coming months.
“The fundamental issue is that pubs currently suffer from a tax regime
that, while fit for the 20th century, is not for the 21st century. A
thorough review of rates and excise duty is urgently needed.”
In addition to the discount for pubs, the chancellor said no firm
losing small-business rate relief under changes being introduced in April
would see their bill increase next year by more than £50 a month.
He also announced a £300 million fund for local councils to offer
discretionary relief for hard-hit cases.
Yet his commitment to a consultation on business-rate revaluations was
met with groans from fellow MPs, who wanted to hear about big reforms.
Keith McAlister, partner at Kent law firm Thomson Snell & Passmore,
said: “As expected, the chancellor has announced there will be a
consultation on business rates. While we wait for this, there will be some
short term help.
“Whilst welcome, in the context of a £25 billion a year tax these are
small, short-term measures, and the prospect of the consultation suggests
more substantive reform - particularly for online retailers - may have
been kicked a short distance down the road.”
Mark Quinn, managing director of east Kent-based house-builder Quinn
Estates, said: “While a lot of businesses will welcome consultation on
business rates, what they don’t want is this dragging on with all the
added financial uncertainty that will cause.
“There is a need to completely review this antiquated and out-of-date
property tax, which is unable to cope with the new economy we now live in.
“The government needs to be doing everything it can to boost enterprise
and support business success. Jobs and the future prosperity of Kent
depend on it.
“How the measures announced deliver on that, will be the measure of
this budget’s success.”
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From the Dover Express, 23 March, 2017.
By Oliver Porritt.
Drink driver is sent to jail for head-on crash.
He drove wrong way down one-way street.
COLLISION: Thomas John Armstrong was jailed after a head-on crash in
Frith Road.
A MAN who admitted drinking as well as driving dangerously before a
head-on collision in Dover that left one person seriously injured has been
jailed.
Thomas John Armstrong, of Kings Road, Aylesham, was driving a Proton Savvy
the wrong way down Frith Road, a one-way street, in the early hours of
November 21, 2016 when it hit a Nissan Juke.
Airbags in both vehicles deployed and the passenger in the Juke suffered a
fractured left arm.
During police interviews the 28-year-old admitted drinking earlier that
evening and told officers he had initially planned to sleep in his car but
it was so cold he decided to drive home.
He drove from Tower Hamlets Road onto Bridge Street and straight across
the junction onto Frith Road instead of turning right around the one-way
system.
Armstrong gave a positive roadside breath test after the collision and was
arrested at the scene.
Remorse.
At Canterbury Crown Court last Friday he was sentenced to 14 months in
prison and was also banned from driving for two years and seven months.
Sentencing him, Judge Heather Norton QC said Armstrong had driven knowing
he was over the limit, which was an aggravating factor in the case.
But she added that she had taken into account the fact that he had given
full and frank admissions, had not tried to leave the
scene and had shown remorse for what had happened.
Investigating officer Police Constable Zoe Rice said: “During police
interviews Armstrong told officers he had stopped drinking around two
hours before the collision. He said thought it would be OK if he stuck to
the straight, main roads. Clearly this was not the case.
“The passenger in the Juke faces physiotherapy on her arm for some time to
come.
“Driving dangerously can have disastrous consequences, as this case shows.
And Armstrong’s 14-month sentence and driving ban show how seriously the
courts take this type of offence.”
Armstrong, who will have to sit an extended driving test before he is back
behind the wheel, was also ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge.
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From the Dover Mercury, 19 April 2017.
Drink-driver ban.
A drink-driver has been banned from the road for three years.
Ashley Ovenden, of Bell Grove, Aylesham, was stopped while driving a
Toyota Hilux in Coldharbour Lane, Canterbury, and gave a reading of 54
microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
The legal limit is 35.
Ovenden, 29, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and was disqualified for 36
months by Thanet magistrates.
He must also pay a £500 fine, £85 costs and a £50 victim surcharge.
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From the Dover Mercury, 26 April 2017.
Drink ban.
A man who admitted drink driving has been banned for 18 months. Josh
Vowles, 27, of Kimberley Close, Dover, drove a Ford Transit on the A256,
Ramsgate, and gave a breath test of 85 micrograms of alcohol in 100
millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms. Thanet
magistrates gave him a £120 fine, and he must pay £85 costs and a £30
victim surcharge.
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From the Dover Mercury, 24 May, 2017.
Drink-driver.
A motorist was found to be more than four times the drink-drive limit.
Shaun Stoneman gave a breath test of 157 microgrammes of alcohol in 100
millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.
He had been stopped in a Vauxhall Corsa at Winchelsea Terrace, Dover, on
Sunday, April 23. Stoneman, 34, of Castle Street, Dover pleaded guilty to
drink-driving. Folkestone magistrates, on Wednesday, May 10, sentenced
Stoneman to 90 days in prison, suspended for two years. They also banned
him from driving for three years and made him pay £85 costs and a £TI5
victim surcharge.
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From the Dover Express, 22 June 2017. By Mary Harris.
Police CCTV appeal after pub fruit machine thefts.
Three men are wanted in connection with a spate of burglaries.
POLICE have released images of three men wanted after a spate of alleged
thefts from fruit machines across east Kent.
 
Four separate incidents are reported to have taken place at pubs in
Ashford, Dover and Dymchurch between October 2016 and April this year.
Officers have been following a number of lines of enquiry and are now able
to release CCTV images in connection with one of the most recent thefts at
a pub in Biggin Street, Dover.
Offences.
It is believed those responsible may have also committed six other similar
offences at pubs in Bedfordshire, London, Surrey and West Sussex.
■ Anyone with any information is urged to call the appeal line on 01843
222289 quoting reference ZY/13386/17.
They can also call Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
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From the Dover Mercury, 12 July, 2017.
Driving ban.
A woman has received a ban after being caught drink driving. Emma Rawson,
49, of Foreland Road, Dover, gave a breath test of 72 microgrammes of
alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, on April 25, after being stopped in
Upper Road, St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
Magistrates at Folkestone banned Rawson from driving for 18 months. She
must also pay a £110 fine, £60 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.
Disqualification can be reduced by 139 days if, by May 27 2018, she
satisfactorily completes a course approved by the Secretary of State.
Off the road.
A motorist has been banned from the road for 18 months for failing to
provide a specimen. Akhtar Hussain, of Heathfield Avenue, Dover, was also
ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and to pay £620 costs and an
£85 victim surcharge.
He was sentenced by Folkestone magistrates on Tuesday, June 27. He had
pleaded not guilty to failing to provide a urine specimen but was
convicted of the offence by magistrates.
The court heard that Hussain, on March 2, had failed to give the specimen
for analysis in Dover.
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From the Dover Mercury 30 August 2017.
Drunk assault.
A man has been sentenced for damaging police property and assaulting a
police officer.
Keith Lawrence, of Belgrave Road, Dover, was drunk and disorderly in
Margate. Lawrence, 41, pleaded guilty and must carry out 160 hours of
unpaid work with £100 compensation, £620 costs and an £85 victim
surcharge.
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From the Dover Mercury 30 August 2017.
Drink-driver flagged down police car.
A dance teacher has been banned from getting behind the wheel after a row
with her husband on New Year’s Eve led to her crashing while over the
alcohol limit.
Chloe Hackett, 28, formerly of Radigund’s Road in Dover, admitted
drink-driving charge at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court.
Prosecutor Neil Sweeney said she drove along the Alkham Valley Road in the
early hours of New Year’s Day this year, when she swerved to avoid a
badger before crashing into a lamppost.
Mr Sweeney said: “She then left the vehicle and went in the direction
of Folkestone on foot, she saw a vehicle and flagged it down. It was a
police car.
“Officers noted her speech was slurred and she smelled of alcohol, so she
was arrested.”
Hackett was taken to hospital as a precaution and a urine sample showed
she had 193 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine. The legal
limit is 107.
She had gone to her parents’ home in Hawkinge but a row with her then
husband led to her deciding to drive home, the court heard.
Hackett told the court said she relies on her car for her work as a dance
teacher in Folkestone.
Hackett was banned from driving until Tuesday, December 11, 2018, and was
also ordered to pay a £400 fine, £40 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.
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From the Dover Mercury 30 August 2017.
Curfew for drugs-driver.
Kevin Harris received a two-year driving ban and a 10-week curfew.
He pleaded guilty to driving without insurance, driving while unfit
through drugs and drug-driving at Folkestone Magistrates' Court.
Harris, 54, of London Road, Dover, was stopped in March when he drove an
Audi A4 in High Street, Dover, with no insurance and while unfit through
drugs.
His curfew dictates he must remain at home between 8pm and 6am daily until
October 31. He must also pay £85 costs and £85 victim surcharge.
18-month ban.
Duncan Bishop received an 18-month ban after pleading guilty to
drink-driving and
Bishop, 35, of Nightingale Road, Dover, was stopped in Douglas Road, Deal,
on August
5, and gave a breath test of 79 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres
of breath. The legal limit is 35.
Magistrates also ordered him to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work in the
next 12 months and pay £85 costs and £85 victim surcharge.
The ban can be reduced by 139 days if he completes a course approved by
the Secretary of State by August
6, 2018.
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From the Dover Express, 28 September 2017.
Opposition to nine flats at hotel site.
A SCHEME to turn the three upper floors of a Dover main street former
hotel into nine flats is being opposed by the town’s civic group.
The Dover Society has told the district planning authority it is against
the idea because seven of the nine one bedroom flats are too small (not
meeting the council’s housing guidelines) and there’s a lack of rubbish
storage space on the frontage onto the main street.
Disrepair.
A society spokesman said: “We support those conversions that prevent
properties falling into disrepair. We would prefer maisonettes here. If
this project is allowed, it is likely to set precedence for other town
centre planning applications.”
The subject of the planning application relates to the first, second and
third floors above an empty shop in Biggin Street, opposite Marks &
Spencer. Years ago it was Manfred’s commercial hotel.
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From the Dover Express, 21 December 2017.
Hotel flats plan delay at meeting.
THE future use of the former Manfred’s Hotel in Dover town centre hangs
in the balance after the district council’s planning committee last week
decided to defer a decision on the conversion of upper floors into small
flats.
Owner Sherali Lakhani of Glasgow Properties, who has offered the
property for sale by auction, was applying for change of use of the three
upper floors into flats and studio flats.
Opposition to the proposal at the planning meeting was voiced in the
limited time permitted by Allison Burton on behalf of Dover Town Council.
The Dover Society had submitted written objection to the scheme, on the
grounds of the size of the proposed flats, but its representative at the
meeting was not allowed to speak because the owner or his agents were not
ready to speak in favour.
In earlier submissions the civic group suggested smaller flats could
turn the town centre into “another Folkestone Road”.
The society’s planning committee had submitted, in its written
objections, that allowing the smaller flats could lead to a rash of
similar applications for other premises which would do nothing to help the
regeneration of the town centre.
A member of the public at the meeting commented that there appeared to
be a political clash between Conservative and Labour members, something
not normally seen on planning issues.
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