Crime

A Staines fire chief has hit out at arsonists who endangered an Ashford park by setting a children's motorbike on fire.

Fire crews from Staines were called to playing fields in Alexandra Road at 5.45pm on Saturday (March 13) after the motorbike, which has an engine, was set alight.

The blaze is being treated as suspicious, but watch manager Karl Bowen has described the act as thoughtless.

He said: "It was very dangerous, because a lot of children play in the field and they could have inspected it. The burnt rubber and metal was also very dangerous, and young people could have gone up and burnt themselves."

A distraction burglar wearing a monocle stole £900 worth of jewellery from an elderly blind woman during a 'nasty' incident over the weekend.

Between 2.30 and 3.30pm on Saturday (February 27) a man wearing a long smart black buttoned coat with an ID badge pinned to his left breast knocked on the 89-year-old woman's door in The Avenue, Sunbury, and offered to buy some books.

Wing mirrors were hit off four cars over the weekend in two Ashford roads in late February.

The incidents took place between Saturday (27) night and Sunday (28) morning in Ferndale Road and Fontmell Park.

One resident saw a gang of six white males at the time, so police are calling on anyone who might have seen something to call them on 0845 125 2222.

More than £1000 of tools were stolen during a spate of van burglaries last weekend.

The incidents took place in four roads in Ashford, Sunbury, and Shepperton, which included Squire's Bridge Road in Shepperton, Selby Road in Ashford, and French Street, in Sunbury
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The incidents took place between Friday 19 of February and Monday February 22 where tools including jigsaws, transformers, and drills were taken.

Anyone with information should call the police on 0845 125 2222.

A woman who fraudulently claimed housing benefits from the government has been electronically tagged to make sure she sticks to her curfew punishment.

Clare Regan, 28, of Fordbridge Road, Ashford, appeared at Staines Magistrates' Court on Thursday February 18 where she admitted to six offences of benefit fraud for claiming £2336.34 in housing benefits and jobseeker's allowance from the Department of Work and Pensions.

Thieves stole thousands of pounds worth of car parts on Friday February 19 as they broke into a parked lorry trailer.

The high value burglary took place between 6pm Thursday (18) and 1pm Friday (19) when the criminals cut through padlocks to break into land next to Ashford Cemetery, off London Road.

By the end of March new initiatives will have been put in place by Spelthorne council in an attempt to improve public confidence in dealing with crime and anti social behaviour.

A £42,000 grant has been given to the borough council by the Home Office to fund schemes and to buy new equipment which will reduce the amount of crime in Spelthorne.

One of the initiatives to have been given funding, is the Construction Bus scheme, which was put in place last year and teaches children from age 11 basic skills such as carpentry, plumbing and bricklaying.

Two tramps lovers who begged in and around Staines, Ashford and Egham have been given a second set of anti-social behaviour orders, this time lasting for five years.

Trevor Davison, 29, and Kerri Turner, 21 appeared at Staines Magistrates' Court on Thursdayb February 11 and were hit with the five-year order banning them from drinking or begging in Surrey.

Two masked robbers used guns during a morning raid on an Ashford travel agents today (Tuesday February 16)

The two men stormed into Thomson, in Church Road, at 9.45am with guns and threatened the two female employees.

A disabled man whose life was turned upside down when his miniature horses were stolen from him has been reunited with his loving pets.

Daniel Nicholls, from Ashford, was shocked to hear his animals Tinkerbell and Bailey had been taken by heartless thieves just after Christmas from stables in Charlton Village.