Twyford

Christmas came early for three-year-old Beth Coller thanks to the help of Loddon Vale Rotary Club and The Starlings Children Centre in Twyford.

Beth, who attends the Little Acorns (Colleton) Pre-School, Twyford has cerebral palsy and hyper-mobile joints and needs constant supervision during her time at pre-school. The combination of the two means it is difficult for Beth to walk unaided or sit unsupported for any length of time. The pre-school therefore set about the challenge of fundraising to buy an orthopaedic chair, which will help her immensely.

The borough council’s Starlings Children’s Centre has close ties with the Twyford pre-school. When the pre-school told family link worker Tim Holmes about Beth he put them in contact with John Hammond of the Loddon Vale Rotary Club. John met Beth’s family and put the proposal together for funding through the Rotary Club, which very kindly donated £770 for a new chair.

Rachel Blackwell, manager at Twyford Little Acorns (Colleton) Pre-School said: “Beth is an enthusiastic member of the pre-school, who enjoys a range of activities such as puzzles, drawing and story puppets. The chair will enable Beth to do activities for longer whilst sitting in the correct position.

“And with the help of the children’s centre, they put us in touch with Loddon Vale Rotary Club who very kindly funded this new chair. We are extremely grateful for their support. By providing this chair, Beth can now take part in table top activities, planting in the outdoor raised flower bed while sitting in the correct supported position. It will make a huge difference to her life.”

Martin Boyles, Loddon Vale Rotary Club, said: “The Rotary Club became aware of the problems Beth was having and our community service committee agreed to buy her a special mobile chair to enable her to take part in school activities. The Rotary motto is service above self, and the members of the club are always aware of the needs of our local community.”

Beth’s mum Jo Coller said: "We are really grateful to Loddon Vale Rotary Club for providing this chair for Beth. It will give her much needed physical support in pre-school, allowing her to make the most of her time there."

Tim Holmes, family link worker at The Starlings Children Centre, said: “We have close links with the Little Acorns (Colleton) Pre-School and I am delighted we were able to help. As the centre’s family link worker, I am here to help any family in need of a little support. Beth is now making use of her new chair and I am pleased to learn she is now able to join in many more activities.”

The Twyford Starlings Children’s Centre, which is located within the grounds of Colleton Primary School, is open to parents-to-be and families with children aged under five years old. The centre is open all year and runs a variety of sessions designed to cater for the needs of families. Families can access a wide range of support and information through the centre staff and you can find out what is happening in their local area. And, where necessary, they can access more specialised support and services.

The Starlings Children’s Centre is one of seven in the Wokingham Borough.

Wokingham Borough Council ~ Twyford

There will be a very special Hurst guest coming to Dinton Pastures Country Park this month – Father Christmas.

Children visiting the Hurst park will be able to tour a magical natural woodland grotto before meeting Father Christmas himself.

Wokingham Borough Council countryside ranger Lynn Yardley said: “Dinton Pastures looks beautiful at this time of year and so a trip to see Father Christmas in his magical natural grotto combined with a walk around the lakes or a visit to the play area will be a lovely winter outing. The Dragonfly Café has some Christmas specials on offer as well – so visitors will be able to warm up with a hot drink and something to eat after enjoying the country park.”

Father Christmas will be in the Emmbrook Room, off the main car park at Dinton Pastures, from 1pm to 3pm on Sunday December 20, Monday December 21 and Tuesday December 22. The cost is £4 per child.

Wokingham Borough Council ~ Hurst

Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses and information following criminal damage caused to a vehicle while it was parked in Autumn Walk, Wargrave.

A porridge-like substance was poured over the Wargrave vehicle between 9pm on Tuesday 1 December and 1pm on Wednesday 2 December. The vehicle is a black soft-top Volkswagen Beetle.

Wargrave Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Jacqueline Daniels said: “Another report of criminal damage on the same vehicle was made to police in September. Twigs, dirt and grass had been put on the roof of the car, damaging the fabric.

“The vehicle is entitled to park in this location as there are no parking restrictions and the vehicle is tax and insured. Whoever is causing this damage is committing a criminal offence.

“The owner of the car is understandably very upset by this and feels she is feeling very vulnerable.”

Anyone who witnessed the assault or who has any information that could assist police with their investigation should contact PCSO Daniels at Twyford police station via 0845 8 505 505.

If you don’t want to speak to police or give your name, please call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

Thames Valley Police ~ Wargrave

Here is the latest Twyford/Ruscombe, Sonning/Charvil/Hurst and Wargrave/Remenham neighbourhood update from Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Jacqueline Daniels:

This month we say good bye to PC Giles Murphy after his eight-week neighbourhood attachment with the team and we thank him for his hard work and enthusiasm whilst he was with us. The team would also like to welcome PCSO Nicola Shepherd who will be covering the Twyford & Ruscombe areas.

Sadly burglaries have been on the increase with Sonning in particular being hit – with Christmas approaching us fast can you please read the below advice on helping keeping your property secure, also bearing in mind Christmas trees with lots of lovely presents under it an attractive sight for a burglar – please be aware and keep them out of sight of windows.

Look at your home from the point of view of a burglar;

* Do you have an alarm fitted?
* Is there easy access to the rear of your home?
* Are your windows and doors locked when you leave the property?
* Do you have external security lighting?
* Is valuable property such as handbags, Laptops and audio equipment visible through your windows?
* Does your home look occupied when no one is in? Try to leave internal lights on; timer switches used in conjunction with table lamps are very effective…
* Increase physical security on homes with adequate locks on doors (5-lever mortice dead-locks) and windows to making sure that a home looks occupied when people go away on holiday (e.g. the use of timer switches to turn lights on and off).
* Ensure all windows are shut and locked at all times when the home is unoccupied.
* Ensure that garden tools are securely locked away, to avoid them being used to get into homes.
* It is vital that everyone double locks their door and keeps all keys hidden and away from the door, but in a place that is easily accessible in the case of fire.
* If you have an alarm fitted, use it.

If you would like security advice you can contact your local neighbourhood policing team via the police enquiry centre on 0845 8 505 505. They will come to inspect your home and offer security advice.

Alternatively, there is some advice on the Thames Valley Police website http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/crprev/crprev-home.htm

On 8 November there were two reports of robberies at Twyford Train Station where mobiles phones were stolen – on both occasions the victims were approached by a small group of young people and asked to hand over their property. Please be aware of personal safety whilst out and about especially if you are using your mobile phone or are plugged into your ipod etc and are distracted – this can make you more vulnerable.

There have been a couple of reports of distraction burglaries in the area in the past couple of weeks – the unfortunate victims being the elderly and vulnerable residents of our community. PCSO Anne Chalmers and PCSO Jackie Daniels have made contact with Twyford Age Concern, local doctors surgeries, post offices, chemists and sheltered housing to give reassurance and advice.

We are still receiving reports of cars being broken into in Sonning village and the car parks of Reading Hockey and Cricket Club, Redingansians Rugby Club, Sonning. We urge residents and visitors to the Village not to leave personal items on view in your cars.

We have also had reports of young people causing criminal damage to residents vehicle parked in East Park Farm Drive. We continue to patrol the area, if anyone has any information that can help us identify the persons causing this damage please contact your neighbourhood police team using non emergency police contact number 0845 8 505 505.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Thames Valley Police has recently launched an operation to tackle ASB. This operation has been named Operation Lion Cub and will be running every Friday and Saturday night. Neighbourhood teams will hold a street briefing in affected areas before returning to their local neighourhoods. On receiving any reports of ASB the teams will converge on the area and deal with any ASB robustly.

On 13 November two young people were found with cannabis and a grinder in their possesion in the area of East Park Farm Pavilion and were dealt with by police officers.

On the whole Anti-Social Behaviour reports have declined in the area but we continue to monitor this and rely on residents to call in incidents – this enables us to deal with the culprits at the time.

There was an incident of racial abuse at Twyford train station on 19 November – police officers attended and names of youths were taken and they will be dealt with by the team.

We are aware of these incidents happening at the train station and ask anyone who has been a victim of this or anti-social behaviour please report it so that it can be dealt with promptly.

For further information on Operation Lion Cub please contact the team on the email address below or police non-emergency number 0845 8 505 505.

We continue to respond to reports of illegal and anti social parking at Station Road and Twyford Train Station – PCSO Jackie Daniels has been liaising with the Wokingham Borough Council enforcement officers who in turn are working with British Transport Police to find suitable parking facilities for taxis at Twyford Train Station. PCSO Jackie Daniels and PCSO Anne Chalmers would also like to remind all residents and customers of Twyford Railway Station that short term waiting parking bays are available for drop off and collection - double Yellow lines can not be used under any circumstances.

The Twyford Team all assisted in the Remembrance Parades in the Northern Parishes in November, assisted by our colleagues from the Special Constabulary.

PCSO Anne Chalmers attended Polehampton Sheltered accommodation to give personal safety and security awareness talk to the residents. This was well received, if any other community groups would like us to attend to give similar advice, please contact us on 0845 8 505 505.

Offenders bought to justice

Warren Clark, a 46-year-old man from Courts Road, Earley, has been charged with two offences of shoplifting from Harehatch Sheeplands, London Road. He will appear at East Berkshire Magistrates on 16 December.

Theft From Motor Vehicles – Castle Royal Golf Club, Bird in Hand, Dinton Pastures, Reading Hockey Club. PCSO Jackie Daniels & PCSO Anne Chalmers have visited these premises offering crime prevention advice and posters to advice their customers re leaving valuables in their vehicles.

The Castle Royal Golf Club and the Bird in Hand Public House reported vehicles broken into on the same evening – we urge all drivers not to leave anything on display and to, if possible, take all valuables with them. The first places thieves will head to is the boot, glove compartment and under the seats. Another give away is the sucker marks left on the windscreens by the satellite navigation systems - if at all possible leave the glove compartment open so show that there are valuables in the car. Also with everyone busy with Christmas shopping this month please don’t be tempted to leave Christmas presents in the car to be easy pickings for a thief.

Speeding and car crime still remain the top priorities for the neighbourhood team and we continue to conduct speed surveys using the speed indication device (SID).

There is no Wargrave Surgery for December, the date for the January Surgery will be in the next Neighbourhood Update.

The next Sonning, Charvil & Hurst and the Twyford and Wargrave NAG meeting dates will also be announced in the next Neighbourhood Updates.

This just leaves the team to wish you all a very happy and safe Christmas!!

You can contact your neighbourhood policing team by calling 0845 8 505 505

Thames Valley Police ~ Twyford