Twyford

Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses after paving slabs were stolen from a cottage garden path in Twyford on Friday night (13/1).

The cottage is on the High Street, Twyford and is being developed into a nursing home.

On the night of the offence, offenders entered the Twyford garden through an unsecured gate and removed over 130 thick paving slabs, which where set into the ground around the cottage as a garden path.

PC James Beard, from Loddon Valley police station, said: “The slabs may have been taken by someone in the construction trade to use them in either a restoration project or for an ‘authentic’ look, as they would not be re-sellable as new or in an open market.

“The land owner and developer is a very small and fairly local developer so this has obviously impacted on him and his business severely.”

Anyone who noticed suspicious activity in the Twyford area, or if they know someone who has suspiciously acquired a large quantity of slabs should contact PC Beard via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101.

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 ~ Twyford

Happy New Year from the Twyford Neighbourhood team, we hope you had an enjoyable Christmas.

During the run up to Christmas PCSO Jackie Daniels organised a Rogue Traders event in both Twyford and Wargrave, which was well attended. We would like to give special thanks to Matt Allwright for sparing some time to come and give his expert advice, he was very well received. We would also like to thank Trading Standards who had lots of useful tips.

Crime

We have been fortunate enough to have a low level of crime during the Christmas period with a total of 11 burglaries/attempted burglaries covering the whole of the Northern Parishes. 2 reports of criminal damage and 6 reports of disorder mainly concentrated at Twyford train station. There have been 2 reports of theft from vehicles and 2 reports of theft of mopeds.

Anti-social Behaviour (ASB)

ASB is low this month even with the New Year, there have been a total of 9 reports. 4 of the reports were due to loud music and noisy parties spilling out into the street.

High visibility patrols have been conducted across the whole of the Northern Parishes concentrating in East Park Farm Charvil, Highfield Park – Kings Acre Wargrave and the centre of Twyford due to reports of anti-social behaviour.

Parking

Unfortunately illegal parking is still being reported to the team – Can I just take this opportunity to remind drivers that you will receive a £30 Fixed Penalty Notice or a summons to court if found to be committing an offence.

We now take photographs of the vehicles that are parked illegally for evidence in court if needed.

There is still an on-going problem along the High Street and Church Street in Wargrave. We have been issuing tickets to vehicles parked illegally on double yellow lines and will continue to do so. Please be aware of the road markings and park accordingly.

Have Your Say

The neighbourhood team continue to hold ‘Have Your Say’ events around the area. Please feel free to attend and discuss any issues or concerns. The next meetings are:

Saturday 28th January from 9am to 10am at Twyford Police Station

Tuesday 7th February from 9am to 10:30am at the MICE bus, Waitrose, Twyford

Tuesday 7th February from 9am to 10:30am at the MICE bus, School Hill, Wargrave

There are also further meeting dates scheduled as follows:

Twyford Police Station: 9am to 10am

18th February

10th March

31st March

21st April

12th May

2nd June

23rd June

14th July

Wargrave Cricket Pavillion, Recreation Rd, Wargrave 10am to 11am

27th February

9th March

Twyford Police Station is now open Monday 2-6pm, Wednesday 3-7pm and Saturday 9am-1pm and is manned by volunteers. They are there to answer any queries, book in lost property, pass messages to the rest of the team and be able to deal with driving documents that need to be produced for driving offences.

Thames Valley Police has gone live with the new national single non emergency telephone number 101. This has replaced the old 0845 telephone number. Please update your records accordingly.

Calls to 101, from landlines or mobiles, will cost 15 pence per call, no matter the time of day or the duration of the call. Everyone calling the new non-emergency number will know exactly how much a call will cost, and can be assured of equal access whether they are on a pay-as-you-go mobile or a home landline. Calls will be routed to the Force in the same way as 999 calls. If a caller is using a landline the routing will be based on the caller’s postcode and the call will be directed to the local police force. If a caller is using a mobile telephone, the call will be routed according to the location of the mast from which the call is being transmitted. Calls made to 101 from another police force area that has yet to ‘go live’ with the new number, will hear a recorded message telling them to redial using the relevant non-emergency number.

Community Messaging

Community Messaging is a free service which provides information to subscribers about crime and police activity in their area via phone or email. It also includes information on what we and our partner services are doing to bring offenders to justice or combat anti-social behaviour.

Contact us

If you would like any advice or would like to contact the neighbourhood team you can call us on the police non emergency number 101. If your call is of an urgent nature then please dial 999 in the normal manner. You can also contact us via email: TwyfordGroupNHPT@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk – please note this email address cannot be used to contact Thames Valley Police to report crimes or for any urgent matters. If you have information about crime or Anti Social Behaviour in your area but you do not want to speak to the police, please call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555111.

Thames Valley Police ~ Twyford

A new exhibition of watercolours by Hurst artist Liz Chaderton is now on display in the Garden Room of the Dragonfly Café at Dinton Pastures Country Park, Hurst. Liz’s pictures are colourful wildlife and farm animal portraits, making a special Christmas present for any animal lover.

Liz has been painting in watercolour for nine years and has exhibited at venues in Henley and Reading, as well as showing her work as part of the Wokingham Arts Trail. Based in Hurst, Liz is a regular visitor to Dinton Pastures. She said: “I’m excited to be displaying my paintings in a place in which I have found inspiration from the flowers and wildlife that I see all around me.”

The Hurst Dragonfly Café is open daily from 8.30am to 4pm and Liz’s paintings can be enjoyed in its warm and welcoming environment. And why not sample the Café’s homemade mince pies and cakes at the same time? The Dragonfly Café is open every day over Christmas except Christmas Day.

Hurst Countryside officer Rebecca Walkley said: “This is our third exhibition by a local artist at the Dragonfly Café and we are very pleased to be able to display Liz Chaderton’s vibrant pictures over the next three months. Liz’s pictures are also for sale and a percentage of the income will go to help fund the valuable conservation work carried out at Dinton Pastures Country Park.”

Wokingham Borough Council ~ Hurst

On December 1, 2011 at Bracknell Magistrates’ Court, Ajit Singh Kapoor trading as Bargain Booze, London Road, Twyford was found guilty of three offences relating to the supply of counterfeit Smirnoff Vodka in a case brought by West Berkshire and Wokingham Trading Standards Service and prosecuted by West Berkshire Council.

The first Twyford offence related to the misuse of the trade mark “Smirnoff” contrary to the Trade Marks Act 1994 and the second related to the alcohol content which was claimed at 37.5% and was found to be 30.5%, contrary to the Food Safety Act 1990. The third offence related to the false claim that the vodka was Smirnoff, also contrary to the Food Safety Act 1990.

Mr Kapoor had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one offence under General Food Regulations 2004 for not keeping adequate traceability records as to the source of the vodka. On December 1, the Court heard that Mr Kapoor could not tell the Twyford investigating officer where he had obtained the vodka.

Mr Kapoor was fined a total of £150 with £1,400 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Sean Murphy, trading standards manager at West Berkshire and Wokingham trading standards said: “A number of foodstuffs and, in particular, alcoholic drinks are now being counterfeited. This activity undermines market confidence and can be a front for more serious criminal activity. We would urge retailers to be vigilant when sourcing products and would invite consumers to contact us if they see anything suspicious.”

For further information please contact trading standards on (01635) 519930 or email tsadvice@westberkshire.gov.uk

Wokingham Borough Council ~ Twyford