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Armed robbery at the local store.
Police are appealing for witnesses following an armed robbery at a convenience shop in Fressingfield.
Officers were called shortly before 7.20pm on Wednesday 1 April, to reports that a robbery had just taken place at Mace Stores in New Street.
A man brandishing a knife entered the premises and threatened staff, before stealing a quantity of cash, cigarettes and alcohol. No one was harmed during the incident.
The suspect is described as white, aged in his late 20s to early 30s, approximately 5ft 7in tall and of slim build. He was wearing a black hooded top and had his face covered.
Detectives are appealing for anyone with information about this incident to come forward. They are also asking anyone who was driving in the area between 6.30pm and 8pm yesterday evening and who may have captured dashcam footage of any vehicles travelling through to get in touch.
Detective Inspector Matt Adams said: “Unfortunately there have now been a number of similar robberies to this one over the past 10 days across the county and we understand that this will be causing concern for employees and business owners alike.
“I would like to reassure all those people affected that we are working extremely hard to detect who is responsible for these offences, with our teams gathering forensic evidence and pursuing a number of leads, which have resulted in us making several arrests.
“Local communities can be of great assistance to us by being our eyes and ears – especially at the moment while the majority of people are at home. Please be vigilant and report anything to us that you believe to be suspicious.
“Any businesses that feel they would benefit from advice on crime prevention and additional security measures are urged to contact their local Safer Neighbourhood Team for assistance.
“Officers are actively patrolling throughout communities in Suffolk, and we are determined to do everything we can to protect the public, key workers and businesses.”
Information on how to contact your local policing team can be found on our website here: https://imsva91-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.suffolk.police.uk%2fyour%2darea&umid=160B933B-A24D-C705-A5E0-50A6ECEB3A2C&auth=76a36a0301cf7179612a4414203a61368905a968-8c5fab57af9dfb9508c3500c6c4966d47432ab78
Any witnesses to this crime, or anyone with information or dashcam footage, are asked to contact East CID at Lowestoft Police Station, quoting reference: 19207/20.
Email – EastCID@suffolk.pnn.police.uk
Phone – Call 101
Crimestoppers – Contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their online form: https://imsva91-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=www.crimestoppers%2duk.org&umid=160B933B-A24D-C705-A5E0-50A6ECEB3A2C&auth=76a36a0301cf7179612a4414203a61368905a968-bb04a2ba0d1310959b81eabc6cc16416e6e347cf
Please note in the event of an emergency you should always call 999.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION OF UNAUDITED ANNUAL GOVERNANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN
Annual Governance Statement 2018-19
Changes to Recycling
Important changes to Suffolk’s recycling
Make sure you’re up to speed with some important changes to the way we recycle in Suffolk.
Over the coming months the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Gt Blakenham, where recycling collected from Suffolk households is sorted, will be undergoing a major refurbishment. This work follows a new contract for the operation of Suffolk’s countywide network of 11 Recycling Centres and will result in a state-of-the-art facility for Suffolk, with the latest mechanical and optical sorting equipment.
How does this affect me?
- During the renovation period, your recycling will be collected on your usual collection day
- Drink cartons (e.g. Tetra Pak) and metal pots, pans and trays will no longer be accepted in recycling bins, but can still be recycled at all 11 of Suffolk’s Recycling Centres
Find a full guide of what can be put in your bins on the the Suffolk Recycling website
Download a printable recycling guide to stick on the fridge
May Local Elections 2019
Mid Suffolk District Council results are in, and Mid Suffolk is now NOC – No Overall Control, from a Conservative majority in 2015.
As for Fressingfield Ward, Lavinia Hadingham (Conservative) retains her seat.
Notice of Uncontested Election
The deadline for election pack returns has been and gone, and as we are a 13 seat council, for a Poll to occur on May 2nd there requires there to be at least 13 + 1 parishioners standing. As only 10 persons stood for election, there was an uncontested election and results are as follows:
There are still 2 meetings left of the current council, April 16th – Full Council and the Annual Parish Meeting on 30th April.
A new Chairman & Vice Chairman will be elected at our May Meeting.
B1116 Harleston Hill, Fressingfield – Rumseys Arch Partial Bridge Reconstruction
The following correspondence has been received from Suffolk Highways:
B1116 Harleston Hill, Fressingfield – Rumseys Arch Partial Bridge Reconstruction – April 2019
Further to the cancellation of the bridge reconstruction last year, the works have been rescheduled to begin during the second half of this week and will continue until 7 June 2019. We would like to apologise for the short notification of these works.
To facilitate the reconstruction, the traffic management will be phased. The road at the site will be reduced to a single lane and controlled by temporary traffic signals for the majority of the work. However, road closures for certain operations will be in place on the following dates;
B1116 Harleston Hill, between New Street/Stradbroke Road Junction to Mill Lane
20:00 Thursday 4th April to 06:00 Friday 5th April
20:00 Friday 10th May to 06:00 Monday 13th May
For the duration of these closures, vehicles will be diverted via B1116 Harleston Hill/Laxfield Road, B1117 Laxfield Road, B1118 Queen Street, Chickering Road, Lower Oakley, A140, A143 Bungay Road, Wells Lane and vice versa.
Vehicular access to and from your property will be maintained at all times.
Please note that pedestrian access through the site,(while the traffic is controlled by signals) will be maintained during working hours only (07:30 – 17:00) as pedestrians will need to be escorted through the site to ensure safe passage.
There will be no pedestrian access through the site during the road closures, outside of working hours and weekends.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours Faithfully,
James Prime
Senior Structures Design Technician
Harleston Road Closure Letter – PDF
Diversion Route when closed (click to view as full page PDF):
Village Caretaker leads the Litter initiative
Fressingfield Parish Council have cancelled their Village Clean up event in that there is hardly any litter to collect! The annual event has proved unnecessary due to the continuing efforts of the Village Caretaker, Cathy Tooley, and other volunteers in the Parish.
A recce of the village led the Council to decide to put the annual ‘village volunteer energy’ into other projects including path clearing, environmental improvements and hedgerow maintenance. These revised activities will begin on Saturday 6th April, 9.30am meeting at the Sancroft Hall. The efforts of Cathy and the several volunteers ‘cleansers’ have left the village looking spruce in the Springtime.
Garry Deeks, Chairman of Fressingfield Parish Council, said ‘The year initiative of Cathy to keep the village tidy has really paid off and has created a situation where several ‘volunteers’ walking around the village across numerous footpaths and roadways, also litter gather as part of any walk they take. It shows that having an ‘encouraging presence’ in the community can challenge littering behaviours of others.
We are very grateful for the quiet, encouraging and diligent work of Cathy has made such an improvement to the village environment, a calm, gradual change for the better.’
The Parish Council is producing a Village Improvement Plan alongside their Neighbourhood Development Plan, further consultation will also be on Sat 30 th March and Monday 1 st April where villagers can reflect on the plans and improvements proposed.
Dog walkers too, help maintain the village environment with increasingly responsible behaviour whilst walking with their dog. They collect litter on some of the outlying parts of the village as well careful dog waste disposal by taking it home.
A tidy village with widening appreciation by residents!
Garry Deeks
Chairman, Fressingfield Parish Council
Fit Villages Survey Results – new activities coming to Fressingfield!
Hare Coursing
There have been reports of Hare Coursing in the Local Area in recent weeks. Suffolk Constabulary have the following advice and information for the public:
Hare coursing is a banned blood sport and is an illegal activity, yet it unfortunately remains common in Suffolk. It is the pursuit of hares using hounds and usually takes place toward the end of August or start of September.
The Hunting Act 2004 made hare coursing illegal and anyone convicted of the offence can be fined up to £5,000 by a Magistrates’ Court.
The most obvious sign is a group of vehicles parked in a rural area perhaps by a gateway to farmland, on a grass verge, on a farm track or bridle path. There will usually be estate cars, four wheel drives or vans.
Violent confrontations can occur when participants are approached by landowners or their employees and this means that rural communities can feel very intimidated by hare coursers in their area.
If you have any information about wildlife crime or believe you have witnessed a crime taking place contact us on 101. If a crime is in progress, always dial 999.
If possible try to note down the following information:
- date, time and location
- descriptions of people you saw or vehicles they were driving
- if there is anyone else in the area that witnessed the incident / individuals.
These people can be violent so do not approach, rather call the police and state that it is occurring NOW.
Harleston Jobs Club
Communities Urged To Secure Their Homes & Vehicles This Autumn
Members of the public are being urged to increase their vigilance around home and vehicle security this autumn.
This reminder comes following a number of break-ins reported in the west and south of the county over the last month.
Dark evenings can provide the perfect cover for burglars but by carrying out a few simple crime prevention steps, householders and motorists can thwart opportunist criminals.
The force recently launched a new crime prevention initiative, known as 1st Principle, which highlights that simple, inexpensive measures can easily be undertaken by anyone in the community.
As part of the initiative, an online suite of bespoke, easy to follow crime prevention documents are available to view and download on the constabulary’s website for free. Visit: https://www.suffolk.police.uk/advice/crime-prevention-z
Anyone with information about thieves operating in their area should contact Suffolk police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
LOCK
- Lock all doors and remove the keys before leaving the house.
• Keep front doors locked even when you are at home and especially if you are in the back garden.
• Close all windows fully before you leave the house, lock downstairs windows and remove the keys.
• Use window limiters to allow air in instead of keeping windows fully open, even when you’re at home.
• Install window locks on upstairs windows that can be easily accessed by a flat roof.
• Lock back gates using a sturdy lock such as a closed shackle padlock to no less than CEN 3-4 security grade or 5 lever lock.
LIGHT
- Make your home look lived in – use timer switches if you’re not home.
• ‘Dusk-to-dawn’ sensored security lighting is a cheap, low cost way of making sure the front of your home or shed/outbuilding is well-lit.
• Visible burglar alarms can make burglars think twice; get specialist advice and consult your insurance company.
•You could also consider installing a doorbell camera in order to potentially film an opportunist burglar in action.
• Hedging and shrubs to the front of your property should be pruned to no higher than 1m and trim trees up from the ground to 2m. This will allow a clear line of sight across your property and will stop the garden being used as a hiding place.
HIDE
- Keep your valuables, jewellery, cash, passport and deeds to your property in a safe.
• Never leave spare keys in an open place. Be aware, burglars know all the usual hiding places so never leave a spare key under the doormat or under a garden gnome.
• Keep dustbins and wheelie-bins away from fencing/gates as these can be used by thieves to climb into windows or used to escape.
• Make sure valuables are property marked. Take photographs and keep a note of any serial numbers.
• Don’t leave equipment and tools lying around that can be used by burglars to break into your home, such as hammers, shovels or gardening tools. Keep ladders locked away and out of sight.
Help us keep our communities safe.
Police advice on a variety of subjects can be accessed via https://www.suffolk.police.uk/advice
To report something, or to otherwise contact Police, use the link http://www.suffolk.police.uk/contact-us
To report something anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Alternatively call 101 for non-urgent matters.
Always call 999 in emergencies, or if an immediate police response is required.
Police Connect Team
