THAMES Valley Police is running more action days to combat rural crime across South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse in January and February.
Country Watch – combating rural crime
As part of these days PCSOs will be available to visit your farm or rural business and visibly mark your property with a CREMARK pen. This is a paint pen which is then sealed with lacquer and provides an overt visible deterrent to thieves. This is a free service. The action days are:
Thame Saturday 25th January Didcot Thursday 16th January Abingdon Friday 17th January Henley Thursday 30th January Wantage Saturday 1st February Faringdon Tuesday 4th February Wallingford Saturday 8th February
To book an appointment in your area please contact Ali Smith, Crime Reduction Advisor on 01865 555129 or email her on Alison.smith4@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
THAME Bowls Club and Thame Tennis Club have joined forces to put forward a proposal to redevelop their shared, aged club house in Queen Road, Thame.
The existing club house shared by Thame Bowls and Tennis clubs, built in 1924
Ex BBC weatherman, Bill Giles, who is Chairman of the Thame Bowls Club, was one of three representatives of the two clubs who recently gave a presentation to Thame Town Council in an effort to gain some financial assistance with their £300,000 funding gap for the proposals.
One of the options put forward was to sell the land the current clubs occupy, to developers and to relocate to another site somewhere in the town.
The two clubs envisage that new, modern facilities will open up the possibility of indoor bowls and indoor tennis courts, and could attract other local community groups such as the hockey club, arts groups etc.
Neil Morgan told the town council that Thame Tennis Club is recognised as the best in the county for coaching youngsters, and the Bowls Club Secretary, Trevor Coply, explained that his club was the most successful in England, having increased its membership by 50% compared with a drop in membership nationally of 10%.
“We are a dynamic set up and expanding,” he said. “With an increasingly aging population, we stop them from sitting at home and vegetating. They keep fitter and are given a reason to live!” he said.
Concluding the presentation, Bill Giles, with a reference to his accepting responsibility for fellow weatherman, Michael Fish famous assurance to the nation that no hurricane was on the way in 1987, told the council: “I have been known to fail, but I am determined not to fail this time!” The strong contingent of supporters in the public gallery clapped when he said: “We are going to build something we can be proud of and we need to move it forward quickly.”
The town council intends to produce a ‘Sports Facility Strategy’, as part of the Thame Neighbourhood Plan, after assessing the needs of the town, which it says will be paid for by monies collected from future housing developments.
THE local community choir, Village Voices, is now over four years old and is thriving. Based in Towersey, the choir’s members come from all round the surrounding area including Chinnor, Thame, Princes Risborough, Monks Risborough, Haddenham and further afield. Village Voices meets on Friday evenings in term-time at Towersey Memorial Hall between 7.30 and 9.30 p.m. The weekly cost is £5, or £1 for students, and it doesn’t matter if you can’t come every week.
Village Voices singing in Thame town centre at Christmas
Choir Organiser, Ruth Ruddock explained: “We sing all types of songs from all over the world – traditional, folk, pop, ballads, gospel, jazz, blues…you name it, we try it! We learn these songs by listening and copying, from simple rounds and chants to glorious harmony singing, songs from a wide range of musical traditions.
“You don’t have to audition for our choir and you don’t need to read music – you just need to like singing, or want to have a go at singing even if you haven’t done so for a long time. There have been many reports recently about how good singing is for you, both mentally and physically, but basically community choirs are all about having fun – no-one is excluded, no-one is asked to sing solo, no-one is made to feel bad if they can’t quite get that note; everyone is welcome.
“Very occasionally we perform in public, with the emphasis being on having fun rather than being perfect! Over the last few years we’ve sung at the Towersey Festival, Towersey Village Fete, Music in the Park in Thame, Chinnor Village Centre Christmas Fayre and, most recently, at the St. Andrew’s Chinnor Christmas Tree Festival and at Thame Market. Some of our members also joined the Oxford Community Choir in the Christmas Light Festival Day of Song, singing in the Clarendon Centre, the Jam Factory and onstage in St. Giles – all great fun.
In October 2012 we organised the first Chiltern Community Choir Festival at Mill Lane School in Chinnor, when over 150 singers from various community choirs in the area joined us for a day of workshops and joyous massed singing, directed by renowned community choir leaders. Given an enormously enthusiastic response, the second CCCF took place – again at Mill Lane School – in October 2013 and we are now planning the third for October 2014.
New members are always welcome, so please do have a look at our website www.villagevoicestowersey.com for further information, call Madeleine on 01844 352468 or Ruth on 01844 352894, or email villagevoices.towersey@gmail.com. We start up again in the New Year on Friday 10 January, and look forward to hearing from you.
RESIDENTS in Emmington and Sydenham near Thame, are pleading with drivers to drive very slowly through their villages which are currently severely flooded following the extended period of rain being experienced all over the south of the country.
Flooded road by The Inn at Emmington, leading into Sydenham
Driving through flooded roads at speed causes bow waves which send flood waters into homes and gardens. Residents ask drivers to only go to Sydenham to access the village itself .
Currently the Thame to Chinnor road is severely flooded from the Towersey triangle in both directions, especially deep towards Chinnor. It is also flooded at the junction with Sydenham Road at the Inn at Emmington.
The sewage system in the area is being inundated with groundwater which is bubbling out of manholes. Tankers are in use to reduce the volume.
Watkins Bridge in Cuttle Brook Nature Reserve in Thame, surrounded by water
At Thame’s Cuttle Brook Nature Reserve, the new Watkins Bridge is surrounded by water and the ditches draining water from Chiltern Vale are full to the brim. With memories of flooded gardens and houses in Cedar Crescent, Thame, in 2008, in the minds of affected householders, David Laver, of the Cutttle Brook Volunteers, told Thame.Net: “At the moment the water is pretty high but the lower meadow is not flooded yet although it is waterlogged. So with a couple of drier days, I think we should get away without any houses flooded. It will depend on how much water is still to come down off the Chilterns into the river.”
ON Friday, January 3, between 9pm and 11.30pm, offender(s) forced an entry into an outbuilding in Kiln Avenue, Chinnor and stole vehicle parts.
Offender breaking into a parked car (for illustrative purposes only)
Between 6pm on Sunday, January 5, and 8am today, Monday, January 6, offender(s) stole a Sat Nav and clothing from a vehicle parked in Copson Lane, Stadhampton.
Between Saturday, January 4 and Sunday, January 5, offender(s) gained entry to five vehicles in Toot Baldon and stole items including clothes, electrical items and a tax disc.
Some of the vehicles were left insecure and items left on display. Residents are advised to remove valuable items from vehicles and make sure they are secure when not in use.
The Police urge everyone to be extra vigilant. If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message, please call the police on 101.
Alternatively if you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
Robert Crosby, aged 38, missing from his home in Thame since December 2
UPDATE: Robert Crosby, who was missing from Thame, was located safe and well yesterday (4/1).
Thames Valley Police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance in helping to trace him.
Original appeal – January 3, 2014
THAMES Valley Police is appealing for information to trace a person missing from Thame, Oxfordshire. Robert Crosby, aged 38, has been missing from his home in Thame since December 2, 2013.
Mr Crosby is 5ft 8ins, of heavy build, and has ginger cropped hair. He occasionally wears glasses. He has links to Oxfordshire and to Ealing in London.
Sgt Jonathan Shaw, of Thame police station, said: “We are appealing for anyone with any information about Mr Crosby’s whereabouts to contact police. If anyone recognises anyone matching Mr Crosby’s description please contact officers.
“We are concerned for Mr Crosby’s welfare and possible deteriorating health and would like to know he is safe and well.”
If anyone has any information about Mr Crosby’s whereabouts, please contact police on 101 quoting URN 1173 2/12.
A tragedy at a popular venue in Thame has lead to an innovation which may save lives in the future.
A metal, yellow box recently installed at the Barns Centre, Thame, holds the first community defibrillator in Thame. Inside this box is a portable iPAD AED (Automated External Defibrillator) which is available for anyone in the vicinity to use if the worst was to happen and someone was to have a cardiac arrest.
Patsy Baker from the Centre explained: “Several years ago at there was a tragic event here; if a defibrillator has been available a life may have been saved.
“Myself, Karen and Gillian would like to thank all the people who came to the fundraising events we ran over the summer and the local business, ASM, Booker Tate, Kubota, United Legal Services and St Mary’s PCC, who have helped us purchase the first Community Defibrillator in Thame.
“As a spinoff of these efforts at the Centre a community group, called Staying Alive Thame, has been set up; their aim is to place community defibrillators throughout Thame. There’s going to be a fundraising Valentines Disco in February which we hope those who can will come along to support and have a great evening.”
If you would like to know more about this Staying Alive Thame, look them up on FaceBook or contact Thame Barns Centre on 01844 217308.
NB Although The Barns Centre’s is the first community defibrillator in Thame, Lord Williams’s school recently purchased two defibrillators for its use. One is located at Upper School on the Oxford Road, and the other is located at Lower School in Towersey Road. Both are by the main reception areas.
THIS month’s Thame Sector Neighbourhood Team Newsletter has been published by Thames Valley Police. The main incidents reported include the following but the full report can be read here.
PCSO Michelle Jacques has issued a Section 59 warning for anti-social use of a motorbike, as well as a warning letter to the tenants of the address involved.
A neighbourhood dispute has been resolved through both parties agreeing to ABCs. The ABCs have been put together with the police acting as impartial adjudicators and contains a set of rules that the neighbours have agreed to. It is hoped that this will discourage any behaviour that may further upset or antagonise each other. The contracts remain in place for six months and can be adjusted to encompass any new issues.
In the last month 24 offenders were brought to justice for a number of offences including: Public Order Act offences, Shoplifting, Criminal damage to a vehicle, Making off without payment, Burglary other than a dwelling. PCSO Diane Jackson witnessed a shoplifting and then detained the offender until they could be arrested.
There is an opportunity to attend Have Your Say meetings in person. Upcoming Have Your Say meetings are:– · Monday 6 January, 3pm – 5pm at the Co-Op cafe, High Street, Thame with PCSO Diane Jackson. · Wednesday 15 January, 11am – midday, at the Memorial Hall, Chinnor Road,Towersey with PCSO Jacky Madden. · Friday 24 January, at the Chinnor Village Centre, High Street, Chinnor, with PCSO Jacky Madden.
These meetings are an ideal opportunity for local residents to speak to their local police officers and PCSO’s about any local issues, no appointment is necessary just turn up and speak to your local officers.
THE Technical Director of Thame engineering company, J&P Building Systems, Cliff Billington, has been made an MBE in this year’s New Year’s Honours list. The award, for Services to Construction, recognises a 40 year career in precast concrete. Cliff is an acknowledged expert in his field, writing many technical pieces and also representing the UK in Europe.
Cliff Billington MBE
Although his permanent home is in Nottingham, Cliff is a very frequent visitor to Thame, where he stays for several days a month, and is well known on Thame’s pub quiz circuit.
FOLLOWING the death of an elderly woman in a car crash on the road between Thame and Aylesbury yesterday (Sunday), and a series of road crashes over the Christmas period, the Watch Manager at Thame fire station, Andy Ford, is warning drivers to take extra care in the changing weather conditions. Andy and his crews have been very busy attending 13 call outs from 23rd Dec over the Christmas period.
Fire engine leaves Thame fire station to attend to a road traffic collision
Following the fatality on Sunday (29/12), the Police are appealing for witnesses after the red Renault Kangoo car the woman was travelling in, came off the road near The Bottle and Glass pub at Gibraltar.
The accident happened at 10.15am and the woman, aged 81, was one of three people in the vehicle. Anyone with information about the crash is urged to contact PC Julia Stroud through the Thames Valley Police Enquiry Centre on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
On Christmas Eve, Thame Fire and Rescue crews attended two serious road traffic collisions (RTCs), one on the B4011 near Bullingdon prison and the other involved three cars on the M40 motorway. The B4011 incident was attended bycrews from Bicester and Thame and one person was extricated by Fire and Rescue personel having sustained serious injuries. The M40 crash involved three cars attended by Thame and Watlington. One driver had a very lucky escape after his car left the motorway and ended up upside down in a field. A female was taken to hospital with potentially serious injuries.
In the last two days (28-29/12), two more RTCs, due to the icy conditions in the morning, have been dealt with by the Thame team. One on the A329 near Rycote Lodge on the Milton Common Road out of Thame, and the other on the B4011 just outside Long Crendon.
Two more calls resulted from damage caused by the weather, and other incidents have included a car fire and a Chimney fire in Tiddington, water leaking into electrics in Victoria Mead Thame, and a scaffold structure blown over on Kingsey road, just outside Thame, which closed the road for several hours.
Andy Ford said: “I would remind people that the changing weather is causing hazardous driving conditions and drivers should take extra care and take note of the weather conditions and leave more time to get where you are going.”
