MORE than 130 people were arrested on suspicion of drug driving in Essex last month as our officers continue to keep you safe on the roads.

In total 136 people were arrested for it, as well as 116 drink driving arrests and 32 for not providing a sample.

We have already arrested more people on suspicion of drug driving this year than the whole of 2018.

Temporary Chief Inspector Sharn Taylor, Head of Roads Policing, said: “My officers continue to work hard to keep you safe on the road.

“The continued rise in drug driving arrests does looking concerning but what it highlights is that we are better equipped than ever to identify and detect drug drivers.

“We have more than 600 officers across the force who are trained to use drug wipes, and not just those working in our roads policing units.

“This means if you’re drug driving, you’re more likely to caught and taken off the road.

“Drugs can stay in your system for a significant amount of time and even if you don’t feel impaired, you could still be over the drug driving limit and so breaking the law.

“The easiest way of avoiding this is just not to do it in the first place and our message is to drive safe, drive sober.”

A HARLOW man has been arrested on suspicion of a number of sex offences.

YH understands that police were called to the Westfield area of Harlow on Saturday evening, where a man had been confronted by a group of males regarding his alleged activity on the internet.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: “A 51-year-old man from Harlow was arrested on suspicion of sexual offences on Saturday 31 August.

“He has since been released on bail until Saturday 28 September”.

TWO men have appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court today, Wednesday 4 September, charged with drug offences.

Leon Deane-Finnegan, 31, of Alkham Road in North London (N16), and Daniel Fairbrother, 41, of Moorfield in Harlow, were charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin, with Fairbrother additionally being charged with possession of cannabis.

It follows work carried out by Operation Raptor West under the Op Sceptre umbrella, which aims to tackle alleged acts of violent crime across the county.

YOUR Harlow readers have won a battle in their war against anti-social behaviour in Terminus Street by forcing Harlow Council and Essex Police to take action.

A number of readers had contacted and written to us about the state of the bus station area in the town centre.

It appears that the authorities have responded as we received the following news from Harlow Council.

Harlow Council’s Community Safety Team and the Harlow town centre policing team have been busy this week enforcing the Public Space Protection Order. This order targets the drinking of alcohol in public places, cycling through the town centre and antisocial ball games.

On Tuesday the team removed 16 containers of alcohol from different people, and stopped and educated 8 people using bikes in the restricted area.

On Wednesday they removed 7 containers of alcohol from people and 7 Community Protection Warnings have been issued in partnership with the police. The action follows residents’ concerns about street drinking in the Bus Station area of the town centre.

If you residents see any drinking of alcohol, cycling or antisocial ball games within the town centre please call Contact Harlow on 01279 446655 so action can be taken.

A HARLOW driver has admitted causing a collision on the M11 which killed a motorcyclist.

Steve Lord was riding his Suzuki GSF on the southbound M11 near Stansted at around 5am on Wednesday 16 January when he was hit by a car.

Sadly, the 63 year-old died at the scene but the car failed-to-stop.

Daniel Tilley, 37, of Joyners Field, Harlow, was arrested the following day.

He was later charged with causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene of a collision, and failing to report a collision – charges he admitted at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday 4 September).

He is due to be sentenced at the same court on Thursday 26 September.

Senior investigating officer Inspector Rob Brettell, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Daniel Tilley caused the death of Steve Lord but instead of stopping to help him, drove off and failed to report the collision.

“Some excellent police work led to the car involved being identified and traced back to Tilley.

“Ultimately the evidence we were able to build against Tilley left him with no option but to admit what he had done.

“By doing so he has at least prevented Mr Lord’s family from going through the ordeal of a trial.”

A MAN has been jailed for attacking a woman in Harlow before she was forced to jump from a first floor window to escape.

David Cousins, 42, of River Way, Harlow, received two years for causing actual bodily harm at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday 30 August after pleading guilty to the offence. He was also given a five-year restraining order.

At around 1.30am on Wednesday 31 July, Cousins demanded to be let into an address and kept banging on the front door.

The occupant let him in before she was attacked.

Cousins punched the woman in the face numerous times and he struck her in the face with his knee.

The victim suffered cuts and swelling to her face, with one eye closing completely.

She managed to fight Cousins off before jumping from a first floor window, sustaining additional cuts to her legs, before we were called.

Detective Inspector Richard Trower, of Harlow’s Domestic Abuse Investigations Team, said: “Cousins flew into an attack without warning, using his hands and knees to inflict injuries to an innocent woman.

“The victim was left blooded and bruised, with one of her eyes completely closing.

“She bravely managed to fight him off before jumping out of a window to escape. I’d like to thank her for her courage and support.

“Cousins has been sent to prison for his actions and has a restraining order placed on him to help further protect the victim.”

A HARLOW teenager has pleaded guilty to being in possession of a machete and a large knife.

The sixteen-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pled at Chelmsford magistrates court.

The charges were as follows:

On 26/06/2019 at Harlow, stole Oasis drink, to the value of £1.49, belonging to Dominos

On 26/06/2019 at Harlow had with you, without good reason or lawful authority, in a public place Staple Tye, Harlow, an article which had a blade or was sharply pointed, namely a Machete.

On 25/06/2019 at Harlow, had with you, without good reason or lawful authority, in a public place, Northbrooks, an article which had a blade or was sharply pointed, namely a large knife.

The youth has been referred to the youth offender panel for a contract having effect for 12 months.

He was fined £149.00

ESSEX Trading Standards urge residents ‘be sure, at the door’ to combat rogue traders and doorstep scammers

Beware of rogue traders and doorstep scammers – that’s the message this autumn from Essex Trading Standards.

In Essex, over the past 18 months there have been more than a hundred reports of doorstep incidents which have led to financial loss incurred by residents. Sometimes victims are repeatedly targeted resulting in significant individual financial losses.

Figures from 2017/18 show the average age of victims of this type of crime is 71 and the average financial loss to each victim is £8,960.

Essex Trading Standards have issued advice to residents concerned about dealing with traders when they need household work completed. This advice is:

Choose a ‘Buy With Confidence’ accredited trader – to find a reputable trader approved and vetted by Trading Standards visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk
Obtain several quotes
Get written quotes detailing exactly what work will be carried out, how much it will cost and what the terms of payment are.
Take your time to make sure you’re happy with what you’re undertaking
Ask a trusted friend/relative for advice
Ask to see identity.
Residents are also advised to be aware that a genuine trader who comes to your house, will not:

Call without an appointment
Ask you or offer to take you to the bank to withdraw cash or make a money transfer
Ask you to pay in full before the work is complete
Insist that you decide about the work they’re offering to do on the spot
Bully or scare you into doing the work.
For general help and advice or to report a problem with a trader that is not immediate telephone the Citizens Advice Consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06

If you are concerned about a trader who is already at your house call 999 immediately.

To underline all this advice a new short film has been co-produced by Essex Trading Standards, to raise awareness of rogue traders and doorstep scammers.

The film, Rogue Trader, a co-production with Chelmsford-based film company Deadline Communications, stars actor and singer Lee Mead, known for his starring roles in Casualty and Holby City, and winner of the 2007 BBC talent contest Any Dream Will Do.

In the film, a young man, played by Lee Mead, has a dawning realisation that an elderly relative is being viciously scammed.

Cllr Susan Barker, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Customer, Corporate, Culture and Communities, said: “We believe in building stronger and safer communities.
“As such, it is great that Essex Trading Standards are taking a lead in raising awareness of rogue traders and doorstep scammers. Educational material, such as this brilliant video, helps to shine a light on this important issue and protect residents.”
The full film Rogue Trader will be available to view on Tuesday 10th September on YouTube at https://youtu.be/l7pZ7qDB2Fk

It will also be distributed on the Essex Trading Standards Twitter feed @EssexTS and the Essex County Council Twitter account @Essex_CC as well as the Essex Police Twitter account @EssexPoliceUK.

THE father of a man who died after a party at entertainer Michael Barrymore’s home 18 years ago is seriously ill in hospital, a friend said.

Terry Lubbock, 74, of Harlow, earlier this summer made a fresh appeal for anyone with information about the death of his 31-year-old son Stuart to come forward.

He said he would never stop fighting for justice.

A friend on Friday told the PA news agency that Mr Lubbock had been taken ill this week and remained in hospital.

Stuart Lubbock was found in a swimming pool at Mr Barrymore’s then home in Roydon, in March 2001.

Mr Lubbock had made a new appeal for information in July after Essex Police said 67-year-old Mr Barrymore had dropped a compensation claim made after he was arrested as part of an investigation.

“Someone knows something about what happened to Stuart,” Mr Lubbock had said.

“I beg them to contact the police.”

He had said: “I’ll never stop fighting for justice for Stuart. It’s what keeps me alive.”

Mr Barrymore had sued Essex Police and claimed a wrongful arrest had cost him around £2.5 million in lost earnings.

Court of Appeal judges last year concluded he would be entitled to only “nominal” damages.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said in July that Mr Barrymore’s claim had been discontinued by agreement, and the force had not made any payment.

ESSEX Detectives investigating a fire in Epping are appealing for information.

They were called to reports of barn fire on Woodside in Thornwood around 8.50pm on Sunday 9 September.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service attended and extinguished the fire.

Sadly two horses died in the fire.

No people were hurt.

They are investigating the cause of the fire and are currently treating it as suspicious.

Witnesses or anyone who was in the area around the time and saw any suspicious behaviour are asked to contact Loughton CID on 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting incident 1159 of 8 September.

ESSEX Police are investigating a road rage incident in Little Brays, Harlow.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: “We were called at around 6.45pm on Monday 2 September to reports that a woman was assaulted following a road related altercation in Little Brays, Harlow.

“A driver reported that a woman got out of another vehicle, shouted words of abuse and slapped her to the face, causing no visible injury. She then left the scene.

Anyone with information is asked to call Harlow police station on 101 quoting crime reference 42/140900/19 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

ESSEX Police’s new recruits completed their training by proudly ‘passing out’ during a special ceremony surrounded by family and friends at our HQ in Chelmsford.

They were welcomed into the force by Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst, Home Secretary Priti Patel, Lt Col Steve Caldwell (Colchester Garrison Commander) and other Chief Officers.

A police spokesperson said: “The 73 officers started their journeys in our Essex Police College and have been put through their paces over the last 18 weeks as they trained to become police constables. Their journey started in Chelmsford but it will take them across the county, as our officers are posted to our different stations to help keep Essex safe.

“At the ceremony, after pledging their commitment to serve the residents of Essex, they were welcomed into the force in front of their loved ones. Mr Harrington thanked the officers for all of their hard work during their training and welcomed them into the Essex Police family”.

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said: “It’s an honour for me to welcome and congratulate another 73 new police constables in to the Essex Police family.

“Their journey as police officers is just beginning and they have today sworn their oath to serve in front of their friends, family, police officer colleagues and honoured guests including in a first for the force, the Home Secretary.

“The passing out ceremony today is a celebration at the culmination of 18 weeks intensive training before they go out on patrol to serve our communities; helping people, keeping them safe and catching criminals.

“I am looking forward to hearing where their journeys take them.”

Together with chief officers, the officers thanked the trainers and staff for their support and hard work during their 18 weeks at Essex Police College.

Out of the 73 officers, nine of them have completed their training through the ‘Police Now’ graduate programme. The officers have taken an alternative course to those who come through our Essex Police College. ‘Police Now’ works in partnership with more than 30 police forces across England and Wales to attract, train and develop outstanding graduates to become inspirational police officers.

During their training, the officers were split into four intakes, L1, L2, L3 and L4. As part of their training course to become police constables, they held fundraising events for their chosen charities.

Intake L1 chose to raise money for ‘Kids inspire’ dedicated to providing disadvantaged young people, their parents and young carers (siblings) a bespoke service package consisting of individual therapy. They raised £2,648.95 and presented a cheque to a representative of the charity.

Intake L2 chose to raise money for ‘Help for Heroes’ dedicated to providing lifetime support for the armed forces community and their families. The students raised £2,640 and presented a cheque to a representative of the charity.

Intake L3 chose to raise money for ‘Open Road SOS buses’ dedicated to operating SOS bus services in Colchester High Street and Chelmsford City Centre. Their specially adapted buses are on site at weekends to provide a safe haven and medical support to people who need it. They raised £1,200 and presented a cheque to a representative of the charity.

Intake L4 chose to raise money for ‘Essex & Herts Air Ambulance’ who’s aim is to save lives, reduce or prevent disability, or suffering from critical illness and injury, by delivering a pre-hospital emergency medical service to the people of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.. They raised £2,193.50 and presented a cheque to a representative of the charity.

The event saw PC Verity Worster awarded the Essex Police College Shield and PC Marinela Carstoiu, PC Mark Stonebank, PC Jordan Calder and PC Robert Teather winning the ‘Class Trophy’ for each of their intakes.

The final award, The Kirste Snellgrove Student Officer award, was won by PC Thomas Semple. The award was introduced in June 2012 to celebrate the achievements of an exceptional student in each intake, in honour of our late Essex Police Training Sgt Kirste Snellgrove who sadly passed away at the beginning 2012 after a long challenge with cancer. This award represents all the core values and behaviours of a Police Constable, which Kirste herself not only practiced but tried to instil in her students

A MAN has been jailed for more than nine years using a knife to attack a member of staff at a bar in Winchester.

Isaac Morrison, 24, of Penny Mead, Harlow had admitted charges of wounding with intent and possession of a knife in a public place.

On Friday 6 September, he appeared at Winchester Crown Court for sentence.

The court heard the incident took place at Alfie’s, in High Street, at around 2.30am on Tuesday 30 April.

Morrison had been drinking in the bar earlier. He left and then confronted staff when he returned to the bar.

The court heard that during the subsequent struggle, Morrison pulled out a knife, and at one point, struck a 37-year-old man on the head.

He was then disarmed by security staff and held until police officers arrived.

The 37-year-old man was taken to hospital for treatment to a cut on his scalp and a fractured skull.

Morrison was jailed for nine years and six months, with an extended period of licence of five years.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable John Duggan said: “This was an unprovoked attack which left a man with serious injuries.

“Morrison brought a knife to the bar and was aggressive with staff. The outcome could have been fatal.

“I would like to thank the bravery of the victim and other members of staff who helped detain Morrison before officers arrested him.”

ESSEX Police is appealing to find two witnesses in connection with a stabbing in Harlow.

A police spokesperson said: “We were called at around 12.25pm on Monday 22 July with reports that a man suffered a stab wound to the abdomen in Third Avenue.

“We were at the scene within nine minutes and the victim, a man in his 20s, was taken to hospital in a life threatening condition. He has since been discharged.

We received information that the victim spotted three men having an argument with another man.

This man ran from the scene and the three men then attacked the victim before running off towards the Northbrook Estate.

We believe that two witnesses, described as black men, were seen walking through the underpass after the incident who might have seen what had happened or the suspects.

A 21-year-old man from Harlow has been arrested on suspicion of robbery remains on bail until 30 September.

Anyone with information is asked to call Harlow CID on 101 quoting crime reference 42/116860/19 or Crimestopperss anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Do you recognise this man?

ESSEX Police would like to talk to him after they received reports of a man acting suspiciously in Woodwards, Harlow, on Thursday 25 July.

Woodwards runs off Pyenest Road close to Abercrombie Way.

They received information that he was seen looking inside the windows of a property and left the scene after being disturbed.

Anyone with information is asked to call Harlow police station on 101 quoting crime reference 42/118854/19 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Sexual grooming crimes in East of England up by more than forty per-cent with record numbers of children targeted on Instagram

More than 7,500 crimes in England and Wales recorded in just two years of new offence coming into force

Police figures show instances of grooming on Instagram almost doubled in the East

Police record 816 offences in two years across the East of England

Legislation to protect children online must be prioritised

GROOMING crimes recorded by police in the East of England have soared by 43 per-cent in the last year, data obtained by the NSPCC has revealed.

Police in the East of England recorded 480 offences of sexual communication with a child in the year up to April 2019, up from 336 in 2017/18.*

There were 480 offences of sexual communication with a child recorded in the year to April 2019 compared with 336 in the previous year, in the East of England.

In England and Wales there were 4,373 offences of sexual communication with a child recorded in the year to April 2019 compared with 3,217 in the previous year. The offence came into force on April 3, 2017, following an NSPCC campaign.

The data obtained from 43 police forces in England and Wales under Freedom of Information laws also revealed that, where age was provided, one in five victims were aged just 11 or younger.

In 2018/19 in England and Wales the number of recorded instances of the use of Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, was more than double that of the previous year.

Overall in the last two years, Facebook-owned apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp) and Snapchat were used in 70% of the instances where police recorded and provided the communication method in the East of England. Instagram was used in more than a quarter of them, up from 62 in 2017/18 to 113 last year.

The Government has indicated it will publish a draft Online Harms Bill early next year, following the NSPCC’s Wild West Web campaign.  The proposals would introduce independent regulation of social networks, with tough sanctions if they fail to keep children safe on their platforms. 

The NSPCC believes it is now crucial that Boris Johnson’s Government makes a public commitment to draw up these Online Harms laws and implement robust regulation for tech firms to force them to protect children as a matter of urgency.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: “It’s now clearer than ever that Government has no time to lose in getting tough on these tech firms.
“Despite the huge amount of pressure that social networks have come under to put basic protections in place, children are being groomed and abused on their platforms every single day. These figures are yet more evidence that social networks simply won’t act unless they are forced to by law. The Government needs to stand firm and bring in regulation without delay.”

Freya* was 12 when, while she was staying at a friend’s house, a stranger bombarded her Instagram account with sexual messages and videos.

Her mum Pippa* told the NSPCC: “She was quiet and seemed on edge when she came home the next day. I noticed her shaking and knew there was something wrong so encouraged her to tell me what the problem was.

“When she showed me the messages, I just felt sick. It was such a violation and he was so persistent. He knew she was 12, but he kept bombarding her with texts and explicit videos and images. Freya* didn’t even understand what she was looking at. There were pages and pages of messages, he just didn’t give up.

“Our children should be safe in their bedrooms, but they’re not. They should be safe from messages from strangers if their accounts are on private, but they’re not.”

The NSPCC’s Wild West Web campaign is calling for social media regulation to require platforms to:

Take proactive action to identify and prevent grooming on their sites by:

Using Artificial Intelligence to detect suspicious behaviour

Sharing data with other platforms to better understand the methods offenders use and flag suspicious accounts
Turning off friend suggestion algorithms for children and young people, as they make it easier for groomers to identify and target children

Design young people’s accounts with the highest privacy settings, such as geo-locators off by default, contact details being private and unsearchable and livestreaming limited to contacts only.

The charity wants to see tough sanctions for tech firms that fail to protect their young users – including steep fines for companies, boardroom bans for directors, and a new criminal offence for platforms that commit gross breaches of the duty of care.

A HARLOW MAN has been arrested on suspicion of child grooming offences after being confronted by paedophile hunters outside Basildon train station.

The group, who call themselves “Dope Live” met the man, believed to be from the Milwards area of Harlow, after he travelled to Basildon on Sunday night, before being stopped.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We arrested a man on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with a child after receiving information from a third party at around 9.25pm on Sunday, September 8.

“The man was arrested at Basildon train station and he remains in custody for questioning.”

POLICE officers and staff hosted a well-being event for women in Harlow today (Tuesday) with a number of partner agencies attending to offer women support and information about services available to them, information about protecting themselves and how to report crime.

A spokesperson said: “Our officers were raising awareness about crimes that predominantly affect women including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and domestic abuse.

They were also joined by our recruitment team was also at the event, talking to women about becoming a police officer or Special Constable.

A HARLOW man has been charged with committing a serious assault on a woman and theft of her mobile phone.

Mitchell Devonshire, aged 27, of Manor Hatch Close, Harlow has been charged with the following.

On 14/07/2019 at Harlow stole mobile phone, of a value unknown, belonging to another.

On 14/07/2019 at Harlow assaulted a woman, thereby occasioning her, actual bodily harm

Devonshire has also been charged for failing without reasonable excuse to comply with the requirements of a community order made by Stevenage Magistrates Court on 02/07/2019 by failing to attend appointments on 23/07/2019 and 30/07/2019.

YH understands that a warrantees has been issued in relation to Devonshire.

A MAN has been charged with stealing printer cartridges from Sainsbury’s on Fifth Avenue in Harlow.

Anthony Olive, aged 27, of Cozens Lane West, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire was charged with the following.

On 05/07/2019 at Harlow stole eighteen printer cartridges and two metallic cool bags, to the value of £551.20, belonging to Sainsbury’s.

Olive was remanded on bail until September 16th and will reappear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court.