Crowthorne and Sandhurst

It was a festive affair at Sandhurst Day Centre when the Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest dropped in on the centre's traditional Christmas party.

Cllr Clifton Thompson tucked into a turkey dinner when he joined in the Sandhurst festivities on Tuesday, December 19.

He was joined by Mayoress Sue Thompson, councillor Alan Ward, Chairman of the day centre and Sandhurst Town Mayor Cllr Elizabeth North at the gathering which saw day centre users enjoy the merriment of Christmas.

As well as turkey, tinsel and seasonal cheer there was also festive music to create a traditional festive feast.

Cllr Thompson said: " It was good to see the day centre users enjoying themselves so much.

"It was a splendid occasion and I'm sure everyone enjoyed the delicious fare- it certainly was an event full of Christmas spirit. We enjoyed it "

Bracknell Forest Borough Council ~ Sandhurst

A Sandhurst man has been jailed after admitting he carried out 16 burglaries in the area.

Kevin Garde, from Silver Hill, College Town, Sandhurst pleaded guilty to the offences at Slough Magistrates’ Court and received a 119 days custody sentence, a 24 month suspended sentence and was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £2,000 compensation to his victims.

The 19-year-old was arrested after a burglary in progress was reported in Rookwood Avenue, Owlsmoor, on October 26.

PCSO Rebecca Swann recognised the description given as that of a man she had previously checked the same day and consequently officers arrested Garde at his home address.

Garde then admitted this burglary and the other offences to officers during interviews.

He was sentenced last Thursday (14/12).

Sgt Pete Dawson, from the Priority Crime Team at Bracknell said: “This case clears up a one man crime wave in the area and highlights the good work that Sgt Graham Thorne and his Neighbourhood Policing team have put into making a difference in Sandhurst.

“It also shows the impact our PCSOs are having in the area and the important role they are playing in the communities that they serve.”

Thames Valley Police ~ Sandhurst

Police are appealing for witnesses to a burglary at a Crowthorne School.

Offenders gained entry to Edgbarrow School, in Sandhurst Road, Crowthorne between 5pm and 5.25pm on Friday (15/12), when the building was still open.

Once inside they broke into the locked IT server room, where they stole three laptop computers.

The three computers, a Dell C640, an Acer Travelmate and an Evesham laptop, are all etched and security marked ‘Edgbarrow School – RG45 7HZ’.

The computers are all valued at £650 each.

Anyone with any information about this incident should contact PC Mark Wills, at Bracknell, via 0845 8 505 505.

Alternatively, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Thames Valley Police ~ Crowthorne

Police arrested two teenagers in Sandhurst on Friday 8 December during an operation to crack down on illegal drugs.

On Thursday 7 and Friday 8 December, Sgt Graham Thorne and neighbourhood officers PC Julia Winmill and PC Marc Boyd, together with two specially trained search dogs and their handlers, carried out drugs searches at a number of public houses in Bracknell and Sandhurst.

Sgt Thorne said: “On the Thursday night, we checked seven pubs, all of which were negative for drugs found, as well as for indications of illegal drug use.

“On the Friday, we carried out searches at a further three pubs, and made two arrests*.

“The searches went well and were supported by the licensed premises, who work closely with police and partner agencies in our ongoing campaign to keep illegal drugs out of pubs and clubs in the Bracknell Forest area.”

*At 7.50pm on 8 December, an 18-year-old man and a 19-year-old man were both arrested in the toilets of a pub in Sandhurst, on suspicion of possession of Class A and Class C drugs. They have been bailed until 2 January 2007 pending further inquiries.

Thames Valley Police ~ Sandhurst

Passengers are furious after an early morning service connecting Sandhurst, Crowthorne and Wokingham with Reading was axed.

They have signed a petition urging operator First Great Western to re-think and have won the backing of MPs whose constituents are affected by the cut.

More than 100 regular users of the 5.57am Gatwick-Reading service,which was dropped on Monday this week, have signed the petition organised by Aongus O'Laoire.

Mr O'Laoire, of Beechnut Close, Wokingham, says the two-car train is always busy with passengers joining at many stations between Gatwick and Reading. The service was dropped on Monday, December 10.

Bracknell MP Andrew MacKay and Wokingham MP John Redwood have backed the campaign.

Mr O'Laoire, who works for a London-based telecommunications company and uses the train for a connection at Reading, said there was little notice of the timetable change and on-board announcements never mentioned it.

In a letter to FGW boss Alison Forster, he said: "The loss of this train will be a major inconvenience for those joining before Wokingham and they will have no route to Reading before the 5.57-7.28 Gatwick to Reading train.

"For passengers joining at Wokingham it will also cause considerable difficulty, as they will have to take a train 20 minutes earlier, or a train that arrives at Reading 20 minutes later, thus missing a number of high speed links to Paddington."

Mr MacKay said petition signatories in Crowthorne, Sandhurst and Finchampstead would be inconvenienced.

He added: "I have written to Alison Forster to say she needs to reconsider this decision.

"A lot of people who start work early use the service to get to other stops on the line and quite a lot of people will use the line to connect with services to London."

An FGW spokesman said it was part of a new timetable which had been publicised.

He said: "It should not have come as a surprise to passengers. We consulted local user groups and notified MPs of the new timetable details in February 2006.

"Over the next few weeks we will monitor services very closely and, if it is necessary and possible,we will make further modifications."

He said alternative services run by Virgin were closely timed to the service FGW ran.

ic Berkshire

Crowthorne was dazzled with Christmas cheer on Friday evening when the Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest launched late-night shopping in the village.

Bracknell Forest Mayor, Cllr Clifton Thompson, and Mayoress, Sue Thompson, welcomed shoppers in Crowthorne High Street to a host of festive entertainment to mark the beginning of pre-Christmas late-night shopping.

Carol singers, the Hatch Ride Primary School choir, street entertainers and a variety of yuletide food and drink brought the High Street to life.

As well as welcoming shoppers to the annual late-night shopping event Cllr Thompson also presented prizes to primary schoolchildren who had entered a poster competition - where they had to design posters to advertise late-night shopping.

Cllr Thompson, who spent time talking to staff and Crowthorne traders and looking at the festive decorations in the village, said: "It was a great pleasure to meet so many people at the late night shopping event on Friday evening. It was unfortunate that the weather was so bad on Friday evening but even the wind and rain couldn't dampen everyone's spirits.

"Crowthorne looked wonderful and very festive and I had a great time listening to the carols and taking a good look at what gifts are on offer in the High Street this year."

Bracknell Forest Borough Council ~ Crowthorne