NEWS
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Officers issue cash warning POLICE are urging bank users to protect themselves against theft while using cash machines. The advice comes after two men were arrested in connection with tampering with cash machines. The men, aged 26 and 37, from the Oldham area, were stopped in Longton town centre just before 8.30pm on Thursday. They were taken to the force’s Northern Area Custody Facility (NACF) in Etruria and last night they were being questioned in connection with the incident. Police are also investigating suspicious activity around the cash machine at Tesco in Liverpool Road, Kidsgrove, during the same day. But the officers say it is not yet known whether it was connected to the incident in Longton. Police urged residents to: ■ Check a cash machine has not been tampered with; ■ Avoid getting distracted by people nearby; ■ Stay away from a machine if they see someone acting suspiciously; ■ Keep PIN numbers safe and cover the keypad. Anyone with information is asked to contact DC Jeff Taylor on 101, quoting incident 685 of February 16, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
Fifth time lucky for race team AN engineering firm has finally secured entry to the biggest sports car race in the world – after four failed attempts. JWA Racing, in Eccleshall, has been accepted into the World Endurance Championship (WEC), which covers five continents over nine months. Its most famous leg is the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. JWA will be racing a Porsche 911 GT2 RSR in the championship, which starts next month. Company director and founder, James Watt, said: “The whole team are thrilled to be competing on the world stage. “The world of motorsports is a fickle one and this news helps us plan for the future, ensures job security and provides new opportunities for us to grow the business.” JWA designs and makes many parts for a wide range of cars.
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In brief LEEK: Police have charged a teenager with stealing a Nissan pick-up vehicle. The Nissan was stolen from Cauldon Close, Leek, in the early hours of Tuesday, February 7, but was abandoned a short distance away. A 14-year-old boy from Manchester has been charged with taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, and will appear before magistrates at Fenton on Monday, February 27.
Gifts to police include cakes, chocolates and biscuits, booze, meals, concert tickets, a cat... and even a Russian hat!
BY ALEX CAMPBELL alex.campbell@thesentinel.co.uk
BOBBIES in Staffordshire have scoffed more than £7,400 worth of chocolates, cakes, meals and biscuits handed in as gifts from the public in three years. Police are advised to declare all treats donated to them during work time on the force’s gifts and hospitality register. Records from 2009 to 2011 show 500 of the 639 gifts accepted by officers were meals, hospitality, confectionery and alcohol. But officers also accepted gifts worth a total of more than £12,400 which ranged from a £6 kettle to £30 B&Q vouchers and a job lot of men’s shower gel worth £200. Other donations accepted by officers included: ■ A cat – accepted by one officer who was warned by the owner it would be destroyed if it did not find a new home; ■ Concert tickets worth £540 handed to a PC by the event organiser; ■ A £100 cash donation used to fund the upkeep of bicycles at the Bradwell Police Post. Chief Constable Mike Cunningham, pictured below, signed the register 17 times after attending a series of meals and suppers. The county’s top cop also got two tickets worth £86 each to the 2010 Carling Cup final between Aston Villa and Manchester United. He also accepted a Russian hat from visiting dignitaries and a bottle of whisky after giving a speech and a glass decanter. The register also reveals the 55 gifts which were turned down. They include an invitation to the IT
Directors Forum on board a cruise ship and a £200 VIP package at Leicester Tigers Rugby Club. Notes on the register show some officers are uneasy about accepting gifts, with one stating she stored a bottle of wine in the station’s cupboard until she could find a charity raffle to hand it to. Another officer who accepted a free lunch stated: “Despite many attempts to pay, the manager refused to accept payment.” And at least 20 officers said they only accepted gifts to avoid causing offence. Former Staffordshire Police inspector Nigel Gunn said: “I had to turn gifts down quite regularly because people would call in to say thanks with a bottle of whisky or wine and you’re not supposed to accept alcohol. “I imagine the alcohol that was accepted was to avoid causing offence, because that’s a real issue. If you do have to turn something down you still want to make them feel good. “They’re little tokens. If someone takes the trouble to send in a card and a box of chocolates it’s worth more to a bobby than extra pay because that’s why most of them joined the force – to make a difference. “It’s ever so common. I think it shows the public, by and large, support the police and we’re lucky to have that relationship in Staffordshire.” A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: “By far the largest category relates to small tokens of appreciation, such as biscuits and chocolates,
KNYPERSLEY: Margaret Woolliscroft, aged 56, of Coronation Avenue, Knypersley, denied four charges of acting in breach of a restraining order and four charges of breaching an antisocial behaviour order. Her trial will be held at Stoke-onTrent Crown Court on a date to be fixed. Woolliscroft was remanded in custody.
for officers’ work in their neighbourhood, from community members. “Procedures are in place to make sure that such donations are made as transparently as possible and that standards of professional public service and integrity are maintained by all officers and staff.”
HANLEY: A woman stole alcohol on the first anniversary of her father’s death so that she could binge drink, a court was told. Gillian Green, aged 44, of Lower Bethesda Street, Hanley, pleaded guilty to theft of alcohol and food from Morrisons, Etruria, on January 8. She was given a conditional discharge for 12 months, with £85 costs.
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CREWE: The Crewe and District Youth Centre AGM will be held in the Mirion Street centre on Wednesday at 7pm.
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Hospital wards closed over flu scare WARDS in two North Staffordshire community hospitals have been closed to new admissions because patients and staff have gone down with flu-like symptoms. They are the Cottage Ward at Leek Moorlands Hospital, where the virus has been confirmed, and the Chatterley Ward at Burslem’s Haywood centre, where tests are still being carried out. Both are among a network of community hospitals which take in recovering patients from
the University Hospital of North Staffordshire so beds there can be cleared more quickly. The wards are likely to stay shut to new cases for between a week and a fortnight as the flu virus can exist longer than other winter infections such as the norovirus vomiting bug. Nursing director Siobhan Heafield said “Other wards are not affected and routine clinics, the Leek minor injuries unit and Haywood walk-in centre continue to operate as normal.”
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