Bedford man put on sex offenders register TEL: 07894 935952 ADS: advertising@rosettapublishing.com
A FORMER Bedford scout leader was caught with child sex abuse and extreme pornographic images. Alan Sewell, who had been involved with the Scouts and Cubs for 30 years, was arrested after he had uploaded a picture to the internet. Police raided the married 65-year-old’s home on September 14, 2017 and seized a Dell laptop and other computer devices, Luton Crown Court heard on Thursday, May 7 2020. Prosecutor Fern Russell said investiga-
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tors found a total of 55 images. nine movies and five stills were at Category A, the most serious level. There were one movie and eight stills at Category B and 26 Category C stills. In addition, there were six images of extreme pornography. Ms Russell said most of the images were of male and female children aged between 10 and 12. The extreme pornographic images were of women having sex with animals. When interviewed last year Sewell told
the police he had been involved in the Scouts for over 30 years and had been a leader of a Cub group. He said he had not looked at child abuse images since the 2017 raid. Sewell appeared for sentencing via Skype having pleaded guilty to making (downloading) Category A, B and C images of children and possessing extreme pornography. Defending, Chantelle Stocks said the offences went back to 2017 and he was of previous good character.
BEDFORDSHIRE BULLETIN MAY 12, 2020
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Judge Rebecca Herbert said he had “developed an unhealthy attraction to children.” She said: “You are 65 and for many years had volunteered to work with the Scouts, latterly as a leader.” The judge passed an 18 month community order with a condition that he attends 30 rehabilitation activity days and pays a £500 fine. He must register as a sex offender and abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
SEMLEP invests £15.5m in Bedford road improvements WORK will restart on Britannia Road next week, which is part of the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) backed ‘Transporting Bedford’ project. This project is delivering major improvements to this well-known congestion hotspot, which links two major roads (Ampthill Road and Kempston Road) by the South Wing of Bedford Hospital. To date, a host of underground utilities have been moved, and widening works on the eastern side of the road have been completed. When the project had to be paused due to the coronavirus outbreak, works were ongoing to create a new lane going north towards Kempston Road and to make improvements to the road junctions. These works are now set to be restarted. With the introduction of social distancing guidelines to slow the spread of coronavirus
the decision was made by the contractor, with the Council’s agreement, to pause works until they could safely be restarted. Since then, options have been explored and a new way of working has been agreed which will allow the crews to get back on-site while staying safe. This will mean that some of the works that would have be done at the same time, will have to be separated to keep the crews safe so the project will take slightly longer to complete than previously estimated. This, in addition to the pause in works, means that the contractor is now expecting this project to be complete and the road re-opened this summer. The ‘Transporting Bedford’ project is an £18million investment to ease congestion and make roads safer for all users. £15.5 million of which came from SEMLEP through the Local Growth Fund and £2.5million from Bedford Borough Council.
Ezra Tamiem, 39, of Great North Road, Wyboston, has been charged in connection with the incident in Wyboston on Friday, May 1, 2020. The victim remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital. Tamiem appeared on Monday, May 4, 2020, at Luton Magistrates’ Court and was remanded into custody.He is next due to appear at court on Monday, June 1.
Man on attempted murder charge
Branching out into new careers after lock-down THE blossoming in gardening activities among those who have been ‘locked-down’ has led to a massive interest in the work of the Royal Horticultural Society. Its website has been inundated with people looking for advice on how to make their gardens grow. Alongside this has flowered an interest in careers in the great outdoors. Shuttleworth College in the rural parkland of Old Warden, Bedfordshire is an RHS approved study centre where people can take courses to fit around existing jobs or family commitments. Once qualified there are a range of jobs which can be pursued from gardener to garden centre employee, groundsmen and even tree surgeons. Or you can simply become better a looking after an allotment or growing your own vegetables in the garden. The advanced science aspects can lead to degree courses and work of international importance. Shuttleworth College has alumni
all around the world working in horticulture and agriculture. Paul Labous, RHS lecturer, has been at the forefront of traditional grafting techniques, being taught as advanced propagation methods, which have been used to extend the life of the Warden Pear, mentioned by Shakespeare, and the Cubbington Pear, threatened by the HS2 rail line. Both stories have attracted national interest. “We are expecting a boost in people applying for horticultural and other land-based study programmes after people’s experience of the lock down. “They either want to know more about looking after their gardens, or realise the satisfaction of such employment or simply want to get outdoors!” said Paul. Other courses on this beautiful campus are floristry, countryside management and fisheries. Apprenticeships are also on offer in key fields.Visit www.shuttleworth.ac.uk for more information.
