Drain Cover Theft Has Drivers on Alert

Kent Police have told all drivers and cyclists in Kent to be on alert after close to 200 drain covers have been thieved literally from the streets in the past few weeks.

Local councils have said that they aim to cover up any uncovered manholes within two hours of reported thefts.

Kent County Councillor Bryan Sweetland told the BBC: " These are mindless and irresponsible thefts."

Almost 300 metal thefts are reported to Kent Police every month, which is a 25% rise from last year. These include stolen parts of church roofs, telephone cables, and even a promenade handrail.

Chief Superintendent Steve Corbishley told the BBC: "It's a classic market-driven crime, so as the value of metal goes up, unfortunately so do the offences."

Ian Hetherington of the British Metal Recycling Association said: ""Metals theft is a real problem for the metals industry. To combat this we are working with the Association of Chief Police Officers and industries, including telecommunications, railways, utilities and construction that use products containing valuable metals."

BBC News Kent - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14442307
Kent Police - www.kent.police.uk/
British Metal Recycling Association - www.recyclemetals.org/

Two Teens Arrested After Suspicious "Riot Incitement"

Two Kent teenagers have been arrested after Kent Police suspected them of using social networking sites to start a riot, mirroring the riots in London that have been ocurring since the beginning of the week.

The arrests were made in Folkestone, where the two suspects, a man and a woman, are being kept in custody and questioned.

The two 18 year olds are not the only people to have been arrested in Kent after the fallout of the riots in the nation's capital, as eleven people were arrested in Medway for causing disturbances.

Cars were damaged and set alight in the towns of Gillingham and Chatham despite a much larger police presence on the streets of Kent's town centres.

Kent Police's Deputy Chief Constable Alan Pughsley told the BBC: "Whilst Kent Police is not expecting further violence, we are actively looking at all forms of intelligence and monitoring the transport and rail network."

The unrest that originally happened in Tottenham in north London has now spread nationwide and police forces all over England will be expecting a busy night.

BBC News Kent - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14465585
Kent Police - http://www.kent.police.uk/

Blue Flag Blues for Thanet's Beaches

Six Kentish beaches have lost their Blue Flag status in the last year and they are all located on Thanet's coastline.

The Blue Flag is a certification given by the Foundation for Environmental Education to say that a beach or

marina has met its standards for water quality and standards of cleanliness.

The three beaches in Thanet that have kept their Blue Flag status are Botany Bay, Joss Bay, and Westbrook Bay.

Thanet Council has claimed that the "freak weather conditions" are to blame for this years fall from grace for its beaches.

http://www.blueflag.org/

Kent Youth Football Team Released by French Police

French police have released four teenagers from Kent without charge, after they were arrested for involvement in an alleged sexual assault on a cross-channel factory.

Ferry coming into Dover

The four boys from Ashford were accused by a group of French girls on the ferry of sexual harrassment. While the other seven boys were released, the last four were kept in custody by police in Calais. The boys were offered advice from the Foreign Consul.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-13183645