Tamworth Blog

Tamworth Police Station - Photo: Paulette Francessca Sedgwick

Staffordshire Police are warning Tamworth residents of a bogus trader after a builder caused damage to a home after not completing his first job.

The rogue builder targetted the same home in Glascote twice. On Saturday Feb 13, he offered to paint the outside of his home for £580. The 37 year old victim handed the builder the £580 in cash. The paintwork was then primed but not actually completed.

The ofender returned to the same house on Tuesday February 23 and offered to complete the work. Whilst completing the work and without the homeowners permission he removed removed roof tiles, damaged wooden beams and a bedroom ceiling.

The rogue builder then demanded over £1,250 deposit to fix the damage, he only left the property when the victim contacted the Police, threatning to cause more damage to the property.

The rogue builder is described as as white, aged in his 50s or 60s, 5ft 6ins tall, chubby with short grey/white hair. He was clean shaven, spoke with an Irish accent and wore a zipped navy blue fleece and jeans. He turned up at the home, with other workmen, in a white van.

PC Alison Pearson, from Tamworth police, said:

“This rogue trader claimed to be from a legitimate roofing company, and handed over leaflets containing these details about it.

“We’d urge anyone who is approached by him not to hand over any money but to contact police straight away.”

Anyone with information should ring PC Pearson on 0300 123 4455 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.  Tamworth Police are working with Staffordshire County Council Trading Standards.

BP Garage Cordoned Off Yesterday - Pic: Debbie

The two males arrested regarding the suspect package found in Tamworth on Monday have been charged.

Jonathan Cunningham (dob 27/7/82) of Greenheart, Tamworth, and a 16-year-old boy from Tamworth have both been charged with possessing an explosive substance in suspicious circumstances.

They remain in police custody and are due to appear before magistrates in Tamworth this morning (Wed).

Inspector Emma Griffiths, from Tamworth police, said:

“We’d like to re-iterate our thanks to local residents and business for their patience and co-operation. Incidents like this are extremely rare but we’d always encourage anyone who witnesses anything suspicious to contact Staffordshire Police on 0300 123 4455 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.”

BP Garage Cordoned Off Yesterday - Pic: Debbie

The police press office have stated that searches have now finished in Glascote Road and the police cordon has been lifted. The two men arrested last night remain in custody.

Police Tape - Photo: Andrew Rickman

Officers from Staffordshire Police were handed a suspect package at approximately 4.30pm yesterday (Monday) by a member of the public in Tamworth.

The package had been found in Glascote Road and was taken to the police station in Spinning School Lane.

The police station was cordoned off while the package was examined and deemed safe. No member of the public was at risk at any time and the station was re-opened last night.

Officers have also cordoned off an area in Glascote Road while further searches are carried out this morning (Tues) to ensure the safety of the public and gather evidence from the scene.

A 27-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy, both from Tamworth, were arrested last night in connection with the incident. They remained in custody overnight and will be questioned today.

Inspector Emma Griffiths, from Tamworth police, said:

“We’d like to thank local residents and businesses for their patience and co-operation while we investigate this unusual incident.

“Enquiries are ongoing and we would appeal for anyone with information to contact Staffordshire Police on 0300 123 4455, quoting incident number 472 of February 1, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”

Traffic Cones - Pic: Ian Britton

Glascote Road is to receive a much needed revamp wtih Staffordshire County Council spending some £700k on resurfacing the road and improving the drainage system on the stretch through Glascote.

The disruption will see the stretch between Marlborough Way roundabout and Abbey Road being resurfaced and improved over a 18 week period begginning on February 1.

The drainage system improvements which will see some 200 metres of piping replaced is hoped to relieve the flooding which occurs in the area during heavy rain.

The main work will see Temporary Traffic lights used, with side streets periodically closed to reduce congestion.  A diversion will also be in place utilising the A5 bypass.

Busses will continue to use their usual routes and schedule, likewise businesses and homes in the area will still have access to their properties.

Local county councillor Michael Oates said:

“This is a first class scheme which will have a positive impact on the area for many years to come. The drainage system has struggled to cope when we have had heavy downpours in the past so this investment will be a big boost to the area.

“The B5000 is one of Tamworth’s busiest routes and is used by thousands of motorists every day. However, in the short term we do understand that the work to improve the stretch of road may inconvenience people and would like to apologise for that in advance.”

The final stage of the construction will see the stretch between Marlborough Way and Dumolows road closed due to it being a narrow carriageway.  All traffic will be diverted along the A5 bypass and busses will be diverted along Dumolows lane.

Photo: Jess Loughborough

Tamworth Borough Councils continued crackdown on benefit cheats in the town continued with the successful prosecution of a woman who claimed over £5,000 in benefits she wasn’t entitled too.

Julie Brighouse, 25 from Glascote failed to declare she was living with her partner for 7 months and she had be claiming as a single person throughout the duration.

The total overpayment was £5,329.89.  Mrs Brighouse who attended the hearing at Tamworth Magistrates Court where she was given a community order for 100 hours unpaid work, ordered to pay the £5,329.89 back as well as the £725 costs.

Councillor Robert Pritchard, portfolio holder for Corporate Governance said:

“It is important that if people claiming benefits change their circumstances in any way that they come forward and let our benefits team know.

“As you can see the difference over seven months is a considerable amount of money which should have gone to someone who really needed it. Providing false information to claim benefits you are not entitled to is not an option. If you are unsure if you need to provide additional information then please speak to one of our benefits advisors.”

If you have questions about your benefits you can contact the Benefits Team on 01827 709540.

The Fire Raging on the flood plain

A spate of fires in the past week are believed to have been started by youngsters.

It is believed that youngsters triggered some 31 fires across the town, spreading our fire service to the brink as they set light to conifers, motorcycles, grass, rubbish skips and vans.

The fires have been spread across the town, with reported incidents in the town centre, Amington, Belgrave, Glascote, and Stonydelph.  The craze has been ongoing with some 43 fires dealt with during September, of those 26 were arson.

Brian Roy, Tamworth Fire Stations risk reduction officer told the Tamworth Herald:

“These youngsters are endangering their own lives and could be seriously injured,

“Fires can spread so quickly and cause a lot of damage and of course there is the chance that someone could be seriously injured.

“Apart from that, these fires take us away from more serious incidents. We were called to a road accident this week – we should not be dealing with grass fires when there has been an accident in which someone could have been seriously injured.”

Police are still investigating the fires and members of the public are being urged to come forward with any information about the fires, either by calling the Police or contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

New Police Chief Inspector Emma Griffth’s said:

“Our investigations into these latest incidents are ongoing and we are on their trail, we are adopting a zero tolerance approach and we WILL prosecute.”

Police Tape - Photo: Andrew Rickman

Tamworth Police are appealing for any witnesses to an armed robbery that took place on Glascote Road’s BP Petrol station on Friday September 18.

The robbery which took place at approximately 6.30am on Friday September 18, saw two armed men rob a delivery lorry at the petrol station.  The two men approached the delivery man with a knife before telling him to move out the way.  They then proceeded with stealing a number of items from the lorry before they drove off in a Silver Subaru towards Polesworth.

Detective Superintendant Phil Rose said on the This is Tamworth website:

“Two males approached the driver as he was unloading, one has pulled out a knife and told him to get out the way.

“They jumped on the lorry and helped themselves. A quantity of goods were stolen.”

The men were described as having West Midlands accents and described as in their late 20’s early 30’s.  One is described as being about 5ft6in tall, he had a handkerchief covering his face and was wearing a hat.  The second man was about 5ft8in and was wearing a red and blue waist length jacket.

DS Rose continued

“At 6.30am people are going to be on their way to work. We are appealing for anyone who has seen the vehicle to come forward.

“It would have been making off at speed and could have been cutting people up.”

The lorry driver wasn’t injured during the incident.

Anyone with any information should contact DS Rose or DC Andy Weekes at Tamworth CID on 0300 1234455 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Councillor Rob Pritchard on the proposed site of the BMX track

Belgrave Councillor Robert Pritchard is leading the charge to get a new BMX track built in the town.

The Conservative councillor is supporting a bid to “Changing Spaces” Lottery Fund to secure just over £40,000 to build a new BMX track in a piece of open space between Belgrave, Glascote, Stonydelph & Wilnecote.

The project that will bring local residents groups, Tamworth Borough Council, local kids and BMX user groups together, is a breath of fresh air that offers a real chance to provide a new and exciting activity to local children

BMX will become an Olympic sport at the next Olympics in London, but without a place for local children to try the sport, there is a concern about getting young people involved.

Almost a generation ago the last BMX track in Tamworth was removed when the current A5 bypass was built. The last track was situated by the Glascote allotments and were used by a whole generation of local kids. The town also had a track where Peaks is now built.

With a new stake board park being developed in the town centre Cllr Robert Pritchard believes it is time to build alternate extreme sport facilities for other children elsewhere in the town.

Cllr Robert Pritchard Said,

“When I was a kid this track was a great facility and we used to come ride our bikes on it all the time, when the bypass was built to park was removed but when building was finished it was never replaced. There is plenty of room on the waste ground so I am calling for the park to be replaced.”

The BMX track is located in a central area giving local children from many areas of the town access to it. The proposed location for the BMX track is also far enough away from houses to cause nuisance to local residents. The bid which now awaits the news if it has been successful in making it through to the next round with the “changing spaces” lottery fund.

Cllr Robert Pritchard concluded

“This is a win win situation for everybody, the BMX track will provide something for kids to do in the area while being just far enough away from houses to cause a nuisance to home owners. It is also a nice central place servicing children from many different estates and areas.”

If you are interested in BMX or are a local enthusiast the Tamworth Crusaders have reformed. They are on of the old BMX groups and are now meeting regularly in the Town. You can contact Robert for more information via Tamworth Borough Council.

Police Tape - Photo: Andrew Rickman

Last night saw another handbag theft in Tamworth and Police are appealing for witnesses in the area, especially a gentlemen who passed the 55 year old woman minutes earlier.

The incident that happened shortly after 10pm last night (July 15) saw a 55-year old woman pushed to the ground and robbed.  During the struggle the victim sustained bruises and was shaken by the incident was treated at the scene by paramedics.

The lady was walking home, down a footpath linking Caledonian and Bancroft in the Glascote area of the town when she was attacked.  Police have carried out door to door enquiries on the houses which border the footpath, but their main witness is a cyclist who passed the woman minutes before she was attacked.

Detective Constable Julie Hines of Tamworth CID said:

“We would appeal for this man to come forward as well as anyone else who may have seen anything suspicious in the Bancroft area,”

The attacker is described as a white man, in his late teens/early 20s, around 5ft 11tall and of slim build. He was wearing a dark hooded top, a scarf and wire rimmed glasses.

DC Hines continued:

“Fortunately, this lady was not seriously hurt although she was badly shocked. It beggars belief that someone would carry out this kind of assault on a person who was simply walking home.”

Police are urging anyone who was in the Bancroft area and who may have seen anything suspicious, to contact DC Hines at Tamworth CID, telephone 0300 123 44 55 or, call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.