Slough

Thames Valley Police has released CCTV images of a man it would like to speak to in connection with an assault at an address in Slough.

At about 8.30pm on Saturday 3 December, a man turned up at a house in Mirador Crescent, Slough looking for a woman who was not at the address.

Two men living at the address tried to make him leave but he refused and assaulted both, resulting in one man, aged 41, suffering a broken jaw. The second man, aged 32, was also injured.

The Slough offender is described as Polish, in his twenties, and 6ft.

Det Con Tim Lloyd, investigating officer, said: “This was an unprovoked attack, which left one of the victims with a serious injury. We would like to speak to the man in the CCTV images in connection with this assault. We would also urge anyone has information about the incident, to come forward.”

If you can help, please call Det Con Lloyd via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101. If you don’t want to speak to police, please call the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Slough’s trading standards are warning people to be aware of telephone scams after a resident received a telephone call from someone pretending to be from BT TalkTalk.

As these are two different companies, alarm bells started ringing in the Slough resident’s mind, especially when the caller said she had won £50,000 and all she needed to do was send £250 via Western Union to receive the winnings.

The caller spoke in Punjabi so it is thought they must be selecting a target audience. He was also very pushy and aggressive.

Scams like these not only try to get money from the victim, but also attempt to obtain bank and other personal details, leading to further losses and other identity fraud.

Slough Borough Council’s senior trading standards officer, Peter Adshead, said:”Scams are becoming more prevalent as the recession bites and everyone needs to be aware.

“If you’ve never entered a competition, there is no way you will win.

“Be on your guard and never give out personal details or send money, especially to a foreign country where we have no jurisdiction. Never feel rude telling the person, either at the door or on the phone, that you don’t deal with cold callers.”

Slough Borough Council

Slough Borough Council’s trading standards, who have been investigating the clamping operations at Harrow Market, have today, Friday December 23, obtained an interim Enforcement Order from Reading County Court.

The Slough Order will not prohibit clamping on the private land at Harrow Market in Langley, but will ensure the car parking enforcement company operate in a professional manner and do not use threatening or aggressive behaviour.

This could include –

# Clamping a residents vehicle while they are in the car.
# Blocking a vehicle to enable clamping to take place.
# And any other aggressive or threatening behaviour.

Russell Clarke, technical enforcement officer for trading standards at the Slough council, said: “Clamping, although not illegal on private land, needs to be carried out in a professional manner.

“Some clampers feel they are able to threaten or be aggressive towards people, and this is not acceptable at all. We want to make sure this doesn’t happen in Langley, hence the order received today just before the courts close for Christmas.”

For more information, please call Slough Borough Council’s trading standards on 01753 875255.

Slough Borough Council

Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses to an aggravated burglary at a house in Slough.

The incident happened in Lewins Way, Cippenham, Slough at around 10pm on Wednesday (28/12).

The victim, a 26-year-old woman, opened the front door to a man who then tried to force entry to the property.

She managed to push the offender back outside, suffering some minor injuries in the struggle.

Det Con Emma Owens, from Slough CID, said: “The victim was very brave in keeping the man out of the house. She suffered a cut to her forehead and lip and a graze to her elbow in the incident.

“A witness has stated that two men were seen running up the road and turning into Bower Road.

“I am keen to hear from anyone else who has any information about this incident who has not yet spoken to police.”

Anyone with any information about this Slough incident should contact Det Con Owens via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101.

Alternatively, if you do not want to speak to police, or leave your name, please contact the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Slough Borough Council’s neighbourhood enforcement team entered a property today, December 21, to seize noise making equipment which was making lives hell for neighbours.

The Slough team successfully obtained a warrant on December 20 to enter the property in Langley, along with Thames Valley Police, and collected two televisions, speaker units and weight-training weights, believed to have been dropped onto the floor to make a banging noise. The team also disconnected ceiling fans used to cause vibration and noise.

This seizure followed a long and complex noise investigation which involved various council departments and the police, after a noise abatement notice was served in July to an individual following an investigation into alleged noise nuisance.

However, Slough council and police officers witnessed breaches of the notice which led to the application to the magistrate’s court for an entry warrant and seizure of equipment.

The council hope to prosecute the individual involved for breaching the notice.

The use of powers to seize noise making equipment is used to help those affected by ongoing noise problems which can take a huge toll on the persons affected.

Slough Borough Council will continue to take a firm stance against anyone found to be causing a noise nuisance.

Ian Blake, neighbourhood enforcement leader for Slough Borough Council, said: “We receive a large number of noise complaints each year and our intention and aim is to always try and resolve the issues informally by working closely with parties involved.

“However, on this occasion, we’ve had to use formal legal powers to abate noise nuisances which involve entering properties and seizing noise making equipment.”

Commissioner for Slough community and leisure, Cllr Shafiq Chaudhry, added: “It’s not fair for neighbours to have to put up with other people’s bad behaviour, and noisy neighbours can be really bad. They pierce into people’s lives at any time of the day and do not care about the stress caused.

“I’m very pleased with this outcome and hope it sends out a strong message to others that we will not tolerate this behaviour.”

Slough Borough Council

Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses after a burglary in Slough yesterday (27/12).

At around 5.10pm, a woman in her eighties was at her home in Hillary Road, Slough when two men came to her door and forced their way in. They carried out a search of her home and while her handbag had been emptied, it seems nothing was taken.

The two Slough offenders were white, aged between 28 and 30 years old. Both were around 5ft 6ins tall, stocky, with full fat faces, English accents, both wearing dark baseball caps and dark anoraks. The victim said she thought the two men might be brothers.

Slough Det Con Alex Gresty, leading the investigation, said: “This has been a very frightening experience for this lady and I would urge anyone who saw any men matching these descriptions in the Hillary Road area between 4pm and 6pm on 27 December to contact us. Also we think one of the men was linked to a similar incident on 8 December at the same address when a man stole cash.

“We would urge everyone to use a door chain and always ask for ID. If they have any doubt they should call the police.”

Anyone who has any information about these incidents is asked to contact Det Con Gresty on the non-emergency number 101 or if they would prefer to speak anonymously then call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough

Three of Slough Borough Council’s school crossing patrols, or lollipop ladies, were rewarded during school assemblies last week to thank them for all their hard work and a collective 35 years of helping children cross the road safely.

Anne McLachlan from Montem Primary School, five years, Kim Ridgewell from Claycots Primary School, more than 20 years and Bev Waldock from Lynch Hill Primary School, ten years, were presented with an enamel badge for the number of years they had been working at the Slough schools.

The Slough road safety team gave speeches at each school to thank them for helping children be safe to and from school every day.

They were also presented with some chocolates and a rousing cheer and round of applause from the children.

Keith Beasley said: “Crossing patrollers are a vital asset outside our schools.

“They don’t always get the thanks they deserve; working in all weathers to make sure children, and adults, can cross the road safely. We wanted to show our lollipop ladies that they do a good job and are very much appreciated.”

Currently, there are Slough vacancies for a crossing patroller at Claycots School. If you are interested in the position, please call the road safety team on 01753 875641 for an informal chat.

Slough Borough Council.

Slough Borough Council’s trading standards team successfully prosecuted a shop in the borough for selling illegal cigarettes.

Shop owner fined.Mr Surbir Singh Arora, owner of Euro Food and Wine, High Street, Slough, was found guilty on Friday, December 16 at Maidenhead Magistrates court and fined a total of £1,947.

Arora, who was prosecuted by trading standards in 2007 for under aged sales and counterfeit DVDs, was in possession for sale of non-English cigarettes and without the legal UK pictorial warnings. He was also fined for ‘giving the impression that something can be legally sold when it cannot’ under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Arora was fined £400 for each of the three Slough offences and court costs of £747.

Dean Cooke, trading standards interim team leader for Slough council, said: “It has become a common practice in the borough for traders to buy in cheap smuggled tobacco, with the intention of undercutting their competitors.

“However, we hope this result will demonstrate we will not tolerate this behaviour and that this prosecution will deter other traders from continuing these practices and help maintain a level playing field among Slough’s local businesses.”

Slough Borough Council

Slough Borough Council’s trading standards, along with Tefal, carried out free safety checks on electrical appliances on December 16 and found 45 percent failed the grade.

Of the Slough failures was a 25 year-old iron which had a seriously frayed cord which posed an electrocution hazard and a toaster which was a fire risk.

Each person who turned up with an appliance found to be dangerous, was given a £35 Tefal voucher to replace the item.

Jaspal Singh, senior trading standards officer for Slough Borough Council, said: “People often forget about the safety of the appliances they are using as long as they seem to be in working order.

“But I cannot stress enough how important it is to make sure the iron, kettle, toaster or electrical blanket you are using is safe. It’s just not worth risking the consequences of using an unsafe or dangerous appliance when it can be avoided by replacing them.”

The Slough team are supported by Age Concern, Tefal and The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

More free tests will be happening early next year.

Slough Borough Council.

A man who was arrested from an address in Slough, not far from where he had committed two burglaries, has been jailed.

Mark Thompson, aged 47, of Granville Avenue, Slough, was sentenced to two years after pleading guilty to one count of burglary.

Thompson also admitted to police during interview that he had committed a second burglary at a neighbouring house on the same day (27/10) asking for the offence to be taken into consideration (TIC).

On Thursday 27 October this year, a resident from Elliman Avenue, Slough, returned home at around 9pm to discover they had been burgled. Broken glass was found inside the house where a brick had been used to smash a downstairs window, and spots of blood were found in a bedroom upstairs and a laptop, worth around £850, was stolen.

On Thursday 10 November, Thompson was arrested from an address in Elliman Avenue, Slough, after police received specific information to say that he was staying there.

A warrant for his arrest had been issued after a sample of blood taken from the scene of the burglary by Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCO) matched that of Thompson’s.

When officers initially knocked at the front door to arrest the 47-year-old, he was seen at the rear of the Slough property attempting to climb out of a window. However, his attempts to make off from police failed and he was subsequently arrested by police.

Det Con Jon Chandler, from local CID Slough, said: “I am pleased with the sentencing which reflects the seriousness of committing burglary.

“Burglary remains a number one priority for police in Slough and we will continue to do all we can to bring those responsible for similar offences to justice.”

Thames Valley Police ~ Slough