The Bradley Stoke Journal

Bradley Stoke Police say they arrested three adult males following a robbery in Brook Way on Friday 20th August.

Two males are said to have grabbed a female’s handbag as she passed them walking in the opposite direction.

The victim was pushed over when she resisted. No weapons were used and she sustained no injuries. One male left in a green Volvo car whilst the other walked off, dropping the victim’s bag.

Beat Manager PC Steven Palmer  says he wishes to assure  local residents that this is an unusual offence for Bradley Stoke and that there haven’t been any other robberies in the town since his arrival two years ago^*.

Of the three males arrested, police say one is currently on bail and will be charged with robbery on his return; the other two are to be released without charge.

Related story: Mobile phone not good enough for Bowsland Way robbers

Related link: Police in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)

^* Statistics published on the Local Crime Mapping website show that there were, in fact, two robberies in the last twelve months within the Bradley Stoke Beat area.

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Residents of Bradley Stoke streets surrounding the Willow Brook Centre have called for two pedestrian access routes to the shopping development to be blocked off in an effort to stem a tide of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the area.

The plea came at at meeting chaired by Bradley Stoke Mayor Ben Walker, also attended by Inspector Bob Evely of Avon and Somerset Police, Scott Lahive of the Willow Brook Centre and a representative from South Gloucestershire Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Team.

The meeting was called after Bradley Stoke Town Council received numerous complaints from residents of the Manor Farm area whose properties border pedestrian routes into the Willow Brook Centre.

Residents complained of abandoned Tesco trolleys being rammed into their front doors, flower pots being smashed, trees being snapped off and an incident where the front door of a property was set alight.

Most of the incidents were said to have occurred around midnight and to have been perpetrated by “drunken” 16-18 year-olds.

Read on for details of the access points which residents want blocked off »

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Anti-social behaviour in the Manor Farm area of Bradley Stoke is on the agenda of two public meetings taking place in the next ten days.

The issue last came to the fore in 2008, when the opening of a pedestrian route from Manor Farm Crescent into the newly-built Willow Brook Centre brought a massive increase in nuisance behaviour.

A street meeting was held between police and local residents and a Neighbourhood Watch scheme was later formed.

Matters seemed to quieten down in 2009 but now things appear to have flared up again, with Mayor Ben Walker warning in a recent letter that “anti-social behaviour within the Manor Farm area of Bradley Stoke … is fast becoming a serious issue”.

Tuesday’s meeting of the Bradley Stoke Safer and Stronger Community Group [agenda], which takes place at the Jubilee Centre (6:30pm start), will be the first opportunity for residents to query the police and other agencies – when the agenda item “Anti Social Behaviour (Manor Farm)” comes up for discussion.

A second opportunity to discuss the issues comes on Tuesday 27th July when a public meeting to “discuss the current issues relating to anti-social behaviour within the Manor Farm area of Bradley Stoke” will be held, also at the Jubilee Centre (7:30pm start).

Organised by Cllr Walker, the meeting will be attended by representatives of the Willow Brook Centre, Tesco, Avon & Somerset Police, South Gloucestershire Council, Southern Brooks Community Partnership and Holdshare Property Management.

Read on for more information about the two meetings »

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A Bradley Stoke man has been appointed Vice Chair of a group which advises South Gloucestershire Police on how they can best serve under-represented people.

The Independent Advisory Group (IAG) includes representatives from a range of different sections of the community who can face prejudice because of their disability, age, ethnicity, faith or sexual orientation.

Sachin Singhal (pictured above, centre), who unsuccessfully fought for a seat on Bradley Stoke Town Council in a by-election last year, was himself a victim of a racially-aggravated attack in 2005 when acid was poured over his car as it stood outside his Ormonds Close home.

More recent crimes with a race hate element in Bradley Stoke have included a man being pushed off his bike near Tesco in August 2008 and a 14-year boy being attacked by a gang using a python as a weapon in August 2009.

IAG Chair Amarjit Singh (pictured right) said:

“The South Gloucestershire IAG is looking for new members from minority community groups to make sure we are representative of the communities we serve. Joining the IAG gives people chance to bring a real benefit to their community as well as the police.”

Read more about the work of the IAG and how to report hate crime »

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Police say they have stepped up patrols after a spate of vandalism in which 27 cars were damaged in Bradley Stoke in the space of ten days (the Bristol Evening Post reports).

Journal readers first heard about the incidents in a reader’s comment on Tuesday, which reported that “rocks/bricks had been thrown through the windows of cars belonging to … a large number of Bradley Stoke residents”.

Another reader later revealed that cars had been vandalised in Ellicks Close and Oaktree Crescent in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

According to The Post, “incidents have been reported in The Beeches, Cornfield Close, Ellicks Close, Kemperleye Way, Mautravers Close, Winsbury Way and small cul-de-sacs off Hawkins Crescent.”

The paper says local police “are carrying out house-to-house inquiries, visiting victims and have stepped up patrols.”

The latest incidents follow an arson spree in March 2009 in which three cars were set ablaze within minutes of each other in The Beeches, Stoke Meadows and Winsbury Way.

Vandals also struck in May 2009, with numerous reports of screws being driven into the tyres of parked cars in roads that included Saxon Way, The Bluebells and Stoke Meadows.

Police are encouraging affected residents to attend the next meeting of the Bradley Stoke Safer and Stronger Community Group on Tuesday 20th July, where they will be able to raise concerns about any crime-related issue.

Has your car been vandalised? Let us know where and when.
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