The Bradley Stoke Journal

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.

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A community football tournament organised by the local police team is to help raise funds to send a five-year-old boy to the USA for a life-changing operation.

The Bradley Stoke Community Shield five-a-side football tournament, to be held on Saturday 5th June at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre, will raise money to help cerebal palsy sufferer Toby Cox.

Family and friends are currently trying to raise £36,000 to pay for an operation at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital that will hopefully remove the spasticity in his legs and allow Toby to walk unaided with a significantly improved level of comfort.

Officers based at Filton police station and staff from the Willow Brook Centre have joined in with the efforts to raise the money.

Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Paul Baxter said:

“We were already planning to run a football tournament as part of our efforts to bring the community together to make it safer and stronger.”

“When we heard about Toby, we immediately decided to make the event bigger and better in support of the campaign.”

Teams representing the neighbourhood police, the Willow Brook Centre, Tesco, Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre, teachers from Bradley Stoke Community School and Shirehampton Ladies’ football team will play in the contest.

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A former member of the Bradley Stoke Neighbourhood Policing Team is now back on the beat thanks in part to funding from Bradley Stoke Town Council.

PC Claire Fletcher has returned to the beat after having nine months off on maternity leave.

The Town Council agreed in July to become the first town/parish authority in South Gloucestershire to contribute towards the cost of a ‘dedicated’ police officer.

Avon and Somerset Police has given the Council a guarantee that PC Fletcher will be ‘ring-fenced’ from duties outside the town, with an ‘abstraction rate’ of less than 5%.

The Council is paying £13,281 p.a. towards the venture, representing 50% of the total cost of employing PC Fletcher for 25 hours per week.

PC Fletcher rejoined the team last month and now operates from an office at the town’s Willow Brook shopping centre.

Another new face on the local beat is PCSO Paul Baxter, who joined the team in September. PCSO Baxter’s position is funded directly by South Gloucestershire Council as part of a package of measures to strengthen neighbourhood police teams in the district.

The two new appointments are featured in the October edition of the Bradley Stoke neighbourhood policing team newsletter, which also includes articles about the Halloween Street Code and cycle security.

More information and related links:

• Bradley Stoke Police Newsletter, Oct 2009 [PDF, 230KB]
• Bradley Stoke Police (The Journal)

Police are appealing for information after three cars were damaged and a female was assaulted in Bradley Stoke in the early hours of Sunday 13th September.

The incidents occurred at about 1.30am in Stevens Walk (off Hawkins Crescent), when a male could be heard behaving in a loud and abusive manner in the street.

Police say that three cars – two Vauxhalls and a Subaru – received minor damage during the incident.

Shortly afterwards, in Carter Walk (off Kemperleye Way – just across Brook Way from the first incident), a 19 year old female was assaulted and suffered minor injuries, including scratches to her arm.

A 19 year old man has been arrested in connection with the incidents and is currently on police bail.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Staple Hill police on 0845 456 7000 or call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Police are appealing for witnesses and information after a man was assaulted at a pub in Bradley Stoke.

The incident occurred on Friday 28th August 2009 at around 9.30pm at the Three Brooks Public House, Savages Wood Road (near Tesco Extra).

Police say the victim heard a dispute at the bar and tried to intervene. He was then assaulted by four to five other men. During the assault he was hit over the head with a bottle.

All of the people involved were ejected from the pub and the offending group left on foot.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact police in Filton on 0845 456 7000 or call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.