SANTA IS ON HIS WAY

The Rotary Club of Church Wilne have published their Santa Routes for this December and as a trial their Satellite Group have added an extra route which will cover East of Spondon. The Rotary Club will be following Social Distancing rules so will not be knocking on doors this year and the children will have to stay 2m away from Santa. Rotarian Adrian Perkins said “We are taking measures to be safe but Santa will be out bringing festive cheer to the families in our communities and have installed a real time Santa Tracker on our website, so everyone will be able to follow the Santa float as it travels around the streets.”  You can visit the Rotary website to check out the Routes and where Santa will be at any time visit www.churchwilnerotary.org.uk 

BROWN BIN COLLECTIONS

Erewash Borough Council has confirmed the dates for its last garden waste collections for 2020 – collections are always temporarily withdrawn during the winter months. Residents in the NORTH of the borough – Ilkeston and surrounding areas – will have their last brown bin collections week commencing Monday 30th November. The last collections in the SOUTH – Long Eaton and surrounding areas – will be week commencing Monday 7th December.

Councillor Garry Hickton, Erewash Borough Council’s Lead Member for Environment, says: “Gardening has seen a huge rise in popularity this year, with many of us becoming a nation of green-fingered enthusiasts regularly filling our garden waste bins, but the good news is there is still plenty of time to carry out those final tasks as our free garden waste collections will continue into late November and early December.”

 When garden waste collections end for the season, Erewash residents can use their brown bin for their recyclable waste until the garden waste rounds resume next year.

DISTRACTION BURGLARY IN LONG EATON

Police are appealing for information, and reminding people about doorstep security, after a distraction burglary at an elderly couple’s home in Long Eaton.

The couple, who are aged in their late 70s and early 80s, answered the door of their flat, on Kirkwhite Avenue, at around 5.20pm on Wednesday 4th November.

A man was at the door claiming to be from Neighbourhood Watch, who then pushed his way in and snatched a wallet from the elderly man, which contained cash and bank cards.

As he snatched the wallet there was a struggle between the victim and the man, and the victim ended up being pulled to the floor.

He then tried to leave and as he did he pushed the elderly woman out of the way, and she also fell to the floor.

Inspector Ed Browne, who is in charge of policing in the Erewash area, said: “Although no one was hurt during this understandably distressing incident, one of the victims was taken to hospital as a precaution to be checked.

“We would appeal to anyone who may have seen this man in the area, or have any information about who they may be, to get in touch with us as soon as possible.”

Insp. Browne added: “While officers are making inquiries we would remind people about the importance of doorstep security, and the best advice is to not open the door to anyone who turns up unexpectedly if they are not sure who they are. If you do open the door to anyone, always use a door chain or bar until you can be certain you know who they are, and that they are a genuine caller.

“If there is ever concern about the behaviour or motivations of a door-step caller, we would encourage people to call 999 so that officers can attend and carry out checks.

“We would also ask people to remind relatives and neighbours of our advice to help us keep them safe.”

The offender is described as being white, aged in his late 20s or early 30s and had a ‘well made’ build. He had been wearing a green knitted hat, dark coat, dark trousers, brown boots and seemed to be carrying a notebook.

If you have any information, if you saw this man in the area around the time or know who he might be please contact us on the non-emergency contact methods below.

Please quote reference 20*583606 and the name of the officer in the case, DC Kate Main, in any correspondence.

·         Facebook– send us a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary

·         Twitter– direct message our contact centre on @DerPolContact

·         Website– complete the online contact form derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us.

·         Phone – call us on 101.

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

For advice, or if you would like free ‘Stop! No callers’ card to display please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood policing team on the non emergency contact details above.

They may be able to provide an electronic version or deliver a sign as safely and as contact free as possible.

SOCIALLY DISTANCED SERVICE

Due to Covid - 19 restrictions a small, but socially distanced remembrance  service was held at the Sawley War Memorial on Sunday 8th November 2020. There was a small gathering of approximately 150 local residents at the service organised by Sawley Parish Council. An army veteran, along with local councillors and local organisations laid wreaths at the memorial. A fitting tribute to all local service personal who gave the ultimate sacrifice. All attending residents were thanked for their support for the small service of remembrance by the chair of Sawley Parish Council.  Derbyshire County Councillor for Sawley, Cllr Kewal Singh Athwal said; 

 "It is our responsibility to remember our history whilst commemorating the sacrifice made by many of our forefathers for the freedom that we all enjoy today and it's important that our future generations carry on this act of remembrance every year" 

OPERATION SCEPTRE

Derbyshire Police will be joining other forces across the country taking part in the national ‘Operation Sceptre’, a week-long range of activities against knife crime. Whilst the latest COVID regulations have meant that we have decided to postpone our planned knife amnesty, officers will still be taking other actions. Inspector Rich Keene, operational lead for knife crime explains: “Operation Sceptre is a vital tool in our fight against knife crime and the causes of it and links closely with our on-going Project Zao. The action we take this week compliments our year-round campaign of education and enforcement on weapon enabled criminality. Derbyshire has been at the forefront in the battle against violence and its causes, with knife crime being one of our key priorities. We will be targeting those that carry knives and hope it starts up a positive dialogue between young people, their families, carers and educators. The message is clear - If you carry a knife we will focus on you relentlessly and when you are caught you will be subject of prosecution with positive action taken in every case. The safety of residents and strong communities are our priority and we will continue to work tirelessly with yourselves and partners to ensure that this is the case. We cannot afford any more lives being tragically and senselessly lost through knife crime and its potential effects on us all.”

If you are worried about someone you think is carrying a knife contact us using any of the following non-emergency contact methods:

Facebook – send us a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary

Twitter – direct message our contact centre on @DerPolContact

Website – complete the online contact form www.derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us.

Phone – call us on 101.

You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111 or by visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org