Police Witness Appeal

Police are appealing for witnesses to a police pursuit which took place between the A47 at Hockering and the A1065 near Brandon earlier today (Thursday 2 January 2020).

A white Vauxhall Astra failed to stop for officers on the A47, at the junction with the B1108 at Hockering at approximately 10.15am. As a result, officers pursued the vehicle along the A47 towards Dereham before the vehicle turned off towards Mattishall. The vehicle was then located on the B1108 and the pursuit continued on the A1065 before ending near Brandon.

Two teenage boys from Essex and a teenage boy from Cambridgeshire have been arrested in connection with the incident. All three are currently in police custody. Officers would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the pursuit, or has any dashcam footage. Anyone with information should contact PC Ben Hawkins at Swaffham Roads Policing on 101 quoting incident number 78 of Thursday 2 January 2020.

Neighbourhood Watch

Message sent on behalf of Mr Peter Evans, Chairman of Norfolk Neighbourhood Watch:

Our next Norfolk Neighbourhood Watch meeting will be taking place on Thursday 9th January 2020 at Breckland Council Offices, Elizabeth House, Walpole Loke, Dereham, NR19 1EE.

All coordinators, members and anybody who would like to set up a new scheme are invited to attend.

Tea and coffee available from 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start. We hope to see you there.

Food Savvy Champions – We need you!

Whether you are passionate about food or simply want to make the most of the food that you have bought, you might be interested in getting involved in our Food Savvy project.

We are looking for people who would like to become Food Savvy Champion volunteers who are willing to share their knowledge with others to help to reduce the amount of food we waste.

In the UK each year households throw away seven million tonnes of food and drink.  This costs the average family with children about £810 a year or the equivalent of £70 per month. 

As a Food Savvy Champion you will be trained in issues regarding food waste and equipped with tools and ongoing support to help others in your local community to make the most of their food, reduce food waste and save money.

Anyone over the age 18 can join the scheme; you will receive free training and resource pack and ongoing support from your programme coordinator and waste reduction officers.

The next training course will be held on Saturday 25 January 2020 at County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2DH.

If you would like more information or are interested in becoming a Food Savvy Champion please email lovefoodhatewaste@norfolk.gov.uk

Norfolk Accident Rescue Service

NARS are now able to offer a wide range of training courses. Our new website is now ‘live’! It has involved a lot of work, but we are very pleased with the results. Do please have a look, as it provides all the latest information about NARS. www.nars.org.uk

We are also working in conjunction with Simper Law to offer a free will writing service, for more information on this offer please look on our website. Please pass this information on to your parishioners.

Whilst writing, please note that we are very happy to come out to give a talk to clubs, societies or workplace groups.

We are always looking for volunteers who are willing to give up a day or two a year to help man our stand at a fete or show to help raise awareness of our organisation. Or for people who would be prepared to organise their own fundraising events on our behalf (ie: raffle, sponsored walk, bake sale).

We would love more people to become involved in our very worthwhile work and look forward to hearing from you if you feel that this is something you would be interested in doing. Please bear in mind that you do not need any specialist knowledge to help us just plenty of enthusiasm. Your commitment to us can be as small or as large as you would like it to be. We are very grateful for any help that we receive. Please feel free to pass this information on to someone who you feel may be interested, maybe a local resident, employer, work colleague, friend or relative.

Norfolk Police – Cold Caller Incidents Prompt Warning

Police are urging residents to be vigilant to cold callers claiming to be police officers following two incidents in south Norfolk.

It follows two incidents in Wymondham and Chedgrave where elderly residents were cold called on the telephone by a man claiming to be a police officer.

The first incident happened yesterday (Thursday 21 November 2019) when a resident in Chedgrave was called by a man claiming to be a police officer from Hammersmith Police. They stated the victim’s bank account had been hacked and that money needed to be withdrawn by the account holder to rectify it. The victim went to the bank where staff intervened and no money was taken.

A second incident was reported to police earlier today (Friday 22 November 2019) in Wymondham when a woman received a cold call from someone claiming to be a detective from Norfolk Police. The man asked the resident to confirm her address, which she did. The woman’s carer then took the call and asked the man to provide his collar number, at which point the call was terminated.

Detective Sergeant Chris Archer said: “This is a known method used by suspects to commit frauds and encourage vulnerable victims to withdraw large sums of money from their accounts.

“Fortunately, no money has been handed over in either incident but we clearly want people to be vigilant to such scams.

“Genuine police officers or staff would never approach residents and ask for cash withdrawals to be made or for people to purchase items on their behalf.

“I would ask people with vulnerable relatives, friends or neighbours to make sure they are aware of this type of scam.”

Officers have this advice:

·     Never give out personal information about your bank account to anybody over the phone.

·     If someone calls claiming to be a police officer, ask for their identification number and police force. Hang up and call 101 using a different phone. If you can’t use a different phone, wait at least five minutes before calling back. A genuine police officer will not mind waiting while you check.

·     Police and banks will never ask you to give out personal details such as account numbers or PIN numbers.

·     If you have given out information which could compromise your bank account security in any way, call your bank to cancel your cards as soon as possible.

Never hand over money to someone at the door to be sent off elsewhere. Anyone with concerns about such calls should contact Norfolk Constabulary on the non-emergency number 101 or 999 if a crime is in progress. Alternatively, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Cold Calling

A no cold calling zone is a designated area where the residents declare they will no longer accept traders calling at their homes without an appointment.

No cold calling zones are a deterrent to unscrupulous traders and bogus callers, who do not want to be recognised or ‘logged’ as working within an area.

Apply to become a no cold calling zone

You can apply online for an area to be a no cold calling zone.

Trading Standards support the collective wishes of the residents, so the majority of the people living in the area must want the zone to be created.

It’s also helpful to have support and agreement from the parish or town council and to have someone who can act as a local champion to help promote the zone.

No cold calling zones are suitable for areas where: 

  • There is evidence of a history of doorstep rogue trading/bogus calling
  • The area has a strong community bond/spirit and desire for the zone
  • The age and/or vulnerability of the residents causes them to be at greater risk through cold calling
  • The area is considered to be attractive to doorstep rogue traders
  • The area is distinct and can be clearly identifiable as a zone

What happens to the application?

One of our officers will assess the need for the zone and its potential success.  If the application is accepted, we will liaise with the local champion to set up the zone.  We supply signs, packs for residents containing advice and information and door stickers.  We offer continued support to established zones.

Tackling cold calls in a no cold calling zone

We follow up all reported incidents of cold calling.  This may be limited to finding out why a trader has ignored a designated no cold calling zone but may include more formal enquiries.

There is no law preventing cold calling.  However, by law, you have 14 days to cancel contracts signed at home or your place of work for works costing more than £42.  The trader must give you a cancellation notice, allowing a 14-day cooling off period.  It’s a criminal offence if they don’t do this and Trading Standards may be able to take enforcement action.

Contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline for advice using their online enquiries form or by calling 03454 04 05 06.

Mobile Library Poetry Competition

We have a poetry competition which is running throughout November and ending on 21st December. We are inviting everyone to write a poem about the Mobile Library, in any capacity – a fantasy journey, a memory of the library, a recent visit to the library – the choice is the authors.

Poems can be given to drivers or emailed through to us at central.mobiles.lib@norfolk.gov.uk

The Mobile Library Team will pick their favourites and the authors will have the chance to be filmed, if suitable, reading their poems on the Mobile Library for a Digital Anthology which will be shown on our internal screens in the New Year. We have 2 guest judges: Hayley Scott, author of Jar Baby and the Teacup series, and Elly Griffiths, author of the Ruth Galloway series, who will be around when we film for the Digital Anthology to meet the winners.

Your Mobile Library routes are:

Mundford: EDE205

All timetables can be found here: www.norfolk.gov.uk/mobilelibraries and of course any questions or anything you’re welcome to email or phone: 01603 222 267

WHAT3WORDS

 What3words For those of you who aren’t already using What3words and its sister app 3wordphoto, this is a fantastic tool, especially for those of us who live and work in rural communities. It can be used to provide POLICE officers with an accurate location of an offence or to direct resources to someone injured or lost in an open rural location https://what3words.com