Editorial

There have been vehicle thefts over the East Sussex District and just hoping to issue out some prevention advice to the Willindon residents.

‍

We are advising owners of vehicles to review their vehicle security, storage, and parking locations in Wealden.

‍

It follows reports of cars being targeted by thieves using specialist tools to gain entry in recent weeks.

‍

We have located and returned a number of stolen vehicles in the East Sussex area, but are highlighting the incident as a warning to owners.

‍

Tips to protect your car are:

• Park your vehicle in sight of your home or inside a garage; or where there is street lighting or CCTV.
• Use a steering lock, often highly visible from outside the vehicle, acting as a deterrent to potential car thieves, as well as preventing the steering wheel from being turned.
• Consider ‘blocking’ the vehicle in with the use of a second vehicle or fitting a ghost immobiliser.
• Reprogramme your keys if you buy a second hand car, or if buying second hand check that the key blade is cut and works, by testing it.

‍

If you see or witness anyone acting suspiciously around parked vehicles in your community, report it to police at the time by either calling 101, or reporting online (non-emergency).

Kind regards

Lauren

WNW has received two notifications from residents who have reported incidents caught on their vehicle dash-cams to Sussex Police “Operation Crackdown.” One resident reported an individual on a motorbike sporting a rear L plate, who drove across the front of their vehicle, then proceeded to weave in and out of traffic at high speed.

The second incident we have been notified of by another resident, which was also reported to “Operation Crackdown”, of a vehicle that drove at their vehicle and then swerved away from them, both occupants of the vehicle saw the driver of the dangerously driven vehicle using a mobile phone. Any updates from Operation Crackdown will be posted on this page.

During a very recent session in Seven Sisters Road, Willingdon Community Speed Watch registered 16 vehicles speeding above the speed limit in one hour. Details of all those vehicles have been sent to Sussex Police to be dealt with by them. One of the vehicles was in fact a motorcycle carrying L plates and being ridden at 41mph in this 30mph area.

Willingdon Community Speed watch is now in it's 11th year,and has six Sussex Police approved sites around our village, one site is in the village of Jevington, another in Wannock, one in Gorringe Valley road, Meadows Road, Coppice Avenue, and Seven Sisters Road.

Several of them are virtually redundant due to vehicles in recent years being parked on both sides of the road which in fact actually helps to slows traffic down, however, it also makes it almost impossible for us to get a clear view of any on coming vehicles with our speed gun, and one rule from Sussex Police we must follow at all times is not stepping into the road. By far the worst road in Willingdon for speeding is Seven Sisters Road, where on average, we have recorded one vehicle speeding every 5 minutes.

We have to supply Sussex Police with 5 pieces of info for each speeding vehicle, the speed of the vehicle ( only speeds above 36mph are accepted by Sussex Police),the registration number, vehicle colour,make, and if possible model. However, for all of that info we supply only around 70% of all the vehicles we register speeding are actually contacted by Sussex Police, the other 30% are unknown, probably we gave a wrong colour, or maybe a wrong make even though we check our body cam video before we erase all recordings and destroy all paper records in accordance with Speed Watching Rules.

My own theory is that there are a lot of unregistered vehicles out there,or maybe running on false number plates, how I would love to know the real truth.

It is also a great shame that we have to wear Police approved body cams as over the past couple of years, threats and verbal abuse have risen dramatically, and unfortunately, a sign of changing times to come.