Neighbourhood Watch

Todwick Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter

September 2011

Welcome to all those villagers who have signed up to the Todwick Neighbourhood Watch since our last newsletter in June 2011. We hope that you find these newsletters informative and useful and we always value your information and feedback.

Our Annual General Meeting

Our Annual general Meeting took place on July 8th at Todwick Village Hall. All the officials stood for re-election and all were re-elected for a further year. Full details of the meeting including individual reports will be supplied on request.

Scrap Collecting Lorries

Over the past three months the number of scrap collecting flat bed lorries in the village seems to have reduced. But with the price of scrap metal remaining very high, we still advise care when metal objects are left outside. Broken down kitchen/home equipment, garden and workshop tools, children's bicycles / scooters, domestic radiators draining are all favourites for being stolen. Waste skips also attract attention from these people, some of whom are unlicensed to deal in waste materials. Let us make sure Todwick is NOT seen as an easy target.

Unwanted Telephone Calls

Unwanted telephone calls continue to be a perennial problem to many villagers. We also understand that the number of silent calls received has also recently risen. According to the BT nuisance call helpline, these are usually calls from abroad, generated by a computer that does random dialling on a particular area code.

The buying and selling of personal information can also be difficult to stop. However there are some ways you can help to protect yourself. As the local authority Voter Registration form is due to be completed on 15th October, we recommend that you opt out of the "edited register". This means that the Register of Electors, which can be legally sold by the council does not contain your name and address.

Before completing guarantee forms for newly purchased goods, consider what details you are giving on the form and always check if the data will be on-sold or passed to other people - it often is!

Consider going ex directory.

Registering free of charge with the Telephone Preference Service can reduce the number of unwanted UK sales calls. However, please be aware that if you have given permission for a company, charity or firm to contact you, they will usually not check the register. Calls claiming to be "Market Research" technically do not come within the protection of the Telephone Preference Service. Calls from overseas are particularly difficult to stop and in most cases the caller's number is not held. If you do not want to receive further calls from a particular source, your line of action is to request them to remove your details from their mailing / phoning list - immediately.

For BT customers who have a modern telephone with a screen and make a minimum of 2 chargeable outbound calls per month, the "CALLER DISPLAY" facility is available and is FREE of charge. When the phone rings this will let you know if the caller's number is withheld (UK caller) or the caller is International, unavailable number or Out of Area (outside the UK). With this service you then have an option as to whether you wish to answer the call. To register for this free service please call freephone 0800 800 150. The line, not surprisingly, is very busy so you may have to be very patient!

For non BT lines, we suggest that you contact your own supplier for details of their facilities.

No Cold Calling

We have received a report from a resident about a door knocker who offered to do gutter cleaning, roof repairs, tiles, trees, general gardening tasks etc. He offered £100 off the price if he was booked there and then. This is cold calling.

In the last newsletter, we did a short article about "No Cold Calling" schemes. The concept is that a group of villagers who all live within close proximity of each other agree that they do not want any cold callers at the door. Signs advising visitors of this will be placed on lamp-posts on the street(s) concerned. Persistent cold calling offenders are prosecuted. There is no cost in setting up or running the scheme, no meetings to attend, no cost. To date there has only been interest shown from 3 villagers living in different parts of the village. To make the system work we need more people to declare their interest. If anyone is interested in being part of a no cold calling area in Todwick, please contact Norman for further details.

Disabled Blue Badge Holders

It has come to our notice that sometimes the blue badge is not sufficient to enable you to park your car without incurring a parking fine. Certain parts of Nottinghamshire are also insisting on a green "Special Access Permit". Currently parts of the following town centres are involved Arnold, Beeston, Newark, Retford, West Bridgeford & Worksop. Application forms are available from Nottinghamshire County Council - tel 01623 434942.

Crime Statistics for Todwick

The crime statistics for Todwick for June, July & August 2011 inclusive are:

Criminal Damage other property (non buildings)	2
Criminal Damage to motor vehicles	2
Theft from motor vehicles	2
Other miscellaneous thefts	3
Arson (not life threatening)	1
Antisocial behaviour reports	19

Our thanks to all the villagers who have provided details of incidents in the village so we can alert others to these undesirable activities. Thanks also to Sheila Pantry for ensuring our village website shows the newsletters. For further details please contact Norman Anderson (chair)