Todwick Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter
March 2017
Welcome to all those villagers who have signed up to the Todwick Neighbourhood Watch since our last newsletter in December 2016. We hope that you find these newsletters informative and useful and we always value your information and feedback. We never publish anyone’s name, address or any other private details.
Funding
Todwick Neighbourhood Watch restarted in July 2006 and was partly funded by Todwick Parish Council. We are delighted and grateful to Todwick Parish Council which has presented us with a further grant of £200 towards our running costs. This will enable us to provide all signed up members of the watch a free quarterly newsletter and help us provide important information to keep our community informed of urgent matters.
Burglaries and theft
Over the past few weeks several homes in Todwick have been burgled and in some cases precious, valuable items stolen. By and large, burglars are opportunists who look for vulnerable properties, usually, but not always when they are unoccupied. In many cases they do not know what items of value they may find. It isn’t always in the middle of the night. Mid-day thefts have been reported. They don’t just walk up to a property, they often come across adjoining gardens, do the deed and then walk off down your path or driveway to make their escape as if they were a casual caller. If they get a good haul on the first visit, they have been known to call again after about 2 months to do exactly the same thing as stolen property will usually have been replaced by then. The damage these visits cause can be a very expensive issue for the householder. The sting is that your insurance premium shoots up. And it is put on a central data base for several years so changing your insurance provider will have very little, if any effect. Please also be aware of a yellow van reg number VB52 LNN. The driver will park up, get out of the cab and walk up a driveway, select the material he wants to steal, and calmly walk back to his van. This vehicle has been seen at least twice in Todwick over the last 2 months.
Harassment & nuisance telephone calls
Reports of harassment telephone calls seem to be on the rise again in the village. Sometimes these people will ring up to 4 or 5 times a day asking you to switch on your computer as they say they have received information that you have some sort of problem with your computer. Sometimes this applies to people who do not even own a computer. The caller’s number will either be an international number or quite possibly begin with three zeros. We advise not to enter into a conversation with these people – a polite ‘no thank you’ and replace the receiver or switch off the telephone device.
There is another dubious phone call that has been doing the rounds recently purporting to come from Call Prevention Services Limited. An on line check at Companies House records show the company was dissolved on 12th April 2016.
And finally
Reports of odd behaviour seem to be on the increase. A resident in his garden was approached by a man asking about addresses. He was given the information but drove away immediately afterwards. The theft of an electric drill. 3 youths were spotted in a car nearby just before the theft. Selective cold calling in No Cold Calling zones. Garden equipment stolen from a van. Stolen number plates from a parked car. These have all happened in Todwick during the last 3 months. Without wishing to frighten you, please be aware of what is going on around you. If it doesn’t look right, please report it on 101.
Crime statistics for Todwick
The system for reporting up to date crime stats is still not resolved. But for the 3 month period October to December 2016 inclusive Todwick has had the following issues reported:
Criminal damage / Arson |
1 |
Burglary |
3 |
Other theft |
2 |
Violence & sexual crime |
6 but some may be of an historic nature |
Vehicle crime |
3 |
Antisocial behaviour |
11 |
Other crime |
2 |
Just a brief reminder – if your uPVC door locks are not up to the new Euro specification, please contact Norman for further details on this subject.
Contact Information
S. Y. Police non-emergency calls to report crime or give information dial 101.
S. Y. Police / Ambulance / Fire & Rescue emergency dial 999
Crimestoppers to give information about crime (you do not have to give your name) dial 0800 555 111 freephone open Mon-Fri 8 am to 10 pm & Sunday 10 am to 4 pm
Action Fraud this is the government run reporting centre for fraud. Calls can be made on 0300 123 2040 anonymously or text on 0300 123 2050
Streetpride part of Rotherham Borough Council. For most general problems with bin emptying, damaged bins, street lighting, potholes & other problems associated with roads & pavements telephone 01709 336003
Electricity emergency 0800 375 675
Thanks to all the villagers who have provided details of incidents and issues.
Thanks also to Sheila Pantry for ensuring that our village website www.todwick.org.uk shows our newsletters and also details of upcoming village events.