Residents in Gedling borough are being warned to ignore door-to-door callers, with summer being a heightened time for harassment.
Nottinghamshire Trading Standards has issued the warning as an increased number of cold callers prepare to hit the streets and approach communities to sell services or products.
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Trading Standards said: “Do not buy from the door to an unannounced cold caller. Say no and shut the door. If they are genuine, they will allow you the time to make an informed decision and will never force you into a contract with them.
“We advise you to explore your options if you do wish to have work doing, ask a friend or relative if they know someone, always get a least three quotes and remember in most circumstances you have 14 days in order to change your mind and cancel. No trader should start work before that time unless you have asked them to do so in writing.
“Stay vigilant and make sure to check on your neighbours and relatives who may be isolated during these times.”
Useful contact information –
If you have been a victim of fraud or cybercrime, report it to Action Fraud via their website Actionfraud.police.uk, or by calling them on 0300 123 2040.
You can also report a trader to Trading Standards or obtain consumer advice by contacting the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 11 33.
Are you concerned about a neighbour, friend or relative on answering their doors to cold callers? The Nominated Neighbour Scheme could help with this concern. Call Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 11 33 to find out more.
Police have arrested a 34-year-old man after residents reported screaming and shouting to Nottinghamshire Police.
Officers attended the incident in The Wells Road at around 11.30pm on Sunday (June 13) and the force’s public protection team launched an investigation.
A man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of engaging in coerceive and controlling behaviour.
Detective Sergeant Sarah Jackson said: “It can be extremely concerning for members of the public to hear cries of distress and we will always take these reports seriously.
“We’ve been carrying out thorough enquiries and the investigation has now led to a man being arrested.
“We won’t tolerate abuse and violence in Nottinghamshire.”
The number of stalking incidents reported last year in Nottinghamshire was ten times the figure recorded in 2015, data has shown.
There were 649 stalking incidents recorded last year from April to December.
In 2015 there were 64 reported stalking incidents across the county.
This is according to data from a BBC Local News Partnerships Scheme investigation.
More than half of all other police forces sawstalking incidents double over the same period, with two seeing an increase of more than 500 per cent.
In comparison incidents in Nottinghamshire grew by two per cent from 2019-20.
In England and Wales 59,950 incidents were recorded, which was almost double the annual number for the year endingMarch 2020.
Lisa King, communications director at domestic violence charity Refuge, said: “When we’ve been locked in the use of technology to stalk and frighten and harass – particularly young women – has seen a huge increase in numbers.
649 incidents were reported last year from April to December
“We’ve seen people having track trackers on their phones, where their information is mirrored onto another person’s device. We see spyware being downloaded, trackers in cars, but also kind of a monitoring of social media profiles.
“And not just to the victim themselves, but beyond to friends and family members whose details have been followed and tracked, and as a result kind of tracking the victim down and harassment to those parties also.”
The figures also showed that Nottinghamshire Police’s charge rates for stalking were the sixth best in England and Wales.
The national charge rate for stalking offences is at its lowest point for five years, falling from 23 per cent in 2015/16 to just six per cent.
In comparison Nottinghamshire Police had a charge rate of ten per cent.
At the start of last year Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) became available to police forces in England and Wales.
These are designed to allow police to act early and can restrict stalkers from entering certain locations or contacting victims.
They also allow bans on referencing victims on social media, recording images of them, making applications to civil court referencing them, and using the internet.
But there are concerns that these new powers are not being used enough, as only 294 orders have been granted so far.
Suky Bhaker, CEO of stalking charity the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said:
“If we look at the figures from the crime survey of England and Wales, we know that approximately 1.5 million people will experience stalking in any given year.
“So in proportion, that figure is incredibly low in comparison to the number of individuals we know who would potentially require that protection.”
In Nottinghamshire all the 13 SPOs asked for were granted.
Four police forces have not applied for a single SPO since January 2020.
She added: It’s absolutely imperative that when those orders are breached, the full force of law is used and offenders are prosecuted otherwise it sends a message that perpetrators can act with impunity, that there’s not going to be repercussions for those actions.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Stalking Protection Orders stop perpetrators in their tracks and prevent them contacting victims. We expect police forces to make full use of them.
“The Home Office and College of Policing have worked closely with forces to produce guidance on issuing them.
“Next week, Home Office officials will meet with the police and other stakeholders who work to tackle stalking to set out our findings on how effectively police forces have been using SPOs and discuss how to improve this.”
Decisions on a number of construction projects are expected next week when Gedling Borough Council‘s planning committee meet.
A new-build residential care home in Woodthorpe for 40 residents with associated gardens and parking is one of the schemes hoping for the green light.
This application relates to the site of an extended former 2/3 storey care home with a number of outbuildings and garden areas and a habitat area which has been vacant for some time.
Full planning permission is sought for the erection of a new care home on the site.
Planning permission is wanted to change the layout of the car park at Carlton Square Shopping Centre.
The council will meet at the Civic Centre in Arnold next week
Those seeking planning permission want to alter the northern car park and access to the site. On the Burton Road frontage alterations are proposed to the access in that a separate access is proposed for the delivery vehicles and one for the customers.
A sports club is seeking permission to make alterations to their sports ground in Arnold.
They are proposing to extend the existing clubhouse at the Ron Rossin Ground on Burntstump Hill. The extension would provide improved changing room facilities, function room, 1st floor terrace, visitor toilets, entrance and fire escape.
The committee will also be asked if they approve enforcement action being taken to demolish a bungalow and fence that was erected in Papplewick without the necessary planning permission.
A man from Arnold who amassed a collection of more than 400,000 child sexual abuse images has been jailed.
Scot Fox, 46, was arrested when police uncovered evidence linking him to the online purchase of indecent material.
An investigation was started and Fox was arrested at this home address in September last year.
Officers seized a number of electronic devices and later uncovered a total of 402,017 photographs and videos – mainly stored on a single computer.
More than 7,500 of those images were rated as category A, depicting the most serious acts of sexual abuse that can be committed against children.
Fox, of Catlow Walk, immediately admitted his offending to officers and said he’d been collecting the images for around 20 years.
He later pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. The charges relate to the act of saving and storing the material.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday he was jailed for two years. In addition he was added to the Sex Offenders’ Register for ten years, and also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order that will tightly restrict his on-line activity when he is released from jail.
Detective Constable Tom Nuttall, of Nottinghamshire Police’s paedophile online investigation team, said: “This was one of the largest collections of child sexual abuse images we have seen for a long time.
“In total our digital forensic investigators had to review and categorise more than half a million images in this case so I would like to thank all those involved for their hard work and professionalism. I would also like to thank my colleagues in our financial investigation unit who originally alerted us to Fox’s suspicious online behaviour.
“People who download and view this kind of material may not believe they are doing any harm, but in reality they are helping to fuel a depraved cycle of abuse that causes immense physical and emotional harm to children all over the world.
“That’s why we dedicate so many resources to finding and punishing the people who are consuming this material in our communities.”
Gedling MP Tom Randall has spent time with Openreach engineers in Arnold to witness first-hand the engineering techniques being used to deliver the next generation of broadband across his constituency.
He was given a socially-distanced tour of the work, which has already reached more than 20,000 homes and businesses across Gedling borough.
Meeting with the MP and a local broadband champion, the Openreach team were also able to explain how the build in city areas is happening alongside rural work.
Gedling MP Tom Randall said: “I enjoyed meeting Openreach engineers in Arnold to learn more about the challenges they face installing ultrafast broadband after being contacted by a constituent who was experiencing broadband connection issues.
“The extension of full fibre broadband to large parts of Gedling borough, Nottingham and the wider county is very positive news. I am determined to do what I can to ensure as many residents as possible have access to fast, reliable broadband, no matter where they live.”
The visit was hosted by Kasam Hussain, regional partnership director for Openreach in the Midlands, who said: “We welcomed the opportunity to give Tom a step-by-step demonstration of our technology. Our engineers work hard every day to keep communities across Nottinghamshire and the wider region connected, and it was great to be able to share the challenges and realities of delivering this technology.”
Openreach offers download speeds of 1 Gbps – which is up to 10 times faster than the average home broadband connection.
The company’s updated build plan will be fundamental to the UK Government achieving its target of delivering ‘gigabit capable broadband’ to 85 per cent of UK by 2025.
A popular museum in Mapperley is set to close because of damage caused to the building over the winter.
The Haunted Museum on Woodborough Road, which is housed in the listed former Majestic Cinema building, was set to reopen when lockdown restrictions were relaxed, but plans were then put on hold when it became apparent building work would be needed to make the structure secure before reopening.
But owners now say that following initial investigations, the building is beyond repair and they will now be forced to leave.
In a post on their Facebook page they wrote: “We now have no alternative with a heavy heart to permanently close the doors to the general public.
“We are devastated but this is now totally out of our hands. We would like to thank everyone in Mapperley businesses and locals for the warm welcome you have given us over the years and also everyone that has visited locally and from the UK and abroad.
“This is not a goodbye. The Covid pandemic has hit businesses over the last year and has been hard but the pandemic has not been the reason for closing. We will update as soon as possible on the museum’s new home.”
The museum was opened back in 2018 by paranormal investigator Steve Wesson and wife Marie, who put their spooky collection of artefacts on display to the general public.
Included in the macabre collection was a morgue fridge from Denbigh Insane Asylum in Wales, a 400 year old skull belonging to someone who fell victim to the plague and Thomas – a doll made from a dead husband’s bed bandages in the 1970s.
The owners now hope to find a new building to house the collection in Nottingham.
Mr Wesson told Gedling Eye: “The old Majestic Cinema has been a amazing building for us and is such a shame we now can’t carry on there for many years to come
“We are now looking for available buildings in Nottingham so that we can reopen as soon as possible.”
A car has been damaged following a suspected arson attack in Calverton.
A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson and criminal damage after a van was set on fire and a kitchen window was smashed.
Officers were called to Park Road at around 10.10pm on April 11 and determined the vehicle, which was parked on a driveway, had been set alight deliberately.
PICTURED: The damaged van in Calverton (IMAGE: Notts Police)
A man was arrested following a search at a house in Merevale Close, Lowdham on Friday (June 11) morning.
Detective Sergeant Dave Prest, who has been leading the investigation, said: “Arson attacks are always extremely concerning to us and we have been working around the clock to establish who might have been behind this incident.
“It’s believe that this was a targeted attack with no threat to the wider public.
“The Calverton Neighbourhood team have been patrolling the area and speaking to residents concerned by what happened. If people have any information that could help, please call us on 101 quoting incident 754 of 11 April.”
Alternatively, please call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The man has been bailed pending further enquiries.
Officers were on patrol in the Killisick estate of Arnold when they saw a car take a sudden turn without indicating which aroused their suspicions.
A short time later they spotted the car which had been parked with a man near to it who walked off along Lynton Gardens.
They quickly detained the man who smelt of cannabis and he was arrested on Tuesday afternoon (June 8, 2021).
When they searched him they found cash and when they checked the car they found bags of cannabis. Another bag of cannabis was found when they searched a footpath where the man had been walking.
The 30-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a Class B drug.
Neighbourhood Inspector Chris Pearson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This arrest and drug seizure was a result of some cracking work by our dedicated knife crime team.
“As our recent enforcement activity has shown, we are working relentlessly to target and disrupt offenders involved in the supply of drugs in the Gedling borough and we encourage members of the community to talk to us regarding any concerns or suspicions they may have regarding drugs-related criminality.
“Tackling and reducing drug-related crime remains a policing priority in Gedling and I’d like to reassure people that we will continue to take robust action against those responsible for committing such offences which could lead to them appearing in court to answer for their crimes.”
