Kingsway Villagers

Recently the local police and the Neighbourhood Watch in our area have been reporting – believe it or not: Thefts of catalytic converters from parked cars and vans!

It comes as no surprise that this has happened what with the price of precious metal nowadays. Many people don’t realise that a catalytic converter uses platinum rhodium and palladium inside the unit to filter the gases the car produces. All of these are precious metals and worth quite a bit in the scrap metal market.

Now I am not a mechanic but I do work in the electronics industry and know that gold is used on circuit boards because of its good conductive properties. I recently found out that one ton of gold ore on average will produce one gram of gold. Where one ton of mobile phones will produce five grams of gold. So it is easy to see why so many companies are offering just pence for your old mobile. They know which ones contain the most gold so it is not based on the value of the phone but the value of the gold it contains.

The recent thefts of catalytic converters have hit the local news and will surely give the criminals in Gloucester ideas. I would like this posted here on the Kingsway Villager’s site for all to see so we can be on our guard. Cars in Kingsway have recently been hit by vandalism (please see broken mirrors post by aleksuu), and some have been broken into with things being stolen, but it seems now things are being stolen from underneath our cars too. I would also like to add that the recent theft from a car in Marham Drive where a handbag was taken. If the person responsible reads this please note you may have been caught dumping the handbag on CCTV when it was discovered nothing of value was inside; you made the mistake of dumping it in full view of our cameras.

Thieves operating in Kingsway are being watched and will be caught I’m sure.

For residents living in Marham Drive, you can contact our neighbourhood watch representative Debbie Lailey at e-mail: marhamdrive@hotmail.co.uk  to report or find out about law breakers in our area. I am sure Debbie won’t mind me placing these details on here.

MS PC Repairs would like to also state that law breakers will not be tolerated and will be reported to the Police and any suspicious behaviour caught on our cameras will be forwarded to the appropriate organisations. We are sure all residents living in Kingsway will feel the same and we should all be vigilant and keep an eye out for each other making Kingsway a no crime place to live.

Last Saturday night we had our car side mirror broken! We initially thought it was stolen, but then when we went for a walk on Sunday, we found it opposite the school… smashed!

It wasn’t just our car, but our neighbours as well.

The glass parts of the mirrors were taken out and we have a little dent in the car itself.

I’m absolutely gutted as this is the first time EVER we’ve encountered any sort of antisocial behaviour (crime) since we moved here in 2009.

We didn’t report it to the Police though, and now I’m not sure if it was right

Whilst out walking my dogs this morning in the big field next to the farmhouse, 3 youths approx 18-20 yrs old appeared from the path between the orchard and the moat, and then walked down the track a couple of metres and started a fire! The 3 chaps then walked off from the way they came.

I jogged back across the field to try and catch up with them and to maybe attempt to stamp the fire out. By the time I got there the flames were 4ft high and a large sleeper-like piece of wood was on fire.

The fire brigade were called, and arrived shortly to extinguish the fire.

I assume that they used petrol or similiar to get the wood to burn so quickly.

I wonder if these group of lads had been out all night as not many youths I know would be up at 6am in the morning.

Did anyone else see these 3 lads walking around this morning?

What will they set fire to next?

We took our dogs for a walk within the large land section behind Goose Bay Drive – which is beginning to look very pleasant indeed (or was until the weekend). The pathways and ponds amongst the far reaching space are very appealing and QUVL needs to pat themselves on the back for such an area.

Sadly over the weekend, we viewed local boys (approximately 8 – 12yrs of age) in a small group, dragging and using the large white rectangular safety pillows – used by the developers when workers are high-up within partly built properties, and floating them on the ponds whilst sitting on them (one boy wearing a black gas mask thinking it would provide him with the ability to go under the water)! The pillows remain dumped in the main pond by these children.

We equally noted them destroying two orange flotation devices placed either end of the main pond. The floats were thrown some distance from their stored positions, and the white ropes used for pulling-in anyone who maybe at risk within the ponds were damaged too, and all such new equipment has been made worthless.

We attempted to explain why their actions were not acceptable, but were met with abuse as they simply continued!

The three boys have been viewed previously in our own street as friends of a certain family who have equally been of repeated concern.

QUVL are showing positivity in communal areas for the community – yet whatever is being provided is simply being destroyed within a very short period of time!
 

Once again the park is a disgrace and currently unsafe for the children for whom it is intended to be able to play; the floor is strewn with broken glass.

It continues to astound me as to how inconsiderate youths that frequent the park can be.

Does anyone know who should be contacted in order for this mess to be cleaned up?

Does anyone think that extra bins (currently two already in the park) may encourage them to use the facility?

Yes…

Parking and The Underpass.

A few days ago, while walking under the underpass, I witnessed a car coming down Valley Gardens towards Matalan. As it approached the underpass, it sped up considerably, as if travelling at speed might allow it to avoid the CCTV. I hope it didn’t. Reckless and dangerous are two words I can think of to describe the driver’s attitude. But a £60 fine at most? If there really is a good reason why this road isn’t open as a general thoroughfare, which I take it there must be, then why aren’t the fines much higher? Are any figures available to show how many people have been caught driving through the underpass? Are they published / made public anywhere to act as a deterrent? A driver thinking they could get away with speeding through the underpass could put a child’s life at risk.

Meanwhile… I’ve also seen a few people parking on the double yellow lines next to the children’s play area on Valley Gardens recently, while they take their children into the play area. It’s good that they take the time to supervise their children; not so good that they effectively block one half of the road, turning it into an obstacle course. Another sign of the “I’m alright Jack” culture that seems to be spreading throughout the area?