Crime

A 10-month-old Beagle saved the day when he alerted his owners to an arson attack in their back yard.

At around 3.30am this morning (Wednesday March 10) fire fighters from Staines and Egham were called to the blaze in Bremer Road, Staines, after arsonists struck at a shed in the back yard of the home of Lee Papworth and his girlfriend Natalie Taylor.

Firefighters from Staines were called to a suspicious car fire in Cleveland Park on Monday night (March 8).

One appliance from red watch attended at 11.47pm and took a few minutes putting out the blaze, which is believed to be an arson attack.

Two hose jets were used.

By the end of March new initiatives will have been put in place by Spelthorne council in an attempt to improve public confidence in dealing with crime and anti social behaviour.

A £42,000 grant has been given to the borough council by the Home Office to fund schemes and to buy new equipment which will reduce the amount of crime in Spelthorne.

One of the initiatives to have been given funding, is the Construction Bus scheme, which was put in place last year and teaches children from age 11 basic skills such as carpentry, plumbing and bricklaying.

A knifepoint robber threatened to stab a customer in a betting shop unless a member of staff didn't hand over any money.

Just before 11am on Thursday (11) the robber entered the Coral betting shop in Clare Road, Stanwell and pulled a knife on a man in his 60s who was working behind the counter.

Four men from Spelthorne and north Runnymede have been given more than ten years in jail collectively for their involvement in a street brawl in Staines last year.

Kevin Kurlej, 22, from Cordelia Road, Stanwell, Samuel Tite, 26, of Oakley Mill House, Thorpe, John Murphy, 23, of the Nightingales, Staines and Nicholas Fitzpatrick, 24, of White Hill Place, Virginia Water were given 30, 40, 40, and 18 months in jail respectively for being involved in a mass brawl when they appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Friday (January 5).

Police were in the 'right time at the right place' when they spotted a just stolen van being led away by a thief.

At 1.45am on Monday (January 8) morning the police saw a white Ford Transit van being driven near Hadrian Way, and ordered the driver to stop.

But instead the driver fled, and although the police could not find him, upon investigation they realised the van had just been stolen from the road.

Two young girls have been left devastated after their beloved pet rabbit was stolen on Sunday January 24 and their missing poster was defaced by vandals.

Alexandra and Dominika Slotwinski, aged 16 and 14 respectively found their five-year-old pet Fudge missing in the afternoon of the day, in the back yard of their home in St Annes Avenue, Stanwell.

A £500 reward is being offered to find the perpetrators who committed £30,000 worth of damage to a Spelthorne Council owned sports facility in November.

The council is offering the reward for information leading to the arrest of the people responsible for the destruction of the pavilion in Long Lane Recreation Ground in Stanwell.

Seven drivers were arrested during an 11 day crackdown in Spelthorne to target distraction burglars.

Surrey Police held Operation Carlside between November 23 and December 3 along with Surrey Trading Standards and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to target the kind of criminals who wrangle old people and vulnerable people out of money.

A youth football organisation has hit out at yobs that completely destroyed their training facilities and left them unable to play matches.

Staines Albion cater for 177 boys aged between six and 16, but will be unable to play league games for the foreseeable future due to the £30-£40,000 worth of damage done to Long Lane Recreation Ground's pavilion, in Cordelia Gardens, Stanwell.