Burglars charged
Antonio Bilea and Xhuliano Frroku have been charged with conspiracy to burgle across Surrey, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, including a series of burglaries in Warlingham and Caterham. The two men have been remanded into custody and will appear in court in May.
Driving down false fire alarms
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service will now only respond to automatic fire alarms in domestic and residential properties if they receive a 999 call to confirm there is a fire, to reduce the instances of false alarms. In the period from October 2022 and March 2023, 98% of this type of automatic fire alarm were false alarms, equalling 976 mobilisations.
A similar change to business automatic fire alarms in 2023 saw a 95% decrease in false alarms.
Tool theft increase in East Surrey
Police in Tandridge have warned of an increase in tool theft across East Surrey and are encouraging all owners to mark their equipment with their names or company names, as well as taking photos, and logging serial numbers. Buyers should also ensure they only purchase tools from reputable sellers.
Man sentenced after laser incident
Oxted resident Paul White, 54, has been sentenced to a one-year suspended sentence after shining a laser beam at a police helicopter in March. When officers arrived at White’s house, he also pointed an air rifle towards the helicopter. White was arrested and charged with shining a laser beam towards an aircraft and possession of an air weapon.
White was also given a 12-month treatment order and rehabilitation requirement, and ordered to pay a £156 surcharge.
Road scheduled for resurfacing
Surrey County Council has announced the next roads to benefit from the reallocated HS2 funding, including one in Tandridge. Halliloo Valley Road in Woldingham is set to be resurfaced at some point in the coming year, with the money coming from Surrey’s share in the £735m that has been ring fenced for repairing potholes and badly surfaced roads across the country.
The A25 in Godstone is one of 30 roads in Surrey that have already been repaired using this funding.
Waymarker replacement on Limpsfield Chart
The Friends of Limpsfield Common have replaced waymarkers on the High Chart, to encourage visitors to remain on the main pathways and ‘allow nature to flourish undisturbed’. Wood that has been cleared from other areas is being used to build natural hedges for the same purpose.
