NWL Neighbourhood Watch
Latest Issues
NHW

29/06/21 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been removed from the site as it is difficult to keep up to date. Generally, if I need to make you aware of a new suspect vehicle in our area this will be done by email to my 'Neighbourhood Watch' email address list. If you are not on my mailing list and would like to be included, please email me at paul.rogers75@gmail.com and ask to be included.

Other issues will be included here in due course.
17/03/20 A property in Church Lane, Hargrave had it's oil tank emptied, we believe overnight from 17th - 18th March 2020 so please be vigilant. 
06/09/19 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated.
01/08/19 "You are now entering a Neighbourhood Watch Area" signs are now errected on all routes into the Village. 
28/05/19 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated.
03/05/19 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated.
30/03/19 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated.
15/02/19 56 burglaries commited in Bury Rural South area since October 1918 - Please report anything suspicious to try to rule out further burglaries. 
15/02/19 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated.
18/12/18 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated.
28/11/18 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated.
22/11/17 Report received today of the theft of a Towable Diesel Bowser from a locked barn at Grove Farm, Hargrave. The theft happened sometime between the evening of Sunday 19th Nov and morning of Wednesday 22nd Nov. The theft was discovered this morning as the lock had been cut off the door. It is known that the lock was secure and in place on Sunday afternoon, but believe the cut lock would have been noticed before Wednesday so believe that it most likely was done overnight Tuesday-Wednesday. The bowser contained a small amount of red diesel which was worth very little. Did you see anything in the last few days along Wickhambrook Rd? If so, please let me know. 
20/11/17 A quantity of heating oil has been stolen from a tank in School Cottages, Hargrave overnight Sunday 19th to Monday 20th November. Approx 500 ltrs was taken, and as you can't just walk off with 500 ltrs of oil, they must have had a vehicle close by with a tank to transport the stolen oil. Did you see any suspicious looking vehicles around the entrance to School Cottages at that time? If so, please let me know.
18/11/17 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated.
10/08/17 The 'Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated and 2 more vehicles added.
01/08/17 Knockers in Wixoe at 6pm this evening. Usual caution, and if still calling as evening draws on, please report to 101 so police can check them and discourage them. Then email me with details.
22/07/17 The 'Latest Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated to reflect the vehicles we should currently be on the lookout for.
14/07/17 I have been asked about the legality of using an air pistol /rifle on private property. Although this is not really anything to do with Neighbourhood Watch, I did some research and the legal position is outlined if you click HERE.
17/06/17 The 'Latest Suspect Vehicle List' has been updated to reflect the vehicles we should currently be on the lookout for.
24/05/17

Knife Found!

A knife has been found today 24/05/17 on the new play equipment in Hargrave Play Area.
 
Knife1  Knife2

Do you recognise this knife or it's case or know who it belongs to?

If you can shed any light on what this weapon was doing in the play area please let me know. It is alarming to think that it has fallen out of the pocket of a child using the play equipment. Do we really have children in Hargrave that carry knives?

23/05/17

Daytime burglars struck twice again yesterday (Tuesday, 23 May) - Grey's Lane, Barnardiston and The Green, Thurlow. In just 11 days, seven daytime burglaries have occurred in our area, many on through roads and where pedestrians pass by.

Rede (x2), Hargrave, Hundon, Barrow, Barnardiston and Thurlow have all been visited.

They are not averse to hanging around our area to commit multiple crimes in the same vehicle, so low do they think their chances of being spotted and reported by the public. Let's show them they are wrong. Look out for any car parked outside a house on a through road with a male driver at the wheel and the engine running. In particular, a blue BMW estate and black Ford Focus (reg GV10 ???) are already of interest. Any doubts, get the vehicle registration and call 101 (control room). 

Where house occupants are known to be absent or vulnerable people live there, call 999.
17/03/17 Daytime Burglary in Hargrave
I have been made aware of a daytime burglary this afternoon (Friday 17th March 17) around 2pm at Grove Cottage in Wickhambrook Road.

The burglars made their way into an occupied house and I understand they forced entry to a writing desk and made an untidy search of other parts of the house before being disturbed. It is not known what, if anything has been taken.

As you know this house is accessible from the back field and it is most likely this is how they gained access again this time. There was no sign of any vehicle near the house, but did you see a vehicle parked up in an unusual place or strangers walking along the fields, possibly out to Ousden Road as they did before.

Please let me know as soon as possible if you have seen anything unusual or vehicles parked in an unusual place. A good description of any vehicle would be very valuable, a registration number, or even a part of, would be even better. These people must have had some means of transport to get to the village so any information much appreciated.
01/11/16 Son et Lumiere
The weekend change to GMT makes it more likely that working householders will only return home after dark. Not deploying lights and radios on time switches is to leave a clear signal to drive-by thieves that the house is unoccupied and awaiting burglary. Once thieves get to your front door and there is no sign of occupation, the outcome is almost certain.

Householders generally set such time switches after they have been burgled; but there is no need to wait to be burgled before you install 'son et lumiere' in your house!

If you are at home during the day at the edge of a village, please support your absent neighbours by reporting all unsolicited callers and cruising vehicles to 101.
25/09/16 Second Oil Strike
Just a fortnight after the RSW Alert on this subject, thieves again visited the area between Cowlinge and Wickhambrook and stole oil from a tank, probably overnight.

The tank was not readily visible from the road and the garden backed onto fields. However, no feedback is to hand as to whether the thieves parked on the field or had space to park on the road without blocking it while they pumped the oil away.

Oil thieves can house their tank and pump in a Transit style panel van. If driving around our lanes late at night or in the early hours you see a panel van parked at the side of the road outside a rural house, or backed into a field entrance, please call 101 promptly (and try to get a registration number). Last time oil thieves were caught red-handed in our area (Stradishall) they had a second vehicle with them.
 
The level indicators/alarms mentioned in the previous alert are branded Watchman or Apollo. However they are not without reliability problems so read reviews first.

Another option is to fit a portable driveway detector with wi-fi linked portable sounder in your house (£24). The detector is sensitive, so needs positioning to minimise false alarms from passing fauna, while maximising the probability of being triggered if anyone approaches your oil tank.
 
13/09/16 Oil theft in Cowlinge/Wickhambrook
A report that oil has recently been siphoned from an oil tank between Cowlinge and Wickhambrook.

The tank was out of sight of the road. With lots of scouts wandering around, even tanks invisible from the road could usefully be fitted with a modern wi-fi transmitter signalling to an indoor level monitor and alarm. The hardware can cost less than £100 and your usual boiler service engineer could install it for you.

But it still pays to look out for those scouts and get their vehicle registrations, reporting to 101 and emailing paul.rogers@zen.co.uk
07/09/16 Suspicious White VW Panel Van
Last Tuesday (7 September) a white VW Transporter panel van HG56 EZJ was spotted in Clare. The driver said he was looking to deliver some kitchen doors, but had no address or paperwork, nor was he minded to call his office/base for instructions.

The van was signwritten 'Specialised Woodwork', but with no address or contact information. A businees of that name has a website pointing to a residential address in Castle Hedingham, but the telephone number cannot be 'recognised' and emails have received no acknowledgement.

If you can cast any light on this vehicle or its driver, please email paul.rogers@zen.co.uk