This has been a particularly busy time for the police with a marked increase in the number of crimes reported/investigated. At the same time it would appear that residents are not informing the police when suspicious incidents or anti-social behaviour is taking place which offenders are taking advantage of. It is requested that any such behaviour is reported. Today (10th June) we have taken further crimes in Severn Beach which relate to damage etc., overnight and connected to disorderly youths, so the end of half-term has not improved the situation. Please, please residents report all incidents at the time of happening so we the police get a chance to sort out who is offending.  SEVERN BEACH - 2/5 - Beach Road, damage to car parked and tyres slashed. 3/5 - Prospect Road, burglary to dwelling. 4 -5/5 - Ableton Lane, Offenders attempted to enter a garage. 5/5 - Gorsecover Road, Offender assaulted a court official who was visiting. 7/5 - Ableton Lane, Youth assaulted by a group of other named males. Minor injury caused. 7/5 - Station Road, coloured spray used to write on house gateway. 9/5 - Prospect Road, Ford Mondeo stolen from outside house.14/5 - Ableton Lane, assault between 2 persons on school bus. 16/5 - Riverside Park, Off road type motorcycle stolen. 20/5 - Gorsecover Road, Malicious communication (dispute on 'Facebook') 24/5 - Albert Road, damage to and theft from a Renault motor car.25/5 -theft by female of goods from shop. 27-28/5 - Gorsecover Road/Ableton Lane, damage to the paint of 6 cars. 27-28/5 - Beach Road, roof of soft top car slashed. 28/5 - Ableton Lane, attempt by offender to intimidate a court witness. 29/5 - Gorsecover Road, Domestic type incident. 31/5 - Station Road, Damage to window at Shirley's Cafe. 31/5 - Station Road, damage to car windows. 31/5 - School Way, arson to a motor car. PILNING - 1/5 - Post Office, phone calls from a telephone scam company attempting to defraud the victim. 5/5 - New Passage, theft of slate roof tiles from dwelling. 3/5 - Wainbridge Crescent, dwelling burglary. House entered and car later stolen from driveway. 12/5 - Redwick Road, theft of money from a purse lost/found by victim. 12/5 - New Passage, 4 persons detained in possession of controlled drugs. 14/5 - Marsh Common, damage to a car parked in isolated location (building site) 16/5 - Redwick Road, theft of a farm trailer.19/5 - Northwick, theft of a motorcycle. 24/5 - Wick Road/Redwick Road, 2 x assaults. 28/5 - Redwick Road, car damaged with paint surface scratched. HALLEN (at the request of residents) 18/5 - Dog Lane, theft of wheels and tyres from vehicle.  19/5 - Severn Road, Theft of a mobile phone. 25/5 - Hallen, car entered by bending door out. 26/5 - Severn Road, domestic assault/damage. 28/5 - Moorhouse Lane, Domestic related incident. 28/5 - Home Farm Way, theft of milk. 30/5 - Moorhouse Lane, theft of parts from a recovery vehicle. 16 - 31/5 - Moorhouse Lane, theft of items from caravan in storage yard. 31/5 - Minors Lane, theft of 3 horses.

By Laura Starkey As soon as the sun starts shining, thieves will start searching for opportunities to grab the valuables from your garden. Here are my top tips for improving your garden security -- and ensuring that, should the worst happen, you won't have to live with your losses! Now that the weather is improving, you might be thinking about spending some time in your backyard. After all, if an Englishman's home is his castle, then the garden is his own personal paradise. According to research by Lloyds TSB, half of us spend around 200 per year making our gardens gorgeous. The same survey found that the contents of the average garden are worth a whopping 1237! However, more than half of green-fingered adults have never checked to see if their home insurance covers the contents of their garden. And worryingly, Halifax Home Insurance recently revealed that garden theft increases by around 52% during the summer months. While you're planning barbeques and outdoor dinner parties, thieves are looking for the opportunity to steal your stuff. The contents of the average garden are worth a staggering 1237! To ensure your garden valuables are fully insured, add up how much they're worth and check that your home insurance will cover them. Look for a top deal on home insurance... Fight Back Against The Burglars So, what can you do to help keep the contents of your garden safe? 1. Think Like A Thief Firstly, it's interesting to consider things from the other side of the (garden) fence. Look around your yard as though you're the person wanting to steal things. Do you have a sturdy lock on the shed? Are valuable items adequately secured? If you can spot security risks in your garden, you can bet that thieves will, too. It's a good idea to make addressing these a top priority. 2. Fix Your Fencing If your fence has seen better days, it makes sense to fix it as soon as you can. However, fight the temptation to make your garden too secluded. While you're bound to want some privacy, try to avoid giving unscrupulous individuals the 'cover' they need to get into your garden unnoticed. Another good tip is to put trellises on top of garden fencing. It won't take the weight of a burglar trying to climb over, and opportunists won't fancy the fall (or their chances of getting caught) if they're heard crashing into your carnations. 3. Go For Gravel Laying gravel in your garden is a simple and effective way to deter thieves. Anyone looking to steal your valuables will rely on silence to do so -- and having to walk on a noisy surface to approach things makes thieving them difficult. 4. Pick The Right Plants Choosing plants that are defensive, as well as nice to look at, is another way to outwit opportunists. Put spiky, prickly plants in places where you think thieves may try to get into your garden, and around your shed and valuables. I can vouch that this technique works... On the night theives tried to steal my mum's yucca plant, all they got away with was very sore hands! 5. Get Super Secure Fitting security lights to your shed is another effective way to deter thieves. Consider using high pressure sodium lights, which are cheap to run and widely available. If you have valuable plants, try putting bricks in the bottom of their pots to make moving them difficult. And if you're worried about expensive furniture going missing, you could even cement it into the ground. Using a UV pen to mark all of your property with your post-code, then putting a sticker in your shed window to say you've done so, is another good idea. Finally, take photographs of your garden valuables and keep them in a safe place. If the worst were to happen, this could help the police to catch the thieves and recover your lost items. It's also useful to have these for your records, should you need to make an insurance claim. Ensure It's All Insured! While all these tips should help to keep your garden secure this summer, it's worth remembering they can't protect you 100%. Go through your garden and add up how much it would cost to replace your valuables if they were stolen. The results might shock you! It's a great idea to check your home insurance policy, and ensure that all your garden valuables are covered up to this amount. If they aren't, and you suffer a burglary, it could put a serious dampener on your summer. I'm sure that facing the sunny season with no patio furniture or barbeque is few people's idea of fun -- and neither is forking out hundreds of pounds to replace stolen items. So, why not find out if you can cut the cost of your home insurance at the same time as protecting your garden by comparing quotes through The Motley Fool? Finally, once you've sorted security and insurance for your garden... Make sure you get back to relaxing in it! The Motley Fool Insurance Service could get you a great home insurance deal.

SEVERN BEACH - 1/4 - Burglary to a garage, Ableton Lane. 4/4 - Domestic incident. 6/4 - Theft of a green wheelie bin, Station Road. 8/4 - Theft of copper cable from Avalon Works. 8/4 - ~Theft of stainless steel from Terra Site. 12/4 - Two cars left parked in Gorse Cover Road found to be scratched (keyed).14/4 - Burglary at Severn Beach Village Hall. Fire door forced open. 15/4 - Domestic incident, Gorse Cover Road. 15/4 Assault/harassment, Shaft Road. 16/4 - Common assault between 2 juveniles. 19/4 - Damage to car, Beach Road, wiper arm and aerial removed. 22/4 - Copper cable stolen from Astra Zeneca site. 28/4 - Theft of number plates from a car in Station Road. 29/4 - Dwelling burglary, Station Road. Offenders have been identified. 30/4 - Theft of number plates from car in Gorse Cover Road. PILNING - 25/4 - Theft of a mobile phone left on pub table, Redwick. 26/4 - Theft of motorcycle from a garage, Northwick. 27/4 - Theft of a garden ornament from New Passage. 29/4 - Damage to a car parked outside the White Horse PH.

A total of 130 calls were made to the police regarding incidents in the Severnside area. Of these 4 related to the use of motorcycles in an inappropriate way and 2 about disorderly conduct in Severn Beach. The operation in Western Approaches continues. 5 calls were made to report stray animals! On 26th April a brand new HARLEY DAVIDSON 'customised' motorcycle was stolen from a garage in Northwick. The machine is light blue and has been extensively altered with non-standard parts and extended forks. Anyone with information which will assist in recovering the machine should contact your neighbourhood police team or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. At the next Safer Stronger Group meeting on 24th July 2008 at Hallen, it is hoped that representatives  from local transport groups will be attending in order to all  the residents or others to discuss the issues resulting from recent changes to the transport infrastructure. Please make sure as many people as possible are aware of this meeting as it is hoped this will go some way to getting things doen. Can you all please have a think if there is anything you or the community need under the banner of national neighbourhood watch week which begins 16th June 2008.

Correspondence:  21st May is Action Day tarketing rogue traders and cold callers.

There will be a presentaion at Hanham tel 01179 312503 for details. Members are asked to try to obtain a name, address and telephone number from all cold callers and telephone  0845457000 with details of any suspicious incidents.

June 16th to 23rd is Action in the Neighbourhood Week

Volunteers are needed to walk around the area with representives from SGC to pinpoint areas where action is needed by the authorities to improve the village.

The next  Safer Stronger Group meeting is to be held at Hallen Village Hall in July and the  main subject is Transport following the changes in the local bus services Several members showed an interest in attending.

SGC tel no for Graffitti is 01454 868686 and for Streetcare is 01454868000 (Streetcare will come out and clear away glass)  We are told that the Environmental Agency has a duty to clear plastic from the foreshore.  

Since the last meeting a car was damaged in School Way, a van stolen from the area with dogs inside was recovered.  A group of teenagers damaged a machine belonging to firm laying a new drive in Victoria Crescent, A bike was stolen from Church Road, a quad bike from Riverside, a garage was broken into at the Quadrills, a large lorry has been parked in Gorse Cover Road, Gates in Station Road were sprayed with graffiti and the village hall was damaged with graffiti.

The message in a bottle is a scheme for information to be readily available in the event of sudden illness or accident One member reported that the grass cutting team in Gorse Road had done a really good job.

Members report no further progress with the problems of the overhanging Oak tree and the inaccessible lane at the back of their property.

Following the recent case of a man arrested for dropping an apple core, Member asked Daryl to clarify the situation of people being asked for their name and address when they haven't done anything or feel they are being wrongly accused.  Daryl stated the  the information must be given and it is an arrestable offence to refuse. While some residents feel uneasy about this, at the moment it is the law.

The next meeting is Monday 14th July 2008.