Neighbourhood Watch

There have been many changes to the community since our last article, mainly due to the financial constraints placed by central government on the police, councils and other public bodies; many of these changes directly affect us all. This is particularly true about the policing in our area.

As a result, the role of the Neighbourhood Watch is more important and the whole community must be alert and responsive to any suspicious activities. It is even more important now that we all keep our wits about us and be vigilant to beat the burglars and criminals. If you see something suspicious, call the police, it is better to be wary than being a victim.

We have a selection of literature available that gives advice on how to keep safe under a range of situations and these can be obtained through your local coordinator or by call­ing the chairman. We can also direct you to professionals who can give free advice such as the Fire service.


New Signs around Wellesbourne

In an effort to raise our profile we have put up additional Neighbourhood Watch signs around the village specifically on all the roads into the village and at other selected sites.

The Annual General Meeting was held in May at the Connie Club and was well attended. The evening started with a very interesting talk by Leanne Town from Severn Trent Water, talking about the services and advice provided in our area and the actions being taken to resolve issues.

This was followed by a brief talk by Julie Dale from Warwick Police on preventing theft.


Julie Dale and Liz Clark

Julie was accompanied by Liz Clark from South Leamington who brought a range of security devices including Prikka Strips, alarmed padlocks and personnel alarms. The Fire Service provided a wide range of Fire and Security literature.

The AGM

The AGM followed with reports from the chairman and treasurer and the election of the committee for the next 12 months.

One of our long standing mem­bers has decided to retire from the committee after 20 years service: it is with regret that we say goodbye to David Hale and wish him well with his allotment and his many other commit­ments. David has been a very active member of the committee and has been responsible for the Dovehouse volunteers/ coordinators for many years.

David's contributions, cheerful demeanour and witty humour will be sadly missed from the committee meetings. His role as Dovehouse Coordinator will be taken over by Mike Homer.

This year there was no summer fête in the village and as an alternative we attended the Walton Fête on 14th August. The Fête was well attended, as usual, and we had a useful and busy afternoon.

Setting Up the stand

Looking to the next few months, we have already noticed that the nights are drawing in yet again, and it is time to be wary when out at night not only from criminals but also be very aware of obstructions on the pathways and cars parked on the pavements restricting the way for wheelchairs and buggies. Remember to keep doors locked, have a good outside light and be vigilant. If you see or suspect any problems, call the police immediately.

Once again I would like to make an appeal for volunteers to distribute newsletters etc in some specific areas of the village. It is our aim to get 100% coverage of the village. If you have a few hours free and would like to help, please call me.

Frankie Stuart 841819


BAGS! Old bags, new bags, big bags – no, it's Charity Bags I want to tell you about. We all find these bags on our doorstep and it seems to be getting more regular so it made me think there must be a good reason, so I decided to investigate and all is not what it seems! The bags look harmless enough, a sort of familiar name and logo makes us think it is OK to fill, but... without a genuine charity number, fraudulent. Dealers simply have thousands of bags printed, mass distribution and if only a couple of people in the street fill them, worth while. Well I can hear you say, we all know about these, and only fill the well known Charity Bags. However... think about this. Charities do not employ a lot of staff, in fact we would be worried if they did: those lovely guys (and gals) in yellow flying suits do not spend their spare time calling on us. So in order to distribute, collect and sort bags they contract out and surprise, surprise, these people want paying! So there goes a large proportion of the money your goods might raise. In fact even with the bona fide familiar charities only a very, very small proportion of the proceeds actually go to your favourite charity. It's as simple as that! So what should we do? Well, if you are like me, unless I am having a big ‘spring clean’ I don't actually have bags of goods to donate. so why not pop what you have down to our own charity shop in Wellesbourne, for Myton Hospice, who are always very grateful, probably best to see what they are allowed to re-sell (electrical goods etc a no go). I know children's clothes and toys are always in demand. If you prefer to go further afield, Oxfam, Age Concern and many local Churches are always grateful and even if you have clothes past their best, put them in a bag marked 'RAGS' and Oxfam will be more than happy to send them for recycling. Finally to deter anyone leaving a bag in the first place we have produced a small label that simply says ‘NO CHARITY BAGS’ to be put in the porch. These are available FOC at ‘Home Supplies’ in the precinct, thank you John.

Frankie Stuart, Chairman, Neighbour­hood Watch, 01789 841819 frankiestuart @virginmedia.com

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