‘STOP THE SNEAK THIEF’ CAMPAIGN

Humberside Police has launched a campaign which provides you with some precautions that can help deter a burglar from breaking into your home.

Did you know that most burglars are not master criminals - they’re opportunists. In nearly a third of all burglaries the residents had left windows or a door open when they went out.

Please download this leaflet which provides guidance on the many ways in which you can take positive action to prevent yourself becoming a victim of burglary. There are many ways you can deter a burglar from breaking into your home. The more you have the safer you are.

Take the challenge

You can also take the interactive security challenge and test your knowledge on home security issues. Please visit

www.homesecuritychallenge.co.uk

North East Lincolnshire Council’s Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership are working closely with the police with the aim of cracking down on opportunist burglars within our local communities.
Police will pretend to be opportunist thieves in a crack down on burglary.

Officers will be on the streets of North East Lincolnshire looking for signs that may attract opportunist thieves – whether windows have been left open or doors unlocked.

If such a sign is spotted, police will put an arm-shaped leaflet through the window or door, showing how easily a burglar could get in. It is the first time that such tactics have been used in the area.

Supt Lauren Poultney, who heads up operations in North East Lincolnshire, said: “In the past, we have tried a number of different approaches to get the message out to reduce the number of insecure burglaries the area suffers.

“It is to be hoped the use of the leaflets will catch the attention of residents who will receive one when they least expect it.

“Almost a third of all our burglaries could have been prevented by simply ensuring any easy access points are not left insecure, even if you are only in your back garden.

“Burglary tends to be an opportunist’s crime and we are urging residents to help us. A relatively small action such as shutting a downstairs window or not leaving a valuable item on show could stop an unwanted visitor entering your home.”

Councillor Steve Beasant, portfolio holder for community safety and public protection, said: “There are a number of ways to get smart and beat the burglars so we can remember this hot spell for all the right reasons.

“Always remember to lock your doors if you go out in the garden because most burglars simply open the door and walk in, they don’t use force. It only takes a second to stop a thief, but if you don’t take action they can do untold damage.”

Don’t make it easy for a burglar. The simple tips given in this leaflet are a step in the right direction.

CLICK HERE>>>> Stop the sneak thief

WILLIAMS: THOUSANDS OF GRADUATES ARE GOING TO BE CARRYING A HUGE DEBT BURDEN FOR MANY YEARS TO COME

Half the university students who graduated since tuition fees were introduced are too poor to pay back their student loans.

Of the 1.4 million graduates who started university after 1998, 702,000 are earning too little to pay back debt accrued whilst studying.

Repayments are triggered when graduates start earning at least £15,000 per year; over half a million graduates have never reached this threshold.

One in ten students were unemployed after leaving university last year, it has emerged, with an increasing number working in low-paid jobs such as bar-staff, labourers, cleaners, shelf-stackers, and parking attendants.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Innovation, Universities and Skills Secretary, Stephen Williams said: “It’s depressing that so many graduates are earning far below what would usually be considered a graduate salary.”

“Thousands of them are going to be carrying a huge debt burden for many years to come.”

A government spokesperson said a degree stands graduates “in good stead for a long a successful career”.

The number of people applying for university increased 7.8% this year.

ELECTION RESULTS 2009

Keep up-to-date with the latest results from the local and European elections as they come in.

We will update this page through the weekend with the latest news. Most council elections are counting on Friday. European election counts are on Sunday evening.

The Liberal Democrats have taken control of Bristol City Council, picking up four seats. Labour fell into third place on the Council, losing eight seats.

We have taken five seats from Labour in the Burnley area of Lancashire County Council, and three seats from the Conservatives and one from Labour on Essex County Council.

Liberal Democrat candidates have defeated the Conservative group leader on Cumbria County Council and the Labour council leader on Nottinghamshire County Council. We cut the majority of the Labour leader on Derbyshire County Council from around 1,000 to 76.

While Labour and the Conservatives saw their number of seats on Surrey County Council fall, the Liberal Democrats were the only of the main parties to increase their number of seats.

The BBC's projected national vote share is Conservatives 38%, Liberal Democrats 28%, Labour 23%.

Responding to the early results and the Cabinet reshuffle, Nick Clegg described the government as "finished" and called for a general election. He said, "The Labour government has run out of road, it's finished. We need something new, different, fresh."

"This government can no longer govern. It is dysfunctional, it is in meltdown. We need a general election."

Nick went on to applaud the Liberal Democrats in Bristol, saying that now "the Liberal Democrats run the vast majority of the big cities."

You can watch Nick's response on the Telegraph website.

We're also covering the results on Twitter. Follow our account, @libdems.

DVLA IS BETRAYING DRIVERS WHO HAD ENTRUSTED IT WITH THEIR INFORMATION - BAKER

According to Times online website the DVLA is selling drivers’ names and addresses to clamping companies that break industry rules by charging drivers more than £500 for minor parking breaches.

The agency made more than £4 million last year by selling the details of 1.6 million drivers. It sold 900 names and addresses to Newline Securities and Parking Control Management, both of which have repeatedly double-charged drivers for parking breaches and inflated bills by adding spurious charges.

Newline left a family stranded overnight after seizing a car and refusing to allow the owner to retrieve his house keys. PCM charged an elderly couple £375 after they parked for 30 minutes outside a boarded-up office.

The agency has continued to sell drivers’ details to the companies despite being aware of their behaviour. This contradicts the agency’s claim that it carefully vets companies seeking access to the vehicle register. The agency also claims that it denies access to companies that have breached the industry code on parking enforcement.

Parking companies seek drivers’ names and addresses when they have been unable to clamp a vehicle. They use closed-circuit television to read numberplates and, having obtained the owner’s details from the DVLA, send demands for payment in the post.

If the driver fails to pay, the companies multiply the charge and send debt collectors to people’s homes. There is no right of appeal to an independent body, as there is for parking fines incurred on the public highway.

Newline charged Panos Eliades £532 to retrieve his car after he parked on a private road in North London. Newline charged separate fees for clamping and removal, even though the BPA code states that only one fee can be imposed if the car is removed within three hours of being clamped.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said: “The DVLA is betraying drivers who had entrusted it with their information.”

On 22 May the RAC released a report into ‘cowboy’ car clampers, and Norman Baker said at the time: “The Government has allowed an unfair, two-tier system to develop where council car parks are regulated but cowboy clampers operate on private ones.”

“Unsuspecting drivers who find themselves ripped off by unscrupulous private clampers have nowhere to turn for help.

“Clamping on private land has been outlawed in Scotland and it is time that it was banned in England too.”

BE ALERT; AND DON’T BE “BLUFFED” BY COLD CALLERS

TRADING Standards officers have made a fresh warning about the dangers of cold callers after a gang thought to have operated in the area in the past re-emerged in North East Lincolnshire.

Certain members of the gang are now being questioned by police and trading standards officers after a series of reports that they were failing to allow customers a seven-day "cooling off period" required by law before beginning work.

But trading standards are warning other traders may still be operating in Cleethorpes and Grimsby, and warned residents not to do deals on their doorsteps.

The gang are thought to have offered patio and drive services to at least three potential customers in Cleethorpes, who raised the alarm with trading standards.

Councillor Steve Beasant, portfolio holder for community safety and public protection, said: "The key message is to be wary of people who call at your home or phone unannounced - and to never do business on your doorstep for jobs on your home.

"If you've already been approached and are worried - seek advice. If you find that you have succumbed to the offer of a cheap job once, do not allow the trader to offer to do more work for you and call trading standards instead. It is never too late, even if you have committed to what you understand is a contract."

The council has already made moves to protect homeowners from cold callers and rogue traders, with No Cold Calling Zones across the borough. These zones aim to raise public awareness of the dangers of cold callers. Signs are displayed along the street informing potential cold callers that local residents are aware of the dangers and unlikely to fall for any ploy.

If you need to have large or small works done to your home, then residents can check out those traders that are in the council's Home Services Directory first. These traders have been vetted by the Trading Standards Department and should do a fair and reasonable job for a reasonable price. The list can be used for your own peace of mind.

The list is available by clicking onto the website www.hsd.org.uk. Call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 for any other trading standards advice.

FOUR HOUSES DAMAGED BY FIRE ON THE EAST MARSH – WHERE ARE YOUR KIDS TONIGHT?

FOUR houses were damaged by fire in a suspected arson attack in Grimsby's Guildford Street.

The blaze, which tore through the unoccupied properties on Saturday evening, has prompted fire chiefs to warn about the dangers of entering vacant buildings.

Humberside Fire and Rescue watch manager Stuart Axcell believes the fire may have been started by youths who had entered one of the homes – prising their way in through boarded-up doors and windows.

He said: "It is only a matter of time before somebody is hurt. "I believe there has been a number of fires in unoccupied properties on this street and the message from us is clear, people shouldn't be entering them."

Four crews from Grimsby's Peaks Lane and Cromwell Road fire stations extinguished the blaze and used a hydraulic platform. Residents reported seeing smoke pouring through the roof of the four properties for more than an hour.

One homeowner, who was too afraid to be named in case her property is targeted, said: "The house where the fire started is empty now, but it was set on fire last year when there were people living in it.

"I've never seen so much smoke in my life. It was coming out of the roof and you couldn't see down the road."One of the window boards blew off one house and the firemen had to kick in a door to put it out."

The fire gutted one property, while the other three were damaged by smoke and heat. Watch manager Neil Knight confirmed the fire had started on the first floor of one of the properties. He said: "I came to a fire at one of the houses last year and two dogs died from smoke inhalation.

"We would discourage anybody from entering empty properties because they are in a state of disrepair. "As reported, a consultation is being carried out into the possible demolition of properties on Guildford Street for the redevelopment of the area.

Following a number of fires in the street – the last on May 18 – Humberside Fire and Rescue Service has been fitting smoke alarms to the homes that are still occupied.

Anybody with any information about the fires on Guildford Street should call Humberside Police on 0845 6060222 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

More information on smoke alarms can be found at www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/smokealarms.php

If you are a resident and would like a home fire safety check, call (01472) 372500

WHERE ARE YOUR KIDS TONIGHT?

In the past weeks there has been a massive increase in the number of fire calls to properties in and around the East Marsh area, which not only pose a danger to local residents and attending fire crews, but also to the perpetrators of this anti – social behaviour. Humberside Fire & Rescue Service are working with agencies throughout North East Lincolnshire in an effort to reduce the number of calls to arson attacks on derelict properties within East Marsh by engaging with youth groups, youth offending teams, police, Shoreline Housing and local ward councillors to reduce this anti social behaviour.

We need to do this before somebody is killed in an arson attack.

This area is without doubt one of the worse areas in the town. The question I am asking you is;

Where are your kids tonight?

Are they out playing with matches and lighters? Having a laugh with their mates?

The question we need to ask is when does having a laugh with your mates become anti-social behaviour?

When your children arrive home in the evening do they smell of petrol, or do they have scorch marks on their clothes, do they smell of smoke? These are tell tale signs that you can spot. You can help us to bring down these figures and help make your community safer for all.

Your local fire station is on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year, they are ready to respond to any emergency call, and will arrive within minutes ready to put their lives in danger to save others. You can save a life quite easily by being aware of what your children are doing, and putting a stop to this.

You can contact us confidentially by calling or texting 07940 737141 and leaving us information relating to deliberately lit fires in your area.