South Ribble

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SOUTH RIBBLE

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CURRENT NEWS...

DOORSTEP SELLER

15/7/08 - Residents are asked to be wary about an unknown white male who is currently believed to be operating in the Chatburn, Ribble Valley area. He has recently knocked on an elderly lady's door in Chatburn & told her he was Keith from a company called Morbens (a real company who are believed to be unconnected with this man) & handed over the contact details for this company. The woman bought a mattress for £300 cash and was driven to the bank by the trader who ensured that she used her bank card to withdraw the money. She is unhappy with the product but is unable to obtain a refund since the contact details she has are unconnected to the actual trader who sold the goods. The trader cold calls and does not give written cancellation rights as required by law, he breaches the Business Names Act requirements, and he is prepared to apply pressure in order to get payment. Consumers agreeing to deal with cold callers should be aware that they will have a seven-day cooling off period to cancel any work agreed to, or any purchases made over £35, although if the trader has already begun to carry out any job when cancellation occurs, the customer may have to pay for the work carried out so far. Also be aware that the contract will not be enforceable against the customer unless information about your right to cancel is given in writing. Please refer any complaints to Lancashire Trading Standards Service, 56-58 Guildhall Street, Preston, via Consumer Direct on 08454 040506. If there is any threat or fear of burglary contact the police at once.

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CYCLE THEFTS

11/7/08 - Pedal cycles are becoming more attractive to thieves, possibly because they are relatively easy targets. Figures for the South Ribble area show thefts as follows... April - 6, May - 8, June - 18. This rising trend is highlighted as 11 cycles have been stolen in the past 11 days, with schools being a favourite target area. This increase is worrying Police, and owners are advised to take all sensible precautions to safeguard their cycles.

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HORSE OWNERS

4/6/08 - Information has been received from Derbyshire Constabulary Horse Watch advising us of the following:

There have been 3 sightings of 2 suspicious men with Eastern European accents photographing local horses. They feel this could be a "steal to order" gang. The men have been seen at shows/events and even in a horse owners fields taking pictures. The males have been seen in a white van, reg. No. N253 XAJ, and a red Land Cruiser. Local Police in Derbyshire are treating this as suspicious and this is the only information that is available at the moment. Please bring this information to the attention of local riding schools/stables and to individuals who may own horses.

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CARAVAN WATCH

28/05/08 - With the Summer season approaching, the motorways and rural roads in particular will soon be filled with cars towing caravans. This also provides organised criminal gangs with an opportunity for crime.
To help raise the profile of caravan thefts amongst our communities, a Caravan Watch scheme has now been launched by the Serious and Organised Crime Unit Stolen Vehicle Squad.
The scheme also includes the use of coloured stickers with a unique number. One sticker is to be placed on the rear of the caravan near the top right corner and one on the windscreen of the towing vehicle. The idea of the scheme is to display a sticker which can be seen and is the same colour as the towing vehicle.
If you would like to find out more about the scheme, and to obtain the stickers, please make contact with Janet D’Arcy at the SOCU Stolen Vehicle Squad on: 01772-416175.

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PERFORMANCE

30/4/08 - Yearly performance figures for South Ribble.
2007 Co-ordinators survey results.