Horam & Vines Cross

OPERATION BLITZ: Update from Friday June 16 and Saturday June 17. Patrols were carried out with stops at hotspot locations on the list. Heathfield skate park was empty but signs of alcohol consumption were found discarded. Later in the evening, a report was received by a resident in Osborne Road, Crowborough of youths throwing stones at the rear of his property from the Country Park. But they could not be found on arrival and fortunately no damage was caused. The incident was not repeated. A few skaters were seen at the Crowborough skate park, all behaving well. Back in Heathfield, three boys were riding bikes at the skate park but not causing any problems. A foot patrol was briefly carried out in the main area, including supermarket car parks but no youths were present. On Saturday a call was made to the Blitz team concerning loud noise coming from Goldsmiths in Crowborough. On arrival officers spoke to those present and seized alcohol. The off-licences in the area were visited and one advised they had refused a sale of alcohol to a minor. All other areas were visited but nobody was at any of them. No further calls came in.

Distraction Burglary. An elderly resident in Sandy Cross, Heathfield was targeted by unscrupulous thieves this week after two men knocked on his door on Wednesday June (21) around lunchtime. They had spotted a derelict building on the property and wanted to know if the owner was interested in them renovating it. The unsuspecting man went with them to see the building, only to find on his return that a third party had entered his home and stolen power tools with an approximate combined value of £800. The men who were described as white, one tall and the other fairly short, both with balding heads, had arrived in a ‘tatty’ white van. The stolen tools included a Stihl long reach hedge trimmer and chainsaws, one of which was a Husqvarna. Police are reminding everyone to be very wary of cold callers, whatever they claim their reasons are for calling. This incident is a fairly common method for criminals, who will use any excuse to distract the resident, with an accomplice waiting out of sight. Always ask for identification and if necessary, contact the company or organisation they claim to be from to check. But look up the number yourself, not one they have given you as a business card from them could easily be fake. 
To report information in relation to this incident, please quote reference 846 of 21/06 when contacting us.

Horse Riders and Neighbourhood Watch. I have had a very encouraging email from one of my readers. She informed me that horse riders are a very good source of ‘ears and eyes’ when they are out riding. and can complement the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. Obviously if any horse riders see any suspicious activity please phone 101 and report to the police your suspicions. Likewise, will motorists and cyclists please give horse riders plenty of room when overtaking.

CROSS IN HAND: Cross in Hand Primary School Summer Extravaganza. Cross in Hand C of E Primary School in Heathfield will be holding their annual Swimming Gala tomorrow, Saturday, from 9.30am to noon, followed by the Summer Fair until 3pm, at the school site on Sheepsetting Lane. Siân Howell, Chair of Friends of Cross in Hand committee said, ‘Whilst our annual summer fair is one of our biggest fundraising events, this year our main focus has been on giving the families in our community a wonderful day to remember. We have the most amazing set of raffle prizes this year, including tickets to see An American in Paris and an Oscar goodie bag. So we hope this will encourage people from outside the school community to come along and support our event.’ The raffle prizes include a night’s stay for two at the 5 star luxury boutique London hotel One Aldwych, paired with two tickets to see the acclaimed musical masterpiece An American in Paris at the Dominion Theatre. Also up for grabs is a pair tickets for Kew the Music to see All Saints, Melanie C and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, a wine-tasting experience with lunch at the English Wine Centre and paintballing for ten people, so something for everyone, tickets are selling fast, but any remaining will be available for £1 each on the day. Headteacher, Sarah Massheder added, ‘Every year we look forward to welcoming our entire community, as well as neighbours and other friends, to our school. It’s a fantastic chance for us all to get together and it raises valuable funds for us to use to enhance our children’s learning opportunities.’ Music will be provided by local singer-entertainer Jason Lines, and there will performances by students from East Sussex Dance Studios and Diamond Dance. In good school fair tradition, staff, governors and parents will be running various stalls and a bouncy castle, and there will be a barbecue, bar and other refreshments available. There is free parking available in Mill Road Car Park. Keep your fingers crossed for sunshine.

CROSS IN HAND PRIMARY SCHOOL: Wrap Around Care. Cross in Hand Primary School is pleased to be able to offer the facility of wrap around care, looking after your children from 7.00am until 6pm. Children can be looked after in the Breakfast Club, where they can arrive from 7.15am onwards. Costing only £3.50 per session (concessions available for parents with more than one child), breakfast club makes sure that a child starts off the day on a full stomach, ready for their learning that lies ahead. (The application for Breakfast Club can be downloaded on the school’s website). The After School Club also provides care for children until 6:00pm, costing just £4 per hour. Please contact the school office 01435 862941 to book a place .

CROSS IN HAND WI: Anyone who is interested is invited to go along to meetings on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 2pm in Cross in Hand Village Hall (on the A265, north side). What they do. They sing Jerusalem before each meeting and the business usually takes half an hour before the speaker takes over for about an hour. They then enjoy home made cakes and a cup of tea before departing. They are a friendly group and always pleased to welcome new members. Find out more by telephoning 01323 442592.

ROAD SURFACES: I have many complaints regarding the state of our roads in Cross in Hand, Horam and Five Ashes. I am frequently reminded many of the lanes around Waldron now have immaculate, fairly newly tarmacadammed surfaces. Could our County Councillors please make the magic happen on a few other local roads, for example the heavily used B2102 (main link between Heathfield and Uckfield) and 2192 (likewise to Lewes) is in a poor condition. It was supposed to be completely resurfaced a couple of years ago, but was only patched. Mill Road (adjacent to Cross-in-Hand Primary School, used by large numbers of families every day, is also badly potholed. Help would be appreciated. Mill Road is a classic example, especially the surface outside Tilsmore Court (this new building which features prominently on the Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council website,) and is not a good advert for visitors and dignitaries attending meetings in the town when parking in the Mill Road car park.

GHYLL ROAD TRAFFIC CALMING: If you would like to discuss the scheme in more detail, members of the East Sussex Highways team will be available to meet members of the public at the Heathfield Community Centre, Sheepsetting Lane Cross in Hand tomorrow, Saturday, between 10am and 1pm. The major objective of the scheme is to cut down speeding in the Ghyll Road/Tilsmore Area. The estimated cost of the scheme is £150,000.

FIVE ASHES: Mayfield and Five Ashes Community Car Service. The 2017 Annual General Meeting of the Car Service has just been held. At this meeting their Transport Co-ordinator reported on the number of trips made so far this year since taking over this role in late November. Details of how to ask for transport to get to your medical appointments is contained in their Community Car Service advertisement, which appears every month on the first page of the advertisement section in each edition of the Mayfield Newsletter. As always, they are continuing to look for new volunteer drivers to join their existing pool of drivers. They only ask for people to give up their time. Petrol costs will be reimbursed, and you will be providing a greatly needed service for the residents of our villages. The number of trips you make is entirely up to you. It can be as few as once or twice a month to fit in with your other commitments. Please ring Chairman, Rosemary Neal on 872113, or e-mail her at [email protected] if you feel you are able to join and help the organisation continue to provide such a valuable service to village residents. It is essential that more drivers come forward to enable members to continue to meet all the requests for transport that they receive.

COMMUNITY PICNIC: Skippers Hill and MAYFACS host Community Picnic for the Jo Cox Foundation. As part of the nationwide Great Get Together, pupils from Skippers Hill Manor Preparatory School in Five Ashes joined forces with Mayfield& Five Ashes Community Services (MAYFACS) to host a special picnic for members of the local community, in memory of MP Jo Cox. Pupils in Years 5 to 8 at the independent day school, helped to organise the picnic in the grounds of Five Ashes Village Hall, as part of their Challenge Award programme. The children were joined by members of the community to enjoy refreshments, activities and games, with £32.50 raised from the cake stall, for the Jo Cox Foundation. Headmaster, Mark Hammond, said: ‘The children did a fantastic job helping to organise the community picnic for The Great Get Together and were all very keen to be a part of this important initiative. The picnic was a great opportunity for our pupils to come together with some of the people whose village we share and we look forward to more events like this one, in the future.’ To find out more about Skippers Hill, visit www.skippershill.com or 01825 830 234

HORAM: Don’t tolerate anti-social driving, report it. Anti-social driving includes driving that is careless, deliberately aggressive or dangerous. You can report it via 01243 642222 or www.operationcrackdown.org

HORAM FUN DAY: Sunday July 9, Recreation Ground. From 1pm to 5pm, Maynards Green School Display, Berwick Dog Obedience Display, Diamond Dance, Horam Classic Car show, children’s pet show, STIX drummers, old vehicle parade, fun dog show, barbecue and bar, live farm animals, stalls, funfair, craft displays, graffiti artist, pony rides, raffle, snail racing and much more.

FLOWER CLUB: Horam and Heathfield Flower Club presents. National Demonstrator Jackie Arnold with a floral demonstration entitled Gardeners Delight July 13 at 7.30pm. The event will be held in the Heathfield Community Centre Sheepsetting Lane Cross in Hand. The Open Evening is to celebrate the clubs Emerald Anniversary. Refreshments, raffle, sales table. Visitors are very welcome £10. Ring 01435 408605 for more information.

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