POLICE have appealed for witnesses after a brick was thrown through the window of a school bus at Grays.

The incident happened at Buxton Road at about 8am on Wednesday February 6.

A nearside window next to the bus door was smashed by the brick.

A number of schoolchildren were on the bus at the time but there were no injuries.

Any witnesses or anyone with information about the incident should contact Pc Richard Bramhill at Grays police station on 101.

A HIGH profile Metropolitan Police officer, who was involved in policing the London riots of 2011 and the phone hacking inquiry, has been selected as the new Essex Police chief constable.

Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston has named one of the the Met’s deputy assistant commissioners Stephen Kavanagh as his candidate for the job.

The appointment has to be confirmed by the Essex police and crime panel reports the BBC.

Mr Alston said his candidate had “exceptional experience of policing”.

He added: “Stephen was brought up in Essex, and his father was an officer in Essex Police. He is enthusiastic about taking on the leadership of the force.

“He is also committed to working in partnership with everyone in the community to continue to keep Essex safe.”

DAC Kavanagh said: “I feel hugely privileged to have been recommended as the next Chief Constable of Essex Police.”

The panel next meets on 21 February.

DAC Kavanagh took on a role in the phone hacking inquiry in November 2012 and had a high media presence during the London riots of August 2011.

Chief Constable Jim Barker-McCardle announced his decision to retire from policing for personal reasons in November, but will continue to lead Essex Police until 3 May.

POLICE have released CCTV images of two men they would like to speak to in connection with a number of thefts in Grays.

Between Saturday December 22, 2012 and Saturday January 5, 2012, at PC World, Lakeside Retail Park, two men entered the store on three separate occasions, selected items from display and left without making any attempt to pay.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Pc Jason Parker on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

POLICE in Grays have charged a man with driving without due care and attention and he will appear at Magistrates Court next month.

The collision involved two cars, a motorcycle, and a London taxi on Southend Road (near to the Tesco Express) shortly after 9pm on Sunday, September 9. The motorcyclist was taken by ambulance to Queens Hospital after sustaining a head injury.

The 76-year-old Honda driver, from Grays was arrested at the scene and has now been charged. He will appear at Basildon Magistrates Court on March 7.

A FOOTBALL club boss today denied attempting to organise a pre-match brawl between rival fans.

Andrew Swallow, 52, chief executive of non-league Grays Athletic, was allegedly part of a group who plotted to set up a violent clash between Millwall and West Ham fans in January last year.

Swallow and Shane Flaxon, 26, both denied a single charge of conspiring to commit violent disorder, between December 13, 2011 until January 17, 2012, when they appeared at Inner London Crown Court.

The charge relates to activity before the FA Cup 3rd round fixture between Dagenham and Redbridge and Millwall FC on January 7.

Police busted the alleged conspiracy after receiving a tip-off that West Ham fans planned to ambush their rival Millwall supporters at the Eastbrooke pub, close to Dagenham and Redbridge grounds.

Co-defendants Mark Irving, 26, his brother Westley Irving, 25, Aidan Andrews, 41, and Shaun Sheridan, 25, have all pleaded not guilty to the same offence.

Businessman Swallow took over at Grays in 2009, and the club, who sit second in the Ryman League Division One North, have been groundless since 2010 when their Bridge Road ground was sold. They currently play at the West Ham training ground in Rush Green Road, Romford.

Swallow, of Biscayne Avenue, Docklands, and Flexon of College Road, Wiltshire, together with Mark Irving of Ingleby Road, Dagenham, brother Westley Irving, of Oxlow Lane, Dagenham, Andrews of Prospect House, St James Square, Bermondsey and Sheridan of Stansfield House, Longfield Estate, Bermondsey.

All six men will stand trial on June 17 this year.

POLICE have issued a CCTV photo of a man they want to question about an armed robbery at bookmakers on Monday, February 4.

Details were previously released regarding the two men who entered the Ladbrooks betting shop, one armed with a knife, and threatened the employee.

The CCTV is very clear and his clothing is quite distinctive, so anyone who recognises the man or has any information about the incident is asked to contact Pc James Boyce at Grays CID on 101 or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

POLICE would like to hear from anyone who recognises three people who were caught on CCTV at the time a woman had her bank card stolen in Morrisons supermarket at St Johns Way, in Corringham.

The theft occurred between 2pm and 3pm on Wednesday 6 February 2013. The woman had placed her card into the chip and pin holder at the till when a man engaged her and the till operator in conversation. It is believed that, whilst he was distracting them, two people stood behind the victim removed her card from the reader.

All three of these individuals then left the store and the card was used to withdraw cash from a cash machine and at the town post office before it was blocked.

Anyone who recognises the three people caught on CCTV are asked to call Essex Police on 101 or ring Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

THE rider of a motorcycle involved in a collision in Grays in September 2012 has been reported for motoring offences.

The man, from Tilbury, has been reported to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following an investigation in to the collision in Southend Road, which involved two cars, a motorcycle, and a London Taxi.

A 76-year-old man from Grays has been charged with driving without due care and attention and will appear at Basildon Magistrates Court on March 7th.

ESSEX Police is currently investigating an isolated incident in which a woman has approached a child, who was with her family, and is reported to have stroked the girl’s head and pinched her cheek. This happened on Saturday, February 23, shortly after 1.15pm.

It is possible the woman was just being over-familiar but officers are treating the incident as an alleged common assault and would like to speak to the woman. An Efit image is being issued to help trace the woman concerned.

She is described as being of Asian appearance, with long black hair, and aged between 20 and 40. She was wearing a beige coat and red scarf.

Anyone with information can call Essex Police on 101.

Police are continuing to work closely with security staff at Lakeside to ensure a safe environment for visitors.

DETECTIVES have appealed for information after a man received serious facial injuries in a robbery at Grays.

The 51-year-old victim suffered a broken jaw and broken left eye socket in the attack on Sunday February 17.

The man was walking at London Road, Grays at about 10pm when he was attacked from behind and fell unconscious to the ground. He did not see or hear his attackers and £40 was stolen from his pocket as he lay on the pavement.

Investigating officer DC Rob Brook said: “The man went out to go for a walk and was on his way home when he was attacked. He managed to crawl back home and didn’t think his injuries were that bad. He went to bed but woke up feeling unwell and was taken to hospital by ambulance. He has received treatment for severe facial injuries.

“This man seems to have been the victim of a random attack and we want to hear from anyone walking or driving past and might have seen who was responsible. I am quite sure that the attackers would have been local people.”

Anyone with information should contact DC Brook or colleagues at Grays CID on contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

A WOMAN was sentenced to two years in prison after admitted 17 counts of fraud.

Elizabeth Anyele Tetteh appeared for sentence at Basildon Crown Court on 18 February where the court heard Thurrock Council fraud staff uncovered offences going back well over a decade.

The defendant used various aliases and is thought to have used the names of young children who died to make fraudulent claims for benefit.

Tetteh fraudulently claimed more than £90,000 in Income Support and Job Seeker’s Allowance from the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) and Housing and Council Tax Benefit in respect of 3 Rosedale Road, Grays, from Thurrock Council.

This figure is limited because records before 2002 no longer exist, but the court was told the fraud was even greater.

It involved lying about her true ownership of property which she claimed to be renting and the provision of false documents, using false identities and lying about her capital and income – including using the identity of a deceased child.

During the investigations, the defendant was seen several times – from March 2009 – signing-on at Grays job centre, then going to work at a salon in Lea Bridge Road, Walthamstow.

The owner of the salon confirmed he had let the premises to an Elizabeth Burridge in 2006 on a nine-year lease. He confirmed she ran the business on her own.

Signage on the shop gave two telephone numbers, one of which was a mobile number she had provided to the Department for Word and Pensions in Burridge’s claim for Income Support.

One of the aliases was in the name of Nicola Copeland. Enquiries were made and revealed a National Insurance number had never been issued to her, suggesting she may have died before reaching the age of 16.

On 31 January 2008, using the name of Nicola Burridge, Tetteh completed an application for Job Seeker’s Allowance giving her home address as 3 Rosedale Road, Grays, and saying she was unemployed. She stated she had a private landlord, a Miss Tetteh.

Later that year and using her own name, Tetteh claimed Income Support using yet another address in London. She had claimed Housing and Council Tax Benefit from 31 March, 2003, using the Burridge alias, for 3 Rosedale Road, This was supported by false tenancy agreements and various false renewal application forms and supporting documentation was submitted to Thurrock Council over more than five years.

In April 2009 police officers attended a number of addresses linked to the defendant, including Rosedale Road, which was empty and apparently sub-divided into three properties.

At one London address tenants there said their landlady was a woman called Elizabeth and at another London address Tetteh herself was present. A search revealed a large quantity of correspondence and documentation four different names.

The court was told the DWP had determined Tetteh had fraudulently claimed benefits in other names totalling £28,334.96 and a further £3,923.78 in her own name.

Thurrock Council Benefit asessors said she had been overpaid £53,731.61 in Housing Benefit and £4,559.61 in Council Tax

Overall, she was overpaid £90,549.96 in benefits.

Tetteh’s current address is in Windsor Court, Forest Road, Walthamstow.

A SPORTS pavilion opened by Thurrock MP, Jackie Doyle-Price last year and which cost £275,000, has been vandalised .

Located on the South Ockendon Recreation Ground, near South Road, the new build has new changing rooms, toilets, a kitchen and lounge.

All this was part funded by the Veolia Mardyke Trust.

The pavilion had its windows smashed and damage caused to an outside tap and water tank.

The hub is used by a number of community groups including South Ockendon Bowls Club, Brandon Groves Football Club and Belhus Cricket Club.

A council spokesman said: “The outside of the building is covered by the council’s insurance but all of the inside is the responsibility of the community group committee to maintain.

“Repairs are being carried out and the external window is being replaced with toughened glass.”

THURROCK Council is to investigate the future of the Police Community Support Officers it match-funds at the moment.

The formation of a councillor team to look at the situation was suggested by Council Leader, Cllr John Kent, at Wednesday (27 February) evening’s meeting of the council.

Both main political groups suggested amendments to the original budget proposal, putting the end of match-funding of PCSOs on hold.

Speaking during the debate on the budget, Cllr Kent said he had initially backed a Conservative proposal to end the scheme and use the money to expand council enforcement duties, but now believed more work needed to be done.

He said his group accepted the Conservative amendment – which was similar to Labour’s – so long as a member task group was set up.

Cllr Kent said: “We should not remove the match funding for PCSOs until we are convinced we are getting full value for our significant investment.

“In order to investigate this I have asked Cllr Wootton, Shadow Portfolio Holder for Public Protection to Chair a task and finish group to look at this issue and to make recommendations on the future of this funding arrangement.”

DETECTIVES have issued a renewed appeal for information about a serious assault in Grays after doctors confirmed that the victim has lost the sight in one eye.

The 51-year-old man suffered a broken jaw and broken left eye socket in the attack on Sunday February 17.

He was walking at London Road, Grays at about 10pm when he was attacked from behind and fell unconscious to the ground. He did not see or hear his attackers and £40 was stolen from his pocket as he lay on the pavement.

DS Natalia Ross said: “This was an appalling attack on this man who has now been told that he has lost the sight in his left eye.

“The circumstances of the incident are unclear because the man was attacked from behind and did not see the people involved. The injuries would suggest that the man was kicked or punched a number of times while he was unconscious on the ground, but we cannot be sure.

“It seems that the man was the victim of a random attack, but again, we cannot be sure of the motive because

it seems to have happened so quickly. We want to hear from anyone walking or driving past and might have seen who was responsible.”

Anyone with information should contact DS Ross, DC Rob Brook or colleagues at Grays CID on contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

A FIRM has been ordered to pay £85,000 over the illegal export of tonnes of waste from Britain to Brazil in 2009, the Old Bailey has heard.

Edwards Waste Paper director Simon Edwards, 47, and former sales manager, Jonathan Coombe, 42, admitted responsibility for containers loaded at their site in Barking, east London reports the BBC.

Both were ordered to pay costs. Coombe received a conditional discharge.

A father and son were also sentenced after admitting transporting the waste.

In July 2009, Brazilian authorities accused the UK of dumping unwanted contaminated material on its shores, after 89 containers holding 1,500 tonnes of waste were found on a quay side.

The shipment of “mixed plastics” – worth about £60,000 – was sent back to the UK and examined by the Environment Agency (EA). They were found to contain contaminated items such as nappies, needles and medical equipment.

The Old Bailey heard the material – which came from waste collected by 70 councils – had been shipped to Brazil by three companies to avoid the expense of sorting and cleaning it in Britain.

At the court on Tuesday, Edwards Waste Paper was fined £45,000 and ordered to pay £40,000 in costs.

Edwards, from Loughton in Essex, was fined £10,000 with £10,000 of costs to be paid, while Coombe, from Romford, was given a two-year conditional discharge with £250 of costs.

The pair had pleaded guilty at last year’s pre-trial hearing to their part in the export of the waste out of Felixstowe and Tilbury.

In February, Julio Da Costa, 52, and his son Juliano, 28, of Swindon, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to transporting the material against Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development regulations.

The father and son had arranged the shipments of 89 containers to Brazil in 2008 and 2009, an investigation by the EA found. They had previously denied the charge at an earlier hearing.

The EA found they were involved in shipping the containers via their now dissolved Swindon-based companies Worldwide Biorecyclables Ltd and UK Multiplas Ltd.

Forty-six of the containers were loaded at the Edwards Waste Paper site in Essex.

At the court on Tuesday, Mr Da Costa was given a two-year conditional discharge, while his son was given an 18-month conditional discharge. They were each ordered to pay £500 in costs.

While it is legal to export plastics for recycling in some countries, it is illegal to export waste.

Judge Richard Hone said the case “was a significant and serious matter”.

Head of the EA’s national crime team, Andy Higham, said: “I hope this matter sends out a signal to the rest of the industry.

“Illegal waste export undermines law-abiding recycling businesses back home.”

POLICE are investigating the death of a man in Grays this morning as murder and appealing for information and witnesses.

A 35 year old man was out with friends at the Euro Lounge in Grays last night, Saturday. Police believe he was assaulted outside in the car park area near Morrisons supermarket on London Road in the early hours of this morning.

The man was taken to Queens Hospital in Romford with a serious head injury, from which he sadly died. His family have been informed.

Police urgently need to speak to any witnesses who were in the club or saw the assault in the car park which took place around 2.30am Sunday (March 10).

Det Chief Insp Simon Parkes said: “This investigation is in its early stages. A man has died and I need to capture those responsible for his death. If you have any information please contact detectives at Grays on 101 or you can give information anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.”

POLICE investigating the death of a man in Grays in the early hours of Sunday 10 March have today (Monday 11 March) arrested a 21-year-old man from Grays on suspicion of murder. The man is currently in custody at a police station where he is due to be interviewed later today by detectives.

The 35-year-old man who died was out with friends at the Euro Lounge in Grays on the evening of Saturday 9 March. Police believe he was assaulted outside in the car park area near Morrisons supermarket on London Road at around 2.30am on the Sunday.

He was taken to Queens Hospital in Romford with a serious head injury, from which he sadly died.

Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Robinson, who is leading the murder enquiry, said: “We are very keen to speak to anyone who was in the Euro Lounge on Saturday night into Sunday morning who believes they may have witnessed anything that would be of interest to our investigation.

“We would also like to hear from any witnesses to the assault near Morrisons.”

She said anyone with information can contact detectives at Grays on 101 or can give information anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

A MULTI-agency strategy to tackle tackle organised crime and the threat of terrorism was launched at the port of Tilbury.

Working with Crimestoppers,Port of Tilbury, UK Border Force and Counter Terrorism Unit, all the organisations will target the transport industry to find out about criminal activity that may be occurring at the region’s ports.

The operation, known as Project Yali, will ask haulage companies to ring Crimestoppers and aims to provide a clear structure for the reporting of unusual activity or behaviour that is suspected to be linked with acts of terrorism or organised crime including drug smuggling and people trafficking.

THE formal identity of a man who died after being attacked outside a nightclub in Grays in the early hours of Sunday 10 March has been confirmed as Liam Holden, aged 35, from Grays.

A post-mortem has been carried out on Mr Holden and the provisional cause of death is head injuries. A 21-year-old man from Grays remains in custody at this time having been arrested on Monday 11 March on suspicion of murder.

Mr Holden was out with friends at the Euro Lounge in Grays on the evening of Saturday 9 March. Police believe he was assaulted outside in the car park area near Morrisons supermarket on London Road at around 2.30am on the Sunday.

He was taken to Queens Hospital in Romford for treatment but sadly died.

Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Robinson, who is leading the murder enquiry, has renewed her appeal for witnesses.

She said: “We are still keen to speak to anyone who was in the Euro Lounge on Saturday night into Sunday morning who believes they may have witnessed anything that would be of interest to our investigation.

“We would also like to hear from any witnesses to the assault near Morrisons.”

She said anyone with information can contact detectives at Grays on 101 or can give information anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

A MOTHER was jailed at Basildon Crown Court on Monday (11 March) after admitting a series of benefit fraud charges.

Anuoluwapa Oloyede-Samuel, of Aveley, was sentenced to 15 months in prison of which she has to serve at least half.

Her husband, Ololeye Ololeke Oloyede-Samuel, received a one-year sentence suspended for two years and also ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.

Both had previously been convicted for similar benefit fraud offences by Croydon Council where they given suspended jail sentences, but judge Mr Recorder Royall advised these would not be taken into consideration.

In the latest case, Thurrock Council was the prosecutor.

The court was told Mrs Oloyede-Samuel admitted she fraudulently claimed more than £60,000 in Income Support and Housing and Council Tax Benefit in respect of 27 Hanford Road, Aveley, by lying about her true personal and financial circumstances.

She claimed her husband was not living with her, that she had a tenancy agreement with City Real Estates, she had a rental liability of £1,250 per month, neither she nor her husband was in paid employment or owned any property, that neither she nor her husband had any bank accounts except those declared, and that neither she nor her husband had any income except Income Support and Child Benefit.

None of this was true.

Further enquiries into Mr Oloyede-Samuel revealed he did not have leave to remain in the UK, he had a number of undeclared bank accounts – one of which showed he had been working as a security officer.

During the claim period in Thurrock, a total of £244,256.05 had been credited to the undeclared bank accounts.

In November 2009, police and investigators from Thurrock Council attended 27 Hanford Road, Aveley, where the defendants were present. A search was conducted and a number of documents seized.

Following further investigations and interviews, assessors from the Department for Work and Pensions determined Mrs Oloyede-Samuel had no entitlement to Income Support, resulting in an overpayment of £46,165.61 and Thurrock Council assessed that both defendants were overpaid £12,787.49 in Housing Benefit and £1,478.44 in Council Tax Benefit.

In total Mrs Oloyede-Samuel had been overpaid £60,431.54 in benefits; £14,265.93 of which related to Mr Oloyede-Samuel as well.

The couple have four children aged between two and nine. They have lived in Exeter for over a year.