Friday 1st November 2024

Sussex Alerts - Lewes and Seahaven Police

Suspicious vans

A number of patrols in areas of East Saltdean, Telscombe, and Peacehaven area took place last week following reports last week of suspicious vans and persons removing items from homeowners properties.

Last week we responded to reports of vehicles driving around the named areas with occupants of the vehicles looking to remove personal items from residents driveways; whilst on patrol on Saturday (26 October) officers were alerted to the pictured van.

Following checks, it transpires the owner of the vehicle did not hold a valid driving licence, as such the vehicle was removed and the driver issued a TOR (traffic offence report) for the offence of driving without a valid licence.

Patrols in the area will continue, and we continue to encourage residents to report anything they deem suspicious to us at the time.

Contact us 24/7, online or by calling 101, and in an emergency / crime in action always call 999.

Out and about this week

Officers from your Lewes Neighbourhood Policing Team had the pleasure of attending the Lewes Wartime Huts exhibition last weekend, focussing on the stories of the soldiers from the British West Indies as part Black History Month. 

The huts, on Garden Street, Lewes, hosted a pop-up museum which included an exhibition about the British West Indies Regiment, with never-before-seen archive material and historic artefacts, and expert talks and readings. 

Officers attending said it was an absolute pleasure to attend, to hear of the stories told, as well as meet with a number of community members and visitors to the exhibition.

In addition to attending we also had the opportunity to deliver the latest crime prevention advice and tools to help keep communities safe from crime, particularly as we head into the winter months.

Operation Downsway - road safety

Following community concerns of excess speeding in areas of Peacehaven, officers took to reported locations this week to conduct speed checks, educate drivers on their speed and encourage road users to slow down.

Speeding is one of the 5 main contributors to fatal road traffic collisions on the roads of Sussex each year, and we continue to work to tackle fatal 5 driving offences to help keep the roads safe for all road users.

The Fatal Five, careless driving, drink and/or drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, using a mobile phone and excess speeding - road users who commit one of the Fatal Five offences are far more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than those who do not.

As we head into the winter months, residents can expect to see an increase in road safety checks, including the launch of a number of winter road campaigns, including our annual drink/drug drive December campaign.

We cotinue to thank and ecourage residents to report fatal 5 driving offecnes to us at the time, all reports help to direct patrols, and checks in affected areas.

Travel and road closure alert - Lewes Bonfire Night

Emergency Services and other organisations are reminding people that Lewes Bonfire night celebrations mean road closures and changes to train services.

The measures are part of plans to help the event run as safely and smoothly as possible.

Lewes Bonfire night presents a unique challenge to the multi-agency group tasked with ensuring public safety; with tens of thousands of people are expected in the town, prompting concerns about over-crowding particularly in busy areas such as the War Memorial.

Find out more on road closures, changes to public transport and more on our website here.

Contact us

For non-emergency incidents or crime prevention advice, click  www.sussex.police.uk,  (If you report a crime online, we will assess it in the same way as a 101 call).  

Call 101 when you do not require an urgent response. In an emergency when life is threatened or there is immediate danger always call 999. 

Speak to us face-to-face at a police station or contact the local policing team at www.sussex.police.uk/area/your-area.  

If you are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired, you can contact us using TypeTalk on 18000 or by sending a text to 65999.