Crime

Police are investigating a suspicious van fire on Saturday (24) in Old Charlton Lane, Shepperton, at about 11.45pm. The vehicle is believed to have been stolen from the London area.

No-one was hurt in the incident.

Street-savvy youths from Spelthorne signed a petition pledging not to carry knives and presented it to Spelthorne MP, David Wilshire, at the House of Commons last week.

More than 5,000 young people signed the petition, 'Knives Wreck Lives' - organised by the Spelthorne Youth Council - which launched on October 27 and presented their pledges to their local MP on Tuesday, December 9.

Revenue and Customs officers arrested three men, including one from Shepperton, over a suspected VAT fraud involving in excess of £25 million of VAT repayments and on suspicion of money laundering in relation to the proceeds of the crime.

The arrests took place in Teddington, Frimley, New Malden, with raids carried out in Bagshot, Farnham, New Malden, Shepperton, Sutton, Teddington, Frimley and Kettering. All those arrested have been taken to custody areas for questioning by Revenue and Customs investigators.

Burglars broke into a house in Glebeland Gardens, Shepperton, by smashing a panel of glass in a rear patio door on Saturday December 6 between 1.45pm and 2.30pm but got away with nothing.

Police have been carrying out house to house enquiries in the area and are keen to speak to witnesses.

Anyone with information should call 0845 125 2222.

Police are hunting a group of thugs who raided a sailing club with a chainsaw looking for cash on Friday (November 21) night.

The thieves forced open the doors to two garages at Littleton Sailing Club in Littleton Lane, Shepperton, and stole a £200 chainsaw before forcing their way into a workshop and stealing two walkie talkies.

They then smashed open the main door to the club and used the chainsaw to cut around internal door locks, smashing windows and stealing small change and charity boxes, before hacking a tree down outside.

Beat bobbies for Laleham and Shepperton have stepped up patrols in Littleton Park after complaints of youths riding motorbikes across the grass.

PCSO Collin Gibbons said he has given one youth he caught doing so a warning notice and will use CCTV evidence to identify others before speaking to the offenders in front of their parents.

River police joined forces with the Environment Agency and made a string of arrests in a crime clampdown on the Thames.

Operation Inveigle focused on the stretch of river between Shepperton and Teddington Locks and officers spent four days making arrests, including one for possession of Class A drugs and two for possession of stolen goods. They also made three seizures of herbal cannabis and reported five vessels for unlicenced activity.

A 39-year-old woman was robbed of £600 in Shepperton earlier this month, and police are appealing for witnesses.

She was mugged in Church Road on Monday 4 August between 11.30pm and midnight, after being confronted by two white men.

They were both about 40 but the victim did not get a good look at them because it was dark.

Connect, one of the charity shops in Shepperton High Street, could almost have stood as a symbol of the village.

Run by a team of retired ladies, it was a slow paced, tranquil place, where, like the rest of the village in which it is housed, life was relatively undramatic.

That was until February 8, the day arsonists tried to burn it down by leaving a lit cigarette on a donation bag outside its front door.

Drain covers stolen nearly a month ago from Docket Eddy Lane, Shepperton have still not been replaced.

They are still being covered by traffic cones which householders say are buffetted by cars and strong winds and many have been stolen.