Thursday 2nd May 2024

Sussex Alerts - Lewes and Seahaven Police

Road traffic accidents this week

Following 4 road traffic accidents along similar stretches of roads between Newhaven and Seaford already this week, we thought it would be a timely reminder to highlight the leading causes of serious injury and death on the roads of Sussex each year.

On scene at an RTC on the along A259 Officers this Tuesday spent time speaking to drivers held up in the queues and diversions to continue our road safety and driver awareness campaign ‘Operation Downsway’; highlighting the fatal five driving offences, and offering road users advice on keeping safe on the roads.

Please take care out on the roads, watch your speed along our coastal roads, limits are there for the safety of everyone!

Each year we sadly see a number of both serious and fatal accidents across Sussex, with almost all attributed to drivers committing at least one of the fatal five driving offences.

These are, speeding, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seat belt and using a mobile phone while driving.

Throughout April and September residents can expect to see an increase in both Police enforcement activities and patrols with the objective to not only reassure our communities, but also to increase public confidence in local policing through road safety activities.

Working together with The Sussex Safer Road Partnership, the Casualty Reduction Team, the Safety Camera Team, and specialised Community Speed Watch groups, officers will provide a high visibility presence across our road network to make sure law-abiding road users including drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists can do so with confidence and in safety.

Follow our Lewes Police social media throughout the coming months for results of operations in your area.

Report driving or road related offences to us at the time online, or by calling 101.

In an emergency or serious RTA always call 999.

Deliberate Fires in Lewes

Late last week, Officers from your Lewes Response Team were called to support East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service following reports of youngsters deliberately starting fires around the Lewes Railway Land Wildlife Trust area.

On scene Officers liaised with the fire service to establish the circumstances, whilst Fire Officers safety extinguished the fire.

Fortunately the fire was quickly put out and no one was injured.

Arson and deliberate fires are a big problem for the Fire Service, the Police and the Ambulance Service, and endanger lives and divert valuable resources each year.

Not only is this a serious offence with life endangering consequences, it also has very detrimental effects on the local community, environment and our partner agencies including:

• communities being deprived of public facilities

• areas of natural beauty being damaged

• risk of serious fire damage, particularly in woodlands

• emergency services putting their lives at risk

We ask that parents and carers speak with children in their care around the risk of fire setting, and the consequences it has not only on them but others and would encourage parents and carers to visit the East Sussex Fire and Rescue website for the latest advice and support.

Operation Downsway Lewes and Seahavens

Since the launch of Operation Downsway a few weeks ago; your Lewes and Seahaven policing teams have been out conducting a number of both educational and enforcement visits and patrols across the district.

Already a large number of drivers and riders have been spoken to during the last few weeks, as well as a number of enforceable offences committed on our roads.

Results so far this month include:

Stop checks for excess speed on the 6th April along Nevill Road in Lewes, where 6 traffic offence reports (TORs) were issued for varying speeds exceeding the road limit. Further checks were also conducted on the 24th April with similar results.

Night time patrols on the 10th April around Telscombe Cliffs and into Newhaven, around the top of Court Farm Road and on to the cliff tops, following repeated reports of off-road motorcycles being ridden in an antisocial manner causing distress to the local residents. 

Resulting in two young males who were witnessed by officers riding anti-socially. Both were stopped, and as a result two Section 59 notices were issued, as well as strong words of advice given to their parents. 

Late evening on the 12th April, officers were on patrol in Seaford along Bishopstone Road when they noticed a male driving in an anti-social manner. Officers safely pulled over the driver and roadside checks were completed. It transpires the male held no insurance and as a result his vehicle was seized under section 165 of the road traffic act.

The 13th and 14th of April saw local Officers for Newhaven conduct checks along The Hollow, South Heighton following recent collisions along this stretch of road. A number of drivers were all recorded exceeding the limit for the road with Officers speaking to a number of passing residents about the campaign. 

Drivers exceeding the limit will soon hear from the Police.

On the 26th April Officers visited Kingston Primary school following issues regarding parking outside the school entrance. 

Officers met teachers and parents to help deal with the ongoing issue of people parking on the yellow zig-zag lines outside the school, where Officers spoke to many parents dropping off, as well as moving on a number of cars parked on the lines directly outside.

Over the weekend of 27th and 28th April, Police and Fire Officers joined forces out in Lewes, where they spoke to a number of road users who failed to meet the basic standards of driving for example not wearing their seat belt; with the aim of engaging in conversation about safety with road users, and educating them regarding the matters as part of our Operation Downsway campaigned to help reduce the number of collisions and deaths on the roads of Sussex.

Operation Downsway launched in April in East Sussex and will run every weekend through the summer months - activities are driven by public reporting, and we continue to encourage members of the public to help promote safer roads by reporting incidents of anti-social driving to Sussex Police or online via our Operation Crackdown website.

Burglary advice as we head into warmer months

How protecting your garden makes your home safer:

It may not seem obvious, but protecting your garden and outbuildings like sheds not only keeps bikes and other valuables safe, but can also stop burglars accessing tools to get into your home.

Low front boundary; keep hedges and walls at the front of your house low (under one metre) so burglars have nowhere to hide.

Secure side gate; keep side gates locked at all times. Open gates mean burglars can easily access your home without being seen by passers-by or neighbours.

High side and rear boundaries with trellis and spiky defensive planting; keep hedges, walls and fences around your back garden high (over 1.8 metres). Add lightweight trellis to gates and fences and plant some prickly plants to make it harder for burglars to climb over.

Gravel driveway and path; gravel driveways and paths make it harder for burglars to go undetected.

Security light; install an outside security light so that intruders can’t approach without being seen.

Intruder alarm system; install a burglar alarm system.

Secure your shed; always keep your shed locked and secured, and make sure it is anchored down to prevent it from being lifted in order to gain access. Often sheds contain valuables such as power tools and bicycles.

Never leave tools lying around; never leave tools lying around as they can be used as a way of breaking into your home.

Stay secure in summer:

Leaving ground floor windows, doors and patio doors open in the summer can give burglars the perfect opportunity.  If you’re upstairs or out of the room, even just for a few minutes, close them and help shut burglars out.

Extra steps you can take:

Consider buying a shed alarm. These are usually quite cheap but still effective.

Add an extra layer of protection to shed windows with laminate sheets of film or internal metal grills.

Create a natural defence against burglary:

Planting particular shrubs (in their mature or semi mature form) along garden walls and fences can make it harder for burglars to access your property or put them off completely. To maximise this effect plant them close to each other.

Live in a ground floor flat or share a communal garden, you can still make use of these tips by planting in front of ground floor windows to prevent easy access.

Click, Call, Connect

Follow Lewes Police on Facebook here.

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 don’t require an urgent response. 

In an emergency when life is threatened or there is immediate danger always call 999.

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.