Good evening all.

It's been a busy few days on the Marsh, yesterday I was patrolling the polling stations across the Marsh (approx. 20) from Brookland to Hythe and back and everywhere in between!

It was nice to see inside some of the village halls that I haven't previously been in and a thank you to the staff for their offers of a cuppa however, I declined as I'd have to have had keep stopping for a comfort break!

Just in case you didn't know, from left to right, The Star Inn St Mary in the Marsh, The Varne Greatstone and Brenzett Village Hall.

Please can I remind you to be vigilant when you are using a cashpoint (ATM) especially if it is an external one, check that there's nobody trying to look over your shoulder or standing too close, if you feel uncomfortable or are suspicious of anyone lingering near to the ATM, cancel your transaction if you've already started and use the internal ATM inside the bank/store you are at if they have one as it is less likely that thieves will be inside due to CCTV and staff being present, or wait until the coast is clear and then use the ATM.

If you are in the middle of a transaction and somebody starts speaking to you and you don't know them, don't take your eyes off of the machine and your card (if it's safe to do so) as they might be deliberately trying to DISTRACT your attention so that they can steal your card, no matter what they try and advise you to do or how charming and helpful they may seem, just politely ignore them until you know that you have your card safely on you as these people are clever at what they do and before you know it, they've got your card and will try and withdraw cash out of the ATM you're using after you've left or they'll go to another one.

If this ever happens to you at an ATM and you think that someone has stolen your card or the machine has ‘withheld’ it as they do under certain circumstances, contact your bank immediately by either going into the branch or ringing them to ensure that the ATM has taken your card so that you can rule out that it hasn't been trapped in a device that the thieves sometimes use which they attach to the slot where you insert the card and then when you walk away, they detach the device with your card inside it.

Also if you have an online banking app on your mobile phone, you can normally ‘freeze’ your bank account if you suspect that it may be at risk.

It is a good idea to visibly check the face of the ATM before you use it and if you think that there is something out of place on it, do not use it and report it.

If I use an ATM I sometimes touch the card slot to make sure that it is rigid and that nothing comes away in my hand before inserting my card.

I've been carrying out some tasks today for colleagues and also mobile patrol across the Marsh whereby I took this photo of the lambs jumping around, I am very lucky to have such lovely views from my mobile office! I also did some foot patrol in Newchurch and bumped into a few residents with offers of a cuppa which is very nice. I especially like the look on some motorists faces using the Bilsington/Newchurch Road who come round the corner and see me, I'm sure some think it's an apparition or it's a poor version of Heartbeat on the Marsh! 

Earlier this evening I briefly popped up onto the prom at Dymchurch and by chance there was a very nice chap from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. Unfortunately he was there on business due to the sad passing of a young Seal pup who had been washed up on the beach there, some of you are probably already aware of this as it was in the local social media pages over the last few days.

He was there to take the pup away for tests to see what caused her death. I didn't get the chap's name but he is going to email me some advice for us all in the event of either a living or dead Seal being washed onto the beach, the dos and dont's.

Once I've got this from him, I'll share it with you.

Also this evening, the Youth Team bus came to New Romney like it does every Friday between 18:00-20:00 for the benefit of the local youngsters as the youth hub next to the Marsh Academy is now closed. The van was parked in Fairfield Road by the play park and I joined my Child Centered Policing Team (CCPT) colleague PC Kerry DUNCAN from the Community Safety Unit at Folkestone Police Station.

And finally a couple of photos taken at Dungeness earlier this evening, the bottom one is of a stubborn (but lovely) fox who couldn't be bothered to move for me until I got out, whereby we had a quick exchange of words and he or she begrudgingly moved for me   

Please tell your friends and family about My Community Voice, you can find it on the Kent Police website or My Community Voice Kent in your search engine and please remember that if you share my MCV posts on social media which I'm grateful to those who do, I can't reply via the social media forum it is shared on but I can be contacted through MCV.

If you know someone that would like to speak with me but they can't or don't want to join MCV, please let me know via MCV and I'll contact them either in person/email/phone.

Have a good bank holiday weekend, thank you

Steve.