The Dittons & Hinchley Wood - My Neighbourhood - Surrey Police

THAMES DITTON

‘You said . . ‘

The team should focus their patrols on Ash Path, Thames Ditton Rail Station and the surrounding area in response to a number of suspicious incidents in the vicinity in recent weeks and an assault of a young man outside the rail station by a large group of youths.

‘We did . .’

A young man from New Malden has been arrested on suspicion of being involved in a series of incidents in which lone females have been followed, confronted and in some cases been victims of minor sexual assaults by their assailant. This man is currently on bail pending further enquiries.

Police have carried out extensive high visibility patrols of Ash Path, Thames Ditton Rail Station, and the surrounding woodland known as Ditton Common in recent weeks. These patrols will continue...

Elmbridge Borough Enforcement Team will carry out a clear-up operation in Ash Path, to remove graffiti, litter and dog foul in an effort to make the path a more pleasant route.

The Community Payback Team have accepted our nomination and have adopted Ash Path as a regeneration project. Community Payback is a scheme that deploys convicted offenders sentenced to non-custodial community sentences to work visibly in local communities.

***We continue to receive occasional reports of suspicious activity of a sexual/indecent nature in the vicinity of Ash Path, and as such the neighbourhood team continues to focus our patrols in this general area. The last such occasion was a report in Mid-June of an adult male (no detailed description provided) exposing himself on the footpath through Thames Ditton Golf Course, near to Station Road before running off when confronted***

Other news in Thames Ditton . .

The fishing season is upon us and the team has already received several reports of inconsiderate fishermen, illegal camps, litter and human waste at some of our beauty spot locations.
In responding to this issue, the team will be supporting our colleagues in the Environment Ageny in enforcing the by-laws that govern this popular pastime. Regular patrols of locations such as Albany Reach will be carried out, fixed penalty fines will be issued for littering, and the team will deal robustly with any anti-social behaviour evident in order that residents can enjoy these beautiful river retreats in peace.

On the subject of Albany Reach a safe was recently discovered in the water near to the Boating Club and this has since been confirmed as the same one stolen from JB Cards Newsagents Manor Road North Hinchley Wood in a ‘ram-raid’ style robbery a few weeks ago now. The investigation is ongoing but the discovery of this piece of evidence could perhaps be significant as it suggests a local person with intimate knowledge of this secluded river spot which is accessible only via quiet residential roads may have been involved in the original crime.

LONG DITTON

‘You said . .’

The local policing team should focus their patrols on Woodstock Lane in response to a number of incidents of criminal damage, trespassing, fly-tipping and threatening behaviour that have occurred in the road in recent weeks.

‘We did . .’

The team continues to carry out high visibility patrols of Woodstock Lane and Surbiton Golf Club in particular in an effort to prevent and detect offences, and these patrols have been supplemented in recent weeks by the presence of our traffic colleagues who have adopted Woodstock Lane as one of their default sites for stop checks and enforcement.

Surbiton Golf Club have now installed their own security committee and hold regular meetings to discuss security and crime prevention. The inception of this committee was at the suggestion of the local neighbourhood team, and it is hoped that the increased general security awareness among staff at SGC will help to make the club a harder target.

Other news in Long Ditton . .

The team continues to carry out pro-active patrols in locations that suffer from crime and anti-social behaviour. In Mid-June Richard and Nigel carried out a check on an unoccupied vehicle they deemed to be suspicious in Windmill Lane. Whilst carrying out the check they noted a small plastic bag containing a substance that was later confirmed as cannabis in the passenger seat and two persons returned to the vehicle as this discvoery was made. This fairly simple example of police community support officers using their local knowledge and instinct in identifying a vehicle that warranted further attention resulted in a drugs seizure and apprehension of two persons for possession of controlled substances.

In last months update we notified residents of the following suspicious incident . .

On a Thursday afternoon, a lone female school pupil was approached at the junction of Houston Road and Windmill Lane by a male. The male asked her if she would like to touch his genitals. The pupil declined and walked away. The description of the male as given by the victim is as follows:

BLACK MALE AGED 40
FIVE FOOT NINE INCHES TALL, MEDIUM BUILD
WEARING A BLACK TRACKSUIT WITH RUCKSACK AND HOLDING A MAGAZINE

If you have any information on this incident or can give possible suggestions for the offender please contact the neighbourhood team.

***We have been advised that a man matching this description but with the additional features of “oddly shaped eyebrows” was seen to approach a three year old boy on the swings at Victoria Road Recreation Ground, Balaclava Road and ask to push him. Please be aware, and vigilant***

HINCHLEY WOOD

‘You said . .’

There is no PRIORITY issue for the local team to focus on.

Other news in Hinchley Wood . .

Hinchley Wood has suffered from thefts of an unusual nature in recent weeks. Both the Primary and Secondary schools on Claygate Lane have had quantities of lead removed from the school building roofs and manhole covers have been stolen across the Dittons as have BT telephone cables (which have a high value copper coating). The telephone cable thefts have primarily taken place during hours of daylight in fairly prominent locations and it is likely that whoever is responsible has possibly worn the attire usually associated with road workers ie. high visibility fluorescent jacket, and has perhaps used a vehicle that resembles a genuine BT van to avoid any unwanted attention. Please bear this in mind and report anything you deem to be suspicious or not genuine.

Thanks for reading.

Andy and the team

Written by FIN: 3421

Dear resident,

Thames Ditton

Long Ditton

Hinchley Wood

Written by FIN: 3421