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Attempted Break In Station Road Sutton cum Lound.

A member of the Neighbourhood Watch reports an attempt to gain entry  to a garage on Station Road, via the roof. Tiles were removed and felt damaged to gain access to the property. If you saw anything suspicious, unusual activity between evening of 25th April and the morning of 27th April please get in touch with the police or let us know and we will do that for you. If you have CCTV please check it and advise the police accordingly if you spot anything. The incident has been reported on 101 and a crime number will follow. We will update the post on the website with that crime number on receipt.

A local person has been in touch to advise us of  an attempt to steal her dog in the Lound area.. The incident on Monday 22nd March has also been reported on the Facebook Retford Information page:

“My dog was barking so let her out and a man appeared from behind the hedge (he was crouched down until he saw me) had a dog lead with him but no dog and was dressed in jogging gear, ran off when he saw me – Lound area happened 5 mins ago !” This happened at about 6.45 pm and I am aware that there was also an incident in Askham at 1 pm yesterday and Gringley about an hour or so after this happened to me.

Is there anything we can do to set up a private group for people to join to make local residents aware of these kind of incidents ?”

Well maybe we can help out a little here. If you could let your neighbours know that there are people in the vicinity on the look out for dogs to steal. If you would like to form a group to raise awareness then get in touch with us through the contact for on the website. A piece appeared in Country Life recently offering some useful advice that you might find useful.

How to prevent your dog from being stolen

• Make sure their microchip information is up to date and note the microchip number in your phone, so you always have it to hand

• When out walking, avoid isolated areas and vary your route and times. Be wary of strangers asking questions and don’t let your dog off lead until you are confident in its recall

• Never leave your dog unattended, either in a vehicle or tied outside a shop. Don’t leave them unsupervised in the garden — always keep them in view

• Install CCTV, motion-activated lights, locks, sensors or bells on gates

• If your dogs are kennelled, use locks and chains and obstruct vehicle access. Make sure kennels aren’t visible from the road

• Take photos of your dog on your phone for proof of ownership, noting distinguishing markings and features — think carefully before posting dog photos on social media

What to do if your dog gets stolen

• Call the microchip company your dog is registered with and list them as missing

• Contact the police and get a crime reference number

• Get in touch with local vets, dog wardens, shelters and charities. Visit www.doglost.co.uk to register your dog as missing

• Put up posters of your dog in the local area with contact details and use social media to get the word out — make your dog ‘too hot to handle’

The Parish Council and residents of Sutton cum Lound recognise that they have something of a problem with dog poo, poo bags and their disposal. One particular stash of discarded and loaded poo bags has been spotted on the side of the footpath at St. Bartholomew’s Church (see above). Accordingly District Enforcement Ltd. (DE) have been tasked with the role of identifying dog owners that are not clearing up after their dogs and then disposing of the bags in the bins provided throughout the village. Once identified perpetrators will be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice, an on the spot penalty of £100.00. The targeting of Sutton and its footpaths and green areas started in earnest today. So if you have a dog and are walking around Sutton make sure you have a bag with you. Clean up after your animal and place the bag in one of the bins or take it home for the waste bin rather than leaving it on the side of a footpath or elsewhere. There are no warnings issued by DE, no friendly advice, it always results in a Fixed Penalty Notice.

“Which? Conversation” have issued a scam alert, having received multiple reports of fake emails purporting to be from food delivery service, JUST EAT. The email declares that the recipient is entitled to claim a £50 gift card. A click on the link “Claim Your Reward” takes you to a phishing site (see example below). Which have contacted the official JUST EAT company who have confirmed that this is indeed a scam. JUST EAT state that they would never send an email asking a customer to provide their personal details in order to be able to claim a voucher and added that their servers had not been breached or compromised. Which have helpfully provided a guide to claiming back your money, depending upon how you have paid, in the link to the Which website: How to get your money back after a scam.

Our member recalls that the automated man’s voice was quite aggressive and as she did not want anyone more vulnerable to fall for the call told us about the incident. It turns out that this is a scam that is currently being played out and has resulted in a surge of calls to Action Fraud recently. An Action Fraud warning was published in January and the modus operandi is described in full as follows:

Victims have reported receiving an automated telephone call telling them their “National Insurance number has been compromised” and in order to fix this and get a new number, the victim needs to “press 1 on their handset to be connected to the caller”.

Once connected to the “caller”, victims are pressured into giving over their personal details in order to receive a new National Insurance number. In reality, they’ve been connected to a criminal who can now use their personal details to commit fraud.

If you receive a call of this nature then you are advised to hang up immediately. Do not act on the callers instructions and never divulge any personal details. Remember that local people are now being targeted with this scam. A full account of the Action Fraud Alert can be found here:

STOP PRESS: Another member reports a similar phone call received this morning. The number of the caller was: 020 0880 0327.