Latest headlines

Loan Shark Who Made Berkshire Man's Life a Misery Over Online Loans Sentenced Yesterday. Customers of illegal lenders (sometimes referred to as “loan sharks”) are often exposed to unscrupulous lending practices: threats, high interest rates and penalty charges. Illegal money lender Rovin MAVUNGA, aged 24, of Doncaster, paid an ‘Influencer’ to advertise his illicit loans on Snapchat.

2 in 3 people in South East England have been targeted by scammers so far in 2021. 65% of people in South East England have been targeted by a scammer since January, new research by Citizens Advice has found.

Police Alert - Cold Callers Claiming to be from Water Utility Company Operating in Bracknell Area. Thames Valley Police have received reports of cold callers in the Bracknell area claiming to be from a water utility company. Cold calling in this way can be a cover for criminals planning more serious offences where they gain entry to a home by deception in order to steal while the occupant is distracted.

Pause on Roadmap. From 21 June, there’s a 4-week pause at Step 3 of the roadmap. After 2 weeks, the government will review the data to see if the risks have reduced. It’s expected that England will move to Step 4 on 19 July.

School 'Air Quality Pledge' - Clean Air Day 17th June. The Public Protection Partnership are asking school head teachers across the area to sign up their school to an ‘Air Quality Pledge’ to raise awareness and help keep our air clean ahead of Clean Air Day on 17th June. The ‘pledge’ to helping air quality will encourage the children within the school to educate their parents, carers, guardians, family, teachers, and baby sitters to change their habits.

Renters' Rights Awareness Week 14th - 20th June. Generation Rent are hosting a series of free webinars during Renters' Rights Awareness Week. Their recent survey showed only 7% of private renters were confident about their rights as a tenant.  Similarly, some 19.3% admitted they knew very little about the rights they do have. One in eight private rented homes in England are unsafe.  Overcrowding and poor housing conditions are significant safety concerns, which can affect private renters’ health, safety and wellbeing.

Wokingham Taxi Drivers Encouraged to have PCR Test. Surge testing has started. Extensive surveillance of Covid-19 has identified a small number of cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant that originated in India in Wokingham Borough, which cannot be traced back to international travel.

Warfield Resident convicted of breaching duty of care in relation to a caravan found fly tipped on the highway. David Reed aged 42 of The Hermitage, Warfield Street, Bracknell was convicted at Reading Magistrates Court on the 4th June 2021 after failing to take reasonable precautions to dispose of waste via an authorised waste controller. The trial took place in absence as Mr Reed did not attend Court for the hearing despite being notified and previously pleading not-guilty.

Phishing remains the most successful attack vector for cyber criminals targeting individuals and businesses. Cyber criminals love phishing. Unfortunately, this is not a harmless riverbank pursuit. When criminals go phishing, you are the fish and the bait is usually contained in a scam email or text message. The criminal’s goal is to convince you to click on the links within their scam email or text message, or to give away sensitive information (such as bank details). These messages may look like the real thing but are malicious. Once clicked, you may be sent to a dodgy website which could download viruses onto your computer, or steal your passwords.

Stray Dog Rescued from Manhole in Bracknell. Our Animal Warden Officers were called out to help care for a stray dog who had fallen down a manhole in Bracknell earlier this month. Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue were called by a member of the public who had identified there was a dog down the manhole. The team from RBFS rescued the frightened animal and the RSPCA and our animal warden officers were contacted to help trace the dog’s owners. Unfortunately no details were held on the microchip, and our officers identified the dog as a known stray that had been alluding them for some time.