I woke up earlier this month in the early hours to flashing lights and police officers by a car bonnet down in the stream which runs down the valley below my bedroom window. This was opposite a nearby house which has one window boarded up and is now apparently empty.
A few days later a van was set on fire nearby and police officers were back again seeking witnesses. Detective Con Brown put a note through my front door seeking information as “a car was set alight in Benson Way, Rye. This is believed to be a targeted incident.”
A number of arrests, including two boys aged 16 and a young man, aged 21, have been made following a series of incidents in Rye, Hastings and Bexhill, and a St Leonards man has been remanded at Brighton Magistrates Court to appear at Lewes Crown Court in August.
The offences being investigated include window smashing, arson, criminal damage, the supply of and possession of cannabis, unlawful possession of knives, and conspiracy to commit blackmail – and include an incident at Ferring Close in Tilling Green.
Anybody with relevant information should contact Sussex Police.
Image Credits: John Minter .