Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

2 documents, about 6 minutes read each.

From today a new legislation will come into force to better protect livestock and support farmers across the countryside.

The Dogs Protection of Livestock Amendment Act 2025 has now received Royal Assent, giving police stronger powers to deal with livestock worrying.

What is livestock worrying?
A dog does not need to bite or injure livestock for an offence to occur. Chasing, attacking, or even being loose among livestock can cause severe stress, injury, abortion in pregnant animals, or even death.

What’s changing?
The new law will:

• Increase the maximum penalty from £1,000 to an unlimited fine
• Extend offences to incidents on roads and public paths as well as fields
• Include llamas and alpacas within the definition of livestock
• Allow police to seize and detain dogs where there is a risk of further incidents
• Give officers powers to take forensic samples from dogs or livestock to support investigations
• Allow courts to order offenders to pay costs for seizing and keeping a dog

Our Rural Crime Action Team remain committed to protecting livestock, animal welfare, farmers’ livelihoods.
If livestock are worried or attacked, please report it to us. 

Read more about the law changes here.

We are asking for your help to keep children in Cambridgeshire safe.

In recent weeks, our officers have received several worrying calls involving the safety of children and young people across the county. 
These cases have included a boy being blackmailed to send explicit photos online, a missing 12-year-old girl being found with an older boy and a child confiding in his social worker that he was being forced to sell drugs.
Our dedicated Child Exploitation Hub deals with concerns like these every single week, working tirelessly to safeguard those at risk. But we cannot do this alone.

Child exploitation can happen anywhere – in any town, any street, and to any family. You may feel it would never affect someone you know, but the reality is that it can, and it does.

As we mark Child Exploitation Awareness Day, we’re asking you to take a moment to:

• Learn the signs of child exploitation
• Speak with your children, or the young people in your life, about any concerns they may have
• Reach out to us if something doesn’t feel right

Sometimes, a single conversation can make all the difference.To learn more about the warning signs, how exploitation happens, and how to report concerns, please
visit our dedicated web page by clicking here.

The Whittlesey Festival puts on a fantastic day out in our town, with many activities for ‘free’ – all run mainly by volunteers and some support from WTC & FDC.
Why not come along…

It’s that time again for you to have your say on policing where you live!
We’re inviting you to join our quarterly priorities meetings, where you can contribute to the setting of the priorities in your neighbourhood.

During these meetings, we will be feeding back the work we have done over the last few weeks and give you the chance to ask any questions or raise concerns.
We want to make sure we are tackling the issues that mean the most to you, so your views are essential.

The details of the meetings are ⬇️
March sector:
🗓️ Wednesday, 25 March
⏰7pm until 8pm

📧To receive your invite, email communitymeeting@Cambs.police.uk
with the subject ‘March.

(Note Whittlesey & Villages come under March Sector)

If you’re a small organisation, charity, or community group, and you would like to know more about cyber crime and how to protect yourself, Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s cyber security advisor, Nigel Sutton, is offering a free cyber escape room challenge. 

The escape room is a fun and competitive way to learn about the basics to protect your organisation from cyber crime. Working in small teams, you take on the role of a police cyber detective. After watching a short video, you have 30 minutes to solve a series of puzzles… will you be the winning team? 

At the end of the session, Nigel will talk about key security issues you encountered during the exercise, including how to create a strong unique password, the importance of two-step verification and understanding phishing. 

For more information, and to book the escape room challenge, email: CyberProtectCambs@cambs.police.uk

My comment being, yes it is very much needed, however! – build completion 2036
to service an extra 250,000 houses.

Whittlesey Community Movie Event @ Queen St Church – Saturday 21st March
Door open @ 18:30 for 19:00 Start.

Shining Through” is a 1992 romantic thriller film directed by David Seltzer. The movie is set during World War II and follows the story of a young woman named Linda Voss, played by Melanie Griffith, who becomes a spy for the Allies.

Linda, a half-Jewish secretary working in New York, is recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) due to her fluency in German. She is sent undercover to Berlin, where she poses as a cook in the household of a high-ranking Nazi official, played by Michael Douglas. As she navigates the dangerous world of espionage, Linda must use her wit and courage to gather intelligence and help the Allied cause.

The film explores themes of love, sacrifice, and the moral complexities of war. It delves into the personal struggles and growth of Linda as she faces the challenges of her mission and the emotional turmoil of her relationship with the Nazi official.

This is the last event of this film season. We thank you for your support and hope you have enjoyed the selection of films.

No admission charges are made for these regular winter events with refreshments served during an interval.

Donations are much appreciated to offset operating expenses.
Card transactions now available if preferred.

If you value “cinema” events in your Town and would like them to continue, please try to come along.

Your smiling faces when attending encourage us to continue!
We really value your support!

In the news quite a lot ‘Kharg Island’ & ‘The Straits of Hormuz’