Podcast: Strood woman is banned from Bluewater Shopping Centre after stealing from stores including Boots, Next, H&M and New Look
KentOnline
Monday, 27 April 2026 - 21 minutes
A Strood woman has been banned from Bluewater after being found with £5,000 worth of stolen goods.
Sonia Virdi, 36, of Cooling Road was caught on CCTV stealing from stores including New Look, Pull and Bear and River Island in November and December last year.
Also in today's podcast, a man suspected of stealing a phone from a child has been caught, after jumping out of a window in Maidstone as he tried to avoid police.
Sean McFetridge - who's 43 and from Yalding Hill - was escaping as officers entered a property in Hope Street on April 17th.
A man who started taking ketamine when he was just 14 has issued a stark warning to other young people as he recovers at a facility in Kent.
Use of the drug has been growing - particularly among young people.
At his worst, Joel Booker was taking around 14 grams of the substance a day which left him with serious bladder damage. He's been speaking about the treatment he's received at Kenward Trust in Yalding.
An appeal has been launched by a Medway charity as they look to raise money after their funding was cut.
Whoo Cares is based on the Hoo Peninsula and helps residents with things like medical appointments, housing and benefits, and community activities.
And in sport, Gareth Ainsworth says he's experienced his worst day as Gillingham manager.
They were beaten 6-2 at Barnet in league two on Saturday.
The home side needed a win to be in with a chance of pushing for the play-offs while the Gills were playing for pride after a disappointing season.
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