News Update 

Laughton Village Hall
Part of the village hall has recently been re-pointed and the fascias and soffits have now been replaced with UPVC ones
There are currently a number of activities running in Laughton Village Hall, which include bowling, playgroups, karate and dancing.
Bingo
Bingo takes place at Laughton Village Hall every Wednesday, doors open at 5.30pm and the game starts at 7.00pm.

Laughton en le Morthen Recreation Ground Play Area
The play area adjacent to the Village Hall at Laughton-en-le-Morthen has now been open for a year. It has proved to be a great success, being used on a daily basis by children from the local area. The Parish Council has recently installed picnic benches for the area and have expanded the play area by providing additional swings.

Parish Plan
Many local parishes within Rotherham have produced a Parish Plan. This document gives everyone in the community the opportunity to decide what is important about the place where they live. Parish Plans can influence the organisation's which affect our community. They should influence local housing and land management strategies and contribute to the way local services are managed and delivered. A Parish Plan is a statement of how the community sees itself developing over the next few years and it gives everyone a chance to say what they think about the social, economic and environmental issues that affect our community. Does it matter to you what happens in this parish? Are you interested in helping develop a plan for this parish? Are you willing to become involved? Your help is vital for a Parish Plan to have meaning.
Together we can make a difference!
If you want further information then please contact Trevor Stanway on 01909 563418.

Allotments
Following a recent meeting at the Village Hall a new allotment society was formed for the St John's Road allotments.
There are currently no vacant plots at the St John's Road site but parishioners are welcome to add their name to the waiting list, please contact the Clerk for full details. The rent & rates for a half plot is currently set at £10.50 for the forthcoming year.

Allocation of the Precept
The precept is the amount of money each household pays every year to the Parish Council. The total precept for Laughton-en-le-Morthen parish this year is £21,406,00. This money is used to:
Subsidise the allotments on St John's Road.
Cover administration costs for the running of the Parish Council including the Clerk's salary, although none of our Councillors receive any payment for their duties.
Pay towards the upkeep of the Village Hall, though the Village Hall Management Committee cover the majority of the expenditure through their valuable fund raising.
Purchase new items of street furniture.
Provide small grants to local worthy causes.
Assist in the maintenance of the graveyard on Rotherham Lane.
Village planting projects.
Maintenance of the new play ground.

Currently, during each financial year which starts in April, the Parish Council allocates a proportion of the precept to parts of the parish, namely Laughton, Brookhouse, Carr (including Newhall) and Slade Hooton (including Roche Abbey). The money can be spent on a variety of projects including, planting schemes, new street furniture, unique signage and grounds maintenance. If you have any suggestions as to how you would like to see this money spent, please contact your Village Association or the Clerk to the Council.

Dial-A-Ride
If you are affected by the change in the route of the number 23 bus which now enters the village via School Road instead of its previous route via St John's Road, you may want to take advantage of Rotherham's Community Transport Handybus and RotherRide services.
They are specifically designed for people who can't use ordinary bus services and it offers you the freedom to travel door to door anywhere within the Rotherham Borough area.
Different book ahead periods and fares apply for Handybus and RotherRide depending on how far in advance you want to book and the length of your journey. For details of Dial-A-Ride fares and bookings please ring 01709 517100.

Laughton All Saints' Church Bell Ringers
Laughton All Saints' Bell Ringers are a group of local people who have formed to ring the church bells for Sunday Club, weddings and other special occasions.
The existing bell cradle is too weak to allow the bells to ring 'full circle', therefore the bells can only be 'chimed' at the moment. The cost of refurbishment is in excess of £40,000. The group have raised over £1,700 to date through various events including tower trips, ringing at weddings and planting in Laughton en le Morthen and are hoping to apply for external funding in the New Year.

The Bell Ringers practice on Friday evenings between 7.00pm and 8.00pm and newcomers are very welcome.

Emergency Plan
The Parish Council now has in place an Emergency Plan which would be implemented in the event of a major incident e.g. flooding, large-scale fire. As well as containing a set of procedures, the Emergency Plan contains the contact details of people and organisation's who could help in such an event and also a list of the resources available in the area such as the Village Hall.

Disabled Parking Bays
Could we please ask anyone using the Laughton Village Hall car park not to park in the marked disabled bays, unless they are authorised to do so. The Parish Council has contacted a private clamping company who are willing to come and clamp any unauthorised vehicles parked in the disabled bays. The owners of any vehicle clamped will have to negotiate the release of their vehicle with the clamping company and pay the release fee of around £60.

Planters, Benches and Signs
During the last year, working on behalf of the Parish Council, the Bell Ringers of All Saints' Church have constructed a new planter on the corner where Brookhouse Lane meets Rotherham Road and this year they are going to be erecting another outside Pear Tree Farm on the corner of High Street and Firbeck Lane. They are also in the process of providing benches on the footpath to Roche Abbey from Laughton village. New signs are going to be installed at the entrances to Laughton on Rotherham Road, School Road and St John's Road. The above projects are financed by the Parish Council with a contribution being made to the Bell Ringers' fund for their labour and time, all of which goes directly towards the restoration of the church bells. If you would like to volunteer your help, please contact the Clerk for further details.

Dog Fouling
The Parish Council would like to point out that it is illegal to allow your dog, or any dog you are in charge of to foul the footpath or any other public place. If you do you could end up with a fine of up to £80. Dog fouling is a nuisance and also a real danger, particularly to young children and can cause serious illness. Responsible dog owners clean up after their dog by using a bag or a poop scoop to remove their dog's mess and dispose of it safely. There are a number of dog mess bins throughout the parish for the safe disposal of dog mess.

Dinnington Safer Neighbourhood Team
We have had visits from the community Policeman at most of our meetings throughout the past year. He has provided details of any crimes committed within the parish that have been reported. There have been far fewer incidents of crime over the last 12 months than in recent years. This can, in part, be attributed to the excellent work carried out by the 'Safer Neighbourhood Team' which is based at Dinnington Police Station. The team operates at a neighbourhood/area assembly level. It is a multi agency team that is able to work together on the basis of shared information and a commitment to tackle local crime, grime and disorder issues.
The team consists of local Police Officers (Police Constables, Special Constables and Police Community Support Officers), Housing Champions, Rotherham Wardens, Streetpride, Neighbourhood Enforcement, Anti Social Behaviour Specialists and Young People's Service staff. The Police Constable who covers our Parish is PC Shaun Rhodes. The Safer Neighbourhood Team can be contacted on 01709 832720 or in the event of an emergency dial 999. It is still very important that if you see an incident you record the time, date and details of those involved and then report the incident to the Police on 0114 2202020.

Protect Your Car Keys
The Police have asked us to give out the following advice regarding your car keys. There is a new trend in which burglaries are committed in order to steal ignition keys from within the home and consequently steal desirable vehicles. This is a recent crime trend which has arisen as the result of significant improvements in vehicle security technology.
Use simple, common sense ideas to keep burglars out of your home and away from your car keys:

As soon as you get into the house, lock your door and always make sure your windows are securely locked.

Most of these car keys are stolen in sneak-in burglaries where entry has been gained through insecure doors and windows.

Do not be tempted to leave your car unlocked just because it is on your drive - don't make it easy for the burglars.

Make sure your car keys are hidden and out of sight, not in view of windows or doorways.

Keep keys away from access points such as windows or letterboxes, choose a drawer or a shelf, which is not obvious and encourage all the family to use it.

If you have more than one car in the family, park the most expensive furthest from the road, burglars may think twice about taking two cars, especially if there are two sets of keys to find.

Invest in security equipment for your car or your driveway.

Bogus Callers
The Police have asked us to give out the following advice regarding bogus callers. Unfortunately, you can't always be sure that people turning up on your doorstep are who they say they are.
They may say that their car has broken down and they need to phone someone for help. They may pretend to be a workman, saying that they need to check your electricity or water. They might even claim to be from the council and that they are carrying out a local survey. Whatever reason a caller gives, you need to be sure that they aren't just trying to get into your home to steal something.
There are around 12,000 incidents of "distraction burglary" each year, where callers get into homes
and then steal cash or valuables while the occupier is distracted in some way. Sometimes they work in pairs, with one doing the talking while the other is stealing and they often target the elderly.

Be on your guard every time the doorbell rings, or there's a knock at your door. Look out of your window to see who's there first and if you don't know who the person is, open the window slightly and talk to them that way, rather than opening your door. Alternatively, have a viewer fitted in your front door so that you can take a good look at who's there first. If your eyesight isn't so good, don't worry as you can now get wide-angle viewers to help you see better.

Put the door chain or door bar on before opening the door and talk through the gap. You could even fit a small mirror to the wall next to the door so that you can easily see the person you are talking to. When the caller has left and you've closed the door, don't forget to unhook the chain so that any friend or relative you have given a key to can still get in.

Make sure your back door is locked if someone knocks at your front door. Sometimes thieves work together with one coming in the back way, while the other keeps you talking at the front.

Keeping the chain on the door, ask callers from the council or any other organisation to pass through some identification. If you need your glasses to check this don't think it's rude to close the door and go and get them. A genuine caller won't mind. If you're still not sure, ask the caller to leave and tell them to write and make an appointment so that someone else can be with you the next time they call.

The basic rule is if you don't know the person at your door don't let them in.

Useful numbers
Streetpride 01709 336003
Please help us to keep our streets free of litter by contacting Streetpride to report fly-tipping or littered areas.

Nuisance Off-road Bikers 01709 832444
Please use this number to report incidences involving nuisance off-road bikers.