Newbury & Thatcham
Easy to pick up, hard to put down.
M.J.Sly
Monumental Sculptor (01672) 516797
New Memorials * Renovations Additional Inscriptions
Visit our Website www.mjsly.co.uk
Thursday, December 8 - Wednesday, December 14, 2016
To advertise call Newbury Observer on 01635 780180
FREE INSIDE THIS ISSUE Santa comes
WEEKEND
TV GUIDE
www.newburyobserver.co.uk
Former schoolteacher jailed for sex offences
to Thatcham for lights switch-on
Page 5
Page 3
‘White zone’ posters lead to concerns over racism
FREE
TAKE ONE
Cllr: ‘Only a small minority who behave like this’ By Adam Flinn RACIST posters designating parts of Newbury as ‘white zones’ have been condemned by cross-sections of the community. Last week police removed a number of posters in Chestnut Crescent and the A4 underpass leading to Almond Avenue in the Northcroft area of the town. The posters are linked with the farright fascist group National Action, and were taken down by officers last Monday. While this is a rare occurrence in the town and West Berkshire as a whole, fears have been raised that events glob-
ally could be driving different cultural groups apart. Victor Koroma, manager of the Reading-based charity Alliance for Cohesion and Racial Equality (ACRE), is worried incidents of this type could lead to communities becoming more divided. He said: “What we believe had been the efforts put towards proper community cohesion have been eroded by some members of the public. “We’re always saying that people are impressionable, and when you have notable people making comments counter to what is meant to promote a cohesive society, then you would have the sort of posters that have been produced. “The people who are the target of
these actions could be afraid for their safety and how they are perceived. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had these incidents in the Berkshire area – I’m not saying we don’t have hate crime, it does happen, but not as it’s reflected in this particular incident.” Figures from the 2011 census show that five per cent of West Berkshire residents defi ne themselves as coming from a black or minority ethnic background. This compares to the 14 per cent figure for England and Wales. Martha Vickers, one of Newbury Town Council’s members for the NorthVË Í ÖjÄË Ë¬?~jËÏ
Wishing all of our customers a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year