The Office of Fair Trading and Kent Trading Standards have just launched a new campaign to raise public awareness of what they call “mass marketed scams”. By this they mean the bogus, unsolicited offers sent by post, telephone, email or text message aimed at relieving you of large amounts of your money. Get-rich-quick cons, fake lottery and prize draw wins, ‘miracle’ cures and fraudsters masquerading as legitimate businesses are just some of the scams being operated today.

Dartford MP, Dr Howard Stoate has visited a local dance school whose pupils have been selected to represent Great Britain at the 2010 World Dance Championships in Hungary.  The school, run by local teacher Paula Gosnell, provides dance classes for adults and children of all ages, and is entering a team of tap dancers to the World Championships, scheduled to take place in May.

We may be a far more sedentary society today compared to the England of fifty years ago, but there are still plenty of Dartford residents who haven’t lost the sporting habit according to new figures released by Sport England. Its latest ‘Active People Survey’ reveals that one in four adults in Kent are members of some kind of local sports or recreation club.

The current winter weather, which has brought snow and freezing conditions to large parts of the country, has naturally had an impact on people's fuel bills as they look to keep their houses warm during the cold snap. In an effort to reduce the impact of the increased costs that the most vulnerable face during such weather, the government provides Cold Weather payments if and when certain criteria are met.

It seems strange to think that only a year or so ago, there were teenagers living in Dartford who had yet to see snow. They’d witnessed the odd snow flurry here and there – ones that disappeared almost as soon as they’d settled – but they’d not seen any serious, protracted spells of heavy snow. Twelve months on, those same teenagers are snow veterans, having endured two spells of arctic-like snow.