October 2026 (EXTRA)
Dear Key Holder and/or Resident
OCTOBER BULLETIN EXTRA
Garden Irrigation System
The installation of the drip line/trickle hose system is currently being done by our contractor, Robert Parish and is expected to be up and running by next month. In the meantime, please take care when using the garden pathways where the pipe work is being laid out and measured prior to its installation along the beds. Please supervise your children and ensure they don't play or tamper with any of it. The drip line/trickle hose will be covered with a mulch comprising organic matter, both to enrich the soil and also protect and disguise the lines. The next stage will be the installation of pop-up sprinklers in the lawns of all three gardens. This will involve a certain amount of digging and disruption prior to the start of the growing season which may require temporary barriers or short garden closures during installation and/or as the pop-up sprinklers are tested.
ATM Cash Dispenser, Tesco Express Gloucester Road opposite the Tube Station
About 10 days ago, this machine started to swallow cards and not dispense cash. As customers tried to get the machine to work, another customer would approach from behind asking if there was a problem and offering to help, but without securing a successful outcome. Customers making enquiries were then told by Tesco Express staff to contact their bank immediately as Tesco was not responsible for the machine. It transpired that, and not for the first time, this machine had been targeted by sophisticated fraudsters. They had installed a magnetic strip which was able to read card details. The customer offering assistance was, in all probability, one of the fraudsters; first, making sure the coast was clear to retrieve the card and/or the cash that should have been dispensed; and, second, to observe surreptitiously the pin number being entered by the customer if it had not been picked up by a micro camera. Either the original card or a clone of it would then be used again and again to withdraw cash from other providers and/or make purchases of goods and services and, in some cases, doing this even after the bank had cancelled the card.
The Police reported on 10 Oct that the machine operator has since removed the strip and it is now operational again. The banks have a protocol enabling refunds to be made provided the customer reported the loss at the earliest opportunity and obtained a crime number from the Police. The Police are continuing to investigate.
Residents should consider carefully before entrusting their cards and cash to this particular machine, given its history and proximity to the tube station
With best wishes
John Varley
Chairman
Cornwall Gardens Committee & Residents Association
07775 552050
Alan Lester
Secretary
Cornwall Gardens Committee & Residents Association
07816 324335
