Benwick receives two free local newspapers a week. The Cambs Times on a Friday and The Fenland Citizen on a Wednesday. It is from these sites which the news articles here are taken from.

This page contains news stories from 2002. The year Benwick officially became the most expensive village to live in. To see news stories from other years, click on the year below to go to the relevant page.

2008-2007-2006-2005-2004-2003-2002-2001-2000-1990-2000-1990>

August 22nd - Courtesy of The Cambs Times

PC Who Smoked Pot Goes

POT smoking police officer Rebecca Waldock, 28, has been forced to quit Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

Rebecca, of Cambridge Road, Benwick, had been found guilty at Luton Crown Court of possessing cannabis. She had claimed she only used the drug to deal with the stress of handling sex cases.

Pc Waldock, who was based at Ely, was conditionally discharged by the court but has now admitted to an internal police inquiry she was in breach of the police code.

Councillor David Sanders, a police authority member, said : "I don't think members of the public expect our police officers to take drugs, no matter how soft they are."

In court PC Waldock claimed that as a first-time offender she should have been cautioned, not charged.

Police confirmed an inquiry was held in Huntingdon on August 9, following which PC Waldock was forced to resign with immediate effect.

During her court hearing Pc Waldock had used the Human Rights Act to argue she was being discriminated against because of her job but the judge ruled the police prosecution "was properly and objectively exercised".

Judge Ronald Moss said: "A caution is private and the public are entitled to know if police officers consume cannabis because they are charged with upholding the law."

The judge said that by charging her the public could be assured "something is not being shoved under the carpet".

He said had considered the fact that Pc Waldock had compromised her position by buying the cannabis from a dealer who knew what she did for a living and where she lived.

Pc Waldock told officers: "I thought I had just as much on him as he had on me."

Cllr Sanders remarked this week: "Possessing or taking drugs is incompatible with a person's status as a police constable."

May 24th - Courtesy of The Cambs Times

Award for Benwick school

BENWICK School has been awarded a second School Achievement Award.

The accolade, from the Department of Education and Skills, recognises the village school's good test results in 2000/2001.

Head teacher Robert Glozier said he was delighted that the hard work of staff and children had been recognised.

March 4th - Courtesy of The Cambs Times

Fenland's most expensive village

BENWICK will be the most expensive place to live in Fenland next year -- at least as far as council tax is concerned.

Second in the council tax league table will be Tydd St Giles, with Manea and Doddington close behind.

Bottom of the table will be Leverington, which just claims the 'cheapest in Fenland' spot from Whittlesey, Newton and Elm.

While the people Whittlesey will be paying the lowest level of tax of the four main Fenland towns, Chatteris will be charging the most, with Wisbech second and March third.

At its budget meeting last Thursday Fenland District Council approved revenue expenditure of £9,789,403 for 2002/3, representing a rise of about £26 a year for band D taxpayers.

Most of the total tax bill, however, goes to Cambridgeshire County Council, with addditional charges to fund the county police authority and the demands of the town and parish councils, which accounts for the differences in the individual charges.

Being a small village, Benwick doesn't make major news very often. But on these pages you can read about all the times that Benwick has managed to make it into the papers. There is an archive of the past I years, and a little bit from before then too! If you have any newspaper clippings then please let me know, and anything you send will be duly accredited.