THE Met. Police is planning an overhaul of its Sapphire Units which investigate rapes and sexual assaults, and it is basing many of its changes on the capital’s most successful unit - in Bexley. In the wake of the police failures in the case
A JURY has heard details today (April 28) of the 244 stab wounds inflicted on two French students found murdered in a burning flat. The Old Bailey heard how Laurent Bonomo had five stab wounds which had passed all the way through his skull,
A VANDAL will be fitted with an electronic tag after breaching an Asbo ordering him not to spray graffiti in Gravesham. Jake Devenney, of York Road, Dartford, was given a two-month curfew order running from 7pm to 6am when he appeared at Dartford Magistrates
ERITH & District Swimming Club had a great start to the new junior league speedo campaign at the weekend by claiming second place overall. Convincing individual wins from Gabriella De Souza Jacques, Myles Ellis, Georgia Burdett, James Vick
OLD Gravesendians rounded off a great weekend, adding to their win in the promotion play-off on Saturday by overwhelming Anchorians in the Kent Vase the following day. The players looked much more relaxed with the burdens of the play-off game
OLD Gravesendians secured promotion to the London leagues for the first time in their history after a hard-fought play-off victory over Uckfield. In fact, Old Gs can count themselves rather fortunate to have survived this one, defending a slender lead
SHOPPERS will be shown the benefits of non-disposable nappies at an event in Lewisham. To mark Real Nappy Week, which runs from April 27 to May 3, Lewisham Council is holding a showcase of the washable nappies outside the main entrance of Lewisham
The Arts Council of Bexley is calling on artists to come forward to exhibit in its Sculpture Exhibition later this month. Sculptors can sell their work and entries can submitted be in wood, metal, stone, clay, plaster, concrete, wire, glass
POLICE are appealing for information after a taxi driver was attacked. The 46-year-old man was assaulted in Perry Street, Northfleet, outside the Crown Pub, on April 24 between 10.30pm and 10.50pm when two men jumped into the front passenger seat
VISITORS to a house fitted with energy saving technology are being inspired to make their homes greener. Greenwich Council’s Eco House, in Plumstead, was opened last September and more than 200 people have visited the 80-year-old property
The Broadway, Catford, is currently host to a back-to-basics revival of Rent with an acoustic and improvisational-sounding score. Kerry Ann Eustive gives her verdict on this simple and raw production Returning Rent to its original home —
GRAVESEND are through to the final of the Kent County Cup after narrowly overcoming Thanet Wanderers in a thrilling semi-final encounter. Such was the excitement, both sets of supporters must have been suffering from nervous exhaustion at the end.
ORPINGTON Excelsior Bowls Club played their first roll-up of the season on Saturday. More than 60 people attended the seasonal opener and the following day saw the club hold their first competitive fixture at home to Chislehurst-based Duke of Kent
Drink 4/5 Decor 3/5 Price 3/5 Atmosphere 4/5 Staff 4/5 By the time you read this, the argument I witnessed at The Fox will be a long-forgotten distant memory for the four youths it involved. So, I thought the very least I could do was try and
Bromley Music Society is to give a farewell concert after 50 years of staging performances in the borough, writes Jenny Whyte. Made up of 80 volunteer members, the society has staged five concerts each year in Bromley since 1959. Chairman
HUNDREDS of residents are keeping fit at the same time as helping the environment by taking part in walk to work week. This week’s drive to encourage people to walk more is being run by charity Living Streets as part of its Walking Works campaign.
INSTEAD of running the London marathon a class of indoor cyclists rode their way in time to the race. At Downham Health and Leisure Centre in Moorside Road, Bromley, the group of 34 watched it on a large TV screen and began peddling as the
Footballer turned celebrity psychic Derek Acorah is never far from controversy. The medium tells Matthew Jenkin why he left TV’s Most Haunted and how he predicted the recession years ago. Whether you’re a sceptic or a believer, the thought
AFTER five years a Bromley bowling club has finally got a new pavillion after the old one collapsed. The South Hill Wood bowlers welcomed Bromley mayor Councillor Denise Reddin to formally open the new building and kick of the season by bowling the first
A STUDENT from Leigh Technology Academy in Dartford has secured a four-year football scholarship in the USA. Nikki Waterman, 17, was one of only five girls selected from 10,000 hopefuls who applied for the scholarships in the UK. She started playing
THE sun was shining on staff from Apex Contractors as they helped clean up a section of the River Cray. A group of eight volunteers teamed up with environmental charity, Thames21 to enhance the river at the Old Mill in the High Street in Bexley Village
NEIGHBOURS and firefighters have been reliving the night a murder scene went up in flames. Nigel Farmer admits starting the fire at the flat in Sterling Gardens, New Cross, on June 29 last year. But Farmer says he only started the fire
HEALTH experts are giving residents advice on hygiene as the threat of a swine flu pandemic increases. NHS Greenwich is urging residents to cover their mouths after coughing or sneezing, to carefully dispose of dirty tissues, and make sure
ALLEGATIONS have been made that customers at Ruxley Manor Garden Centre looted goods as staff tried to evacuate them after fire broke out. The blaze engulfed a warehouse and the landscape garden area at the garden centre, in Maidstone Road,
A PEDESTRIAN has been knocked down and killed while crossing the road in Harrow Manorway, Abbey Wood. Alexander Reed, aged 39, of Rideout Street, Woolwich, was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene near the junction with Overton Road,
Kate Atkinson tries her hand at crime fiction with When Will There Be Good News? Expect her usually vivid characters and flourishes of fantasy, writes Leoni Munslow When her family is attacked down a quiet country lane, Joanna escapes into the wheat
JONJO Shelvey followed in the footsteps of the likes of Robert Lee, Richard Rufus and Scott Parker when the 17-year-old was named Charlton’s young player of the year on Sunday night. The winner of the award is selected by the Addicks’ management
POLICE were called to a Michelin-star restaurant in the early hours of Sunday morning following a brawl at a 21st birthday party. Three people were arrested at around 12.30am at Chapter One restaurant in Locksbottom. A 47-year-old man
www.bromley.gov.uk PUBLIC NOTICE LONDON BOROUGH OF BROMLEY TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 (as amended) TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURE) ORDER 1995 PLANNING (LISTED BUILDINGS AND CONSERVATION AREAS) ACT AND REGULATIONS
www.bromley.gov.uk LONDON BOROUGH OF BROMLEY ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 AS AMENDED - SECTION 14 TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF VEHICULAR TRAFFIC NOTICE OF MAKING AN ORDER VARIOUS ROADS WITHIN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF BROMLEY 1. THE Council of
www.bromley.gov.uk PUBLIC NOTICE LONDON BOROUGH OF BROMLEY NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR PRIOR APPROVAL TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURE) ORDER 1995 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (GENERAL PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT) (AMENDMENT)
SERIOUS runners to those in fancy dress turned out for the first Bromley Fun Run arranged to encourage people of all abilities to get fit. More than 800 people took part in the race at Norman Park in Bromley Common. Mayor of Bromley
Thirty two Thamesmead residents auditioned for the fourth Trust Thamesmead annual talent contest The T Factor on Saturday, 18 April, which was held at Woolwich Polytechnic, Thamesmead. Event organiser and Trust Thamesmead Marketing and Communications
STAN Hollands gave a fascinating talk to the club on April 22 entitled A Goldsmith’s Art. He explained his apprenticeship to the Goldsmith’s Guild in 1938, as well as detailing the tools and equipment he used. He illustrated his talk with slides of
www.bromley.gov.uk PUBLIC NOTICE LONDON BOROUGH OF BROMLEY NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR PLANNING PERMISSION TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURE) ORDER 1995 PLANNING (LISTED BUILDINGS AND CONSERVATION AREAS)ACT AND REGULATIONS
TO DATE, 2009 has been very active for members of the guild. In January, members went by coach to Brighton for lunch and then onto the matinee performance of the ice show. Our usual New Year lunch was held at Sophies Choice, Sidcup, and was attended
In Michael Grant’s Gone everyone aged over 15 has inexplicably disappeared. The story which seeks to find out why is fast-paced, exciting and leaves readers desperate for answers, writes Elizabeth de Jager. Right from the get-go in Michael Grant’
A TEENAGER accused of assaulting another teenager in a Downham takeaway has been bailed. Police were called to Favorite Chicken & Ribs in Bromley Road at 2.30pm yesterday (April 27) and found a 16-year-old boy suffering from a head injury
FIRE crews are still at a garden centre in Sidcup, two days after a blaze tore through a warehouse on the site. They expect to be damping down at Ruxley Manor Garden Centre, Maidstone Road, until around 4pm today (April 28). Firefighters were first
CHILDREN and adults helped keep a sports field clean by spending a day picking up litter. Around 45 residents took part in the clean-up of Hervey Road sports field, in Hervey Road, Blackheath, on April 26. The day was organised by community group
VIEWPOINT saw their Premier Division title hopes disappear when they were forced to field a weakened side at home to Lullingstone Castle. They opened the scoring in the first half, but the Lullies came back with a great headed goal from Ryan Orpwood
I VISITED Bromley Central Library to find there were no librarians to check your books in and out but a self-service system. It has all the charm of a supermarket checkout without the possibility of exchanging pleasantries. I was told the staff had
M KEEN’S letter (Parklife Pupils Should Be In Classroom, News Shopper, April 15) highlights a problem society as a whole is facing. We can no longer reminisce about the good old grammar school days when pupils were genuinely in awe of the disciplinary
TENANTS LEFT BEHIND: Congratulations to News Shopper. You deserve an accolade for publicising the plight of the remaining 900 or so tenants on the Ferrier Estate (Master Plan Is News To Us, News Shopper, April 15). They are being left behind while homes
I WAS interested to read Mr Jessop’s comments on Firepower (Mercenary Tactics Of Artillery Museum, News Shopper, April 15). Mr Jessop and your readers should note the museum has held its prices for more than five years and would have raised them had
AIR QUALITY: I was not surprised to hear Beckenham’s air quality does not meet European guidelines. This is due to endless building work going on through Penge and on to Shortlands along Beckenham Road. Every available piece of land is being built on,
THE scheme to redevelop the Ferrier Estate, reported on the front page Master Plan Is News To Us (News Shopper, April 15), has been widely welcomed by residents who recognise the estate’s many design faults and are keen to see new life breathed into the
A POUND shop pellet gun purchase sparked a scare in Beckenham when a shopper thought they saw a real weapon. Two 14-year-old boys were on their way to the cinema after buying the guns when a member of the public spotted one of the purchases hanging
THE President’s Cup final at the Fleet Leisure ground produced a clash between the top two teams in the Premier Division, Craggs Farm and The Old Prince of Orange. Craggs Farm took an early lead when Elijah Eastwood ran on to a though ball
RESIDENTS had to be treated for smoke inhalation following a flat fire in Sydenham. The incident happened in Wirral House, Wells Park Road, at around 3.30am in a home on the first floor. All four people who were in the six room property
Football management games have been around for as long as computer games have existed. I remember the first Football Manager game on the Spectrum way back in the early 80s. I think there were only 24 players in the whole game and it was as basic as basic
PLANS to protect an open space from development by making it a village green have been opposed by Gravesham Council. In January residents’ group Urban Gravesham applied to Kent County Council (KCC) to have St Andrew’s Gardens in Gravesend designated
A 55-YEAR-OLD woman was sent 317 letters in the post from Barclaycard asking for repayments on other customers’ accounts. Sandra Grant, of Britannia Close, Erith, received the letters which were all addressed to her on Friday (April 24).
POLICE teams will join council workers and residents to help clean up London ahead of the 2012 Olympics. Three Met Safer Neighbourhood Teams will remove graffiti and pick up litter in Orpington and Locksbottom as part of the Capital Clean-up
AN UNEMPLOYED father-of-two received a hat-rick of parking tickets despite parking legally. Bromley Council has now cancelled all of the three £50 tickets issued to Craig Williamson for parking on the verge of the pavement in Saxville Road
A RECORDER festival is being held at Woodville Halls Theatre in Gravesend this morning (April 28) and tomorrow. Around 600 children from the Thameside Schools Music Association will take part in concerts from 10am to noon today and 1pm to 2.15pm tomorrow
