CELEBRITY chef and King of the jungle Gino D’Acampo joined Bexley’s mayor and mayoress, Councillor Bernard Clewes and his wife Edna to open a new food sales centre in Sidcup. JJ Food Service Depot, which sells bulk food supplies at trade prices
TEACHING staff at up to 14 Bexley primary schools, have indicated they will be boycotting the national Standard Assessment Tests (Sats) due to be taken by 10 and 11-year-olds across England this week. However, Bexley Council says it will
STAFF at a Bexley hair salon have raised more than £1,300 to help servicemen and women injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. Staff at Back2Front in Sherwood Park Avenue, Blackfen, and owner Julie Barnes dressed in camouflage gear as they sold raffle and
A TEENAGE epileptic was attacked by two strangers in a town centre after his first day at work. Now his attackers face time behind bars after being found guilty of charges following a 12-day trial at Blackfriars Crown Court. Jordan Barclay
AROUND 300 runners turned out to race in memory of a teenager who died from leukaemia. The Ben Johnson Forget Me Not Foundation organised a 12-mile run at Gravesend Rugby Club in Milton Road to raise money for Leukaemia Research. Joe Pasquale, the
THE family of actor Kiley McDonnell, paralysed when an exploding building collapsed on him, are holding an entertainment and auction night to raise cash for him. Mr MacDonnell, 33, of Chapel Road, Bexleyheath, had been appearing in pantomime
Touring in the hit comedy play Wife After Death, Shirley Valentine star Tom Conti talks to MATTHEW JENKIN about playing lotharios, monogamy and working with Helen Mirren. DESPITE his reputation as a lothario and rumours of a fling with the late Princess
By Russell Atkins HARRY Crawley enjoyed his first victory in the super one series at junior max level to send a warning out he is a genuine contender for national title glory. The Dartford karter arrived at Whilton Mill ready to take on the very
STUDENTS with learning difficulties will be showing off their sporting talents next week. Run by disability charity Livability, Nash College in Croydon Road, Hayes, is the only specialist residential college for 18 to 25-year-olds with learning
A PRESENTATION on road safety will be among the items on the agenda for Bexley Community Policing Engagement Group at its annual meeting. The meeting, on June 9, will be held at Bexleyheath School, Woolwich Road, Bexleyheath, at 7.30pm. Acting borough
The Safer Lewisham Partnership bus will be outside Lewisham Shopping Centre on Tuesday (May 18) from 11am until 4pm. Lewisham police and the council will be handing out a range of burglary prevention information. For more information, call 020 8314
A COUNCIL is offering people free advice on how to reduce their carbon footprint. Residents who live in the Rushey Green area of Catford can meet with Lewisham’s Energy Action Zone officers who are also providing information on grants or discounted
A “ONE man crime wave” has been evicted from his home in the housing estate he terrorised. Gravesham Council and Kent police officers threw Andrew Reader out of his council house on Queens Road in the Kings Farm estate in Gravesend last
UNSIGNED bands will be competing at the IndigO2 this summer. Festival-goers who want to hear fresh new bands without rolling in the mud can check out the Live and Unsigned event in Greenwich on July 10. The all day festival will host
GARDEN centre staff are doing their bit for charity to raise money for the benefit of children’s hospices across the country. Keston Garden Centre in Oakley Road are this year supporting Greenfingers, a charity which creates magical gardens
MEMBERS of parliament in the area have been urged to do more to help small businesses. Following the general election, The Federation of Small Businesses wrote to MPs in Lewisham, Greenwich, Bromley and Bexley urging them to "create an economic environment
A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy is celebrating after successfully campaigning for cash to improve a park. Ryan Wells was fed up with the state of Northbrook Park in Lee so he met the Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, to discuss the problems. Sir Steve
A 22-YEAR-OLD has been given a community sentence for benefit fraud. Lillian Mbabazi, of Nettlestead Close, Beckenham, pleaded guilty to fraud after illegally claiming more than £9,500 in housing and council tax benefits from September 2007
SECONDARY schools in Bexley are to be a pilot for a scheme to set up school cycling clubs. Bexley has been chosen as one of two trial boroughs by Transport for London (TfL), which is funding the effort with £30,000. The scheme is being launched initially
PENSIONERS living in a residential home are proving they are no slouches when it comes to getting their hands dirty. The residents of Abbottsleigh Mews in Old farm Road East in Sidcup, are taking part in Bupa’s Community Crops campaign to persuade
A HOLOCAUST survivor has been visiting schoolchildren and talking about the "horrors" of war. Polish-born Zigi Shipper, aged 80, talked to Year 12 pupils from Haberdashers’ Aske's Knights Academy in Launcelot Road, Downham, on May 10.
A FATAL attack by three teenagers on a gay man in Trafalgar Square was "no accident", the Old Bailey heard today (May 12). Ian Baynham, 62, of Beckenham, was attacked in front of horrified onlookers at the London landmark on September 25 last
CHILDREN in the reception class at a Welling primary school found out how all the bread and tempting cakes appear in the window of their community baker’s shop every day. The youngsters from St Michael’s CofE Primary School in Wrotham Road, paid a visit
A MOTHER has spoken of the horror of her two-year-old daughter being used by a friend in a charity scam which claimed a child had died from leukaemia. Katie Wolff, 20, claimed best friend Anna Pickett’s child Lilie Mae was her own and had died
FIREWORKS have provided a local charity with £1,000 to spend on memorable days out for children with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Cherished Memories, based in Dartford, has been given the cash by Welling Round Table and The Boathouse
THE Mayor of London has thrown his weight behind a campaign to tidy up the capital. Boris Johnson is backing the annual Capital Clean-Up campaign which aims to tackle litter, graffiti, fly-tipping and dog fouling. More than 200 separate events are
A FORMER prisoner of war met Prince Charles at a service to mark the 65th anniversary of VE Day. George Housego, aged 89, who was kept prisoner by the Japanese for three-and-a-half years during the Second World War, laid a wreath at the Cenotaph
TO CELEBRATE the release of Disney's summer blockbuster Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the Empire Cinema in Bromley is offering readers the chance to win a handful of promotional goodies and tickets to see any film. Based on the hit
A VOLUNTEER for a charity for deaf people is taking part in a 10k run to raise money for the cause. Alison Pimm is running in the Bluewater Sweatshop 10k around the shopping centre on June 13 to raise money for Hi Kent, which supports deaf
This week's Reader Rant opinion column suggests there may be trouble on the streets once severe economic cuts are announced. Join the debate by adding your comments below. NOW we have a new government, they face the unenviable task of picking up
TO CELEBRATE the return of Roller Disco at The O2, News Shopper is offering readers the chance to win a family ticket for four people to the popular event. Brought to you by the people behind the event at Renaissance Rooms in Vauxhall, the
POLICE are appealing for information to trace a 35-year-old man in connection with a series of fraud offences. Tyrone Somerszaul is believed to have links to various parts of London including Greenwich, Hackney, Hornsey, Edmonton, Chigwell
CONTROVERSIAL comedian Jimmy Jones will be dishing out his blend of shocking, non-PC humour at Gravesend's Woodville Halls on May 28. Jimmy, who influenced the likes of Jim Davidson and Bobby Davro, says fans won't be disappointed by his routine and
CHILDREN’S TV favourite Humungousaur is to star at an event dedicated to youngsters. The Ben 10 Alien Force hero will visit Gravesend town centre on June 5 to celebrate Children's Day. Humungousaur will visit New Road at 10.30am, 11.45am, 12.45pm,
ANGRY punters have demanded their money back after a "dreadful" performance from Dame Julie Andrews at the O2. The Mary Poppins star performed to a crowd of 14,000 on May 8 but caused a stir after only singing three of the songs herself.
A NURSERY garden is undergoing a makeover thanks to some busy little green fingers and a grant. The Redcliffe Nursery, based at Bexley College in Tower Road, Erith, was given a £50 from Action Earth, a charity run by Community Service Volunteers
A BUTCHER celebrated 50 years in the trade with bucks fizz and sausage rolls. David Down has worked at DA Down and Sons Butchers in Plumstead since leaving school in 1960. The 68-year-old celebrated his half century with family and customers
HOLD on to your rib cage because it's about to get well and truly tickled as the Greenwich Comedy Festival returns for its second year. Back in the historic grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, organisers promise another stellar line-up
BRANDS Hatch will reverberate to the evocative sound of classic Formula One vehicles, supercars and tin tops when the West Kingsdown circuit hosts the masters historic festival this Bank Holiday weekend. The masters historic festival is a three-day
WITH four commissions, 12 UK premieres, nine London premieres and now 11 days long, this year's Greenwich and Docklands International Festival has become one of Europe’s foremost international arts festivals, bringing London some of the best outdoor performing
PARENTS have voted against a community group’s involvement with the rebuild of a 109-year-old primary school. Building work at Gordonbrock Primary School was due to begin on April 10 but was put on hold after Brockley Society took legal action.
AFTER a smash-hit run in the West End, Monty Python’s comedy musical Spamalot is hitting the road and coming to The Churchill next month. News Shopper is offering readers the chance to win five pairs of tickets to the show’s opening night at
STUDENTS at one Bexley school ran their own mini “general election” and produced a markedly different result from the national poll. Organised by two year 12 students Adele Kufour and Zainab Conteh at Bexley Grammar School in Danson Lane, Welling
GREENWICH swordsman Jonathan Webb won a silver medal at the British youth fencing championships. The 14-year-old Kemnal Technology College student qualified for the Sheffield event after becoming the south east of England champion in February
A LAST-minute group cancellation means there are still 20 places available on a free workshop on documentary storytelling and film editing. Run by Mosaic Films, the workshop is on Saturday (May 15) from 1pm to 4pm in the local studies and archive
GEOFF Billingsley is a member of the new Charlton Athletic Fans' Forum, which meets regularly with the club’s hierarchy to raise supporters’ concerns about life at The Valley. The Woolwich-based Addick will be regularly reporting for News
ADAPTED by Philip Goulding from the 1953 Ealing comedy film, The Titfield Thunderbolt will open at the Erith Playhouse this month. The play is about a group of villagers who, finding their branch railway line is about to be axed, decide to buy and
TWO girls and a woman escaped from a house fire in Downham this morning. The woman used a builder’s ladder to get out of the first floor of the home in Hillcrest Road. Both girls were then lowered to safety before firefighters arrived
UNSEASONABLY cold weather means picnic and barbecue fans will have to wait at least another week before it is warm enough. With early risers having to scrape frost off their cars in Bromley this morning and a high of just 13.1C forecast, the country
A MOTHER of twins has died from cancer two weeks after she won her appeal for NHS funding for the drug Sunitinib. Nikki Phelps, of Wrangling Lane, Luddesdown, was initially refused funding for the pills by the primary care trust NHS West Kent
