FIREFIGHTERS have been called to a house in Beckenham following reports of an explosion. Police and forensic teams were also called to Gainsborough Close at 2.55pm, after a house and a Nissan Micra were both on fire. Nick Kossov
ARSENAL will return to their south east London roots when they visit Welling United for a pre-season friendly on July 24. The Gunners, who began life as Woolwich Arsenal before moving north of the river in 1913, will take on the Wings for a game which
FIREFIGHTERS have issued safety tips for anyone tempted to cook al fresco during National Barbecue Week. The London Fire Brigade is urging people to follow a few simple safety rules during the event, which runs from May 31 until June 6. These include
A SIDCUP primary school is celebrating after scoring their way through the competition to win this year’s Stuart Turpin Cup. The cup competition is named after teacher Stuart Turpin, a keen football coach who retired last year after 40 years in teaching
A PUB left derelict after a series of planning disputes could be turned into a customer care centre. Phoenix Community Housing Association plans to use the Green Man pub in Bromley Road, Catford, for the centre and offices. Previous plans to turn
FIGHTING in the street and knives being discarded have led to a flat being locked up. The flat in Rosewell Close, Penge, will be closed for three months, following the successful closure order obtained by the Penge and Cator Safer Neighbourhood
AN author is looking for music fans who attended a packed-out 1963 concert by The Beatles. On June 3 1963, the legendary band were joined at Woolwich’s Granada Cinema by Gerry and the Pacemakers and Roy Orbison. Author Martin Creasy is compiling
CRIME writer Linda Stratmann will be the guest speaker at Erith library’s reading group on June 9. The writer’s latest book is Greater London Murders and in her talk she will be concentrating particularly on local historical crimes. The talk takes
HUNDREDS of youngsters are getting ready to perform in a theatre show. Pupils from schools across Swanley and the surrounding area will be part of the 400 performers for A Night at the Theatre at The Orchard in Home Gardens, Dartford. The show on
Thamesmead played a part in the reunion of Vietnamese boat people who travelled to the UK to escape the Communist government of Southern Vietnam in 1979. It was the first time 35 people who travelled on the same boat all those years ago had met. Reunion
A GOLF centre which has transformed itself into “lost island” complete with palm trees and a crashed plane, invited some children in for a dry run before its official opening. World of Golf on the Sidcup By-Pass is the second of the company
A 24-YEAR-OLD woman has been ordered to pay £300 compensation to the 11-year-old victim of a dog attack. Gillean Murray, of Frant Close, Penge, was also given a two-year conditional discharge after pleading guilty to allowing a dog to be out
A COACH tour company formed just six years ago has scooped one national award and been shortlisted for another. Kay&Jay Coach Tours based in Crayford Way, Crayford, was in the last five for the title of small coach operator of the year at this year’
I’ve never tried skateboarding in real life because I know with complete certainty that I’d be rubbish at it. My lack of balance and co-ordination have been enough to convince me not to hop on a board and attempt any ollies or spins. At 35 years old
PUPILS and staff have continued to pay tribute to a 14-year-old who died in a deep-water dock. Kafi Ibrahim, a pupil at Prendergast-Ladywell Fields College in Brockley, fell into Rainbow Quay in Surrey Quays at around noon on Saturday (May
NURSES were recognised for their hard work when a hospital celebrated International Nurses Day. Staff at BMI Blackheath Hospital in Lee Terrace, Blackheath, enjoyed a special afternoon tea to mark the event. They also received special fob watches
WORKERS at a community trust pulled on their wellies and did their bit for national Volunteers Week. Staff at Trust Thamesmead joined forces with the environmental charity Thames21 to help clean up a stretch of one of the town’s canals. They retrieved
DETECTIVES are hunting a man alleged to have dropped his trousers in front of an 18-year-old girl at a bus stop. Police have released an e-fit of their suspect who they say is white, thought to be in his late 40s, bald with blonde eyebrows
A GROUP of 35 boat people who fled their country to escape a communist government have been reunited. The reunion took place at the Jubilee Community Centre, Lytton Strachey Path, Thamesmead. It marked the first time they had met since taking the
A COMMISSION set up by London Mayor Boris Johnson to look at outer London boroughs such as Bexley and Bromley, says one of their greatest assets is their quality of life. The 20 boroughs classed as outer London provide two fifths of the capital’s jobs
A RESTAURANT has re-opened after it was forced to close following a mouse and cockroach infestation. Greenwich Council took action against San Miguel Tapas Bar and Restaurant after an environmental officer’s unannounced visit found evidence of mice
A CHURCH is appealing for people to volunteer at a community summer fete. St Nicholas Church in Purrett Road, Plumstead, will be hosting the event from 11am until 4pm in St Nicholas Gardens on July 10. There will be fashion and jewellery stalls,
A TOWN centre shopping centre has risen from the recession with just three units now empty after the opening of a new fashion store. Hollies, an independent retailer aimed at mature women, has opened opposite the WH Smith in the St George's
A PUBLIC meeting on the expansion of London City Airport has been deferred while further background work is carried out. The London Assembly Environment Committee had intended to hold its meeting on June 10 but it has now been delayed to the autumn
FAMILIES are being encouraged to take advantage of a borough’s free attractions as the weather improves. Places in maritime Greenwich with free entry include the recently-opened Discover Greenwich visitor centre which uses artefacts, artwork
In this week's Reader Rant opinion column a mum delivers her verdict on the Buzz Zone play area in Orpington. Have your say by adding your comments below. I am hoping an article in the News Shopper might make the management of Buzz Zone Oprington
POLICE in north Kent are appealing for information after a 15-year-old girl was accosted by a man at a recreation ground in Gravesend. At around 8.30am yesterday (May 25) the girl was walking across The Warren, Valley Drive, when a man rode past her
Despite having a daughter diagnosed with leukaemia, Amelia Baulch’s mother tells DAVID MILLS how lucky they feel thanks to the fantastic support from EllenorLions Hospice. LEARNING your child has leukaemia is every parent’s worst nightmare.
TO CELEBRATE the live-action Noddy In Toyland, News Shopper is offering readers the chance to win one of three family tickets to see the show when it comes to Gravesend's Woodville Halls next week. With Mr Plod, Whiz the Robot, Bumpy Dog, Car
SINGER and impressionist Joe Longthorne will be wowing the audience with his incredible repertoire of voices at Dartford's Orchard Theatre next month. Joe became a household name through the London Weekend series Search For a Star in 1981 and his success
SOMETHING wicked this way comes in Rainbow Shakespeare’s open-air season at the Royal Observatory Garden in Greenwich. This summer prepare yourself to be very afraid when actor Lee Payne breathes new ambition and terror into the role of the
A CHARITY is urging people to make a donation so it can carry on with its work as a counselling service. Youthreach offers support to young people aged 13 to 25 through free confidential counselling. It also helps youngsters who are at risk of being
A SERIES of weekly get-togethers have been organised for professionals in the area. Called jellies, the meetings are for those who work freelance, entrepreneurs, or people who often do business on their own. Held at the Greenwich Communication Centre
FRANK, Sammy and Dean are back in the all-singing, all-dancing Olivier Award nominated show, The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas at Churchill Theatre Bromley. The spectacular production celebrates the incredible singing talent of three world-famous
SHAKESPEARE'S magical play A Midsummer Night's Dream will be presented by the Chapterhouse Theatre Company in the open air at Bexley's Hall Place and Gardens next month. Enjoy a relaxed summer’s evening as the Bard's tale of romance, woe, magic and
POLICE and social services are investigating after a five-month-old baby suffered 40 per cent burns from being left in the sun on one of the hottest days of the year. The boy spent two days in hospital after police community support officers
ZANY, fast-moving and hilarious, The Alexandra Players’ next production will be Eric Chappell’s comedy of errors Haywire. Middle-aged bookseller Alec Firth is arranging a fun-filled holiday in Spain. He is a careful man, who even looks both
A GREYHOUND rescue charity has celebrated its first birthday and re-homing its 100th dog. Kent Greyhound Rescue, which is based across the county and takes in and re-homes abandoned dogs, marked its first birthday earlier this month. Around £500 was
MORE than 650 competitors took part in the annual Crystal Palace triathlon on Sunday. The day started with club members and marshals arriving at 6am to set up and prepare the course ready for the adult race at 9am, which were followed by the five junior
JOIN children’s favourite Noddy in a new live action stage show at Gravesend's Woodville Halls next week. With Mr Plod, Whiz the Robot, Bumpy Dog, Car and of course Big Ears, this show promises to be a fun-filled adventure featuring all the favourite
MILLWALL striker Gary Alexander has told students at Ravens Wood School in Bromley he is positive the Lions can avenge last year’s League One play-off final defeat when they face Swindon on Saturday. Alexander scored a wonder goal in last
A PAIR of badminton players are celebrating after teaming up to win the doubles at the European disabled championships in Switzerland. Oliver Clarke from Chislehurst and Orpington’s Andrew Martin, both aged 22, have Achondroplasia, the commonest
CRAY Wanderers FC will face international opposition for the first time in their 150-year history when they entertain Guyana in a friendly. Wands chairman Gary Hillman revealed the news on Friday at the club’s anniversary exhibition in the Bromley
TWO twins snatched from social services by their mother are safe and well in police protection after being recovered by officers. Their father William Francis, aged 31, of Greenwich, had made a series of appeals to the public for help in tracing
PEACE talks are being called for to try and end months of bickering between two warring factions. Affinitygate began in October last year when residents reported massive levels of flytipping around the derelict tower blocks in St Mary Cray.
FOOTBALLERS are planning a ball party like no other to celebrate their club’s 150th anniversary. Cray Wanderers are used to battling against teams such as Dartford and Hastings in the Ryman Premier Division. But the world’s second oldest
Three pensioners escaped with their dog as their house went up in flames in New Ash Green this morning (May 26). The blaze tore through the ground floor of the home in The Mead at around midnight and then spread through the first floor.
