A US judge's decision to remand a retired British businessman in custody while he awaits trial on arms dealing charges was "heartbreaking", his wife has said. Elaine Tappin said it was an "outrage" that her 65-year-old husband Christopher has
A RETIRED businessman from Orpington extradited to the US over allegations he tried to sell batteries for missiles to Iran has been denied bail. Christopher Tappin, aged 65, was this evening refused bail by a judge in El Paso, Texas.
Everywhere you go young girls and boys are shown what they should look like through magazines, films and posters, skinny girls with perfect bodies tanned and very pretty, boys with six packs and big muscles. But this isn’t doing any good for the teenagers
POLICE are examining whether there is any link between the murder of a 17-year-old Catford student and a spate of other stabbings. Aspiring footballer Kwame Ofosu-Asare was an innocent teenager who happened to be in the wrong place on March
North Kent is in an official state of drought following an exceptionally dry two years in the south-east. ABIGAIL WOODCOCK finds out more. WATER company Thames Water says water levels in the River Darent are "exceptionally low" following "below
A WOMAN and a toddler had a lucky escape when the car they were travelling in went up in flames. Eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud bang and saw the pair get out of a blue Peugeot Rapier as the front of the vehicle caught fire. The
THE Poppy Appeal in Bromley raised more than £160,000 during November’s fundraising effort. During November volunteers across the borough took to the streets with collection boxes to raise money for the Poppy Appeal, which provides help and
A GARDENING quiz will raise money for a charity which transforms outside spaces at children’s hospices. Questions in the quiz at Millbrook Garden Centre in Station Road, Gravesend, from 7pm on Tuesday (March 13) have been set by high-profile gardeners
TWINS have saved up their pocket money to buy a friendship bench for their school in memory of their grandfather. Esha and Sarjun Gill, aged 9, unveiled the bench, worth £600, at Northfleet’s St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Springhead
GENEROUS donations at a Fairtrade charity lunch in Gravesend raised £177 last week. Held at the Emmanuel Baptist Church on Friday (March 2), the lunch offered a large range of Fairtrade treats to more than 60 hungry visitors, with the menu
A RAPIST has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years after plying a 14-year-old girl with booze until she passed out and then assaulting her. Ishola Adeyomi Adeoye, aged 26, from Bermondsey met the girl in Plumstead in October 2010 and took
TEENAGERS are being offered the chance to sign up for National Citizen Service. Anyone in Year 11, who is 16 by August 31, can take part in NCS. After three weeks of team-building and outdoors activities, participants spend 30 hours
A MOTORIST was taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries following a three car smash in Beckenham yesterday. Three vehicles, a Daihatsu, Mazda and Ford Focus were involved in the crash at around 3.10pm in Croydon Road. The incident
ST Christopher's Hospice has teamed up with Crystal Palace FC to raise a laugh and some much needed funding. The Eagles have announced they will be holding a comedy night in aid of the Sydenham hospice and the club's youth academy on May 14. Top
FOUR arrests were made and eight vehicles seized in a Metropolitan Police day of action to disrupt crime by targeting uninsured drivers. More than 10,000 vehicles passed automatic numberplate recognition systems in Bexley on Thursday, March
A TALENTED singer has been crowned Bexley Young Musician of the Year. Melissa Kirby sang three songs to beat off opposition from nine other finalists aged 14 to 18. The competition contained sections for singing, piano, flute, trumpet, clarinet
A THAMESMEAD man has picked up a prize for naming a community garden. Names were suggest for the project in Birchmere Park on Trust Thamesmead’s website, social media and at a meeting. The garden, open 10am to 4pm on Thursdays, is now
TWO men caught red-handed stealing cable from a railway substation in Catford have been jailed for a total of seven years. On October 11 last year, British Transport Police found Robin Powell outside the building, who told them: "I am just
ONE of the country's best loved pubs has closed its doors and seen its legendarily quirky furnishings auctioned off for £21,000. The Montague Arms in Queen's Road, New Cross, has been packing in punters for decades, drawn as much to its bizarre
TWO councils approved cuts to their budgets last week but there was little sign of the protests which met last year's savings. At the Town Hall, Lewisham Council had beefed up its security following a riot in November 2010 over its cuts programme
DARTFORD firefighters are reminding residents about the dangers of deep-frying food following a chip pan fire last week. Crews were called to the blaze in Crawford Avenue at 5:20pm on February 24 after a smoke alarm alerted the homeowner to
THE American Dream became a reality for lucky students at a Bexleyheath grammar school. A group of 40 youngsters studying for a GCSE in computing at Townley Grammar School for Girls, in Townley Toad, flew across the Atlantic to check out some of the
PERMISSION has been granted to install an illuminated sign outside the Boat House in Bexleyheath’s Danson Park. The application was put before Bexley Council’s planning committee to replace the current sign with a larger, light-up advertisement, spanning
A WEST Ham United supporter who fled across a live track after being attacked on a train says he no longer sees his team play. Ian Cutler, 41, and his 34-year-old friend Bernard Musau, who was visiting from Kenya, were travelling on a Charing
MORE than 60 young people from Bexley and Greenwich have secured jobs during the Olympics, thanks to a Bexley-based youth organisation. A team of eight youths from Active Horizons arranged for 63 jobs with caterers Arena at the Greenwich
POLICE powers to disperse problem youths in Woolwich town centre have been extended following a string of violent incidents. Use of dispersal orders for the area were originally approved in September 2010, allowing Greenwich police to break
Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice Ward Nurses and Housekeeping staff dressed up in pyjamas on Leap Day last week (February 29) to promote two upcoming nighttime events to raise funds for the hospice – London Nightrider a 100km moonlit bike ride through
ALMOST 60 people worked up a sweat for a heart charity at a sponsored aerobathon and spinathon in Dartford. The four-hour event at Fairfield Pool and Leisure Centre in Lowfield Street on Saturday, February 25, raised around £3,000 for the British
A WILDLIFE park owner is in "despair" after vandals caused £800 worth of damage to a sign over the weekend. The 2ft by 4ft Welcome sign at Eagle Heights in Eynsford was ripped from its wooden back board, bent in half and stuffed behind the
A flat stomach, firm bum and toned legs would be most new mummies’ perfect Mother’s Day present. But going to the gym with a new-born in tow isn’t an option, and while Victoria Beckham can give birth and instantly spring back to a size 6, it
A DANCE initiative in Hextable has received more than £3,500 from Kent County Council to give youngsters something to do out of school. Dance 2G – a collaboration between South East Dance Studios and Hextable School – was given £3,866 from
A NEIGHBOUR has rescued a man and two children from their roof during a fire in Dartford this morning. (March 5) The family climbed onto their porch roof as the fire blazed inside their house, in McCudden Road, shortly after 3am. All
POLICE are looking for a man they want to speak to in connection with a burglary in St Paul's Cray. They are appealing for information about the whereabouts of Harry Whitten, 20, from Farmfield Road, Bromley. They want to speak to him
‘Excuse me miss, would you like to dance?’ That was the question I was dreading when I went along to a popular modern-day tea dance – mainly because I’ve no idea how to waltz let alone jive. But actually, my heart sank when it seemed
MILLWALL boss Kenny Jackett admitted he was concerned about the Lions' home form after they suffered another home defeat on Saturday. His side were beaten by promotion chasers Reading to leave them without a league win at The Den since Boxing Day.
CHARLTON manager Chris Powell was delighted to see his record-breaking Addicks take another huge step towards a return to the Championship at AFC Bournemouth on Saturday. Striker Yann Kermorgant scored the only goal of the game deep into stoppage
IT may be unlucky for some, but the number 13 proved to be Charlton’s lucky number after Saturday’s narrow win at AFC Bournemouth. The League One leaders won their 13th away game of the season and in doing so, extended their lead at the top
A DRIVER needed to cut out of his car after it crashed into a lamp post in Plumstead this morning (March 5). Firefighters were called to the scene in Bostall Hill at about 3am and took the roof and doors off the Vauxhall Astra so the man, who
Andy Rayner finished an excellent 18th place in the Senior Mens race at the Saucony National Cross Country Championships which took place in glorious sunshine at Parliament Hill Fields. The Blackheath & Bromley athlete, who is in heavy training for
A TEENAGER who went missing with three others from a secure mental health unit in Beckenham has been locked up. Police had been appealing for help to find Danhi Smith, aged 18, who escaped from the adolescent unit at Bethlem Hospital in Monks
A MEMORIAL fund is being launched to provide cardiac screening for young people after a teenager died of an undetected heart condition. Set up in memory of Ben Daniels, who suffered a heart attack playing football, the fund aims to reduce the
