January

The Old Bailey trial began of former boxer Samuel Monteith for the manslaughter of Carshalton College student Dean Meech, on Easter Sunday, 2001.

Dean, 18, died outside the Cock and Bull, in Sutton High Street, following two blows from Monteith, the second of which knocked him to the ground, fatally.

Monteith pleaded not guilty on grounds of self-defence, claiming Dean had confronted him and he had panicked.

A Belmont vicar began a campaign to free his heart patient father from an enforced stay in the United Arab Emirates, after they were emotionally reunited after 17 years apart.

Reverend Jason Clark, 32, said father Michael had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice after a court had found for a former business partner, who had claimed the 55-year-old owed him £25,000.

He was forbidden from leaving the UAE pending payment of the fine.

Tax rises or slashed services were the options facing borough residents after Sutton Council published its annual budget consultation document.

The council raised the prospect of £1,000 plus tax bills for the average household, were it to raise tariffs by more than double government recommendations to shore up services, which would otherwise be cut.

Residents and groups were invited to respond to the range of proposals.

Health chief John de Braux said the current St Helier Hospital was no place to provide 21st century health care. But the chief executive of Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust said a rebuild, on the Wrythe Lane site or elsewhere, could be as many as 10 years away.

Mr de Braux said the 1930s structure was cramped and its design was for another age.

February

Police launched a re-appeal for witnesses, including harrowing CCTV footage on Crimewatch, to trace the killers of Sutton shopkeeper Rajnikant Pandya.

The move came amid heartbreaking claims by his brother that Mr Pandya, motivated by the fear of crime, was looking to move back to India with his family, just before he was gunned down on November 28, 2001.

Crimewatch viewers saw his murderer, clad in an animal mask, fire the shot that killed Mr Pandya in Anita's Off-licence.

Self-styled metric martyr Sutton fruit seller Peter Collins lost his legal battle to continue trading with imperial scales, in a High Court ruling.

But the High Street trader vowed to keep fighting and spoke of taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

He and four other martyrs' had fought local authority decisions to enforce the use of metric scales and predominantly metric measurements.

Sutton's flagship alternate weekly waste collection policy was pushed through on the basis of inadequate evidence by officers in a structurally-weak section of the council.

That was the damning verdict of council chief executive Joanna Simons following her five-month probe into the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the policy on wheelie bins in September, 2001.

Seven officers from the waste management faced a disciplinary investigation, but Ms Simons did not reveal its results.

A North Cheam detective convicted of possessing indecent images of children including pictures of babies being raped claimed he did not know what he was doing was illegal.

DC Kim Weston, of London Road, was sacked from the force, fined £4,000 and placed on the sex offenders register after being found guilty of 12 charges.

He explained his behaviour in terms of a morbid curiosity'.

March

A two-year-old Carshalton toddler was killed and his father left battling for his life in a coma, following a three-car pile up in Bishopsford Road, on the borough border with Merton.

Alfie Bertucchi's mother Rebecca told the Comet of her devastation on hearing the news, saying, "Alfie touched everyone's lives". Alfie's father Richard was later released from intensive care. A man gave himself up to police and was later arrested in connection with the crash.

Another Sutton family was left grieving after nine-year-old Ali Djemali was killed just yards from his Taunton Close home, after being hit by two cars.

Tributes flowed in for the Brookfield Primary School pupil, led by his mother Anne, who said: "He was priceless, a real treasure, he's irreplaceable."

The drivers of both vehicles stopped at the scene, in Sutton Common Road, and no charges were pressed.

Two Sutton brothers, dubbed the ringleaders of one of London's most prolific armed robbery gangs, were jailed for lengthy terms for a five-year reign of terror in the borough and elsewhere.

Sean Bradish was given four life sentences for 24 separate raids, while brother Vincent was dealt a 22-year term for 12 offences, many involving firearms. Six of the raids took place in Sutton.

People power forced telecom giant Orange to drop plans for a mobile phone mast in Sutton.

Following a fervent residents' campaign, Sutton and East Surrey Water withdrew its offer to site the 15-metre Orange mast on its Langley Park reservoir.

Residents praised the water company for forgoing the rental income from the mast in the interests of community relations.

April

Sutton's royalists joined a nation in mourning to reflect on the life of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Commemorating her life which spanned 101 years, a flag was flown at half-mast over the Civic Offices in St Nicholas Way and a beech tree was planted in Manor Park, Sutton.

Parents across the borough were put on alert by police following three abduction bids in just five days.

One child playing in Avro Way on the Roundshaw Estate was just seconds away from being snatched when she was saved by a quick- thinking neighbour.

And just days earlier, a man tried to lure a nine-year-old boy and then two eight-year-old girls into his car in Kings Lane, Carshalton.

The trial of millionaire tycoon Nicholas Van Hoogstraten charged with the murder and conspiracy to murder of Sutton landlord Mohammed Raja began this month.

A forensic scientist told the Old Bailey on April 23 how a DNA profile taken from the blood stain on Mr Raja's front door matched one taken from Hoogstraten's fellow defendant David Croke.

Hoogstraten was charged with sending Croke and Robert Knapp to murder Mr Raja.

A 35-year-old Cheam musician was killed in a crocodile attack while swimming in a river in Borneo.

Richard Shadwell - described as a free spirit - had been in the Tanjung Putting National Park in Indonesia at the time of the tragedy.

He had been swimming behind a boat in the Simpangkanan River when he was attacked.

May

Liberal Democrats were voted in again to dominate Sutton's political landscape for another four years after a landslide victory in this year's council elections.

And on the night the Conservatives were rocked by the loss of their leader Graham Whitham a blip in a generally good night for the Tories.

The Labour vote dropped by three points and three of their incumbent councillors John Morgan, Stephen Lloyd and Joyce Smith lost out.

In total the Lib Dems took 43 seats, the Conservatives eight and Labour three.

Dinner ladies, social workers, care staff and librarians forged picket lines across the borough in the first industrial action by council workers to hit Sutton in 13 years.

Close to 300 Unison members calling for a flat rate of £4,000 London weighting allowance joined the one-day strike closing down schools and libraries and grinding some services to a halt.

Amateur boxer Samuel Monteith was acquitted of the manslaughter of student Dean Meech.

The verdict was reached in March but a reporting restriction meant we were unable to tell the full story until May.

The jury had found Monteith was acting in self-defence and could therefore not be found guilty of manslaughter.

June

From Belmont to Beddington borough residents, many in their best regal garb, partied in style to mark Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's 50 years on the throne.

Sutton's monarchists laid on more than 55 street parties and decked the length and breadth of the borough in the red, white and blue of the Union Jack.

The borough breathed a collective sigh of relief on June 12 as England secured their place in the World Cup second round, following a tense 0-0 draw against Nigeria.

However, police fears that alcohol consumption could erupt into violence brought the festivities to a premature end, after England's fighting 1-0 victory over historic nemesis Argentina. Landlords called time before 6pm at four Sutton High Street pubs.

The Government gave Sutton Council a £2.7million boost to tackle 12 service targets, with a further £4.2million promised if the authority delivers the goods.

The council was given a challenging agenda of improvements including GCSE results, getting more lone parents into work and cutting the number of people killed or seriously injured in accidents involving motor bikes.

A leading cancer specialist at the Royal Marsden Hospital spoke of her delight in being awarded an OBE in the Queen's birthday honours.

Professor Janet Husband, who heads the diagnostic radiology department at the hospital's Downs Road site, was recognised for her pioneering work in this field during a career spanning 25 years.

July

A schizophrenic man who attacked worshippers in a Thornton Heath church with a samurai sword, seriously injuring 11, was spotted on an unaccompanied shopping trip in Wallington.

Eden Strang was being secretly treated as a voluntary patient at an NHS hostel in the borough after being released by the Home Office, though Sutton Council and MP Paul Burstow were unaware of his presence.

He continues to be treated in Sutton.

The 30-year plan for a link road between Sutton's two main routes was finally discarded after transport officials followed government recommendations to kill the plan.

The scheme first mooted in 1973 - to join the A217 and the A24 was consigned to the dustbin after a traffic survey found the road would only add to traffic congestion in the area around the Kimpton Road Industrial Estate.

Council workers continued a series of strikes in a bid to get a £4,000 London weighting pay boost.

Industrial action began in May and monthly one and two-day walkouts were planned throughout the summer.

The matter remains unresolved and public sector union Unison continues to campaign for the claim, which it says is essential if low paid staff are to be able to continue living and working in the borough.

Multi-millionaire tycoon Nicholas Van Hoogstraten was convicted at the Old Bailey of manslaughter after ordering two henchmen to kill Sutton business rival Mohammed Raja.

Career criminals David Croke and Robert Knapp were found guilty of murder, after they stabbed Mr Raja, 63, five times and shot him in front of his grandson on the doorstep of his Mulgrave Road home.

Mr Raja and Van Hoogstraten were in a legal dispute over money the 63 year old had borrowed from him for a property deal.

August

A man went berserk at the North Cheam offices of the Sutton Comet, ramming his vehicle into 14 cars and destroying a wall.

Ian Dickson, 47, of Gander Green Lane, was later convicted of criminal damage to the value of at least £30,000 after writing off several cars and failing to provide police officers with a breath specimen. An imitation handgun was also discovered in his car.

After spending two months in custody he was sentenced to 90 hours community service.

A 19-year-old was stabbed to death during a brawl in St James Road Sutton.

Leon Morton, of South Norwood, was stabbed in the early evening of August 6. He was rushed to St Helier Hospital but died that evening.

Two Carshalton men, Christopher Morris, 22, of Shaftesbury Road, and Garry Potter, of Tweeddale Road, stand trial for murder at the Old Bailey next March.

Tireless Carshalton kidney cancer campaigner and Comet columnist Kevin McKiernan lost his own battle against the disease. Tributes flowed in from family, friends and colleagues at Kidney Cancer UK, the charity he directed up until his death.

In his columns, he detailed his often revolutionary treatment to counter the cancer, which included a stem cell transplant, only the second in British history.

Sutton Council was bracing itself for a cash crisis as government funding looked set to be slashed by up to £15million, due to changes to the allocation formula.

Panicking council chiefs began to draw-up battle plans to push for more cash, claiming the new formula disproportionately penalised Sutton more than any other London borough.

The council warned the shortfall could lead to job losses, a council tax hike and cuts to non-essential services.

September

More than 150 school staff in Sutton started work after the summer break without proper Home Office criminal checks after the borough ignored government advice to send children home.

New teachers were allowed to work in most Sutton schools as long as they were accompanied by a fully checked teaching assistant.

The chaos followed massive delays in carrying out checks on teachers across the country by the Criminal Records Bureau.

Supermarket giant Asda was fined £21,000 for selling food contaminated with glass, metal and wood in its Wallington store.

The company pleaded guilty to 12 hygiene breaches. Sutton environmental health officers began investigating the Beddington Lane store after a customer told them he had found a piece of wood the size of a pencil in a loaf of bread.

The trust running the Secombe Theatre announced the venue was to shut in January 2003 due to poor tickets sales.

Sutton Performing Arts Network (SPAN) took over the theatre the previous September from Sutton Council, but with a £150,000 budget reduction.

Staff at the theatre were told to expect redundancies and a Save the Secombe campaign got under way amid Conservative and Labour calls for an investigation into the council's handling of the affair.

Seventeen-year-old Luke Plowright became the second teenager in as many months to be stabbed to death in Sutton after he was killed on September 27.

The death sent shockwaves through the Benhill Estate and surrounding area.

Peter Rogers, 26, was charged with murder.

October

Shops in Sutton High Street were certainly feeling the pinch after market traders took up position in their new temporary pitches.

Several business claimed they were losing hundreds of pounds a day because of blocked shop windows, following the council's decision to move the traders, because of work on the new Asda supermarket.

The traders are expected to remain in their new pitches until November 2003.

Council leader Mike Cooper left his fellow Liberal Democrats speechless after he announced his shock resignation.

Mr Cooper, who had served as a councillor for more than 17 years, cited health and personal reasons for his departure.

It is believed he discussed his resignation as leader, a post he has held since 1999, with close colleagues before making his intentions public.

A 23-year-old Sutton woman was among hundreds who narrowly escaped death after a terrorist bomb went off in a Bali nightclub.

Emma Kirby, who only arrived in the paradise holiday spot two days before the bombing, had planned to meet a group of friends in the club on the night of the explosion.

But she was running late and instead the former Glenthorne High pupil watched the chaos unfold from the safety of her hotel window.

Just over three years after Sutton landlord Mohammed Raja was gunned down in his Mulgrave Road home, his family were finally granted justice.

Tycoon Nicholas Hoogstraten, who was found guilty of sending career criminals David Croke and Robert Knapp to intimidate Mr Raja into dropping a fraud claim against him, received a 10-year jail sentence.

But the verdict was not enough for the Raja family who were hoping the multi-millionaire would be put away for life.

November

More than a few eyebrows were raised by the borough's shoppers after a new sex store opened in Sutton High Street.

Nestling comfortably between KFC and HMV, the German erotic retail chain Beate Uhse certainly caused a stir as its first UK branch began trading. Naughty shoppers now have their pick of a range of unusual products such as tantric love oils and peppermint nipples.

Just weeks after Mike Cooper's shock resignation, acting council leader Sean Brennan was officially named as the new man for the job.

The Sutton Central councillor and ex-deputy leader was one of only two candidates who put themselves forward for the top position. Mr Brennan, 58, beat off competition from Councillor Don Brims who stood in the 1999 leadership fight against Mr Cooper and, again, unsuccessfully, in May, for the post of his deputy.

After endless rounds of talks with their employers over pay finally broke down, Sutton's firefighters went out on strike for the first time since 1977.

Crews from Wallington and Sutton walked out for 48 hours and then for eight days, with fire cover provided by the army in ageing Green Goddesses

The borough emerged relatively unscathed from the industrial action, with no serious incidents being reported.

The borough bade a fond farewell this month to Irene Cook, its oldest resident, who died at the age of 110.

Irene, who only celebrated her birthday in August and was believed to be the second oldest citizen in Britain, passed away at her residential home in Sutton.

The former piano teacher, who used to teach at Wallington Girls' School in the 1920s, always put her longevity down to never marrying or having children.

December

Sutton's only court suffered a crushing blow after its governing body agreed to push ahead with plans to close it down.

At a meeting of the Greater London Magistrates' Courts Authority, members ruled the Shotfield site should be closed and its workload transferred to Croydon Magistrates' Court.

The decision, which left campaigners for the court's survival angry, is likely to have a significant impact on local policing if it goes ahead.

The Sutton sons of jailed heart patient Michael Clark received the best possible Christmas present when he returned home from the United Arab Emirates following a three-year nightmare.

Mr Clark, who was being held for non-payment of a controversial fine, was pardoned by the ruling authorities and touched down in Heathrow on December 18, to the joy of sons Matthew and Jason. He can now have the life-saving heart operation for which he is three years overdue.

A 25-year-old Carshalton man was jailed for eight years at the Old Bailey after he pleaded guilty to causing the death of a friend's toddler by dangerous driving. Two-year-old Alfie Bertuchi was killed and father Ricardo left with brain damage, after Paul Cooper, of St William's Street, who had been driving at up to 90mph, crashed in Carshalton in March, following a high speed police chase.

Cooper, who was disqualified from driving at the time of the accident, escaped with just cuts and bruises.

Police launched a murder hunt after a 23-year-old Highdown prison officer was stabbed to death at his Sutton home. Aaron Chapman was found with multiple stab wounds by officers who were called to his house in Goosens Close after reports of an assault had taken place.

Mr Chapman's girlfriend Leah Benedicto vigorously denied claims reported in national newspapers that he had been peddling class A drugs to prisoners.

December 30, 2002 12:30