Archive

  • Borough gets a sporting chance

    The big white construction site hoardings went up around the borough's biggest sports centre just over a year ago. Now the building work is visible, LINDA PIPER went behind the fences to find out what has begun to take shape ... THE new sports and swimming

  • Search on for man with a van

    POLICE are appealing for information on a theft of a van. The white Ford Transit van, which was parked in Capel Place, Dartford, was stolen on January 26, some time between 9.50pm and 10.15pm. The thief smashed the glass to get into the van, which contained

  • Police hunt thief who stole fruit machine cash

    A MAN who stole £695 from a fruit machine is being sought by police. The thief grabbed the cash, which had been emptied from a machine in Betred, King Street, Gravesend, and ran off with three of four other men. All the men are described as being of

  • School says farewell to long-serving lollipop man

    FORMER pupils joined staff and children to bid farewell to their lollipop man and caretaker. Three generations of pupils attended a retirement and 65th birthday assembly at Istead Primary School, Downs Road, Northfleet, for Michael Neal, who was presented

  • Residents angry at plans for housing development

    A COMMUNITY facility has been slashed in size since being taken over by developers, claim campaigners. The "multi-purpose building" is set to incorporate a nursery, sports changing rooms and a park ranger's office and is earmarked for part of the controversial

  • Nature nurtures community spirit

    A GROUP of civil servants went back to nature to help clean up a park. A media team from Whitehall cut down reeds and made willow fencing at the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park, John Harrison Way. The afternoon is one in a series of challenges which

  • Blaze forces track closure

    AN EARLY morning fire closed train lines and destroyed part of a scrap yard. Seven fire engines attended the blaze at Lewisham Car Breakers on January 28 and nearby train tracks were closed off for safety reasons. Firefighters were called at 2.30am

  • Tributes pour in for former councillor

    COLLEAGUES have praised a councillor who died suddenly after a long illness Councillor Peter Dawson died on January 18, after battling with cancer. On January 26 a meeting of the full council held a minute's silence and members paid their respects.

  • We hope killer shows remorse

    RELATIVES of the man shot in the heart with a crossbow hope his killer will show remorse after being jailed for seven years. Daley Bibby, 16, of High Street, Welling, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court for the manslaughter of Wayne Phillips, aged

  • Paying out for charity

    FUNDRAISING by staff at a betting shop has proved a winner for three community groups. The four employees at Ladbrokes in Erith, together with the company's other shops across the country raise funds each year for the company's community trust. Lyn

  • Mansion to reopen soon

    FOR the first time in 40 years, one of the jewels in Bexley's heritage crown will be open to the public. Now the race is on to find volunteers to help at Danson Mansion, in Welling. Bexley heritage trust, which will manage the house, hopes to reopen

  • This mast not be allowed to happen

    HUNDREDS of protesters took to the streets to voice concerns over plans to erect mobile phone masts in their area. Residents gathered at the BT exchange in Chislehurst Road, Orpington, to demand O2 finds an alternative site. The mobile phone company

  • Sentence met with approval

    POLICE have welcomed a tough sentence handed to a burglar whose victim died three days after being beaten up. Daniel Raymond, aged 18, of Pope Road, Bromley, was jailed for seven years and three months at Croydon Crown Court last week for his part in

  • Boost for road safety campaigners

    CAMPAIGNERS fighting to cut the number of crashes at an accident black spot have welcomed a £50,000 road safety cash boost. Bromley Council has secured the funding from Transport for London for safety measures along Main Road, Biggin Hill. The move

  • Youths told not to go slap happy

    POLICE are warning youngsters against the "happy slap" craze which is sweeping the borough. The so-called game is believed to have started in the US and consists of one person randomly slapping an unsuspecting victim while another videos it with a mobile

  • Council does not care, say parents

    PARENTS are fighting plans to merge three respite centres for children with disabilities into one centre at a former old people's home. Many families oppose the move by Bromley Primary Care Trust, and a group calling itself Parents Against the Proposal

  • Poet in good voice for school performance

    A LEADING performance poet treated a group of schoolchildren to a reading of some of her finest work. Jamaican-born Valerie Bloom visited Green Street Green Primary School, Vine Road, Orpington, to mark the school's poetry week. Mrs Bloom recited a

  • We can all play part in stamping out poverty

    The Asian tsunami disaster has truly touched people throughout this country. I work at Lewisham Hospital, where staff have organised a bring and buy sale and the older classes at my children's primary school are fundraising too. In contrast to the many

  • Pay the price

    I AM puzzled by Alf Quinlivan-Barnes suggestion we might have to pay twice for ID cards (Letters, January 19). Surely either the Home Office or individuals would have to pay for them. I've read nothing of plans to charge both, which would produce a 100

  • ID forgeries are on the cards

    Will ID cards help solve any problems in the world today? What happens if you lose or have your ID card stolen? What will be the cost and how easily will it be to get a replacement? What will you then have to do to prove you are who your say you are?

  • Changes are necessary

    Recent writers to your letters page claim the proposed refurbishment of the Manor House in Lee represents "vandalism" and say the community has been kept in the dark about plans for the building and its library. Neither is the case. The Lee Manor Society

  • To the Point

    NO VOTE: Who to vote for in the coming election, that's the question. Labour is mostly pro-European and its record on taxes, hospitals, crime, transport and immigration is bad. As for the Tories, Michael Howard is a weak leader, saying he's going to

  • Talking shop

    I am writing to correct the false impression about developments at the Starbucks branch in Blackheath given to Mark Long (Give us a Break, January 12). The council is seeking to ensure this site is brought into retail use and not as a cafe with inadequate

  • Good reasons for a holiday

    NAME and address supplied (Letters, January 12) wished to know why the British regard December 27 and 28 and January 3 worthy of being a public holidays. As I am sure the questioner realises, these were in place of December 25 and December 26 and January

  • Why hasn’t graffiti been cleaned up?

    Last year you published a letter complaining about the amount of graffiti on the Greenwich/Woolwich railway line from Charing Cross. Since then it has got considerably worse, despite South Eastern Trains (SET) reassuring me they would be tackling the

  • Players Wanted

    For players in Bromley borough call 0906 200 2268 For Bexley, Dartford & Gravesham boroughs, 0906 200 2267 For Lewisham & Greenwich boroughs, 0906 200 2269 Calls are charged at £1 a minute but listings are free. These listings also appear on our website

  • Old players’ reunion

    THE "Peters" BXV captains of the 60s, 70s and 80s would like to invite old players from those eras to this season's Westcombe Park Rugby Club reunion. It will take place on Saturday, February 19, prior to the Weston-Super-Mare game, when a hot buffet

  • Combe rally to thwart Lydney

    Westcombe Park produced a tremendous performance to share the points in a 19-all draw against fourth-placed Lydney in their National League 3 South match at Goddington Dene on Saturday. Combe, who had lost their previous five league games, were forced

  • Chance of more cash for library

    BOOKWORMS are wiggling with delight after council chiefs agreed to review the borough's library service. Bromley Council decided to consider an increase in the book fund and undertake a full review of library provision in the Orpington area. The move

  • Ravens Wood Win Kent Cup

    Pupils at Ravens Wood have been celbrating after the school's under-12 football team won the Kent Cup Final, beating Tunbridge Wells Grammer in the final played at the Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham. On a cold and windy evening, 200 spectators

  • Councillor issues new slums warning

    COUNCIL leaders have attacked attempts by Ken Livingstone to impose the same level of housing density found in inner London on the suburbs. Bromley Council called for a rethink over the mayor's development plans and passed a motion questioning the need

  • Have I found Mr Right?

    Last week I went on a semi-blind date (we'd only talked on the phone) and the only thing wrong was that his heart didn't start beating out of control and that he did not hear violins playing in the background. Is there a chance of anything growing from

  • Searching for spirit guide

    Can you help, I would like to know who my spirit guide is - Ryan Alden, Plumstead. Graham says ... I feel you sense your spirit guide via the right ear getting clairvoyance. I think they also make you feel bloated when they come. It is someone who

  • Under-18s feeling very much at home

    WHAT have Saracens, London Irish and Harlequins got in common? They have all provided fewer representatives to the England under-18 rugby squad than the relative minnows of Bromley RFC. Tonbridge pupil Rob Springall, who plays scrum-half; winger Nick

  • Webb Through To Next Stage

    SAM Webb began another quest for an ABA title in the South-East London section of the ABA Champion-ships at Crystal Palace last Thursday. Webb, from Chislehurst, had to fight twice because of the large number of entries in his welterweight division.

  • Bosses put forward case for airport development

    PLANS to re-start scheduled passenger services to UK cities and Europe will safeguard an airport's future, bosses say. The proposals, published on Monday by Biggin Hill Airport Ltd as part of a draft master plan for the next 10 years and beyond, would

  • Bremner at the double

    A GOAL five minutes from time by Leigh Bremner secured a hard-earned win for Cray Wanderers against Molesey in Saturday's Ryman League Division One match at Hayes Lane. Despite the gluepot conditions, Cray sparkled with some five and six-man passing

  • Do you know card thief?

    POLICE have turned to News Shopper readers in a bid to catch a man caught on camera using a stolen bank card. The man used the stolen Halifax debit card to buy cigarettes and booze worth £100 at Unwins off-licence, Plaistow Lane, Bromley at about 3.30pm

  • Bromley get a tanning

    Leatherhead leap-frogged Bromley to sixth in the Ryman league Division table after the Lillywhites crashed to a 3-0 defeat on Saturday. It was a very disappointing result for Bromley, who were clearly the better team in the first 25 minutes. In the

  • Jailed over misconduct

    A CORRUPT immigration worker who harboured an illegal immigrant has been jailed for three and a half years. Olufunke Sonoiki, 36, of Moorside Road, Bromley, hid a middle-aged Nigerian woman at her Bromley home. The woman's passport had been stamped

  • Officers swoop to close drug den

    POLICE seized crack- cocaine, heroin and thousands of pounds in cash in an operation to shut down a drugs den. Officers from Bromley CID also arrested three people after raiding the flat in Maple Road, Penge, on January 27. The raid followed weeks

  • Players Wanted

    For players in Bromley borough call 0906 200 2268 For Bexley, Dartford & Gravesham boroughs, 0906 200 2267 For Lewisham & Greenwich boroughs, 0906 200 2269 Calls are charged at £1 a minute but listings are free. These listings also appear on our website

  • Now even the monks are Kung Fu fighting

    SHAOLIN monks renowned for their acrobatic skills have just begun giving Kung Fu lessons in south London. The monks, who have been given permission to open a training school by their home temple in China, are teaching on the Brookland Estate, Kidbrooke

  • Tokyo club arrives in Eltham

    Meiji Rugby Club, a student team from one of Tokyo's universities, is making its eighth visit to England this month. Fifty players and officials have arrived for the four-match tour. Previous visits to our area have included matches against Blackheath

  • Please sir ...

    BOYS from all-year groups considered themselves at home and part of the family after being chosen to take part in a production of the musical Oliver! The cast of 30 from Kemnal Technology College, on the Sidcup/Orpington borders, was accompanied by the

  • Train services face a major shake-up

    TRAIN services in Bexley are in for a radical overhaul. To the anger of many, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has announced it will re-privatise the area's trains. Following consultations, the SRA has also drawn up a new specification for the companies

  • Gaijin classes are so popular

    Gaijin Ryu Martial Arts Club is expanding its adult classes during the week due to popular demand. A further karate class will be held on Thursday evenings from 7.30pm to 8.30pm at St Bartholomew's Church, in Westwood Hill, Sydenham. An additional kickboxing

  • Howes About Jazz: February 1

    By the time you read this, you'll have either seen or missed the first of BBC TV's Jazz Britannica series. The two remaining programmes, to be screened on February 4 and 11, cover the period from the 1960s, through free and electronic jazz of the 1970s

  • Bluecoat beaten in final

    Blackheath Bluecoat School Year 8 football team kept its dreams of national glory alive, despite losing a closely-fought London Cup Final. Bluecoat, coached by Steve Sallis, were one of the few teams in the competition to face opposition in every round

  • News in Brief

    ALL SORTS TO STUDY: Courses on The Beatles and their influence on society in the 1960s, the history of English and European gardens and a study of two modern novels, are the latest on offer from the Bexley Workers' Educational Association. To enrol call

  • Second stab at reaching Parliament for former teacher

    A FORMER teacher hopes it will be second time lucky, as he aims to win a seat in Parliament. Barrie Thomas, 69, failed to win enough votes, when he stood for the Referendum Party for the Bexleyheath and Crayford seat in 1997. Now he has a second chance

  • Youth project’s cash boost

    THE caring face of football is coming to south-east London courtesy of a £144,000 grant from the UK's biggest sports charity. The Football Foundation has donated the money to the Greenwich Youth Inclusion Project, based near Eltham's Page Estate, which

  • Puzzled by card costs

    I AM puzzled by the suggestion we could pay twice for ID cards. Surely the Home Office or the individual would have to pay for the production and distribution. I have read nothing of plans to charge both, which would generate even more objections to

  • Do not pay for Games

    I AM very concerned why London residents should pay for hosting the Olympic Games. The event will make a profit, so the government should supply the funds up front and claim it back after. With the funding in place we would stand a much better chance

  • Gate shuts on Club

    WHEN Blackheath played away to Harrogate in National League 2 earlier in the season, Club scored three tries in the opening few minutes on their way to a 26-14 victory. Although Blackheath took a second-minute lead in Saturday's return fixture at The

  • Praise from inspectors rewards our hard work

    I WAS pleased to see the success of Bromley schools reported in the News Shopper last week (Inspectors Praise Top Schools, January 19). However, your article did not make it clear it was Darrick Wood Infant School which was listed in the Ofsted list

  • Worrincy’s a Hull lot better

    Greenwich Admirals are celebrating after yet another of its young graduates played his first professional game for a top division rugby league club. Talented youngster Michael Worrincy, who learnt all his rugby league with Greenwich juniors, made his

  • Hanging around is not a crime

    A LETTER from one of your readers in the latest edition of News Shopper stated the reasons for youngsters hanging round our streets was a lack of things to do. I wonder if the reader is talking from experience? When I was 16, my friends and I used to

  • Players Wanted

    For players in Bromley borough call 0906 200 2268 For Bexley, Dartford & Gravesham boroughs, 0906 200 2267 For Lewisham & Greenwich boroughs, 0906 200 2269 Calls are charged at £1 a minute but listings are free. These listings also appear on our website

  • Write to reopen the incinerator inquiry

    EVERYONE who went to the Belvedere incinerator inquiry last summer is being urged to support proposals to reopen it. "Even those who attended one of the evening meetings in Belvedere or Thamesmead should write," according to Belvedere councillor Daniel

  • Bar late licence

    IF 24-HOUR drinking is brought in, I hope Bromley Council licensing officers, who distribute licences, bear the following in mind. Premises licensed between midnight and 6am cater for many people who are unemployed or drug users. This tends to bring

  • Testing times

    IN RESPONSE to Rachel Astill-Dunseith's letter, Protest Vigils Are Completely Justified (News Shopper, January 12), her mother most probably survived her cancer due to drugs which were developed through animal testing. Would she have preferred it if

  • Walker lined up for English title

    Light-middleweight boxer Dave Walker is a couple of signatures away from securing a decent title fight. The 28-year-old from Sidcup has been nominated by the British Boxing Board of Control to fight Andrew Facey for the English Championship. Thirty-two-year-old

  • Jimmy is in top gear

    Jimmy Galloway was one of four young drivers who were recipients of British motorsport's most prestigious kart-racing awards. The 11-year-old from Bexleyheath travelled to the Royal Automobile Club in London's Pall Mall to receive his championship-winning

  • To the point

    SAVE OUR SHOP: A plan to convert Downe's old post office and shop for residential use was refused but the owner has submitted another application. The elderly use unreliable public transport to go to the nearest shopping centre. Downe was the shopping

  • Tribute to the victims of the Holocaust

    BEXLEY marked Holocaust Memorial Day with a ceremony in the shadow of an exhibition about one of its most famous victims. Students Jonathan Kenyon and Sophie Budgen, both 13, from Beths Grammar School and Blackfen School for Girls, joined Councillor

  • More new houses for borough

    A STRETCH of land known as the running field is to be developed as a new estate. People living in the Carlton Road area of Sidcup have been fighting for 12 years to save the 3-acre field. But Bexley Council's planning committee approved plans from George

  • Pay and dismay

    CHARGES in hospital car parks are not popular but hospital trusts have to generate income. What is frustrating is Farnborough's Princess Royal University Hospital expects all visitors to know how long their visit will take when they pay and display.

  • Middle ground

    A PAVELIN (Letters, January 12) incorrectly claims we are Europeans. We happen to live in an area labelled Europe but there is no overall coherent cultural, ethnic, or tribal association which constitutes us as Europeans. Unless he is an immigrant,

  • Darts stun table-toppers

    DartforDians, who are second from bottom of London Two, caused the upset of the season when they travelled to the league leaders Portsmouth last weekend and came back from 17-0 down to win. Trailing 12-0 at half-time and conceding a try immediately on

  • No excuse for lack of school crossing

    I READ John Martin's letter, Please Make Roads Safe (News Shopper, January 19), with sympathy. The parents of children at Unicorn Primary School, Creswell Drive, Beckenham have been campaigning for a crossing over South Eden Park Road, near the Lodge

  • Disabled vying for awards

    Champion disabled sports stars have been shortlisted as contenders for the London Sports Awards. Final nominations for the awards, the winners of which will be announced tomorrow week at a gala dinner being held in City Hall, feature a number of local

  • Generally speaking

    PUPILS and dignitaries have remembered the 19th-century general who gave 90 per cent of his wages to Gravesend's poor and needy. Mayor of Gravesham Councillor John Loughlin and children from Chantry School, Ordnance Road, Gravesend, laid wreaths at the

  • Deres desperate for points

    ERITH and Belvedere remain second from bottom of the Southern League Eastern Division after yet another defeat on Saturday, this time away at Barton Rovers. However, Deres battled hard and perhaps deserved to take at least a point against a side reduced

  • Stalemate for United

    WELLING United's home hoodoo continued on Saturday with a goal-less draw against Bishop's Stortford. The Park View Road faithful had hoped a change of manager might improve Welling's miserable home record they have won just two of their 14 games played

  • News in Brief

    ALLOWED TO LEARN: The new Education Maintenance Allowance launched by the Government has netted £100 each for 380 Bexley students who are still in school or college this month. Students who continue in education after GCSEs and whose household income

  • Soccer scheme is top of the league

    A TOP policeman has praised a community scheme which has used the beautiful game to get disenchanted young people onside. North Kent police joined forces with Charlton Athletic to develop the football-led Positive Futures Scheme. Area commander Superintendent

  • Depleted side is hit for seven by Lordswood

    Injury-hit Dartford Ladies were eliminated in the quarter-final of the SECWFL League Cup on Sunday after a 7-1 home defeat against Lordswood. Dartford were missing Donnelly (knee), Page (ankle), Stork (ankle) and Sutherland (hand), after being reinstated

  • May’s a golden hero in the cup

    A golden goal by Stone's Jack May secured Dartford & District PSFA under-11s a second-round tie at home to Sutton in the Southern Counties Cup. Saturday's 1-0 replay win against Bexley came after the visitors had put Dartford under pressure in the first-half

  • News in Brief

    FULL HOUSE: Legs eleven makes an appearance at monthly bingo evenings for Age Concern Dartford. Join the two fat ladies, the dancing queen and their friends at Meadowside Day Centre, Meadowside, on the second Monday of each month at 7pm. Call 01322 226496

  • News in brief

    SENTENCED: A minicab driver from north Wales has been jailed for three-and-a-half years. James Haynes, aged 41, pleaded guilty to stabbing a Greenwich man on April 10 last year after picking him up from Plumstead High Street. He stabbed the man after

  • Show us you are sorry

    RELATIVES of the man shot with a crossbow, hope his killer will show remorse. In a statement, Wayne Phillips's family said they were relieved the trial of Daley Bibby, aged 16, of High Street, Welling, was over. It read: "We hope he will come to regret

  • Key to the wee crime

    A MOTORIST caught short was assaulted and robbed of his car keys as he relieved himself in a wood. The 47-year-old victim parked his car in Swan Lane, Dartford, on January 13, and disappeared into Dartford Heath to answer nature's call between 11am and

  • Youngsters show off their talents

    YOUTH clubs from across the borough have taken part in a talent show. More than 50 youngsters, aged between 11 and 16, performed at the event at the Honor Oak Youth Club, Turnham Road, Brockley. There was everything from singing and dancing to steel

  • Helping the hundreds of victims of tsunami

    A MAN is already planning his next mission to Sri Lanka to help people living in forgotten areas ravaged by the tsunami. Chris Houston, 26, of Little Queen Street, Dartford, is planning a major fundraising event in London to purchase new boats for fishermen

  • New unit opens for mental health patients

    THE opening of a mental health unit was marked with the planting of an oak tree. Oaktree Lodge, a new unit for adults with mental health problems, was opened today at Memorial Hospital, Shooters Hill. The new building provides a higher standard of accommodation

  • Councillors flew business class

    ACCUSATIONS of "improper behaviour" have been levelled at councillors and officers who travelled to South Africa. Concerns over the trip were raised at last week's meeting of the full council but Lewisham Mayor Steve Bullock hit back at the criticism

  • Cutty Sark saved by Lottery grant

    THE long-term future of the Cutty Sark has been safeguarded by an £11.75m Lottery grant. There were fears the maritime monument would have to close within two years if it did not receive major investment. But now money from the Heritage Lottery Fund

  • Group moves in for hotel estate

    A HISTORIC hotel has changed hands in a deal worth more than £15 million. The Sundridge Park Hotel and Conference Centre, Plaistow Lane, Bromley, has been bought as a going concern by Cathedral Group from Hanover International. The hotel consists of

  • 300 jobs go as Co-op moves away from area

    BUSINESS leaders say the closure of a major distribution centre with the loss of more than 300 jobs is a blow to the economy. The Swanley and District Chamber of Commerce says it is disappointed the Co-operative group is closing its regional depot in

  • Players Wanted

    For players in Bromley borough call 0906 200 2268 For Bexley, Dartford & Gravesham boroughs, 0906 200 2267 For Lewisham & Greenwich boroughs, 0906 200 2269 Calls are charged at £1 a minute but listings are free. These listings also appear on our website

  • Campaigners will fight to save dog track

    A CHARITY is hoping to preserve a slice of sporting history by getting it recognised as a listed building. The Twentieth Century Society wants the Tote board building at Catford Greyhound Stadium, Adenmore Road, to be granted listed status. Greyhounds

  • School claims higher status

    PARENTS, pupils and teachers are celebrating after their school was awarded specialist status in technology and performing arts. Cator Park School for Girls, Lennard Road, Beckenham, becomes the first school in the country to offer this combination of

  • Councillor fights congestion charge plans

    PROPOSALS to expand congestion charging into the suburbs have met with fierce opposition. Commissioner of Transport for London (TfL) Bob Kiley's scheme would use roadside detectors to monitor electronic tags on passing cars and could be introduced in

  • Pupils’ recycling collection plays its cards right

    YOUNG people proved a Christmas card is not just for Christmas by collecting a record amount for recycling. Pupils from Raglan Primary School, Raglan Road, Bromley, encouraged family and friends to give more than 336,000 of their old cards. The school

  • Green light for hospital

    HOSPITAL chiefs are set to proceed with the second phase of their application for foundation status. Health Secretary John Reid gave the green light in response to Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust's preliminary application submitted in November. Chief executive

  • Ladies can get in swing at Dartford

    Women are flocking to Dartford Golf Club to enrol in the newly-introduced Ladies Masters Golfer, the innovation of a highly-successful company which initiated the Young Masters Golfer. John Gregrory, the head professional at Dartford, said: "The YMG

  • Beat bobbies go back to school

    POLICE officers will soon be walking the beat through the borough's secondary schools. Under the School Beat Officer scheme each participating school has a police officer stationed on the premises one or two days a week. At the official launch on January

  • Scrubs up nicely

    VOLUNTEERS gathered to clear scrub from around historic earthworks. Residents determined to help preserve ancient woodland on West Wickham Common met to get their hands dirty. Corporation of London keeper Dave Olliver said: "It was an opportunity to

  • Darts comeback shatters Pompey

    DartforDians, who are second from bottom of London Two, caused the upset of the season when they travelled to the league leaders Portsmouth last weekend and came back from 17-0 down to win. Trailing 12-0 at half-time and conceding a try immediately on

  • Public display of plans

    RESIDENTS are to get a say on the future of a development in their village. The former Everards site in Greenhithe Village is currently owned by Fairview New Homes and the group is holding a public exhibition of its plans for the area. Originally the

  • Fine for street rubbish eats into cafe’s dough

    A CAFE owner has been fined by magistrates after leaving rubbish out on the street. Feisal Pradlau, owner of the Lunch Box cafe, Holmesdale Road, Bromley, was ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling £1,000 for wilfully obstructing the highway. Mr

  • Superb treble win for Team Darenth

    Three riders from youth-oriented cycle club Team Darenth have won the South East's winter-long league of 13 cyclocross races. Competing with more than 140 young riders across the region from Brighton and Lancing up to east London and from Hillingdon

  • Quality of life ‘at risk’

    COUNTRYSIDE campaigners believe a Government draft housing plan will put residents' quality of life at serious risk. The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) believes the South East of England Regional Assembly wants to concentrate housing

  • BetFred’s Manley challenge

    THE world's biggest independent bookmakers, BETFRED, has teamed up with one of the world's leading darts players, Peter "one dart" Manley, in a throw against the pro competition. Punters are invited to throw on Friday week between 10.30am and 12.30pm

  • Darts Come Out Fighting

    DARTFORD put last week's drama firmly behind them with a crucial win in their fight to beat the drop from the Southern League Eastern Division. Last week manager Tommy Sampson quit his "dream job" because he felt it would best serve the long-term interests

  • Who’s a help in your community?

    NEWS Shopper is looking for young people who do good in their communities. As part of our Local Hero campaign, we are keen to recognise youngsters under the age of 18. They could do charity work or anything else which aids society. News Shopper will

  • Debate over new homes rages on

    DARTFORD: Residents fear plans will increase traffic SUPPORTERS of a proposed development on green belt land say it will transform the area into an attractive place to live. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is hearing an appeal from the

  • Dinner guest speaks up

    JUST back from Afghanistan, International Development Secretary Hilary Benn settled down to dinner in Sidcup. After seeing for himself how Afghanistan is faring after its elections, Mr Benn was the guest of honour at Bexleyheath and Crayford Labour Party's

  • Daggers put the knife into sad Fleet

    STEVE McKimm and Paul McCarthy's first game in temporary charge of Gravesend ended in humiliation, as their side were thumped 5-0 by Dagenham. The pair, who were both involved in Saturday's heavy defeat, took control of first- team affairs following

  • Police officer is cleared of theft

    ERITH: Judge says lessons have been learned A POLICEMAN who is also a lay preacher has been cleared of stealing police equipment to sell through internet auction sites. Graham Croucher, aged 46, a police sergeant with the British Transport Police did

  • Stuart Joins City

    Graham Stuart left the Addicks on the last day of the January transfer window on Monday to join Norwich City. The midfielder had been in discussions with the Canaries during last weekend, and City boss Nigel Worthington completed a free transfer for

  • School rises to challenge

    ANOTHER Bexley secondary school has won specialist status. Erith School, Avenue Road, Erith, will become the ninth Bexley school to specialise in specific subjects, from September this year. Erith School's specialties will be sports, maths and computing

  • VALLEY VIEW

    SPURS CHANGE: Charlton's Premiership match against Tottenham Hotspur originally scheduled for February 12 will now be played on Wednesday, March 16 (8pm) due to Spurs requiring an FA Cup replay against West Bromwich Albion on the planned date. Should

  • Police enforce alcohol ban

    HUNDREDS of bottles of booze have been confiscated by police in the first weeks of the alcohol ban in Bexleyheath. Last October, Bexleyheath Broadway from the Marriott Hotel to The Drayman was declared an alcohol-control zone making it illegal to drink

  • The carnival’s coming

    WINTER may still hang heavy in the air but plans are already under way for the one of the summer's biggest carnivals. Organisers of the Northfleet Carnival, this year celebrating its 39th birthday, say it should be bigger and better than ever before

  • Bar’s cash makes hospital happier

    A POPULAR nightspot and its customers have given £400 to help sick children. Deja Vu, London Road, Swanley, raised the cash through collections on the door of its premises aw well as at the bar. It has donated the cash to the refurbished children's

  • TO THE POINT

    WE'LL GET USED TO IT: I am puzzled by Alf Quinlivan-Barnes' suggestion we might have to pay twice for ID cards (News Shopper, January 19). If the cost of producing and distributing each one is, for example, £20, then surely either the Home Office or individuals

  • Binmen must be more tidy

    I wonder if I am the only person who seems to suffer with this? When the refuse collectors have emptied my green recycling paper box or the brown recycling bin, they seem to be incapable of placing them back in the same position. We have been given

  • Government should put up cash for Olympics

    I am concerned and perplexed as to why London residents should be asked to pay towards the cost of the London 2012 Olympic Games. If it, as every one of the experts involved insists, will make a substantial profit, then the obvious solution is for the

  • Use £5m for our bridges

    We read with interest recent reports Transport for London (TfL) has awarded Bexley Council £5m for road improvements. However, we have heard no mention of the bridges over the A2 in Arbuthnot Lane and Bourne Road, Bexley. For more than a year these

  • Read the book

    I recommend any resident who is confused about recycling to read the excellent booklet, Bexley: Recycling 2005/6. If you can't find your copy, you can get one by ringing the council offices on 020 8303 7777. In the meantime, the best thing we can do

  • Pupils encouraged to play with their toys

    CHILDREN developed their natural expertise in the only things which matter: toys. Eighty pupils aged from six to seven years old from Whitehill Infant School, Sun Lane, Gravesend, visited east London's Museum of Childhood, to compare puppets, mechanical

  • TO THE POINT

    STOP ANIMAL TESTING: We are five pupils from Erith School and we are doing a school project in social science. We are all working on campaigns and ours is animal testing. We have decided this because we know what is happening is wrong. We are very serious

  • Closure met with dismay

    PLANS to close a "local treasure" after Easter have been met with horror. Sevenoaks District Council is closing Lullingstone Park Visitors' Centre, Eynesford, to save cash as part of its series of cuts to balance its budget. But, with schools, families

  • Take us seriously or face consequences

    As a resident I attended the public meeting held at St Michael's Community Centre to discuss the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge. I was absolutely appalled by the arrogance and pomposity of our Labour MP. Mr Beard implied the bridge was good news for

  • I do not deny it

    Who are the people Mr Pavelin says deny they are European (News Shopper, January 12)? I read all your published letters and I do not recall any. I have no doubt we are European. I think he is confusing opposition to rule by an unelected and corrupt European

  • We are English not European

    A LETTER writer (News Shopper, January 12) incorrectly claims we are Europeans. We happen to live in an area of the globe which has been labelled Europe but there is no overall coherent cultural, ethnic or tribal association which constitutes us Europeans

  • It’s about more than just money

    The most serious objection to the ID scheme Tony Blair plans to force on us is not that they will cost a lot of money. Nor is it the cards will wear away our already threadbare freedoms. Similarly it is not because they will fail to do what the Government

  • ID cards will be latest challenge for criminals

    Will having ID cards help solve any problems in the world today? And this is not my only question. What happens if you lose or have your ID card stolen? What will be the cost and how easy will it be to get a replacement? What will you then have to do

  • Not Europeans

    Your correspondent (Letters, January 12) incorrectly claims we are Europeans. We happen to live in an area of the globe labelled Europe but there is no overall coherent cultural, ethnic or tribal association which constitutes us Europeans. Unless this

  • Politics getting in way again?

    THE Gravesham Council regulatory board declined on the advice of its planning officers the retrospective planning application by travellers to create a mobile home/caravan park in the middle of the green belt. Around 150 residents attended the meeting

  • Bring on the Foxes

    CHARLTON booked an FA Cup fifth-round date against Leicester City with a victory against Yeovil Town but not without the League Two Glovers giving Addicks boss Alan Curbishley a fright'. Curbishley's charges looked to be cruising when they held a 3-

  • 24-hour drinking is just not the answer

    I very much doubt most of your readers have dared go into the centre of Gravesend on a Friday or Saturday night. It can be an absolute shambles fighting, unbelievable levels of drunkenness, blood and vomit. Sorry but that is how it often is. The police

  • To the Point

    MORE SCHOOLS: Gravesham Friends of the Earth object to the sale of the Southfields School site, Gravesend, for housing development. Increasing the population and closing schools is unsustainable. The theory is because of the trend towards more single-people

  • A weighty issue

    So fat people are ruining the UK because their lifestyle is costing the NHS millions (News Shopper, January 12). Are they the only ones? What about drug takers, alcoholics and smokers? Then, of course, there are the elderly, notorious for taking up

  • Infrastructure is what’s needed

    In answer to the letter from an unnamed person (News Shopper, January 19), regarding Bluewater. Why should I move away from an area I have lived in for more than 60 years and my family for generations before me? Traffic would not be such a problem if