It's been another very eventful year across south-east London and north Kent.

Here, we round up the stories making the news locally in the second half of 2018.

July

Dartford mum creates cancer comedy calendar for Breast Cancer Cure

The start of July was a barrel of laughs for Dartford mum, Emma Sheils, who decided to create a comedy calendar for charity after losing her hair to chemotherapy. She posed as a number of bald celebrities including Matt Lucas, Phil Mitchell and Harry Hill as she aimed to raise £3,000 for charity Breast Cancer Cure.

 

Video shows state of Embassy Court flat flooded with raw sewage

However things weren’t so funny for the Anderson family from Welling after their apartment was flooded with raw sewage. A shocking video sent to us here at News Shopper showed the true horrors of the leak and left the family in a desperate situation.

Men wrongly accused of Daniel Morgan murder win case against Met Police

Also this month, three men who were wrongly prosecuted in connection with the murder of private eye, Daniel Morgan back in 1987 were to be compensated after their 25-year ordeal. Jonathan Rees, Glenn Vian and Gary Vian took their case to the Court of Appeal after they were acquitted in 2012 when new evidence emerged suggesting a top cop had compromised the key witnesses debriefing.

ParkingEye charges breastfeeding mum for Sidcup Leisure Centre overstay

Ending on a happy note, July saw a major win for one new Bexley mum, as well as for News Shopper. Keiley Lacey received a £60 parking ticket after she took an extra few minutes to feed her child in the car park at Sidcup Leisure Centre. Our reporter, Liam McInerney, took the argument to the parking company, Parking Eye, and after numerous approaches for comment, a spokesperson emailed back with only minutes until the deadline to say that they would be waiving the fine. Safe to say we were just as chuffed as Keiley.

August

Landlord of Bird in Hand pub in Dartford celebrates 14st weight loss

August was a milestone month for Dartford landlord, Adam Joy, who celebrated winning Slimming World’s Man of the Year award after shedding a mind-blowing 14 stone in just nine months. He hoped his incredible win encouraged other men to do the same and not to be afraid to join slimming clubs. Fair play Adam!

 

White Hart pub in Eltham suddenly closes and people are sad

A good month for one publican, but unfortunately a bad one for another. Owners at The White Hart pub in Eltham High Street were forced to close their doors in July due to personal circumstance. Having raised more than £100,000 for charity since 2012, residents were devastated to lose “an amazing asset to the community.” We heard they did a cracking pint as well!

Park House Football Club disgust after travellers leave behind mess

Chaos ensued in Bromley after travellers set up illegal camps at Park House Football Club, leaving the club down thousands of pounds and sickeningly, leaving behind a dead dog in a cage. Following this, the council sought an injunction, banning all travellers from setting up camps in the borough. This controversial decision was met with anger by a traveller charity who slammed the move made by councillors.

Bexley Council has chased £20m in unpaid tax in past five years

The month ended with a major investigation by our reporter, Tom Bull, who revealed that Bexley Council had been chasing millions in unpaid taxes. The shocking revelations showed that the council had been trying to recuperate £20 million in council tax since 2012/13, and that also close to £150,000 had been, on average, written off over the same time period.

September

Campaigners occupying Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden vow to fight on

Soon September came, and with it came a revolution. Protestors began their occupation of the Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden in resistance to the controversial demolition of the gardens, along with 16 homes in Regenald House. Accusations flew with the council claiming that the group were “anti-social”, while residents argued that the gardens was the only green space left due to surrounding development projects being undertaken. The group has since been evicted.

 

Regular Dartford crossing users paid £83.7 million for the crossing from 2016-2017

Across in Dartford, drivers were appalled at price hikes on the Dartford Crossing amid revelations which showed that regular commuters had paid a whopping £83.7 million to cross the river over the course of a year. Talk about a money maker!

Swanscombe residents complain of sand blowing into their homes

People in Swanscombe weren’t too happy with the man-made beaches being “blown in” as residents complained that works on a housing development in Northfleet was covering everything in sand. One resident mentioned that it was even on their toilet seat. Can’t imagine that was comfortable.

Family of murdered Joel Urhie appeal for help to find killers

And on a more disheartening note, the parents of Joel Urhie, who died in a tragic arson attack at his home in Deptford, launched an appeal for information in the hopes that the killer is caught. We since learned, through the hard work of our reporter Bridie Witton, that Lewisham Council knew the Urhie family were at risk a month before the attack, according to a trusted source.

October

Complaints over Sydenham Sainsbury's queues and empty shelves

October was full of many twists and turns. One being the sudden uprising of Sainsbury’s shoppers who were fed up with their local store in Southend Lane as they claimed it had been experiencing a decline in standards for many years. Shoppers told of suggested sightings of rats, lack of fresh produce and massive weekend queues. We here at News Shopper still rate their baked range though.

Red Boutique owner blames Beckenham High Street roadworks for closure

Meanwhile in Beckenham High Street, a popular clothes shop shut its doors while the owner blamed ongoing road works for deflecting customers from shopping. While the owner of Red Boutique, Amanda Carey, could then focus on her East Wickham shop, she explained to News Shopper that she was devastated at the decision.

60,000 people sign petition to get Stephen Lawrence statue in Trafalgar Square

Heartwarming efforts made by campaigners saw 60,000 people sign a petition to have a statue of the late Stephen Laurence erected in Trafalgar Square in his memory. The tragic story of his death in 1993 still resonates within the communities of Greenwich and Theresa May even declared April 22, the day on which he was murdered, would be a day commemorating his death.

 

Finally as Halloween approached, searches for the still missing mum-of-five, Sarah Wellgreen, continued as police and volunteers combed through fields and drains across Dartford in a bid to find her. She was last seen in the Bazes Shaw area of New Ash Green on October 9. She has not been seen since.

November

Bellingham community react to murder of teenager Jay Hughes

November unfortunately delivered more woes across the boroughs as stabbings dominated our headlines. Jay Hughes, a 15-year-old boy from Bellingham, was stabbed to death with a machete outside a chicken shop, leaving the community rattled and fearful. Since then, St Andrew's Boxing Club has received a flood of new entries after the club’s owner reached out to local youths, waiving any costs for any who felt they couldn’t afford it.

 

Trussell Trust calls for change as food parcels given to SE London children

New figures released in November by the Trussell Trust showed that over 12,000 three-day-emergency food parcels were handed out across south-east London over a six-month period. Thousands of these were given to children. The foodbank network warned that delays in universal credit payments are leading to some families turning to food banks to help get through the week. Since then, they have estimated that more parcels than ever will be handed out over the festive period. You can help your local foodbank by donating food and toiletries to your nearest drop-off point.

Travis Perkins helps with new tools after Sidcup landscaper's van stolen

As grim as things may have seemed, we did witness some early Christmas miracles. Joe Diggins, a landscaper from Sidcup, unfortunately had his van stolen outside his home which meant he had to cancel jobs until he could afford to get a new van and tools. This would have completely ruined his Christmas until a local builders providers heard his story and gifted him with £300 of new tools to help get him back to work. Fair play to Dell Fitzgerald at Travis Perkins for saving Joe’s Christmas.

December

December has been full of good tidings already with News Shopper reporting on all the festive fun happening across the boroughs. However, unfortunately for some this will not have been a merry Christmas.

Widow of mentally ill man found dead in Greenwich hits out at Oxleas Trust

When Gary Etherington was found dead in his van in Greenwich on November 30, his brave wife Kay got in touch with our reporter Emily Hennings to tell of how her husband had suffered with severe mental health issues and was let down by Oxleas NHS Trust after they wouldn’t admit him into their care. Kay’s powerful story connected with thousands of our readers as support poured in for the grieving widow. Not a good start to the month but an incredibly important story to be told.

 

Police called as Lewisham Council meeting descends into chaos

Our reporter Bridie Witton also reported live from a rowdy Lewisham Council meeting at the start of the month in which chairwoman Cllr Jacq Paschoud caused chaos after she stated: “When I stand up everybody sits down and shuts up.” Tempers then flared leading to members of the public being ejected from the meeting and police being called.