Author: Blake Foster

From Saturday, February 8, to Monday, February 4, sections of the northbound carriageway, including the east and west tunnels, will be closed at various times for tunnel works. Closures will begin each night from 10pm and reopen by 5am the following morning. Diversions will be in place via National Highways roads, and motorists are advised to plan ahead to avoid delays. The Dartford Crossing is a vital road link over the River Thames in England, connecting Dartford in Kent to Thurrock in Essex via the A282. This information is accurate at the time of publication, but may be subject to…

The work will affect trains on Tuesday (February 4) and Wednesday (February 5). We have compiled all the details on these works so that you can plan your journey this week. Tuesday and Wednesday (February 4 and February 5): Haslemere area: Due to maintenance work in the Haslemere area, some late evening services will be cancelled or replaced by buses for all or part of their journey. A statement on the South Western Railway website says: “Late evening and early morning services may need to be altered for emergency repairs or planned work. “We are sorry that bulky luggage, cycles…

Sgt Ratana, 54, who was attached to the Met Police, was murdered in the early hours of September 25, 2020 by De Zoysa, who opened fire with an antique revolver at a Croydon custody suite. The former tax office data analyst, who is autistic, discharged three shots within three seconds before a fourth, which was fired while he was on the cell floor, hit an artery in his own neck and caused him brain damage. Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, Elizabeth De Zoysa said: “Emotionally, he’s unstable. I’m very concerned about him in Belmarsh. He doesn’t seem to be coping…

The order will come into force for three years in May, with anyone caught breaking the new rules, which also include letting off fireworks in restricted spaces, liable for a fixed penalty notice of £100 or fines of up to £1,000 if the case goes to court.  Haringey Council approved the public spaces protection order last December, but it was reviewed by the council’s overview and scrutiny committee on January 14 amid concerns it could penalise some homeless people.  The committee made three recommendations: to expand exemptions to include all rough sleepers, to check the council’s antisocial behaviour team co-ordinates…

Around 50 people attended a public meeting held by residents’ group Bacton Towers Action in the Wendling Estate in Gospel Oak last week to raise awareness of plans for “hyper-density” flats in the area. Developer Mount Anvil has submitted a planning application to redevelop the former Bacton Low Rise estate, off Wellesley Road, on behalf of Camden Council. Redevelopment plans approved more than a decade ago were for 247 homes, but the new designs are for 447, with two towers up to 26 storeys high, according to documents on Camden Council’s online planning portal. Former architect Pat Bullivant, who lives in Oak Village, said: “The plans are absolutely atrocious.…

Over the course of 30 years Andrew Wilson groomed young boys by singling them out for special treatment then luring them into a sexual relationship with him.  In the 1980s he was abusing boys in Warnham, West Sussex, while he was a choirmaster at St Margaret’s Church in the village.   Then later he committed further abuse while he was a choirmaster and teacher at St Mary’s Church in Beddington.  In 2019, Andrew Wilson was locked up for 12 years after being found guilty 19 sex offences including gross indecency against boys aged between nine and 14.  On Friday (January 24)…

Winstone, who portrayed Dame Barbara Windsor in biopic Babs and took on the actress’ role of formidable pub landlord Peggy in a 1979-based flashback episode, is going to appear in new scenes, set in 1985. In recent months, Phil, played by Steve McFadden, has been struggling with loneliness following his former partner Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) starting a relationship with his long-lost cousin Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian), and the end of his marriage to Kathleen “Kat” Slater (Jessie Wallace). EastEnders will show how the character’s depression and symptoms of psychosis intensify, with him experiencing hallucinations, including a young Peggy. The…

University student, Rodrick Ekechi, embraced a new fitness goal to run from London to Birmingham after a month’s worth of training. The 22-year-old says on his page that had been overweight for the majority of his life and as a result was dealing with daily problems while experiencing a period of bullying in secondary school. He said: “I got tired of living with those problems and I was just tired of being tired and one day I just pushed myself and said I’m going to change no matter what. It starts today.” @rkfitnessss Running from London to Birmingham????????‍♂️,this was a…

The motoring association said recent rulings by London Tribunals’ traffic adjudicators show at least six councils have handed out £130 fines based on restrictions and enforcement cameras which lack up-to-date paperwork. Between December 13 and January 4, two such cases in Lambeth were overturned on appeal, as well as one in Croydon. In all three cases, an adjudicator found that the local authority had not provided evidence to show that the alleged contravention was an enforceable restriction. Instead, the restriction either appeared to have expired or invalidated by a subsequent order at the time the fine was handed down. In…

A public consultation on cuts needed to balance the 2025/26 budget ends on Wednesday, January 29. A financial report discussed at a cabinet meeting stated the proposals would bring the budget gap for 2025/26 from £30 million to £10.8 million. The need for savings was blamed on the “pressures” arising from greater demand for adult and children’s social care and special needs education. Out of the total £18.7 million of proposed cuts, around £8.8m comes from raising fees and charges on most council services by 10% in the year from April, with new charges on licences for “breeding dogs, dangerous wild…