Author: Blake Foster

She spent her early years growing up in Barnet “in confusion and sense of alienation”— placed in the care system at four years old and being moved from home to home. The woman — identified as ‘Jaclyn’ — remembers being subjected to sexual abuse one summer by a school caretaker who she says promised to take care of her, after her mother died at 26 from tuberculosis and her father had left the country. “I was left on my school steps waiting for somebody to collect me for the summer holidays,” she recalls. “The caretaker said I could stay with him…

A section of the M25 near Epsom is closed after a truck has jackknifed and spilled fuel on the road. The closure is on the anticlockwise side between Junction 10 (Wisley Interchange) and Junction 8 (Reigate). Traffic is queueing for two miles while cleanup crews work to clear the spillage and remove the truck. Drivers are being sent on a detour via Hollow Square signs, taking them onto the A3 towards Tolworth. However, the diversion is also experiencing delays as traffic builds. Motorists are advised to avoid the area and allow extra time for their journeys until the road reopens.…

Early birds – and perhaps people who had not yet gone to bed – dashed out as flakes were falling to throw snowballs and build snowmen. But anyone emerging from their homes dressed in warm coats and hats later on Sunday found the air surprisingly warm, as rain washed away the last crusts of snow. London’s weather has been changeable since the new year, with rain on Friday (January 4), followed by blue skies the following day. Children dash out into the streets of Belsize Park as it snows (Image: Linda Grove) The city was under a yellow weather warning for snow…

One of the biggest contributors to Christmas waste is gift wrapping. It is estimated that over 108 million rolls of wrapping paper are used every year in the UK alone, much of which ends up in landfills due to its inability to be recycled. Similarly, plastic packaging for toys and electronics is often excessive, leaving behind piles of non-biodegradable materials. Food waste also peaks during the holiday season. With large feasts and an abundance of leftovers, nearly 4.2 million tons of food are wasted in the UK annually over Christmas. This not only wastes resources but also generates methane, a potent…

Jeremih, 14, went missing on Tuesday (December 31, 2024) from his home in the Sidcup, SE9 area. Police are urging anyone with information or who sees the teenager to contact them. A social media post from Greenwich MPS read: “MISSING- Please help us locate #missing 14 year old Jeremih from #SE9. “Last seen 31/12/24. “Any information or sightings, please call 999/101 quoting reference 01/7000323/25.“ Source link

Officers from the Metropolitan Police were called just before 10am today (January 3) with reports of a man found dead in Engineers Way.  The crime scene blocked off an entrance to the building (Image: Newsquest London) They were dispatched to the scene with colleagues from the London Ambulance Service, where the man was located.  Paramedics administered first aid, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene a short while later.  A passerby who was in the area at around 11am told this paper that she had seen “lots of police and ambulances” in the area.  A passerby described seeing…

Not to mention all main-line passenger trains running out of St Pancras being cancelled over the festive holiday. Engineers have now completed a £19 million scheme to replace the 160-year-old Agar Grove Bridge over the railway a-mile-and-a-half north of St Pancras station. The nightmare of noise, traffic barriers and street closures began on December 20 and finally ended when families on the Agar Grove estate woke up on Monday morning with the more gentle ‘rumble’ of trains running past their homes again. “The bridge at Agar Grove was more than 160 years old and needed replacing,” Network Rail’s Mark Budden…

High Road, Willesden was taped up by police from the morning of yesterday (December 28) and most of today (December 29) as forensics investigated the knife attack. Police were called to reports of a stabbing in Linacre Road, just off the High Road, at 4.16am. They were dispatched to the scene with the London Ambulance Service and air ambulance, where a man was found with serious stab wounds. He was taken to hospital but is understood to have died at Edgware Road before arriving there. Police at Willesden Green (Image: NQ) Investigating officers are confident that the victim was a…

Below is a list of major housing projects expected across the borough in the next 12 months. The schemes have all been previously approved by the local authority and are envisioned to make significant progress in the coming months. More details on each scheme can be found online via the council’s planning portal. News broke early in 2024 that the immense Morden Wharf scheme in Greenwich Peninsula was set to be redesigned by Jo Cowen Architects following the site being purchased. The ambitious project plans to deliver 1,500 new homes to the area in blocks up to 36 storeys tall.…

It was put on at Cranleigh’s banqueting suite in Hornchurch by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT), which runs Queen’s. One of the volunteers is Jeffrey Marks, a 77-year-old from Hornchurch, who comes in twice a week to cut patients’ hair and help at meal times. “There are people worse off than me,” he says. “So if I can give a little back and help them, that’s all the better.” Patricia Pawley, 88, from Rainham, has been helping out since her husband died a year ago. She decided to volunteer “because of the lovely care he received” and now…