Author: Blake Foster

“I’m a bit speechless,” Ian Fowler said outside the Old Bailey on Friday, April 4. “It made me cry. I couldn’t believe what he had done. It was absolutely sickening.” Ian, from Basildon, had just left the sentencing hearing for the man behind what the prosecution called an “appalling” attack on his father, Bernard Fowler. Bernard, 87, of Hamilton Drive, Harold Wood, was savagely beaten to death by schizophrenic Sekai Miles at Harold Wood train station in February 2024. The court heard Miles gouged Bernard’s eyes before bludgeoning him to death with his own walking stick, then repeatedly stamping on…

Plans have been submitted to Greenwich Council which would see a charity shop and a mobile phone repair shop replaced at 159 and 161-163 Eltham High Street. Applicant Morgan Management Ltd has said that the new four-storey building would be “mixed-use”, with space for a shop or restaurant on the ground floor. They have said that there will be an increase in the amount of retail floorspace at the site once the new building has been completed. Six flats would be built above the new shop, two of which would have one bedroom, with the rest being two bedroom properties.…

Julian Woodfield is taking a group around many of the locations featured in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, the fourth and final flick in the series, based on the book by Helen Fielding. The story follows Bridget, played by Renee Zellweger, after the death of her great flame Mark Darcy. Now a middle-aged single mother, her eye is caught by Roxster, played by 27-year-old Leo Woodall. In the film Bridget’s home, her children’s school, the magical tree where she first bumps into Roxter, Parliament Hill where the mum and kids let go of balloons and multiple other locations, are…

Chidubem, a student at Woolwich Polytechnic School, was last seen at around 10.45am this morning (April 4). He is described by police as being of medium build, with a short afro hairstyle, and was last seen wearing his full school uniform. Pictures of the school’s uniform have been shared by police on social media. | #MISSING | Have you seen Chidubem, 14 years old, missing from Woolwich?Last seen at 1045hours this morning. Chidubem is described as medium build, with a short afro, wearing full Woolwich Polytechnic Uniform.If seen, call 999 and quote 4101/04APR25. pic.twitter.com/3g4F07jsrI — Greenwich MPS (@MPSGreenwich) April 4,…

Redical, the owner of the shopping centre, is considering the next phase in its plans for the centre, following the approval of Havering Council’s Romford Masterplan last month. The Liberty has been identified as having the potential to deliver up to 110,000 square metres of new residential accommodation in the masterplan. Stephen Daniels, head of asset management and regeneration at Redical, said: “Since acquiring The Liberty Romford, Redical has been committed to enhancing and evolving the centre to ensure it continues to make a positive contribution to the town. “As we look to the future, it is very important we engage…

Sekai Miles, 23, of Brent Cross Gardens in Hendon, has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order for the killing of 87-year-old Bernard Fowler, of Hamilton Drive in Harold Wood. He pleaded guilty in January to manslaughter by diminished responsibility, which the Crown Prosecution Service accepted. More than two-dozen spectators – including Mr Fowler’s son Ian, from Basildon – packed into a sentencing hearing at the at Old Bailey on Friday (April 4). The court heard details of the “horrific” attack at Harold Wood railway station on February 27, 2024. Miles had become obsessed with religion, believing “he was being saved by God” and his route to good…

The incident happened at around 10.15am on Tuesday, April 1, while the victim was travelling along the Hogsmill River near Mole Court. She was approached by a man who asked for her electric scooter. He then assaulted her and tried to push her off before fleeing the scene. The suspect is described by police as a black man, around five foot seven inches tall, with a muscular build. He was wearing a black cap, a blue puffer coat and black trousers, and is thought to be in his late 30s. Police are urging anyone who may have witnessed the incident…

It comes after detectives began investigating in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations following reporting by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times. Brand is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area and the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2024 in the Westminster area of London. He has also been charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005 – both alleged to have taken place in Westminster, London. Brand will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 2.  Following the decision…

The 49-year-old has been charged with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault, relating to four separate women. It comes after detectives began investigating in September 2023 after receiving several allegations following reporting by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times. Brand is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area and the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2024 in the Westminster area of London. BREAKING: Comedian and actor Russell Brand has been charged with rape. https://t.co/TC2ROCL7wW📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602,…

Beats at the Boogaloo Pub, in Archway Road, took place on March 30 for an evening of beat poetry, beat music and a gathering of beat people.  The evening was hosted by star of stage and screen Dunbar, who led a line-up of fellow actors and poets reciting words of pioneers of the beat generation. He was joined by Kathelin Gray, Aidan A Dun, Nigel Lindsay, Anna Nygh, Saskia Reeves and Steven J Fowler, who performed his own beatnik poetry. The beat movement was a countercultural literary and artistic movement in 1950s and early 1960 America. Formed by authors and poets such…