On the 18th of March 2013, many 15-17 year olds congregated at St Pauls College in Surrey to collect their DofE awards. The DofE (the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award) is a scheme which helps young people develop valuable life skills. The DofE consists
With Easter just hopping around the corner, many activities such as Easter egg hunts are being planned across Croydon and I am sure the many children will be excited to run around their local park or garden in search of the precious chocolate
World-class cyclists and thousands of spectators will descend on Epsom for the Tour of Britain cycle race in September. Epsom was today named as the start for the penultimate leg of the tour which will pass through Leatherhead en route to Guildford
Sutton United boss Paul Doswell has thrown in the towel on the Blue Square South play-offs and is instead turning his attentions to next season. Following Tuesday night’s 4-2 win at Billericay, Doswell said there is no longer any pressure from
More than four thousand people marched 14 miles to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospitals. The Marsden March saw thousands walk from the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea to its counterpart in Sutton last weekend, stopping off at the Windmill
A doctor presented groundbreaking cancer research to politicians this week. Dr Maria Vinci, 38, of the Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, presented her work on 3D tumour models to politicians and a panel of expert judges in Parliament on Monday
The father of a young man who fell to his death from the top floor of a car park has demanded answers from the council. Alexander Smokovic-Campbell, 25, died on October 30, 2012, when he fell from the 7th floor of the Gibson Road Car Park in Sutton
The borough's MPs have welcomed yesterday's budget, saying it will save almost 90,000 people £700 per year. Sutton's Liberal Democrat MPs Tom Brake and Paul Burstow have described George Osborne's budget, unveiled yesterday, as fair and practical
Pupils are celebrating after scooping awards for their hard work. More than 120 young people attended The Jack Petchey Achievement Awards at the Secombe Theatre on Wednesday, March 13, and Thursday, March 14. The awards scheme provides £32,000
Firefighters were called to a fire at a house in Tolworth this morning - only to find the homeowner had dealt with it themselves. A crew from Surbiton was called to Thornhill Road at 7.43am to reports of a small house fire. But when they arrived
Kim Kardashian will take over an entire hospital floor for her birth. The 32-year-old reality star is expecting her first child with boyfriend Kanye West in July and she wants her baby's first moments to be "idyllic", so she has booked a whole
A young couple from Croydon feature in a new reality show as they take on their biggest challenge- becoming parents. Shannon, 16, and Paul, 22, from South Norwood feature in The Baby Bomb, which débuts on BBC 3 tonight. The series of four 60
A former editor of the Sunday Mirror was among four people arrested last week as Scotland Yard continues its inquiry into phone hacking. Tina Weaver, 47, was arrested at her Wandsworth home last Friday as the investigation, called Operation Weeting
A baby from Wallington died of cot death at just 13-weeks-old, an inquest heard. Parents Lee Laws and Victoria Holleyman woke to find their baby Tyler Lee Laws was not breathing on January 13, 2013. He was taken to Queen Mary’s Hospital for
Two men braved a leg wax this week to raise money for Comic Relief. The hair-raising event, organised by the Merton Chamber of Commerce and Bluebird Care, saw employees Jay Patel and Tom Ruffell raise more than £500 to have a half leg stripped
A pair of girls ran five miles up and down a road yesterday to raise money for Comic Relief. Grace Bates and Tegan Nickson, both 12, did the challenge on Longmead Road in Epsom after being inspired by watching fundraising efforts on TV. Grace
A chimney caught fire at a riverside bar and restaurant in Surbiton today. Firemen were called to Harts Boatyard when the flue above the fireplace set alight at about midday. Guests were evacuated before the fire service arrived at the scene
Josh Duhamel can't wait for the sleepless nights when he becomes a father. The 'Safe Haven' actor is expecting his first child with wife Fergie and he is very excited about everything parenthood has to offer, including being woken several times
Police helped a girl to safety after she was spotted dangling her legs over the edge of a shopping centre's roof. The 17-year-old has been taken to hospital after been talked away from the edge of Croydon Centrale this afternoon. The alarm
George Clarke thinks it’s time Britain’s big builders and planners upped their game to create more amazing spaces for future generations to enjoy. The architect, writer and presenter of Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces and Restoration Man series says many
Reggae Reggae Sauce mastermind Levi Roots is closing his first restaurant leaving a school it serves searching for a new hot meal provider. Papine Jerk Centre, located in the York Road Estate, Lavender Road, Battersea, has been serving Jamaican
A diner has been opened in memory of a man's fun-loving brother, who died last year. Graffiti artist Dean Roberts died in front of friends and family at St George’s Hospital in Tooting on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at the age of 28, following
A "fit and healthy" former Wandsworth policewoman - who died chasing two suspects had a rare heart problem which led to her death, an inquest has heard. Detective Constable Adele Cashman, 30, had suffered a fatal cardiac dysrhythmia as she pursued
The final Saturday morning family concert is to take place at Fairfield Halls this weekend. Over the last 47 years more than 300 family concerts have been performed to audiences of over 350,000 by Arthur Davison and his son Darrell. The last
Residents have accused Merton Council of abusing its power by allowing a temporary car park to remain on a heritage site for a year while processing an application for a permanent car park. The area in the Grade II listed Wimbledon Park has been
Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillor Adrian Knowles, has been presented with a new cloak while visiting Northcote Lodge preparatory school for boys. Coun Knowles, a qualified physicist, and a former school teacher, spoke to the boys about his mayoral
Morrisons has today unveiled new designs for its proposed store in Weybridge, after it was initially thrown out by Elmbridge Council in October. The supermarket wants to develop the former Focus DIY store in Monument Hill, despite opposition from
The Ford Focus ST was the best-selling hot hatch in Europe in the last three months of 2012 according to figures from automotive data intelligence provider Polk, writes Philip Shoulder. The Focus ST accounted for 44 per cent of all sales during
Gospel Choir IDMC raised the roof when they performed at Woodside Baptist Church last week. The 13 singers and bad treated their sell out crowd to a number of gospel favourites including Amazing Grace and This Little Light of Mine. Audience
The actress has sons Dashiell, 11, Roman, eight, and Ignatius, four, with husband Andrew Upton, and let them come backstage with her when she was filming 'The Hobbit' so they could pass down the secrets of her trade to them. She told TV show '
More than a million cash-strapped motorists are driving on Britain’s roads with accident-damaged vehicles, new research suggests. Tens of thousands could be unaware that the safety of their vehicles has been compromised by minor prangs, according to
Protesters turned out in force at the weekend to campaign against the proposed bedroom tax. Dozens of campaigners descended on Croydon Town Hall on Saturday, to demonstrate against the new tax that is due to be introduced from April 1. Protesters
The courageous acts of the public and police force have been honoured at a commendation ceremony hosted by Merton police. The 'Stars of 2012' event was attended by Wimbledon's own Olympic champion rower Sophie Hosking and Dragon’s Den star Theo
Hyundai has expanded its i40 model line-up following the addition of a new range-topping Premium SE trim, which will sit above the existing Premium specification, writes Philip Shoulder. This promises to offer class-leading levels comfort, luxury
What best-selling booklet applies to the whole of England, Scotland and Wales and, according to the Government, is ‘essential reading’ for everyone? The answer is simply The Highway Code. Yet, truthfully, when did you last even glance at it?
Former Bonzo Vernon Dudley Bowhay-Nowell - arguably the best name in showbiz - will be joining some of his old bandmates on Monday (March 25) for a one-off show celebrating the life of the late Vivian Stanshall. The Kingston musician is one of
A Tooting school boy has wowed judges with his ‘The Spectrum of Society’ speech. Jacob Pines, a year 10 student at Graveney School, won the Wandsworth Regional Final of Jack Petchey’s ‘Speak Out’ Challenge, held on Friday, March 15, at Chesnut
A Baptist minister will be among those riding 100km through the heart of London to raise money for Princess Alice Hospice. Richard Littledale, 48, the minister at Teddington Baptist Church, will set off from Crystal Palace and cycle to Alexandra
The new head of social services at Kingston Council has been criticised by a High Court judge for launching an “unlawful” child abuse investigation into an innocent family in her old job. Sylvia Chew came under fire during a judicial review into
Brentford Football Club chairman Greg Dyke has been appointed chairman of the Football Association. Twickenham resident Greg Dyke, 65, was unanimously voted in today and will take over as chairman from David Bernstein when he leaves the post after
Police are reassuring parents over the safety of their children, a week after a man tried to abduct a girl walking to school. The nine-year-old was steps away from her front door, and a few feet behind her mother, when she was snatched by a man
Carshalton boxer Lenny Daws is suspecting under-hand tactics ahead of his European Super Lightweight bout in Italy. The bout for the vacant title against Michele Di Rocco was due to be staged in Italy after promotions company OPI 2000 were awarded
School children have been commended for their way with words after taking part in a poetry competition. Merton's libraries organised the competition to coincide with world poetry day today, March 21 with primary school children asked to write on
An exquisite selection of fine wines will once again be brought to Weybridge for wine lovers to put their taste buds to the test. Noble Vines Wine School will bring its expertise to the second Weybridge Wine Festival in aid of Sam Beare Hospice
I will be running in this year’s Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 21st April for The Children’s Trust, a national charity that provides specialist care for some of the UK’s most severely disabled children, and rehabilitation to children with an acquired
Staff at Sutton Council have scooped a customer service excellence award. A recent inspection by Cabinet Office examiners led to the council's Revenues and Benefits team achieving its Customer Service Excellence accreditation for three more years
This crazy hospital sell-off plan really makes no sense. I have seen details of the plan to sell off St Anthony’s Hospital in North Cheam by the Nuns of the Daughters of the Cross. This action has threatened the future of the wonderful St Rafael
With winter drawing to a close families are being called to spring into action and try a variety of sport challenges. The Crystal Palace National Sport Centre is holding a Be Inspired open day this Saturday to encourage visitors to take part in
Tooting MP Sadiq Khan met a group of mums bidding to save the Windmill One O'Clock Club last week. Earlier this month the majority of Wandsworth Councillors voted to close the club, which is situated in Wandsworth Common, in August but parents
Steve Reed MP shows very little regard for what is really happening with Policing in Croydon in his letter last week. In Croydon, the permanent Police establishment has been level for some years now but these proposals will see us receiving an
Thousands were celebrating after walking 14 miles for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. A total of 4,500 people took part in the Marsden March on Sunday – a sponsored walk from the Royal Marsden hospital in Chelsea to their hospital in Sutton.
Epsom and St Helier hospitals are facing a £4.8m fine for failing to hit infection reduction targets - the equivalent of £65,000 a day since the start of the year. Since April last year 61 patients - 29 at Epsom and 32 at St Helier - have developed
Serves 6 You’ll need: 2kg Pink Lady apples Juice of 2 freshly squeezed lemons 125g unsalted butter, slightly softened 125g caster sugar 20 cloves, crushed 1 nutmeg, finely grated 200g puff pastry What to do: Smear the butter
The sale of a public sports hall to a private school by the council has left an Olympic medallist desperately searching for a new home for his judo school. Ray Stevens, who won silver at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, set up his judo club six
A dual carriageway in Croydon has been named one of the slowest 'rush-hour' roads in London. It may come as no surprise to some commuters that Wellesley Road has is the eighth most congested road in the capital, according to a survey by GPS vehicle
Waiting room reading material and catering facilities at St George's Hospital have been ridiculed in an anthology of poems. Eddie Forde, from Cambalt Road, Putney wrote the hilarious creations after a short stay at St George's Hospital in Tooting
Family and friends of a baby with an incurable genetic disease have been raising funds for the expensive equipment he needs. Louie Bull, from Stonecot Hill, was born with the rare and very serious condition, Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Respiratory
Pupils from years 8, 9 and 10 at Trinity School, took part in the production, that was presented as a contemporary warfare drama. The school hired 30 guns from a professional gun hire company to create a more exciting production. Andrew Godfrey
There are several things you are not supposed to do on Wimbledon Common. Ask any dog owner, courting couple or would-be streaker. Now they have put up another sign, alongside the one, totally ignored, that forbids bicycle rides across the Common
The Justice Secretary was at Buckingham Palace to swear in the new Archbishop of Canterbury - who is being enthroned today - students heard last week. Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling told Ewell Castle School students that as Lord Chancellor he
The time of year has come around that is loved dearly by everyone. It makes no difference if you’re a child, or adult. Easter has something for everyone. Children look forward to the festive chocolates. Families look forward to having a reason to get
