Reality TV stars Jamie Lang and Chloe Sims help Coulsdon salon raise charity cash
PICTURES: Opening of new £20 million bridge at East Croydon station
Mum who nearly died from flesh-eating bug 'saved by pyjamas'
Security guards pocket £45 for each smoker caught dropping butt
A PRIVATE company – paid £45 by the council for every litter fine they issue – has made thousands of pounds by targeting smokers who drop their cigarette ends in the town centre.
But instead of making the council money, the pilot scheme has so far cost more than £3,000 since the contract was signed with Kingdom Security in August.
The company are paid their commission by the council every time they give out a fine, regardless of whether the culprits cough up or not.
Of the 1,571 fines dished out so far since August, 92 per cent were given to smokers who have dropped their cigarettes.
So far, the council has lost money through the contract because only 57 per cent of the fines have been paid.
Although it has collected £67,575, the council has had to pay Kingdom Security £70,695 for issuing the fines.
The punishments are dished out by a team of four environmental enforcement officers, who patrol the town centre regularly, dressed in black jackets.
They work alongside 22 council area enforcement officers but are unpopular with many shoppers.
Mary Lineker, who regularly visits North End to go shopping, said it was like being "stalked".
"We're easy targets. They know they'll get money if they follow us around and see us dropping a fag butt.
"But where are the bins? There are plenty of smokers on the street and barely anywhere for us to put them"
Lea Jackson, who lives in New Addington, said it was wrong for a company to get commission on every fine they gave out.
"It means they don't concentrate of the kind of littering people are actually bothered about and make a packet out of fining smokers instead.
"I saw a really old lady on a mobility scooter the other day. She was having a cigarette and dropped it.
"This man came up to her and fined her on the spot, she couldn't even bend down to pick it up.
"I understand that people shouldn't drop their butts on the floor but that was really disgusting.
"Now I know they get commission, I'm less surprised."
Julie Webb, also visiting the town centre from New Addington, agreed that smokers shouldn't drop their cigarettes but said other types of litter were much more of a problem.
"Just outside my door at home the dog litter is everywhere.
"It's really bad, especially when kids get out of a car on the verge and go to school, spreading it all around. They can get really ill from that kind of thing.
"And things like people leaving all their rubbish outside houses and on the street; why not fine people for that?"
Gary Barnett said a "naming and shaming" of litterbugs in the town centre would be more effective.
"Instead of fining people a huge sum of money most people can't afford, get officers to make them pick up their rubbish or cigarettes and put them in the bin in front of everyone on the street."
The council have said they need 60 per cent of the fines to be paid to at least cover the cost of the contract.
A spokesman added that the council's payment rate sat at an average of 65 per cent for all fines issued across the borough, arguing the proportion of repaid fines would rise above 60 per cent as the pilot continued.
'We will prosecute litter louts' A COUNCIL chief has defended the deployment of environmental enforcement officers. The council's cabinet member for community safety and public protection, Simon Hoar, was questioned about the matter by other councillors on Monday. He said the new contract was supporting the council's officers who already issue litter fines across the borough. Since April this year, these council officers have handed out 232 fines for litter, one of which was for dog fouling, and 40 for fly-tipping. Cllr Hoar said the council was aiming to increase the number of paid fines by bringing people to court. "If people fail to pay the fine then the council can prosecute for the offence. "The council has now appointed solicitors to act on its behalf, prepare the case files, and will be prosecuting the first batch of 50 people in early December." Labour's Addiscombe councillor Mark Watson said the scheme was "poorly managed" and asked why the council couldn't employ its own officers to do the job. He said: "People are much more worried about fly-tipping and dog fouling. To say thousands of people have been fined for littering is misleading when nearly all of them are for cigarette butts. "In the same week as they try and take away from the poor and hungry by banning a soup kitchen, they give taxpayers' money straight to big business."Coulsdon's Santa sleigh is derailed due to insurance woes
AN annual visit by Santa has been foiled by a lack of insurance for his 'sleigh'.
The Rotary Club of Coulsdon's festive tour of west Coulsdon to collect money for local charities will not be going ahead this year after organisers struggled to get the car and trailer insured.
The club's acting president Brian French said: "We are in a transitional state of changing our insurers and there have been a few anomalies as to what is and is not covered [on the vehicle].
"This year it is a bitter disappointment to us but also to those people who won't be able to contribute money [via the float] – many people collect over the year and bring out a carrier bag for us.
"People give very generously – we sound the music so people know we are there and people bring their children out and see Father Christmas who waits outside."
But Mr French said the Rotarians will be helping at the Coulsdon Yulefest, the Christmas festival in the town centre this weekend, where donations will be welcomed.
The club's trailer decorated with stained-glass-windows and angels has been a familiar sight in the run up to Christmas for more than 20 years.
The team typically collects more than £3,000 for local charities each year as the trailer passes through west Coulsdon including through Woodcote Valley Road, St Andrew's Road and Chipstead Valley Road.
Different charities take it in turns to collect with the Rotarians on different nights, while charities that cannot attend get a cut of the money collected.
Charities that have benefited have included the South East Cancer Help Centre, Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Old Coulsdon Centre for the Retired.
Rotary Club of Coulsdon member Gary Beckett said: "People would always come out of their houses to donate something."
The Rotary Club of Coulsdon Manor is a separate group and its Christmas charity collection around its patch including Old Coulsdon will be unaffected.
Mr French said he was "confident" the Rotary Club of Coulsdon's insurance problems would be fixed by next year.
"The Rotary International is confident that the problems will be ironed out," he said.
Anyone who wishes to donate can send cheques to the Coulsdon Rotary Club via Chipstead Golf Club, How Lane, Chipstead, Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 3LN. Or to acting president Brian French, 60 Court Avenue, Old Cousldon CR5 1HE. The club has recently supported the Philippines Typhoon Appeal with a Shelter Box.
PREVIEW: Crystal Palace vs Cardiff City
PALACE head into Saturday's clash with Cardiff City in buoyant mood following a gritty 1-0 win on Tuesday against West Ham.
The Eagles have conceded just once in four games and have reached double figures in points for the season to catch up with the teams above them at the bottom of the Premier League.
Manager Tony Pulis may decide to name an unchanged starting line-up for the third game running, which will include strike duo Marouane Chamakh and Cameron Jerome.
Both impressed against the Hammers and Pulis has hinted he wants the pair to build a working relationship for the team.
Julian Speroni has certainly been a key figure at the back and says Saturday's game is "massive".
"Cardiff will be tough of course and there's no time to relax and enjoy what happened against West Ham," he said.
"We had a day off on Wednesday and then we'll focus on what we're going to do on Saturday.
"It's a massive game. We need to be strong at home and we know that.
"We are going to try to win the game, for sure, and let's see what happens.
"We need to pick up as many points at home."
Joel Ward, Dean Moxey, Damien Delaney and Danny Gabbidon look set to continue at the back, and Ward in particular hailed Chamakh for his goal on Tuesday.
"He created some great chances and was maybe unlucky not to take a few more," said Ward.
"All credit to him, he works so hard and puts in a big shift for the team. He showed that.
"He brings a different threat in the air for us.
"He's a great lad and works hard for us.
"Any striker, you want them inside the area and doing what they do best."
Meanwhile, Yannick Bolasie sits out his final match of a three-game ban following his red card against Hull City, so Jason Puncheon may continue on the left.
However, Jimmy Kebe came off the bench on Tuesday night and will be pushing for a start.
Barry Bannan will certainly be one of the first names on the teamsheet after a number of impressive displays, including his inch-perfect delivery for Chamakh to score on Tuesday.
Cardiff came away with a point following a goalless draw at Stoke City on Wednesday night, so a Palace win could close the gap on both sides come 5pm tomorrow.
However, Malky Mackay's men have now won just once in their last eight games, so it is a good time to play them, especially with Chelsea next on the Eagles' fixture list.
The Bluebirds have accumulated six points on the road ahead of the trip to Palace, with only three of their seven games away from Wales having ended in defeat.
And midfielder Jordon Mutch wants Saturday's visitors to pick up their away form as they head to SE25.
"We must take our home form away – if we do that we can pick up quite a few points," he said.
"Our aim is to do the business on Saturday. We are capable of winning against Crystal Palace and will do all we can to achieve that.
"It felt weird playing a midweek match at Premier League level because it's not often something you do in this league."
An Eagles win will take them up to 13 points and just one behind Cardiff. Bottom club Sunderland, who lost 4-3 at home to Chelsea on Wednesday, host Tottenham, while Fulham do not play until Sunday against Aston Villa.
And West Ham travel to an impressive Liverpool side this weekend, although a Hammers defeat at Anfield and a Palace win will not be enough for the Eagles to climb out of the relegation zone due to inferior goal difference.
Police in Croydon to crack down on Christmas street crime
POLICE in civvies will be joining uniformed colleagues to crack down on Christmas crime.
In addition to the town centre team of ten officers, a further 19 who have been trained to deal with town centre security will also be patrolling throughout December.
Superintendent Rob Atkin, the borough's deputy commander, said the plain-clothes officers would play an important part in dealing with and preventing street robberies.
He said the overall intention of the increased presence would be to make people, either out shopping during the day or celebrating at night, feel safe.
Superintendent Atkin said: "In terms of the daytime this is about having greater visibility on the streets.
"We know it is important that people feel secure. We want them to be able to come here and shop in peace and enjoy the shopping and entertainment."
The police will also be working closely with the Croydon Business Crime Reduction Partnership, an initiative involving town centre retailers to tackle shoplifting and antisocial behaviour.
The partnership works under the auspices of the Croydon Business Improvement District (BID)
Matthew Sims, chief executive of the BID, said the partnership with the police to make the centre more secure was growing in strength.
He said: "There is still work to be done but great strides are being made.
"The whole thing is to create the right kind of atmosphere and we are more than happy with the way the relationship with the police is developing."
Mr Sims said the question of making Croydon attractive to visitors was not, however, limited to security.
The BID is therefore running its own agenda to attract more people into the town centre focusing on entertainment being provided for the next three weekends from street entertainers usually based in Covent Garden.
The BID is also confident its new Check Out Croydon loyalty card, with its offers from shops, pubs and restaurants, will also improve the overall shopping experience.
Mr Sims said: "Shopping at Christmas can be stressful and the entertainers will help create the atmosphere we want.
"They will help put a smile on people's faces at a time when they might well be feeling fraught."
Croydon South hopeful will remain company shareholder if elected
THE candidate most likely to be the next MP for Croydon South says he intends to remain "one of a number of shareholders" in his development investment company were he elected.
The Tories' candidate for the seat, Chris Philp, told the Advertiser he would step aside from any executive or management role in Pluto Capital, the company he set that finances residential developments in London and the South-East.
The 37-year-old added he did not think remaining a non-majority shareholder would pose a potential conflict of interest with his work as an MP, adding "all kinds of people own shares in private companies," and "it all gets declared on the register anyway."
He said his business experience, which includes starting his first company aged 24 and selling it for £80 million four years later, would be valuable in Parliament.
"Relatively few people in Parliament have got real business experience," he said. "I think one of the reasons I won the selection is that people in the meeting quite liked the idea of having an MP who has got experience in the real world."
The candidate's work with Pluto has given him experience of many of the development policies affecting the borough as elsewhere – although he said he has not financed any developments in Croydon.
He set up Pluto Finance, the wing of Pluto Capital that works in the UK and South-East, in 2010 after the financial crash slowed banks' lending to developers.
The company's website says it has funded "thirty projects in the past few months alone," listing recent successes including 20 houses and eight flats on the outskirts of Southampton and converting a stately home in Surrey into 11 luxury apartments.
In an article in Property Week last year, Mr Philp said developers "needed help" to make schemes viable again, and suggested that "in areas of economic deprivation, section 106 payments and social housing obligations could be suspended for two years to help make new schemes viable again."
Speaking to the Advertiser this week, he said he believed social obligations risked pushing up the cost of the homes, adding: "In poor areas you want to make the private housing as cheap as you possibly can."
Smart money's on Coulsdon shop becoming a bookmaker
A STORE that has lain empty for more than two years looks likely to be turned into a betting shop.
Coral bookmakers has applied to Croydon Council for a gambling licence for No. 6 The Parade in Old Coulsdon.
The former Oddbins shop would become the second bookmaker in the village, which has a Betfred roughly half a mile away.
Brian Udell, chairman of the Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, said the use may be better then nothing.
He said: "I don't think it will be welcome, but on the other hand it could be better than an empty shop. At least it will be used."
His association had not yet decided whether to object to the plans, he added on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Coral said the company planned to open from 8.30am to 9.30pm, and promised the shop would benefit the area with its "brand new" frontage and "welcoming" atmosphere.
Simon Clare, added: "It is a place where people of all ages go and spend time.
"It may be a victim of antisocial behaviour as much as a pub or a restaurant – that is as much an issue for any retailer as it is for a betting shop, and we take that seriously."
The Advertiser reported just over one year ago how the shop's landlord, Nicholas Defries of Merstham in Surrey, wanted to turn the store into a charity shop.
His plan was to sell pre-owned goods and donate part of the profits to Battersea Dogs and Cats Homes and the Dogs Trust.
Mr Defries was unavailable for comment this week but his wife said he was pleased with the proposed use.
In March a Paddy Power in London Road, Croydon, became the borough's 66th betting shop, while a London Assembly report raised concerns about concentrations of betting shops, pawnbrokers and payday loan shops turning visitors away from the high streets.
The potential opening of the store sparked debate on the residents' association's Facebook page.
Hannah Harries said: " No betting shop, thanks. Personally I think it would undermine the quaint character of old Coulsdon."
Responding to a different comment, Andy Haynes said: "I certainly wouldn't say it attracts dross. . . I'm of the opinion if you don't like the idea of it then don't go in it."
Croydon Council said the permitted hours of trading for a betting shop are 7am to 10pm every day.
The shop would have to apply for permission to trade outside of those hours, a spokesman added.
The authority is asking for any comments on the licence plans to be made by Monday December 23.
E-mail any of your comments to licensing @croydon.gov.uk
Rough Copy X Factor semi-final song choices revealed
Hannah Barrett talks childhood, Croydon and life after X Factor
HANNAH Barrett's X Factor dreams ended with a sing-off against Rough Copy two weeks ago. But the 17-year-old has insisted life has already thrown much tougher trials her way and is determined to be an inspiration to young girls in Croydon.
"I was 14 when I left home for the first time," Hannah told the Advertiser. "I was getting on really badly with my mum at the time. I felt like my stepdad had come along way too early after my dad died and things were really hard for me and my brothers and sisters.
"I came back home but left again when I was 16 and went to live with a friend for a few months before I was found somewhere to live by a charity which helps teenagers who have been kicked out or are homeless."
Hannah worked for Holland & Barrett when she was 16, but lost her job and had to rely on benefits to tide her over.
"Everyone knows how unreliable benefits are and it was really difficult to look after myself and get to college every day.
"Then I got a job in Greggs in Thornton Heath and fitted it in around my school work. It did mean I was working straight after college and coming home late, eating and sleeping, then repeating the whole thing again."
Despite her circumstances, the aspiring singer achieved two Cs and a B in her English Literature, Drama and Performance Studies AS levels earlier this year.
Hannah has said her happiest childhood memories are of her father playing every type of music to her and her siblings when they were little.
"He wanted all of us to play an instrument and become musicians or artists," she said.
"He would introduce us to so much music, jazz, soul, everything. I would play the piano then but don't feel confident to play it on stage right now."
When Hannah was nine, her parents split up and her father died a month later.
"It was awful for me and my brothers and sisters. Our parents had been together for 17 years and then my dad died. He had been ill but we did not expect it at all."
However, the singer said the hardest time in her life was between the age of 14 and 15 when she was excluded from Archbishop Lanfranc School and sent to the Croydon African Caribbean Family Organisation education centre which takes in pupils with behavioural issues.
"That was the hardest thing I've ever done, way harder than the X Factor," she said.
"I was so angry and rebelled a lot and got in trouble at school. I was hanging around with the wrong people and was so rude to teachers. That centre was so strict, I had no freedom or power. I was a real hard nut to crack."
Hannah said she worried about some of the teenagers she had grown up with.
She said: "I never got into crime but there are a lot of people who have lost their way. I see them take that small step and then a gang becomes their family – which way forward is there for them after that?
"So many guys in jail are so smart. I hear about it and just think 'If you put your mind to it, you could be as rich as Bill Gates'.
"So many are really clued up with business ideas. We come from a place that doesn't have much – bad housing and parents on benefits.
"Boys see their mums go hungry to put food on the table and it hurts them, they want to help them. That's why you see some boys on the streets dealing drugs."
The singer said she wanted to provide an inspiration for young girls in Croydon – the ones who think they are "too fat, or their skin is too dark or have been taken advantage of".
"That's why I love Rough Copy too and am rooting for them, they provide inspiration for boys on the street," she said.
"I've listened to their stories and they are really hard, they've been through so much."
The singer has said she intends to break into America's music industry and still has the same dream to become a star.
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Rough Copy star in X Factor semi-final - now YOU can help them into the final
On-the-spot fines of £75 for spitting or littering around council housing
LOUTS beware – new powers will be introduced later this month allowing fines to be handed out for spitting, dropping litter and even walking too many dogs.
From December 14 the council's neighbourhood wardens will be allowed to issue on-the-spot fines of £75 for acts of antisocial behaviour in council housing.
Fines for people not picking up their dog's mess or controling their dogs will be fixed at £75 with no chance of reduced early payment – as has been the case until now.
A Croydon Council spokesman said of the powers: "They are being introduced to ensure residential areas are clean, tidy and pleasant places to live for council tenants and leaseholders. It's also about ensuring we are consistent with enforcement officers in other parts of the council."
Warbank Crescent resident Karl Fuller said fly-tipping in his area did need ending, but some fines might be difficult to enforce.
He said: "With fly-tipping it might help if you were threatened with a fine, but spitting you are not going to control. You are going to get quite a few appeals – where is the evidence that I spat on the floor?"
The new rules also cover one person taking more than four dogs out together. Ken Burgess, chairman of the Central Parade Business Partnership and owner of Burgess Boys Pet Care in Central Parade, said he could understand the measure, which has no exemptions for dog walkers.
He said: "To take ten dogs out on a lead I believe is not sensible – four dogs or maybe five might be ok but to take more than that out you cannot be expected to control them adequately."
The council added examples of "minor fly-tipping" were "mattresses, electrical items, bags of rubbish, small-scale building or garden waste."
There are six neighbourhood wardens working in New Addington and Fieldway, a spokesman added.
Stolen memorial plaques replaced at Sanderstead church
PLAQUES commemorating heroes of the First World War which were swiped by copper thieves have finally been replaced.
In 2011, two plaques in memory of more than 80 war veterans were stolen from Sanderstead's graveyard.
Since then, All Saints Church has been working with charities and the residents' association to raise enough money to replace them.
In the end, £7,000 was collected to have the memorials remade and dedicated back to the graveyard.
Michael Leach, of the Sanderstead Residents Association, said the group had contributed £2,000 to the cause.
He said: "We then had a service to re-dedicate the memorials in November. A lot of parishioners came to the service and were very happy to see them back."
Mr Leach said he wasn't aware of anyone in the village who was related to those whose plaques had been stolen.
Piers Hubbard, chairman of the All Saints council, was behind the push to organise replacements.
He said: "It was unclear at first who was responsible for getting new ones. Eventually, we thought we'd better do it, so we applied for grants and the War Memorial Trust gave us some help.
"However, it wanted the new plaques to be exactly like the original ones so it was very difficult to find someone to make them specially."
Mr Hubbard said cremation plaques had also gone missing in the raid and that a number of private family plaques had been taken, leaving gaping holes in the graveyard.
He added: "It was important to get them back.
"They were stolen with no thought for who it may affect."
Croydon South MP Richard Ottaway was so horrified by the crime that he pushed a private member's bill through parliament, to tackle metal theft and those targeting war memorials.
His Scrap Metal Dealers Bill became law in February and is reforming the industry with a licensing scheme that ensures every sale of scrap metal is accounted for, and that all traders are doing so legally.
On Tuesday, police marked the act coming into force with a national day of action against metal theft.
"For too many years, metal thefts from our transport, telecommunications and energy networks have held our communities to ransom and swindled the taxpayer of hundreds of millions of pounds," Mr Ottaway said.
"Even worse, thieves preyed on our national treasures – our churches, our loved ones' graves and our war memorials."
Charity that helped family rebuild after tragedy of Lillian's death
THE Groves family gather for a photograph at a treetop adventure playground.
Around a year earlier, 14-year-old Lillian Groves was hit by a car and killed outside her home in Headley Drive, New Addington.
This was the first time the family had been pictured as a group without her.
The outing was organised by Woodside Bereavement Service as a way for families to make new memories following a death.
Two years on the Groves look back at the image not as a reminder of loss, but a key moment in their attempt to rebuild their lives.
"When families are bereaved, it becomes so ingrained in their lives that they forget they have a new family unit and they have to learn how to function again," said Debbie Stanbridge, who counselled the young members of the Groves family.
"It's really good to hear that day was something they all remember because that was the whole point of it: they could look back and think about doing something they enjoyed.
"It was to build new memories and to engage with other families who were in similar situations so they didn't see themselves as isolated cases."
Seven families took part in the away day at Carroty Wood, an adventure centre in Kent.
The event was free, like all of Woodside's services, and included refreshments and activities designed to encourage families to bond, both among themselves and with one another.
The Groves family assumed the charity had run similar events in the past and would do again. In fact that was the first of its kind and Woodside has been unable to hold others.
Eighteen months ago it lost all its funding, a modest sum of £5,000 from sources including building firm Wates, Churches Together in England and NHS Croydon.
"We applied to Children in Need thinking we fitted in with what they want to achieve," said Debbie.
"It was a really arduous process of form-filling but we didn't meet the criteria."
While Woodside is run by volunteers it did have enough money to employ three children's project workers, including Debbie, who have had at least 50 hours of specialist training.
Now it only has one, who works on a voluntary basis. Debbie has had to go back to work as a teacher.
Not only has the loss of income meant they have yet to organise further away trips, which cost around £2,000, but waiting times for counselling are increasing.
"We try not to call it a waiting list but the time before someone's referral and when they receive support is beginning to grow, especially in our children's service, and we've never had that," said Debbie.
That is why the Groves' fundraising ball, to be held on June 12 next year, could hardly be better timed.
The family have organised the event to say thank you to those who supported Lillian's Law, their campaign to change the law on drug-driving.
The teenager was knocked down in June 2010 by a speeding driver who smoked cannabis before getting behind the wheel.
In a joint effort with the Advertiser the family prompted significant changes in drug-driving legislation, including a new offence and roadside testing devices, the first of which will see use by police this Christmas.
All proceeds from the Lillian's Law Trust Fundraising Ball, to be held at The Warren, in Bromley, will go to Woodside, in the hope that they will hold similar activity days for bereaved families.
"It's a lovely gesture," said Debbie. "Giving money to bereavement services is not high on anyone's agenda. Unless they used the service themselves, it's not in their minds. We're so grateful for their support."
Woodside offers free counselling to anyone who has experienced severe shock or depression following a death, divorce or accident.
'She understood me....' MEGAN Groves, 19, describes how Woodside's counselling service helped her cope after Lillian's death. "Debbie supported me in every way. She listened to what I needed to say, helped me cope with grief and most importantly she was someone who I could talk to who wouldn't judge me or the judge the things I said. "It was a safe comfortable environment where crying was allowed to happen. She understood the feelings I had and never questioned 'what's wrong?' when I was feeling low. "She simply knew the answer and supported me by talking about memories and how to create memory flashes (decorated cards with a flash memory on). "My session would be on a Friday after school onsite, as this was a place which I felt open to talk. She even dropped me home after as she knew I had developed a fear of crossing roads. "Since counselling I feel I'm more able to express my emotions and that crying really is ok. "Without Debbie's help I think all the weight on my shoulders would be pushing me lower and lower to the ground until I couldn't get back up. "Thankfully that weight has been lifted and now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel." 'A big help' LILLIAN'S mother Natasha and aunt Michaela both received counselling from Woodside, as did her younger brother Oliver and cousin Megan. "Megan went into sixth from in the September after Lillian's accident but within a few weeks she started finding things really difficult," said Michaela. "Every time I got home from work she would be in bed. There was no reason for it other than she couldn't cope with day-to-day things. "Her school rang to say they were really concerned about her because when it came to leaving at the end of the day she was distraught at having to cross busy roads. "Counselling has made her realise that sometimes you lose people you love in awful circumstances and it's about being able to pick yourself up and live your life. I know Woodside helped her hugely." When the Groves family chose to raise money for the charity they did not realise it had been unable to run any more family fun days. "It's such a shame because it was so good," said Natasha. For more information on the ball visit the family's website Lillianslaw.moonfruit.comHundreds of Croydon pupils compete to design MP's Christmas card
HUNDREDS of schoolchildren took part in an MP's competition to design a Christmas card.
The winner was Egan Lazzaroni from Woodside Primary School.
Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell organised the competition. He said: "A few weeks ago I wrote to all the primary schools in my constituency and asked if the children would like to submit a drawing for my Christmas card.
"They responded in their hundreds which made it very difficult to choose the one that could go on the front.
"Thank you to all the children and all the schools who took part."
The runners-up were:
Lauren Cook, Ryelands Primary School, class 5B
Nicole-Jade Wallace, Wolsey Junior Academy, class 5F
Shannon Gilett, Rowdown Primary School, Year 5
Orla Moore, St Thomas Becket, class St Martin
Mollie Johnson, Castle Hill Primary School, class 5.2
Brady Ayoola, Forest Academy, class 5.1
Michael Meyers, St Mary's Primary School, class 51
Freya Young, St John's Primary, Year 5
Raye Omotayo, Monks Orchard Primary, class 5MW