MORE than three quarters of rubbish fly-tipped in Croydon is now being cleared within 48 hours.

The 78 per cent clear-up rate was hailed by council leader Tony Newman as positive evidence that the Labour administration's key "Don't Mess with Croydon" policy is working.

And he made it plain, as the new administration completes its first 100 days in power today (Friday), that there would be no let up in the fight to clean Croydon's streets.

Cllr Newman said: "The thing we really understand now is the sheer scale of the problem.

"There is a huge challenge in terms of keeping the streets clean and the message going out is about making a culture change aimed at some people within the population.

"Fly-tipping has to be socially unacceptable."

The leader stressed the council would not hold back from prosecuting offenders and seeking the "highest possible penalties."

Alongside the overall education programme, Cllr Newman said the council was also working with its waste contractor, Veolia, to improve its performance.

He said changes to shift patterns were being examined and refuse collectors and street cleaners were being encouraged to report fly-tipping incidents quickly, to allow clean-up crews to get out as soon as possible.

Cllr Newman said he believed the administration had "hit the ground running" in its first 100 days, citing as another of its key successes the move to make Croydon a London Living Wage council for its staff.

He was hopeful the message coming from the council would be picked up by many private companies and public sector organisations.

Cllr Newman said tough negotiations were also being held with council contractors to bring them into the London Living Wage fold, paying £8.80 an hour.

He said: "We believe it should be the absolute minimum for anybody to be able to afford to live here."

Cllr Newman listed plans to introduce a licensing system for private landlords, to help ensure decent home standards for their tenants, as a further achievement of his first 100 days.

And he said the council was also working closely with the Greater London Authority and Transport for London (TfL), adding: "Working with the mayor and TfL is fundamental if we are going to deliver regeneration."

AN INJURY scare for returning Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha was caused by his footwear, Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock revealed.

Zaha lasted an hour of his second coming at Selhurst Park, in the 0-0 draw with Burnley - but Warnock suggested the winger almost didn't make the game at all.

In his post-match press conference, Warnock said: "I was pleased with him [Zaha]. On Thursday he come off injured, With these new fangled boots his studs got stuck in the grass and he went over on his ankle and I never thought he'd start anywhere near today."

Another freak injury also put paid to Warnock's plan to replace Zaha with Joe Ledley during the second half.

The manager explained: "I was going to bring Ledley on but he got injured in the dugout. I don't know how that happened but he felt his hips and his side and he didn't feel right so I couldn't put Ledley on today."

LABOUR'S policy to double the number of affordable homes in new developments is to be applied across the borough.

The council's cabinet will be asked tonight (Monday) to agree to a report which will form the basis of proposals to increase the present requirement - for 15 per cent affordable homes in developments - to 30 per cent.

Labour is already working with potential town centre developers to up the total, but approval of the Croydon Monitoring Report will result in the 30 per cent policy also being applied on sites of ten or more units, which are outside central Croydon.

The report presented to the cabinet says "there is need to ensure a fair distribution of affordable housing across all parts of the borough, to enable the delivery of mixed and balanced communities."

Building work has begun on more than 800 affordable homes in Croydon, one of the highest rates in London.

They will house more than 2,000 people when they are completed in the next 18 months.

Councillor Alison Butler, cabinet member for homes and regeneration, said: "It was a key pledge in our manifesto to increase the proportion of affordable housing in residential developments to a minimum of 30 per cent."

THREE men have been jailed over a brawl outside a Croydon town centre nightspot where DJ Tim Westwood was playing at a bank holiday event.

Jetro Lopes, 20, Alex Domingo, 23, and Alfie Gillam, 23, were each handed ten-month sentences at Croydon Crown Court on Tuesday, September 9, after pleading guilty to affray outside the Easter Sunday night at the 12-20 club in Crown Hill.

They only faced charges of affray as the Crown Prosecution Service dropped more serious charges of violent disorder in July. The club ended up losing its licence as a result of the April 20 disorder.

Despite this week's convictions, a person who stabbed someone in the club's cloakroom at the same event has yet to be identified.

The disturbance occurred just before midnight after a series of scuffles inside the club while former Radio One DJ Tim Westwood was playing.

Several groups of youths spilled out into the street, which is when the CCTV cameras captured the fighting.

On CCTV shown to Judge Stephen Waller at Croydon Crown Court before today's sentencing, it appeared Domingo, of Smock Walk, Selhurst, was the first to throw a punch and he landed two blows in the scuffle.

Gillam, of Houlder Crescent, Waddon, then attempted to throw a punch at someone he claimed had slept with his girlfriend but, in the words of prosecutor Hamish Reid: "He made a complete pig's mess of it and ended up on his back on the floor."

As the group referred to as 'the victims' in the brawl made their way down Surrey Street, Lopes, of Lancing Road, Thornton Heath, then emerged carrying a weapon which Mr Reid said police had thought to be a knife but which Lopes maintained was a rod.

He swung the 'rod' out while pushing the opposing group back but did not make any contact. He then ran off back up Crown Hill as police moved in to break up the scuffle but was arrested later that evening.

After CCTV was examined and their faces were circulated, Domingo was arrested on May 6 and Gillam on May 9.

In interview, Domingo denied the man in the CCTV was him, saying "he's not as pretty as me". Gillam and Lopes both said they had been intoxicated.

All three had previous convictions; Lopes had been jailed for violent disorder in 2012 for his part in the 2011 Croydon riots, Domingo had received a five-and-a-half year jail sentence for robbery in 2009, and Gillam has had ten previous court appearances since 2005 including convictions for actual bodily harm, battery and wounding.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Waller said: "Everybody who takes part in these incidents has a joint responsibility. It is all too common in our town centres at weekends. Many people are put off going into town centres because they are frightened of this sort of violent disorder."

JAMES McArthur paid tribute to the Crystal Palace supporters for lifting the players following Julian Speroni's penalty save on Saturday. The Scottish international made his Eagles debut in the middle of the park and put in a solid performance. He nearly scored with a dipping volley in the first half but felt Palace didn't create enough in the second period. McArthur feels the Eagles have enough in their locker to move up the table with their striking options, too. "It's been a good week," he said. "I thought we played well first half chances-wise. Second half, we could have created a bit more but we'll take a point in the end with a saved penalty. "It's been brilliant so far, the fans are great and you can hear them all the way through. I thought the atmosphere was good and for the save they rose unbelievably. It picked everyone up and it was a great save from Jules. "I think we limited Burnley to chances. We had a lot in the first half and we should have maybe created a bit more in the second half with breakaways but we go again next week. "I am looking forward to it here. I think we have enough to stay up, our attacking players are top quality and will give us a lot of goals this year. "Obviously we'll have to help them and keep clean sheets which we did on Saturday but I think we're strong enough. "I felt good and the boys help you. There is a competition for places and that's good. "In this league you need that and have a big squad."

TWO crashes have this morning caused huge delays on and around the M25 in Surrey.

Motorists are being warned to expect delays of up to two hours on some parts of the motorway after a crash closed two lanes near the A22 at Godstone.

Queues are also still expected further along the M25, after a fatal collision on the A3 near Ripley services in the early hours of this morning.

A TEAM of 31 friends and family of a sick little girl took on an army-style assault course - raising more than £10,000 to try and find her a cure.

Georgia Strudwick, 10, from Purley, was diagnosed with the life-threatening neurological disorder Rett syndrome when she was two, and her parents Lisa and Jeff have ever-since been raising money for Cure Rett, which funds research into finding a cure for the disease.

Their latest fundraising escapade was to take a team of 31 friends and family to the Nuts Challenge, a 7km race with 100 obstacles in Dorking, Surrey, on August 30.

Georgia's 10 and 12-year-old cousins Amelia and Oliver Bardsley also took part.

Lisa said: "We all got lots of cuts and bruises and everyone ached for a couple of days but we loved it. My husband and I feel very lucky to have an amazing amount of friends and family who stand by us raising money for Cure Rett.

"Georgia is a very special little girl who everyone loves and makes us feel proud."

POLICE have appealed for help to find a woman reported missing after she was last seen walking her friend's dog.

Sophia Ali, 46, has not been seen since around 11.45am on Saturday (Sept 13) when she went to walk a friend's dog in a park near St Augustines Avenue in South Croydon.

She was last seen wearing a bright pink crew neck top, black ski pants and 'Puma' trainers and is 5ft tall.

Officers are concerned as Sophia's disappearance is out of character. It is also believed she does not have her phone or access to money.

Anyone who has seen Sophia Ali, or knows of her whereabouts, is asked to contact Croydon CID on 07769 922 321. Alternatively, contact the charity Missing People on 1116000.

THE Conservatives have released a manifesto ahead of next May's general election.

The 20,000-word document has been jointly published today by Gavin Barwell, Croydon Central MP, alongside Chris Philp and Vidhi Mohan, prospective Parliamentary candidates for Croydon South and Croydon North.

In it they state Croydon "could be one of the best places in the country to live".

But it says the trio are not "blind" to the problems facing the borough, including an "unattractive" town centre, district centres in "desperate need of investment" and a "bad-natured political culture".

Among the 33 goals listed in the manifesto are tax incentives to encourage small and medium size businesses to relocate to Croydon and creating a wider choice of education including a grammar school.

They also pledge to lobby the government for "fairer" funding for schools, health services and the council, and call for changes to council housing criteria so people will have to have lived for longer in the UK before receiving help.

Labour criticised the Conservatives after the party decide against releasing a manifesto ahead of the local elections in May.

Mr Barwell said the general election document was a recognition they had got it wrong.

"I think it was a mistake for the Conservative Party not to publish a manifesto," he said.

"Any political campaign is going to have a mixture of positive and negative messages because most voters are not ardent supporters of any of the parties and, for them, an election is a choice between the least bad option.

"So you're bound sometimes to tell people what they won't like about the other parties.

"But if you don't have something - like a manifesto - which has a strong, positive theme to it, and tells people what you are going to do, then I think that's a mistake."

The Advertiser will have full analysis of the Conservative's joint manifesto later this week.

Until then, here is the 33-strong list of things the three prospective candidates say they want to achieve for Croydon. Let us know what you think below.

- Full employment – a job for everyone who wants one.

- Above-inflation increases in the minimum wage to ensure everyone gets a fair reward for their hard work.

- Deliver the redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre by Westfield and Hammerson as soon as possible.

- Transform the environment in the town centre to make it a much more attractive place to visit.

- Offer small and medium sized businesses tax incentives to relocate here.

- Regenerate our district centres.

- Raise standards in our schools so that every child - apart from those a significant learning difficulty - gets at least a C grade in English and Maths.

- Give parents a wider choice of schools – hopefully including one or more grammar schools.

- Work to open a campus of Roehampton University in Croydon.

- Reform the EU's freedom of movement rules so that we can reduce immigration.

- Give more priority to tackling violent crime including sexual violence.

- Reform stop and search to increase community confidence in the police.

- Raise standards at Croydon University Hospital.

- Ensure mental health is given the priority it deserves.

- Build more homes, but in the right places – no development of our precious green spaces.

- Oppose Labour's plan to make private landlords pay a £200 a year tax on every property they rent out – which they will simply pass on to already hard-pressed tenants.

- Increase the amount of time you have to have lived in the country before you get on the waiting list for council housing.

- Improve the A23, Croydon's key link to the motorway network, at Fiveways and Purley Cross.

- Increase capacity and improve reliability on rail services to London Bridge and Victoria and improve key stations like East Croydon.

- Increase capacity on and extend our tram system.

- Secure funding from the Government to help Croydon Council provide sufficient school places.

- A new larger A&E Department at Croydon University Hospital and an Urgent Care Centre at Purley Hospital.

- Fairer funding from the Government for our schools, the NHS in Croydon and Croydon Council.

- Make sure every household has access to a bin and recycling facilities, start to penalise those who won't recycling and prosecute those who flytip rather than just cleaning up after them.

- Encourage more people to cycle by making our roads more cyclist friendly.

- Renovate the Fairfield Halls so that it can put on a wider range of shows.

- Refurbish leisure centres in New Addington and Purley and build a new leisure centre in the town centre.

- Improve facilities at one of our major parks so that it compares with somewhere like Battersea Park or the new Queen Elizabeth II park.

- Set up a mentoring scheme to help bright children from families where no-one has gone to university before achieve their potential.

- Support a cap on the amount of benefits an out-of-work family can receive so that they don't get more than the average working family.

- Negotiate a 'City Deal' with the Government giving the Council control over some welfare spending so we can use it to transform people's lives, not just help them make ends meet.

- Protect pensioner benefits like the Freedom Pass.

- Work with those from other parties where we agree, be civil where we disagree and think about the needs of the borough as a whole rather than pitting one part of it against another.

A WOMAN who was reported missing on Saturday after walking her friend's dog in a South Croydon park has been found, police have said.

Sophia Ali, 46, had not been seen since around 11.45am on Saturday when she went to walk a friend's dog in a park near St Augustines Avenue in South Croydon.

But police this morning confirmed she had been found safe and well.

MUSOS and film buffs of Croydon received a boost last week as HMV returned to the town.

The entertainment chain opened its doors last Thursday (September 11) in North End on the former site of discount store 4 Less and JJB Sports.

Just 14 months ago, the chain closed its last branch in the town.

However, there was no big ceremony or fanfare for its opening.

An HMV spokeswoman said: "Croydon is a very important area for us, so following a short break we're looking forward to welcoming customers to their new store.

"The store will have highly experienced and knowledgeable staff from day one, as the majority have been relocated from other stores."

A PAEDOPHILE claimed to be promoting youth football for Crystal Palace FC despite being banned for life from working with children.

Steven Robinson, 40, was jailed for 22 months in 2004 and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for ten years after being convicted of possessing indecent photographs of children, including images of babies being abused.

Police have become increasingly concerned with his behaviour since he was released from prison.

The former care worker made a payment to a website that specialises in streaming child abuse from the Philippines and promoted youth football coaching at Palace without the club's knowledge.

This week the Metropolitan Police went to court to get a sexual offences prevention order because officers feared he had set up a cleaning company in order to gain access to children.

The order - which bans Robinson from having an unmonitored phone or unsupervised contact with under 16s - was uncontested at Croydon Magistrates' Court today (Monday).

During a brief hearing, Robert Talalay, representing the Met, said police had investigated conversations Robinson had online.

In January he was found to be using a picture depicting children's football at Crystal Palace Football Club as his profile picture online.

He approached parents with children who came to his place of work to sign their children up to courses on behalf of the club, when he had no authority to do so.

Six months earlier police received information that Robinson had made a payment to a website that specialises in streaming images of child abuse from the Philippines.

They searched his home and seized his computer. He admitted paying to watch children dance for him in their underwear.

Police recently discovered that the former care worker designed several websites which appear to advertise a number of services, including one for a company offering cleaning to business and residential properties.

They feared he did so in order to gain access to children, as he did so in 2001, when he indecently assaulted a 5-year-old girl while canvassing for a karate club.

No action was taken at the time because the victim's mother did not want to put her daughter through the ordeal of court proceedings.

Robinson, who used to look after children for Merton Council, was present in court and spoke only to confirm his name, age and address.

Magistrates approved the prevention order which bans Robinson from owning or using a phone capable of accessing the internet, unless monitoring software is installed on it.

He was also prohibited from owning or using any device capable or taking or storing a photograph unless he has notified the Public Protection Unit (PPU).

He was banned from contact with any child under the age of 16, unless he has the express consent of the child's parent or guardian and they are fully aware of his previous convictions and the order.

Robinson is also prohibited from having contact with any registered sex offender without prior written consent of the public protection unit.

He must not undertake any work, paid or voluntary, unless he notifies the public protection unit and is not allowed to join a social network or internet dating website without approval.

If he enters into a relationship he must notify the PPU and the person's name and address must be provided.

He must not enter or remain in a private property which he knows, or ought to know, a person under the age of 16 is present, without the consent of the PPU.