AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after a tram, with 20 passengers on board, derailed on the Tramlink Network.

The tram, from New Addington to Wimbledon, was travelling at about 7mph when it derailed near Mitcham Junction shortly before midnight on December 29.

The 20 passengers on board and the driver were unhurt.

The Rail Accident Investigation Bureau (RAIB), which independently investigates rail accidents in the UK, said the tram had derailed while travelling over points.

A statement on the bureau's website said: "On leaving the tram stop, the tram driver noticed that an indicator, which shows the position of these points, was indicating that the points were not correctly set.

"He stopped the tram before reaching the points, and after speaking to the tramway control room by radio, he left the tram and used an operating lever to manually move the points until he observed that the indicator was showing that they were correctly set.

"He then drove the tram slowly over the points, but the centre bogie and one wheelset of the trailing bogie became derailed."

The RAIB said the findings would be released when the investigation is complete.

A BURGLAR from Croydon has today been jailed for nine years for breaking into school premises and homes while armed with knives.

Hugh Charles O'Neill threatened one of his victims, who was with his two young children, when he broke into his house on 30 June 2013.

One the same day, after the victim had reported the crime and with the help of a tip-off from a member of the public, three Croydon police officers, PCs Jamie Filmer, Sean Keelan and Alec Lewis, chased and tackled O'Neill when he tried to escape from a caretaker's house on the school grounds of Davidson Primary School.

The officers were praised for their bravery after they managed to remove and throw away a large kitchen knife from O'Neill's pocket during the struggle, to stop him from using it. They later also found a lock knife, pen knife and glass cutter on him.

He was charged the following day with two counts of aggravated burglary, and was later linked through forensic evidence to, and charged with, another burglary in South Park Hill Road, South Croydon on June 25, 2013.

O'Neill, of Friends Road, Croydon, was given seven years for the two aggravated burglaries and two years, to be served consecutively, for the other burglary, at the Old Bailey today after being convicted at the same court on October 21.

Acting Detective Sergeant Eric Somerville, from Croydon CID, who led the investigation, said: "The judge praised the bravery of the three officers who tackled and arrested O'Neill when he was armed with several knives.

"They put themselves in real danger and their quick actions meant that an armed and dangerous criminal was arrested and taken off the streets.

"When we questioned O'Neill, he denied he was responsible for the burglaries and tried claiming that he was unaware of what he was doing because of prescription drugs he was taking. 

"However, the medical evidence did not support this claim in the slightest and the jury rejected his defence that he was acting under the influence of his medication and was not responsible for his actions.

"O'Neill will now face the consequences of his actions, as he will be behind bars for a considerable time. The victim and his young family underwent a terrifying ordeal at the hands of O'Neill. I hope that this sentence will go a long way to provide them with peace of mind."

FORMER Crystal Palace player Alex Marrow is embroiled in an extraordinary row with his current club Carlisle United.

Having played just four league games for the Cumbrian side, Marrow wants to leave - and Carlisle boss Keith Curle wants him out too.

But 24-year-old Marrow is refusing to allow his contract to be cancelled and exit Brunton Park without a pay-off, something that has left former Man City and England defender Curle feeling frustrated.

Curle is reported today (Friday) as saying: "Alex Marrow is back with us after his sick note period expired. The situation with him is that Alex wants to leave the football club. I also want Alex to leave the football club.

"We're going through a process of finding the best way for him to leave the club which is financially beneficial to both parties.

"Fortunately for Alex, while he is here, and doesn't want to be here, he still gets paid. Unfortunately for me while Alex is here, and doesn't want to be here, I've still got to pay him."

Marrow played under Dougie Freedman at Palace but has drifted around the lower leagues, since leaving SE25 in 2013.

A NURSERY in Thornton Heath could face legal action after failing to meet legal requirements on child welfare for the second time in six months.

Unity Nursery has been given an enforcement notice by Ofsted and could be prosecuted if it fails to make improvements.

It was rated "inadequate" – the lowest category – following an inspection last July and was given the same grade this week after a visit in December.

Owner Marie Lewin dismissed the report as "inaccurate" and has complained to Ofsted.

In the report, published today, Ofsted outlined numerous breaches to safeguarding and welfare rules.

It said staff had failed to ensure the nursery, in Melfort Road, was secure from access by strangers, that children were unprotected from "hazards", such as heating and cleaning materials, and that some staff were unqualified and lacked first aid training.

Ofsted raised many of the same concerns during its inspection in July, when it found children were left in care of workers who "do not hold qualifications in childcare and do not have first aid training".

Ms Lewin, who owns and manages the nursery, said at the time she had left them in charge to attend an emergency at her daughter's school and insisted her business only needed "minor" improvements.

This time she said most of the issues raised by Ofsted were caused by a member of staff - who has since been suspended - arriving late for work.

Following December's assessment, lead inspector Rebecca Hurst said the nursery's arrangements for keeping children safe were "poor".

"The provider fails to ensure that they protect children from unvetted adults, putting children at significant risk," the report said.

Ms Hurst said daily safety checks and risk assessments were "not effective, compromising children's welfare".

She said a heater was being used to warm the room but that staff had failed to consider the risk it posed. 

"It was hot to touch and children were playing around it and able to touch it with ease," she wrote.

Gavin Wallace, the deputy manager in charge during the inspection, told the Advertiser the inspector knew the heater was in a "secure" location, out of the children's reach.

The report also claimed the nursery did not allow children to play in the garden because staff did not want them to get "too dirty".

Depriving them of daily outdoor play has a "significant impact on the learning and development", the report adds.

Unity had made improvements to the way medication was administered, following concerns raised during the inspection in July. The 12 children on roll were described as "generally happy and settled". 

But Ofsted said it had failed to act on other issues it had raised.

Ms Hurst described teaching at the nursery as "inconsistent and weak".

"Staff show a poor understanding of how to observe and assess children in order to plan a wide range of activities to meet children's needs," she said.

During the inspection staff were observed "sitting impassively with children watching cartoons on television".

"There was no interaction between the staff and children, meaning that children were not stimulated to speak as they played. This hinders children's learning significantly."

The watchdog was equally critical of Ms Lewin's management of the nursery, accusing her of being in breach of many requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Childcare Register.

It claimed that at the beginning of the inspection six children were left alone in the building with an unqualified member of staff who did not have first aid training.

Mr Wallace, who was in charge because Ms Lewin was sick, said the situation had arose because another employee, with first aid training, turned up 15 minutes late for work.

She faces a disciplinary and has been suspended, he added.

Inadequate safeguarding procedures were described as putting children's welfare at "significant" risk.

Not only could unauthorised people gain access to the nursery but unvetted staff on trial for jobs were allowed to take children to the toilet unsupervised, Ofsted claimed. The nursery denies the allegations.

Ofsted acknowledged that the nursery had worked with Croydon Council in a bid to improve but said progress had been insufficient.

The report concluded that the nursery's repeated failings meant it had little choice but to issue a welfare requirements notice, setting out the actions it must take. It faces regular monitoring visits and then a full inspection.

If it fails to abide by the requirements it could be prosecuted by Ofsted and have its registration cancelled.

Report 'incorrect' says nursery owner

UNITY Nursery owner Marie Lewin has complained to Ofsted about its latest report.

Ms Lewin, who also rejected criticism of her business following July's inspection, described most of the concerns raised during December's visit as "inaccurate".

"When I read the Ofsted report I rang Ofsted straight away and said I wanted to make a complaint about the inspection person. At least six or seven of the things she has mentioned are incorrect," she said.

Ms Lewin said the trainee mentioned in the report was not "unvetted" and said she was only left alone with six children because another worker was late, which also meant the staff to child ratio was not met.

She said a parent leaving the building, which has security doors, had unwittingly allowed the inspector to enter the nursery without being challenged, adding: "How does that have anything to do with our staff? Why is that the nursery's fault?"

When asked about a number of other criticisms, including children being denied access to the outdoor play area, Ms Lewin replied: "I don't know about that. I wasn't there during the inspection. I was off sick."

She added: "We have factual evidence that certain things written in the report are not correct. 

"I take responsibility and accept that one of my staff turned up late for work. If she had turned up on time we wouldn't be having this discussion.

"When all the flawed report writing is corrected I hope you come back to us to do another article."

Manager: 'If we were that bad they would have closed us'

THE deputy manager in charge at the time of the inspection said Ofsted had exaggerated the nursery's problems.

Gavin Wallace accepted, however, that a poor grade was inevitable after a first aid trained member of staff arrived late, leaving children with an unqualified worker.

"We had a staff member, who was the leading first aider, come in late. She was about 15 minutes late, but whether it's five minutes or 30, when you have children on the premises you have to have a first aider," he said.

"It wasn't a good experience, without a doubt. It's not good personally and it's not good for business."

Mr Wallace added: "We've been open for 15 years and this is the first time we've failed an Ofsted inspection, let alone two.

"After the first occasion we made a lot of effort to make sure, when [Ofsted] came back, we would shine.

"I think the report is wrong in some areas and over-zealous others. We were given a list of things to do to improve, which we worked on with the council, but when Ofsted came back we were told the requirements had changed.

"So, while there were things we could have done better, in some ways the report is very unfair.

"The children there on the day were happy and the staff, aside from the person who was late, were very good.

"If we were as bad as the report says, they would have closed us." 

AN EAST-WEST "flyover" could be a solution to easing some of the congestion at Croydon's notorious Fiveways junction.

It is understood the idea will be one of the options being put forward after detailed negotiations on the future of the junction between Croydon Council and Transport for London (TfL).

It is expected to surface when TfL includes it as part of an overall public consultation exercise which is expected to start early this year.

The improvement project for Fiveways emerges from a commitment from the council and TfL to invest £45 million in improving the A23 corridor between Norbury and Coulsdon.

Of the total, £25 million is coming from TfL and £20 million from the council's capital budget.

Improvements, particularly to the Fiveways congestion hotspot, are considered to be essential to fit in with the Westfield/Hammerson £1 billion redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre.

The development will result in a influx of new shoppers and potentially add to existing traffic problems.

Details of any of the options for Fiveways are being kept under wraps until the start of the consultation but rumours that a flyover was a runner have begun to circulate in the borough.

Councillor Kathy Bee, the council's cabinet member for environment and transport, said this week elevating part of the road was being considered, although she stressed any project would not be of the height and scale of the existing Croydon Flyover leading to the town centre.

It appears possible that any elevated section could centre on easing traffic flows from Sutton on the A232, which at present has to perform a complicated right turn onto the A23 and then a left turn to get into central Croydon.

Easing the bottleneck at that junction would, hopefully, reduce north/south congestion.

Overall proposals are also likely to look at ways of making Fiveways more cycle and pedestrian-friendly.

Cllr Bee said arriving at the consultation point had been "a bit of a challenge."

She said TfL had decided to go out to consultation sooner rather than later, despite the fact many of the details have yet to be finalised.

Cllr Bee said: "We had the problem that if we consulted too early people would say there was not enough detail to comment properly but if we waited until all the details were in place we could have been accused of having already made up our minds."

Both TfL and the council, she said, believed the imminent consultation would at least give people the early chance to say whether any kind of flyover or elevated section of road would be acceptable in principle.

Cllr Bee said when coming to any decision about improving the flow of traffic on the A23, the question of whether congestion would be moved to another part of Croydon had to be considered.

She admitted: "It is very difficult to know how to get it right."

THE runner-up of this year's Apprentice has been forced to leave Croydon with her business because her offices are to be converted into flats.

Bianca Miller, 25, came second in the 2014 series, just missing out to Australian Mark Wright in December's final of the BBC One show.

She is now set to launch the innovative hosiery venture she put forward on the programme – tights designed to suit women with different skin tones.

However, her original personal development business, The Be Group, which used to be based in Sydenham Road, left in September and is now based in Penge.

Bianca said she was given just two weeks to leave those offices.

The owner of Cygnet House, AA Homes and Housing, is to convert to flats through permitted development rights, which allow offices to be converted into flats without planning permission.

Bianca, who went to Beulah Junior School in Upper Norwood and spent the first 11 years of her life in Thornton Heath, said: "We wanted to stay in the area but we were given two weeks' notice, which we weren't very happy about. I think Croydon had a great opportunity to network and do something in the area.

"Unfortunately, people need places to live as well and this has resulted in new businesses having to leave Croydon.

"I would have liked more support from Croydon Council. We need to push things like employability in Croydon."

The Be Group offers employability and personal development services to young people in education.

Bianca is concerned the conversion of so many offices into flats will prevent businesses like hers helping Croydon's young people reach their potential.

She said: "We have a lot of talented people in Croydon who need more guidance and people like me to train them and help them so that when Westfield is built, those people will be getting those jobs."

A spokesman for AA Homes and Housing said all tenants in the building had been notified by letter when they bought the building last February and were asked to vacate within the terms of their contract.

A Croydon Council spokesman said: "The council is passionate about supporting small businesses, which are vital if Croydon is to have a vibrant local economy. This is why we have measures in place to help them succeed and remain in the borough for the long term.

"In addition, we have already announced our intention to remove the permitted development right in areas such as this to give greater protection to office space and prevent any conversions to housing that don't have planning permission."

Despite a couple of hiccups, Bianca impressed Lord Sugar enough to seriously consider investing in her tights business.

She also became known for her ultra-professionalism but this was used against her in the penultimate interview stage and she broke down in tears when interviewed by former winner Ricky Martin.

Bianca said: "The interviews were an hour long each of interrogation so by the time I got to the last interview with Ricky I was drained.

"It was hard for me, I was prepared for questions about my business plan but not my personality. In a business show, I thought you should always act professionally."

Bianca said Lord Sugar was "astute and direct", while his advisors Nick Hewer and Karren Brady were "experienced".

She said of the competition: "It was a very tough process and much harder than you would think.

"Of course I was disappointed [to lose].

"I went in with the hope I could win but I was really pleased with the feedback."

MOVES to brighten up and improve part of Croydon's Old Town area have been widely welcomed.

The £1.6 million renovation project, in Church Street, starts on Monday, with a programme which will see about 30 buildings and shop fronts benefiting from being cleaned and repainted.

New shop signs, awnings and security shutters are also included in the first stage of the work, which is expected to be completed in June.

At the end of March, work will also start on widening and re-paving footpaths in Church Street and part of Frith Road, a project due to finish in September.

The work forms part of the Connected Croydon programme, a £50 million project to transform the town centre.

Two of the area's longest established businesses have said they are hopeful the work will boost what is one of the remaining centres for independent traders.

Trevor Reeves, whose family furniture business hit headlines when part of it was burnt to the ground during the 2011 riots, said: "This is something that needed to happen a long time ago but the previous council did not get its act together.

"It has taken a long time but at least the council is moving with it now, which has got to be a good thing."

He said the widening of pavements would make it easier for people to move up and down Church Street, and enhancing the architectural features would brighten up the area.

Richard Stevens, manager of schoolwear specialist Hewitt's of Croydon, which has been in Church Street since 1863, said: "The benefits to Church Street will be tremendous.

"Croydon has been going downhill for a few years and this street does need a facelift."

Improving the appearance of the area would, he hoped, attract more shoppers who would be able to see what Church Street had to offer.

Paul Collins, secretary of the Old Town Business Association, said: "This has been a long process but it is a project for the long term future and not just a quick fix."

He said improvements to street furniture, widening of pavements, removal of clutter and better lighting would all make Church Street more inviting.

Mr Collins added: "The area will end up being a lot better and a lot safer than it is now."

Toni Letts, the council's cabinet member for economic development, said: "Croydon's Old Town is home to some of our most historic buildings and has a major role to play in the wider regeneration of our town centre.

"Church Street is a great place to wander and shop. As well as long-established businesses, new ones have taken opportunities to create a secure and successful future for themselves.

"While looking ahead, it is vital we don't forget the past, and this will help to revitalise this important part of Croydon."

CRYSTAL Palace youngster Alex Wynter has joined Colchester United.

The centre-back, who enjoyed a successful loan spell with the U's at the end of the 2013/14 season, completed his move to the club on Friday.

The 21-year-old has spent the first half of the 2014/15 campaign with League Two side Portsmouth, playing 15 league and cup games for the south coast side.

He briefly returned to Palace this week, but has now joined the U's on a contract that runs through to the end of the 2015/16 season.

A BID for almost £5million to fund of flood prevention measures is being submitted as the first anniversary of winter flooding in the south of the borough approaches.

In February 2014, dozens of residents were forced to leave their homes after the Caterham Bourne, which flows from Woldingham into Croydon, flooded.

Now, Croydon is included in a joint bid from Tandridge District council and Surrey County Council for £4.2million from the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership, to fund work to help avoid a repeat of the damage caused last year.

Surrey County Council is also set to provide a further £700,000, making a potential total flood prevention fund scheme of £4.9million.

If successful the scheme, to start in summer 2015, will provide new drainage between the M25 and Croydon. Parts of the A22 will be resurfaced and improvements will be made between Wapses Lodge roundabout and New Barn Lane, Kenley.

Tandridge council said these plans will ensure water is diverted away from homes and roads.

Surrey County Council has already built two reservoirs to control the amount of water going into drainage systems when levels in the Bourne are high. And a CCTV survey of the Caterham Bourne Culvert, to control the flow of water from these reservoirs towards Croydon, is nearly complete.

The announcement from Tandridge comes shortly after Croydon Council revealed the expansion of the Purley Oaks balancing pond to hold the equivalent of three Olympic sized swimming pools of floodwater.

The council is also investing £45,000 in flood prevention for Kenley, as well as creating a floodwater storage area between the town centre and Purley Cross.

Councillor Kathy Bee, Croydon Council's cabinet member for transport and the environment, said: "From increasing the capacity of an emergency balancing pond to clearing drains in Kenley, we're spending £850,000 to better protect Croydon residents.

"We, along with Surrey County Council and the Environment Agency, are also funding specialist work to map Caterham Bourne groundwater flooding hotspots."

CROYDON University Hospital (CUH) is now more baby-friendly than ever, after being recognised for the support it gives new mums wanting to breastfeed.

CUH has passed stage two in the process to become a Unicef Baby Friendly Hospital, the internationally-recognised gold standard for breastfeeding support.

Croydon Health Services (CHS), the trust which runs the hospital, gives new mums advice and help before and after birth so they can choose to breastfeed when possible.

They also support mums in the community through baby cafes and mum "peer supporters", who offer one-to-one help with breast feeding.

Research shows that children who are breastfed are less likely to suffer from conditions like diabetes and allergies.

Catherine Tempest, who gave birth to her daughter Josephine at CUH in May, said help from midwives and from baby cafes in the community meant she was able to breastfeed Josephine as she wanted to.

Ms Tempest said: "At three months old my daughter had a breastfeeding strike where she refused to feed.

"The cafes provided really good support with this. If you're having any difficulties, there is always somewhere to offer help, which is great."

Ann Morling, director of midwifery, said CHS was grateful to their peer supporters who have experience of breastfeeding themselves.

She said: "I am extremely proud of our achievement and our team, who have worked very hard."

Recent CHS figures show 96 per cent of women would recommend the maternity services, which had a £629,000 refurbishment in 2013, to their friends and family.

ALAN Pardew got off to a great start in the Premier League as Crystal Palace boss as his side came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur this evening.

It was just one win in 14 league games going into the clash at Selhurst Park for the Eagles.

Dwight Gayle and Jason Puncheon were the heroes, finding the back of the net in front of the Holmesdale Stand after Harry Kane had put the visitors ahead.

The win moves Palace up in to 15^th place – out of the relegation zone – and on to 20 points.

Moussa Dembele had the first chance of the clash, shooting wide of the target from outside the box.

Barry Bannan, given a rare start in the Premier League, fired over from a quickly-taken free-kick shortly afterwards.

Nacer Chadli tried to con referee Anthony Taylor by going down in the danger area without any contact, and the home faithful were stunned when the official failed to brandish a yellow card.

Harry Kane saw a shot easily gathered by Julian Speroni before Christian Eriksen wasted a glorious chance to put the visitors ahead.

Kyle Walker played a wicked ball in across the six-yard, and after the ball took a slight nick off a defender, it fell to the Danish playmaker but his first-time shot went inches wide.

Palace responded when James McArthur headed over from Dwight Gayle's cross, before Scott Dann rose to meet a Bannan free-kick, but after the ball pinballed about in the mixer, Damien Delaney fired over.

Tottenham forced three corners in quick succession around the half-hour mark, but good defending from Delaney and Murray diverted the danger away.

However, Palace should have taken the lead after 35 minutes through the latter.

Martin Kelly played the ball into McArthur's feet on the edge of the box and the Scotsman threaded onwards to Murray, but Hugo Lloris came racing out to thwart the striker.

With minutes remaining of the first period, Palace felt they should have had a free-kick right on the edge of the box when Gayle appeared to be brought down by Fazio.

Running on to a long ball, the striker got in front of the defender, who appeared to nudge him enough to go to ground – but referee Taylor was having none of it.

It didn't take long for the second half to become lively, as Tottenham took the lead through their red-hot striker Harry Kane.

Picking up the ball 20 yards out in line with Joel Ward, the England U21 star drilled a shot into the bottom corner with Eagles stopper Julian Speroni rooted.

Palace nearly responded immediately through Gayle, whose first time shot from close range was well held by Lloris, and then the striker saw his goal-bound scissor kick come off Jan Vertonghen and into the goalkeeper's hands.

But midway through the half, Gayle got Palace back on level terms from the penalty spot. Joe Ledley was adjudged to have been tripped in the area, and despite Murray's calls to take the kick, skipper Delaney insisted Gayle should step up.

And he did just that, drilling past Lloris to send Selhurst Park crazy.

Wilfried Zaha came on for Murray soon after, and the winger did well to beat Walker before forcing a corner.

There were huge calls for handball against Walker minutes later just inside the box when McArthur looked to pick out Puncheoh unmarked, the ball struck the England defender's arm but he was looking the other way in the process and nothing was given.

However, it didn't matter as Palace took a dramatic lead with ten minutes or so remaining. And it was thanks to a lovely finish from Puncheon.

After some great play Zaha on the left, he found Puncheon 15 yards out and the Croydon-born man drilled first time into the bottom corner to send Selhurst Park delirious.

Spurs fought hard for an equaliser as you'd expect but the Eagles held firm and could have snatched a third.

Zaha it was with two late chances on the counter-attack but Lloris foiled him on both occasions.

But it didn't matter in the end as the hosts held on superbly to move out of the relegation zone.

A big trip to Burnley is next up at Turf Moor.

Palace: Speroni, Ward, Kelly, Dann, Delaney, McArthur, Ledley, Bannan (Guedioura 46), Puncheon, Gayle (Campbell 87), Murray (Zaha 74).

Subs Not Used: Hennessey, Mariappa, Hangeland, Thomas.

Referee: Anthony Taylor

Report by Mark Ritson, at Selhurst Park

ALAN PARDEW won his first Premier League game in charge of Crystal Palace and called his players "mavericks" after their 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening at Selhurst Park.

Dwight Gayle's penalty and Jason Puncheon's strike ten minutes from time helped the Eagles come from behind to beat Spurs, who took an early second half lead through Harry Kane's 17th goal of the season.

Pardew was given a messiah-like welcome from the Palace fans before the start and that went up a level at the end after the come from behind win which saw Palace move up to 15th in the Premier League. 

The new manager stressed it was important his players kept their feet on the ground after the win but couldn't hide his delight at the result. 

He said: "I've got a few mavericks but it needed to come out and today, it did. 

"Our senior players have seen us home. One unbelievable tackle from Damo [Damien Delaney] which he had no right to make and then [Julian] Speroni's shot from their sub which went everywhere, he saved it brilliantly. 

"We gave it all for the 90 minutes. I am glad it ended like it did as well with us having a couple more chances as well.

"You can go from ecstatsy like Spurs when they beat Chelsea, then come here and get beat at Palace. It will be the same for us if we lose to Burnley next week. We have to keep our feet on the floor. 

"In this game it is not all about straight lines, eating the right food and turning up on time, you need some maverick behaviour in your team and I have seen today that I have got a few here."

Benjamin Stambouli brought down Joe Ledley for Palace's penalty - converted by Gayle - a decision Pardew agreed with. Harry Kane could have also had a spot kick late on but that one was waved away by referee Anthony Taylor.

[On Ledley] I thought I was a penalty, but then you'd have say Harry Kane's was as well, really", Pardew said. There were some tough decisions for the referee."

And Pardew revealed he checked his phone immediately after the game and had received a text message from his former Chairman.

"When I checked my phone after the game the first person who text me was Mike Ashley and I as delighted with that. It just said 'great result'. That was really nice to see.

"I'm just delighted for the fans who were brilliant, the chairman and the players."

CRYSTAL PALACE midfielder James McArthur could be set for spell on the sidelines after he was spotted leaving Selhurst Park on crutches. 

It is believed that McArthur suffered a foot injury with around 20 minutes to go but played on through the pain barrier. 

Palace beat Spurs 2-1 in the Premier League clash on Saturday evening, coming from behind thanks to goals from Dwight Gayle from the penalty spot and Jason Puncheon hitting the winner ten minutes from time. 

Palace have already lost Mile Jedinak to the Asia Cup tournament - and he was seen in a protective boot following Australia's 4-1 win over Kuwait.

ALAN Pardew described Wilfried Zaha's performance in the final 20 minutes of Saturday's victory against Spurs as "electrifying."

The 22-year-old came on as a substitute for Glenn Murray in the final quarter of the game and it was his moment of quality, as he beat two Spurs defenders; that set up Jason Puncheon to score the winner.

Adlene Guedioura was also introduced at the start of the second half, making his first Premier League appearance since his return from a successful loan spell at Watford.

Pardew said: "I felt that we needed a bit more maverick behaviour in the team and that was the reason for the sub at half time.

"That helped us and then Wilfried came on and gave me exactly the reaction I was looking for.

"I left him out because I wanted to see, if I'm honest, what his reaction would be like. This is a boy who I thinks confidence needs to be really rekindled and that will do him no harm from today.

"That 20 minutes was electrifying for us both. But more for him really because for me on the side-lines it's not too difficult; shout out a few orders – but it's the players who've got to play and I thought they were terrific today."

With Yannick Bolasie away on international duty this month, Zaha will be hoping for a lot of similar performances that will impress the new man in charge and boost his chances of starting when the Congolese star returns.

JOE Ledley says beating Tottenham Hotspur on the back of their result against Chelsea was a "confidence boost" for Palace.

The midfielder won the Eagles a penalty in the second half, which Dwight Gayle converted in front of the Holmesdale Stand.

Ledley admitted he only knew it was a penalty when he heard Anthony Taylor's whistle, too.

"It was great to finally get a win, it felt good," he said.

"We could see against Dover things were starting to work and then to continue that against Spurs was brilliant.

"We needed the points too as other results didn't go our way. We should have won at their place in December.

"They're a top six team who have beaten Chelsea, so for them to come to Palace and for us to put on a performance like we did is a massive confidence boost.

"It was 50-50 for the penalty. I wasn't sure if he touched it but I managed to get my foot in.

"Things like that, you need to take. I didn't call for it, I just heard the whistle so that was a big bonus for us and we kicked on."

Harry Kane gave Spurs the lead to continue his red-hot form in front of goal, and Ledley believes the goal won't be his last for a while either.

"Their goal was from nothing really," added Ledley.

"We had him (Kane) covered and he's managed to get a short back lift and shoot.

"He has a great future, he's doing well and I'm sure he's going to score many more this season."

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

TRANSPORT for London has released a list of bus services it says won't be affected by today's bus strike.

A spokesman for TfL told the Advertiser yesterday (January 12) it was unclear how many bus drivers would turn up for work during the 24 hour walkout, which started this morning.

The strike is a result of a dispute between Unite union and bus companies over driver pay and conditions.

Arriva, which runs services based from South Croydon bus garage, is among the companies whose staff are taking part in the strike.

Below is a list of services TfL says will not be affected by strike action:

CRYSTAL Palace skipper Mile Jedinak voted for Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or.

The Eagles midfielder was, along with the coaches and captains of all FIFA-accredited international teams, allowed to vote as skipper of Australia.

And he agreed with the majority in choosing Ronaldo as the world's best player in 2014. The Real Madrid man won the vote for the third year in a row, ahead of his arch nemeses Lionel Messi and Germany and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Jedinak's picks for second and third place were German midfielder Toni Kross and Man City powerhouse Yaya Toure.

Former Palace defender Chris Coleman, allowed a vote as Wales boss, plumped for his fellow Welshman Gareth Bale.

CROYDON rightly hails England manager Roy Hodgson as one of its finest exports. We'll even forgive him the Three Lions' abject World Cup exit last summer.

But the former John Ruskin PE teacher has incurred the wrath of social media, by voting not for Ronaldo, Messi or Robben to win the Ballon d'Or - but Argentina schemer Javier Mascherano.

Indeed, Hodgson's second and and third choices - Germans Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer - meant he rejected two of the greatest, most talented players the world has ever seen in favour of a defensive midfielder, a full-back, and a goalkeeper.

Roy, Roy, Roy...