EAGLES boss Ian Holloway was a victim of abuse from the chairman of the Crawley Town Supporters Alliance Club throughout last Saturday's pre-season friendly in West Sussex.

Hours later, Paul Prendergast resigned from his position and was hit by a four-match ban at the Broadfield Stadium after Holloway made a complaint to Crawley Town staff.

It had been a testing 48 hours prior to the game for the Palace boss after watching a number of transfer deals fall through, while the 3-0 defeat to Crawley only fuelled tensions further.

However, on Tuesday the Reds decided to rescind the ban and Prendergast had agreed to move to another area of the stadium after further discussions with the Supporters Alliance and an appeal.

And in a statement, Prendergast admitted he "went too far" this time around having done it on a number of occasions in the past to opposition managers. He said: "I have always wound up the opposition manager from my seat behind the dugout, but on this occasion perhaps I went too far.

"Mr Holloway has gone on record as stating it had been the most stressful week of his managerial career and I may have helped to tip him over the edge.

"That was never my intention, I am extremely embarrassed about it and I am mortified that I caused embarrassment to my football club.

"Crawley Town is a massive part of my life. I am a committed supporter and very passionate about my team and they have enough to deal with preparing for the new season without this.

"I have spoken to co-owner Susan Carter and apologised personally and I just want to forget the incident.

"I have stepped down from my position with the Supporters Alliance and just want to get back to watching football, though perhaps with a slightly more reserved approach in future."

IAN HOLLOWAY said that last week had been one of the toughest of his career – one in which his side huffed and puffed against a rampant Crawley Town side and in which transfer targets and potential signings opted to go elsewhere.

This is an entirely unusual environment for all promoted sides. The money they receive just for getting into the Premier League ultimately makes them easy targets – whether it's other clubs wanting a greater slice of the transfer fee pie or the player wanting a greater wage for doing the same job.

It's akin to someone winning the lottery and being expected to spend every penny they've won within a month of winning it.

There are other matters that need money spent on, too. The logistical requirements that come with being promoted to the most heavily sold domestic football competition in the world comes with a price too.

A new gantry is being installed above the Arthur Wait stand, new cabling is being placed around the pitch and new press rooms are being built.

There's more to competing in the Premier League than just signing the right players for the right price.

Whatever happens in the coming weeks, it should be remembered the purpose of promotion for Palace wasn't to get more expensive players and to break transfer deals.

It was a more deep meaning that drove the club to wanting to get promoted; the opportunity to never, ever have to go through what the club went through twice in the previous years – to avoid ever going into administration again.

So when the club don't compete for a signing, whether it's because the player wants too much, or the club he's coming from expects too much, we should appreciate that we've seen the worst situation a club can face, and we've seen it twice.

We've seen the whites of the administrators' eyes, the threat of a winding up order looming.

Of course, the club want to compete in the Premier League, and the prize of staying up another season is one too great to ignore, but being sensible about transfer deals and player contracts has helped get us where we are now.

That principle should not be ignored or forgotten, no matter what the reason.

PALACE midfielder Owen Garvan is targeting a return to first-team action against Lazio next Saturday at Selhurst Park.

The midfielder sustained a knee injury in the first pre-season fixture at Dagenham & Redbridge after scoring the Eagles' second goal, but Garvan revealed he's back in training and just wants to be ready for Tottenham Hotspur on August 18.

"I just have a bit of tendonitis on the knee, it's a bit sore to run on, but I was back training on Tuesday with the lads," the Irishman said.

"I'm not going to Waterford on Saturday but I'll be looking to step up my fitness this weekend."

"I've only played 45 minutes in pre-season so far at Dagenham & Redbridge, so it was bad timing missing the Tuesday game at Gillingham and Saturday's at Crawley Town.

"I hope to get another 45 minutes and then line up against Lazio at home, and then the season starts the week after. If I can get a good run and keep playing the games, I hope to be right for the first day of the season."

With a host of top clubs and players set to arrive in SE25 this season, Garvan has his eye on a certain Manchester United player despite his love for Liverpool from a young age.

"I liked Liverpool growing up but we don't play them until October," he said.

"I think my family will be going to that.

"That is one of the weekends I am looking forward to, but I've also been a big Michael Carrick fan over the years and we play at Old Trafford early on too.

"There will be so many but I'll be looking at players in my own position and see how they are on the pitch."

In recent years, the likes of Norwich City and Swansea City have done well following promotion, and Garvan believes the best form of defence will be to attack sides – a philosophy backed by boss Ian Holloway.

And he hopes their home form will play a big part in survival too.

"Towards the end of last season the players were accustomed to how the gaffer wanted to play and hopefully we'll know how to play it this year from the start," Garvan said. "At the moment we're still quite light in a few positions so hopefully we'll get some more players in and get deals done.

"It's important we just go out and enjoy ourselves. We need to do that and give teams a hard time.

"A lot of teams are sometimes scared of other teams and try to catch them off guard by sitting back and parking the bus.

"If we attack teams, we'll surprise them really. I think that will be the way to go forward, it gets the crowd on your side, and if you do go down, you're going to do so with a fight.

"If we do well, our home record will hopefully give us a good chance."

PALACE assistant boss Keith Millen says club captain Paddy McCarthy, Jonathan Parr and Kagisho Dikgacoi might play a part in Saturday's pre-season friendly at Waterford United.

McCarthy has not kicked a competitive ball for more than a year but has been in full training this summer, while Parr looks set to return after rupturing ankle ligaments at Ipswich Town in April.

Dikgacoi also suffered ankle damage sustained in the Championship play-off final in May.

"Jonny and Paddy are back training every day," Millen said.

"They're looking good and we might look to give them some time in the midweek game, but then build their fitness up for this weekend.

"KG is getting his fitness up and is improving. He's joined in with training but he's working hard and we'd like to think he'll be up to full speed by Saturday."

Meanwhile, Millen believes trialist Jake Nicholson, released by Tottenham Hotspur last month, will only be part of the U21 development side and not in the first-team picture next season.

The 20-year-old has been training with the club and has featured in pre-season games against East Grinstead Town and Gillingham so far.

"He's really under Gary Issott's group so he'll make a decision on him based on the U21 group, whether he feels he'll improve them," said the assistant. "He's not someone who would be involved in the first-team squad, he's under Gary's wing."

SINCE Palace won promotion to the Premier League on May 27, plans to renovate Selhurst Park have been in full swing and supporters are set for a pleasant surprise come Sunday, August 18.

Head groundsman Mark Perrin and his staff have been busy, not only getting the pitch in tip-top condition but assisting with the instalment of advertising boards and goal-line technology.

And even though the thought of having Premier League players arriving in SE25 is an exciting one, Perrin explained what has been happening so far.

"We're excited to see Premier League stars playing on the pitch next season, but from purely a professional point of view, we'll carry on our good work," he said.

"But I don't think we're thinking too much about the actual players just yet. We just want to get it ready to a decent standard.

"We're aware that being in the Premier League we're under a lot more scrutiny, so we want to bear that in mind, and we've ordered a new pair of goalposts because the old ones were getting a bit tatty. We've also got goal-line technology coming this season. They haven't been in yet but they have been for a provisional visit to test the system.

"There's scaffolding on the Arthur Wait Stand at the moment to build a new television gantry.

"People have also taken down advert boards and put in electronic ones, while we have new seats going into the Main Stand.

"We're still doing everything we'd normally do but the pitch is looking fine at the moment.

"We did struggle in the recent heat though, but we've had good renovation done so I'm pretty confident it will perform well."

One advantage of playing in the top flight of English football is fewer midweek fixtures compared to the Football League, and Perrin says he'll continue to be in discussion with the likes of Paddy McCarthy and Mile Jedinak over the pitch's condition.

"Some players comment on the pitch and some don't," he said.

"You would normally expect the captain to have a comment or two. Their issues are normally the hardness so we put in a lot of work to making them softer.

"You get that maybe from some of the older players, but the younger players maybe want it a bit firmer so it's about managing it to an acceptable standard so that everyone is more or less happy.

"If we lost 6-0 at home, I'm sure there would be some complaints about the pitch, but if we won 6-0 at home then I'm sure they would say what a great surface it was to play on.

"I'm not too sad to see Tuesday night finish this season either.

"But apart from Palace players, I'm looking forward to watching Gareth Bale on the first day of the season – but he might not be a Spurs player for too much longer though."

And Perrin will be consulting Ian Holloway and Keith Millen ahead of the big kick-off to how they'd like the pitch to complement certain players.

"We've consulted the management over the surface and how they want to play," he said.

"What we did last year was at the early part of the season, we were cutting the grass a bit shorter and putting a lot more water on it than we normally would.

"That was partly to have two speedy wingers, so we would probably look to do something similar for this season.

"We can manage the pitch so it plays a lot quicker. That was a tactic last year, and we'll discuss that with Ian Holloway and Keith Millen.

"When they took over during last season, it was more or less the same as carrying on with what we've been doing."

IAN HOLLOWAY says he would not have had trialist striker Atdhe Nuhiu in his 25-man Premier League squad after watching the Austrian join Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday on a three-year deal last week.

Nuhiu had played in Palace's pre-season friendly wins at Dagenham & Redbridge and Gillingham, and the Eagles boss admitted he had mentioned the 23-year-old to Owls boss Dave Jones before the move.

"Anybody I have on trial at Palace, I feed with respect," Holloway said.

"Sheffield Wednesday went in and offered him more than we would, he's obviously closer to being in their first team than I thought he was, and good luck to him.

"He was somebody who has had a go, I really liked him, I told Dave Jones what I thought of the boy, and he came down and watched – they've gone on and signed him.

"I haven't got a real issue with that.

"There aren't many big men around but he's only 23.

"Would I have put him in my squad of 25? Probably not. I would have probably loaned him out.

"Good luck to him. He was a nice lad, he scored for us and he helped us win a game.

"I thought he had a great attitude and I think he'll make himself a player."

BRITISH race walker Alex Wright, from Norbury, has won his appeal to be selected for the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

Wright was initially not named in the selection and appealed through the formal appeals process.

And while the appeal concluded Wright was not selectable under the policy guidelines, the fact he had secured the 20k walk A standard in Switzerland with a time of 1:23.05 in March meant it was referred back to the performance director to reconsider.

Wright had also won the 5km event at the Sainsbury's British Championship in Birmingham recently, setting a UK 5000m walk record, but it was not classed as an official part of the trials, but after consideration, he has been a named in a squad of 61.

A statement from UKA said: "Upon reconsideration, it was concluded that if the Sainsbury's British Championships 5km walk in which he set a new British record had been classed as a trial race, then his subsequent victory as well as possession of the A standard would have led to automatic selection in round one of the selection process."

Wright said: "I am absolutely thrilled to have been selected to the GB & NI team for Moscow, and would like to thank Neil Black for reconsidering the decision."

THE largest expanding falafel restaurant group in the world, Just Falafel, arrived in Croydon last weekend, offering locals a range of fresh, delicious and highly nutritious falafel wraps, soups, salads, sides, dips and drinks.

The opening also marked the start of an exciting new partnership between Just Falafel Croydon and Croydon Juniors Football Club, as the branch has announced they will sponsor the club's first team and provide brand new kits for the season, and complimentary falafel-based meals.

The brand new 1,000 square-foot restaurant located at Norfolk House on Wellesley Road, opened its doors on Saturday and created more than 50 new job opportunities for the local community, as part of a four-year plan to open four outlets in the Croydon area.

Croydon Juniors, based at Croydon Sports Arena in South Norwood, was set up 25 years ago by Sally and James Maher, and it has been going from strength to strength ever since, encouraging boys and girls to get active

Just Falafel UK & Ireland CEO Michael Biggins, said: "We're delighted to be supporting Croydon Juniors Football Club and look forward to seeing if the 'falafuel' energy boost will help to keep them on top this season."

A LAST-BALL run-out earned Trinity Mid-Whitgiftian a valuable winning draw against struggling Pyrford in an otherwise undistinguished match at Lime Meadow on Saturday.

Having lost the toss and been asked to bat first, Mids were far from their best but another half-century from Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and a fine effort from the tail lifted their total to a competitive 182.

Richard Piggin fell lbw early in the innings but Jhunjhunwala quickly found his touch to give Mids a solid start.

However, an uncharacteristic shot ended with Graham Cobbett caught at point and Stewart Sales swiftly followed lbw playing back to a full delivery from James Hammond.

It was a lack of application rather than fine bowling that accounted for most of the top order with Will Page picking out mid-wicket while Seb Miles was bowled by a Hammond delivery that turned as Mids slid to 78-5.

In a rarely seen incident, Mids also received a five-run penalty from the umpires after their batsmen had been warned.

Mids retained the old ball and opened with spin, Chatwal dismissing Tim Roberts lbw in the sixth over of the Pyrford reply.

Jhunjhunwala then struck twice in as many balls as Ben Ives took an excellent catch to dismiss Baxter before Eric Weirich was trapped lbw for 20.

A brilliant direct hit from distance by Jhunjhunwala to dismiss Sellick reduced Pyrford to 55-4 but acting Pyrford captain Fletcher Stewart and Andy Stillwell fought hard to keep their side in the game.

They added 50 to stabilise a creaking innings and forced Mids to take the new ball but slipped well behind the run-rate required for victory and a draw increasingly appeared to be the likely outcome.

The loss of Stillwell (17) and Chris Sellick, both lbw to Jhunjhunwala, all but ended Pyrford's hopes of victory but a winning draw remained within reach with Stewart batting well at the other end.

The Pyrford captain launched a late attack on the winning draw target of 152, hitting Winter for three fours in an over, and an expensive penultimate over from Jhunjhunwala seemed to have put the visitors in pole position for the four points. However, the batsmen struggled to make contact with the ball in the final over as the light faded badly and Stewart (63) was crucially bowled out by Chatwal off the penultimate ball.

Needing two runs for a winning draw off the final ball, Peter Sellick was comfortably run out going for the second to ensure Mids increased their cushion over the bottom two to 20 points. Mids travel to Esher on Saturday.

SOUTH Croydon Swimming Club's 4 x 100 Relay Team took part in the British Age Group Nationals competition last month, with many of the boys taking part for the first time.

Head Coach John Mills accompanied Charlie Goriup, Kane Nurse, Dylan Nurse and Freddie Benians to Ponds Forge, Sheffield, for the prestigious competition.

All swam superbly at the London Regional Swimming Championships to qualify for this event and naturally came up against the highest competition, and they continued to swim a personal best in their Relay Event, finishing 31st in a time of 4.01.02

Benians, having also qualified for the 100 and 200m freestyle (24th) as well as the 100m fly (25th), swam an amazing personal best in the heats to qualify for the Boys' 100m Freestyle, and finished fourth in the final with another PB of 55.68.

It was a tough race with 0.7 separating the first four boys. It was a great result for the swimmers and South Croydon SC, and Mills hopes he can look forward to taking more swimmers to the nationals next year.

The club and swimmers can look forward to a short break in August before returning to training at the end of the month.

A MAIDEN century from Matt Stiddard and a fine all-round display from David Burton ensured Old Whitgiftians secured a convincing win away at Dulwich.

The home side won the toss and put the OWs into bat, before rain arrived. The Dulwich bowlers kept a tight line early on but the OWs got off to a flyer.

Rob Willson was eventually dismissed lbw for seven off Chris Lester's bowling. David Burton and Matt Stiddard then saw off the new ball.

Just before lunch, Burton fell caught at slip for 62 off the bowling of Naeem Iqbal (4-65).

After lunch, Adam Clarke was bowled by Iqbal for seven, which brought Mo Raza to the crease to join Stiddard.

The pair added 75 at a run a ball and saw the OWs safely past the 200 mark but, soon after, Raza was caught at mid-wicket by Anil Mahey for 33. Stiddard, who had held the innings together, then brought up his hundred, off 165 balls including 13 boundaries. The OWs declared on 264-6 off 58 overs, with Shan Malik 10 not out and Hussain 20 not out.

The Dulwich reply took place under darkening skies with the OW bowlers taking early wickets to leave Dulwich 43-6. Levi Olver and Tom Savill then batted sensibly against the OW's spinners, adding 57 for the seventh wicket.

With light fading fast, Alex Gledhill was caught at short leg to leave Savill stranded on 56 and the OWs the victors. David Burton ended with 5-51.

OW skipper Ali Raja said: "It was great to the see Matt Stiddard get his first hundred. Overall it was an excellent display – hopefully we can continue against Beddington."

PALACE assistant boss Keith Millen says club captain Paddy McCarthy, Jonathan Parr and Kagisho Dikgacoi might play a part in Saturday's pre-season friendly at Waterford United.

McCarthy has not kicked a competitive ball for more than a year but has been in full training this summer, while Parr looks set to return after rupturing ankle ligaments at Ipswich Town in April.

Dikgacoi also suffered ankle damage sustained in the Championship play-off final in May.

"Jonny and Paddy are back training every day," Millen said.

"They're looking good and we might look to give them some time in the midweek game, but then build their fitness up for this weekend.

"KG is getting his fitness up and is improving. He's joined in with training but he's working hard and we'd like to think he'll be up to full speed by Saturday."

Meanwhile, Millen believes trialist Jake Nicholson, released by Tottenham Hotspur last month, will only be part of the U21 development side and not in the first-team picture next season.

The 20-year-old has been training with the club and has featured in pre-season games against East Grinstead Town and Gillingham so far.

"He's really under Gary Issott's group so he'll make a decision on him based on the U21 group, whether he feels he'll improve them," said the assistant. "He's not someone who would be involved in the first-team squad, he's under Gary's wing."

A REPLICA of the Crystal Palace could be built by a Chinese billionaire as part of Crystal Palace Park's regeneration scheme.

It has been reported that Ni Zhaoxing and his developers ZhongRong Holdings have appointed engineers to develop proposals.

The famous exhibition centre, which was built in 1854, has left a huge hole in the park since it burned down in 1936.

A spokesman for the Mayor of London confirmed they had been approached by a potential developer, who is keen to redevelop a large section of the north side of the park.

He added: "Discussions between all parties remain at a very early feasibility stage, but the plans do not include any residential development.

"Any fully-formed proposal would of course be presented to the public for comment in order to build a consensus on the way forward."

Bromley Council, which maintains the park, is looking to help secure the park's viable long-term future. A council spokesman said the authority would explore all funding options, calling the park a "jewel in London's crown".

There have been a number of plans in recent years to redevelop the site, including a project by the London Development Agency to build new homes. A plan by Crystal Palace Football Club to build a 40,000-seater stadium on the site was also dropped after it met with opposition from Bromley Council and residents.

TWO identikit crashes within 24 hours in which the drivers fled the scene have left residents counting the cost of the damage.

In what the police have called an "extremely unusual coincidence", the first collision happened in the early hours of last Saturday in Kenley Lane, and the second less than 24 hours later just yards away in Northwood Avenue, Purley.

Nishay Patel, who lives in Kenley Lane said he was woken by the sound of glass shattering at about 5.30am on Saturday.

Police later rang his doorbell to say a car had smashed into his fence.

He said: "It happened only about ten metres from Kenley Station, and there was this sound of loads of glass breaking.

"Soon after the police turned up to say a car had crashed into our fence and landed on its roof. Then I went out to take the photos.

"The police said the car was driving from the station and skimmed another car, then over-corrected itself and went careering into our fence.

"Then officers came knocking to try and find out as much as possible because the driver had hot-footed it from the scene.

"This is a serious incident, in my opinion. If it was a weekday there would be definitely have been casualties, given that Kenley is a commuter town and a number of local residents take the 6am train."

Just 20 hours later, an almost identical incident occurred only a mile away in Northwood Avenue.

Jenny Gould, 59, who lives in the street, told the Advertiser she arrived home on Sunday to find her car smashed up for the third time since she moved there.

"The driver completely took my car out," she said. "There's loads of damage to it.

"Exactly the same thing happened a year ago, and then again when I had a hire car – it's because people drive too fast down this road.

"Anyway, my son Adam was at home when it happened, and he ran out when he heard the smash.

"He saw my car in the middle of the road and another car upside down.

"Then he saw the driver who was out of his car and staggering around, talking on the phone.

"He rushed inside and called the police and the ambulance but when he went outside, the driver had gone.

"Adam went to go and look for him, and the police looked around with their dogs but couldn't find him."

A police spokesman confirmed they had been called to the two incidents where both drivers had disappeared.

The spokesman added: "We are treating the incidents as unconnected, but it is an extremely rare coincidence.

"Investigations are ongoing and neither driver has been identified yet."

THE contract which sees the running of Croydon's libraries handed over to a private company for the next eight years has been signed.

The new arrangements with John Laing Integrated Services (JLIS), which start on October 1, are the result of a rethink of the borough's library set up following pressures on the council's budget. The original plan had been to save money by closing six branch libraries but following a massive public backlash, the council decided to opt for the privatisation solution instead.

The contract means all libraries will remain open, with the service undergoing a modernisation programme, involving the introduction of new technology to benefit staff and customers.

This includes self-service when borrowing or returning books and other items and introducing wi-fi in branches.

The council says it is also saving money on the overall budget, although the financial details of the contract are not revealed.

Councillor Tim Pollard, the council's cabinet member for children, families and learning, said: "Signing this contract means Croydon's libraries are now safe for the foreseeable future.

"At a time when all council services are coming under financial scrutiny, it's great to have negotiated an arrangement that not only keeps all our branches open, but will also see modernisation through the investment that is now planned."

It follows the publication earlier this year of his guide to life imprisonment. Now housed in a secure unit for vulnerable prisoners Baker rarely accepts visitors because he does not want to walk from his cell to the visiting area. "The culture of prison is still set in the 1980s," he said.

"I know a lot of gay people but they would never say they are because they're too scared."

Baker also criticised the justice system for its lack of rehabilitation for inmates.

"Prisoners kept in for so long become institutionalised and unreleasable," he said.

"I've learnt a lot of things in prison but these are just mostly about how to survive.

"Social skills are not taught. If you're chucked out at 40 with barely anything in your pocket, how are you going to survive?

"The thought of being released terrifies me and I would find it easier to be left here.

"At least we know what to expect here – what will I do, die alone in a bedsit?

"However, 25 years is enough. I have hurt people but I want to do something positive."

The violin player added: "The London Chamber Orchestra have said I can work for them if I am released."

Despite writing his prison guide, forthcoming autobiography and a play, Baker insists he does not want to glorify life inside.

He said: "My brother was murdered and even the person who murdered him – I would not wish prison on them.

"A number of people have committed suicide or are on antidepressants. It's a real thing when you see a grown man slashing his arms."

On his hopes for parole, Baker said the chances were slim.

"They keep you in here for the smallest things – it's like hitting a fly with a baseball bat.

"You do one tiny thing wrong and that could be another ten years on the inside."

In his book, Baker gives a grim insight into the realities of prison life which, he says, is a far cry from the picture painted by the media.

"I have witnessed eight men being slashed with razor blades fixed into toothbrushes as handles, 12 stabbings, three scaldings with boiling hot oil and five with boiling water," Baker writes in his book.

"I have even been scalded myself. I have known four men who hanged themselves with torn-up bed sheets, and two others who have committed suicide by overdosing."

"Prison is a terrible place to be. It is often full of dangerous people, devoid of all humanity, who view each other as potential prey."

Baker also takes pains to apologise to his victims in the first chapter of his book, writing he is "deeply sorry and ashamed for the selfish, thoughtless way in which I behaved.

"With all my heart, I wish I could undo all the damage I have done to those who did not in any way deserve it."

Baker was given a life sentence with a minimum term – or tariff – of nine years.

He has failed to pass the parole panel – since they began in the late 90s – about seven times and has spent time in more than ten prisons across the UK.

In 2007, he escaped from an open prison – Leyhill in South Gloucestershire – and met up with a pen pal who had recently been in touch.

He was on the run for around 100 days before police caught him again and his pen pal later gave birth to their son.

His next opportunity to appear before a panel will be in October this year.

A MOTHER duck and her nine ducklings caused traffic chaos near Purley as buses and cars ground to a halt to avoid their stately waddle for a whole mile down a busy road.

"It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen," said resident David Hooper.

"It's real front page news here and everyone is talking about it.

"They were nearly run over and a bus had to make an emergency stop to avoid them."

The ducks appeared from nowhere near Whitefield Avenue last Thursday lunchtime and began their procession along the road on, eventually ending up in Beaumont School an hour later.

Anita Dyer, who lives near the tennis courts, said she saw the family and rushed inside to get a paddling pool to try and lure them away from the road.

"Cars were stopping all over the place to avoid them and there was one very near miss.

"At one point, they were huddling in a hedge so we called the RSPCA and the Wildlife Trust but neither would do anything. We were really disgusted with them actually..

Mr Hooper said: "It was a real day of humanity and showed up the RSPCA for being completely robotic in not paying any attention."

The ducks proceeded into the car park of Beaumont Primary School where staff tried to keep them from the road with food and water. Eventually, the mother led her ducklings onto the school's playing fields and they disappeared into a hedge.

FRESH attempts are being made to force Croydon council into a rethink of its decision to sell off part of its Riesco collection of Chinese ceramics.

Labour councillors were furious when they were told last week that the sale of 24 of the most valuable items of the collection was not a key decision, because it did not involve council spending of more than £1million.

They wanted it ruled as a key decision so it be could be subjected to examination by the council's scrutiny committee.

When the council first announced its intention to sell the pieces, it suggested the sale could raise £13million.

The corporate services committee was told the intention was to use much of the proceeds for a refurbishment of Fairfield Halls.

This week, Labour's shadow cabinet member for culture, Councillor Timothy Godfrey has written to borough solicitor Julie Belvir, reopening the expenditure question.

Cllr Godfrey said: "I believe auction house commission fees for selling the items could be ten per cent or higher, and that would cost the council at least £1million.

"I am therefore asking whether, when these fees are taken into account, the sale should now be a key decision."

The council's decision has also come under fire from David Anderson, president of the Museums Association. He said the decision "threatens not just its own reputation but that of the museum sector as a whole."

"It would undermine the widespread public trust in museums," he added.

Mr Anderson suggested it could lead to Arts Council England taking away the Croydon Museum's accredited status, and that the Museums Association would now have to consider disciplinary action and expelling Croydon from the association.

At last week's meeting, Paul Greenhalgh, the council's executive director for children, families and learning, anticipated the move.

He said if it lost its accreditation, the museum would still be able to function and the council would gain "the bigger prize" of having a large cultural investment which would benefit more people.