'Dark and devious' Coulsdon paedophile Aaron Honey jailed for preying on children on Call of Duty and FIFA chat rooms
Man from Upper Norwood charged with importing class A drugs after heroin seizure at St Pancras
Croydon town centre gets its very own Speakers' Corner
CRYSTAL PALACE TRANSFER TALK: Swansea striker Michu linked with a move to Selhurst Park
THE ADVERTISER SAYS: Croydon Council's Fairness Commission an expensive exercise in nothingness
I was perfectly at home with transfers for Crystal Palace last year, says Steve Parish
Two taken to hospital after car crash at Lodge Lane junction
Purley nursery accused in sickness alert
A NURSERY has been accused of putting children at risk by potentially contributing to an outbreak of diarrhoea.
Ofsted visited Purley Day Nursery & Montessori Centre after claims that poor food preparation had caused children and staff to fall sick.
While the spot-check found that food was being prepared hygienically, Ofsted found the nursery may have contributed to the problem by failing to follow health and safety guidelines.
As a result the nursery was judged to be "inadequate" – Ofsted's lowest rating – but has launched an appeal.
On March 21, Ofsted received a complaint about an outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea at Purley Day Nursery, in Burcott Road.
An inspection was unable to determine the source of the infection, but found the nursery was not following Health Protection Agency guidance about "excluding" children for 48 hours following a bout of sickness.
"This puts children in danger of contracting illness from infected individuals and compromises their wellbeing," inspector Lesley Hodges' report, published this week, said.
In a letter to parents and Ofsted this week, owner Sharman Allerton rejected the accusation but said policies had been altered to include a 48-hour exclusion period.
Ofsted also accused the nursery of "compromising children's safety" by relying on criminal records checks completed by previous employers when hiring staff rather than doing its own.
Ms Allerton said she had followed official guidance and insisted none of the nursery's 93 children had been put at risk.
Claims that staff do not give younger children enough time to answer questions, which "impacts on their development of their communication skills", were branded "incorrect" by Ms Allerton, who pointed to other sections of the report where the nursery was praised for its quality of teaching and activities.
Despite the damning overall verdict, Purley Day Nursery was rated "good" for how it meets children's needs.
It will be subject to monitoring visits and a full inspection within six months. Purley is the fifth Croydon nursery to be criticised by Ofsted this year.
Croydon streets to be closed and turned into kids' play areas
Woman was taken to hospital as a precaution after New Addington crash
Shop selling 'cannabis energy drinks' opens in South Norwood
Forget War and Peace - Croydon College students write entire book in just FIVE DAYS
THEY say everyone has a novel in them but at the rate a group of students have been writing, they could finish 52 books a year.
A collective of nine English literature AS and A-level students from Croydon College put the final touches to a 180-page crime thriller last Friday. The catch? They only started on Monday and wrote it in just five days.
Part of the TooManyCooks voluntary project, the students boldly juggled the ambitious task with their AS and A-level exams.
Locked together in a room for a week, they have produced Behind The Screen, a dark tale detailing the events in the aftermath of a popular student's suicide.
Each scribe, under the watchful eye of team leader and teacher Chantal Irtelli, was responsible for the actions of one of nine main characters.
Brandon White, 20, said he was surprised at how well the formula worked.
"I didn't expect the collaborative side of it to work so well but we didn't really argue a great deal," he said.
"I'm not sure I'd write a novel with so many people again but I might do it on my own."
The book, which is available on Amazon, deals with heavy themes such as mortality, victimisation and cyber crime, and is based all over London.
To write the 40,000-word novel, students had to storyboard the whole plot before they set to work writing it.
The group chose 'Tim Cooks' as their pen name - a reference to the TooManyCooks project title.
Brandon added: "We didn't leave it on a cliff-hanger and it rounded it off quite nicely.
"We don't want to give too much away before people read it but there are a lot of heavy topics in it so we thought it would be better to keep it a bit lighter at the end."
Teacher Ms Irtelli said she had been impressed by the creativity of her students and thought the end result was comparable to American young adult author Judy Blume.
Ms Irtelli said: "A lot of the students are very tired now but we are hoping to do it again next year.
"There were a lot of cooks but they didn't spoil the broth!"
To buy the book for £1.81, visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behind-Screen-Tim-Cooks-ebook/dp/B00L8FLVQI
Could drama classes help keep Croydon's young people out of gangs?
DRAMA is to be used in a new battle to turn Croydon children away from gang culture and violence.
The Terriers Project will see a successful venture run in Liverpool by the Royal Court Liverpool Trust and Merseyside police transfer to Croydon's Fairfield Halls.
The initiative will be run by Fairfield with backing from the Westfield/Hammerson Partnership, which is helping finance the £20,000 plus costs.
The project centres on hour-long drama, Terriers, set in Liverpool, which places central characters in many of the dilemmas facing young people being confronted with choices of whether or not to join a gang.
More than 50,000 young people have been involved in the project in Liverpool and the plan in Croydon is to reach 1,600 children aged to 10 to 14 over the next couple of years.
The play will be launched in the Ashcroft Theatre on November 10 with follow up performances in the Arnhem Gallery and secondary schools.
Teachers will also be provided with a follow-up educational toolkit so they can continue work on the project in lessons.
Simon Thomsett, Fairfield chief executive, said: "We have been talking about this for a while because we feel there are similarities between the urban environment in Liverpool and the environment here.
"We will be doing this initially as a Liverpool play but the issues that are raised and the characters involved are universal."
As the project unfolds, the intention is, Mr Thomsett said, to bring in Croydon actors and see whether the plot line can gradually be developed to have a more local feel.
He said: "The one thing we don't want is to come across as being 'worthy'.
"This is good drama which appeals to people of all ages as a play."
But he said he believed the underlying message of the decisions made by the main character on whether or not to get sucked into a gang culture and crime would resonate with young people in Croydon.
Mr Thomsett said: "The idea is to get young people, who are at a very impressionable age, to think for themselves.
"The play is saying you have choices and those choices can have big effects and big ramifications on your life, so make sure you make the right ones."
He added: "The project has been very successful in Liverpool and Merseyside police have said it has played a part in a drop in gun crime.
"We want Croydon police to be involved with us here."
Peter Cole, chief investment officer of Hammerson, said: "Working in partnership with Fairfield Halls and the Terriers Project we hope to ensure that young people in Croydon understand there is help available if they find themselves in trouble.
"The success of the project in Liverpool, by tackling the issue at the grass-roots level, is already a testament to the work that they do and will be a welcome resource to Croydon schools."
Croydon soup kitchen saw 100 people in ONE NIGHT
...But official figures suggest Croydon homelessness is failing... WHILE the number of people seeking help from Nightwatch has increased, official figures show homelessness in Croydon fell last year. Annual statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government show that 2,459 families presented themselves as homeless to the council in 2013/14, 14 per cent less that the previous year. Of those families, 762 were accepted as being homeless and in priority need. After homelessness reached an eight-year high last year, the council predicted the number of families accepted as homeless in a single year would exceed 1,000 by 2015. This latest data, published this week, suggests the crisis might be easing. Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell described the figures as "encouraging", but agreed with Cllr Alison Butler, Labour's cabinet member for housing, that there was a lot more work to be done. Cllr Butler said: "Addressing this issue is still top of my agenda. My understanding is we have more people being made homeless from the private rented sector. There are also indications that mortgage repossessions are rising. The main problem is the shortage of supply, which is something we're looking really strongly at, including increasing the number of affordable housing projects coming on site in Croydon." Labour will continue the previous council's decision, made earlier this year, to invest millions in a property fund in order to secure 94 one and two-bedroom homes in London. That followed the council borrowing £20 million in 2013 to directly purchase 80 homes. However, Cllr Butler hopes to gradually move away from the Conservative policy of asking homeless families to relocate to other parts of the country. Some 142 households were moved out in 2013/14, including to West Yorkshire, Birmingham, Kent and Hampshire. "We don't want to be shipping people out of Croydon," she said. "We know some people left by choice, but others were deeply upset about it." Cllr Butler said the council was in the process of sourcing alternative emergency accommodation, with an announcement expected in the coming weeks. "It would definitely be premature to read too much into these figures," she added. "The numbers are still too high. It's less of a crisis, that's the way I would put it."
Co-op in South Norwood set to close with the loss of 40 jobs
ONE of South Norwood's biggest supermarkets is to close, with around 40 jobs expected to go.
The Co-op, in Station Road, is to close its doors after a troubled existence and rumours it has long been the target of robbery.
The Advertiser understands it will close in September but another supermarket chain, Aldi, confirmed it plans to open at the site in 2015.
It is understood Aldi will not offer jobs to those currently working at the Co-op.
Instead, the Co-op says it will try to offer those employees jobs at their stores elsewhere, but a spokesman admitted the closure "may result in some redundancies."
Wayne Lawlor, a Labour Co-operative councillor for South Norwood, said he was disappointed to see the store close.
He added: "It's a great shame and as a Labour Co-operative councillor I've been a great fan of the shops for years. It doesn't sound like Aldi will take on any of the current staff which is very disappointing."
Cllr Lawlor said the crime reported to have happened at the store is a result of poor management as well as policing changes.
He added: "There have been a few issues there over the years – and it was the same when it was Somerfield before – with security and stories about people stealing from the store.
"I would have liked to have seen more robust security in place at the store and I don't think the closure of South Norwood Police Station has helped."
A spokesman for Co-operative Food said the decision reflected the company's strategy nationwide.
He said: "The Co-operative Group continually reviews its retail estate, and we have made the decision to focus on smaller convenience stores and dispose of those trading outlets that do not align with our strategy.
"The consideration to sell the store is in no way a reflection on the hard work and commitment from colleagues working at the South Norwood store."
The Co-operative is set to open a new shop on the site of The Selhurst Arms pub, in Selhurst Road, later this year.
It will be Aldi's second store in the borough to add to its supermarket in Selsdon with another expected to open at the former Red Lion pub in Coulsdon.
Addiscombe primary school teacher hailed as one of Britain's best
AN ADDISCOMBE primary school teacher took tea at the House of Commons to celebrate winning an award last Tuesday.
Hayley Francis, of ARK Oval Primary Academy, in Cherry Orchard Road, has received a Silver Teaching Award from education company Pearson.
She was given a trophy after she was shortlisted for Teacher of the Year in a Primary School – being chosen from more than 20,000 nominations across the country in the process.
And Ms Francis could win further recognition.
She will now join 59 fellow silver award-winners at the UK final of the Pearson Teaching Awards at London's Guildhall on October 26, where 11 silver award-winners will receive a Gold Teaching Award.
Plans for Thornton Heath free school are withdrawn
PLANS for the Advance Free School proposed to help combat a shortage of primary places in the north of the borough have bitten the dust.
But mystery surrounds why the founders of the school have decided not to go ahead.
The school was due to open in September and was controversially to be built on land at the Highbury Playing Fields in Thornton Heath.
Repeated attempts by the Advertiser this week to contact the lead founder, Russell King, by phone, e-mail and via Advance's website have failed to get a response.
Even Councillor Alisa Flemming, the council's cabinet member for children, families and learning, could throw little light on what was happening.
A statement from the Department for Education issued on Wednesday was also vague.
It said: "The proposers of the Advance School have decided that they do not have the capacity to continue with this project. We have accepted the withdrawal of the application."
The decision is being welcomed by local councillors who led a campaign against the loss of part of the playing fields.
Labour councillor for Upper Norwood, John Wentworth said: "We were not against the free school and we fully support extending places in the north of the borough."
TRANSFER TALK: Crystal Palace 'in move for ex-Tottenham and Man Utd striker'
Staffing levels up at Croydon University Hospital
STAFFING levels at Croydon University Hospital are meeting – and in some cases exceeding – targets, new figures have shown.
The London Road hospital has long had problems with staff shortages, leading to questions about quality of care and an over-reliance on expensive agency staff.
Last year Croydon Health Services, the trust that runs the hospital, decided to accrue a deficit of £6.8 million to fund a recruitment drive to bring in more staff.
Data on the NHS Choices website, published monthly, shows the hospital is now meeting targets for nurses and midwives. It is the first time "safe staffing" information has been published for the hospital and others across the country.
Fill rates (how many staff were on duty) at Croydon's wards ranged from 91 per cent to 127 per cent.
Zoe Packman, director of nursing and midwifery at CHS, said: "Our figures in May show that we had good staffing levels, without any ward having significant gaps in the staffing levels planned and how many staff were on duty.
"In many cases our 'fill' rates actually exceeded what was planned and were over 100 per cent. This is because we have a very clear system in place, with nursing and midwifery clinical leaders across the trust visiting wards at least daily."
She added: "If our patients are very sick or highly dependent, this ultimately affects the care they need and we will increase staffing to make sure we have the right skills in place to deliver one-to-one support."
Staffing levels are now displayed on information boards placed in prominent positions throughout the hospital.
Publishing ward staffing levels was part of the government response to the public inquiry into the failings at Mid Staffordshire Hospital.
CAMRA says The Claret is Croydon's best pub
A PUB in Addiscombe which has served more than a million pints of the same bitter has been voted Croydon real ale drinkers' boozer of the year.
The Claret Free House, in Lower Addiscombe Road, is the 2014 Croydon CAMRA Pub of the Year – its sixth time of holding the title.
The pub has been a permanent fixture in the Good Beer Guide since 1989 and general manager Don Burton puts it down to a simple formula – cheap, tasty beer.
Mr Burton, 61, said: "We try and keep our customers happy by keeping the price down and by keeping everything in good condition.
"There's no real secret, but we just try and make sure it's a place people want to come back to."
The pub is run as a free house, meaning it has no ties to any brewery, allowing it to make decisions free of the financial shackles that has seen many Croydon pubs close in recent years.
And for all the pubs adapting to the modern world with jukeboxes, gastro-pub food and fancy cocktails, Mr Burton does not foresee that happening at The Claret.
"Well we'll never change it I don't think," he added.
"There would probably be uproar if we changed it.
"Even if anyone else came in and changed it, they'd have to change it back or they'd have no custom."
The pub made history in 2012 when it became the first pub in the world to serve one million pints of Palmers Best Bitter, having offered the Dorset ale since 1986.
It is this dependable range of bitters which Mr Burton thinks is key to its success as well as knowing what you will get from your visit there.
"It is a local pub and a regulars' pub where you don't get any trouble so people appreciate that. It is quite a male pub and you don't get too many women coming in here but those who do always feel welcome and safe."
The business is owned by three brothers but Mr Burton, originally from Yorkshire, runs both the Addiscombe boozer and its sister branch in Cheam.