POLICE in Sutton have seized 11 uninsured vehicles after setting up roadside checkpoints across the borough.

The strategy is part of an ongoing operation to crackdown on uninsured drivers and seize their vehicles.

Police say that many uninsured drivers have a criminal record and actively use their vehicles to facilitate their offending.

A spokesman added that uninsured drivers are also five times more likely to be involved in collisions and less likely to have vehicles in a roadworthy condition.

Inspector Ceri Rowe, at Sutton Police Station, said: "We will continue to be robust and relentless in our pursuit of criminals by denying them the use of the roads."

Driving without insurance is an offence under the Road Traffic Act. The penalty for driving a vehicle without insurance is six penalty points and a £200 fine, and can lead to a driving ban.

Operation Cubo has been run across London for the last 12 months. In that time, 42,000 vehicles have been seized and nearly 80 per cent of those were found to be driven by criminals or their associates.

FOUR killers who chased and stabbed a teenager from New Addington and left him to die in a car park are facing life sentences.

Kelvin Chibueze, 17, was attacked after a fight broke out during a private party at Arteflex Club, off High Road, Ilford.

The teenager, of Underwood, Fieldway, was stabbed but managed to run away from the venue with his friends.

His attackers, brandishing Champagne and brandy bottles, chased him into Ilford Retail Park.

Kelvin tripped and was then repeatedly stabbed with a foot-long blade while his attackers - all members of Barking-based Harts Lane street gang - sat on his legs to prevent his escape.

Dale Williams, 21, Lerone Boye, 25, Hugo Nwankwo, 18, and Roger Damali, 31, denied murder but were convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey.

Ibrahim Zakari, 20, of St Margaret's, Barking, was cleared of murder but convicted of violent disorder.

Three other men were cleared of both murder and violent disorder.

Judge John Bevan QC adjourned sentencing until December to allow reports detailing the gang's background of the slaying to be prepared.

CHRISTMAS is traditionally the time for giving, but now November is the time for growing, thanks to prostate cancer charity fundraiser Movember.

The idea began nine years ago when three friends, one of whom was battling prostate cancer, decided to grow their facial hair during the month of November for charity.

Hundreds of Croydon men have been sponsored to grow their moustaches, or "mos", and have happily contributed to the hundreds of thousands of pounds now being donated every year.

The team at Toyota, in Purley Way, have had a team grow-off. The eight-strong team have so far raised £143 for prostate cancer.

Mehmet Aray, team captain, said: "The father of Richard Croker, one of the team members, was diagnosed with leukaemia four months ago and is currently waiting for bone marrow operation at the Royal Marsden in Sutton.

"To show our support to both Richard and his father Peter we have decided to grow a mo, which has been a lot of fun."

Meanwhile, Saiid Talidi, 26, from South Croydon, has so far raised £160 for the cause and has vowed that if he gets to £250 he will dye his facial accessory as well. He said: "I wanted to raise money for prostate cancer and this seemed like a really easy way to do it.

"My girlfriend can't wait until I shave it off and neither can I, but it's definitely been fun.

"I look ridiculous, it's all whiskery."

Jon Lee, from Selsdon, has grown an impressive handlebar moustache for the charity and has so far raised £60. He said: "I've really enjoyed nurturing it to full strength but my wife hasn't been so impressed.

"My three little girls find it funny. I've told them to tell mum they like it and they want me to keep it for December too. It's almost working."

Danny Webster, from Selsdon, also raised £250, and had to put up with his football team referring to him as Freddie Mercury for the month.

To donate to the furry fundraisers, visit www.mobro.co/jonlee4 or www.uk.movember.com/team/830049

Their choice will, of course, be working for them but will also take decisions that will reverberate across Croydon and the south.

As well as a say on matters affecting the whole borough, he or she could shift the political balance.

Labour supporter David White, of Park Hill, in East Croydon, remembers the "seismic effect" of Malcolm Wicks' election in 1992 to the former Croydon North-West constituency.

It marked only the third Labour term Croydon had seen, and foreshadowed the first Labour council run of 1994 to 2006.

Mr White, a former Labour councillor and Greater London Council member, said: "Malcolm's election meant that voters all over the borough knew there were at least two competing sets of policies (for council and government) that might be implemented."

There is plenty at stake between the competing sets of policies on borough-wide issues that might be on the table after this election.

Take the borough's libraries, which are about to be privatised under the Tory council in the face of government cuts.

Labour candidate Steve Reed, the favourite to win, pointed to his record supporting libraries as leader of Lambeth Council, saying: "This is all still possible if councils support communities and bring in new partners and investment."

That does not put him a million miles way from Tory candidate Andy Stranack, who approves of "the private sector" as a potential partner.

Mr Stranack said: "I do think that there is a role for voluntary and private sector organisations to work with the council to provide a number of public services at an efficient and effective cost."

But they are both worlds apart from Respect Party's Lee Jasper – the bookies' second favourite to win – and the Green Party's Shasha Khan.

Both candidates want to end altogether what Mr Jasper refers to as "the austerity programme", rather than trying to cope with it.

Mr Jasper said: "Poor and working people are bearing the brunt of the cuts. Libraries are a vital part of our society and we need to maintain each and every one."

Mr Khan said: "No large economy has ever cut its way out of recession."

Planning is another issue where the MP's voice in the north can reverberate southwards.

Mr Reed said he was opposed to the Government's recent National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which has created the controversial "presumption in favour of sustainable development".

He said: "[The NPPF] will harm the house-building we desperately need and put our green spaces at risk of unnecessary development."

Mr Khan echoed that criticism, calling it "really just a presumption in favour of development, a green light for developers".

Tory Mr Stranack, meanwhile, did not specifically address the NPPF but said he did not want building on green spaces.

He said: "We need to work hard to regenerate existing sites. That is why I am so excited about the £1 billion investment that Westfield/Hammerson are proposing for the town centre that will have positive repercussions for the whole borough."

Respect's Mr Jasper called for a "massive house-building programme", but added: "There is no reason for any further incursion into green spaces. We should be building on brownfield sites, releasing council-owned and government lands."

Questions were also e-mailed to Liberal Democrat Marisha Ray but she had not responded by deadline.

Whoever is elected, Croydon has a lot to gain if he or she can work with fellow MPs to raise the borough's collective political voice.

Speaking this week, Croydon South MP Richard Ottaway was preparing to welcome the chosen candidate.

The Conservative MP since 1992 said: "We work closely with the MP in the north of the borough and people working together can achieve results.

"We will know who it is as early as Friday morning and they will get a letter of congratulations and then we can get to work."

His welcome is unlikely to be reciprocated, however, if Lee Jasper is today's winner.

Asked this week whether he would work with his Tory colleagues in the south, Mr Jasper replied by e-mail: "Highly unlikely. Our positions are so far apart I can't see any common ground. But never say never."

THE shutters have been drawn on the last remains of the Warehouse Theatre this week after the bar and foyer were forced to close.

But both Jeremy Frost, the administrator of the theatre company, and former artistic director Ted Craig are hopeful the idea of an arts venue in the Dingwall Road premises is not lost totally.

The bar in the theatre has been run successfully as a separate operation since the Warehouse Theatre Company went into administration in May.

But its demise has been forced this week by the theatre's landlord, Stanhope/Schroders, who have taken back control of the building with the intention of carrying out a full structural survey to test the safety of the premises.

And the tone of a statement released by the partnership seems to indicate the chances of it being reopened are slim.

It said: "The building has fallen into disrepair and we understand that considerable expenditure will be required to get it into a condition that is fit for purpose."

Under a Section 106 planning agreement signed with the council when Stanhope/Schroders got planning permission for their Ruskin Square homes and offices development, the companies are committed to giving £3 million to help finance a new theatre on the site.

But the agreement stipulates that the money only becomes active if Stanhope/Schroders are presented with a viable business plan for a theatre.

In their statement, Stanhope Schroders say they have received proposals for a future theatre but no-one has come forward with a long term viable business plan.

However, they add this does not rule anything out.

Mr Frost said the way things were working out was not very helpful.

He said: "I have a business plan in front of me which would allow the theatre to run profitably and without public subsidy."

He wants Stanhope/Schroders to look seriously at the proposals which he believed could be transferred into a new theatre building in the future if it was not possible to reopen the existing premises in the meantime.

Mr Craig told the Advertiser he too had proposals for the premises, which are based on the Warehouse's annual playwriting festival.

He said: "I think the survey will find that the building is safe and hopefully we will be able to go ahead with our proposals."

A RAPPER has been jailed for life after shooting his "friend" during a bungled robbery in Croydon.

Daniel Tesfay, 26, was convicted of the murder of Jonathan Barnes at the Old Bailey on Monday and told he must serve a minimum of 30 years.

The court heard police were called shortly before 9pm on August 23 last year, to reports of shots being fired at a property in Morland Road, Addiscombe.

On arrival officers found 21-year-old Mr Barnes, who had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to hospital but died two days later.

During the trial, the court heard that on the night of the shooting Tesfay – whose stage name is "Wolfie" – and Mr Barnes went to Morland Road for a pre-arranged appointment to view and potentially purchase Rolex watches.

After inspecting the watches they left the property briefly but returned a short while later and agreed a price with the sellers.

Tesfay produced a gun and threatened the sellers. With the watches in their possession the pair attempted to leave the property.

A scuffle ensued and Tesfay, of Tollgate Gardens, in Kilburn, fired the gun he had been holding twice.

The first bullet hit the staircase and the second hit Mr Barnes.

Tesfay fled the scene before the arrival of the emergency services but was arrested a week later by officers who saw him leaving a hotel in the Earls Court area of London.

Tesfay was charged with the murder of Jonathan Barnes and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

He was found guilty of both charges and given 10 years for the firearms offence. This will run concurrently with the life sentence.

The court heard Tesfay's criminal record included convictions for possessing knives and an air gun in public, threatening behaviour, assaulting a police officer, and possessing cannabis.

THE most anticipated game of the season for every single Palace fan is finally here.

Come 3pm tomorrow, Selhurst Park will be a cauldron of passion, flying tackles, fan banter, and perhaps the sight of Wilfried Zaha turning Will Buckley inside out for 90 minutes.

I am, of course, talking about the team from the south coast, situated approximately 45 miles from Selhurst Park, who arrive on the back of three wins and two draws in their last five games.

OK, I'll finally name them. Brighton & Hove Albion are in town and are, like Palace, in good form heading into the match in SE25.

On Tuesday night, they secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Bristol City to move back up into seventh position, just six points behind the Eagles.

Palace, on the other hand, were rather fortunate to come away with a point at Hull City, especially on the back of their first-half display, which could have seen the hosts at least two goals up.

However, it was another clean sheet for Ian Holloway's men and they could have nicked it at the end through Zaha or Yannick Bolasie.

In terms of team news, Holloway could decide to stick with the same starting XI from the KC Stadium, with Brazilian playmaker Andre Moritz believed to be struggling ahead of tomorrow after sustaining a knee injury against Leeds United last Saturday.

Holloway said of the 26-year-old: "I'm not sure if he'll make it yet. We didn't bring him to Hull because he received quite a nasty injury at Leeds above his knee.

"We believe that could go down into the knee joint itself, so we'll have to see, but my physiotherapist is very good."

Glenn Murray is set to come straight back in to face his former club after serving a one-game ban at Hull for picking up five bookings this season. And the striker will know exactly what to expect from the Brighton fans in the Arthur Wait Stand.

The 29-year-old spent more than three years playing at the old Withdean Stadium and scored 56 goals in more than 130 appearances, with 22 of them coming in Brighton's promotion from League One in 2011 before deciding to sign for Palace.

So far this season, he's scored 15 times, of which 13 have come at Selhurst Park, so the stage has been set for him to make his return and put the Seagulls to the sword.

Brighton welcomed back Adam El-Abd to the bench against Bristol City after a recent injury and could bring his experience back into the team at the expense of Lewis Dunk.

Manager Gus Poyet decided to go with Stephen Dobbie and Will Hoskins in attack on Tuesday instead of Craig Mackail-Smith and Ashley Barnes, probably with a view of keeping them fresh for tomorrow.

Former England international left-back Wayne Bridge has also been sidelined through injury lately, but Poyet says he's on course for returning to the starting XI at Selhurst. However, if he were to miss out again, Marcos Painter is ready to continue at the back.

And one of the biggest clashes of the day could come down the flanks involving Will Buckley and Zaha. Buckley is seen as the star player for the Seagulls like Zaha is for Palace, but Poyet claimed earlier this month to local media that his man was the better talent and worth more.

It will certainly be an interesting contest to see who comes out on top, but with the form shown by Zaha at home this season, you'd back the 20-year-old to have the last laugh come 5pm.

Off the pitch, a large police presence is expected at Selhurst and as far as East Croydon station, so it's advised to plan your journey in good time and arrive early.

The Metropolitan Police say that Palace fans exiting from Holmesdale Road after the game will not be able to turn left into Park Road. The same goes for home fans attempting to access Park Road from Whitehorse Lane. Furthermore, Palace supporters with seats in the Arthur Wait Stand will be able to leave the ground through exit four (E4) in Park Road and gain access into Holmesdale Road.

Both sides have an array of attacking talent going forward, so we could either be in for a flurry of end-to-end action and goals, or a tight, dogged affair with many supporters on the edge of their seats for the winning strike.

A result will certainly put pressure on current league leaders Cardiff City, but it will also set Ian Holloway up nicely to face former club Blackpool next Saturday at home.

FIRST came the news South Norwood Police Station is being closed by the Met.

Now, the Advertiser can reveal the area's Safer Neighbourhood Team has been moved to a new base - more than a mile off patch in Addiscombe.

The seven-strong team has now set up home at Charity House, in Lower Addiscombe Road, after Mayor of London Boris Johnson gave the green light for the station to be put on the market.

News of the restructure comes weeks after the new sergeant leading the neighbourhood team, Mick Emery, told the Advertiser there would be a more visible presence on the streets in the coming months.

Steve O'Connell, non-executive advisor for neighbourhood policing in the Mayor's Office for policing and Crime (MOPAC), said the planned sale of the Oliver Grove building was news to him, but he argued that the move would not affect frontline policing.

He said: "I haven't heard about this. I don't know everything the police are doing across Croydon and London. They wouldn't necessarily inform me anyway.

"But all I want for the residents of South Norwood is for them to see police on their streets and a neighbourhoods team on duty.

"Where they report in the morning and hang their coats up is not of particular importance. The important thing is the team are out on the beat doing their job, at full strength and performing well."

Mr O'Connell, also Greater London Assembly member for Croydon, added: "In the budget, in terms of challenges ahead, there may come choices between buildings and cops, and I know what the people of South Norwood would want.

"I wouldn't be happy if this affected their visibility on the streets and their performance. But I have no problem with teams being relocated if it means no reduction in service."

News of the planned sale, approved by the Mayor's Office, also comes at a time when the latest figures show crime across Croydon in October increased by four per cent on the September figures.

A number of the Met's 800 buildings across London have question marks hanging over them, with the force needing to make savings of around £500million by 2015.

Kenley Police Station, in the south of the borough, is also the subject of speculation, while nearby Wallington station was sold last year.

Tony Newman, Labour leader of the opposition at Croydon Council, said: "This is outrageous.

"The Croydon force has said they are going to open a consultation on front counter services, while decisions are obviously already being made by the mayor behind the scenes.

"The public are being hoodwinked into thinking they are being consulted when decisions are already being made in the face of massive public opposition."

A Met spokesman said: "We can confirm that the South Norwood Safer Neighbourhoods Team has moved bases from South Norwood police station to Charity House, Lower Addiscombe Road.

"Although their base is not directly in their local ward, they will still be spending the vast majority of their time in South Norwood, carrying out their patrols and local policing activity.

"The move is partly due to the agreed release (for sale) of South Norwood Police Station by MOPAC, and also to move the South Norwood team into the same offices as Ashburton and Woodside wards so that the teams can better share information and intelligence."

ONE of Croydon's biggest employers has said it may be forced to reluctantly leave the borough – due to a lack of middle-class recruits.

Mike Webb, chairman of Allianz Global Assistance, told this week's Develop Croydon conference that the pool of middle-class people traditionally recruited to its business is drying up.

The company, based in George Street, employs around 600 people and in October opened a revamped headquarters with the message that it had no intention of quitting the borough.

And while that intention was stressed again by Mr Webb on Tuesday, he did sound the warning about future recruitment problems.

Mr Webb said: "Croydon has been a fantastic place for us and we would like to be here for a long time."

He said its affinity with Croydon had been built up through its excellent staff base, which was largely local.

But he added: "The key issue is how we are going to continue to find these people because we see a large drift out of Croydon of the middle-class who have traditionally been our employees.

"If they are not here in two or three years time, we won't be here."

He believed the difficulty was being caused by the negative perception they had of Croydon.

Mr Webb added: "We need to be making the case for Croydon and its strengths more positively."

Croydon Council leader Mike Fisher admitted Croydon had an image problem.

He said the town no longer had the diversity of shops it had 20 or 30 years ago and its image had taken a huge kick from last year's riots.

But he added: "There is a real desire to invest in Croydon and people will want to come here when they realise what a good place it is to do business."

He said investment in the retail centre was on the horizon and office space was being improved.

Councillor Fisher said: "The centre will be transformed over the coming years and we will then overcome many of these problems."

A NEW medical unit has opened to patients following a £1.5million refurbishment at Croydon University Hospital.

The acute medical unit (AMU) opened at the hospital on Saturday following the investment.

Building for the unit began in June after the old wards were used as the set for the BBC hospital sitcom Getting On.

The new unit will provide specialist care for adult patients with a wide range of medical conditions; treating some of the most acutely ill patients suffering from illnesses like pneumonia and heart problems.

The hope is the unit will reduce A&E waiting times and ensure that patients receive the most appropriate treatment as quickly as possible. The new unit includes six single-sex bays and six en-suite rooms, totalling 42 beds, an assessment area, dedicated treatment area and consulting rooms.

Head matron Johnny Wells, who will oversee the new ward, said: "This is really exciting. The old ward was crying out for a refurbishment and I hope now we've got this done we can move on to refurbishing accident and emergency.

"We have come from something that wasn't great to this; it is a complete transformation. I know I and all the team are really looking forward to working in the new ward."

I've been a good boy this year. Seriously, I danced with the Palace cheerleaders for charity and everything! So I'm hoping you'll be able to give me what I want for Christmas this year.

Well, actually it's not a case of what I want, but what I don't want. You see, I think it's time that Palace said goodbye to Jermaine Easter.

Now don't get me wrong, I love old Jamma. He's an honest pro, he runs and runs like a Duracell battery and has scored a couple of important goals for Palace.

But that's the problem. A couple. Not shedloads, and he's been given the chances to be fair.

But more often than not, I've found myself emitting a frustrated "EASTER!!" rather than a jubilant "EAASTTERR!!"

I like his style, and I like the way he runs around sticking his bum out as he covers every blade of grass. He's a hard worker and probably a good squad player, but as the Palace team gets better I think he's become more surplus to requirements.

And his name is true to his form: Easter. He's rubbish with crosses and he rarely comes out of his shell on the pitch.

Thanks for the efforts, Jermaine, but for this Christmas I want no more Easter.

CURRENT Palace skipper Mile Jedinak says he'll be making sure the players know exactly what to expect when the referee's whistle blows at 3pm.

It's second-versus-seventh as the hottest game of the season is upon us with Brighton & Hove Albion arriving in SE25, and the Australian believes the clean sheet picked up at Hull City will give Palace confidence going into the game.

"I know how big the game is," he told Advertiser Sport. "I've played in a couple and I know how passionate everyone is about it and I'm sure most of the boys do know about it.

"However, for those who don't, I'll be making sure they know. I think everyone will get the vibe and we're expecting it to be a tough game.

"Obviously it's massive for both clubs, but I think if we can put in a performance, then it should be a positive outcome for us.

"We'll take the positives (from Hull), especially from the clean sheet and the test of character, especially in the second half, which was fantastic and really what we needed.

"The way the boys defended was brilliant on the back of the result at Leeds and now we have a massive game against Brighton."

Hull certainly could have been at least two or three goals to the good at half-time at the KC Stadium, but Jedinak was pleased the team managed to stick together to weather the storm, especially through Tigers captain Robert Koren.

"I felt we were a little bit disjointed in the first half, but I felt we held out well," he said.

"In the second half we adjusted slightly and got back in the game and I felt we were a bit unlucky not to pinch it at the end.

"Hull had a few half-chances in the first half and they had a great one through their captain Robert Koren when he skied it over, which was probably the pick of the bunch.

"Others were bits and pieces but that can happen in football if you don't take your chances, then we went up the other end and could have won it at the death.

"We've got a great bunch of boys and we've got a very positive manager, so overall, considering the way we started the game, you'd take a point.

"But we're a team at the top of the league, so we want all three points in every game – it just wasn't to be this time around."

After making two similar trips up the M1 in the space of 72 hours, many felt the travelling could have taken effect on the players, but Jedinak says it wasn't a problem for the squad and that they're fit enough to deal with it.

"We had a couple of easy days just preparing for the game and we're all fresh and old enough to know what our bodies can and can't do," he said.

"After the game at Leeds, on the Sunday and Monday you do very little, but I thought the boys picked themselves up and that's one thing I think we've been really strong at this year in the way we've finished games.

"I think we probably finished the stronger of the two teams, so I don't think it really affected us that much even though Hull freshened up their squad a little more than we did."

Meanwhile, the man in the engine room admits there could be a few razors in hand late on Friday night when the Movember craze ends ahead of the big game on Saturday.

A number of the players have sported moustaches this month to raise awareness for men's health, but they could be ready to come off for one or two of them.

"I think some of the boys are ready to get rid of them," said Jedinak.

"I'll probably get rid of mine on Saturday morning and just keep a little fresh face, but I'm not too sure about the others as some of them may have got tired of it.

"It's great banter and it's for a fantastic cause, but I think it's likely one or two of the boys will get rid of them with the first chance they get."

THE Audit Commission and finance services company Deloitte have appeared in front of a scrutiny committee to explain how they missed NHS Croydon's £28 million overspend.

But if the panel was hoping either organisation would accept responsibility they were left disappointed. Internal auditors Deloitte, paid £60,000, said it was not within its remit to look at financial accounts.

They shifted the focus on to the Audit Commission, paid £275,000 as the primary care trust's (PCT) statutory external auditor, which said it had reviewed its work and found it was "sufficient".

Instead both auditors suggested the responsibility lay with the trust's directors and finance officers, most of whom have refused to appear before the inquiry.

Jason Cummings, chairman of the South West London joint health and overview scrutiny committee, asked Deloitte's representative: "Can I ask you a very simple question? Why didn't you pick this up?"

Neil Yeomans, partner for local government security and controls, replied: "Our role is to help the board make a statement of control. We are directed by the audit committee to make sure the organisation is meeting the strategic objectives.

"The area described in the report is not one of the areas we were pointed towards by the audit committee."

NHS Croydon posted a surplus of £5 million in its 2010/11 accounts when it had in actually overspent by £23 million. Both Deloitte and the Audit Commission missed that "unwarranted adjustments", uncovered later during in investigation by Ernst & Young, had been made to the agreement of balances.

Cllr Cummings added: "So you would have said it is acceptable that the internal audit would not have picked up on this?"

"If you look at where we were directed to do our work they were a comparable set of areas which we would look at for other clients," replied Mr Yeomans.

"The matter of year-end agreement of balances is not typically an area we are asked to look at. It's fair to say with all the PCTs we deal with that it isn't regarded as a significant risk."

Merton Cllr Suzanne Evans said: "You were being paid £60,000 a year and it appears to me you weren't asking any questions at all. So from a point of view of managing strategic internal risk, I would argue that you have failed."

Mr Yeomans replied: "Simply stated, it was not our responsibility to be given the end-of-year accounts, that's the responsibility of external audit.

"Our job was to ensure that management did a good job of managing the strategic risks it had identified."

Cllr Evans replied: "Well, it clearly didn't because there's a £28 million black hole in the accounts. So surely you must have failed?"

Cllr Cummings added: "Between yourselves, the management, in terms of the board and the audit committee, should this type have thing have been picked up and, if it should, where does the blame lie in this case that it wasn't?"

Mr Yeomans replied: "My general statement is that the primary responsibility must lie with the management. All of them have a role in approving the accounts."

He added: "If invoices are not presented to either internal or external audit then they can't form any part of the testing. We wouldn't know they existed."

Cllr Cummings said: "So are you suggesting there was a failure of the integrity of management?"

Mr Yeomans said: "I am simply saying that if information isn't made available then we can't report it."

The committee has not scheduled any further public meetings following Monday's at Kingston Guildhall. It plans to publish its report before Christmas.

SCORES of the borough's homes and businesses face losing their flood damage cover.

The threat of being left without cover from next year looms large as an agreement to find extra public funds to keep the flood insurance industry afloat looks in doubt.

Failure to find a solution could prove devastating for householders and business owners who took out policies following Purley's floods between 2006 and 2007, in which hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage was done.

The news comes as hundreds of homes across the country have been swamped by deluges.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) this week confirmed Purley homes are among 200,000 affected across England.

Ian Harris, owner of The Jolly Farmers pub and a warden for Purley's pioneering flood plan launched earlier this year, described the situation as "worrying" after suffering £20,000 to £30,000 worth of damage more than five years ago.

He said: "We were without doubt the worst affected business in Purley. It was a combination of two things.

"First, our location was where the deepest water is, but in addition to that the heart of the business is in the cellar, with the beer stocks and electrical equipment.

"Purley is a high-risk flood area because of its geographical location and if it does flood you may lose your business.

"And if you're not insured it's not even worth thinking about."

Areas at high risk face being unable to renew, or take out, cover beyond June next year following the Government's refusal to stump up additional funds for an "overdraft" facility if claims become too much for insurers.

The industry has been holding out for a deal in which householders or businesses in high-risk areas would have to pay extra on top of normal premiums. This would then be pooled to cover collective losses.

But insurance bosses are demanding the Government provides a guaranteed "overdraft" to fund any emergencies as the pooling scheme builds up over the first two or three years.

In the absence of a guarantee, cover may not be offered to firms and homes from next June.

Sunny Patel, who owns Good News in Brighton Road, was left with £7,500-worth of damage following the town's floods and says being able to renew his flood policy is crucial.

He said: "If we were unable to get cover, and then we were flooded, it would be devastating. It would be the end of us."

Tarsem Flora, chairman of Purley and Woodcote Residents' Association and leader of Purley's community flood plan, said the problem is so serious he has written to Croydon South MP Richard Ottaway to lobby the Government on behalf of residents.

He said: "Flooding is now becoming a very serious problem and Purley remains at risk. The present debate between the Government and the insurance companies needs to be settled as a matter of urgency. Nick Starling, director of general insurance at ABI, said: "The Government has indicated it will not provide any temporary overdraft facility for the insurance industry's not-for-profit scheme, which makes it very difficult for it to go ahead. "As a result, negotiations have hit an impasse. "Insurers know their customers are increasingly worried about flood cover and we will therefore continue talks with Government to try to and find a way forward. "The severe floods experienced by many areas of the UK this year are a reminder of the rising flood risk facing the UK. It is therefore vital that insurers and Government tackle this issue together – this is not just a problem for insurers. "No country in the world has a free market for flood insurance with high levels of affordable cover without some form of government involvement."