THANKS to the donations of generous Advertiser readers and Croydon businesses, little George Tappenden is just £2,000 away from getting a special wheelchair.

George Tappenden was diagnosed with a muscle wasting genetic disease when he was 14 months old.

SMA type 2 will make George's muscles extremely weak. His leg muscles have already been severely affected, meaning he will never be able to walk.

George is now 17 months old and already has trouble sitting unaided and crawling.

The Advertiser is campaigning to raise £21,000 so George's parents can buy him a Snap Dragon wheelchair.

The chair will not only enable him to get around more easily but also help him stand up, sit on the floor, and play with his elder sister Evie.

George's mother Lucy Frost said: "We are so close to getting George's chair and it's fantastic. A prototype chair was brought round for George to sit in and he loved it.

"We are all so excited to see him getting around, and so thankful to everyone who has helped and donated.

"But we still have a little way to go, so if anyone could donate even just a little bit we would be so grateful."

Visit www.just-giving.com/george-tappenden to donate to the appeal.

I am writing this to make people aware of what is happening to our NHS under this present Govt.  The article is intended to be politically neutral, and is hopefully going to provoke a lot of thought.

At present a piece of legislation called S75 is going through Parliament.  This set of NHS regulations forces the new GP commissioners to outsource everything.  It stops GP's choosing what to use & where.  There is provision for integration to be in there, being fair, but is this a good idea?

The theory is that competition improves things.  So if you're unhappy about how the trains now cost a fortune for the same old service, or how your gas bill has sky-rocketed since Privatisation, or why these Care Homes we are reliant on only pay minimum wage whilst expecting to attract skilled dedicated staff, then this should ring alarm bells that will hopefully force you to stop & think. It is your NHS after all. And you only get one.

Now I am not going to deny that 'jobs for life' culture has damaged our Public Sector.  'Jobs for life' culture is the belief that you can be lazy and/ or incompetent and you'll just be let off.   I trained a whole floor in the UKBA, and I saw staff trying to slope off.  But, and this is really important to remember, they were a minority.  Many many Public Sector staff are top quality and really do put the effort in.  I flag up problem staff now in my current roles, and it is still only a minority that mess things up.  But...  It's obvious The Public Sector still needs some work.

So, should we outsource all of our NHS?

Our Croydon IAPT service was outsourced under New Labour.  Think of it as an NHS Counselling Service in simple terms.  This was one of New Labour's experiments to see if small amounts of Private Sector involvement could help improve The NHS.  In Croydon the contract went to The Priory.

After 4-odd years of providing this service The Priory decided to pull out, and an interim NHS Service was set up to cover people until a new provider could be found.  And that is when the stories I documented as the minute-taker in certain meetings came out.  Waiting times so high people had given up ever getting help.  They thought they'd been forgotten by The NHS. And there were LOADS of them.  A massive backlog had developed.  From a Service User perspective the service had collapsed.

The Priory told no-one of this huge problem before just walking away.  It was a total surprise to the NHS Interim Service when they took over. In the end the backlog was seriously reduced by The NHS working with local Charities to get the job done. Those Charities & our NHS are currently 'not-for-profit', where-as The Priory is a 'for-profit' provider. This is important to remember.

In recent news it came out that Virgin Care ( a for-profit provider ) take about 5% of what they earn and set it aside for the Shareholders & profits.  So if you give them £100 to run a service they'll only spend £95 on that service.  Where as a 'not-for-profit' will spend all£100 on said service.

So, if all our Services are outsourced will The NHS 'not-for-profit' crowd win the bidding competition?  Not according to what happened with NHS Surrey.

When NHS Surrey decided to outsource pretty-much everything out-patient the local old Public Sector NHS decided to bid.  They did not want to lose their jobs, so they formed a Social Enterprise for the £500m contract being offered.

When bidding one of the things you are judged on is your ability to borrow cash should an emergency happen requiring investment.  Under the old system an NHS provider simply used The Govt to borrow the cash, so could borrow huge amounts of money at very cheap prices should the need arise.

The Social Enterprise formed by ex-NHS Surrey staff lost to Virgin Care.  Virgin Care who could borrow far more, as was later shown. The Social Enterprise, considered so good even David Cameron gave it a Big Society Award, could not cover the borrowing factor.  And it is believed that is why they lost.  The Charities face a similar problem you'll find.

And this is what happens when you sever the link between Govt & NHS.  It all goes Private, and so far the old Public Sector has not been able to keep up.

Now add to this how Cherry-picking is now allowed ( even though it means that Private Providers can choose the easy jobs leaving the hard jobs for The NHS ) and, well, I would hope it obvious someone is stacking the deck so that the old Public Sector NHS providers cannot win.  The old Public Sector NHS providers are being left with the hardest jobs and also can't borrow what they used to be able to.  Under how the NHS pays a hard hip-replacement is paid at the same amount as an easy one.  Even though the hard hip-replacement will cost more to actually do.  This is called the Tariff.   So this perceived competition is not fair.  It's stacked against the old Public Providers ( even if they are REALLY good ).  Some people are seeing it as sabotage.

So let's go back to this S75 regulation.  Our new NHS set-up is that a bunch of GP's get to decide where the money is spent. That sounds ok until you realise they have to outsource everything under this new regulation.  What if the current NHS set-up is actually really good?  If the current NHS set-up becomes a Social Enterprise will it win the bidding war?  Will you be able to keep the great team you once had?  Old NHS Surrey didn't after all.  It's all Virgin Care down that way now.  And that means that, unless Virgin Care is a miracle worker ( being fair ), less money is getting to the actual Service.  The Tax-payer is now subsidising Shareholders AS WELL AS paying for NHS Services.  Can we honestly afford this?

~

Can we afford this? It's a VERY big question.  Our Country is £1.4t in debt.  There is no way on earth we can pay this off without increasing Taxes, making some cuts, and wasting NOTHING.  Don't believe the anti-cuts crowd on this one.  If the Deficit was £157b in 2010/11, and Tax Avoidance costs us a predicted £90b per year then where does the other £70b come from ( assuming you can stop ALL Tax Avoidance, which is a VERY big if )?  And that's just to stop borrowing.  We need to be able to repay as well, and that's another £30b per year at a guess.  We're £100b per year short assuming we can stop ALL Tax Avoidance.

Only about 10% of The Rich can leave sure ( a Barclays analysis checked this ), but even so.  Is it not obvious someone has to pay more Tax AND lazy types need to be got rid of?  So you have to decide what goes where.  So can we afford to start giving about 5% of the NHS budget to a bunch of Shareholders?

Shareholders are often called investors.  What people often miss is that a Shareholder is not like a Bank Loan.  With a Bank Loan you borrow a lump of cash, and then pay off over a fixed number of years.  With a Shareholder they give you a lump of cash, and then you pay them off for the next, well, forever in theory.  Shareholders are a loan that cannot be paid off.

This is why your Care Homes are now so skint, why your Gas& Electricity bills are now so high, why your trains are so expensive for the same old service, and why your phone line is so old it usually can't support modern Internet packages ( I can't even get ADSL2+ on mine.  That won't help the TechCity initiative ) unless you live right next to the exchange. It's all where so much money goes to Shareholders, and then never comes back.  It's like using a bucket with a hole in the bottom to get water for your family.

So can we afford this?

The Conservatives claimed it was all about 'more choice'.  And this is true.  Under 'Any Qualified Provider' you, the end user, will be able to choose where you go to get help & treatment.  Under something called 'Choose & Book'.  It sounds great until you realise that as people move away from the old Public NHS Providers they ( the old Public Providers ) will get more and more run down.  And will eventually collapse.  Yes, NHS Hospitals will go out of business.  All you'll have left is Private Providers.  It's a nightmare to find a Dentist that accepts NHS patients these days after all.  They were broken up ages ago as well.

Which is why I mentioned what has happened to The Trains, your Gas bill, The Care Homes...  They have not improved with time.  They're actually REALLY expensive now.

The Trains are a really good example here.  In the old British Rail system our trains ran at a loss.  To keep fares cheap.  And the Govt then topped them up to break even to keep them trading.  A Taxpayer subsidy to keep your rail fares cheap.  British Aerospace actually turned a profit for the Taxpayer, so helped pay for this ( & our NHS ).  British Aerospace profits now go to Shareholders.  But back to The Trains...

Under the new system they still run at a loss, but the Govt tops them up into profit.  We should be paying about £3b per year to The Trains to make sure they break even.  We actually pay nearly £4b.  Why? Because these firms need to make a profit to keep their Shareholders happy.  So we do pay more, both as Taxpayers & users, to get the same old train service we always had.  A higher Taxpayer subsidy AND much higher fares.  All due to Shareholders leaching money away.

Can we afford that when this country is £1.4t in debt and will be paying off for the next 40 years? Remember, those Shareholders won't invest any more now.  They've bought their chunk.  They just want to be given money to spend on holidays & fast cars.

We'll know by the end of this month whether Section 75 is to become law or not.  And if it does become law we'll have 2 years of outsourcing, with this unfair bias against the old Public Sector 'not-for-profit' NHS crowd, before we can get to an election and get a party in that will repeal these changes. How much of our NHS will be left by then?  And how much will be in the hands of the Shareholders?

Section 75 is currently being opposed by pretty much every major Doctors group, The Labour Party, & The Greens.

Section 75 is wanted by The Conservatives.

The Lib-Dems are expected to once again roll over and let The Conservatives privatise another system. Like how they have now Privatised the Universities by trebling Tuition Fees and removing a huge chunk of Taxpayer subsidy.

I hope you understand why you need to know this now.

Christian Wilcox is the Chair of the Croydon Mental Health Forum ( politically neutral ), an NHS Executive ( Advisory ) for the South London & Maudsley ( politically neutral ), and works for the Labour Party privately.

There are delays of up to 60 minutes on all routes via East Croydon.

TWENTY members of Croydon Council have called in last week's decision by the Conservative administration to spend more than £3 million on new furniture rather than £2 million moving old furniture to the new premises at Bernard Weatherill House (BWH) this summer.

At a corporate services committee meeting on March 27, a report argued that the cost of moving existing furniture over 18 weeks – dismantling and re-assembling pieces, running both the Taberner and BWH buildings and replacing 25 per cent of the unusable furniture – was not good value for money at £2,123,000.

Instead, it proposed buying a whole new set of equipment for £3,143,000 over a six-week move.

At the time, all six Conservative councillors voted for the plan, whereas the five Labour councillors voted against. However, this week 20 Labour councillors have demanded the plan be examined by the scrutiny and strategic overview committee on April 16.

The opposition argues the proposal is inconsistent with the budget and the council's sustainable and recycling policy. It also questions the decision to spent the extra £1 million at a time of cuts to services, and the lack of evidence about not recycling the old furniture.

A "GLAMOROUS" great-great-grandmother from South Croydon has welcomed a fifth generation of girls into her family.

Encarna Pilipczuk, 93, of Haling Park Road, was thrilled to hear that her great-granddaughter Joanna Brown, 28, had given birth to a baby daughter, Jessica, on March 18.

Mrs Pilipczuk is mother to Lina Krol, 70, who is mother to Margaret Weller, 47, who is now the proud grandmother of baby Jessica.

Margaret said: "There does seem to be an awful lot of girls in the family. I have a son but apart from that it's fairly dominated by women.

"My daughter and her husband Adam didn't want to know the sex of the child but I suppose it wasn't a surprise when it turned out to be a girl."

Jessica, who lives with her mum and dad in Sanderstead, was born at Croydon University Hospital.

Margaret said: "She's a little angel but apparently she can be a bit of a terror at night."

Encarna, originally from Spain, has now had the chance to dote on four generations of girls.

Margaret added: "She's over the moon. Whenever Jessica comes round she shuffles downstairs and has a little hold."

A RACIALLY abused shopper threw eggs at a butcher, sparking a mass street brawl.

Calvin Fairweather, 48, pleaded guilty to affray over the incident at J and J Halal Butcher, in High Street, Thornton Heath, in the afternoon of June 2 last year.

The spat inside the shop sparked a street brawl, involving up to 20 people and ending in one man losing two fingers.

Fairweather, who appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday, will be sentenced on May 8. He is the only person charged in connection with the incident.

His lawyer, Robert Newcombe, said his client apologised for his lack of restraint after being insulted inside the shop.

He said: "He accepts that he should have exercised restraint.

"He was told to move aside and sworn at by being called a 'black b*****d', and asked the man to repeat what he said and it was repeated.

"My client, in giving instructions to me, said that the Asian man should have known better than to give racial abuse, living in the UK, and that it was something that affected him, causing him to tip over the eggs and hurl eggs across the counter."

Mr Newcombe added his client's wife normally went to that butcher but did not that day due to an operation.

He said: "The series of events that unfolded were certainly unfortunate."

Judge Jeremy Gold QC delayed the sentencing for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

He said: "[I] want to investigate whether there may be appropriate penalties that might address the difficulties that he might have in keeping his temper."

Fairweather has been released on bail, awaiting sentencing, and is not allowed to enter J and J Halal Butcher in the meantime.

He was told it was unlikely he would face an immediate custodial sentence.

The brawl sparked by the argument inside the shop was witnessed by passengers on a number 50 bus.

A witness, who saw the fight from the top deck, told the Advertiser at the time: "We saw these men running around with vegetables. It looked like a mini-riot.

"It was hard to tell who was hitting who at the time, but at least one man was down on the ground getting attacked."

There were also witness reports at the time of a man wielding a machete, but this was not mentioned in court.

Mr Fairweather had been due to face trial on two counts of malicious wounding. However, prosecutor Emma Smith said the prosecution could offer no evidence on those counts.

The charge of affray was added on Wednesday.

HEROIC dogs which guarded the town centre during the riots may, along with their handlers, become the latest victim of council cuts.

Croydon Council wants to axe ten dog handlers, two kennel hands and a trainer as it looks to save cash.

Among the staff threatened with the chop are Paul Dance and Steve Salmon, praised by police for defending House of Fraser in Centrale during the August 2011 disorder.

A source, who asked not to be named because staff face disciplinary procedures if they talk to the press, is convinced some of the 16 dogs at the Kings Wood Kennels, in Sanderstead, will have to be put down - a claim denied by the council.

The source said: "There are some dogs up there that, unless they can be used in the industry or in the type of way they are used to, then they may have to be put down.

"They are ex-police dogs, trained to work. You couldn't take them home, they wouldn't survive. They're not the sort of dogs you take for a walk."

The council wants to scrap its 12-strong mobile enforcement unit – as well as two supervisors – and sell the Kings Wood Kennels complex to save £200,000 a year.

The team works directly with police to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour, tackling issues such as fly-tipping, travellers' sites and patrolling parks.

It also operates an out-of-hours service to respond when school alarms are tripped and are the first council staff on the scene during major incidents.

Under the new system their responsibilities would pass to area enforcement squads, smaller teams covering certain sections of the borough.

The current service operates 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, but if the cuts are approved, then their duties will no longer be covered after 8pm.

The Advertiser's source said staff had been left "demoralised".

He said: "I think it's a service that needs to be thought about very seriously before you get rid of it.

"I don't think the council have really considered how important it is and how many responsibilities it has."

Simon Hoar, cabinet member for crime and public protection, denied the dogs would be put down.

Speaking about the handlers, he added: "It's not the case that they aren't appreciated. As can be seen by what happened during the riots, they do a good job.

"What the dog handlers do is valid, but if you look at it, most of their responsibilities are covered by the area enforcement officers. The only thing they do that the area enforcement officers don't is the school call-outs, but the schools pay for that so they can employ whoever they want.

"We're hoping to use some of the money we will save to hire some more of those, but I can't say how many as we're in a consultation process."

The plans are subject to a 90 day consultation which began on March 8.

IT WAS once the home of one the country's greatest detective novelists – but now Conan Doyle House is to be turned into bedsits.

The imposing property in Tennison Road, South Norwood, was lived in by the Sherlock Holmes author between 1891 and 1894, with residents cherishing his connection with the area.

But now plans have been submitted to Croydon Council to turn the building into a 12-bedroom "house of multiple-occupation".

Jason Cooper, from the South Norwood Tourist Board, explained: "It's awful, we have tried to do everything we can do to stop it but it's a money thing. We were hoping we could find someone to buy it but it hasn't happened."

The house was put up for auction in February but failed to reach its reserve price. Now an application has been put into the council for permission for multiple occupancy "urgently".

The applicant, Revivit Walker, from Bromley, refused to comment when contacted by the Advertiser.

Mr Cooper said: "People and societies from all over the world have contacted us saying how appalled they are that this could happen, everyone is just devastated.

"The problem is it is so dilapidated inside it would cost so much money to repair and no one can afford it. We would have bought it ourselves if we could have. It just needed so much work, it was impossible.

"Our hands are tied. It's just awful that such a historic building should be treated like this."

Councillor Wayne Lawlor has also told the Advertiser that he is not impressed with the plans for the building.

He said: "The cultural treasures in South Norwood are far and few between and we must take care of the ones we have.

"I have asked the council to partner with English Heritage to try and save the site, I don't feel a multiple-occupancy home is the right way to use this building at all.

"We have to be creative and turn it into something that people will want to visit and love, we want to revive the spirit of Sherlock Holmes. We have to come up with something to stop this happening."

Tom Bourlet, 28, a South Norwood resident, added: "It is sad that a local legend isn't having his old house remembered and recognised."

LAWRENCE Okoye impressed at the NFL Super Regional Combine on Sunday and Monday as he looks to enter the world of American football.

Held at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, USA, 219 players were on show in the hope of catching the eye of talent evaluators, and Okoye stood out in particular.

Okoye has been trying out as a defensive end, and the 21-year old was lauded for his explosiveness and flexibility in the try-outs.

The 6ft 6ins star recorded an incredible 4.88 and 4.78 seconds in a 40-yard sprint, while hugely impressing in a 35-inch vertical jump and a ten-foot-five broad jump.

The Croydon star who played rugby while growing up in the borough, reached the discus final at last summer's Olympic Games in London, but his inexperience got the better of him and he finished in 12th position.

After the final, he admitted he was considering his future as an athlete, though he appeared to have recovered his desire after deferring a place at Oxford University until 2017, especially as the world of athletics had marked him as a future medallist.

Okoye recently named five NFL teams interested in him and the number is seems certain to rise in the coming weeks.

A CHILD star tipped to be the UK's Justin Bieber is one step closer to realising his dream of performing some of his own songs at London's O2 Arena.

Thirteen-year-old Kemahl Kelly, from Addiscombe, was spotted by music professionals three years ago when he performed in a competition at his primary school, Ryelands.

Since then, he has toured around the country, performing covers of songs by Justin Bieber and Rihanna and recording music videos for YouTube with an R&B singer called Kwamz.

Kemahl has now got through the auditions for one of the country's leading performance competitions for schoolchildren, Teen Stars, which judges performances from more than 8,000 youngsters.

The singer, who lists Bieber and Usher as his idols, said: "I am not sure if this competition will help me get there but it will be a good opportunity.

"My songs are mainly about feelings and how people grow."

Kemahl is gearing up to take part in the first round on April 21 which is being held in Camden. If successful, he will perform Justin Bieber's I Will Always Love You at the O2 Arena final.

A British Transport Police (BTP) spokeswoman said: "Officers attended the incident, which was reported to BTP at 11.35am, and is currently being treated as non-suspicious.

"Medics from the London Ambulance Service also attended, but the man, thought to be in his fifties, was pronounced dead at the scene.

"A file will be prepared for the Coroner."

A GERMAN pensioner is trying to track down the families of three Croydon soldiers who made him their "mascot" at the end of the Second World War.

Heinz Johannsen, 78, is looking for information about Larry Adams, of Bennetts Avenue in Shirley, Len Carlile, of Gloucester Road, and George Francis, of Pitt Road, who were all members of the 29th Armoured Brigade stationed in Moldenit, a small village in the North of Germany, in 1945.

Mr Johannsen, who lives in Rendsburg, is particularly interested in finding information about Mr Francis, who left his name and address on a photograph which the soldiers left behind.

According to Mr Johannsen's research, George Francis was mentioned for good service and bravery during the war and may have family still living in Croydon.

He said: "I would be very happy if I could get in contact with some of his family members.

"As far as I found out, he has a daughter Edith Harper and a granddaughter Susan Wallage.

"George's son was Frederick Arthur Francis who passed away."

Mr Johannsen is hoping to find more photographs to print in a book and send to the soldiers' relatives.

He has already collected 25 photos from families of other soldiers who have got in touch with him, as well as from people in Moldenit.

"I just thought, this is a job for me. I do it for the little village," said Mr Johannsen.

"It's like a lottery when you phone people – it's very interesting and exciting.

"I've kept all the letters they send me and they have responded very well. I always send chocolates for the children too."

Mr Johannsen has been particularly interested about the British occupation since the early 1990s.

"I was ten years old when the war was over and the Middlesex Regiment made me their mascot," he added. "They gave me a uniform to wear and they supported the German people with food and coal.

"I was very thankful, I have never forgotten and I go to all their reunions.

"After 45 years I could still remember all the regiments, commanders and soldiers' names, but most of them were Jacks or Paddies so very hard to find."

Anyone with any information about George Francis, Larry Adams, Len Carlile or about anyone from the 29th Armoured Batallion stationed in Moldenit can contact Mr Johannsen on 0049 4331 448855 or e-mail jimmyjohannsen@ freenet.de

A HOST of Croydon Harriers' young athletes kicked off their 2013 track & field campaigns at the prestigious Crystal Palace open meeting last Sunday, with six victories on the day.

Four wins came from the sprinters, with Marcia Sey (13.86s, U13 girls' 100m), Eleanor Smith-Hahn (12.71s, U17 women's 100m), Ashleigh Clarke (26.24s, U17 women's 200m) and Damien Powell (11.39s, U17 men's 100m) topping the standings.

On the field, and Omar Reid threw 41.87m in the U20 men's discus to take the spoils. The 16-year-old now travels to the Loughborough International fixture in a bid to reach the 53.50m qualifying standard for the World Youth championships.

Emma Fossett was the club's other victor in the U17 women's javelin, with a 31.55m effort.

Saarah Nawaz was fourth in the U13 girls' 800m race overall, while in the Dave Clarke U20 men's race, Patrick Lucas was sixth (four minutes and 30.74secs), Dom Nolan eighth (4:35.27), and Ben Savill 12th (4:47.99) in the 16-strong field.

Meanwhile, Stevie Lawrence won the U17 women's 1500m in four minutes and 54 seconds.

A quintet of Croydon Harriers tackled the Streets Ahead Croydon half marathon, with four of them making the top 100 out of the 500-plus finishers. David Brown led the Croydon challenge in 27th place, 18 places higher than his position in this race 12 months ago.

Virgin London Marathon hopeful Neil Aikman crossed the line in 32nd and ninth M40 in 87:24. Mark Maginn made his debut over the distance in an impressive 92:10 for 63rd.

Another London Marathon hopeful, Mohsin Harhara, finished 90th in 95:06 nearly eight minutes better than his previous best on the same course 12 months ago.

Club stalwart Norman Hemming finished in 1:46:21 for 218th, but runner-up in the M60 category.

In the pick of the ParkRun action, Atlanta Drummond was the first female finisher home at Lloyd Park in a new PB of 24:33. Laurence Johnston was fourth in the men's race in 19:15.

A ROAD which has been described as Croydon's answer to Brands Hatch has been the scene of four traffic accidents in a fortnight.

Residents in Grange Road, Thornton Heath, have told the Advertiser they fear someone will die on the treacherous street before any traffic calming measures are put into place.

Paul Etheridge, 64, who lives in Grange Road, said there seemed to be at least one crash outside his house a week – and two weeks ago there were three.

He added: "The road is treacherous. It has a strange little bend at the bottom and the cars just shoot down into the bollards or even sometimes over fences and into front gardens.

"I've had neighbours whose wall was wiped out. I've been living here for 36 years and something is always going on. This week a car was on its roof, and the owner just left it there.

"If there were bumps or traffic calming measures down the road, that would help a lot.

"There's a massive chance of someone getting hurt around here. I spoke to a man from the council once who was doing a survey along the road.

"He told me that the council won't do anything about it until someone is killed."

Anne and Tony Donoghue live two doors away from Mr Etheridge and have had a car crash into their front garden.

Anne said: "Two Tuesdays ago a car demolished two bollards in front of our house as well as a lamp post across the road. Yet again the driver abandoned the car.

"There was also a crash diagonally opposite us which involved three cars but we did not see that happen. Something must be done before someone dies."

Councillor Pat Ryan told the Advertiser that although he has informed the council of the problem, his words are falling on "deaf ears".

He said: "I am exceptionally sorry that the residents of Grange Road have to continue suffering from experiencing so many accidents.

"It is particularly galling that Croydon Council continue to ignore those serious accidents.

"I presented a large petition a few years ago calling for urgent traffic calming measures to be installed on Grange Road, but the petition fell on deaf ears at Croydon Council.

"This road is used as a race track – it is like Brands Hatch. Failing to take necessary action to prevent these accidents could result in a fatality. It is petrifying."