MOTORISTS in South Croydon are set for at least another month of misery.

Residents in Coombe Road were told in January that the bridge over the main London to Brighton railway line would be closed for three months, due to emergency strengthening works.

The works started on January 7 and since then the bridge has been closed off, with road users initially expecting the chaos to ease by the end of March.

But now it has been announced that the works are to be extended to run from June 3.

It has also been revealed this week that Network Rail plans to close Croham Road on July 8 for eight weeks, also for bridge maintenance.

Councillor Tim Pollard, deputy leader of Croydon Council, said the authority will ask Network Rail to delay this latter work until the school holidays in late July.

He said: "Whilst this is bad news for all motorists, it is particularly bad news for the unfortunate residents in the area, who will have to endure regular traffic jams and diverted heavy traffic.

"The cabinet member responsible for transport, Cllr Jason Perry, has asked officers to request of Network Rail that it at least delays the start for a few weeks so that the works can largely take place over the school holidays, when traffic is much lighter.

"We are waiting to find out whether Network Rail agrees to this."

COMMUNITY leaders say they have a "lack of confidence" in the draft Cousldon Masterplan, due to key missing details and mistakes.

The Coulsdon West Residents' Association (CWRA) has written to the council to say it is "extremely disappointed" by aspects of the authority's published plans for the redevelopment of the town.

The document, published in February, outlines the development of key sites in the town centre – in sync with the 650 homes to be built on Cane Hill.

In their formal response to the council, CWRA committee members pointed to assumptions in the plan based on "non-existent" or flawed data, especially over traffic flows.

They raised particular concerns about access routes between Cane Hill and the rest of Coulsdon, saying this was the "number one concern" from their residents.

They said they "cannot support" a proposed access route into Cane Hill from Portnalls Road, running down the west of the site, until more detailed traffic analysis is carried out. The association was represented on a group set up by Cane Hill developer Barratt to have a say in early long-term discussions on the site.

Its letter now asks for an urgent meeting with councillors and traffic planners to look-in depth at the access routes. Members also noted "with dismay" the lack of detail over the proposals for Lion Green Road, where a supermarket and health surgery is planned for the current car park.

Both CWRA and the East Coulsdon Residents' Association (ECRA) have also questioned how enough school places will be provided, and their traffic impact.

CWRA chairman Richard Thurbon has called on the council to provide full details of an education strategy.

ECRA said it would support returning the former Smitham school building, now the CALAT centre, to a school.

Its chairman Charles King said: "As this building still has its classrooms, assembly hall and playgrounds intact and could be converted back to a school very quickly, this would be far cheaper than finding a new site to build a new school."

The council's strategic planning committee was due to meet last night (Thursday) to look at plans for Cane Hill and for a proposed Aldi supermarket on the site of the Red Lion car park.

Turn to page 20, for more from CWRA chair Richard Thurbon.

FATHER-OF-ONE Stephen Taylor has said he feared he would be shot dead after armed officers stormed his Caterham house.

Gun-wielding police, backed by a force helicopter and police dog, stormed the semi-detached property in Thomas Avenue after the road was cordoned off on Thursday evening. They were responding to an anonymous call to Crimestoppers alleging that a man had threatened another man with a gun.

They eventually arrested their suspect – Mr Taylor – at gunpoint in Coulsdon Road soon afterwards.

He was handcuffed and held at Reigate police station for almost 24 hours. But the story took a dramatic twist the following afternoon when Mr Taylor, 43, was freed without charge.

Speaking on Monday to the Mirror, he said: "How could police get it so wrong?

"If I had been in, I could have gone downstairs and been gunned down.

"Thankfully my eight-year-old daughter was out at a neighbour's party at the time, or I dread to think what could have happened to her.

"I was handcuffed and held in cells over something I didn't do.

"Police kept saying I had a gun."

Mr Taylor admitted he had been "no angel" in the past. He was given a three-year Asbo last year banning him from 15 pubs, for a "catalogue of antisocial behaviour", and was then jailed for six weeks after breaching the Asbo the same day.

A Thomas Avenue resident said: "The police helicopter was hovering overhead for ages. I saw four police carrying guns, two near the rear of the house and two others edging towards the front door.

"They shouted a couple of times 'come out with your hands up'.

"Eventually police forced open the front door, and a police dog went into the property but apparently no-one was at home."

Mr Taylor, who said he was out visiting a friend at the time, was arrested nearby shortly afterwards.

Detective Inspector Sean Kelly said: "Surrey Police will always take threats of this nature extremely seriously and send a response appropriate to the information which we receive.

"We have carried out a thorough investigation into this incident and have not found anything to suggest a criminal offence has taken place.

"I would like to thank the local community for their patience while we dealt with this incident."

RARELY has the difference between serious pain and a tasty garnish been so hard to spot as when peering at an umbellifer next to a main road.

The chaotic plant family includes the deadly hemlock and poisonous fool's parsley alongside Sunday lunch favourites parsley and carrots.

This one's hairy, celery-like stalk has ruled out hemlock, but it is not clear where on the spectrum it lies.

"Give it a good old mush up of the plants in your fingers and have a smell," says the foraging guide, Marlow Renton.

"This does not actually smell as strong of parsley as I would like, so without my book here I would leave this behind."

Wild Food UK owners Marlow and Eric Biggane find nourishment within our surroundings; something they hail as a cheap and healthy way of sourcing food.

The pair showed budding foragers how to find nuts, garnishes, fruit and veg in the woods, fields and verges during the session last week.

They also showed how to avoid police as much as poisons: you are not supposed to dig on common land, for example – although a commonsense interpretation would be applied today to unearth the tasty pig nuts.

"They are important," said Marlow.

"Because it is hard to find carbohydrate and starch if you were living in the wild: these have got both."

He has a more practical reason, though, for his earth-sodden fingers than dreaming of adventures stuck in the wild – good, old-fashioned thrift.

"I am a bit of a skinflint," he said.

"Some of the things would be really expensive. Those mushrooms, for example, could be seven or eight pounds. I don't have the budget for that."

He and Eric are clearly foodies, with plenty of recipes for their finds.

Many involve garlic, butter and a frying pan. They made soup with chunks of hogweed for the tour; everyone asked for seconds.

The plants' medicinal properties also grab their interest. The prolific ribwort plantain, for example, may taste like sour apple and look like rabbit ears, but is even better when used against cuts and grazes.

"It is an antiseptic and also an antihistamine," says Marlow, sharing out torn-up leaves.

"Pharmaceutical companies would not want you to know how effective it is."

Barbecue companies might also want to keep a lid on King Alfred's cakes, named after the burnt baked goods of legend they closely resemble.

You are not meant to eat the hard black fungus lumps, typically clinging to dying trees.

But light them up and they burn like coal.

"The group before were using them as hand warmers," says Eric, sparking one up and holding it in his palm.

One of the last finds is wood sorrel, a hit garnish in the upmarket restaurant scene (as, apparently, are some types of bark).

"That piece," said Marlow, looking at a patch less than one square foot. "That would be somewhere in the range of eight to ten pounds for use as a garnish. When you taste it you will see why."

Forager Ange Barlow decided to join the group hearing about the tour at the Croydon pub where she works.

"I am interested in the medicinal side of things as well," she said. "I suppose it is information that has probably been passed on for generations and is now all getting lost."

STUART MEAKER is aiming to break into the England set-up this year – and he could take a leaf from the book of his boyhood hero to help him get there.

The Surrey paceman is fully focused on having a good season in 2013 to try and force his way in to the selectors' thoughts, with the Ashes series and the ICC Champions Trophy on home soil to look forward to this summer.

And having taken his 150th first class wicket in his first five-wicket haul of the summer last week, the 24-year-old has set his sights on adding to his two One Day International appearances and two T20 internationals.

He said: "Looking at the amount of cricket this summer, you have two Ashes series, New Zealand and the ICC Champions Trophy, it might be a question of who manages to stay fit.

"Fingers crossed I manage to stick around and take wickets.

"If I can do that then who knows – it is always the same – runs talk for batsmen and wickets talk for bowlers."

But Meaker knows he faces tough competition for a starting berth, both for his county and within the England side.

He said: "If I am in form then I have a chance, but you look at some of the other guys like Toby Roland-Jones, who has started the season well.

"I just have to make sure I am one step ahead of them. I need to keep doing what I have done over the last couple of seasons and hopefully I will get that chance of making my Test debut."

Last year was a difficult one for Surrey, with the death of promising young batsman Tom Maynard hitting the squad hard.

Injuries and England call-ups also took their toll, robbing Jade Dernbach and Chris Tremlett from the bowling attack.

That put extra responsibility on the shoulders of the young South African-born paceman, who admits he had to forego his own personal ambitions for the good of the team to help secure division one safety.

But while he said he did not do it all by himself and praised the influence of stand-in captain Gareth Batty, he admits it was a huge relief to survive last year, adding that there was a real sense of pride in the dressing room.

He said: "It was a bit of a daunting feeling to find myself leading the attack at such a young age, but it was great to know that the lads had that faith in me to be able to help carry them through."

This year is a different story though, with the arrivals of Graeme Smith, Vikram Solanki and Gary Keedy, not to mention the summer arrival of former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, making Surrey many people's tips for silverware.

And Meaker says he is hoping to try and emulate his hero, South African fast bowler Allan Donald, to help him fulfil his dreams for both Surrey and England.

"There is that streak in me somewhere," he said referring to Donald's reputation of a fearsome fast bowler.

"He [Allan Donald] was called 'White Lightning' for a reason – he had that nasty streak in him that made him want to rumble all the batsmen, whereas now it is often about line and length.

"What Donald did to [Michael] Atherton, it was almost like he hated the guy. By reputation, if you rumble a few batsmen and get a few shots on the shoulders or up near the head, word gets around quite quickly and that might mean you get a few more."

PALACE defender Jonathan Parr believes he will be back ready for the start of next season after suffering ankle ligament damage.

The Norwegian suffered the injury in the recent game at Ipswich Town after 23 minutes when Richard Stearman burst in with a hard challenge which left the 24-year-old in agony.

And to his credit, Parr attempted to return to the action but broke down again moments later before being substituted.

"The scan showed that the ligaments in my ankle were completely torn so it's going to take some time to heal," he said.

"It was really painful straight away after the tackle came in and I tried to get back on the pitch but it was just too painful, so I had to go off.

"It looks like it's going to be between two and three months out.

"I was disappointed at the time but I've found out now there's no point being disappointed now."

For the next few weeks, Parr will be taking it easy as he receives treatment at the club's Beckenham training ground but he insists he wants to help the team in whatever way he can from the sidelines.

And he says it is going to be an "exciting" end to the season with the play-offs the main target.

"I am going to stay for treatment this weekend instead of travelling with the team to Blackburn and I'll probably have a couple of days back home as well," he said.

"I am more nervous when I'm not playing than when I am.

"It's not fun to sit watching but I think we are in a great position to get into the play-offs and then anything can happen.

"It's going be an exciting couple of weeks even though I'm not on the field.

"I just have to support the rest of the team and play my part a bit different to what I would have liked, but I'm still a part of the team and I will try to do whatever I can to help them.

"I just have to let my ankle rest for the time being and let it settle down, just a little bit of movement in the ankle so it doesn't stiffen up.

"So far that's pretty much what's been going on and I'll probably do a bit more over the next few weeks – I am really hoping it's going to take less time than expected to come back.

"Now it's about looking ahead and we just want to do well now in the last few games.

"We want to win the play-offs."

Parr says he doesn't expect to start pre-season training with the rest of the squad at the beginning of July, while he revealed he's set to be in a protective boot until mid-May.

"It's a bit early to say at the moment but I am hoping to be back for pre-season training - it might be a couple of weeks in," he said.

"How long I will be on crutches now depends on how things go in the next few weeks but I have to be in the protective boot for four weeks approximately.

"We've had one so far, so just three more and then hopefully I'll be able to stop using the crutches."

And with the Eagles on the brink of securing a play-off spot, Parr has every faith in team-mates to get as many points as possible in the final three games.

"Personally I think we only need one more win to get into the play-offs but I think we're going to get more points than that," he said.

"I would imagine three points will do it, though."

A PERVERT who broke into a home and sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl as she slept next to her mother has been jailed.

Ryan Barrett, 20, of King Henry's Drive, was caught after he was traced via a mobile phone he had stolen from the victim's house and then tried to sell for £30.

Sentencing him at Croydon Crown Court last Thursday, judge Nicholas Ainsley said: "To anybody this would have been a frightening experience. Not just at the time but frightening afterwards.

"What faith can you have in the safety of your home if something like that happens to you?"

Barrett climbed through the window of the girl's mother's home, in New Addington, one night in October 2011.

Prosecuting, Matthew Turner said the schoolgirl victim told police she had fallen asleep watching television on the couch and awoke to find Barrett tugging at her leggings.

He added: "The complainant explained the defendant was standing by her head and said the words 'Open your mouth' and he also undid the zip of his trousers."

Barrett asked the girl to come outside and told her he would show her his genitals, the court heard.

He then went upstairs and stole a BlackBerry phone, before leaving the house. He did not know the victim, whose identity is protected by law.

Laura Herbert, mitigating, asked the judge to send her client on a programme for young sexual offenders rather than to jail.

She said Barrett had felt "distanced from his family" due to his grandmother's death the year before. Now was a critical moment to change his behaviour, she added.

Judge Ainsley said he had taken into account Barrett's youth, but added: "This was a night-time burglary of the house of people who were strangers to you. You have got in through the window and into a room where a mother and daughter were sleeping.

"The child was deliberately approached by you whilst you were in the house for purposes that do not require further description from me."

The 72 days Barrett has spent on tag will be deducted from his three-and-a-half year jail term. He must remain on to the sex offenders register for the next five years.

He pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child and burglary on the first day of his scheduled trial in October last year.

CROYDON University Hospital has begun an investigation into claims that staff left a "bag" inside a 97-year-old patient.

The full details of how the object was discovered by Annie Gore's carer – weeks after she was discharged – are too distressing to print.

Mrs Gore has since passed away, leading her family to accuse the hospital of taking away her dignity in the final days of her life.

There is no suggestion that the object was connected to her death.

Sharon O'Neill, Mrs Gore's granddaughter, said it was the first time she felt relieved that her grandmother had dementia.

"After Nannie came home from the hospital she seemed quieter than usual," she said.

"Because of her health she had a carer who visited her three times a day.

"One day she was cleaning her when she noticed something.

"When we started to take it out and Nannie started screaming. She was bruised and clearly distressed.

"Nannie could barely remember what happened five minutes ago so we can take some comfort that she probably didn't recall how horrible it all was."

Ms O'Neill and other family members inspected and took photographic evidence of the object – which they described as an "long elasticated bag" – before arranging an appointment with a GP.

It remains unclear what the item was or how long it had been inside Mrs Gore, who had been in and out of hospital for several months, initially following a fall at the end of January.

The family were told the grandmother might have bowel cancer, but were under the impression that a procedure had not taken place due to her age.

She was discharged and then readmitted on February 26 after her hands and feet became swollen.

The object was discovered when she was at home in Tylecroft Road, Norbury, on April 3.

But as her family began to look into what had happened, Mrs Gore's health deteriorated.

Five days after the item was found she was taken to St George's Hospital, where she died from pneumonia on April 12.

Her family are balancing their desire for answers with her funeral, which is due to be held today (Friday).

"It's been an unimaginably difficult time," said Ms O'Neill.

"At the moment it's difficult for us to think of anything other than her funeral, but we're desperate to know something like this could happen. It's an undignified way for nannie's life to end."

Croydon Health Services, the trust that runs the hospital, said it could not comment on specific cases.

A HEALTH chief has warned there is a "higher risk of a measles outbreak" in Croydon than elsewhere, because far fewer children here are given the MMR jab.

The most up-to-date figures show that in Croydon, 26.9 per cent of children are missing out on the two doses recommended for under-fives and 16.5 per cent are not receiving the first dose for under-twos.

This is much lower than the national average, where just 9 per cent miss the first dose and 14 per cent have just one.

Even in London, which has lower levels than the rest of the country, the average take-up is higher than it is here.

Mike Robinson, the borough's director of public health, is now urging parents to make sure their children are vaccinated to prevent an outbreak like the crisis in South Wales; especially now it transpires one in four children would be susceptible to the disease.

He told the Advertiser: "Croydon does have a higher risk of an outbreak because rates are lower. I think many parents, who may have had measles when they were younger do not think the disease is a problem, but it is far from harmless.

"It can lead to significant complications and some people do die from it. Since the MMR vaccine entered the NHS in the 1980s, there has only been one death in the country – that's how important the jab is."

Dr Robinson said the low number of children vaccinated with MMR in Croydon was largely down to the borough's "transient population".

"This means that people move within the borough or from outside into Croydon and do not necessarily register their families with a GP immediately," he said.

"Then they do not get the reminders to vaccinate their children at the right time and often miss out on the jabs altogether.

"The other problem is our computer system that collects information from GPs and produces figures is not as accurate as we'd like.

"We also have more people arriving from abroad with incomplete medical records which makes monitoring the number of people with vaccinations even more difficult."

Mr Robinson said the only way to protect against an outbreak of measles was to get everyone vaccinated.

He added: "Measles is highly infectious so it becomes everyone's responsibility to make sure they and their children get the jabs. Logically, the more people we have vaccinated, the smaller the risk of an outbreak is."

Wendy Ager, who used to work at a children's centre in Coulsdon, said she had both her children vaccinated as soon as she knew the link between MMR and autism had been discredited.

"Most of the parents I have come across have done the same. Measles is a nasty disease and you do not want it to spread," she said.

"If Croydon has lower rates of children getting jabbed then parents should do what the government says immediately and get their kids vaccinated."

Earlier this week, Dr Yvonne Doyle, the regional director of Public Health London, called on all local authorities to push the issue of the MMR vaccine, to prevent an outbreak in the capital.

There have been about 60 cases of measles in London so far this year, with 10 to 14-year-olds at the most risk because of previous lack of vaccination in this age group during the MMR and autism scare.

Publicity surrounding the MMR issue has been heightened, after a huge outbreak in Swansea in recent weeks.

THEY say there is no place like home. For me, there is also no place like a good (Croydon) nail shop.

Men will never understand or know the agony of childbirth, menstrual cramps or taking off glitter nail polish. Therefore, I don't expect The Man to truly understand that a good nail shop is a must in my life.

Sitting in a row, hunched over our hands, us nail addicts enjoy nothing more than sharpening our claws and beautifying our fingers. It's a place where us cuticle obsessed women get to relax for a bit. No multitasking, no interruptions just nail maintenance heaven. Add in a sprinkle of natter about all things female and plenty of coffee. Bliss.

The only worry being what colour to choose; so many nail polishes not enough fingers, that is the sort of stress I can handle. From hair removal to coil fitting there's no topic that can't be discussed; in fact the more controversial the better.

A woman is helpless only when her nail polish is drying - a bit like a tank having an oil change.

With that in mind… it is no place for any man – that is unless they have a buffer in their hand and can polish without going over the edges.

I suppose it is the equivalent to a male barber shop. A place where they gather and talk about blokey things like gadgets, food and how much they love the Hulk. I assume from what little experience I have had of these places there is also a fair bit of silence and grunting too. Very unlike the nail shop.

Take today for example. I headed there straight from work. There had been an argument between a filing cabinet and my third nail in on the left, leading to an urgent repair being required. I had attempted to save her but it was no good, she had snapped….then I snapped.

As I enter I am greeted warmly by the lovely staff. I have been coming to the same place since my addiction to acrylic started at 18 - 13 years ago! Very nostalgic for me, very lucrative for them. If I was ever to sit down and work out the grand total I have spent over the years it would probably make me choke on my coffee.

Sitting at one of the window tables, my lady starts her magic on the broken fighter. Within the hour I have a fresh set of claws, enough coffee in my system to keep me going for a week and enough helpful tips on life to write a book. I wave goodbye for another few weeks.

I am struggling to end on a non cheesy line but I can't help myself.

They nailed it! Literally.

A BID is to be submitted by Croydon Council for a share of a £100 million pot aimed at improving the lot of cyclists.

The bidding process was launched by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Transport for London (TfL) on Wednesday, with the intention of eventually sharing the cycling cash between four outer London boroughs.

Councillor Jason Perry, cabinet member for planning regeneration and transport, said: "We are in the process of preparing a bid.

"The opportunity to improve cycling routes ties in very neatly with the proposals for the redevelopment of the town centre and the new residential projects being put together.

"I would have thought with this level of planned redevelopment we would be in a good position to get a sum of money from the fund."

He said the council had been committed to improving facilities for cyclists for some time.

It has opened up a number of new routes across the borough including links from the town centre to Wandle Park in Waddon and Park Hill recreation ground in East Croydon.

One new project which could be looked at, Cllr Perry said, was a link between the town centre and Lloyd Park, in South Croydon.

Boris Johnson, has also outlined other schemes which he believes chosen boroughs could implement. These include redesigning problem junctions used by cyclists; provision of good cycle routes from the town and district centres to other parts of the borough, paralleling all main travel routes; and new cycle and pedestrian bridges across major roads or railway lines.

Croydon has until June 21 to submit its outline proposals and ideas.

Winning bidders will be announced in the autumn.

AZHAR MAHMOOD is to return to Surrey for this year's Friends Life t20 campaign.

The Pakistan all-rounder, who spent six years at the club between 2002 and 2007, is currently impressing with Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, but he will join up with Surrey ahead of their first T20 fixture in June.

A fans favourite at the Kia Oval, Mahmood qualifies as a non-overseas player having become a British citizen in 2011 and he says he is excited about "coming home" to Surrey, adding that it feels very special to be returning.

He said: "Obviously it is a very different set up to when I was last at Surrey and Twenty20 cricket has gone from strength to strength so it's exciting times ahead. I like the squad Surrey have for Twenty20. It looks strong and a real mix of youth and experience, and I look forward to catching up with the guys when I get back from India."

Surrey team director Chris Adams added that to have such a high skilled player of Mahmood's quality was a real bonus for the club, adding that he comes with a wealth of experience and a great record behind him.