MARTIN Williams, from Addiscombe, started fostering with his partner Stephen in 2002, and has since taken care of four children who were put in Croydon's care system.

The 57-year-old explained: "We were thinking about it for quite a while as we had a spare room in the house and we wanted to do something different with our lives. At the time we both still worked, though I am now a full-time foster carer.

"It gave us a completely different focus on our lives."

Martin has taken on children for the long-term, having them live with him and taking care of them until the age of 18, when they must leave the care system.

He said: "I absolutely enjoy it, it's addictive in a way. It is up to the fostered child if they stay in contact, but we still have a great relationship with all our foster children.

"The first one we ever had came to us when he was 13, now he's much older but we see each other every week.

"You do obviously get emotionally attached to the children, they become a part of your family. It is emotional having to say goodbye, but like I said, we do keep in touch."

Martin has taken care of children from the age of 13, and kept on one child past the age of 18, as he had learning difficulties.

"Fostering teenagers obviously has its challenges," said Martin. "They are more established in their habits, they are more aware of what is going on, but I think we have been really fortunate. We have got on with all of them.

"It's just about offering stability and just being there for them when they need someone.

"They become a part of your family, that's the nice thing about it. And of course they grow attached to you too.

"We are preparing them for when they have to leave the care system and go out there on their own.

"You get to help a child maximise their potential and it's brilliant."

Martin told the Advertiser he would like to encourage others thinking about fostering to take the leap.

He said: "You have to think carefully about what you can offer a young person, can you offer them your time?

"It's a rewarding thing, to help a young person grow and prepare them to go out into the world and hopefully one day back to their own family.

"Being a foster carer is an emotional rollercoaster, it is satisfying, it's enjoyable, and it's worthwhile. And most of all it is great fun.

"And I'll keep doing it, we have some more years left in us yet."

THE council has denied a report that claims there are more than 20 officers earning salaries in excess of £100,000.

The Taxpayers Alliance has released data from local authorities across the UK, which places Croydon 11th in the list of councils with the highest number of high-paid officers.

The most recent data from the council available to the public is for April 2011 to March 12, when 21 members of staff were paid between £100,000 and £221,180. Biggest earners were Jon Rouse – the former chief executive who left in March – on £221,180 (including allowances); Hannah Miller, director of adult services, health and housing, on £189,214 and Nathan Elvery, executive director of corporate resources and customer services on £189,214.

However, town hall bosses say this has been slashed to 14 members, though the details of which salaries have been cut, which jobs have been axed and who is now being paid under £1000,000 will not be released until next month.

A spokesman said: "The council has made savings of more than £60 million in the past three years by cutting management and back office costs by more than 25 per cent. Last year alone it reduced the annual pay bill by more than £7 million and senior managers on the top pay bands decreased by a third, to 14. The council plans to make further efficiency savings of at least 20 per cent over the next four years."

According to the council, the posts of the seven staff members paid more than £100,000 were deleted as part of the senior management restructure, which saved the council £1.3 million per year.

The spokesman defended the remaining 14 members, saying: "Pay levels at the top of local government represent a very small percentage of total pay which reflects the need to attract talent to run vital services and multimillion-pound budgets."

Opponents of Croydon Council cuts to services do not agree the staff represent value for money.

Robert Gibson, who has fought to safeguard the future of Upper Norwood Library, said: "Even with fewer high paid staff, it would be useful if Croydon could demonstrate they are providing an excellent service with such high salaries. Sadly, this doesn't seem the case and they are cutting swathes of low level staff, which means services like the libraries are suffering."

However, Councillor Sara Bashford, cabinet member for corporate and voluntary services, argued: "Everyone knows finances are tight and we are having to look at the best way to reduce costs.

"We've looked at individual services and decided they can be delivered differently – either by restructuring management or cutting a number of top level managers and contracting out some services.

The opposition Labour leader, Tony Newman, said he had argued for a £150,000 cap on the chief executive's salary at the budget meeting in March.

"If you cap that, you will get a more realistic salary scale all the way down," he said.

ANOTHER week goes by without a County Championship win for Surrey after they lost to Nottinghamshire by 114 runs at Trent Bridge.

The defeat was confirmed on Saturday when Surrey, chasing a target of 259 to win, subsided meekly for 144 to leave them second to bottom of the table.

Nottinghamshire had set a first innings of 274 all out, but Surrey's batsmen struggled in reply.

Openers Rory Burns (4) and Jason Roy (5) were dismissed quickly and although Arun Harinath made a decent stand of 24, Vikram Solanki, Zander De Bruyn and Steve Davies all failed to make double figures.

Skipper Gareth Batty (41) and Gary Wilson (49) put on a good later order showing but Surrey were all out for 207.

However, Surrey were still in the competition come Saturday thanks for some superb bowling from Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker who took three wickets each, to make it 33 wickets for the County Championship season between them.

The hosts resumed on 24-1, but wickets fell regularly as they were dismissed for 191, Samit Patel top scoring with 37. Meaker finished with 4-64 and Dernbach 3-60 as Surrey were set 259 to win.

However, Surrey again struggled with the bat and once Paul Franks took the wicket of Burns for 53 and de Bruyn for 14, both caught by Matthew Wessels, things went downhill quickly.

Davies (28) was the only other to make double figures as Surrey were finished at 144.

Things did not get any better for Surrey when they played Lancashire in the Yorkshire Bank 40 on Sunday.

The visitors lost by seven wickets when, despite holding the northerners to 176-9, they could only amass 169 all out.

Karl Brown, with 80, top-scored for Lancashire but Surrey's top batsman on the day was Davies with a mediocre 37 while De Bruyn grabbed 36.

OUR performances with the bat and the ball haven't been good enough – we know that and we are trying to address it.

I think sometimes we have been giving wickets away cheaply, and others we have been searching for wickets when we haven't needed to.

Some decisions at key times haven't been quite right, but I think once we sort out a few little things we should be able to turn our form around, and quite quickly too.

Hopefully, that will start in the friendly with Oxford this week.

I've been playing with Jason Roy since I was ten, but I've never seen him captain a side before so I'm really looking forward to him skippering Surrey at Oxford – I think it will be a great experience for him.

I don't think Jason will shy away from making decisions and he must be making good ones because I think he wants me to be his vice-captain.

I've read about Stoke City's pig's head pranks this week and I can honestly say nothing like that happens at Surrey.

Our idea of a funny prank is Gary Wilson throwing a plum at Jason Roy and it catching him on the back of the head.

Jason ran into the building, but we couldn't find him anywhere.

It was funny but it's not really on the scale of a pig's head, but then again, if the consequences of that sort of prank is a brick through your car window, then most cricketers can't afford it.

There are more in the way of pranks at Banstead. Some are unrepeatable, but most are just stupid.

Jak Martin once taped my older brother, Liam's, kit to the ceiling of the changing rooms.

It was raining at the time but he was next up to bat and was going mad looking for it while standing directly under it.

When we are on away trips we do other things to amuse ourselves. Steven Davies, Chris Tremlett and Tom Jewell have developed an obsession with snooker after the World Championship and so they have been playing that all the time.

Tremlett has even bought his own cue.

Jason Roy, Matthew Dunn and I are amateurs in comparison, but we do like a bit of pool or darts to keep us entertained.

BRANDS Hatch proved to be an incredibly happy hunting ground for Charlie Robertson as the Whyteleafe teenager secured his maiden race victory in single-seaters and a hat-trick of podiums to climb into second in the driver standings.

The 16-year-old gave his home supporters plenty to cheer with three outstanding race performances and is now just 16 points shy of the series lead in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship.

Robertson was also presented with the BRM Rapide Award – for posting the fastest race lap of the event in round four on Saturday – by Mercedes DTM racer, and Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes test driver, Gary Paffett.

Along with the other F4 competitors, he also had the chance to meet 2009 FIA Formula One World Champion Jenson Button, who was cheering on his McLaren team-mate and close friend Paffett in the headlining DTM race.

"It's been a fantastic weekend, I didn't think a win would be on the cards after Silverstone," said the elated HHC Motorsport driver.

"To win my first race is fantastic, I concentrated on getting away at the start and then cruised for the last five or six laps. Winning the BRM Rapide Award too is great."

Robertson started the weekend well, setting the fastest time in free practice before taking that form into qualifying, where he missed out on a maiden Formula 4 pole position by 0.060 seconds.

And despite a good getaway from the front row, Robertson was unable to get past pole-sitter Jake Dalton, who held the Caterham School pupil off over 25 laps of the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit as Robertson had to settle for second in his first Formula 4 podium finish. "Every single time I got close to him [Dalton], the aero made it impossible to try and make a move," said Robertson.

"We were both doing pretty much exactly the same lap times throughout the race, it was what it's always like at Brands Indy – you need the other guy to make a mistake to get a chance."

In race two, the reigning Ginetta Junior Champion fought his way up from seventh to secure his second podium on the trot, passing former Ginetta rival Sennan Fielding for third.

But round six was undoubtedly the highlight for Robertson, who after sealing pole position having set the fastest lap in the weekend's opening race, dominated from the outset.

Scorching into a 1.2-second lead at the end of the opening lap, he eventually ended the race over ten seconds clear and, once again, set the fastest lap to cap an outstanding breakthrough weekend.

Rounds seven, eight and nine will take place on June 15 and 16 at the Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norfolk.

Star Trek Into Darkness 3D (12A)

Director: JJ Abrams

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana

WHEN JJ Abrams announced that he was going to reboot the Star Trek franchise, few could have imagined just how spectacularly he would have succeeded with his 2009 film.

Taking the term 'reboot' seriously, he created an alternative timeline in which the established narrative could be bent, modified and in some cases obliterated.

Star Trek Into Darkness builds upon this idea and presents a fully-fledged adventure for the crew of the USS Enterprise.

Following an away mission, Captain James Kirk (Chris Pine) breaks the Prime Directive to save his first officer Spock's (Zachary Quinto) life, revealing advanced technology to an underdeveloped civilisation. Stripped of command by Admiral Pike (Bruce Greenwood), Kirk is given a secret, off-the-books mission to hunt down the instigator of recent terrorist attacks, former member of Starfleet, John Harrison

Resolving to hunt down the outlaw, Kirk embarks upon a mission to Harrison's last known co-ordinates, a barren sector of Kronos, home world of the Klingon Empire.

Having established the new timeline in Star Trek, Abrams delivers a fantastically entertaining film.

Starting with the fast-paced intro that draws influence from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the central narrative flies along at a breakneck pace throughout. Sub-plots are briefly raised and then touched upon later, giving the narrative a wonderful cyclical feel.

The cast are excellent, although the sheer number of them causes problems and certain members of the crew are sidelined for long periods.

Simon Pegg enjoys a slightly expanded role and delivers some of the best comedy, while Karl Urban's one-liner dispensing Dr. McCoy has a metaphor for every situation.

There is a little room to explore the developing relationship of Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Spock, while newcomer Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) establishes herself as the new girl in town.

It is however Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto's growing bromance that is the most important relationship on display. With some sharp and witty exchanges, itself enough to put Star Trek Into Darkness above most blockbusters, it's amazing that they don't represent the highlight.

Enter John Harrison. From the bombastic villainous music announcing his arrival, Benedict Cumberbatch grabs the audience by the temple and never let's go.

In the mould of Alan Rickman's Die Hard supremo Hans Gruber, Harrison's rasping, occasionally psychotic conversations provide the most memorable moments. Spock is the paragon of stoicism and logic, Kirk the embodiment of passion and emotion and both men get blown off the screen by Cumberbatch who leaves them in his over-pronounced dust.

In one scene he asserts to Kirk that he is better at everything and it's tough not to take him deadly seriously. If there's a more compelling villain in any film this year, it'll be a surprise. It's a testament to his portrayal that his unpredictability even has the audience siding with him at various moments.

JJ Abrams keeps things bright and breezy, and other than a staggering over-use of lens flare directs with a sure hand. Pitched at the opposite end of the blockbuster spectrum to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, Star Trek Into Darkness forgoes desolation, loneliness and struggle in favour of a light-hearted approach with dashes of dramatic gravitas presented to keep it on the right side of silly. If there is a complaint to be made then it lies in the ending, which while exciting and crowd-pleasing, feels a little bit weak in terms of dramatic follow-through.

Review by Thomas Patrick of www.thatfilmguy.net where you'll find more reviews. Star Trek Into Darkness is on release from Thursday, May 9.

WITH the County Championship season not quite going as planned, Surrey are in action against Oxford University's side this week in the hope of picking up some form.

Jason Roy led the side out in Oxford, which started yesterday (Wednesday) and despite having just 31 first-class matches under his belt, will get to command a bowling attack featuring Chris Tremlett and Jade Dernbach.

The highly rated 22-year-old has stepped in at the top of the order in absence of the injured Graeme Smith, scoring one century this season, and is excited by the challenge ahead of him.

"I'm really looking forward to the responsibility," he said.

"I've only captained at school before, so it's a great chance to show the management what I can do.

"Obviously it'll be great to have some older heads around me, and there will also be a chance for some of the younger guys to step up too."

Surrey travelled to Oxford having lost another County Championship game at Trent Bridge against Nottinghamshire on Sunday, meaning Chris Adams' side are yet to win in the competition this season.

However, Roy was encouraged by the team's exploits against a talented Nottinghamshire side, where seamer Stuart Meaker impressed with four wickets in both innings.

"We went into the last day with a chance to win [73-3 chasing 259 to win] and that's a lot better.

"The bowlers did a great job so now it's up to us batters to step up too."

Roy has wowed fans with his explosive hitting in the shorter form of the game since his breakthrough, but has now had to try and establish himself as a first class opener, along with another youngster, Rory Burns.

Burns, also 22, has hit two centuries in the County Championship this season, and Roy feels that the pair learnt a lot from legendary South African opener Smith before his injury.

"Unfortunately he's back in his homeland now, but it was great to have him around, he was extremely helpful," Roy said of the skipper, who is recovering from ankle surgery.

"The most important thing for us now is just to win as many games as we can without him."

Surrey travel to Scotland next in the YB40, before facing bottom of the table Derbyshire in the County Championship.

PARENTS opposed to Roke Primary becoming an academy have reacted with anger to a report which they say misrepresents the strength of opposition to the plan.

The Save Roke campaign saw the consultation as a last chance to make their opinions heard, but claim the results have been "massaged" to show support for the Harris Federation's plan.

Only 17 per cent of Roke parents responded to the questionnaire and, of those, 50 per cent opposed the changes, and 24 per cent supported them.

A survey, sent out by the school, showed 70 per cent opposed the plan, 18 per cent supported it, and 12 per cent did not know.

Most opponents thought that, if changes must be made, Riddlesdown Collegiate should be the school's sponsor.

The results of Harris's survey were released on Tuesday, the same day as parents received a letter detailing the next stage in the process.

It read: "On the assumption that the Secretary of State will confirm the proposal that the school becomes a Harris academy on September 1, 2013, we have to make some preparations."

Becky Carrier, a leading member of Save Roke, said: "It's obvious the report massages the figures to make it look like there is less opposition to Roke becoming an academy.

"They say 17 per cent answered the questions and then split that into percentages of how many are for and against. Far more people answered the school's own survey."

Campaigners fear an Ofsted report, which is due to be published today (Friday), will classify the school as requiring 'special measures' in order to push through the Harris deal.

TWO robbers tracked down after raiding a Sanderstead convenience store because they took a cab to the crime scene have been jailed.

Derron Brown, 20, of Harewood Gardens, Sanderstead, was jailed for three-and-a-half years for robbing the Londis in Limpsfield Road on January 31.

His 17-year-old accomplice, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was handed two-and-a-half years.

The pair came into the shop at 7pm both wearing masks and threatened a member of staff with a large knife, demanding money from the till.

They celebrated by making off with bottles of booze.

Police were called to the scene and later discovered Brown had ordered a cab to take him to the shop. Officers traced his phone and arrested him near his home a short while after.

Officers then identified his younger accomplice on CCTV and arrested him the following day after finding him hiding in a loft.

The pair were charged with robbery and both later pleaded guilty to the offence at court.

Detective Constable Amy Mannakee, from Croydon CID, who investigated the case, said: "Brown and his accomplice had planned this robbery together, but thanks to the good detective work of all the officers involved, we were able to quickly identify, arrest and charge them.

"This robbery had a serious impact on both the shop worker, who was threatened with the knife, and also on the local community.

"They can now be reassured that the culprits have been caught and will be behind bars for a long time."

BALLOTING of refuse collectors for strike action in a row over pay will start on May 31.

The ballot has been prompted by what the Unite union says is an "insulting" pay offer to workers in Croydon and Bromley.

Voting will be held over 14 days and Unite expects to announce the result around June 14.

Veolia, which runs the refuse collection services in the boroughs, has offered its staff in Croydon a 1.75 per cent pay rise, with two per cent being on the table in Bromley.

The union is looking for a deal at least in line with the 3.3 per cent inflation rate.

Unite has around 50 members in Croydon and more than 120 in Bromley.

Union spokesman Onay Kasab said he was confident of a majority in favour of action in both boroughs.

The union intends the action to cause as much disruption as possible.

It will be coordinated across both boroughs to ensure staff cannot be moved between Croydon and Bromley to cover for striking colleagues.

Veolia issued a statement after the ballot was first announced regretting that action was being considered before negotiations had run their full course.

While the union is willing to talk, Mr Kasab said: "I am not interested in cosy talks over tea and biscuits.

"Our members' pay is the priority."

PROTESTERS hope to flood the Mayor of London with up to 20,000 letters urging him to reject plans to build an incinerator on the Croydon/Sutton border.

The campaign – taking the fight to Boris Johnson – has started in earnest after Sutton Council's development control committee approved Viridor's scheme last week.

The so-called Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) is designed to burn thousands of tonnes of non-recyclable waste generated from Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Kingston.

The four boroughs, which form the South London Waste Partnership, argue that the plant is a better and cheaper way of disposing of rubbish than sending it to landfill.

Paul Pickering, chair of the Stop the Incinerator Campaign, said this week that the letter campaign will form the main plank of the protest to the Mayor.

Campaign members will be going door-to-door to homes mainly in Croydon and Sutton handing out letters which they hope residents will send on to Mr Johnson.

The letter urges the Mayor to reject Viridor's application, claiming an incinerator would be an inappropriate use of Metropolitan Open Land.

It rejects the company's claims that toxins would not rise above safe levels, drawing attention to concerns about health risks and claims there would be more pollution and congestion from waste ferried by road.

The letter ends: "I believe that you are a man of conviction and trust that you will share my concerns about this incinerator. It is totally backward."

Mr Pickering said: "We are hoping to get between 10,000 and 20,000 letters delivered to the community and the first 5,000 of these have already been printed.

"We want to get our message out by going on to the doorsteps to speak directly to people."

Fears on health risks, increased pollution and extra traffic were all rejected on planning officers' recommendations at last week's committee meeting.

Robert Ryan, Viridor's head of development projects, said: "It is great news that the committee recognised, by granting us planning permission, that our proposed ERF is the right solution for South London's waste challenge and is one that will deliver real economic, social and environmental benefits.

"It is a safe and cost-effective long-term alternative to landfill, recovering resources and reducing costs to the taxpayer."

The decision has also been welcomed by Councillor Derek Osbourne, chair of the South London Waste Partnership joint waste committee, who said: "I'm very proud of the deal we have achieved for local people.

"This facility is both kind to the environment and it avoids passing on large costs to the taxpayer. Viridor has listened to local people and offered something that makes sense for the entire area."

Powers granted to the Mayor allow him to approve or reject the application, or order a formal hearing at which both applicants and opponents could put their case. It is likely to be the end of next month at the earliest before the Mayor reaches any decision.