boy, four, hit and killed by van outside his home in Edgware

Pic:Hit and killed by van, Edwin Kofi Adu, four
Staff reporter(wp/es):

A four-year-old boy was knocked down and killed by a van outside his home as he played football.

Edwin Kofi Adu was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital following the accident in Edgware last night.

Witnesses told how the youngster had been playing in gardens behind housing block Montrose Court minutes before the collision on Montrose Avenue at the junction with Burnt Oak Broadway.

The driver of the silver Volkswagen van, which stopped at the scene, was not arrested, police said.

Today the boy’s family told of their anguish, saying they were “devastated and in mourning”.

His uncle Nana Wiafi told the Standard: “He was a wonderful beautiful boy, always smiling. We think he was out playing alone, he didn’t usually go there, we are all devastated.”

His mother was being comforted by relatives at her north-west London flat. 

An aunt added: “He was a wonderful boy. His mother is devastated, we are all in mourning.”

Shocked and tearful friends and relatives gathered in the street last night following the crash, paying tribute to the “smart, funny” young boy.

One friend, who asked not to be named, said: “The kids were all outside on a sunny evening, playing on the grass behind the flats.

"Edwin was playing football with his older cousin, just running around with other kids.”

Edwin’s parents are understood to have moved to London from Ghana around 12 years ago and have two other children, a boy and a girl.

A family friend said: “He was a very brave, intelligent boy. He was charming and would make anyone laugh, it was a pleasure to watch him grow up.

“He was always playing with the other kids out the back, he loved it but we were inside and we didn’t know what happened.

“We heard he was hit and we all ran outside but the paramedics were already there. They did everything they could but it wasn’t enough.

“His family is completely heartbroken.”

Roads surrounding the crash scene were sealed off overnight as an inquiry by the Met Police’s serious collision investigation unit got under way.

A Met spokesman said: “The driver involved stopped at the scene and is assisting police with enquiries.”

Woman 'raped by two Romanian men' in horrific ordeal on Sussex beach

Crime reporter(wp/es):
A woman was allegedly raped by two Romanian men in a horrific attack on a Sussex beach.

Police said the 30-year-old woman was attacked on Hove Beach in the early hours of Wednesday, April 5.

She had met two men on the beach and began chatting to them, detectives said.

Two of the men then attacked and raped her, she told police. She rang a friend who reported the incident to authorities.

The alleged attack happened on the beach at King’s Esplanade by Bath Court in Hove between 1am and 3am.

Detective Sergeant Julie Greenwood said: "The victim describes the men as possibly Romanian.

"We are appealing to anyone who lives or was in the King's Esplanade area between 1am and 3am and saw or heard anything suspicious."