Police hunt man after teenager 'shot in back of head with BB gun' on London bus

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A teenager was left bleeding from the back of the head after he was shot with a BB gun on a London bus, police said.

The 18-year-old victim was struck on the head by a pellet as he travelled on a Route 25 bus from Romford Road, Manor Park towards Ilford.

Police said he was sat at the front of the bus on the top deck when he felt something hit the back of his head. 

He immediately turned around but saw no-one looking suspicious.

But when he touched the back of his head, he felt the BB pellet protruding from his skin, which was slightly bleeding, police said.

Scotland Yard released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to in connection with the incident, which happened at about 1.45pm on Friday, November 11. 

A Met Police spokesman said: “Police believe the victim was struck by a metal ball fired from a ball bearing (BB) pellet gun.

"The injured man required hospital treatment but has since been discharged.

“The incident is being investigated by detectives from the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command.

“No arrests have been made. Enquiries are ongoing.”

Motorcyclist fighting for life after colliding with lorry in south west London

Staff reporter(wp/es):

A motorcyclist is fighting for life in hospital following a crash with a lorry in south west London.

Metropolitan Police officers, London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance rushed to Traps Lane in New Malden shortly after 9am on Thursday.

The male biker, whose age is not yet known, was taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting where he remains in a critical condition, Kingston police said.

Police said the driver of the lorry stopped at the scene.

A police cordon is in place close to the junction with Coombe Lane West while investigations into the crash continue.

No arrests have been made, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

Woman arrested after baby found 'abandoned' outside Whitstable Co-op supermarket

Crime reporter(wp/es):

An 18-year-old woman has been arrested after a baby was found abandoned in a pram outside a Co-op in Kent, police say.

Officers were called to the supermarket in Whitstable on Tuesday evening after receiving a call about an abandoned child.

The caller said they were concerned about the baby and its mother.

Alison Barrett, a bystander, said the officers had to change the child's nappy.

On Facebook, she wrote the child was "playing and laughing with the police officer" and did not appear upset or distressed.

A police spokesman said: "Kent Police received a report of concern for the welfare of a woman who was last seen outside a supermarket in Canterbury Road, Whitstable, on January 3 at around 6.20pm. 

"The caller also told police there was an unaccompanied child at the location.

officers carried out a search of the area and located the woman shortly afterwards.

"She has been arrested in connection with the incident and remains in custody."

Police say the baby is well and being looked after.

Cyclist rushed to hospital after crash with tipper truck in Whitechapel High Street

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A woman cyclist was taken to hospital after a crash with a lorry on a busy high street in east London.

The accident happened at a junction along Whitechapel High Street, near Aldgate East station, shortly after 11am on Wednesday.

Shocked witnesses described seeing a woman lying in the road and her bicycle under the lorry.

One woman, whose office overlooks where the crash happened, told the Standard: “I saw for a woman lying in the road being tended to by paramedics and then taken away on a stretcher in an ambulance.

“The road was closed while this was happening, but the police are now directing traffic through around the scene of the crash.

“The lorry is still in the middle of the junction.”

A Met spokesman said: “Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and the female cyclist was treated for her injuries.

“At this early stage, the injuries are not life threatening.

“The lorry stopped at the scene.

“Enquiries into the circumstances continue.”

A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said the woman was treated for a leg injury and taken as a priority to an east London hospital.

Whitechapel High Street has re-opened eastbound following the crash.

The right turn to Commercial Street remains blocked.

British free-runner killed in train accident on Paris Metro

Pic:Nye Frankie Newman
Staff reporter(wp/es):

A British free-runner died in a “train accident” on the Paris Metro on New Year’s Day, it emerged today.

Tributes were paid to Nye Frankie Newman, 20, from Guildford, whose death was announced by his parkour group - which stressed he “wasn’t train surfing”.

Mr Newman was a keen participant of the craze which sees people climb and jump over obstacles and buildings in urban environments.

He had been in Paris with friends on a training trip when the accident happened.

Luke Stones, who was part of the same parkour and free running group as Mr Newman, said his friend - known as Brewman - “wasn’t train surfing as many of you may assume” at the time of his death.

He described Mr Newman as “an incredible human being who was always up for anything” and “experienced things in his short life that many won’t experience in their lifetimes”.

Another friend, who asked not to be named, said: “Nye was with his friends on a trip training in Paris. He met a lot of the community and practised the sport of parkour with them there.

“He passed away due to a train accident - he was with his friends while it happened.”

Photographs on his social media accounts show the teenager leaping between buildings in Hong Kong and somersaulting on the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Friends paid tribute online. Toby Segar wrote: “Those who knew Nye Frankie Newman will never forget his untouchable flare, enthusiasm and thirst for raw adventure and worldly experience. A fresh young soul who effortlessly inspired those around him, fuelling the progress of fellow athletes and most prominently, his vast network of like-minded and incredibly close friends.

“We lost a good lad, too early.”

Seb Koci said: “He was a truly remarkable example of a human being. Although ‘inspirational’ is quite cliche, he had such a genuine ability to capture the hearts and minds of everyone he met, he had an insatiable appetite for adventure and was the driving force behind a huge number of seemingly stupid ideas and plans which I now hold as some of my fondest memories.”

James Dickson added: “Such an inspirational guy has just lost his life, it’s such a shock and just shows us that life is delicate, Nye lived his life to the fullest and will be missed by many, rest in peace man.”

A mass parkour “training” event is planned on March 4 in Guildford town centre to celebrate his life.

Two men and woman found dead near cliffs in Dover

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 Three bodies have been discovered near cliffs in Dover.

Kent Police were called just before 2.30pm to Langdon Cliffs on Sunday due to concern for a man’s safety.

The man’s body was found at the bottom of the cliffs by the coastguard along with the bodies of another man and a woman between half a mile to a mile away.

The deaths are not believed to be linked.

A police spokesman said: “Kent Police was called at 2.27pm due to concern for the welfare of a man at Langdon Cliffs, Dover.

“Officers attended and the body of a man was subsequently discovered at the bottom of the cliffs by the coastguard.

“During the search the coastguard also discovered the bodies of a second man and a woman.

“Officers do not believe their deaths are linked to that of the first man."

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokeswoman said: "At 2.30pm today, Kent Police requested assistance from the UK Coastguard at an incident in the Dover docks area.

"UK Coastguard sent Langdon Battery and Deal coastguard rescue teams, Dover RNLI lifeboat and the UK search and rescue helicopter based at Lydd."

A Dover RNLI spokesman said: "The conditions were quite rough. The other two were rescued by coastguard teams on the shore.

"It's tragic really."

Investigations into the circumstances of the deaths are ongoing.

Government spent 'eye-watering' £10k a day on consultants over third runway

Pic:Heathrow, The Government is backing a third runway at the airport
Staff reporter(wp/es):

The Government has been slammed for spending an average of £10,000 per day on consultants and law firms to decide if a third runway should be built at Heathrow.

The Department for Transport, headed up by under fire minister Chris Grayling, has shelled out more than £3.8million on external firms since the Airport Commission published a report in July 2015, naming Heathrow Airport as the best location for a new runway.

A Freedom of Information request by the Press Association has revealed that the lion's share of the money has gone to financial advisers N M Rothschild & Sons, who filed four invoices totalling £1.46million, which were paid between July last year and October 2016.

Law firm DLA Piper UK was also paid £1.09 million between August 2015 and October 2016, while Allen & Overy received £152,955.60 between January and September this year. 

Professional services firm Ernst & Young filed two invoices worth £138,765 for consultancy work, which the Government made good between March and August 2016. 

Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, who stunned the Tories by overturning billionaire Zac Goldsmith's 23,000 majority in the Richmond Park by-election, described the sums as "eye-watering".

She said: "These are eye-watering sums, over £10,000 a day, to pay consultants for an airport people don't want.

"I won a by-election in Richmond Park and North Kingston on a platform opposing Heathrow expansion. Local people have spoken but Theresa May is ignoring democracy. The people lose out and the only gainers are highly paid consultants."

Ms Olney added that it is "patently clear" that the Conservative Government had frittered away taxpayer's money despite deciding "long before it was going to be Heathrow whatever the evidence".

A third runway at Heathrow Airport was given the go-ahead by the Government in October after proposals to expand its existing runway, or build a second runway at Gatwick, were rejected. 

The new runway could be in operation by 2025, but is expected to face fierce opposition from MPs.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson previously described the project as "undeliverable" and claimed it was likely to be stopped, while Education Secretary Justine Greening said she was "extremely disappointed".

A public consultation will be held on the impact of the third runway before the final decision is put to MPs for a vote in the winter of 2017/18. 

It was revealed last month that parliamentary support for a third runway at Heathrow has grown, according to research commissioned by the airport.

Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of the 130 MPs polled between October and November say they would back the third runway project. 

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: "The Government's decision to back expansion at Heathrow Airport was one of the biggest boosts to the UK's transport infrastructure in a generation, estimated to bring economic benefits to passengers and the wider economy worth up to £61 billion.

"Given the scale and complexity of airport expansion schemes, as well as the various statutory requirements, including those under the Planning Act 2008, it is only right that we should seek expert advice to make sure the Government's analysis is of the highest quality and fully considers all options and any constraints.

"This is to ensure we get the right solution to the UK's airport capacity needs and maximise the benefit to the whole country."