Four adults and child rescued after blast rips though roof of home

Pic:Sidcup Hill was taped off.
Staff reporter(wp/es):

Firefighters pulled four adults and a child from a south east London house after a gas blast ripped through their home.

The five people had to be rescued after the gas explosion in Sidcup at around Saturday lunchtime.

One man was injured in the blast and treated by paramedics at the scene.

The explosion happened at a house on Sidcup Hill and left roads in the area choked up as police, ambulances and fire engines raced to the scene.

Photos taken in the aftermath of the blast show a large police cordon along the pavement with police officers and firefighters guarding the area.

One photo appears to the roof of a house partly damaged with tiles collapsing into the house.

People nearby complained of long delays as Sidcup Hill was shut between Foots Cray High Street and Sidcup High Street and buses were diverted.

Helen Tamblyn-Saville said on Facebook: “It’s a nightmare, husband is trying to pick up a van and the road is a disaster.”

Elaine Roles said: “If you are planning on coming to Sidcup today allow extra time due to Sidcup Hill being closed due to a gas explosion.”

Over an hour after the blast police said the road had reopened.

A spokeswoman for the London Fire Brigade said firefighters had evacuated four adults and a child following the blast and made the house safe. 

Tube strike:Two walkouts in February in row over jobs and ticket office closures

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Tube workers are to stage two strikes next month in a row over jobs and ticket office closures.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out for 16 hours from 6pm on February 5 and for 15 hours from 10am on the 7th.

The strike was announced after talks between transport bosses and the union broke down this afternoon. 

The RMT and Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) staged a 24-hour strike earlier this month which crippled Tube services.

The RMT said it is also planning further strikes in March.

Over 3,000 RMT station staff members were balloted for action over the impact on safety from the axing of nearly 900 front-line workers alongside the closure of Tube ticket offices.

The unions have warned that the job cuts have left safety on a "knife edge" with repeated reports of dangerous overcrowding on stations and platforms.

Union members have been banning overtime, which they say has exposed the "massive deficiencies" in station staffing.

Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said: "RMT will not stand by while safety is compromised on London Underground off the back of cash-led cuts to staffing levels that the union has warned would have a serious, lasting and corrosive impact for staff and passengers alike. That is why our members are taking this further action.

"RMT members on the London Underground stations see day in and day out the toxic impact of the job cuts programme and they are reporting back that it is horrific.

"It has now also been shown that at management level there is agreement with the union that the cuts have been a disastrous mistake.

"With the constant overcrowding on stations and platforms it is only a matter of time before there is a major tragedy if we don't act decisively.

"Our dispute is about taking action to haul back the cuts machine and put safety back at the top of the agenda.

"The union remains available for further serious talks."

Astonishing moment would-be motorbike thief attacks man with nunchucks in Norbury

Pic:The man was attacked with his own weapon
Crime reporter(wp/es):

This is the astonishing moment a man is attacked with nunchucks by would-be motorbike thieves before a heroic barefoot neighbour helps chase them away.

Police say the bike’s owner had been wielding the weapon himself while trying to ward off the crash helmet-wearing pair, but it was grabbed from his hands.

One of the duo then appears to start swinging the nunchucks towards the man, aged 46, before they are seen wrestling against a car.

A neighbour is then seen running barefoot out of a house in Arnull’s Road, Norbury, to chase them off.

Detectives say the two men, clad in motorcycle helmets and balaclavas, had turned up on a stolen motorbike just before 1.30pm on December 10.

One of them then attempted to steal a three-wheeled motorcycle parked in the street using a screwdriver before being confronted by the angry owner.

The victim received injuries to his hand during the struggle before the men ran off towards Gibson Hill, abandoning their vehicle.

 One of the men is described as wearing a dark coloured jacket with a red logo on the back, black trousers with a blue line down the side, black trainers with white soles and gloves.

The other is described as wearing a dark jacket with grey at the top, dark trousers, black trainers with white soles and a helmet with a Nike tick on the back.

Detective Constable Ania Casey, investigating officer from Croydon, said: "If the owner had not locked his motorbike with a heavy chain, his bike may have been taken in seconds. 

“Those extra minutes were sufficient enough to alert the owner and his neighbours to deter the two suspects.”

Diesel drivers will have to pay extra to park in central London

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Diesel car drivers are to be hit with a £2.45-an-hour “D-charge” to park in a swathe of central London to combat toxic air.

Westminster City Council is to become the first town hall in Britain to impose the surcharge for pay-to-park bays.

The “D-charge” will be trialed at 1,424 parking bays in Marylebone, and parts of Fitzrovia and the Hyde Park area from April 3.

Motorists driving diesel models will have to pay an extra 50 per cent on the normal charge, £4.90-an-hour, to park their car or van in a bay.

The maximum stay is four hours, so the diesel levy could total £9.80.

“Residents and visitors tell us all the time that air quality is a key concern in central London,” said Councillor David Harvey, Westminster’s Cabinet member for environment, sports and community.

“Additional charges for diesel vehicles will mean people think twice about using highly polluting cars and invest in cleaner transport that will make a real difference in the quality of air we breathe.”

Marylebone Road was one of at least 20 sites in London where particulate pollution soared to “very high”, or black 10/10, during the recent spike in toxic air.

The area, which includes Baker Street, Princess Grace Hospital, King Edward VII Hospital, the University of Westminster and Madam Tussauds, also frequently suffers from high nitrogen dioxide levels, exceeding recommended health limits.

The flagship Tory council’s move comes ahead of London Mayor Sadiq Khan introducing a “T-charge”, a toxicity levy, later this year, expected to be around £10-a-day, for the most polluting vehicles, diesel and petrol, to drive into central London.

The combination of the two surcharges, and the C-Charge, could equate to around £30 to come into Marylebone and park.

The new levies are likely to spark protests from motorists, especially as many bought diesel cars, which produce less carbon dioxide, after being encouraged through tax breaks to do so by previous governments to tackle climate change.

But the attempts to reduce the number of diesel vehicles in the city spewing out filthy fumes, harmful to human health, will almost certainly be backed by many local residents.

London is seen as trailing other capitals, including Paris and Olso, in having in place measures to tackle toxic air.

Westminster stressed that the “polluters pay” move was supported by groups in the Marylebone Low Emission Neighbourhood including the three business improvement districts (BIDs). 

Penny Alexander, chief executive of the Baker Street Quarter Partnership BID said “Improving air quality is a priority for us and needs to be a unified effort.”

Kay Buxton from the Marble Arch BID said: “We welcome Westminster’s first step to addressing air pollution through differential parking charges and hope to see a resultant behaviour change, with people choosing not to bring diesel vehicles into the area.”

The council stressed that funds raised from the D-charge, which will not apply to motorbikes, will be spent on initiatives to promote sustainable transport.

It could be made permanent or expanded to other parts of the borough if successful in cutting pollution.

Tim Carnegie, Chairman of Marylebone Association, said: “Marylebone residents’ are pleased that the Low Emission Neighbourhood is taking action to deter visiting diesel vehicles from driving into our community.” 

Several councils in London, including Islington and Camden, have introduced diesel surcharges on residents’ parking permits.

Teenage killer who stabbed friend to death at party is jailed for 14 years

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A teenager killer who stabbed his former friend to death at a girl's 16th birthday party after a row over a tracksuit has beenlocked up for 14 years. 

Aaron Gaiete, 17, plunged a kitchen knife into the heart of Charlie Kutyauripo outside a sports centre in Woodford, then stabbed him in the arm as he tried to get to his feet. 

The two teens had been firm friends, but fell out after Gaiete borrowed a tracksuit from Charlie, 16, and refused to give it back. 

Judge Rebecca Poulet QC, sitting at the Old Bailey, today removed Gaiete's anonymity as a deterrent against other teenagers carrying knives. 

The jury at trial convicted Gaiete of murder, but in an unusual step asked for "leniency" in his sentencing. 

Sentencing him to detention at Her Majesty's pleasure with a minimum term of 14 years Judge Poulet said she would not ignore the jury's request and said it was a "merciful" punishment. 

"I will take into account there was a background between you two boys and Charlie knew you had a short temper and he was making provoking comments during the confrontation", said the judge. 

But she added: "It must be understood that taking a knife out in public whether for an offensive or defensive purpose is in itself a criminal offence.

"It is the experience of the courts that far from preventing an attack on the carrier of that knife, it frequently results in the causing of serious injury or in this case death and therefore the inevitable outcome of a very lengthy sentence for the individual who takes it out."

In a victim impact statement, Charlie's mother Matilda, an A&E nurse, said the family was "crushed, hurt, torn beyond description" after her son was killed by a boy she had previously welcomed into her home.

She said: "No mother or family deserve to suffer the way we have."

The grieving mother said Charlie had been brought up in a "decent Christian family and law abiding citizens" and raised to have "good values". 

Both boys had attended King Solomon High School in Ilford and become good friends, but they had fallen out badly by the time of the murder, on January 9 last year. 

"There is some evidence that suggests the two may have fallen out about something as trivial as a tracksuit the defendant had borrowed and was refusing to give back", said prosecutor Louis Mably. 

The court heard the teenagers had been talking about having a fight in the run-up to the stabbing, which happened at a neon-themed birthday party which was supervised by adults. 

Gaiete arrived at around 9.30pm and confronted Charlie outside the sports hall in Chingford Road, Woodford, pulling out the knife he had hidden in his jacket pocket. 

Charlie was rushed to hospital but died within an hour of the attack. 

Gaiete, from Norfolk Road, Ilford,  denied murder, claiming he had acted in self-defence.

Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after policeman is injured in north London

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a policeman was seriously injured in north London.

Emergency services raced to the scene on Balls Pond Road at 4.15pm on Wednesday. 

Scotland Yard said the police officer was injured when he tried to stop the man leaving the scene on a moped.

He was rushed to hospital where his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

A man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was taken to a north London police station. 

Bodies of gardener, wife and child found in burnt

Staff reporter(wp/es):

A gardener and his wife and child were killed when a fire ripped through a cottage on a farm in Surrey. 

The victims of the blaze were today named after their bodies were reportedly found in a double bed following a fire that burned all night at the rural property near Reigate.

The fire was only discovered when colleagues went to check on a man living at the house who failed to turn up for work.

Firefighters, Surrey Police, the Surrey Fire Dogs and the National Police Air Service police helicopter were called to reports of a fire at Trumpets Hill Road yesterday morning “following concerns for the safety of occupants at the location”.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said: “Officers arrived at the location at around 11.10am. A property was found to have suffered serious fire damage and three people, including two adults and a child, were found deceased. Their next of kin has been informed.

“A joint investigation between Surrey Police and Surrey Fire and Rescue Service is under way into the cause of the fire.”

Fire brigade sources told the Standard the fire began in a 12m by 8m outbuilding of the farm which is attached to the main house, raising the possibility that it could have been started deliberately.

The source said: “The outhouse has all sorts of gardening equipment and materials in it. The fire started there and then spread to the main house.

“Obviously one line of inquiry will be that it was started deliberately but it is too early to say anything definitively at this stage.”

Worried colleagues had gone to check on the man when he failed to turn up for work, only to discover the property completely destroyed by flames.

It had apparently been burning all night without anyone realising what had happened.

A neighbour said the work colleague who discovered the blaze at the remote Little Santon Farm Cottage told emergency services a man, woman and child normally lived at the property.

When fire crews eventually got inside they made the discovery.

No attempt had been made to raise the alarm by the occupants and detectives are now trying to establish if there was any suspicious circumstances to their deaths.

The victims are understood to be the gardener for Little Santon Farm, his wife and child.

They were named locally as Tiago and Adriana Nunes and their son, also called Tiago.

Mrs Nunes’ brother Guilherme Alexandre Herrera Cruz told of his grief online.

Posting pictures of his dead relatives, he said: "My heart hurts too much! I expected too much live close and you were gone! May God comfort us! Without words!”

Friends offered their condolences and support. Cruzziani Vendetti wrote: “Your sister, brother-in-law and nephew, now rest in peace, all my support and strength to get you through with your family's tragic loss.”

The farm is owned by Adrian Smart, 81, a retired solicitor, and his wife Anne, 75, known by her middle name Sara.

Mr Smart, a businessman, is chairman and trustee at Gatton Park - a 600 acre park made famous by 18th Century English landscape designer Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. 

He is understood to have raised the alarm when Mr Nunes, who is believed to be Portuguese, failed to turn up for work.

Mrs Nunes is understood to be a cleaner in the village of Betchworth. 

One resident said the child who died was a little boy aged around seven years old and that his parents were in their 30s.

She said: “Mr and Mrs Smart live at Little Santon Farm. The gardener lives in the cottage on the grounds and that was the building that was on fire. 

“Betchworth is a small village, they were very well known and lovely people.

“I’m in shock.”

She added: “I was supposed to be picking Mrs Smart up and got to the farm at around 10.45am. Mrs Smart had just found out. “It must have happened quietly during the night.

“[The cottage] is far away from the farmhouse which is over a mound. Looking at the cottage I don’t think there were many houses that would have seen it.

“Adrian called the police, I was with Sara and the police arrived whilst I was there. 

“They [the family] have been there for a few years, maybe four or five.” 

Police in white forensic suits were carrying out their investigations at the scene today.

Jane Douglass, headteacher of North Downs Primary School in Leigh Village, where Tiago is understood to have attended, today told parents: “It is with huge sadness and regret that I write to inform you that we have received information from the police regarding a tragic incident, which we believe involves one of our Leigh pupils.

“There has been a house fire in Reigate in which two adults and a child have died.

“This is very likely to be a difficult time for us as a school and a community and we will all need to support each other, and particularly those most closely affected.”