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Lewisham residents thanked by senior police officer after high street disturbance
A senior police officer has thanked Lewisham residents for their patience after a 17-hour stand off on Monday between armed police and a shirtless man waving a knife from a window. The road between Lee High Road, Belmont Hill and A2211 Rennell Street was closed after armed police and emergency servi...

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Appeal to trace missing girl potentially seen in Southwark
Police are appealing to the public for help tracing a missing teenage girl from Cambridge who has been spotted in Southwark writes Issy Clarke 14-year-old Talailah Francis was last seen at Whittlesford Service Station in Cambridge on Saturday, 25 January and is believed to have travelled to London. ...


Image released following sexual assaults at Waterloo Station
A CCTV image of a man has been released in connection with two sexual assaults in Waterloo Station on December 17 writes Issy Clarke Police believe the man may have information that could help with their investigation into the incident, which took place in a pub in the station at about 11.20PM. Anyo...

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‘Increased penalty fare of £100 is proving to be an effective deterrent’ against fare dodgers, says mayor
Sir Sadiq Khan has hailed the impact of increased penalty fines for fare dodging, saying that the measure is working as an “effective deterrent”. The mayor also insisted that fare evasion on London’s transport network remains “lower than many comparable cities in Europe and North America”,...


Musical milestones at Walworth Road’s A1 Stores
Stand by kids, this is a nostalgia alert! Let me take you back to the 1970s. Saturday afternoons in Walworth Road meant a trip to the A1 stores and an introduction to a musical wonderland. After a dull afternoon grocery shopping, mum would take refu... This is premium content for subscribers only Ge...


South Londoners back rent controls after having to hand over 40 per cent of their wages to private landlords
Londoners have backed rent controls after a City Hall politician declared the capital was facing a ‘cost of rent crisis’—with the city’s over two million renters handing over on average over 40 per cent of their wages to landlords. A report published by Green Assembly member Zoë Garbett on ...


Charity calls for new homes for 15 cats facing eviction
Cat lovers with gardens are being urged to re-home pairs of cats facing eviction from their territory that has been earmarked for redevelopment,writes Issy Clarke… The colony of 15 cats live on a triangle of waste ground in New Cross Gate, bordered by Besson Street, New Cross Road and Briant Stree...


Man sentenced for manslaughter over ‘unprovoked’ stabbing captured on CCTV
A man has been sentenced for manslaughter by diminished responsibility – after investigators recovered footage of the killing itself. Twenty-one-year-old Caudel Haughton, from Catford, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, February 7. He was sentenced to an indefinite term in a secure hospita...


Joint surgery by MP Neil Coyle and police branded ‘a flop’ by some residents
Residents have branded an engagement event attended by their local MP ‘a flop’ after they were reportedly left waiting up to an hour to see him. Some residents walked out of Labour MP Neil Coyle’s advice session in Rotherhithe on January 30 due to long delays, according to several people who a...


Hundreds march through Peckham to protest Aylesham Centre redevelopment
More than 200 people braced the wind and rain on Saturday 8 February to protest against the controversial redevelopment of the Aylesham Centre writes Issy Clarke… The march, led by SHAPE (Southwark Housing and Planning Emergency), began at Peckham Square and continued around the site of the shoppi...


Ground floor flat ‘destroyed’ by fire in Elephant and Castle
A ground-floor flat in Elephant and Castle was ‘destroyed’ by a fire last week. On Thursday, February 6, four fire engines and around 20 firefighters responded to the incident around 11pm on New Kent Road. A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “The four-roomed ground floor flat, in a block ...


Fears of ‘hostage situation’ on Lewisham High Street as police swarm opposite HSBC bank branch
There are fears of a ‘hostage situation’ on Lewisham High Street as social media posts showed armed police swarming outside the HSBC bank branch. The road has been closed between Lee High Road and Belmont Hill and A2211 Rennell Street. Armed police and emergency services are currently on Lewisha...


Made from mushrooms – the world’s first ‘living coffin’ is now being sold at a South London funeral home
The world’s first ‘living coffin’ made from mushrooms is now being sold at a funeral home in Forest Hill, as part of a drive for more sustainable funerals. Poetic Endings, an independent funeral director on David’s Road, has become the first in the UK to offer this groundbreaking option, whi...


Council’s monthly gym membership goes up by £12 at leisure centres
Gym goers have expressed unease at planned £144 annual increases to the cost of a Southwark Council’s memberships. Leisure centre fee rises waved through by cabinet in the 2025/26 budget on Tuesday (February 4) would see membership prices rise by over a third. The price of a general monthly membe...


Community sauna to open in Camberwell this spring
A community sauna with cold plunges is set to open in Camberwell’s Ruskin Park this spring. Plans were submitted for the site, in Ruskin Park’s former depot area, last January. Community Sauna Baths, the company behind the venture decided to expand after their site in Hackney became so popular. ...


Dulwich residents lead national charge against unwanted LTNs
Richard Aldwinckle of One Dulwich has led the collaboration between 15 anti-LTN campaign groups – including Greenwich, Islington and Lambeth – to oppose “badly designed and socially unjust LTNs” writes Issy Clarke In an open letter published in The Times on January 14, several community ...


Theatre review: Critically acclaimed Haven at Southwark Playhouse is a masterclass in storytelling
First having opened at the Dublin Theatre Festival back in 2022, followed by tours and runs in 2023 that took it from Ireland to Edinburgh and New York, Fishamble: The New Play Company’s Heaven comes to the Southwark Playhouse for a short run before heading back up to Edinburgh and another tour of...


Working from home has hit central London’s economy and Transport for London’s revenue from fares
Sir Sadiq Khan has shared his fears about the rise in Londoners working from home. Speaking at an event on Wednesday night, the mayor repeatedly outlined his concerns about the post-pandemic decline in office-working across the capital. London “cannot afford” to become a city where “the centre...


The Shard expects record-breaking number of Valentine’s proposals
The Shard is expecting a record number of 50 proposals this Valentine’s day, with a new, giant love heart illuminating its spire for the special day, writes Melina Block… The illumination will light up the spire of the award-winning venue for the first time ever on Valentine Day, from 5pm. Last ...


Audiences at A Christmas Carol were no scourges – raising £235,000 for Waterloo Foodbank
The Old Vic has announced today they have raised a record total of £235,000 for local charity Waterloo Foodbank from audiences attending its Christmas production, writes Callum Smyth… Repeated year in year out the Waterloo theatre’s 2024 production of A Christmas Carol saw the highest total of ...
