Most people have read or are aware of author Henry Williamson’s classic tale of Tarka The Otter. First published in 1927, the book appeared at a time when otters were quite common, inhabiting most of Britain’s river systems. Then, from the
Caravans have moved into a derelict pub in Worcester Park. Up to six caravans have been spotted by the back of the Worcester Park Tavern in Park Terrace. It is believed they moved in on Tuesday. The community pub has been left empty since
Rail passengers faced a small delay this afternoon after a dog found his way onto tracks between Claygate and Oxshott. The 15.03 from London Waterloo to Guildford was delayed for 18 minutes between the two stations. A spokeswoman for South
A new walk-in information and advice centre is set to open in Croydon's town centre. The Carers Support Centre will be located in George Street and will offer a range of free activities and services for unpaid carers of all ages. The centre
Patients have labelled Croydon University Hospital as among the worst in the country in a new survey. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) released results of their adult inpatients survey for NHS Trusts across the country yesterday. The questionnaire
Your report on the discussion at Sutton Council’s Housing, Economy and Business Committee of the council’s efforts to prevent homelessness did not, perhaps, do justice to the range of opinions expressed or make fully clear what Sutton Council’s policy
An Epsom councillor who has missed just one council meeting in nearly half a century’s service has received an MBE from the Queen. The deputy mayor of Epsom and Ewell, Councillor Michael Arthur, 76, was recognised in the New Year's Honours for
A singer and percussionist from Western Sahara will be performing at the World Heart Beat Music Academy in Southfields to mark the end of Sahara Live Week. Aziza Brahim, who was born in a refugee camp in Algeria, will be singing on April 27 as
A police officer was run over by a suspected thief trying to make a getaway. Two PCSOs were called to reports of shoplifting in Sutton town centre just after 12pm today. It is understood a male PCSO was chasing two women down Sutton High Street
Police are searching for the owners of stolen jewellery found in a car involved in a spate of Wimbledon burglaries. The Audi estate was stopped by Thames Valley Police on the M40 in Oxfordshire on Wednesday, April 3, after it was identified as
An amateur historian is hoping to trace the other half of a unique collection of photographs from the 1950s. Ian Rawat is trying to piece together the collection of George Herbert, put is missing a few key pictures which he believes have been sold
A missing 14-year-old girl from Kingston has been found. The Metropolitan Police had issued appeals for Cherise Barfoot after she went missing on Sunday. A spokesman this lunchtime she had since been found.
A clumsy fox had to be rescued by an animal centre after being found hanging by his tail from a garden fence. The male fox had tried to climb over the fence in Norbury but his tail became trapped in between the fence panels - leaving him suspended
Croydon University Hospital is celebrating 50 years on the airwaves commentating on Crystal Palace games. Two of Radio Mayday’s original commentators, John Henty and Roy Topp, will join the current team Roger Dickson and Chris Winter at Selhurst
A hairdresser whose salon was raided by a pair of brazen shoplifters is calling for them to be caught before they strike again. They struck last Thursday, April 11 when staff had momentarily vacated the Stuart John Hairdressing salon, in Upper
A cooking bus is on tour teaching the community about making their own healthy food. The specially built lorry opens out into a purpose built kitchen, where a team of teachers will run cooking classes, It will stop in Battersea Park from April
Procrastination Problems Yes, it has come to that time in many teenagers life where they start to stress, worry and panic over one thing, exams. Whether you are taking; GCSE’S , As Level or A levels everyone tries their absolute best to revise, revise
The hit ITV series Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs filmed at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home has been shortlisted for a Bafta Award. The Bafta nomination for the seven part series follows National Television Award success in January for Best
Continuing the debate on the controversial 256,000 extra primary school places and Sutton’s needs for a number greater that 5 per cent, I have something further to add. Tom Brake MP wrote to me saying that he was, "not sure your figures are correct
When Eddie McGoldrick left Crystal Palace to sign for Arsenal 20 years ago it was with a heavy heart. The Irish international was part of the Eagles squad that made the FA Cup final in 1990 and finished third in the old First Division in 1991 before
Battersea Ironsides U9s won the Surrey A Festival last weekend with the U10s sharing their honours with Rosslyn Park. The festival, hosted by Dorking RFC, saw more than 1,500 children enjoy a day of rugby and Ironsides' U9 beating a tough Reeds
Croydon Harriers' boys team got their Ebbisham League campaign off to the best possible start on Sunday with a narrow win by just three points. The squad only gained one "A" event win during the afternoon, but it was the team's overall depth that
Students from secondary schools across Wandsworth will be taking part in a dance extravaganza on Friday. Young dancers aged 11-16 from schools across the borough will take part in the ‘Step into Dance’ event hosted by Ashcroft Technology Academy
Chas Symonds's new life in Greece has brought about an old philosophy in the Croydon boxer. Since losing his Southern Area welterweight title fight with Bradley Skeete in December, 30-year-old Symonds has upped sticks and relocated to the Greek
Shaun Justice believes a positive vote for a new artificial pitch at Rosslyn Park would be "life-changing" for the club. The National One side have called a Special General Meeting of their members for this Saturday to seek approval to replace
A crash involving a police van left neighbours without phone lines on Tuesday afternoon. A police van on its way to an incident in Angel Hill collided with a Renault at the junction of Sherwood Park Road and Cheam Road at around 3.30pm. The
Phil Simpson is already making preparations for next season at Tooting & Mitcham despite not knowing whether he will still be the manager. Despite extending their winless run to nine games with a goalless draw at Corinthian Casuals on Saturday
Two teenagers, who shot an aspiring rapper dead at point blank range outside his family home, were jailed for life today. Best friends Sanchez Thomas and Kyrone Daley, both 19, will both spend decades behind bars for conspiring to kill 25-year-old
Children can star in a community dance performance in July. Dancer Sabrina Cummings, whose dance group featured on Sky 1’s Got To Dance in 2010, is offering lessons at the Waddon Leisure Centre. The lessons run from 10am to 12pm for ages 8
Wimbledon-based Footman Flyers won the Morden Little League Mays Cup on penalties after the final against Switchgear Flashes was deadlocked at 3-3 at the end of normal time. Michael Daly was the hero of the day converting a sudden death spot kick
I am not happy with the changes to the beautiful Victorian-style carved ticket hall at Crystal Palace station. Also my favourite pubs have been taken over and their character destroyed. I expect J Paxton’s bust will be the next landmark to be modernised
A fire broke out in a popular pub this morning caused by an unattended candle. Fire crews were called to The Half Moon, in Lower Richmond Road, Putney, at 1.42am. A person walking past called firefighters after seeing it through a window.
Fears over health risks and increased pollution have been dismissed by council planners who have backed plans to burn tonnes of waste on your doorstep. Controversial plans to build an incinerator in Beddington were backed by Sutton Council planning
To Niki Rosenbaum, secretary of Carshalton and Wallington Labour Party’s letter (Bedroom tax is an attack on the vulnerable, Your say, March 28). As Ms Rosenbaum points out in her letter, there is a shortage of social housing in Britain (420,000
Firefighters tackled a blaze in a bedroom on the Longmead Estate yesterday. They were called to a third-floor flat in Nimbus Road, West Ewell, on the estate at 2pm. An Epsom fire officer said the fire had caused "80 per cent severe damage".
By Ryan Walters Jade Dernbach has been told by Ashley Giles to put playing for England to the back of his mind and concentrate on taking wickets for Surrey as the new season gets under way. The 27-year-old began the year featuring in four of
Running the London Marathon is hard enough but doing it 36 hours after a professional boxing fight just sounds like madness. But that is exactly what Carshalton's Ricky Boylan will be doing this weekend. On Friday, he fights a six-round fight
Two men charged with assault at a Walton and Hersham FC match last September will have to wait until October to face trial. Garry Jean Gordon, 47, from Hainault, Essex and William Rees, 45, from Chigwell, Essex, appeared at North Surrey Magistrates
A century-old library is to have its opening hours slashed and staff made redundant because of budget cuts. The opening hours of Upper Norwood Library in Westow Hill are to be halved as almost a third of its workforce faces the axe. The 113
A man who is running 30 marathons in 30 days reached the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton last Friday. Marathon-mad Mathew Loddy, 47, from Kings Langley, started running on March 23 from The Royal Marsden Hospital in Edinburgh. He reached Sutton
Sutton Council has criticised government proposals to relax planning regulations. Following a narrow win in a House of Commons vote on Tuesday, council leader Ruth Dombey and housing, economy and business committee chair Jayne McCoy have publicly
A group of GPs have officially taken over the commissioning of healthcare services in Merton. Merton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) launched on April 1 following a radical NHS shake up which has seen the abolishment of primary care trusts (
In big writing at the top of Sutton & Epsom's website this week are the words 'It doesn't get any more important than this' as they prepare for their crunch promotion play-off. Sutton finished the London Two South West season in second place
A fund-raising farmyard animal is set to find fame after being filmed in ITV series Foyle’s War. Amy the Sheep, mascot for St George’s Hospital, has been touring schools, care homes and community events with handler Roger Reynolds, 52, and her
This Russian Cossack was jumping for joy ahead of his group’s performance in Croydon this weekend. The Russian State Dance Ensemble of Astrakhan are performing at Fairfield Halls on Saturday evening. They were at Croydon’s prestigious theatre
Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, is urging parents to check if their two-year-olds are eligible for 15 hours of free childcare a week. 460 toddlers in Sutton could benefit as of September. Parents can find out if their child is
Councillor numbers in Elmbridge could be reduced after members voted for a Boundary Commission review. Currently 60 councillors serve on Elmbridge Council, making it the largest council in Surrey. Guildford Council, which covers a larger electorate
Girl Guides raised more than £500 for charity by swimming, singing and even being pelted by wet sponges. Members of the 7th Cheam Guide Unit raised £510 through a range of activities as part of their annual fundraising drive. The money raised
Sandown Park racecourse has been honoured with an award for exhibition excellence in one of the industry’s most respected ceremonies. The Esher racecourse won best exhibition venue under 4,000sq m at the annual Exhibition News awards at the London
An Epsom supermarket which allows charities and good causes to fundraise and promote themselves in store was visited by MP Chris Grayling last week. Mr Grayling, who was on Parliamentary recess at the time, met staff and customers on Friday, April
A great-grandmother celebrated her 100th birthday at the weekend. Mum-of-three Emily Street, from Wallington, turned 100 on Monday but celebrated with her family at her home in Sandylane North on Sunday. She has four grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren
