Abel Kerr.

The photos above were sent to me last Sunday afternoon - they show the aftermath of the terrible hit and run incident that took place at the pedestrian crossing in Queen's Road in Erith. There have been several accounts of precisely what occurred at just before midday last week, but the accounts differ substantially, and at the time of writing the actual turn of events is still unclear. The readers who submitted photographs were on the scene after the incident took place, and were able to record the reaction - including the arrival and subsequent departure of the London Air Ambulance, which landed in the Erith Riverside Gardens, as can be seen in two of the images above. The Queen's Road pedestrian crossing has been the scene of a number of accidents in the past. Thanks to readers Stuart and Miles for supplying the photos and information regarding the serious incident. If you were a witness to the accident, please contact me at hugh.neal@gmail.com in complete confidence. 

A request has been sent to me by Caroline Field, one of the bosses at Orbit Housing Association; Caroline writes:- "We’re about to select names for the new blocks and roads at Park East. As at Erith Park, we’d like to choose names with a real resonance for local people.  If you’ve got suggestions, either for an individual name, or a theme for the whole development, please contact caroline.field@orbit.org.uk.  We can put names forward but they are scrutinised by the Council who have the last say.  We can’t duplicate names which are used elsewhere in the area.  The emergency services also have a veto if they could cause confusion.  For example, we applied to call the main road through Erith Park ‘Erith Park Road’ but it was turned down in case it was confused with the Recreation Ground.  If they are named after a person, they have to have been dead at least fifty years.  We used up a lot of our ideas at Erith Park so we’d really love some new ones". If you have a suggestion and you would rather not contact Caroline directly, please feel free to send your suggestions to me, and I will ensure that they are passed on. One of the historical names that I have suggested could be used as a new road name is that of Kate Gildersleeves - the first female motorist, and the wife of Edward Butler - the real inventor of the motor car. Kate regularly drove the Butler Petrol Cycle around the local area.

You may recall that last week I wrote about a new company called Violet Daycare, which has applied to take over the former, and very controversial Bright Steps Nursery, which was forcibly closed down by the Police and Ofsted after two court appearances, where the judge found the operators of Bright Steps were incapable of running a child minding business after one of the nursery staff had smacked a child in their care, and the nursery management deleted the CCTV footage to hinder the subsequent enquiry. Since the closedown, a couple of other child minding companies have investigated the space in Electricity House, but until very recently, nobody took the plunge. Violet Daycare have now declared their intent to take on the premises with thirteen staff. After one of my most dedicated investigators has looked into the application, and the new company, it would appear that there could well be something shady going on. My source writes:- "The Applicant - Ms Violet Temisan seems to have been childminding for quite some time, but only from her home address given as (redacted) which just so happens to be within a stones throw away from where Pastor Chris Ogedengbe lives". Chris Ogedengbe is the leader of the African Church which shares Electricity House with the nursery, and she has a major financial interest in the building as a whole. As detailed in previous editions, it is known that the original Redeemed Christian Church of God that occupied the former tyre warehouse portion of Electricity House was wound up, and a new organisation called the King's Gen Foundation then took over. I have discovered that this arrangement did not last long, and the original name then soon was back in use. On top of this, a company called The Praise Embassy Limited was established in 2013, but was dissolved in 2017 and removed from the companies register. If this was not confusing enough, there is also her other active company set up in the Pastor's daughter's name - F Playgrounds Ltd. The new church group is being operated by exactly the same people as before, and that the name change is purely an administrative move to try and avoid enforcement actions by Bexley Council. My source continues:- "Checking with Violet Temisan's Facebook account shows connections with the church of "True Jesus Ministries" which her husband Gabriel appears to be involved with. Violet claims to be Ofsted registered etc. but so far I have been unable to find any record of her details ever being forwarded onto Ofsted. Also interesting that someone with limited assets is in a position to launch her very own business?" Link to the Violet Daycare company financial status report that you can read here. It does seem to me very unusual that a registered company with total assets of less than £2000 could be in a position to undertake the very expensive lease and refurbishment commitments that would be required to open a new nursery in the former Bright Steps space within Electricity House, not to mention, how will they fund the wages for the announced thirteen nursery staff?. What do you think? I make no assumptions, but I have to say that the available evidence does not make the situation look good. I hope that I am incorrect. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I have found out a strong link between a local company and a short lived, but incredibly popular 1960’s offshore radio station (which were erroneously labelled “pirates” by the popular press, but were in fact no such thing, as they operated outside of British territorial waters, and at least until the 1967 Marine Offences Act, were outside of the law). As I have previously written, Erith based Grooms “The Hygienic Baker”, who began in a shop in West Street in Victorian times, became extremely successful, and later moved into dedicated premises in Belmont Road, Northumberland Heath. This massive bakery also featured stables for the horses that pulled their vans, along with a tack room and even a forge for their dedicated Farrier. The bakery is still there nowadays, though it is now owned by Hovis, and the stables are long gone. What I have uncovered this week is that in the mid 1960’s, Rank Hovis McDougall (the company who took over and absorbed Grooms prior to the advent of British Bakeries, and the later name change to Hovis) were a major sponsor and commercial partner with offshore radio station Radio 390. Radio 390 was located on the abandoned Red Sands sea fort, off the coast of Whitstable. The station was the third enterprise to broadcast from the fort – previously it had been used by Radio Invicta from June 1964 until February 1965, followed by KING Radio from March to September 1965. Both these earlier stations were amateurish affairs, and used a relatively low powered one kilowatt AM transmitter feeding into a rather inefficient antenna system. This meant that their signal was not heard over a wide area, and they struggled to gain a decent audience, and consequently they were largely ignored by advertisers. All this changed with the advent of Radio 390, which was a far more slick and professional, and had both a rather more powerful ten Kilowatt medium wave transmitter (which they told people was actually thirty five Kilowatts, but it wasn't), and a huge and very efficient 297 foot tall vertical antenna mean that the signal of Radio 390 was audible all over London and the South East – the most lucrative market in the UK as far as advertising revenue was concerned. The format of the station was also a complete contrast to that played by the ship based offshore giants – Radio London and Radio Caroline; they both played non – stop pop music. Instead, Radio 390 was firmly targeted at housewives. When regular broadcasts began on the 25th September 1965 at 4pm on a wavelength of 388 Metres (773KHz) the musical format was easy listening, smooth classical and big bands – the first track played was “Moonlight Serenade” by Glenn Miller. While other offshore stations had shows lasting two or three hours, Radio 390's schedule contained a number of short programmes. This was more like a BBC schedule than an offshore one. And, although slightly more warm and informal, the presenters had an almost BBC-ish style too, even to the extent that at the end of each show one of the presenters would give a credit (“South Of The Border was introduced by....”) in the manner of a continuity announcer. As Radio 390 grew, other programmes were added to the mix. There was a daily drama serial, “Doctor Paul”, imported from Australia, and bravely scheduled opposite the BBC Light Programme's long-established Mrs. Dale's Diary; and there were shows devoted to musicals, blues, country and light classical music. After only three weeks on the air, the station was receiving some five hundred fan letters a day. By May 1966 National Opinion Polls estimated the station's audience as 2.6 million listeners, a majority of whom were women. This was an absolute goldmine for the advertisers, who flocked to the station in droves. Back in the sixties, it was less common for women, especially once they were married to go out to work; many stayed at home and looked after the children. They had almost complete control over domestic purchases such as brands of food and cleaning materials. The fact that Radio 390 very cleverly targeted this audience meant that advertisers were prepared to pay high rates to get their commercials broadcast; companies that took out ambitious and successful campaigns on Radio 390 included The News of the World, and the magazine Reveille, along with a host of smaller companies, but the biggest of the lot was for Mother’s Pride bread, which was produced by Rank Hovis McDougall in the Northumberland Heath bakery. There is some evidence to suggest that the advertising campaign and programme sponsorship on Radio 390 was so extensive that the baker became an investor and business partner in the radio station during the summer of 1966, though as the Government began to take action to stop the offshore stations, and prepared to introduce the Marine Offences Act, many investors decided to distance themselves from offshore broadcasting altogether. In September 1966, Radio 390 was taken to court for the first in a series of cases where they were accused of broadcasting from within British territorial limits. The cases were fought, and one by one they were lost by the station, they appealed, then lost the appeal; by the summer of 1967 the Marine Offences Act passed into law, and all offshore stations with the exception of Radio Caroline had ceased broadcasting. Radio 390 was also such a casualty. The station is largely forgotten now, but in 1966 it was one of the biggest radio hits in the UK, and had a real connection with the local area, thanks to the power of Mother’s Pride and the Northumberland Heath former Groom's bakery!

Many readers will have seen the sign above, which is located on the side of the Wat Tyler pub in Dartford High Street, as seen in the upper of the two photographs above - click on either for a larger view. The pub is one of the oldest buildings in Dartford. The statement on the sign that Wat Tyler and members of his band drank at the pub before going to London to air their grievances to King Richard II is actually fanciful, tourist serving rubbish. The pub was actually known as the Crown and Anchor until 1966. The pub in any case, whilst very old, was not built until around 100 years after the Peasants Revolt. What is also interesting is that Wat Tyler gets all of the credit and fame for the Peasants Revolt, but in reality he was not even the leader of the group when it started. Here is some background to the Peasants Revolt, and what sparked it. By 1380, medieval Europe was in a shambles. There was plague and famine: The Black Death in 1348 had killed as much as one-half of the entire continent. The Hundred Years War between England and France, meanwhile, was dragging on and on. Religious law held sway, and people lived in ignorance and superstition. There was a rigidly hierarchical social structure that had existed for centuries, which fixed forever one’s place in society—one inherited the job of one’s father, whether it was a farm labourer or pig-keeper, an artisan like a blacksmith or carpenter, or a nobleman. It was a horrible time to be alive. In an odd irony, the devastation wrought by war and plague actually made things better in some ways for the peasantry. With so many people gone, there was now both a large amount of unoccupied land and a severe shortage of peasant labour to work it. The balance of economic power had unexpectedly swung to the favour of the peasantry, and they tried to take full advantage: demands were made for higher pay, better living conditions, and more land. The nobility fought back using pure repression: royal decrees were sent which limited the amount of pay and land a peasant could get and which restricted his movements, forcing him to stay on the manor estate on which he was born and preventing him from leaving to find work elsewhere. As social tensions became ever greater, an explosion was inevitable. In 1381, the English King was Richard II, only 14 years old. The real power lay with the advisors who ruled in his stead—especially with the King’s uncle, John of Gaunt. It was John who decided that the royal treasury needed more money to pay for the interminable war with France, so he created a new “poll tax”. This had nothing to do with an electoral poll: it was a simple head tax, to be paid by every adult male and married female in the country—and the same amount was to be paid by everyone regardless of how wealthy or poor they were. Today, we would consider this to be blatantly unfair—and so did the medieval peasantry. But while modern citizens can protest unfair taxes by voting and petitions, medieval people had no political or social rights at all—they were little better than slaves. Some of England’s peasantry found a way to avoid paying the new poll tax. England’s government depended upon local church records of marriages, births and deaths to keep track of each area’s census, and this record was often incomplete. Sometimes by bribery or favour, but mostly just by oversight and error, many people—as much as one-third of the population in some areas—did not actually appear on the tax rolls and therefore never paid the tax. When the King’s treasurers added up the money, they found that they were short. And so, they made the near-fatal decision to send in “commissioners” to find all the ones who had avoided the tax and make them pay up. The heavy-handed methods used by these commissioners provoked widespread resentment; many people were forced to pay another tax even though they had already paid the first time. On the 2nd June 1381, Lesnes Abbey in what is now known as Abbey Wood, was attacked by a mob of peasants armed with farm tools, led by a man named Abel Kerr, who was from Erith, and thought to have been a fisherman by trade. The Abbey quickly surrendered, and the tax records kept inside were burned. At the same time, other rebel leaders had gathered in the village of Bocking, in Essex, to draw up a manifesto. This was no disorganised mob of bandits and malcontents: it was an extraordinarily well-disciplined group of social rebels who knew exactly what they wanted to achieve, and now formed a comprehensive plan for how to get it. At Bocking they declared that while they had no quarrel with the young King Richard, they sought the removal of many of his advisors, including John of Gaunt. But they also put out a radical new demand: “to have no laws of England, only which they themselves had moved to be ordained”. It was the first time in European history that anyone had demanded that common people have the right to make their own laws. In a series of coded messages, word of the rebellion and its aims was sent to most of southern England. Within a week, the rebels had gathered an army of peasantry led by Abel Kerr - untrained and not well-armed, but large enough to pose a serious threat. Some of its officers were English Army troops who had been ordered to France but had deserted instead. The first target was the castle at Rochester, where a local serf was being held on charges of running away from his manor lord. The rebels took the castle without a fight—the serfs inside had opened the gates and let them in. Other strongholds soon followed. At around this time - records are somewhat imprecise (very few of the people involved in the Peasants Revolt were literate, and history tends to be written by the victors), a new leader of the revolt emerged; a man called Walter "Wat" whose profession was a house roof tiler - and thus got the name Wat Tyler. At this point, the Peasant Revolt took its most amazing turn of all - Wat Tyler and his men, numbering at least 60,000, decided to march on London, capture the Archbishop, and present their demands for reform to King Richard II himself. At the same time, other peasant armies from Cambridge and Essex converged on London (stopping along the way long enough to behead the chief royal tax collector in Essex and burn all the tax rolls). They began to arrive on the evening of June the 12th . As more and more groups of peasants approached, the young King and his councillors fled to the safety of the royal fortress at The Tower of London, the most secure place in the city and impossible for any but the most powerful and well-equipped army to take by force. But once in the Tower, the royal government was itself effectively trapped: the entire population of London at the time was only 40,000 people, and with most of the English Army away fighting in France there was only a small garrison of a few hundred in the city, enough to protect the King inside the fortress, but not enough to go out and drive away the much large peasant army in combat. There then occurred one of the most extraordinary events in English history: the young King Richard II and some of his advisors boarded a river barge and sailed to the place where the peasant army was encamped. Remaining on the boat, safe from possible capture, the King of England began talks with the rebellious peasantry. Unsure of how large the rebellion was, or even what the rebels wanted, Richard II at first simply demanded that the insurgent army should disperse and go home. Instead, the rebels submitted a list of names—high-ranking advisors to the King, many of whom were right there on the boat with him—which they wanted handed over to them for “justice”. Richard refused, and the barge returned to the Tower. The rebels decided to follow him. The demands the peasants wanted were divided into two groups; the first group were:- "End to serfdom (bonded labour). Free market (i.e. serfs could sell produce wherever they liked). Land rent to be reduced to 4d per acre. Free pardon for anyone involved in the uprising". The second group of demands were:- "Abolition of the aristocracy (except for the King). Abolition of the senior clergy (except for John Ball, as the next Archbishop of Canterbury). Local courts. Local police forces". These demands made, Pouring towards London, the peasants were joined by city residents who sympathised with them. On June 13th, the mass of people made their way to the only place where they could cross the River Thames - London Bridge. After entering the city, they killed a number of lawyers at the Courts of Justice and burned the estate house of the King’s uncle John of Gaunt (Gaunt himself was away in Scotland). Gathering up the stores of silver, gold and jewellery there, the rebels neither stole it nor redistributed it: instead, they dumped it all into the Thames. This was not an act of mere theft or looting: it was a conscious and deliberate political protest. By nightfall, the peasants controlled almost all of London. Richard II was now a virtual prisoner inside The Tower of London. Nearly half of the entire country was in revolt. The English peasantry—viewed by the nobility as savages who were barely above an animal level of ability—had organised a nationwide uprising, formed a powerful military force, planned and carried out a targeted campaign of political violence, and now had the royal government itself on its knees. At this point, though, the rebels were still rather naively convinced that the King was not their enemy—was perhaps even a supporter—but was being misled by bad advisors, and could be won to respect the rights of common Englishmen if only they could talk to him. Through a messenger, King Richard, having really no choice, sent word to the rebel leaders: he would ride out and meet them the following day. Then the rebels casually mentioned that they also wanted the heads of several of the King’s advisors. Richard left, promising only that the councillors would “receive justice”. The crowd followed, all the way to the Tower. In 300 years, The Tower of London had never fallen in battle, but when the peasants arrived, they found the gates open, probably by sympathisers. Swarming inside, they quickly found the Archbishop of Canterbury—who they held responsible for the poll tax—and beheaded him in the Tower’s chapel. The treasury minister soon followed. By the end of the day, convinced they had won all their demands, most of the peasant army left London and began the long walk home to the countryside. One small group of rebels remained behind. Led by Wat Tyler, they wanted more, and confronted King Richard the next day.  It is not clear how much of what happened on June 15, 1381, was planned and how much was accidental. With the rebel force now reduced to about 300 men and the hardcore leadership of the revolt in front of him, Richard II, though just a boy of 14, may have seen an opportunity to save his kingdom with his own force of about 200 men, and may have set up the meeting as a trap for the rebel leader, willing to risk everything in a final fight. Wat Tyler and King Richard met on horseback in the centre of the field, with their retinues behind them. As Tyler began to list his demands, a scuffle broke out involving one of the King’s squires. Tyler was attacked by the Mayor of London and stabbed, falling wounded off his horse. And then, just as it seemed that open combat would break out, the young Richard II boldly rode up to the peasant forces and shouted, “You shall have no other King but me—follow me!” He led them off to another nearby field. The wounded Tyler was taken inside a nearby chapel. And then, whether pre-planned or not, the final blow fell. As the peasant force gathered behind the King, every available royal force in London was quickly moved to surround them. Tyler, meanwhile, was dragged out into the street by royal troops and beheaded. The severed head was delivered to the King just as the royal troops surrounded them. The rebels all dropped their weapons and surrendered. With their leader dead, the bulk of their army disbanded, and the belief that the King was on their side shattered, the Peasant Revolt died almost as quickly as it had arisen. King Richard’s retribution was swift. Determined that such a revolt could never happen again, he hunted down and killed every rebel leader he could find — hundreds were executed by “hanging, drawing and quartering”, others were beheaded or hung. Thousands more were unofficially executed by local authorities, without even a trial. Of the rebel leaders, all but one were killed by the authorities. The only survivor was Abel Kerr, who mysteriously disappeared and was never heard from again. Whether he assumed a new identity, or was smuggled out of the country, we may never know. Whilst the story of the Peasants Revolt and the failed coup by Wat Tyler is well known, the leading role of Erith resident Abel Kerr is almost unknown. Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "Another burglary free week on Barnehurst Ward, and only three motor vehicle crimes to report. Overnight of Tuesday 14th January there was a theft of a catalytic converter from a Lexus in Parkside Avenue. On the morning of Thursday 16th January at Barnehurst Junior school, Barnehurst Close a victim had her car broken into and her bag taken. And finally between 08:00 and 11:30 on Monday 20th January in Twigg Close a vehicle was broken into and an untidy search conducted however it is believed nothing was taken. The team have been conducting patrols in various drug hotspots which resulted in a known male being searched and consequently arrested by PC Arif outside Sainsbury's on Erith Road. The next community contact session has been arranged for 11am on the Wednesday 5th February at Barnehurst Golf Course. Please feel free to come along and have your say". Belvedere ward:- "There have been recent burglaries reported in areas across the ward in the last few weeks – in New Road where entry was gained via a window at the front of the property and also in Heathdene Drive, Glendale Road and Ashburnham Road, where doors to the rear of each location were damaged substantially in order to gain entry. It appears that (in the case of Glendale and Ashburnham Road) the alleyways between residential properties are being used to access gardens. The team have been regularly conducting high visibility patrols of these alleyways as well as the affected areas. There have been several instances of shoplifting taking place in Albert Road, and from one shop in particular where a male has been acting in a threatening manner toward shop staff in order to obtain alcohol from the shop. The team have been working closely with the shop owner in order to identify the male responsible and will be making further enquiries in the coming days. Also, there have been 5 garages broken into in Tyeshurst Close recently – garage owners were unaware as the garages are not regularly attended. It appears that items were taken from two of the garages. Our next Street a Week event is due to take place on Monday 27th January 2020 at 5pm in Blakemore Way". Bexleyheath ward - from a Neighbourhood Watch member:- "A neighbour received a a scam call during the week. It was from someone claiming to be in connection with his washing machine and said that he needed to renew his insurance. His washing machine is in his wife's name and they don't have insurance so he thought it very odd. The person on the phone wanted him to give his credit card details. The number the call came from was 02033167819. I have looked it up and there isn't a lot of activity reported on this number but there was one person saying they'd received a call about washing machine insurance. Just wanted to let you know so that you could warn others not to be fooled in to giving their credit card details out over the phone". From the Safer Neighbourhood Team:- "Sadly we have had some robberies on the ward this week it appears that there is a group targeting school children for their mobile phones and airpods. This has also been an issue in Welling and as such there has been a heightened police presence in both areas and will be for some time. If anyone has any information regarding the identities of the robbers please do contact 101. Safety advice for any young person at the moment is to go straight home after school". Crayford ward - no report this week. Erith ward - no report  this week. Northumberland Heath ward:- "On the 17th Jan at approximately 20:58hrs the London Fire brigade reported a burnt motor bike, which was unidentifiable in Northumberland Heath Recreation grounds. Residents have also been reporting anti-social behaviour with youths driving Moped on Sussex road, Wheelock Close. Officers were able to identify some of the individuals involved and have now been issued S.59 warnings.( police powers to size vehicles for careless driving). Northumberland Heath have been working with the ASB team within Bexley Council and have completed an application for a new CCTV camera to be placed outside Northumberland Park and Sussex Road. On Saturday the 18 of January a victim had her handbag stolen while walking away from Mill Road to Charlieville Road via an alleyway located to the right of North Heath Social Club. As the victim was trying to pull her handbag away from the suspect , the victim has fallen on the floor and has resulted her receiving injuries including a broken finger and lower arms. A report of theft of number plates at Wilde Road. A catalytic converter has been stolen from a vehicle on Sussex Road. Another catalytic converter has been taken on The Drive, Erith. A witness has provided police with the suspects registration number. There are ongoing investigations being completed. Theft of a motorbike from Becton place. There has been reports of shoplifting at Tesco's on Bexley Road. Unfortunately there has been another report of a Burglary on Eastry Road". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "A pushbike and tools were stolen from a garage in Hazel Road between 17th and 18th of January. If you have a garage, please ensure the locks are secure. An Amazon delivery van was stolen from Slade Green Road at 5.20pm on Sunday 19th January. Fortunately the van and all the parcels were recovered a short while later in Belvedere but the driver has been advised not to leave his engine running while making deliveries. A male was found in possession of drugs in Daleview by PC Telfer on Sunday evening and the necessary warning forms were given to the suspect. PCSO Mark attended Slade ARA retirement group with our Ward Panel chair , Sandra Fox (who works for Barclays Bank) on Tuesday where they gave a talk around phone, internet and bank scams to all the members. Mark also attended Peareswood Primary school on Friday afternoon visiting all the classes during the end of week “Golden Time” where all the pupils have half an hour to take part in various activities of their choosing". From Member of the Public - in Dabbling Close:-"At approximately 12.55 hrs on Wednesday 22nd January a silver Kia pulled up outside my house, two men got out and cut the catalytic convertor off of my Toyota Pruis. This incident was captured on my Ring doorbell. The men were white wearing hoodies, aged in 20-30 and approx. 5'8'' A woman was driving their car". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglary - Birkdale Close Monday 20/1/20 between 9:30am - 11:00am. Victim arrived home at 12:13 to find the front door smashed open by suspect/s unknown. Victim entered the property and found an untidy search of a bedroom, no other rooms within the property had been disturbed. Catalytic converter Theft - Mangold Way on Friday 17/01/20 between 8:45am – 11:25am from a Toyota Prius; Toyota Auris. Alsike Road – Friday 17/01/20 between 12:05am – 4:51pm.  Motor vehicle crimes - Yarnton Way Saturday 18/01/20 between 3:30am – 2:15pm unknown suspect/s smashed window to vehicle carrying out an untidy search, no property stolen. Hartslock Drive Mon 18/1/20 between 6:43am – 6:44am victim reports a male suspect has kicked the rear passenger door causing a dent. Report crime by calling 101 or in an emergency call 999". West Heath ward:- "One attempted burglary in Exmouth Road on Tuesday January 21/01/20. A male was seen at 01.56am on a ring doorbell trying the door handle before getting in to a car and driving away. No current information in relation to the vehicle. Theft of a catalytic converter from First Avenue on Friday 17/01/2019 at 13.06. The victim's neighbour saw the suspects tampering with the vehicle on their CCTV and alerted Police .A power drill was stolen from a work van parked in Lenham Road between Wednesday 15/01/20 21.20 – Thursday 16/01/20 .Entry to the vehicle was gained by drilling in to the lock on a side door. Last Saturday, we held our quarterly Ward Panel Meeting which was well attended. The panel decided that the current priorities would stay the same Burglary, Motor Vehicle Crime and ASB/ Drugs".

The end video this week features something of a dying industry - the door to door milk delivery. The company Milk and More have their depot in Brook Street, Northumberland Heath. This short film describes the service, and how many of their staff have worked undertaking doorstep deliveries for decades. I wonder if this service can hold out much longer against the giant supermarkets. I certainly hope so. Comments to hugh.neal@gmail.com.