The Pilgrim ferry.

Back in the 1980's, the Ford ferry from Lower Belvedere to the Ford car plant in Dagenham was in regular use; I can recall that several school friends had relatives who worked at the massive automotive factory, and who used to do the twice daily commute across the River Thames to go to and from their place of work. The ferry became a minor local landmark that had started back in 1933 when the Ford works was a relatively new creation. It used to make up to fifty trips across the river every day; each trip would take a little less than ten minutes, and many commuters found it to be invaluable. Ford paid the ferry costs, and the free trip was considered a perk of the job for Ford workers who lived on the South side of the river. When Ford ceased to make complete cars at Dagenham back in 2002, they converted the factory to make engines and gearboxes which were then transported to other Ford factories around Europe to be installed into vehicles made elsewhere. Ford senior management then decided that in order to cut costs, they would terminate the contract with the ferry operator. There was a great deal of opposition to this move, and it took a further two years, and a court case before the ferry service stopped running in February 2004. A free bus service was subsequently laid on by Ford, which had its pickup point in Nuxley Road, Upper Belvedere. This bus service then used the Dartford Crossing to get to Dagenham, and was regarded by its users as slow and unreliable when compared with the ferry service. Now the Ford factory employs far fewer people than it did in its heyday, and it does not dominate the local area in the way that it once did. Things may well be changing in the next couple of years though. There are plans, now well advanced to create the largest new film and television studio in the United Kingdom for many years in Dagenham, and construction work is due to get underway in 2019. In an article broadcast on Time 107.5 FM, it was announced that "The largest new film and media studios to be built in the UK for decades will be constructed and operated in Dagenham by Pacifica Ventures in partnership with Media Content Capital. Barking and Dagenham Council Leader Darren Rodwell said: “I take great pleasure in announcing Pacifica Ventures in partnership with MCC as our preferred partner. In the face of fierce competition, Pacifica Ventures – MCC emerged as the clear winner based on their track record and commitment to making the film and television studios a cultural and community asset for the borough, for London and for Britain’s film industry. The complex will be an exciting new visitor destination too – an east end epic – that will create thousands of quality jobs and educational opportunities in a huge range of disciplines. I am confident that it will make Barking and Dagenham more famous for films than Fords.” Dana Arnold, CEO of Pacifica Ventures, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Be First in the creation of a world-class film and television production complex that will become the pride of Dagenham and Greater London.” Sasha Shapiro, Managing Director of Media Content Capital, added: “We are excited to be making our London production home at the brand-new Dagenham Studios.” I understand that around four thousand jobs will be created in the new studio, and this will once again mean that people living in Bexley will need to travel across the Thames if they secure a job at the new studio. In an ideal world, construction of the much discussed proposed Lower Belvedere to Rainham river crossing would be under way, but there is serious doubt over whether this project will actually ever see the light of day. Also, the land which used to be the site of the old Ford ferry jetty and car park have now been built on, so it would not be possible to reinstate the old ferry service. One thing occurs to me; as you can see in the photo above, which shows a commemorative plaque in Erith Riverside Gardens that many local people are completely unaware of (hint - it is located on the wall adjacent to the wooden jetty which reaches out into the River Thames). It occurs to me that since the old Ford ferry cannot be resurrected, and the Belvedere to Rainham river crossing is unlikely to happen, an alternative way is needed to cross the Thames for the workers at the forthcoming Dagenham studio. It seems logical that the historic Erith to Rainham Pilgrim's Ferry could be restarted - either from the existing wooden jetty, or from a floating jetty attached to Erith Pier. It would be a shame that local people would be excluded from working at the forthcoming Dagenham studio due to a lack of cross river connections - as we all know, the Dartford Crossing grinds to a halt a couple of times a week at a minimum - besides which, we need to be encouraging alternatives to car use. what do you think? Would restarting the Pilgrim's Ferry with a modern vessel be something that would attract you to apply for a job at the new Dagenham studio? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Some good news; The Volunteer pub in Bexleyheath, that has been closed since December, is shortly to re - open under a new collaborative ownership. Fourteen local people have invested a total of £100,000 to buy out the pub lease and to refurbish the somewhat run down interior of the pub, which is located on the corner of Church Road and Queen Street. It has been under - invested for many years, something that is sadly becoming typical of what little is left of our local "back street boozers". I have to admit that when I visited the pub a few years ago, under the old ownership, my welcome was strongly reminiscent of the famous scene from the classic film "An American Werewolf in London" when the two American tourists enter the country pub filled with hostile locals. I am sure that now The Volunteer is under new ownership, that will not be an issue in the future. I wish the group well, and I hope to visit and review it some time after it reopens on the 7th April. 

In a story that I feel is going to run and run ad infinitum, the plan to extend Crossrail / The Elizabeth Line from its terminus at Abbey Wood and along through Belvedere, Erith, Slade Green and Dartford then down to Ebbsfleet, an area where 15,000 homes are planned, seems to have got some official backing. Transport analysts have identified that once fully operational in December the Elizabeth Line will carry 200 million passengers a year, and boost the economy by £42 billion, according to TfL. The line will hit 41 stations across a 60 mile stretch running through the city, taking passengers from Abbey Wood to Paddington in just 28 minutes. Teresa Pearce MP said in an interview with the News Shopper that:- “C2E will deliver transformative growth to part of South East London, Bexley and Kent. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tackle the poor connections to London and Kent that have held the area back for so long – evidenced by the fact that Bexley is one of the few boroughs without metro style tube or train services”. Extending Crossrail is an important (if not a foundation) factor in supporting Bexley Council’s growth strategy, which focuses on regenerating the North of the borough to build thousands of new homes, centred around having the Elizabeth Line and additional river crossings built. In another interview with the News Shopper, Dartford MP Gareth Johnson said: “What we are asking for is the Department for Transport to finish the job they started. The Crossrail project has been successful, but it stops approximately 10 miles short of High Speed 1, which is clearly an unsatisfactory situation. If Crossrail were to be extended out to Ebbsfleet and to High Speed 1, it would open up a whole range of opportunities for anyone using that service and give a huge boost to the local economy.”

A report was published last week that confirms something that many locals have known for quite some time. When comparing average house prices, distance and time taken to commute into central London, combined with local satisfaction levels have show that Erith has come fourth in the UK as a town which residents are happy to live in. The top three are 1) Purfleet, 2) Waltham Cross, and 3) Cheshunt.  Then comes Erith, which scored highly in the report, for the following key reasons - With a journey time into London of 38 minutes, average house price of £276,515, season ticket price of £2,016 and satisfaction ratings of 7.77, the town is considered one of the best for commuting to the capital. The opening of the Erith Quarry housing development will only accentuate this situation. Incidentally I have heard a rumour from an impeccably reliable source that the well known Erith Construction company, who have their main offices in the old Job Centre building in Queen Street are currently looking for new and expanded office space. I understand that they are contemplating demolishing the old offices and constructing some high - end apartments on the site. Some years ago the old and long closed Pop In Parlour was sold to an anonymous buyer. I have been reliably informed that the buyer was the Erith Construction Group, and that in order to get planning permission to construct the new luxury apartments on the old Job Centre site, they would need to also build some flats for affordable rent; my understanding is that the old Pop - In Parlour will be the location of the affordable flats. If you have any additional information regarding this, then please feel free to either leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Bexley council, like many others, has been fighting illegal fly tipping for years; unfortunately it never seems to really get a proper grip on the serious issue. It may well be worth the powers that be in Bexley council taking a leaf out of Havering Council's books, as they seem to have been able to take decisive and effective action against fly tippers on their side of the river. Havering Council has stamped out large-scale fly-tipping in the borough’s most notorious hotspots for organised rubbish dumpers. Fly-tipping in the area has seen a major decline since a joint operation, involving officers from Havering and Newham Councils, Environment Agency, police and HMRC Officers, which targeted a site on Aveley Road on 20 December. Since the raid on the premises, there have been no further incidents of large-scale fly-tipping in the area and the actions taken by the Council appear to have disrupted a well-organised and illegal waste operation. The reduction in organised environment crime has saved Havering Council around £50,000 in fly-tip clean-up costs since December. The area had become the target of large-scale fly-tipping of industrial waste. The fly-tipping was occurring practically every night and was well-organised environment crime. Following local intelligence, a vehicle yard in Aveley Road was suspected of being the base for the vehicles involved in the fly-tipping activity. A planned raid on the premises saw five vehicles including cars and a skip lorry being seized on suspicion of illegal waste activity. Three of the vehicles were later destroyed. Havering Council has crushed a number of vehicles linked to a traveller incursion and fly-tipping. Environment officers seized the vehicles after fly-tippers dumped a pile of household and building waste in the park in November last year. Investigations to track down the fly-tippers  are on-going. In an article on the Havering Council website, Councillor Osman Dervish (pictured above - click on the photo for a larger view), Cabinet Member for Environment, said:- “Fly-tipping is a serious crime which has a detrimental effect on residents, businesses and the local environment. Each year we’re left with an unnecessary clean-up bill of around one million pounds. This is money which could be better spent on critical frontline services and improving the lives of our most vulnerable residents. The Council would like to thank all the residents and businesses who are helping us to tackle this common threat, by coming forward with vital information. We ask everyone to continue to report any suspected fly-tipping to help us drive out organised waste gangs from Havering .” I feel that this aggressive, proactive approach to criminals who fly tip should be copied by Bexley Council, as it seems to be very effective indeed. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly from Barnehurst ward:- "On several occasions a man has been seen lurking in the bushes close to the children's playground in Martens Grove park. Upon investigation (after he has left the scene) a bottle of Vodka has twice been found hidden in the bushes. The Neighbourhood Watch office have informed the Barnehurst Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team. Excellent news again for Barnehurst ward with no crimes of note reported for the fourth week running, long may it continue We are aware of reports of mopeds and quad bikes being ridden in an anti-social/dangerous manner around Marden Crescent, Mount Pleasant Walk, Hall Place Crescent and surrounding roads. The local policing team are actively investigating these reports to identify offenders. Please contact the Barnehurst Team if you have any information regarding this matter. Please join us for our community contact day on Thursday 5th April at 1pm at Barnehurst Golf Course. We will discuss any ward issues that you have and we will also provide residents with crime prevention advice". Brampton ward:- "We start this week with the good news of having no Burglaries on the ward . We have had a Theft from Motor Vehicle in Ambleside Road where an unknown suspect has stolen rear lights and the spare wheel from a vehicle. A vehicle passing through the ward was stopped by officers on Pickford Lane and the occupants were arrested for possession with intent to supply class B drugs, investigation ongoing. An unknown male stole a basket full of shopping from the Co–Op Brampton Road. A male was interviewed under caution by the team regarding allegations of Harassment, he was served a Community Protection Notice and given conditions not to contact victims. Are you aware of the boundary changes from when Brampton disappears after the local elections? The boundaries will then be split up and you will be with different wards. Once these have been decided we will let you know".  Christchurch ward:- "We have had one report of a burglary over the last week. On the 19/03/2018 a vehicle was stolen from outside an address along Lewin Road Bexleyheath and the keys were taken from inside the property. Over the last week we have had three reports of Robbery on the ward. Brief details: 22/03/2018 – Two victims were approached by a large group of females and one male. Force was used to take phone from one of the victims and had attempted to take other victims bag. This was along the Broadway Bexleyheath; 23/03/2018 - Outside McDonalds in the Broadway, the suspects had approached the victim and had threatened them with violence and items had been taken; 25/03/2018 – Outside the bowling alley Bexleyheath. The suspect had approached victim with a pair of pliers and had asked what was in their bag. The suspect had punched the victim as would not show what was in their bag; On the 22/03/2018 – There was a report of a purse being taken while it was left unattended at the library. Also in the 21/03/2018 a mobile phone was taken from the victims pocket whilst on the Broadway; On the 24/03/2018 – There was a report of a theft from motor vehicle. Number plates were taken from the vehicle whilst parked along Market Place Bexleyheath; On the 23/03/2018 There was an incident outside Pure where injuries were sustained and the matter is being investigated. Thank you to residents who have contacted us with information/CCTV relating to recent burglaries/crimes. Asda car park complaints have been received regarding vehicle ASB. If you notice any issues please contact 101 or 999 accordingly". Colyers ward:- "On Tuesday evening, staff at the Red Barn pub in Barnehurst Road called the police after a group of youths, some wearing white masks, chased some boys down the road who then went into the pub for help. The police arrived promptly and conducted an area search for the group and spoke to members of the public and workers in the adjacent shops. Contrary to reports on social media, there were no knives involved and there was no trouble inside the pub itself. With Easter just days away, the Easter Bunny isn’t just bringing a plethora of chocolate eggs to Colyers Ward, but also good news on the crime front. For both burglaries and motor vehicle crime, we have received zero reports in the last week which is fantastic news. Vigilance is the key here and we thank you all in your efforts in making things difficult for thieves, while we continue in our efforts of prevention. The main issue on the ward currently, continues to be the ASB/Drug problems at Hampton House. Work continues at the location, with intelligence reports collated and partnerships with both the ASB Panel and L and Q Housing to try and reach a solution. In the last week a stolen bike has been recovered there, as well as several stop and searches and one cannabis seizure. The good work continues. Have a great Easter from all at Colyers Ward SNT!" Crayford ward:- "On 22/03/2018 between 06.00-11.00 the front and rear number plates were stolen from a white Vauxhall Panel van outside 109 Maiden lane. On 21/03/2018 between 19.30-20.00 youths caused criminal damage to a fence in Dale Road On 20/03/2018 between 19.35-19.50 a grey Peugeot 308 was keyed in the car park at Sainsbury's whilst the owner was in the store. On 22/03/2018 at 16.00 Crayford officers saw a male acting suspiciously and attempting to evade police at Optima Park near Thames Road. There was a strong smell of cannabis from the vehicle and the occupant was searched and issued a community resolution. On 25/03/2018 at 02.30 a Male was seen on CCTV breaking in to two vehicles parked on a drive in Bascombe Road, the Male stole a set of car and house keys from one vehicle. Number plates were stolen from a vehicle parked at Crayford BR Station on 26/03/2018 between 14.10-19.30. On 25/03/2018 at 14.10 there was an accident on London Road between a car and cyclist, it is believed the cyclist was pulling a wheelie and there was an altercation that was amicably resolved. It was reported that girls were seen fighting on 26/03/2018 at 15.30 after school. We have seen a reduction in reported crime this week so have used our resources effectively to have additional patrols in the Crayford area. We would like to wish our residents a happy Easter break and a gentle reminder that if you are going away to be sure to lock your home securely and make it look like you are at home to deter any unwanted callers. We will be at the Ellenor Charity shop in Crayford Road on Wednesday 4th April between 11.00-12.00, please come along and say hello, it would be lovely to see you". Erith ward:- "Due to recent events in Erith town centre over the last few weeks, which involved groups of youths fighting we are putting in place a dispersal zone on Thursday 29/03/18 from 1400 to 1800, which will be policed at them times and groups of kids will be asked to leave. Some crimes from the last week: Residential burglary on 25/03/2018 19:30:00 in Galleon Close. An unknown suspect entered the property and stole a PS4 from the kitchen. There was another residential burglary on 27/03/18 from a property in Erith Road, a tool was used to gain entry to the front door and jewellery was stolen. An attempted residential burglary took place on 26/03/2018, in James Watt Way. A suspect(s) unknown attempted to gain entry to property by removing door handle. On 23/03/18 there was a theft of a mobile phone in Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way. There were two incidents of shoplifting #1. took place on 27/03/2018 in Iceland Foods Plc, Town Square .#2. took place the same day in Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, James Watt Way - The suspects involved with the Iceland shoplifting have been caught and found in possession of goods".  Lesnes Abbey ward:- "Burglaries - No burglaries this week. . However remain vigilant at all times. Remember lock windows and doors. UPVC front doors Lift it, lock it. Motor Vehicle Crimes - Between the hours of 10:00 pm on Monday 26/03/2018 and 08 :00 am and Tuesday 27/03/2018 a vehicle parked in Harvel Crescent which was left locked and secure had the rear windscreen wiper pulled off causing £500 of damage. A vehicle parked in Lensbury Way was stolen between the hours of 10:00pm on Friday 23/03/18 and 10:00am on Saturday 24/03/18". North End ward:- "3 vehicle crimes to report unfortunately. Criminal damage to vehicle in Craydene Road. Around 6.30pm on Thursday 22nd March, a group of males were seen to run past and damage a few cars although at this time only 1 has reported any damage. Overnight on Weds 21st March paint was thrown on a car in Rainbow Road near Sapphire Court. A vehicle was stolen from Frobisher Road in the evening of Thursday 22nd March. All 3 crimes are ongoing investigations. There was an attempted break in up at the Howbury Grange house out in the fields near Moat Lane last Tuesday evening (21st March). Luckily entry wasn’t gained and there is a good cctv image of the persistent suspect. No positive ID at this time. PC Mark Brookes-Smith stopped and searched a group of 6 males and 1 female down near to Erith Pier on Saturday afternoon after noticing a strong cannabis smell. It turned out to be a negative search but some of the group were very vocal in their disapproval in being searched. PCSO Mark Pigott attended the Slade Green Big Local Easter Market on Saturday with Louise from Neighbourhood Watch. A large number of people attended with some good contacts made along with some good information gained and lots of leaflets given out from the Crime Prevention table that Louise brilliantly set up. PCSO Mark also attended a Dementia awareness pop up event run by Orbit at one of their sheltered schemes in Belvedere. All other Orbit Schemes are invited and Mark had a good time with residents making Easter cards and decorating eggs as well as afternoon entertainment provided by a singer. A good time was had by all". Northumberland Heath ward:- "Good news this week no burglaries reported to us! Two criminal damage to motor vehicles, one in Streamway on Wednesday March 22nd between 9am – 11.20am, and one in Brantwood Avenue overnight on Monday March 26th.One theft of a motorbike in Hythe Avenue on the evening of Friday March 23rd. Coral bookmakers in Bexley Road had a window smashed by a disgruntled customer on Saturday March 24th. Police are investigating an incident which took place in Brook Street on Monday evening this week, where a fight broke out between occupants in two vehicles passing through Northumberland Heath. No further details are known at this time. We have had numerous reports of youths riding motorcycles in the recreation ground in Northumberland Heath over the last few evenings. The team have viewed comments made on social media in relation to this and have seen the images and videos uploaded. From these images we have already identified two youths, who we will be taking action against in response to this. We have already previously dealt with these two youths for ASB in North Heath. We did respond to this, and patrolled the park within twenty minutes of the call being made to us but the bikes and riders had already moved on .We are patrolling the recreation ground as often as we can and we will be conducting both uniformed and plain clothed patrols in order to identify those responsible for this anti-social behaviour. We will be requesting extra police off road motor cycle patrols of the park and will be working with the council to tackle this issue". Thamesmead East ward:- "Residential burglary between 9.05am – 4pm Fieldfare Road - Victim states she returned home to find the back gate open and someone had been in her flat, however nothing has been taken. The victim also informed police that she kept a spare set of keys in her back garden in case she gets locked out. The spare keys are no longer there; Theft of pedal cycle between 9pm – 8am Grange Crescent - Victim stated that he arrived home at 9pm and put his bike in the garden (the garden gate had a latch on it, no other locks). The garden gate was open and the bike was gone at 8am.; 24/03/18 - Theft - between 1030am – 10:49am Redpoll Way - victim was unloading, no suspects seen, two bags went missing, no CCTV. The bags contained Clothes and paperwork; 26/03/18 - Theft from motor vehicle between 8pm – 7am Mangold Way - Victim left her vehicle parked locked and secure in a communal car park area outside her home address. When she returned to the vehicle at 7am she noticed that her front and rear number plates were missing; Criminal damage to motor vehicle - between 4:30pm - 8:30am Hartslock Drive - Victim parked her vehicle in the parking bays O/S Oakenholt House, SE2 Victim returned to the vehicle to find that the front passenger tyre has been punctured. During parts of last week, the team have being patrolling parts of the ward ,conducting weapon and drug sweeps, as part of our ongoing commitment to reduce violent crime and drug dealing. Good piece of work, Officers discovered cannabis plants at an address in Thamesmead, after assisting the London Fire Brigade due to reports of a water leak at the property. No person was present. Enquiries continue to trace owner." Now for a special message from Dana Wiffen, the Chairman of Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association:- "Bexley-NW AGM -The Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Annual General Meeting takes place at Geddes Place United Reformed Church, Geddes Place, Bexleyheath on Friday 8th June 2018 at 7.30pm. All Coordinators are warmly invited to attend. We are planning to apply the same theme as last year with the first half focused on NW business and the second enabling Coordinators to network with each other as well as police and other guests. Refreshments will be available. An agenda will be sent out nearer the time. Please RSVP by replying to this email or calling the NW office on 020 8284 5537. Please remember to keep all your information about criminal/suspicious activity around your covered area coming into us, all DWOs are contributing more detailed information and we would like to mix this with plenty of information including positive feedback from you all. REMINDER - ST. GEORGE'S DAY QUIZ NIGHT Just to remind you if you have not applied yet that we are having our fund raising quiz night on Monday 23rd April 2018 - 7pm at The Conservative Club in Bexleyheath Broadway. There is a number limit and last year we were oversubscribed so don't delay! Please contact the office for tickets, they are £8.00 per person teams of 8 would be preferable but not essential, food and drink is available from the club bar.  We would like to congratulate all those ward teams that have worked hard to give informative and positive information for our members, the increased content and information that is being offered for our weekly reports, has not gone unnoticed. I am sure that all our NW-Coordinators that receive this information on Thursdays appreciate the hard work put in by the relevant DWO's in ensuring their ward reports are informative. While we need to see burglary, attempted burglary, car crime, ASB etc.. it's good to see arrest information and surgery dates as well".

The end video this week is a follow - up to the recent one showing the Erith Lighthouse pop - up restaurant, which was located initially in the Erith Riverside Gardens, and later moved to Erith Pier last year. This is a time - lapse video showing the construction of the eye - catching temporary structure. I understand that we may well be seeing more of it in the future. 

Nitrous Oxide.

It has been reported to me by a long time Maggot Sandwich reader that there is a serious drugs problem in the area in and around the former Bexley Mencap site in Lesney Park Road, Erith. The site, and the old house adjacent to it are shortly to be redeveloped for additional housing, with eighteen terraced houses and the third of the land  that the Council is retaining will have twelve supported living units for adults with learning difficulties built on it. In the meantime the old buildings are occupied by property guardians - individuals who get to live in the property at a very reduced rent, in return for caring for the building until such time as it is readied for redevelopment. The idea is not new, but it does have attractions - the building owner avoids their property being vandalised or squatted, with the attendant costs that this would involve, and people get the chance to legally live somewhere at a rent that is far below the norm for the area; the system should be a win / win for all involved. In this case it would appear to not be the outcome that had been anticipated. It is strongly suspected by local residents that one or more of the guardians occupying the old Mencap unit and the house next door to it are involved in the sale and consumption of illegal drugs, including Nitrous Oxide, as you can see in the photograph above - click on it for a larger version - the photo was taken by another concerned local resident. The situation was initially reported back in April, but it would appear that little has happened in the meantime to resolve it. The purchase, sale, storage or consumption of Nitrous Oxide as a stimulant has been a criminal offence since the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 came into effect on the 27th May 2016. One worried local resident initially wrote to the Council and said:- "There were dozens of the little silver capsules in the gutter, which I am told are in connection with drug taking.  This is not the first time there have been dozens of these capsules littered outside the premises.   A neighbour in Lesney Park Road has even seen a car parked nearby, and he watched the driver put on blue surgical gloves, sorted through some boxes (drugs presumably) and then drove a few yards up Lesney Park Road to the old Bexley Mencap site and carried on some business with the occupants.  I have also seen people coming out of the premises, late morning, in clothes similar to pyjamas and going to their car for something and then going back in.  So they are obviously being used as residential premises. Who owns these premises? Are the occupants being housed there at local rate payers' expense? This is totally unacceptable. These premises are just a few yards across the road from Christ Church Primary School. The children are surely at risk. Apart from the drug paraphernalia, there is often other debris outside, broken glass, old furniture etc.  The whole frontage is an absolute eye-sore.  The occupants are showing no respect at all for the surroundings, and are taking advantage. Lesney Park Road used to be one of the nicest roads in Erith. It is in a conservation area. What is happening now is a disgrace and very unfair on the local rate-paying residents.  Can the Council and the local Police please look into the goings on at the site and take control of the situation?" I hope to make further reports on this issue in the weeks to come; if you have any information to add, please contact me at the usual address.

As a follow-up on the broad daylight plant theft from The Cross Keys Centre reported on the Maggot Sandwich update published on the 4th of June,  thefts of more potted plants have come to light in the centre of Erith, including one splendid ornamental basket hanging from the Stone Court retirement home, an act also caught on CCTV.  Neighbours have reported seeing people not known to live in the immediate area looking at some of these items on display, but in every case except one it has been simply to admire these lovely additions to the streetscape, not to walk off with them. One person the plant owners would like to trace is shown in the pictures above - the upper one from CCTV recorded from The Cross Keys Centre, and the lower photo which was taken covertly in the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, when the suspect was seen walking through it some time after the theft took place. His description matches that of a person seen carrying a large stolen oleander along the High Street on May 26th. The witness was struck by the odd behaviour of someone of strong stocky build, in a very distinctive polo shirt, walking very quickly along the street carrying an oversized plant. If you can identify the individual above, please contact me so that even if he is entirely innocent, he can be eliminated from Police enquiries. Email me in complete confidence at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

I don't normally comment on stories that have been covered by the mainstream press, but I am making a notable exception in this case, as the popular press have in general only reported on about half of the real story. Google has said it will no longer scan the content of Gmail messages to sell targeted adverts to users of the free service. Google made the announcement in a blog post on Friday touting the success of its G Suite, the cloud applications service for business. G Suite is advertising free and does not scan content – for the obvious reason that businesses wouldn't be very keen on that – and now Google says it will make the free Gmail service scanning-free too. In an interview in the Register website, a Google representative said:- "G Suite's Gmail is already not used as input for ads personalisation, and Google has decided to follow suit later this year in our free consumer Gmail service,  Consumer Gmail content will not be used or scanned for any ads personalisation after this change. This decision brings Gmail ads in line with how we personalise ads for other Google products. Ads shown are based on users' settings. Users can change those settings at any time, including disabling ads personalisation." The Gmail scanning system was highly controversial ever since it was introduced in 2004, but the advantages of the service were clear. At the time, most webmail accounts offered pitiful amounts of storage – 2MB for Hotmail, for example – while Google was offering a gigabyte and promised to increase that later. While people weren't particularly enamoured with the idea of having their emails automatically scanned, they certainly liked the storage enough to continue using it. Nevertheless, Microsoft's advertising department used the practice as a stick to beat Google with – albeit to very limited effect. Many Gmail users do not receive targetted advertising anyway; if you have any kind of paid relationship with Google, such as having extended paid for cloud cased storage, you do not get adverts in Gmail, also, if like me, you were one of the first 500 people in the UK to set up a Gmail account, then you too see no targetted adverts. Google are very conscious that of the 3 billion people on Earth who have access to a computer or mobile phone, around 1.2 billion of them have a Gmail account. Whilst not all of those accounts will be in active use, that is still an absolutely staggering figure, and Google are acutely aware that they are in a contest with Microsoft in respect of cloud based office computing - Microsoft have Office 365, and Google have G Suite. If a large number of users are familiar with the Gmail user interface, they will find the G Suite very easy to use, as it is based on a very similar look and feel. Ironically this is how Microsoft locked users into Microsoft Office for years; once a user had become comfortable with MS Office they were strongly disinclined to switch to another product which would require a fresh learning curve. Microsoft came quite late to the cloud, and it is now playing catch up with Google, who are now kings of that particular hill. Nowadays for a vast majority of computer users, their web browser is by far the most used and most important piece of software on their computer or mobile device.

Local convicted multiple murderer Arthur Simpson - Kent lost his appeal against his whole life tariff when he appeared in court on Tuesday last week. Arthur Kent’s lawyers failed to persuade Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and two other leading judges at the Court of Appeal in London that the term should be reduced. He killed his partner, the former EastEnders actress Sian Blake, 43, and their sons, Zachary, eight, and four-year-old Amon, after the actress, who was terminally-ill with motor neurone disease, planned to leave him and take the boys with her. Once he had killed the three, he buried their bodies in the garden of their rented bungalow in Pembroke Road, Erith. The bodies were not discovered by the Police for three weeks. They had been repeatedly beaten and stabbed in a series of frenzied attacks. Simpson-Kent, who admitted three counts of murder, was sentenced at the Old Bailey last October by a judge who said he had been left in "no doubt'' he should receive the most severe punishment available for his ''truly horrific'' crimes. He was thus awarded the very rare sentence of a Whole Life Tariff – which means the only way he will ever be let out of prison is on the written orders of the Home Secretary, something that has rarely if ever happened. In his case, life really does mean life in prison, with no chance of parole. I used to see Sian Blake with her children occasionally walking around Erith Riverside Shopping Centre, and every so often in Morrison’s. I did not know she was an actress, or had been in EastEnders at one time (I am not a soap watcher).  I had not seen them for some considerable time before their untimely demise, I guess as her Motor Neurone Disease got worse, and she was forced to limit her mobility; the whole case is tragic. As far as I am aware their former bungalow in Pembroke Road is still empty – see the photo above. When the case first broke, I used Google Maps / Google Street View to locate the property; when I did, the image that the Google Street View camera car had captured of the house showed one of the little boys standing in the left hand window, looking out into the street. It had obviously been taken some time prior to the tragic events. I immediately decided that I would not publish or make reference to the image out of respect to the deceased and their surviving family and friends. I might have well not have bothered, as a couple of days later, the Sun newspaper published the image of the “ghostly” child in the window. I felt that this was in the very poorest of taste, but then the Sun is not exactly known for letting propriety or good taste get in the way of a good story.

Riverdale Road, Erith based country and Western singer songwriter Wayne Jacobs has been nominated for another three music gongs in the 2017 UK Country Music Awards. One of the nominations is for Best UK Country Artist of the year. I also understand that Wayne Jacobs has also written a song dedicated to Donald Trump. Personally I think this is pretty unnecessary, as President Trump already has an ideal signature song - "If I only had a brain" from the Wizard of Oz.

It would seem that the riot in Northumberland Heath last September has resulted in a long term legacy of fear and intimidation. A large number of local residents met with representatives from Bexley Police last Thursday in the Northumberland Heath Social Club. An officer has been assigned as overall lead for keeping the peace in Northumberland Heath; his name is Inspector Darren Murphy; he is leading a crackdown on anti-social behaviour, which is now regarded as the priority policing issue in the area. It seems that a majority of the youths / school children that engaged in the riot and subsequent fights and anti-social behaviour in Northumberland Heath are not from the area at all – they have mostly come from Woolwich and Plumstead. During an interview with the Bexley Times, Inspector Murphy said:- "I want to develop the use of Section 60 stop and searches, so if we hear of any problems our officers can stop and search anyone in the area without grounds, we’ve come away from that recently but following an increase in violence and knife crime it’s come to a point where we need to do it. We’ve identified a number of the youths and have established most of them aren’t from here, for whatever reason there coming in from surrounding areas such as Woolwich and are doing what they do, we’ve upped resources here, you can imagine how difficult that’s been during the events in London, but we still manage to have a safer neighbourhood team as well as the two officers working later in the night. We’re working with businesses such as Tesco to cut down on theft and loitering as well as with TfL to get Oyster cards taken away so these youths can’t make their way into the area. Our intelligence is improving, three months ago I couldn’t have told residents when there were going to be problems, but now we’re getting calls from parents, neighbours and schools telling us what is going on, Once we know what’s happening we can put dispersal orders in place to stop it, and we need that support to continue by ensuring that concerned residents contact their local safer neighbourhood police team NorthumberlandHeath.snt@met.pnn.police.uk.” It seems that what seems like a quiet and friendly place is actually blighted by a culture of violence and intimidation mostly led by school children from outside of the area. Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association recently published the following report on the public meeting and the outcome from it:-"The Northumberland Heath Safer Neighbourhood Team along with Acting Chief Inspector Peter Bodley, Inspector Darren Murphy, The Bexley Council Neighbourhood Services and local Councillors held a meeting at the Social Club in Mill Road last Thursday. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the ongoing anti-social behaviour in and around Northumberland Heath. Although it was a sweltering evening, the meeting was well attended with approximately seventy local residents and business owners in attendance. Each attendee was asked to fill in a questionnaire and a question and answer session took place. The senior Management Team from Bexleyheath Police Station explained the locations of where the main issues are and what we are trying to do to resolve them. Several individuals have been issued with a Community Protection Warning Letter with conditions asking them not to congregate in groups in and around Northumberland Heath or act in a manner which local residents may find intimidating. The Warning Letter if not adhered to will then result in a Community Protection Notice issue and court proceedings to follow. One youth has already broken his agreement and has been spoken to along with his parents to highlight the seriousness of his actions. The Team have been working very hard to collate evidence against individuals who are choosing to break these agreements. Street Pastors conducted trial patrols last week to try to engage with local youths, we are hoping that we will receive positive feedback from this experiment with a view to further patrols and engagement. A cannabis Warning form was issued to a male found in possession of cannabis behind an alleyway in Bexley Road. On a happier note, there has been very little in the way of crime reported to us this week, with no burglaries or vehicle crime. The next drop in Surgery will be held in the Library at Mill Road on Friday July 7th at 2pm". If you have experienced any issues in Northumberland Heath relating to anti-social behaviour, please get in touch with me in complete confidence; you can Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

There has been another incident of a person in the River Thames off Erith; on Sunday evening last week, emergency services were notified that a man was in the river next to a couple of moored tugs. He was reported clinging to the side of a tug, but unable to get out of the water at approximately half past seven in the evening. The inshore lifeboat came from Gravesend to rescue the individual, but by the time it had arrived the man had been in the water for nearly an hour; if this had happened in the winter, the man would have died from exposure in that time. I once again call for the creation of an RNLI sub station at Erith to serve the area of the Thames between Woolwich and Dartford, plugging what appears to be a gap in the current lifeboat coverage. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Some worrying news has emerged over the last week or so; the main encryption system used in online banking, web based shops like eBay and Amazon, “Smart” payment cards and a host of other vital services has been cracked – in the laboratory at least. The crack is currently only experimental, and to the best of current knowledge it has not been employed in the real world, but as with any of these things, it is only a matter of time before crooks find a way to “weaponise” the discovery. The most common, and indeed until now the most effective form of data encryption is a system known as AES 256. AES stands for Advanced Encryption System. This advanced encryption algorithm is unclassified and is "capable of protecting sensitive government information well into the next century," according to an announcement by the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) and is the most trusted process the for development of an advanced encryption standard algorithm. It  is easy to implement in hardware and software, as well as in restricted environments (for example, in a smart card) and offer good defences against various attack techniques. In June 2003, the U.S. government announced that AES could be used to protect classified information, and it soon became the default encryption algorithm for protecting classified information as well as the first publicly accessible and open cipher approved by the NSA for top-secret information. The NSA chose AES as one of the cryptographic algorithms to be used by its Information Assurance Directorate to protect U.S national security systems. Its successful use by the U.S. government led to widespread use in the private sector, leading AES to become the most popular algorithm used in symmetric key cryptography internationally. The transparent selection process helped create a high level of confidence in AES among security and cryptography experts. AES is more secure than its predecessors - DES and 3DES - as the algorithm is stronger and uses longer key lengths. Until very recently AES encryption was considered to be pretty much bullet proof; that is, until information leaked online about a rather unusual method of trying to break it. Researchers at Fox‑IT have managed to wirelessly extract secret AES-256 encryption keys from a distance of one metre – using £200 worth of parts obtained from a standard electronics store – just by measuring electromagnetic radiation. At that distance sniffing the keys over the air took five minutes, but if an attacker got within 30 centimetres of a device, the extraction time is cut down to just 50 seconds. The research team used a simple loop antenna, attached it to an external amplifier and bandpass filters bought online, and then plugged it into a software defined radio USB stick they bought for £20. The entire cost of the setup was less than £200 and the device could be hidden in a jacket or laptop case. The researchers used this kit to record the radio signals generated by the power consumption of the target system running an ARM powered chip. By measuring the leakage between the processor and the data bus, the data showed the peaks and troughs of consumption as the encryption process was carried out. By running a different encryption run on a test rig, the researchers mapped out how the power consumption related to individual bytes of information. That allowed them to take guesses at the 256 possible values of a single byte and the correct choice showed the highest power spike. "Using this approach only requires us to spend a few seconds guessing the correct value for each byte in turn (256 options per byte, for 32 bytes – so a total of 8,192 guesses), In contrast, a direct brute-force attack on AES‑256 would require 2256 guesses and would not complete before the end of the universe." The electromagnetic signals drop off rapidly the farther away you are from the target, but the researchers still managed the extraction from a distance of one metre, even though it took much longer to do so. Spending more on the equipment, however, would increase the range and speed of the attack. There are, of course, some caveats. The tests took place under laboratory conditions, rather than in a busy office or server room where other signals might interfere with the data collection. Nevertheless it is an interesting example of how an attack previously thought of as unfeasible due to cost and distance has been made easier by smarter and cheaper technology.

A road tanker dropped a large volume of Rapeseed Oil on the roads of Erith on the evening of the 26th June. The oil spill closed Lower Road, Bronze Age Way, Queens Road, South Road and North End Road from around 6.30pm. The Fire Brigade put sand on the large spill, which trailed all of the way back to the ADM Oil processing facility in Church Manor Way, which employs nearly 1,200 local people. The company originally started up in 1908, when it was known as Erith Oil Works – the business then was similar to now; they crush and process all kinds of seeds, to extract their natural oils, which are used in foodstuffs, cooking oils and animal feeds. The seeds, then as now are brought upriver in large bulk freighter ships. The distinctive huge concrete silos that are still present on the ADM Oil site were constructed in 1916, where they were some of the earliest surviving examples of reinforced concrete construction in the UK. They were constructed by Danish structural engineering company Christiani and Nielsen, who invented reinforced concrete construction techniques. ADM oils have in the past been guilty of causing the terrible smells that we have experienced in the local area. The reason for this was that the filters on the oil seed boiler chimneys used to not be changed as often as they were supposed to be. Lately ADM's plant engineers seem to have been a lot more conscientious in this respect, and the sickly smell has now been largely absent, thankfully.

The end video this week shows a factory that has been very important to many people in the area over the last seventy years or so, but over the last couple of decades has seemingly gone very quiet. It is the huge Ford vehicle plant at Dagenham, just across the River Thames. Due to automation the plant does not employ nearly as many people as it did in the past, and it no longer produces complete vehicles; instead it produces a vast number of engines and transmissions for both private and commercial use throughout Ford production facilities in and around Europe.  Do give the short video a watch, and please feel free to comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.