The waiting room.

I was a passenger on a 99 bus heading up Fraser Road and into Bexley Road on Monday afternoon; even by the standards of the normally congested junction, which feeds into the narrow bridge across the railway adjacent to Erith Station, the traffic was at an uncharacteristic crawl. I debated getting off the bus at the stop opposite Christ Church Erith, but on a whim decided to wait out the delay, as I was in no special hurry at the time. When the bus eventually reached the railway bridge, it became apparent that there was a reason for the congestion and delay. Five fire engines, six Police cars, including an unmarked Citroen Cactus and a couple of ambulances were crowded around the Eastern side of the De Luci fish roundabout, where it appeared that a metallic green Ford Ranger sports utility vehicle had been hit by a heavy goods vehicle. As I went past on the bus, I could see that the firefighters had cut the roof from the Ford Ranger, and appeared to have once person on a stretcher, whilst a group of other firefighters were crowding around the back seat of the wrecked vehicle; I could not see what they are doing, and to be honest I was quite thankful for this. The situation looked grave, but the emergency services were working quickly and efficiently to rescue the people involved in the distressing incident. What did surprise and to be honest, annoy me, was the number of civilian bystanders who were taking photos of the Police, ambulance and fire crews whilst they were working to save the unfortunate victims of the crash. Nobody seemed to think that it was inappropriate or distasteful to record video or take still images of what could have been at least one potential fatality. Suffice to say that even though it would have made a very news worthy item, I did not take any images. The accident highlights how dangerous the De Luci fish roundabout really is. One of the main problems is the number of foreign lorries who enter the roundabout quite fast, and with limited room to manoeuvre - usually after having come along Bronze Age Way; because the lorries are left hand drive, they have great difficulty in seeing vehicles that are already on the roundabout and are looking to use the third exit. It is easy to see how a foreign driver could fail to see a vehicle under such circumstances. The onlookers appeared to be treating the tragic situation as some kind of sideshow, which I felt was in very poor taste. There have been a number of projects suggested to widen the road bridge which crosses the railway next to Christ Church in Bexley Road, as this acts as a bottle neck, being only a single lane wide, whilst the other roads connecting to the De Luci fish roundabout are all dual carriageways. To date, apart from some temporary remedial brick work carried out on the bridge a couple of years ago, nothing has actually come to pass. What do you think? Did you see the accident, or the aftermath? Leave a comment below, or alternatively Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Earlier this week, the RSPCA declared that Erith, Thamesmead, Sidcup, Abbey Wood and Lower Belvedere as crisis sites for unauthorised free, or fly grazing areas for unwanted horses and ponies. Free, or fly grazing sees animals tethered and left on areas of open ground, waste land and even on football pitches or other areas intended for leisure use. in an interview with The News Shopper, RSPCA Inspector Nicholas Wheelhouse said:- "We find some people who have horses and have just kept them on undeveloped land, but as the developers are now snapping up these sites, the horses are being moved on. The knock-on effect is that with a shortage of green land we are finding that the owners are then tethering their horses on the side of the roads or keeping them in very poor makeshift enclosures, not even fields. It’s an issue that I as an inspector am seeing on the increase, as sadly, if the horses are not attended to well enough, welfare problems can start and that's when we become involved. I’ve seen horses in places you wouldn’t ever expect them to be and many in really built-up areas," he said. The practice of “fly-grazing” has become increasingly common both in the local area, and also around the country. Thousands of horses and ponies are being abandoned by their erstwhile owners as irresponsible breeding, spiralling bills and sale prices which have reached rock bottom take their toll. A pony can fetch as little as £5 at auction – if it sells at all, whilst stable costs, feed and vets bills can amount to around £100 per week per animal. The six main horse welfare charities have come together to compile a report on the situation; it would also appear that the European appetite for horse meat may be fuelling the situation – a £5 pony can turn into a £230 carcass on the European meat market. It may be that ponies are actually being farmed for live export to France, Belgium and Italy. The RSPCA have called for legislation that will enable them to more quickly identify owners and punish them with fines and the seizure of animals for fly-grazing. They also want a review of agreements allowing the free movement of horses not intended for slaughter between Britain, Ireland and France. The British horse population is thought to be just under one million animals in size. The vast majority are owned privately for leisure – a sector which, unlike the horse racing industry, has not historically been tightly regulated.  A new bill was brought into law a couple of years ago which hopefully may go far to changing this situation, thought to date implementations seems to have been patchy. The Control of Horses Act 2015 made changes to the law to deter people from illegally grazing or simply abandoning horses on public and private land, which, as mentioned earlier, is known as ‘fly-grazing’. As many as 3,000 horses are thought to be illegally fly-grazing across the country. The changes mean horse owners who fly-graze their animals without permission can now be dealt with more quickly and effectively. These changes to the law will give rural communities greater powers to deal with thousands of horses that are left to graze illegally without the land owners’ permission. Horses that are left to fly-graze can now potentially be re-homed much more quickly and effectively, improving the welfare of these animals and preventing disruption to communities. By allowing abandoned horses to be re-homed much more quickly, this act should encourage owners to pay proper attention to their animals’ welfare and ensure communities are no longer blighted by the illegal practice of fly-grazing, although in reality this is often not the outcome. Under the previous Animals Act 1971 an abandoned horse could only be disposed of after 14 days through sale at market or public auction. The 2015 Act means fly-grazing horses have to be reported to police within 24 hours, and owners now have four days to claim their animals. Previously, an abandoned horse could only be disposed of through sale at market or public auction. The 2015 law extends the options for dealing with abandoned horses, which now include private sale, gifting and rehoming. Hopefully this will go some way into resolving the long standing problem, although with the announcement of the local fly grazing crisis areas by the RSPCA on Tuesday, this in actuality does not seem to be the case. Actually determining the owners of the fly grazed animals is often very difficult, as the animals have no registration or other ownership documents. The owners are now resorting in some cases to leaving sick animals to die, rather than having them properly treated by a vet. Only last week the corpse of a pony was discovered in a small field in Sidcup. It would seem that no amount of legislation will stop the misuse of ponies and horses if the authorities are not prepared to enforce it properly.

Every few months, the IT press publishes a story along the lines of "this will mark the death of Email" highlighting some product or application which they think will end the dominance of Email, yet it never actually happens. Despite social networking (which many will know I personally despise) and other communication tools, venerable Email continues to the the tool of choice for very many people. This week Google, as the single largest web based Email provider in the world, announced what appeared to be a serious hack to their Email service. The truth was something rather more mundane. Gmail users in both the USA and Europe reported last Monday that that someone has indeed created and sent spam with forged email headers. These not only override the send address, so that it appears a legitimate Gmail user sent the message, but it also mysteriously shows up in that person's sent box as if they had typed it and emitted themselves. In turn, the messages would also appear in their inboxes as sent mail. Users have been noticing and reporting the problem for a few days on Google's Gmail help forum. In each case, users said that messages they never wrote were showing up in their folders. While using fake headers to disguise the source of spam emails is nothing new, it is very unusual for a copy of those messages to appear as sent mail. This, understandably, led Gmail users to worry their accounts had been hijacked. Google says there has been no breach in this case. Rather, someone has been spoofing email headers. "We have actively taken measures to protect against a spam campaign that impacted a small subset of Gmail users. This attempt involved forged email headers that made it appear as if users were receiving emails from themselves, which also led to those messages erroneously appearing in the Sent folder," a Google representative said in a recent interview on The Register website. "We have identified and reclassified all offending emails as spam, and have no reason to believe any accounts were compromised as part of this incident. If you happen to notice a suspicious email, we encourage you to report it as spam." How exactly the spammer was able to not only spoof the headers but also make the messages appear in mail boxes of the faked sender is still a mystery. According to experts, there isn't anything too serious to worry about here, and Google was not in any way hacked or compromised. Rather, this is one of the basic functions of Gmail that, in this case, is being abused by annoying scumbags. A technical staff member at IT Security company Spamhaus, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Register website that messages fall into the sent box when the person being spoofed is BCC'ed with the spam. Gmail notices that the BCC'd user was also listed as the sender, thanks to the spoofed header, and in an attempt to tidy things up, puts the message into the sent pile. In a legitimate context, this is a nice way to avoid inbox clutter – in this case, however, it tricks folks into thinking they have been hacked. The bottom line is that your Gmail account is actually secure.

I had occasion on Wednesday to travel on the Bexleyheath railway line to Denmark Hill. I have visited Bexleyheath Station a couple of times in the last few years, but I am not that familiar with the place. I discovered shortly after reaching the station that I had just missed a Victoria bound train - the one I needed to catch to reach Denmark Hill; the Victoria trains only run twice an hour, so I had something like a 25 minute wait for the next one. Somewhat miffed, I pondered what to do with the time. It was then pointed out to me that the London bound platform at Bexleyheath Station has something one scarcely sees nowadays - a properly appointed waiting room for the use of passengers. As you can see in the two photos above - click on either for a larger view - the waiting room is light and airy, and immaculately clean. There is a small library of books available under an honesty service - if you take a book, you are asked to replace it with another for someone else to read. Pot plants are on the window sill, and the centre table even has a visitor's book - which has been signed by hundreds of people leaving compliments about the unexpectedly well - looked after and hospitable waiting space. Whilst I was there, a member of station staff came in to check that everything was as it should be in the waiting room - she even made sure all of the books in the two book cases were standing up straight. I understand that future plans for the waiting room include a gallery of paintings by local artists - apparently the final arrangements are being put into place for this over the next few weeks. The 1920's vintage parquet floor adds much character to the place. I had been entirely unaware of the waiting room until this week. I am pleasantly surprised by such local "hidden gems". If you know of any similar places in the local area that most residents are entirely unaware of, then please let me know, either by leaving a comment below, or by Emailing me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Now for the weekly local safety and security news from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. First an update from Barnehurst ward:- "Sadly we have had a Robbery reported on the ward this week. On Saturday 21st April at 9.30 PM the victim a male aged 14 years old was in the play park in Manor Way / Northall Road with a group of friends when five black males allegedly entered the park, surrounded him and using force stole his bag containing his mobile phone. If you have any information regarding this or any other crime please call 101 or report online, alternatively call crime stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. The team have been busy this week robustly dealing with reported motor bike Anti Social Behaviour across the ward. On 24th April we seized an off ride motor bike from a local youth after he continued to ride anti socially after having received a Section 59 police reform act 2002 warning only 5 days previously. We have also identified another youth using an off road dirt bike, he was issued with a section 59 warning this week, we will see if he learns his lesson. Of note the seized bike was insured and the rider had a relevant licence, legal or not if you ride anti socially we will take your bike. Section 59 is an excellent tool that we can use in addition to reporting the rider/s for road traffic offences, once a warning is given if a similar offence is committed within 12 months then we can seize the bike. The warning is issued to the rider so if he changes or uses a different bike then we will seize that as well, there is no limit to the number of times that a bike can be seized after the first warning is given. On a lighter note the team were invited into Mayplace Primary School as mystery readers, a fantastic idea where surprise guests read to the year one children, they certainly were not expecting the police to turn up. Our book of choice was ‘Hairy Maclary ‘. Finally please join us for a chat about any local issues that may be concerning you. A member of the team will be at Barnehurst Golf course at 1pm on Friday 4th May. Please spread the word. We are on twitter @MPSBarnehurst and Facebook just search Barnehurst Police". Belvedere ward:- "The AA came to assist the team at ASDA this week fitting anti-theft number plate screws to vehicles in a bid to reduce vehicle crime in the area. 28 vehicles had screws fitted. 11 people also showed an interest in Neighbourhood Watch in a bid to reduce other crime such as burglary. We will be holding more similar events soon! PCSO Worrall has been delivering letters to hundreds of houses to further increase Neighbourhood Watch coverage. PCSO Worrall has also be patrolling and visiting the new streets we are due to be gaining on May 3rd to introduce ourselves to the new community. PC Holmes will be issuing a rider with a Section 59 warning for using a vehicle in an Anti-Social manner, meaning if done again their vehicle can be seized. That is the 5th section 59 we have issued this Spring. We conducted enquiries regarding a potential welfare concern of a resident, however all was well. PC Holmes and PC Green dealt with a vulnerable female who was lost from a Belvedere home and was unable to speak. The team managed to ascertain who she was and get her home safely. We have had 1 burglary and 1 attempted burglary this week, so please look out for your neighbours and report suspicious activity". Brampton ward:- "Brampton Ward continues to be relatively crime free with only two crimes of note reported between the 19th and 26th of April. Both were shop liftings with meat stolen from Sainsbury's in Brampton Road on Tuesday 24th, and a basket of wine taken from the Co-op in Pickford Lane on Monday 23rd. CCTV is being checked and investigation ongoing. Targeted high visibility patrols are continually in operation in the battle against anti-social behaviour and burglaries. A battle we appear to be on top at the moment. Please stay vigilant and remember it’s local elections on Thursday 3rd May, with all new ward boundaries coming into force". Christchurch ward:- "We are happy to mention that we have no reported burglaries on the ward over the last week. We have had one attempted burglary reported on the 19/04/2018 at Upland Road Bexleyheath. The suspect had tried to gain access to the property via the front door. We have had a report of a theft from motor vehicle that was reported on the 18/04/2018. A window was left slightly open and items was taken from within the vehicle, vehicle was parked up along West Street; A theft of mobile phone was reported on the 21/04/2018. The victims phone was taken from the shop counter in the Foot Asylum store. We also had another one reported on the 18/04/2018, a phone was taken when it was unattended along Rochester Drive; Also a theft of a purse was reported on the 21/04/2018 along the Broadway Shopping Centre. Recently we have been having issues with vehicles causing anti-social behaviour in the ASDA car park. The team have strategies in place to deal with the issue. Just to remind you all, on the 26th April we have our contact point which will be held at the Central Library Bexleyheath at 4pm. We will be there for one hour, if you are around please feel free to come and speak to us. We are keen to set up more Neighbourhood Watches on our ward. If you do speak to anyone who lives on the ward who does not have NHW set up on their street. Please put them through to us if they are interested in maybe joining". Colyers ward:- "Unfortunately this week there was a nasty distraction burglary to an elderly resident in Eversley Avenue. The resident employed gardeners after receiving a leaflet through the door for ‘Kent Tree Surgeons’. Whilst others worked in the garden one asked to use the facilities after which they all went to lunch but did not return. A short while after the resident discovered a large amount of cash was missing. There appears to be a series of similar burglaries linked to these ‘Tree Surgeons’. A window was criminally damaged to a property in Birling Road by persons unknown. A hire car was stolen from an address in Merewood Road Barnehurst sometime between Saturday 14th and Thursday 19th April". Crayford ward:- "We are pleased to report that there have been no burglaries during the last week. The team have conducted several mini traffic operations around Crayford at different sites during which the following offences were dealt with; 1/ Obviously speeding; 2/ Two vehicles for no insurance (which were seized and taken to our police pound); 3/ Driving without due care an attention; 4/ Driving without a test certificate; 5/ Driving not in accordance with a licence; 6/ Section 59 issued to a moped rider who was riding erratically causing ASB; 7/Driving whilst using a mobile phone. We have also carried out two plain clothed operations in an attempt to deal with the drivers of two vehicles that have apparently been seen dealing and smoking drugs in Heatherbank Close. Four weapon sweeps have also been conducted around the ward this week". Erith ward:- "On Wednesday night we had our Ward Panel meeting I will provide an update from the meeting next week when I have had a chance to process it all. We had a meeting with residents in Park Spring court about ASB from youths in the area. A housing officer also attended and an action plan was put in place. Weapons sweeps have been carried out across the ward as well as arrest enquires. Seized drugs on Erith Pier - Class A and B drugs have been found in a vehicle in Cricketers Close Erith after plain clothes patrols in the area". Lesnes Abbey ward:- "Burglaries: Garage burglary occurred on Thursday 20/04/18 on Abbey Road between the hours of 08:45 and 09.15. The unlocked side door to the garage was wide open. The victim went down the garden to investigate and found that one of the two ‘up and over’ garage doors leading to an alleyway which runs the entire length of the road, was also wide open. 3 children’s pedal cycles taken; Attempted garage burglary on Thursday 20/04/18 between the hours of 03:05am and 03:24am on Abbey Road. The padlock was broken, nothing was taken as the alarm was activated. Apparently the suspect walked off; A distraction burglary occurred in Bedonwell Road on Thursday 20/04/18 between the hours of 13:45 and 13:50 hours. The two elderly residents had let in 2 males ,who stated that they were doing work on another resident’s property at the bottom of the victim’s garden and that they needed to inspect the fencing. A jewellery box was taken. A burglary occurred in Bedonwell Road on Friday 21/04/18 between the hours of 11:30 am and 07:30 pm. The front door was locked and secured however the outdoor was shut but not locked. Upon returning later that day ,the victim’s discovered the inner main front door, which is made up of safety glass, has been smashed and entry has been gained - an untidy search has taken place within the majority of rooms within. The victim’s did not note anything missing at the time other than a small yellow wristwatch which was taken from a jewellery box in the main front bedroom". North End ward:- "Two theft from motor vehicle offences in the last week. On Weds 17th April around 11am, a resident left their car unlocked in Manor Road and returned a few minutes later to find their handbag had been stolen. On Friday 19th April at 4pm, in Northend Road, a resident left their car keys in the ignition (engine was off) then a few moments later saw a male take the keys from the car and run off along Northend Road. Both crime reports have been generated by not securing the vehicle. No matter how long you are away from your car, always lock it as you never know who is around. PC James arrested then de-arrested a male on Saturday morning in Appold Street Erith. The suspect was stopped as he was smoking cannabis but would not give any details as to who he was. Upon arrest, the correct identification was given and documents to prove it. He was de-arrested but given a cannabis warning for being in possession of cannabis and smoking it in the street. At last weeks ward panel meeting the three promises chosen for us to keep a closer eye on over the next few months were ASB in Daleview, Frobisher Road Crime prevention patrols and Boundary Street – Keeping an eye on the blocks as they are slowly emptied of residents before re-development". Northumberland Heath ward:- "One residential burglary in Hythe Avenue this week which took place on Saturday April 21st between 11am and 9.45pm. Entry was gained via an open kitchen window, an untidy search as conducted but thankfully nothing was taken. The victims believe they may have been targeted for Asian Gold; One commercial business burglary in Bexley Road early on Sunday morning April 22nd. Entry was gained by lifting a fence panel in a garden at the rear of the shop premises, two rear doors were forced to gain entry. Cash was taken from the till along with cigarettes and goods to the value of £2,000; One criminal damage to a vehicle parked in Collindale Road on Monday April 23rd. Youths were seen throwing objects in the street which resulted in a windscreen of a vehicle being smashed. The Northumberland Heath Ward Panel meeting was held at St. Paul’s Church in Mill Road last Thursday April 19th. This was well attended and it was decided that the team would continue to focus on anti- social behaviour and community engagement in the coming three months. The next Coffee with Cops event will take place at the Sunshine Café in Parsonage Manorway on Friday May 4th between noon – 1pm". Thamesmead East ward:- "No Burglaries to report on Thamesmead East this week. Thursday 18th April. Criminal Damage, Kale Road - By persons unknown writing and scratching offensive words on front door of victims property; Criminal Damage, Seacourt Road - The victim reports damaged by persons unknown etching the letter “X” into the wooden gate causing damage; Criminal Damage, Cherbury Close - Suspect caused damage to glass on patio door at the rear of the property, however the victim stated that this is the second time in 1 year that damage has been caused to her property. She does not believe she is being targeted, just that it is down to the fact her house is on the end of the row, where some children play. She believes that damage has been caused on this occasion by the children; Saturday 21st April - Attempted Theft of Cycle, Manor Close - At approximately 7.45pm the victim went outside his house to ride his bike when he saw a group of young males. After a few minutes one male suspect approached the victim and asked if he can ride the bike. When refused the suspect said “Give me your bike!”. The suspect then attempted but failed to grab the handle bar of the bike. The victim rode towards his house being chased by the suspect. When the suspect reach the front door he was met by the victims dog on the doorstep. PC Pruden dealt with a neighbour dispute by Community Resolution whereby the views of the victim had been considered and the suspect had accepted responsibility, apologised and agreed to have no further contact with the victim. While on patrol on Tuesday 24th April in Harrow Manor Eay PC’s Pruden and Nana responded promptly to a call where a member of the public found a knife near a building site. The knife possibly left by a workman was recovered before getting into the wrong hands and safely disposed of. PC Nana Arrested a male who was in breach of a court order. This week saw the last joint Ward panel meeting between Thamesmead East and Lesnes Abbey. Anyone wishing to join the Thamesmead East Ward panel please contact a member of the Thamesmead East Team on the details above. There will be a police contact session at the police base in Kale Road on Saturday 5th May between 2-3pm. Please come along".

The end video this week is a bit of a curiosity; it features clips of vintage cine film from around the London Borough of Bexley. Do give it a watch, and see what you think.